“Yes you can,” replied Brynhildr. “Keep my cousin happy, treat her well as a husband should. That will be your payment.”
Ichiro smiled. “That is easy.”
There was the shimmering electricity in the air marking the arrival of a Falcon. For a moment they thought it was the one coming to pick up the now deceased Reverend Kray. Andrew’s booming voice relieved them of that idea. “Torbin, Abigail, Ichiro. I need you once again. The Director is on the Asteroid Base One.”
“Wait a minute!” yelled Torbin at the Falcon. “What about the captive women and children?”
“We’ll get them out,” said Dogman, “My dogs will see to that.”
Torbin looked and saw the Black Mask Curs were already sniffing at the now freed children, tails wagging as they tried to greet the very scared and upset youngsters. One or two of the crying children finally noticed the dogs, began to hug them, which set off a round of licking and snuffling. This drew the attention of the others, and soon there was a canine and human love fest. The ancient bond of dog and humans once again lead to the feelings of security and calm among the young and weak.
Torbin smiled, then stuck his hand out to Dogman. “Sir, you are a saint.”
Dogman shrugged as he shook his hand. “No. I am just Dogman.”
“Torbin!” Andrews voice boomed again.
“Alright, we’re coming.”
Kat appeared then and hugged him, still bloody from her ordeal.
“You come back, hear? I lost your brother. I don’t want to see you…”
“I’ll be back. You go with Brynhildr and Dogman, They’ll get you someplace safe.”
The Falcon’s Ramp lowered, signaling Andrew would wait no longer. Torbin liberated a assault weapon with a full magazine from one of the dead Krakens and then the three were being hoisted once again aboard the Falcon.
As the ship sped away, Brynhildr looked at the children. “The presence of the Falcon did not phase them.”
“I think Andrew is well known to them,” answered Dogman.
“Yes, and well liked too, I think. Children can sense protectors.”
“So can my dogs. They remained calm also.”
Brynhildr looked at Dogman. “Then I will not worry. Abigail is in good hands.”
“Would it do any good to worry?”
The Shield Maiden laughed. “No, it would not. Abigail makes her own path. Now, let’s round up the little ones, the women and go find the Conch Republicans and some more transportation. They can help us get them to your vehicle.” She cocked an eyebrow. “And find you some pants, my large friend.”
“Okay. But my camouflage covers everything.”
“Not quite everything, Uncle Buck. Trust me.”
CHAPTER 47
ASTEROID 18666
BASE ONE
The living craft known as “SHE” slipped into a landing bay of the gigantic asteroid base. One moment it had been in Key West, the next moment it was sitting next to the huge massive planetoid that orbited the Earth between the planet and its satellite the Moon. The AI and computer system must have recognized or else ignored the creature craft as a threat because the outer bay doors opened with ease, then closed behind it. She slid into the bay and floated down like a feather as the oxygen atmosphere was reestablished. The access hatch and ramp appeared from the seamless hull once again, and Adam and Heidi stepped out on to landing the bay deck.
“Damn, Boss. I think I just stepped into one of the Star Wars movie sets.”
“Well. I don’t see Hans Solo or a Jedi to help us. So I guess we are on our own.”
As they walked out from She, Adam noticed that Samuel and Sandy were not following.
“Not coming with us?” Adam asked.
Sandy gave a small smile. “Sorry, we cannot. She does not like us to move further than about twenty five feet from Her. That is one reason for the organic tethers on our spines. Of course, they help with communication also.”
Adam gave them both the once over again. “I seem to remember both of you having more meat on your bones. You seemed to have more evidence of being in sunlight also.”
“Oh that’s our fault more than any conditions of She,” Sandy answered. “We forget to eat when we are tethered to her, working on things, exploring the universe.”
Adam looked at the living space craft. “Can She understand me?”
“Of course. She communicates, understands all languages. Some of it may be a form of telepathy.”
“Well, She… Ma’am. These young humans need three meals a day, all the major food groups. Let them out under a sun once in a while, no matter what planet you are on.”
Sam and Sandy’s eyes seemed to glaze over for a second, then they were back looking at Adam and Heidi. “She just scolded us for not helping Her understand better our physiology. As much as She knows, has seen, we are the first large primate species She has dealt with. So, there are…gaps in her understanding.”
Sam suddenly frowned. “She says, ‘Hurry, find the Wizard’. The possible futures and universes are beginning to coalesce into one, which is not optimal for survival.”
“Where is he?” asked Heidi.
“She senses him in the huge bay in the front quarter of the asteroid, where the mass drivers sit. She says bear to your right when you leave the bay, eventually all passageways lead to it.”
“Alright. Let’s hit the road. We’ll be back.”
“I will try to keep Her here as long as possible. But if she gets nervous, she can just…move into another area of space and time, it seems. She does not have to open the bay doors again. She is still young, and learning her capabilities.”
“Young? What is She doing out here then?”
“Looking for Her mother.”
Adam once again felt as if he had just fallen down the rabbit hole. Sometimes, he thought about being in a dream and about to wake up.
Fat chance. “Alright. You two stay safe with…She. See you soon.”
The access doors to the interior corridors opened smoothly and the two hunters were through. They bore immediately to the right and were soon moving down a long slightly curving corridor. They saw or heard nothing for a full minute. Then two grays stepped through a sliding door in front of them, stopped and stared. They had nothing in their hands, were nude and seemed featureless other than the eyes, very small nose and the oversized eyes. They raised their rubbery arms outward and began to advance, as if they had been told to hug and hold on to these two humans. Heidi stepped out front and began an intricate series of cuts and slices with her bush machete. The long digitated hands were separated from wrists, their throats were slashed before they could scream in pain more than once. They toppled over, the bluish tinted blood spurting all over the corridor floor.
“You didn’t give me a chance to help, Heidi.”
“No time, Boss. Besides, it was light work. They were not trained fighters.”
“Alright. Let’s pick up the pace. This damned place is huge.”
Andrew’s Falcon was fast, but it did not have the almost instantaneous travel capability of She. When Andrew had first picked up She arriving near the HQ Building he thought it was some sort of power surge anomaly. Then She left, and Andrew realized what had happened. A minute later he was over the vehicles of the Chief, the Admiral and the rest.
“I sense the Director is not with you.” Andrew called out.
“No,” replied Professor Fassbinder. “She, the saucer creature is giving Adam and Heidi a ride to Base One, to stop the Wizard.”
“They seem to almost be there. I have Torbin Bender and two others up at the Marathon Airport, to stop the women and children from being taken away. Please head there also, as I will need the others abilities again on the Asteroid.”
“They were not allowed to take firearms aboard the saucer,” the Chief called out.
“Even more a reason to hurry. Hopefully the captives will be rescued by the time I get to the airport. My weapons may be too destructiv
e to prevent collateral damage. Excuse me. I go”
Andrew sped back to the airport, in time to witness the final deaths of the Krakens.
Now, as the Falcon reached the edge of space, Ichiro spoke, “I always wanted to be an astronaut. Now I am one.”
“Yes, that is true,” Andrew answered.
“Why do you need us?” asked Abigail. “Couldn’t you just blast your way in with the Falcon, take out this devil’s spawn?”
“You have an exaggerated belief in my capabilities, Abigail. If I start blasting, like you say, the asteroid’s automatic defense systems take over, including maybe some of my fellow cyborgs of an older generation. That would not be good.”
“So, you get us inside, then we head toward the mass drivers, right?” Torbin said.
“Yes Sir. If we can kill the Wizard with little other loss of life, there is less chance of creating a large conflict with the other inhabitants on Asteroid 18666. There are some Tschaaa, lizards, some robocops and others who are still trying to figure out who is in charge. But if they think the Base is in danger…”
“Just like the Vichy in North Africa. They hated the Nazis but by damn, show up with guns on their doorsteps…”
“Exactly, Torbin Bender. So, concentrated, minimum force and targets.”
“You said ‘kill’ the Wizard. Correct?”
“Yes. You will have to. He is a dog gone mad. He must be put down. I will explain to the other Tschaaa later. Though, he never was well liked.”
Within minutes, the Falcon craft was abeam of the gigantic asteroid. Some communication with the Base One communications center and Andrew was sliding into a large landing bay. After the outer doors were closed and atmosphere pumped in, Andrew opened the access ramp once more.
“The She saucer landed in the smaller bay to our right. She is still there, but the Director and Heidi Faust have left and headed toward the mass drivers and the Wizard.”
“Well, what direction do we take?” asked Torbin.
“Through those sliding doors, then take a right down the corridor. I will be along shortly.”
Torbin paused, and looked intently at the large cyborg. “Come on, Andrew. What’s up?”
Andrew smiled in a small way. “Always the perceptive Marine. You know what a ‘suitcase nuke’ is, of course.”
“Yes Sir, I do. You have one?”
“Yes. I need to attach it to this Falcon. If we fail in reaching the Wizard, I blow the device, which will cause some substantial damage and should disturb the orbit of this orbiting base. That will at least affect the ability to use the mass drivers for a period of time.”
“Okay, Andrew. So, I guess we need to take out this Wizard for sure.” He looked toward Abigail and Ichiro. “Shall we?”
“Hai.” Ichiro answered.
“Of course, Torbin,” said Abigail.
And the three were off, running through the now opened sliding doors. Andrew turned to his task at hand. “Vaya con dios, as you say, Torbin. Hopefully, God is on our side.”
The three companions made it down about a hundred yards when a Front Man hominid stepped out from a side corridor. The creature froze, then Torbin shot it once in the head.
“Second one of those assholes I’ve killed close up.”
“Next time, my brother,” said Ichiro. “Give me a chance to do it quietly with a blade.”
“Hopefully there will be no next time. Come on, let’s move.”
The warriors moved a bit slower now, in combat crouches as they looked for the mass driver area. They had not the time to receive a map from Andrew, so they were flying by the seat of their pants. But Andrew said the mass driver area was huge, and would therefore be hard to miss.
As they rounded a curve in the corridor, a Soldier Class Warrior appeared, walking toward them. It seemed to slow, as if waiting for instructions from some controller. As it seemed to make up its mind, started to raise its bolt gun, Torbin let loose with his assault rifle at its face. The Marine had aimed directly at its “eyes”, knowing the light rifle would have trouble penetrating the heavier body. Ichiro and Abigail split to opposite sides of the wide corridor, and began forward lunging rolls to close the distance. Its visor and targeting systems damaged, the Soldier began firing its bolt gun wildly, a round singeing the Marine’s left ear. Torbin flattened himself to the corridor floor as he ran out of ammunition for the rifle. Ichiro fired an arrow as he came out of a roll, the projectile burying itself in the remains of the Soldiers left ocular orb. It tried to locate the source of the weapon with its compromised vision when Abigail fired her 44 Magnum lever action at the creature’s head. Bluish blood sported from the point of impact, her round hitting an area already weakened by Torbin’s bullets. It staggered backwards as Abigail fired again at the same spot. The artificial warrior toppled over backwards, convulsed, and then laid still.
“I’m empty,” reported Torbin. He went and picked up the heavy Bolt Rifle.
“About as heavy as an old M-60 machine gun. Let’s move. Good team work, by the way.”
“But of course, Torbin.” Ichiro said. “We are the ultimate team.”
Torbin laughed. “Careful, Ichiro. Your head will swell.”
They began to move down the corridor once again.
“Gunfire, Boss. Behind us.”
“Shit. Someone else is in the mix. Maybe the Tschaaa minions are fighting each other.”
“Run ahead, Adam. I’ll see who it is, delay them if I can.”
“Heidi…”
“Don’t argue with a Petty Officer. It does you no good.”
Before Heidi could protest, Adam kissed her full on the lips. Heidi began to sputter a protest.
“There. Wanted to do that for a long time. It’s done. You can shoot me later. And no, my wives will not complain. They love you also.”
“Goddamnit, Boss…”
“I’m off. Watch your ass, Heidi.”
“Oh alright. Be careful with that Squid.”
“Always, my dear. Always.”
Andrew finished arming the suitcase nuke with a command detonator. All he had to do was broadcast a specific code over the computer link, a sixty second timer began and then—boom—the nuke did what it was designed to do. A part of his intellectual system had been searching for what was contained in the large landing bay, and had located a small repair pod designed for cyborgs to use along the exterior of Base One and along with the starcraft that had brought the Tschaaa. Andrew had also tapped into the asteroid’s internal communication system and received the information that there were possible unknown intruders in the corridors. So, in a second, Andrew decided to bypass the corridors to dodge any defensive forces, and enter the Mass Driver area through a small airlock built specifically for external repair missions.
Andrew smiled to himself. “A space walk. Well, almost. If my high school chums could see me now.” He chuckled in a human manner. “If they could see me know, they would be scared senseless. Now, time to move. My fellow humans need help.”
Torbin, Ichiro and Abigail were making good time down the large corridor, when a voice came from a small connecting passageway.
“You!” Then a figure stepped out who Torbin recognized in an instant.
“Well, hello, Petty Officer Faust. Andrew said you were with the Director.”
“Hello back. And you three can just wait here, until the Director calls.”
“Hey, we’re on the same…”
“Same side? Like I’m going to trust you now? You tried to kill Adam once before.”
“We just want the Wizard,” Ichiro interjected.
“Yeah? Well I still owe you a crack on the side of the head. So don’t expect me to trust you either.”
“Damn it, Coastie. Just get out of the way.” Torbin ordered.
“Make me, asshole.”
Torbin raised the bolt gun.
“No.” Abigail spoke for the first time. “We will not shoot her.” Abigail laid down her rifle and took her Glock 18 out
of its holster.
“If Miss Faust desires a fight, to assuage her anger, I will give it to her while you two continue on.”
“Like hell.” Heidi had the machete in her hand.
“Wife,” Ichiro said in Japanese. “She is quite deadly. That is from personal experience.”
“As am I. Go with Torbin. Now.” She laid down her katana and Banshee Blade, and slipped off her body armor.
“You will not meet me hand to hand, Heidi is it? I am just a woman like you are.”
Heidi tried to block the two men.
“Move,” Abigail called out as she slid between Heidi and the two men, and became the target of Heidi’s frustration and anger. The Petty Officer dropped her machete and slammed into Abigail, accepting her challenge. The brunette was stockier and a bit shorter than blonde Avenging Angel, who seemed to be more lithe. But as many had found before, Abigail’s more slender looking muscles were coils of steel. So after being pushed back, Abigail stopped as she became like a wall.
“Move, or I’ll move you!” Heidi yelled, then threw a blow at Abigail’s face. The blonde shifted just enough so the blow slid past and she grabbed the arm, then trapped it under her left armpit.
“Please, stop, my Sist…” And Abigail found she was trying to wrestle a python. The two women fell to the ground, and Heidi went into ground fighting Jiu Jitsu.
“You’re about to get a lesson in MMA, girlie,” growled Heidi as she tried to go for a front mount and free her right arm. Abigail went into a guard position, wrapped both of her strong legs around Heidi’s waist. She then tried a pressure point application to the side of Heidi’s neck. Heidi cursed and slapped the hand away, then tried to slap Abigail’s face. Abigail blocked the slap, wrapped her arms around Heidi in a bear hug.
“Will you quit this nonsense?” Abigail said into Heidi’s ear as she laid her head alongside of the Petty Officers. “This is not a schoolyard catfight.”
“Oh yeah?” And she bit Abigail’s left ear. The Avenging Angel screamed. Heidi received a thumb in her left eye, causing her to release the ear in mouth. Then it was Heidi’s turn to cry our as Abigail jammed fingers up her nostrils, forcing Heidi to jerk her head back. The Coastie was sent flying back as Abigail used her powerful legs to shove Heidi off. She managed to do a double arm break fall, then scrambled to her feet, facing a standing Abigail.
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