“I know that. The computer said that it detected it. I-I tried to contact you, but your signal was scrambled. Right after that, I felt the shuttle shake. … What I meant to say was; where are we?”
“Why don’t you look for yourself?”
“Let me get out of this floating chair first … Oh, wow! There are two moons. Wait! What are those?”
Jake looked just past the shuttle and down to the planet. His jaw dropped. “Do you see what I see, Skip?”
“What the … They almost look like NightHawk,” said Skip.
“Yeah, they do,” said Jake as he continued to stare at his two o’clock. Speeding their way were about fifteen smaller versions of NightHawk.
The cloned ships stopped and surrounded Mars II and NightHawk. Jake was able to get a closer look at the ships. The cockpits of the cloned ships seated two pilots, one in the front and one directly behind the first. Jake couldn’t get a decent look at the faces of the pilots because their flight helmets, visors, and oxygen masks covered them. Jake wondered if he was actually looking at an alien species.
Jake heard his communicator crackle and then several tones, which almost deafened him and Skip. Suddenly, there was a voice at the other end. The voice spoke English remarkably well. “Identify yourselves.”
Jake and Skip looked at each other, stunned. How could these aliens know English? Maybe they knew about the crew from Mars I?
“I repeat. Identify yourselves.”
Jake finally gained his composure to speak. “Uh … This is Commander Jake Palmer of the Mars II Space Shuttle. We—”
“That does not make sense. What is your unit calling number?”
“My what?”
“You heard me, soldier! What is your unit calling number, and where did you get this massive ship in front of you? It looks similar to one of our destroyers.”
Jake was now annoyed. “First of all, I have no idea what a unit calling number is, and that ship in front of me is the Mars II Space Shuttle. We are on a rescue mission for the crew of Mars I and looking for Commander Adrian Palmer.”
Suddenly, Jake and Skip grabbed their space helmets. Jake heard Taylor scream through the comlink. Jake felt shearing pain and ringing sounds shot through his head. He felt as if someone was in his head, chopping away at his brain. And then, after what seemed like an eternal pain, it subsided.
The leader of the small ships surrounding them spoke again, “You are human, are you not?”
Jake and Skip glanced at one another. Jake said, “Well, yes, we are.”
“You are in direct violation of Lord Koroan Chast’s law six-three-five: No human shall be in possession of Gnol technology. If said human is in possession, it shall be considered an act of war, and said human shall suffer imprisonment or death.”
Skip looked at Jake, who had a look of shock on his face as well. What were these aliens talking about? Jake gritted his teeth together and spoke. “I assure you. These ships we have are our own. Our civilization designed and built them. We are on a peaceful mission. Please—”
“Enough! No human could ever design or build such technology! Humans are worthless creatures, not worthy to be around Gnols. If I had it my way, you would all be killed. However, since his lordship seems to enjoy using your pitiful kind as slaves, you will follow me now to the nearest slave camp on the surface. If you refuse to follow, you will die.”
Jake watched in horror as he saw small gun turrets rise from the wings of the smaller ships. Jake didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure if NightHawk could outrun these swifter ships, and he certainly did not want to leave Taylor to the mercy of these aliens.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw Mars II move. Taylor’s voice crackled through his comlink. “Jake! Get out of here!”
Jake saw the massive shuttle bank to its right and take out three smaller ships with its nose. Small explosions penetrated the underside of the shuttle. Jake yelled, “Taylor! What are you doing?”
“Go now! Find your dad and find out what’s going on. I’ve—”
Jake watched as the shuttle took about five more ships out. Jake was frozen. He couldn’t speak, and he couldn’t move. Finally, Jake felt Skip slap his helmet. “Jake! Go now! Taylor has made a way for us to escape!”
Sure enough, Taylor had created an escape route by taking out eight ships. Jake hit the aft thruster’s button, and NightHawk sped away. The remaining five ships moved frantically out of the way of the damaged shuttle. Jake watched in his rearview screen as the smaller ships began to fire what looked like red laser blasts at the wounded shuttle.
“It looks like something out of Star Wars,” said Skip.
Jake continued to watch in horror as explosions ripped the shuttle apart. Suddenly, there was a massive blast as the shuttle fell victim to its prey. Jake yelled, “No! Taylor!”
Jake felt a sudden urge to turn back and exact revenge on the people or things that had killed his dear friend. However, he knew that was impossible. The smaller versions of NightHawk obviously had more advanced weapons, and NightHawk wasn’t equipped with any weapons at all, other than a few handguns in the weapon’s locker. But what good were handguns in space?
Skip yelled again, “Jake! Get moving! Two of them! They’re on our tail!”
Jake looked and saw two smaller ships closing in. He pushed NightHawk to full speed. It wasn’t any use. The smaller ships were much faster and closing fast. He decided that they weren’t going to outrun them in space. He fired the left side thrusters and banked NightHawk to the right. He then fired the right side thrusters, which straightened the ship out. NightHawk was now on its way to the planet below.
Jake had to angle NightHawk to a forty-degree angle once the ship hit the atmosphere, which caused it to slow down. Fortunately, the two ships that followed had to do the same thing. Jake could feel the heat of the atmosphere as atmospheric particles collided with NightHawk’s heat shield. Outside, he saw the orange glow of the particles combusting. He looked in his rearview screen and saw the orange glows of the ships pursuing him.
Once NightHawk was safely inside the atmosphere, Jake leveled it out and hit the control that switched the ship from spacecraft mode to jet mode. The jet engines came to life, and the windshield raised up to replace the plasma shield. Jake said out loud, “Now I’m in my element. See if you guys can catch me now!”
Jake looked to his left and saw a snow capped mountain range. He banked NightHawk to its left. “I’m heading toward those mountains. Maybe, I can zigzag my way through the peaks and lose them.”
“Whatever you do; do it fast! They’re catching up again,” Skip said.
Jake looked at the rearview screen. Sure enough, his two pursuers were closing the distance between NightHawk and themselves. It was obvious to Jake that the smaller spacecrafts had jet capabilities as well. Jake glanced at NightHawk’s speed – forty-five hundred miles per hour – he would have to slow down to about four hundred miles per hour when he hit the mountain range in order to maneuver between the peaks.
NightHawk buckled and slowed down a little. Jake saw red flashes of light dash by the ship.
Skip yelled, “They’re firing at us! Did we get hit?”
“I don’t know. Computer, damage report,” Jake ordered.
“Minimal damage to the left wing. No critical systems were damaged,” the computer replied.
A few seconds later, the two pursuers fired another volley of lasers toward their prey. Jake banked right and then left. The volley missed their target and disappeared into the mountain range ahead.
In an instant, NightHawk was in the mountain range. Jake slowed the speeding ship down. His pursuers did too. Jake weaved in and out of the mountain peaks. The ships behind him followed him move for move, firing all the while.
Jake was beginning to feel the fatigue as he maneuvered NightHawk in and out of mountain peaks. He didn’t know how long he could zigzag, and at the same time, dodge laser fire. Suddenly, NightHawk shuddered again.
Jake lost control of the ship. Alarms buzzed and beeped throughout the ship as the spinning spacecraft plummeted to the valley floor below. Jake fought, with all his might, to regain control. Finally, the spinning ship leveled out.
Jake pulled back on the stick, and NightHawk skied upward.
Skip spoke. “Computer, damage report.”
“Damage to the right jet engine. It is still operational.”
“Jake, they’ve swung around, and they’re behind us again. We need to do something now, or we’re not going to make it!”
Jake leveled NightHawk out again. “What can we do? Those things behind us are faster, and we don’t have any weapons.”
Skip paused for a moment as NightHawk was hit by another round of laser fire. Luckily, the ship held together, and Jake managed to maintain control. “The fuel tank!” yelled Skip.
“What?”
“I’ve been measuring the time between their volleys of shots. The volley lasts about ten seconds and then there’s a ten second delay, probably while their guns recharge.”
“So . . .” said Jake as he dodged another round of laser fire.
“So, after their next round, I will count to seven seconds. On my mark, eject the jet fuel.”
“Are you nuts? If I do that, we won’t have any fuel left.”
“Jake, you’re a great pilot, and I know you can glide this thing to a safe but rough landing.”
“But—”
“They’ve fired again,” Skip said. He then counted to seven. “Now!”
Jake had enough faith in Skip to know when he was right. He ejected the fuel and both men watched as fuel sprayed out from the tail of NightHawk. As soon as the fuel tank emptied, NightHawk’s pursuers fired. The blasts hit the ejected fuel and ignited. The lead pursuer couldn’t get out of the way of the fireball. The fire engulfed the ship, causing the pilot to lose control. The ship slammed into the mountain peak ahead, creating an enormous explosion. The second pursuer managed to dodge the flame. He pulled up and leveled out, putting himself back in the chase.
Jake slapped Skip on the shoulder. “You’re a genius.”
“Look out!” Skip yelled.
Jake looked at his rearview screen. The second ship fired another round of laser blasts. Jake banked right and rolled NightHawk three hundred sixty degrees, causing the blasts to miss. Jake quickly glanced at the fuel gauge. It read empty.
NightHawk’s computer chirped. “The jet fuel is now empty.”
Jake rolled his eyes as he struggled to maintain the craft. “Yeah, thank you. I know that. … Skip, look around for a flat piece of land. I’m going to have to try to land this thing on its belly. Hover mode is offline.”
Jake dodged another round of plasma laser fire.
Skip pointed to his eleven o’clock. “Look! It looks like some sort of city.”
Jake looked and saw what seemed to be a city in the valley below, and just beyond that, a flat field full of freshly fallen snow. “The snow, if it’s deep enough, should provide us with some cushioning,” Jake said.
Jake banked to his left just when his pursuer fired another round. NightHawk was sluggish as Jake yanked the flight stick left. They were lucky they had distanced themselves from their pursuer. Unfortunately, Jake could tell the enemy was closing ground again as NightHawk lost speed and altitude.
Jake pointed straight ahead. “You see that building just in front of us?”
“Yeah,” Skip said.
“I’m heading straight for it.”
Skip’s eyes widened. “What? You’ll never be able to get out of the way. We don’t have enough power, and I don’t know if you’ll be able to turn, especially with how sluggish this thing felt the last time you turned.”
Jake smiled confidently. “Trust me.”
Skip looked at Jake and said, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
The enemy behind the wounded ship closed in fast. It was now within fifty feet. The enemy pilot focused in on the fuselage of NightHawk and readied himself for the kill shot.
Skip closed his eyes as he prepared for impact.
Jake squeezed the flight stick and switched the ship from jet mode to space mode. Before NightHawk impaled itself into the tower of the building, he punched the button that activated the ship’s right thrusters just as the enemy fired. Jake and Skip felt the force of the ship as it quickly changed its course. The edge of NightHawk’s right wing was taken off by the building. Jake fought to maintain control.
The blasts from the enemy’s ship hit the tower and ripped it from the rest of the building. The enemy didn’t have enough time to move as the tower fell backwards and landed on it.
Skip opened his right eye to peek at the rearview screen. He saw the building’s tower land on the enemy ship and then a large explosion. He opened his other eye and yelled, “Yes! You did it!”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Jake, as he squeezed the flight stick with both hands, trying to keep the ship from spinning out of control. He managed to keep the ship level, and its nose up as it headed for the snow-covered field below. The tail hit first, and then the nose of the ship slammed into the ground. Jake felt as if his head was being ripped from his neck from the impact.
The wounded ship skidded out of control on its belly toward a grove of trees. Jake had no idea how fast they were going. He hit the reverse thruster button and hoped that would be enough to slow them down before they hit a gigantic tree in front of them, but it didn’t work. Every system in the ship was offline. Jake closed his eyes just before NightHawk collided with the massive tree trunk.
**********
1 day later. Salt Lake City, Utah. Planet Earth …
It was 7 a.m., the day after Kevin received the news about Mars II disappearing. He was sitting in his front room watching the news on his sixty-inch, wall-mounted television/computer screen. He was still in his pajamas with his robe on and his hair was a mess. He was too depressed to go into the office today. Adam and Ashley were in the kitchen, eating breakfast.
The television went to mute and spoke to Kevin. “Mr. Palmer, you have an incoming call from Michael Konrad, Head Administrator for NASA.
Oh great, now what? Kevin sat up. “Hello, Mike.”
The image of Mike appeared on the monitor. “Ah, Kevin, you don’t look so well. Are you sick?”
“No, I just didn’t feel like getting ready for work this morning. What do you want, Mike? I don’t think I can handle any more bad news.”
Mike gave Kevin an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to have given you that news yesterday. But, the news that I have for you now just might cheer you up a bit.”
By this time, Adam and Ashley had made their way into the living room. Kevin sat up a little straighter and said, “Well, go on, Mike. Don’t keep me waiting.”
“Okay, I’ll get right to it. About four o’clock this morning, we received a video transmission from a probe that the crew of Mars II must have deployed just before going through the wormhole.”
“Wait a minute, Mike. They went through the wormhole?”
“Yes, according to the video, they did. Well, let me show you.”
Mike’s image disappeared from the screen, and the image of Mars II appeared in orbit around Mars. In front of Mars II was the hypothesized wormhole that Kevin had seen in his first meeting with Mike and Skip.
“What’s that, Dad?” asked Adam.
“That is a wormhole.”
“Cool.”
The video played. Kevin, Adam, and Ashley watched as the wormhole grew larger. It seemed to take hold of Mars II and take the shuttle through it. A few minutes later, the three saw another ship come up from the surface of Mars.
“Where did that ship come from?” Ashley asked.
“That ship is NightHawk. It’s the landing vehicle for Mars. Jake and Skip must be in that one, and Taylor must have been the only one on Mars II.”
They continued to watch as the wormhole began to shrink, and the smaller ship sped up. They held th
eir breath as the nose of the ship entered the wormhole, which caused the ship to elongate. Then, the ship disappeared, and the wormhole closed.
Mike’s image appeared back onto the screen. “Well, I hope that’s good news for you.”
Kevin smiled, stood up, and walked a little closer to the monitor. “You have no idea, Mike.”
“Great, I’ll let you know when they come back through and contact us,” said Mike. Then his image disappeared.
Kevin turned slowly to face his children. “Well, kids, in a few months, you will meet your Uncle Adrian for the first time.”
CHAPTER 5: THE TEMPLE
Skip’s body flinched, awakening him from his deep sleep. His head pounded as if razor sharp nails scratched across his scalp, and short bursts of pain shot down his left leg. He winced as he lifted both arms slowly to take off his cracked space helmet. When he saw his left hand, it was covered in blood from the elbow down. He took his helmet off and felt his body for any areas that may have been punctured. He felt around his torso; nothing. Where is the blood coming from?
He looked around to assess the damage. His eyes widened as they regained focus to view the catastrophe he apparently survived. From what he could tell, the center of the fuselage of NightHawk was split in two by a massive tree trunk. The tree trunk now rested between the two seats Skip and Jake had been sitting in. In fact, Skip’s left shoulder rested snugly against the tree’s cold bark. He tried to look around the trunk for Jake. He couldn’t see around it.
“J … Ja … Jake,” he said as he coughed up blood. “Jake … are you okay?”
There was no answer.
Please, don’t be dead, he thought.
Another sharp pain shot down Skip’s left leg. He wondered if his leg was broken. He looked down. His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head. He fought to stay conscious. He looked again to make sure what he saw was real. Sure enough, blood trickled out of his leg just above the kneecap. He shook his head to keep from fainting and looked again. His terror was solidified when he noticed why.
Just above his kneecap was the jagged edge of his femur bone. Shreds of his quadriceps and hamstring muscles hung loosely off the edge of his seat. He reached down to make sure. It felt like his leg was still there. But, as he felt, his worst fear was realized. The tree trunk must have clipped his knee in the crash and ripped his left leg off just above the kneecap.
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 7