“I won’t next time!” Jack yelled out. “That’s for sure!”
“You’re down to only one shot!” Steve roared. “Jenny only had a few shots left in that gun when she came in here. I’ve been counting them.”
“One shot is alI need!” Jack moved in the direction of Steve’s voice, but changed directions when another thought came to mind. “There is more than one way to skin a cat.”
Sound echoed throughout the room, the sound of cracking glass. Those things had almost eaten through the window facing the hanger. The loud buzzing had gotten even worse.
“Hear that!” Steve loudly said. “Those things are almost in here. They’ll kill us all. You’ve still lost.”
Jack had moved to another nearby table where his helmet was. “They’ll kill you and Jenny, but not me. I have an amplifier in my helmet.” He then put the helmet on his head. “I still win. I’ll regain control of the death sphere by remote control. I’ll put it on automatic and keep killing forever.” He pointed the gun at the cracking glass. “Well, Steve, face my wrath and all the powers of hell.” He fired the gun and the glass shattered. “My gift to you!”
Dozens of those creatures flew into the chamber like an army of bats. The sound of beating wings and that high-pitched buzzing became deafening.
Steve stayed low. He grabbed Jenny by the shoulders and pulled her backwards toward the rear elevator. As its doors closed, the last thing he saw was Diamond Jack running through the army of space bugs and vanishing into the hanger.
***
Diamond Jack climbed into the alien craft and closed the cockpit lid. It automatically sealed shut. Outside, dozens of those flying creatures swarmed about like a giant hive of bees. Many of them were slamming into each other because their eyes had not become accustomed to the darkness yet.
He looked about the small cockpit and realized how much it was like the jet fighter from his training school. The joystick, control panel, and even the throttles were all the same as a fighter jet’s interior. During the last few years, through reverse engineering and structured design, the USG had merged alien technology with human engineering. This hybrid craft allowed ordinary men to easily fly a spacecraft that was hundreds of years more advanced than anything man had today.
He flicked on the power switch and watched the control panel light up like a Christmas tree. All of the digital dials and monitors appeared on the flat panel in front of him. It was just like a touch-screen computer—just point and click. He then turned the dial on top of the joystick and switched on the lift switch. The craft’s engine immediately started vibrating.
Seconds later, the craft’s engine emitted a high-pitched whine as the vehicle lifted off. As the craft started moving up the hanger chimney, Jack looked onto the control panel and activated the vehicle’s weapons system. Of the list of devices that appeared on the panel, he chose the pulse cannons. He then pressed the red button and two bolts of energy blasted the iron doors at the top of this chamber into pieces. The craft then blew through the opening and into the outside world.
The sun had come up and the sky was free of clouds. The early morning haze was also evaporating. Everything was perfectly clear.
“Now, to get a good view from the top,” Jack whispered. He then pulled back on the joystick, and the craft shot straight up at a super speed. Within less than five seconds, the craft had leveled off at ninety thousand feet and hovered in a perfectly stationary position. From this height, the world looked like a map with tiny specks of cars moving down cracks in the landscape. In fact, he could even see the Red River to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the distant south. “Well, let’s see where all of the hiding places for the USG are.”
He entered in a search code on the keyboard and let the on-board computer tabulate the data. Within seconds, he discovered that the cockpit windshield lid was also a view screen. Several structures in the distance were highlighted. Information about the size and distance of these buildings scrolled down beside each digital print. There were ten USB targets in all.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Steve kicked opened the door to Neil’s private control room. He was carrying Jenny in his arms. “Hey, I need help!”
Eddie leaped up from the console chair in front of the computer workstation and moved toward them. “Wow, a lot has happened while you two have been down in the lower chambers. The air force tried to shoot down that death sphere and nothing happened. The missiles did no damage. That sphere must be made out of the same material that the ship on the moon is. It’s all over the news. The fighter jets are still in the air too. According to the radio reports, they’ve been told to shoot down anything that’s not military. The no-fly zone covers the entire Dallas area. Several more jets are on the way too.”
Steve laid Jenny down across the couch. “I don’t have time to hear any of that.” He turned and moved over to the computer console. “She’s in deep shock. Tend to her until we can get out of this hellish place.”
“Where’s Neil?” Eddie asked, covering Jenny with a blanket that had been draped over a nearby table. “The chamber was too dark for me to see much from the security cameras before you two got there.”
Steve sat down at the console and started punching computer keys. “The man is dead, okay? Diamond Jack murdered him.”
“Oh my God!” Eddie blurted. “You know, that maniac took off in that alien ship that was in the hanger. That thing is already operational. The craft is currently hovering at about a hundred thousand feet over Dallas. Just look at the monitor.”
“Never mind all of that, we have to stop that fool from laying waste to everything. He plans to regain control of that orbiting death sphere from the craft he’s in. Then he plans on putting that weapon on automatic. If he achieves his goal, that thing will orbit the Earth and randomly blast objects on the ground for months—possibly even years to come.”
“Good God!” Eddie blurted. “How do you plan on stopping him?”
“Maybe I can contact the military. Perhaps they’ll shoot down his craft before he can electronically link into the sphere. In fact, according to this monitor, they’re already on their way.”
Steve looked back at the computer. The monitor showed three fighter jets were fast approaching the alien spacecraft. The screen also showed that these fighters were armed with armor-piercing missiles. “How fast can that alien ship move?”
“It can go much faster than any jet,” Eddie replied. “It can also go much higher too, clear into space.”
“What about missiles?” Steve questioned. “Can that thing avoid a high-velocity missile?”
Eddie dropped his head. “I don’t know. Besides, that craft could have on-board weapons that we’ve never seen before. I hope that’s not the case, but we simply don’t know. I also don’t know if Diamond Jack has had time to learn to use everything on that craft either.”
There was suddenly the sound of movement in the vent system above their heads. It was quite loud as that familiar buzzing sound became apparent too. Even the ceiling was vibrating under the weight of hundreds of those creatures.
Steve looked up and then back at Eddie. “Oh that reminds me, the jets will be here in a few moments to drop the Termicide. With the outside vents open, the gas will be sucked down here and soon kill us all!. We will have to be out of here by then.”
Eddie stood up and approached the computer workstation. “Let me handle this. I know a lot about this alien system.”
Steve moved back over to where Jenny was and leaned over to attend to her. “Let the air force know about the alien craft Diamond Jack has stolen. If they can shoot that thing down, maybe we’ll prevent the rest of this stuff from happening.”
“It’s already done,” Eddie replied. “I sent a message to Central Command shortly before you two got here. The fighter jets are closing in on Diamond Jack as we speak. Just sit and watch. History is in the ma
king.”
***
Diamond Jack gazed down at the vast city below. All ten of the USG buildings had been clearly identified. He’d already made the decision to take each one out individually. Yes, the world would know what he was doing and why. He’d start with the most distant building first and work his way back to the secret center below. By then, his little creatures of destruction would have swarmed out to begin their own reign of terror.
A yellow button on the control panel behind the joystick started flashing and beeping. The craft’s alert system was picking up something moving his way.
He switched on the view screen’s directional scanner and let the alien computer identify the new threat. The three approaching jets were closing in. Their speed and direction were tabulated by the computer. Next, the computer calculated the most logical method of counter attack. He quickly put the vehicle on automatic and leaned back in his seat. Now, all he had to do was point and click. The craft would do the rest. “Okay, let’s play!”
The craft shot forward at super speed, pulled straight up, did a complete loop in the sky, and quickly moved in behind the jets. Jack turned a dial on top of the joystick and zeroed in on two of the jets. He then pressed the red button in the center of the joystick. A pulse gun under the craft rapidly fired several bolts of energy into the two jets. They were both blasted to pieces.
The third jet moved off to the left and started descending rapidly. The alien craft locked on to the aircraft and quickly began to overtake it. Jack smiled as the fleeing jet came within view. He turned the dial on the joystick and watched a schematic diagram of the plane appear on the forward windshield. He pressed the red button again. The aircraft ahead suddenly became a fireball of flaming debris.
Diamond Jack laughed to himself. “This is like shooting fish in a bucket. I never thought that war could be put on cruise control.”
The yellow light started flashing again. The craft’s defense system had picked up six more objects moving its way. These objects were moving very fast and coming from different directions.
Jack looked closely at the view screen as the images were identified. “Missiles, huh!” he whispered. He then pulled up a list of counter attack options from the computer’s digital list. There were twelve possible choices. He looked down the list and randomly selected choice three. “Let’s see what this does.”
Six baseball-sized metal spheres were fired from the pulse cannon under the craft. They all moved off in different directions to intercept the approaching missiles. While moving at close to three thousand miles per hour, they easily caught up to the missiles and attached to their metal skin. Seconds later, they exploded and blasted the missiles to pieces.
Jack smiled again as the craft shot forward at greater speed. The view screen indicated that the vehicle’s defense system had locked onto the source of the missile attack. Within seconds, the craft had crossed the Dallas area and was fifty miles out over the country. Under light cloud cover, he spotted a bomber jet heading south. This type of aircraft was commonly used to carry long-range missiles. “So, you thought that you could put something by me.” He pressed the red button again. “So long, suckers.” The bomber exploded into a bright fireball and then crashed into a field. From the cockpit window, Jack could see cows and other farm animals running from the crash site. He smiled when he looked at the view screen again. The area for over a hundred miles in all directions was clear again.
“Now, let’s get back to business.” He took the craft off the automatic defense system mode and again focused on the original mission. He pulled back on the joystick and the craft shot off at amazing speed once more.
***
Steve’s fists balled up in anger at what he’d just witnessed on the screen. “What can be done to stop him? Eddie, do something—anything!”
Eddie stared into the computer screen. “I can’t. That craft is much faster than anything we have and has weapons that the military can’t even begin to touch.” He started punching keys again, hoping to find a weakness in the craft’s structure or something. “Maybe I’ll find something in the craft’s original design. I’m pulling up that ship’s blueprints now.”
“What about fuel?” Steve questioned. “I mean, he’ll have to land eventually when that craft runs out of fuel, right?”
“Not likely. The vehicle was designed for space travel. Its power source comes from a type of anti-matter battery that actually recharges itself. That thing can run non-stop for years. Also, the cockpit is somehow sealed from outside forces. In other words, Diamond Jack can turn that craft at ninety-degree angles while traveling at thousands of miles an hour without the G-forces killing him. What he’s got is unreal.”
“What about another craft like that one?” Steve questioned. “I know that the military has at least one other.”
“According to the military records, this is the only one that’s operational. The other one was too badly damaged in the Roswell crash to be of any use. Besides, it has taken over forty years of reverse engineering to make this one work. And Diamond Jack is the only one who has been able to make that craft work effectively.”
“Damn!” Steve yelled.
***
Diamond Jack looked out the front window and down at the first target. He turned the dial on the joystick and pressed the red button. The energy guns started blazing. Instantly, the USG research plant exploded into a raging fireball. He fired again just to make sure that maximum damage was done. Fire engulfed the landscape for blocks in all directions.
He pulled back on the joystick and caused the craft to zip away at super speed. Within less than a minute, he was two hundred miles further south and approaching his next target. He moved the joystick to the right, causing the craft to turn at a ninety-degree angle at a seemingly impossible speed. He pushed down on the control stick once more. Target two was coming up fast. “The USG’s primary manufacturing plant,” he whispered. “It’s time to erase that building from the map for good.” He pressed the red button. The factory below vanished in a mushroom cloud of black smoke and fire. “Well, I now have only eight more targets to go.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Steve eyes closed in frustration and then opened again. The image on the large monitor in the front, as well as on Eddie’s workstation, was a horror show. It was like watching death on television and not being able to do anything about it. “Is there nothing you can do?”
Eddie stared into the monitor while tapping on the keyboard once more. “That craft is too fast for anything the air force has. The blueprints show that the flying sausor is combat – ready and heavily armed. But we already knew that. I’m afraid that this is a hopeless situation.”
Steve sighed, his mind trying to come with something that everyone had overlooked. Maybe, he could distract this maniac long enough for a new plan to be conceived—and he knew just how. “Can you patch into the network dish over in Cedar Hill from here?”
“What good would that do?”
“Can it be done!” Steve yelled. “I need an answer now!”
Eddie swallowed, caught off-guard by Steve’s sudden flash of anger. This man even briefly reminded him of Diamond Jack. He did not need to have a repeat of past events with this guy too. Just stay calm, he decided before answering again. “Yes, I believe so…”
“Get to it!” Steve snapped. He felt a little guilty about exploding on Eddie, but this was a dangerous time. However, he owed the man an explanation. “I’ll tell you as we go.”
“Okay…” Eddie replied, turning back around the recliner and punching keys again. “It will take a couple of minutes to get that dish aligned.”
Jenny moaned again and drifted back off. Her pulse was getting steadily weaker as her breathing started to slow down too. Her eyes were no longer responding to light either as Steve opened them.
While punching computer keys, Eddie briefly looked back an
d asked, “How is she doing?”
“Not well. I believe that she has some injuries inside, I’m not sure.” Steve lifted her head and put a pillow under it. “If we are to save her, I believe that it’ll have to be done fast.”
“I’ll be as fast as I can.” Eddie turned back around and looked into the monitor. “Once the dish is aligned, what then?”
“You can link up with that alien sphere by using the communication dish, right?”
“Oh yes,” Eddie said. “I may not be able to open up that ship, but I can control the machines that come out of it. In fact, it’s pretty easy.”
“Good. As soon as you can, move that sphere away from the Earth and toward the sun.”
Eddie smiled. “You are getting rid of that thing before Diamond Jack can use it again. That’s good thinking. But remember, once the sphere starts moving, an alarm will go off in the craft Diamond Jack is in. He’ll be headed back toward the sphere. In fact, he’ll be able to re- program it by remote control to start firing at targets on the ground long before it gets even close to the sun.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.”
Eddie looked back in shock, not quite believing his own ears. “I don’t understand what in the hell are we doing?”
Steve took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ve not gone crazy, just relax. As it stands now, a jet bomber is headed this way to drop the Termicide on this complex. However, Diamond Jack could destroy it from his super craft long before it gets here. Now, if we move the sphere into space, he’ll go after it to do the re-programming. You see, he can’t be in two places at once. We’ll give the military time to drop the Termicide and solve the problem of the space bugs. And knowing the military like I do, they’ll probably nuke that fool once he gets far enough into space.”
“There is still a risk. What if he doesn’t go for the bait and destroys the bomber first? Secondly, we don’t know if the military will use a nuke this close to Earth’s atmosphere. Thirdly, if Diamond Jack does manage to re-program that death sphere, it will be zapping objects on the ground for who knows how long. Our entire civilization could be destroyed before we can find a way to stop it.”
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