“You’re right,” said Gaz.
Jack felt Gaz shudder as a thick pall of smoke descended over downtown London. Another laser blast had hit. Through his super-enhanced sensors, he could see people running, screaming, searching for whatever sanctuary they could find. It was mayhem down there, complete chaos.
“We need to do something about this,” said Jack as they swooped through the cloud layer in a pronounced arc, the brilliant sunshine glowering behind them.
Beneath them was a ruffled blue sheet, its surface pockmarked with a grey flotilla of ships. There looked to be a few destroyers and one aircraft carrier. Smoke was billowing wildly off its deck. A group of silver pebbles shot out from under them, spurting fire at the destroyers. One of the ships exploded, another fired back briefly, then stopped, its guns a mass of flames.
“Time for some payback,” said Jack.
Jack felt for the weapons and fired at the enemy saucers at point blank range. Two exploded instantly, their broken shells plummeting beneath the white teeth of the waves. The other three wobbled slightly, sparks shooting off their sides, before peeling off left and right. They came back at them like a hammer, laser blasts cutting into their hull. Jack’s body jagged with pain.
Jack took them into a steep dive, the churning waves getting closer and closer as he zipped-off towards the fleet of ships. As he sped past a burning prow a metal dart with a flaming tail shot up, crashing into the side of the saucer that was following him, eviscerating it instantly. A miasma of metal and body parts rained over the sea; the water fizzed and boiled.
Jack dived beneath the waves like a hammerhead shark, before spearing out again, taking another saucer down with a hail of weapons’ fire.
More swerving. More firing. The ships were angrier now.
The last saucer cracked like an egg a minute later, the pilot disappearing beneath the waves in one of the escape suits. He almost fired after him, but then he stopped himself. Too many people had died in this war already, death needed to have a rest, it had supped enough blood already.
“Whoever you are,” chimed an American voice in his head, “you should know that we’ve got six hellfire missiles trained on you. Try anything and you’re toast.”
“Who’s in command down there?” asked Jack, ignoring the threat.
“This is Commander Stayton.” His voice sounded rough, gravelly. “I’m in charge of the Iwo Jima. Admiral Collins is dead, got damn near cut in half on that last pass. Who am I speaking to?”
“I’m Jack… Jack Strong.”
“Oh… the boy,” said Commander Stayton. He sounded like he came from New York or New Jersey or perhaps Staten island. Was there a slight Italian twang? “You got us into this mess, didn’t you?”
“No, I…”
“That’s Stormborn’s story anyway, but I don’t put much store on what he says, hasn’t been the same since Fallujah. Anyhow, how can I be of assistance?”
“Actually, it’s us that can help you. We need to co-ordinate our efforts, plan our attacks. Can you get in touch with the President?”
“Why? What do you want?”
“I need to talk to her. The Asvari are picking us off one by one, from the looks of it each country is concentrating on fighting their own battles. We need to come together and pool our resources, we need to bring our numerical superiority to bear and then crush them.”
Silence. Was he going to listen?
“I’ll… I’ll see what I can do. It won’t be easy and might take a long time. A lot of our satellites were knocked out in the first wave; we’ve been playing catch-up ever since.”
“Tell me about it,” said Jack.
“Jack, look’s like we’ve got company,” said Gaz. “There.”
Jack looked towards the blurry horizon. A horde of silver daggers arced towards them, skimming over the waves.
“Looks like we’ve got trouble,” he said.
“Yep, they’ve appeared on our radar too. Damn quick those things.”
“Yes, they are. Be ready.”
“For what? You’re just a boy, this is war son…”
“Yes, and now it’s my war too. Look after your men and do your duty, we will help you out as best we can.”
Jack dived steeply through the clouds, hitting the ocean at hundreds of miles per hour. As soon as he cleared the underside of the Iwo Jima he rammed down on the accelerator and pulled their saucer up into a sharp climb. The moment they burst clear of the surface he opened fire, riddling the lead Asvari saucer with a hail of weapons’ fire. It exploded instantly, its flaming carcass sizzling beneath the waves. Then he banked right, then left, firing in all directions. Another exploded, then another. Silver confetti rained down over the sea below. Then a missile streaked through the clouds spearing a saucer. Smoke, fire and death. More missiles followed. More explosions. Death was everywhere. Zap. Zap. Zap.
Still the saucers came. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. There were too many of them. They were being overwhelmed. They were hit once, twice, three times. His side stung from the pain. From somewhere far-off he could hear yelling, smell smoke. It was all over. They’d fought bravely, valiantly, but it hadn’t been enough.
The sky ahead of them exploded with a barrage of lightning. He closed his eyes. He hoped it wouldn’t be too painful. When he opened them again the sea burned and frothed. Thirty flying saucers lay cut to shreds, smoking pyres to the God of War. He was about to ask the Commander what had happened when a huge dark shadow passed across his view. It was shaped like a huge, flying triangle.
A TR3-b.
Earth’s premier defence force, capable even of interstellar travel. So, they had appeared at last. The President had to be getting desperate, this was their last hope, their last throw of the intergalactic dice. He hoped her gamble had paid off…
A storm of blue light suddenly cut across his vision as the TR3-b in front of him evaporated in a shower of sparks and flames. The others in the squadron tried to take evasive action. But they weren’t quick enough, their hulls exploding in gouts of flame and smoke as a million blue daggers rained down from an angry black sky.
Jack turned around and looked towards the hazy sun. A silver dart graced the skies like a demon, spurting fire and blood and mayhem. More TR3-bs exploded, their maydays going unanswered, their ejection pods riddled with sonic cannon fire. The sea frothed and bubbled. Then the Iwo Jima cracked in two like a loaf of bread, metal crumbs spraying everywhere, followed by the rest of the destroyers. The clouds were red with fire. Destruction unparalleled, destruction unimaginable, destruction modus operandi. It was all over.
Earth had lost.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Deception Point
Crack.
Ros’ fist collided with bone, tissue.
Vyleria’s nose broke instantly, blood gushing from her nostrils in torrents. She slumped to the floor bonelessly. Had he hit her too hard? She was making a faint gurgling sound, like dishwater going down a drain. He didn’t want to hurt her, but this was the only way.
“Leave us!” he said to the guards flanking her. “I need to speak to her. Alone.”
“But we have express orders from Ren,” said the tallest of the two. His teeth glistened like diamonds.
“To stay with the prisoner at all times, yes. I know. And you will do from the corridor. Watch from a monitor if you like…”
“But…”
“Listen to me,” said Ros. “Ren has just engaged Earth’s main fleet. Jack and his friends have escaped, and she is our only conduit to him. We may be able to use her for leverage, for information…”
“Then why hasn’t Ren…”
“Look at it!” said Ros, pointing towards the view screen. Earth was a cauldron of fire and smoke. Explosions blossomed across the surface like flowers on a garden. Ships and planes danced about each other like swarms of demented flies. It was a massacre, a genocide, Armageddon. “Do you think Ren has the time to give the likes of you detailed orders? He is fighting a war. For us. What are you doin
g?”
“We…”
“This is your chance to help Ren, to help him win the war and enslave humanity. Use your initiative. He’ll thank you for it, you’ll be rewarded…”
“And we can watch everything you do from the monitor?”
“Of course.”
“And you’ll tell Ren all about it, that we helped?”
“That, I promise.”
“Very well. You have five minutes.”
“What?”
“And not a minute longer. We are enjoying our time with her. She’s an interesting subject. She’s resisting quite well. Like them,” said the Asvari, looking at Earth, columns of smoke blotting its clouds, a myriad battles underway. “But in the end…”
“They all fall,” said his companion.
“Exactly.”
“After Earth, Elaria will be next. We need to cleanse them of their humanity, the whole galaxy reeks of it.”
“Yes,” the other guard purred, gripping his rifle tighter than ever. “Like cutting cancer. You have five minutes, no more.”
“Fine,” said Ros, glaring as the two soldiers stomped from the room like a couple of space Nazis, all teeth and eyes and murderous intent. What had the Asvari come to? From peaceful explorers and scientists to dispensers of Armageddon in a few decades. They deserved the Scourge. Perhaps it was the only way to cleanse them of their madness.
Ros smiled at Vyleria’s beaten face as his right fist scrunched up for another thunder stroke. It flew through the air like a cannon ball.
His blow never landed.
When his fist was about half way the spaceship disappeared, the control room suddenly flooded with planets, stars and moons. Heaven…
“Vyleria,” he said, looking at the soggy lump of flesh and blood floating before him. “Are you awake?”
He knelt down, fingers reaching for her shoulders, the base of her neck.
She came alive in a whirlwind of movement, her left fist connecting first with his jaw, then his forehead, then his ribs. A boot to the chest followed, sending him flying. Then she was in the air, landing back down on him like a comet, all red, glowing eyes and wild, teethy fury.
“Vyleria!” he shouted, rolling out of the way at the last moment. “Stop. Please listen to me. We don’t have much time. I can explain everything.”
Still she came at him, her fists and feet unrelenting, like a tsunami.
“Vyleria!”
“YOU BETRAYED US!” she shouted. “WE WERE YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR SHIPMATES!”
“I still am.”
“LIAR!”
One of her fists collided with his nose, then his neck. She jumped on top of him, pummeling his face with blows. Over and over. “Why don’t you fight back?” More punches. Slap. Crack. Crunch.
“Because I don’t need to,” he said, slipping from her grasp like a ghost.
He moved like the solar wind, re-appearing behind her a moment later.
“How did you do that?” she asked. “That’s not…”
“Possible?”
“Yes,” she said, gasping, her anger dissipating to a slow boil. “You move…”
“As quick as I want to in here,” he said, his face returning to normal.
“Here?”
“You didn’t think we were actually in space, did you?” said Ros, twirling a lump of moon rock in his hand.
“Well then where are we?”
“In here,” he said, touching his forehead with his finger. “In my brain, in my consciousness.”
“What?”
“It’s the only way I can contact you without the guards listening in, without them noticing anything. As far as they are concerned I’m about to punch you. I still am…”
“So you’re in my mind?”
“No, I’ve pulled your consciousness into mine. It was the only way. But that doesn’t matter now. Vyleria, I need you trust me. I’ve not betrayed you, I never have, I couldn’t even if I tried.”
“Then how do you explain this?” she said, pointing at a dim blue world snaked with fire.
“I…”
“Go on,” she said, clenching her knuckles again. They blossomed like purple volcanoes. They were about to erupt again.
“It’s all my fault,” he said. “I needed the ship to help save my people from Ren. Without it we would be enslaved forever. But this wasn’t my plan, it wasn’t supposed to end up like this. Jack…”
“But Earth…”
“Was going to be attacked anyway. Not even I could have stopped that. Besides, I was the one who convinced Ren to enslave Earth in the first place, rather than just annihilate them. He thinks that it’s the ultimate punishment, the supreme act of revenge, but in actual fact…”
“It’s murder. Genocide. And from what I hear from the guards, Elaria is next.”
“No, it’s bought time for both of you. We can still win this, I know we can. Ren is distracted, trying to wipe out Earth’s forces ship by ship. His psyche won’t permit anything else. Look, you’ve got to trust me on this.”
“What is your plan then?” asked Vyleria after a few seconds. Her knuckles were just the usual lava colour now. Still, they looked red hot.
“I’m going to fight him.”
“Who?”
“Ren.”
“Ros, you don’t stand a chance, he’s too powerful. I’ve seen him in action. He can kill people just by looking at them, his mind…”
“I’m going to try and evade his controls and get the spaceship to upgrade my mind. That way I may just stand a chance.”
“This is madness. You’ll die.”
“Jack didn’t think so.”
“Jack,” she spat. “He’d go along with anything you say.”
“Perhaps, but he knows it’s our best, our only option. There was a time Vyleria when you would have seen things just like him. What’s happened to you?”
“I…”
“Look, I don’t expect you to agree with me and besides, I don’t need you to.”
“What?”
“All I need from you is your resistance, your spirit. Don’t give in Vyleria. Don’t let them win. I’ll rescue you, I promise. In the meantime, this should help.”
Ros waved a hand over her forehead. Her skin rippled with electricity.
“What was that?” she gasped. “I feel… stronger.”
“That should ease your pain for a while, and your brain has been harmed, tampered with. What’s he done? I didn’t realise he’d touched you so deeply. This… this is not right. Something’s wrong...”
“What… what is it?”
“I’m sorry Vyleria, I can’t explain. I’ll tell you later. I’ve got to go now, whilst there’s still time. Earth doesn’t have long left. Resist Vyleria. Resist. Resist with all you’ve got. Don’t let them win.”
Ros’s fist collided with Vyleria’s cheek, knocking her to the floor of the control room. The room span, swayed. The pain flickered for a while and then faded out. The stars had gone, the planets and moons too. It was just cold, hard reality now. She wanted to be sick. She prepared for another assault only to see Ros turn heel and head towards the corridor.
Alone.
Again.
The two Asvari soldiers approached, grins etched on their faces like bloody knives. They came her at her all once, butting her with their laser rifles, spitting at her, mocking her, kicking her whilst she was down. Still the pain was kept at bay, but not the humiliation, not the shame. They came at her like a wave, constant and overwhelming. She had to hold on. She had to.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ros Version 2.0
Ros checked to see that the corridor was empty and then slid into the room.
The moment he entered, the cream white walls were transformed into a giant operating theatre with a huge floating bed in the middle, together with a variety of flashing instruments.
It was time.
Ros lied down on the bed and closed his eyes, willing the spaceship to click into action and perform the
necessary procedures. Everything would be alright so long as Ren hadn’t blocked him from accessing the med room’s facilities.
He waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. No med lasers whirred into action, no diamond scalpel whooshed down from the ceiling to cut into his skull. Perhaps Ren didn’t trust him after all…
Suddenly there was a flash of intermittent bright light. He froze. He couldn’t move. He was paralysed. He sensed something else in there with him. Ren?
He managed to force open his eyelids. A bright figure the colour of sunshine was stood over him. He wanted to yell out and scream, to fight, to struggle, but no sound came out. He was completely helpless, motor neurons stuck in a traffic jam half way up his arm.
The figure came closer, a blizzard of lights flickering behind it. It reached out a hand, grasping first his skull, then his brain. He could feel it touching it, molding it… what was that?
A pitched whine sounded, then there was another flash. He opened his eyes.
The figure was gone, the room was empty, like it had never been touched. What had happened to him?
Then he felt the power rush through him, surging like a flood. Something was different. But what? It didn’t matter. He could tell that he’d changed, really changed. Ren stood no chance now. It was time for battle, for war. He only hoped that the council would listen to his request.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Mind War
“The answer is no. We will not help the humans,” said a bodiless voice.
“But we must,” said Ros, staring blankly at the glimmering stars.
Beneath him the battle raged on Earth. Cities floundered, burned, people died. Millions of them.
“But they’re human,” said another voice. “Have you forgotten that? They’ve oppressed us for almost a century now. They’ve fired on our ships, stolen the ones they shot down, imprisoned our pilots, your father among them…”
“Yes, I know that, but…”
“But what? What’s changed?” said the first Asvari, voice clanging like a bell.
“They have. Some of them anyway, Jack especially. If you would allow me to mind-merge with you, you could sense him, see him as I do.”
Jack Strong: Dark Matter Page 15