Intersect

by M C I Hinchliffe

  "Free the truth of Valour." Counselled the voice.

  Ryan withheld the urging from the bracelets as long as possible. As the insanity invaded his mind, his willpower gave way and the power of Rings of Karn was unleashed. Within a millisecond, the onslaught was stopped and titanic power of the Bracelets fought back. Ryan initially had no control over what they did and instinctively they proceeded without guidance. Ryan's nervous system was immediately returned to normal and the oncoming madness was subsided. The bracelets omitted a mighty surge of power that obliterated the machine and splintered the transparent shield that separated the two rooms. Fragments of crystal impaled the two operators, while the blast threw Bane to the floor.

  The walls to the interrogation room began to bow under the pressure of the incredible energy, then quickly gave way and shattered like a giant ceramic pot. From the destruction numerous fires started that shed the scene in a blanket of red and yellow light. With all his mental strength, Ryan controlled the power of the Rings. "Back off Valour!"

  "This place reeks of evil, it must be destroyed!" The voice retorted.

  "Let me deal with it my way. Now back off."

  "Yes my Liege." The sphere of light that engulfed his body retracted to the bracelets, leaving his silver-black suit to glow abnormally.

  His first instinct was to destroy Bane while he had the chance, but the thought of Katie overwhelmed his mind. Instantly, her whereabouts were revealed to him. Ryan looked to his right and magically his vision penetrated many layers of ceramic-alloy walls and presented an image of her struggling for breath in a gas filled cell. The knowledge of Katie's impending death pushed the thought of Bane's demise aside and he headed in the direction of Katie's image. Ryan passed through the walls like a phantom and while going through a room full of armed soldiers, he stole a laser machine gun as he went. The soldiers in their surprise, fired upon him but he was too quick for them to get a good shot. When he came to the wall of Katie's cell, Ryan halted his phantom trek and considered his next move. If he passed through the wall and rescued her from the deadly gas, later she would ask complicated questions that he couldn't answer. The Rings must be kept secret, even from Katie. He closed his eyes and sent a mental message to her, "Katie, go to the far side of the cell and get down on the floor. I'm blasting through the back wall."

  Katie struggled for air as the gas filled the room. She laid on the floor where the last remanence of air remained and tried to breathe as shallowly as possible. Why she went to such lengths to preserve her life for just a few more seconds, she couldn't understand. As far as the world was concerned she was dead anyway, never to see her family or friends again. There was no hope of escape now that Ryan had foolishly surrendered and by now he would be dead. The last of the oxygen was now being polluted with the gas and she could taste the stale presence in her mouth. Katie began to cough violently and unconsciousness was taking hold. A voice spoke to Katie in her semi-dream state, "Katie, go to the far side of the cell and get down on the floor. I'm blasting through the back wall." It was Ryan's voice, he must be talking to her from the spirit world. With the remanence of her consciousness, the words played back in her mind like a broken record and for some reason she obeyed the words. Slowly, Katie crawled to the far corner of the cell.

  Ryan deactivated the Rings of Karn and pointed the gun at the wall. With it set on high, he fired the weapon. The wall disintegrated into great shards and left a hole large enough to drive a car through. A waft of poisonous gas expelled from the cell and dissipated into the corridor, Ryan held his breath and went in. The gas stung his eyes and throat as he searched for Katie, he soon found a figure collapsed in the corner. Ryan picked her up in his arms and carried her out, then put her down, well clear of the deadly gas vapour. He checked for a pulse and was rewarded with a steady beat under his fingers, "Thank God you're alive!" Memories of his father’s death came flooding back as he revived Katie from her peaceful slumber. Her eyes slowly opened as a coughing fit attacked her. When it passed she looked up into Ryan's blue eyes.

  Katie threw her arms around him and the two clung in a warm embrace. "I thought you were dead and I lost hope...." The memory of the shattered ties with her previous life quickly invaded her mind with rage. She pushed him clear across to the other side of the corridor. "You bastard! Because of you I can never return home, you might as well have left me in there to die!"

  Ryan was stunned at first, but the impending peril that was about to pursue them broke his trance. "Katie, my intervention may have caused your death, but it didn't affect your future. I know what the future is and what is happening now is a part of the normal future. Your death at Hill Lane was supposed to happen as well as all this. Despite what Bane says, I haven't changed the future!"

  "It still doesn't change the fact that I can't go home."

  "No, you can't go back, but you can go forward. Come with me and start a new life in a world that's more fantastic that you could ever imagine. You could help save the whole planet from destruction."

  "From what I heard you have little chance of succeeding."

  "Bane is an insane fool. My chances of defeating the Warrians are far greater that he realises...." He stood up and held out his hand. "....Come with me!"

  Katie sat there, confused and angry. It was the sound of marching footsteps echoing in the corridor that made Ryan's words sink in. She didn’t know who to believe but her heart she did trust in, and it said to trust Ryan. She reached out and grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet and led her down the corridor. As he led her through many corridors and around several turns, Katie began to wonder at the complexity of the base and where the hell Ryan was headed. "Where are we going?"

  "When they were taking me to the interrogation centre, I noticed a weapons locker on the way. One gun won't be enough to get us out." After another left turn he stopped in front of a heavily armoured door. "Here it is."

  "How are we going to get in?" Asked Katie.

  "The same way I got you out." Ryan aimed the gun at the door, then turned and fired at the wall beside it. Again the wall gave way and revealed the room behind it, while the sturdy door remained intact. They stepped into the room and Ryan quickly surveyed the weapons before him. He tossed the laser machine gun to the ground, then gave Katie two identical weapons. From a silver case he pulled four tennis ball sized spheres and handed them to Katie as well.

  "What are these?"

  "Grenades." He turned to her as she was stuffing them in her coat pockets and took the last one from her hand. He pointed to a flush button on the top. "You press this in as far as it will go, then throw it as hard as you can. You've got five seconds before it blows." he returned it to her, then grabbed the gun and explained its functions. "This is the safety switch here, red means on. The buttons on the top are the power level selector, leave it on low for now." From another silver box next to the first, he removed two rectangular cartridges. "These are the energy refills, when this light on the gun begins to flash, it means you’re running low on power. You remove the old from the bottom and lock in the new, this button to load, then you're ready to rock and roll. The rest I think you can work out for yourself." He seemed to be looking for something in particular, then he stopped. "Bingo!" Ryan reached for a metre long rectangular box at the far end of the weapons room and slung it over his shoulder.

  "What's that?"

  "The Key to the front door."

  The sound of approaching soldiers told them it was time to make a hasty retreat, they left the weapons room and headed down the corridor.

  ********************

  Bane rose from under the splintered shards to his feet. This was one time he was thankful for the metallic skin he possessed. He looked over the shattered remains of the interrogation centre and wondered what happened. Where did Ryan get the bomb to cause such destruction, he was well searched previously? If it were a bomb, Ryan would have been blown apart and his remanence would be sprawled across the room, but there were none. The
only possible conclusion was a new form of weapon that Ryan kept secret from Bane and wisely at that. Such a destructive device would be extremely useful. Bane's concentration was broken as several soldiers stormed the room.

  "What happened General, is Williams dead?" Asked the Captain.

  "No, he has escaped. Send every available man after him. I want him dead or alive and inform the heads of staff to meet me in my throne room." A distant explosion echoed through the complex. "That means NOW Captain!"

  ********************

  Professor Bane entered the throne room and sat upon the large ornate chair. He bent over and rested his large metal head on his alloy hand and considered the dire situation he was now in. Ryan had escaped with the means of some mysterious weapon and was loose in the complex. While he was within the confines of the force field, Intersect would restrain from blasting the complex off the face of the planet. There was no risk of a rescue attempt because the only way past the field was a blast and that would kill everyone within, so he had to keep Ryan inside. The next question was how he could escape? The field was impenetrable with the weapons that Bane possessed and the only point that the field could be deactivated was the front entrance. These doors were constructed of a virtually indestructible ceramic alloy that only the most powerful of weapons could destroy and such weapons were mounted on the Starfighters in the hanger.

  Bane's concentration was broken by the entrance of his heads of staff that numbered five in all. One stood out from the rest who was in his fifties, tall and physically fit with grey hair. He was ranked, Commander in Chief and was first to speak. "General Bane, we have heard the news of Williams's escape and all available men are searching the complex. There has also been a breakout in cell twenty two where the prisoner was being executed."

  "No doubt it was Williams. Was her body recovered?"

  "No, he must have saved her before the gas did its work."

  "Good, this may work to our advantage. She will slow him down and make his escape more difficult. While he is kept within the force field, we are safe from the Endeavour's guns. If by some miracle he gets out, we must be ready for an immediate evacuation."

  "Yes General. Commander Drake, see to it immediately." Ordered the Commander in Chief.

  "Yes Sir." Answered one of the four behind him, then promptly left.

  "Now, where would our friend Williams be heading to next?" Inquired Bane.

  "The main force field as you know, can only be deactivated by yourself, General. So the hanger control centre where he could deactivate the force field across the entrance would be the most likely destination." Replied the Commander in Chief.

  "Yes. Disconnect the power source to the doors and triple the guards at the control centre and through the hanger complex."

  "See to it, Commander Marcus." Again, ordered the Commander in Chief.

  "Yes Sir." Marcus followed his comrade out. On his way out, he passed an exhausted Captain that ran into the throne room.

  "General Bane, I have news of Williams's escape." The Captain panted.

  "Yes, what is it?"

  "He has broken into a weapons room on level three and taken several guns and ammunition. Amongst them was our only T-one-thousand, Megagun."

  "General, the T-one-thousand is possible of penetrating the main doors. If he can shut down the field, he could still make his escape." Said the Commander in chief.

  "Then we must to stop him...." He rose from his seat and slammed his fist on the throne arm. "....and that means dead or alive, Commander!" Shouted Bane as he tried to control his anger.

  "By your command, General." The Head of staff left the throne room to Bane's silent thoughts. As he sat upon his endangered throne, a single intruder entered the room of Bane's brooding.

  "General Bane," said Agent Jones cautiously.

  "Yes, what is it?" He snapped. His cold eyes stared into the distance as his mind was far away, contemplating his future actions.

  "I have fulfilled my part of the bargain and I am asking for the payment of my services." Jones rubbed his nervous, sweaty palms.

  The words caught Bane's attention and his anger. He stood from his throne and loomed over Agent Jones like an eagle over its prey and glared at him with the merciless orbs within his shiny bald head. "Agent Jones, did I ever tell you about your future?"

  "No, why? Is it about when I become rich and famous?" Jones asked as his greed infested his mind.

  "No. It’s about your death!" Bane pulled a laser pistol from his cloak and aimed at Jones's chest. "You went missing, presumed dead on the eleventh of April, nineteen ninety five. Which just happens to be today and as you know, the history records never lie." Bane pulled the trigger and a blast of energy struck Agent Jones's body.

  Jones erupted into a burst of fire and heat as his carcase was incinerated into ash. The pleasure of Jones's murder soothed Bane's cold heart and he burst into a deep and sinister laugh.

  ********************

  Katie and Ryan hugged the corridor wall, while Ryan cautiously poked his head around the corner. In his quick glance he saw two soldiers with their guns at the ready, guarding the entrance to the main hanger. He turned his head back to Katie.

  "From here on in the going gets rough, be ready for anything." Ryan stepped away from the corner and aimed at the opposite wall in the corridor where soldiers stood, then fired. The several beams shot to the wall and ricocheted down the corridor to where the guards stood, then he stormed down it with Katie right behind him. They were presented with two very dead guards, littering the hanger entrance.

  Katie looked at Ryan in amazement. "How did you do that?"

  "These walls will reflect any acute angled, laser blast."

  Katie looked at the weapon and considered how far out of her depth she was in this futuristic battle.

  Ryan peeked through the door to see several soldiers scurrying towards him. "Stay right behind me, they're everywhere out there." When the door opened Ryan fired in short bursts, then ran to the right. Katie was well trained in these situations and imitated Ryan's moves precisely. She may not be accustomed to these bazaar guns, but she was still an experienced Federal Agent.

  The hanger became a fireworks display with beams of red and blue energy being shot in all directions. Katie and Ryan dived behind a refuelling vehicle that became bombarded by laser blasts. Ryan was impressed with Katie's adaptation to the unfamiliar weapons she handled. In a matter of moments she was firing the laser machine gun with great accuracy and well grouped shots.

  Katie blasted two soldiers, then ducked behind the refuelling vehicle and turned to her comrade-in-arms. "I don't know about you, but staying here all day in this shoot out is not my idea of fun. Have you figured a way out yet or do we just stick around and get blown apart?" She said with a sarcastic tone.

  "Give me a break, I know as much about this place as you do and as you can see, there are no signs that say - way out."

  "Well you better think of something quick. What I can't figure out is why they don't use the grenades?"

  "It’s because of that," Ryan pointed up to the transporter that loomed over their heads. "They're afraid they might damage it." Ryan let out a few blasts then returned to the conversation. "The only way I know to get out is the way we came in. There must be a control centre for the main entrance somewhere?"

  "If I were Bane and there was such a place, I'd have a hundred guards around it to keep us from breaking in."

  Ryan smiled. "You’re not just a pretty face. Look up to your right."

  Katie let off some cover fire while she glanced up. On the second level on the opposite side of the hanger was a glass chamber with at least thirty guards surrounding it. She ducked down and turned back to Ryan. "How do we get up there?"

  Ryan looked about him for a solution and found a hover platform on the refuelling vehicle. He slid the half metre diameter platform to the ground beside him and examined the unit. On the control panel was a preset height level gauge that he then set
to ten metres and a speed gauge that he set to maximum. "Katie, this is a hover platform. When you hit this button, the unit will rise to the height of the second floor and to get back to floor level, use this button next to it. All you need to do is turn off the field generator for the front entrance and I will take care of the rest."

  "But I don't know how to turn off a field generator, or even what one is?"

  "I didn't build this place, so I don't know either. Use your initiative."

  "So what are you going to do while I'm risking life and limb?"

  "I'm going to draw all the fire and take care of guards outside of the control centre. I'm the one who will be risking life and limb.

  Katie fired again then returned to the conversation. "How are you going to overcome that army?"

  Ryan opened the box that he had on his shoulder and presented a long, robust weapon. "With this bad boy. The most powerful hand-held weapon ever made."

  "It looks like something that Arnold Schwarzenegger would use, only bigger." Katie said in astonishment.

  Ryan quickly assembled the tubular frame harness that aids the user in balancing against the recoil and strapped it on. Then he removed the Megagun from the case and locked it into the harness. After performing a brief systems check, he called out to Katie. "Okay, I'm ready."

  Katie looked at the weapon in puzzlement as she reloaded an energy pack. "I hope to God it works!"

  "When I start firing, count to three and run for it."

  "Okay."

  He stepped out from behind the now, charred refuelling vehicle and open fire. A mighty beam of energy shot from the weapon and destroyed everything in its path. Bodies, weapons and any other obstacle disintegrated into a fiery spray of debris. Gunfire from the upper levels caught his attention and he returned their attack with a greater ferocity. Grenades were tossed from all directions at him and with all the strength his legs could muster, he ran and dived behind the bow undercarriage of the transporter. Multiple explosions erupted from the hanger floor sending shrapnel in all directions. Ryan rose from behind the undercarriage and continued his wave of destruction. He downed walkways, catwalks and obliterated the surrounding structure in a display of searing fury.