Galactic Defenders- Perseverance

by Michael Mishoe

  ​“You will be purged!” the Destroyer roared in a ground-rumbling mechanical voice.

  It rammed its energy cannon into the Enforcer Pod’s side and fired at point-blank range. The Pod was completely destroyed from the blast, the shards scattering onto the remains of the station.

  ​Colonel Brown felt his heart sink to his stomach, but as the smoke from the blast cleared and the Destroyer turned its foreboding attention back towards them, it was then that everyone saw the pilot. Blitz, alive and well, stood peering up at the alien quizzically, just a few feet ahead. With a deep meow, Blitz bolted into action, racing towards the alien and running up its massive leg with his magnetic pads on his paws.

  ​Blitz raced too fast for the Destroyer to grab or smash him, taking advantage of holes that had opened up in the aliens’ armor, blasting his machine guns and mini-missiles at them. As the furry compatriot continued his attack, Brown forced himself to his feet and fired at the behemoth’s head. The shots managed to damage the targeting scope on its left eye, and the machine was knocked off balance.

  ​Blitz backflipped off the Destroyer as a grenade exploded on its chest. As it stumbled backwards, a massive Phantom Blade erupted out of its chest. The blade dematerialized, and the giant finally collapsed to the ground, revealing Victor behind it. As the beast lay still, he coolly walking over its back and he sliced the head off, permanently stifling the threat.

  ​As Victor slipped the Phantom Blade handle on his belt, Rogers stormed toward him.

  “Tell me, Victor, is there any reason you didn’t do that blade attack the moment those things hit the ground? Because I’m very sure I know what that is. And I think you going to want to hear it. Colonel Brown,” he said as he glanced at his commander.

  As it dawned on him, Brown stared down Victor, fully expecting his suspicions to be confirmed.

  ​Victor pulled off his helmet and mockingly stared back at Rogers with a small grin on his face. “Because, if you can remember, those things launched an attack so quickly I didn’t have time to perform a long-range attack, and when I tried to get up close and personal, they swatted me like a fly. And, I couldn’t have known that Stone’s mighty techno-arrows wouldn’t be tough enough to take down those things,” he said as he glared at Stone, who looked ticked off enough to shoot a few arrows through him.

  ​Victor smirked and continued. “But, since both I, and apparently everyone else in our group, knows the real reason, I’ll just go ahead and tell you: I waited because I wanted to see what those things were made of. Pretty formidable, actually.”

  Rogers’ face flushed hot red with anger as he fumed from the confrontation and his hands shook as he clenched them into fists.

  ​ Calm down kid, Brown advised in his head, wishing he could speak telepathically. Don’t make this worse than it already is.

  ​He knew from Rogers’ and Aru’s records that they had served in the same squad for several years with each other and from personal experience, he knew losing someone in your unit was just as bad as losing a part of your closest family. Aru’s death weighed heavily on him, along with Oakland, Fairchild, and all the volunteers fighting beside them.

  ​“You wanted to see how tough they were,” Rogers said, hatred dripping in every word. He clenched his fists and ground his teeth. “Victor, if you had struck first, you could have stopped them from killing him! This isn’t some game for you to test out your mettle! This is a war –”

  ​“Exactly,” Victor interrupted, the grin evaporated from his face. His eyebrows tightened together, his expression deadly serious. “This is a war. People die in war, if you haven’t already noticed. Even people you care about. If you can’t get that through your head, good luck trying to deal with all those emotions you will deal with. And by the way, though I may not have fought when you wanted me to, it was still me that saved your tails back there. You're welcome for that, by the way.”

  ​“Enough,” Brown said as he stepped between them. “Arguing among ourselves isn’t going to bring back the dead. Let’s fuel those emotions towards the aliens that did this to them. Agreed?”

  Rogers stiffly nodded and went back to retrieve his gear before they moved on to the next attack point.

  Turning his attention back to Victor, he said, “But don’t think this is over with you, snake boy. We’re going to have a long talk after this is over.”

  ​Victor’s wild grin returned to his face as he lifted the Serpent mask back onto his head. “I’m looking forward to it, sir. Now, if it so pleases you, let’s get back to shredding some aliens.”

  Location: Aboard the Ribiyar Warship Ji’Co, in orbit of Earth

  ​High above the North Pole, the flagship of the invasion, Ji’Co, sat silently among the stars, the colors of the Earth below reflecting brilliantly on the silver metal. The main saucer of the ship rotated slowly, with the orbiting engine rings periodically firing to keep the vessel secure in orbit.

  ​Deep inside Ji’Co, there was a small chamber, tucked away, and out of view. It was a small circular room with a control panel standing in the middle of the right half of it. In the wall was a device with several tubular neural-emitters that slithered on the surface of its inhabitant, feeding the subject every ounce of gruesome pain and feelings nearly beyond comprehension.

  ​The device was the one thing that Ribiyar feared most, the Oblivion Chamber.

  ​A sentence worse than death.

  ​The infamous traitor Cha’Hawk was imprisoned in one… and there was no escape.

  ​Images rushed past his eyes in a flurry of speed, as if competing to see who could show the most agonizing scene before the other. Some were fictional scenarios that the Chamber created. Tael’Cyrel Tak’Tora branding him for staging a rebellion against his rule. Incorrect reports he had submitted about enemy fleet movements, leaving the Tora Cyrel exposed and subsequently laid in ruins by attack. Faulty analysis of the organics forces’ tactics and movements, leading to the failure of the invasion.

  ​But other scenarios where all too real.

  ​His own clan refusing to accept his assistance as they forged their way to victory, honor, and glory. All of the pain he had endured through his previous battles, constantly reliving it in grueling and amplified detail due to the neural-emitters crawling all over his body. And his inability to bring the invasion to fruition as High Order Ki’Ra led them to certain defeat at the hands of the organics.

  ​And all at once, it stopped. At first, Cha’Hawk still saw only darkness, but his vision slowly returned as his optical systems came back online. And when he could see again, two other people had joined him. TelCon Zan’Tar, his former subordinate who had quickly thrown away his loyalty, stood at the console stand that control the Oblivion Chamber’s operations with Stealth Combatant Mi’Kel, the inky black coating on his armor seemingly consuming the light around him. He had once fought side by side with Cha’Hawk during many fierce battles.

  ​And, more recently, the reason that Cha'Hawk had been thrown into this torture.

  ​“Cha’Hawk, you are still functional,” Mi’Kel said matter-of-factly. “That is… satisfactory. It would not have boded well for those who served under you if you had already lost your mind only two rotations into your confinement.”

  ​“Better than you would be, old friend,” Cha’Hawk responded, his words dripping with disdain. “You would have been begging for mercy long before now. And you, traitor,” he continued, turning his attention to Zan’Tar, “you wouldn’t have even lasted ten tyca in this infernal machine.”

  ​“Well,” Mi’Kel said as he approached Cha’Hawk “It appears we won’t have to confirm that, will we? High Order Ki’Ra instructed me to inform you of the recent developments in the invasion. We have deployed squadrons of Lit’tra around the planet to assist in the global purge, and we’re are conducting a reclamation assault on Holding Facility Tri’La as we speak.”

  ​“If they continue to be as resourceful as they’ve been in the past,” Cha�
��Hawk said, “their force will stand no chance against the organics stationed at Tri’La. It would’ve been better to simply bombard them from orbit and be rid of them by now.”

  ​“That was not what the High Order has planned for them,” Mi’Kel countered. “He commands that they be hunted and brutally mutilated like they deserve to be, as the infestation that they are. And even if our forces are repelled at Tri’La, the organics will have felt the might of the Lit’tra and spread that terror throughout the rest of their people.” He turned his attention back to Zan’Tar. “The deserter has relished enough reprieve. Reinitialize the chamber, now.”

  ​As the neural emitters reactivated, Mi’Kel walked to the door, turning to look at Cha’Hawk before he left.

  “Farewell, old friend. Enjoy your sanity while you have it. I wouldn’t want you reduced to a deranged lunatic the next time we meet.”

  As Mi’Kel and Zan’Tar left the room, Cha’Hawk's vision faded, and he was blinded as he was once more brought into the depths of his inner mind, and the agonizing torment began anew.

  Chapter 4

  Date: July 13, 2132

  Location: U.S.S. Thunderfox, in proximity of Freedom Bound, the Defender-controlled holding facility positioned in the Atlantic Ocean

  ​“Take us in, weapons blazing!” Captain Syvon yelled, griping the armrests of his command chair.

  The Thunderfox accelerated and maneuvered toward a cluster of Ribiyar fighters assaulting Freedom Bound. Lava-red beams of energy shot out of the laser emitters on the hull of the Thunderfox, racing towards the Ribiyar craft and slicing them into hunks of metal.

  ​“All direct hits, Captain Syvon!” First Officer Commander Zhang Wei Ton reported from his station. “All ten of the fighters destroyed.”

  ​“Sir,” Communications officer Lieutenant Lucy Kael called from her station, “several Destroyers are storming the northern Freedom Bound facilities and are overwhelming the officers defending the area! Reinforcements are inbound, but they are not likely to arrive in time to stop them.”

  ​“Then let’s give them the time that they need!” Captain Syvon said. “Mooring, get us to those Destroyers, Kael make sure our boys down there know we’re coming, and Payton keep those fighters off our six and get the forward guns ready to blast them into scrap!”

  ​The ship soared towards the Destroyers. The Laser Array continued to blast away at the Ribiyar fighters swarming the area. Deftly maneuvering around the tall buildings, the Thunderfox swiftly arrived at the battle zone just as the five Destroyers finished incinerating everyone with their energy cannons.

  ​Syvon took a deep breath to steady himself. No matter how long you fought, slaughter was never something anyone got used to.

  Easy, Jim. There’s nothing you can do to save them. You can only ensure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

  ​Ensign Maria Mooring expertly spun the ship into a holding pattern in the air, giving Chief Payton the clear shot he needed. As the Laser Arrays kept firing at the swarming fighters, the Thunderfox’s front six cannons thundered as they let loose on the Destroyers below.

  The aliens buckled under the force of the firepower and were soon covered in the smoke and dust. On the screen, a digital overlay appeared as radar and heat seeking sensors tried to illuminate the area. The screen showed all the Destroyers slammed into the ground, but one of them began to move. It weakly hoisted up its massive energy cannon and began to shine as it powered up.

  ​“Evasive maneuvers!” Syvon yelled out.

  The ship lurched under him as a blast echoed in his ears.

  ​“Captain, engine three has been destroyed!” Commander Ton yelled over the sounds of the explosion and the commotion of the crew. “Our forward cannons are out of ammo and are reloading!”

  ​Syvon clenched his teeth in frustration. “Divert the Laser Array from the fighters and focus them on the Destroyers. Use our cannons to gun them down while the Array is occupied.”

  ​Diving forward as the ship moved into position, the Thunderfox’s Laser Array raked the surface, and cemented their destruction.

  ​“More hostiles inbound, nine o’clock!” Commander Tong called out.

  ​“After them!”

  The crew snapped back to their jobs, and the ship took off. On the forward screen, Syvon saw several more Destroyers soaring towards them, as well as another wave of fighters.

  ​“Evasive maneuvers!” Syvon yelled as the enemy opened fire and the Thunderfox rocked from the impacts. “Now, Ensign Mooring!”

  ​The young officer flipped up several switches on her console, and Syvon was pressed flat against his chair as the ship rocketed to maximum speed and gained altitude. The Laser Arrays lanced outward, chasing after the pursing aliens, but the Destroyers deftly dodged the weapons and fired their powerful energy cannons at the Thunderfox, blasting away the armored hull of the ship.

  ​Ordering Lieutenant Kael to open a communications channel, Syvon yelled into the mic near his chair, “Thunderfox to Freedom Bound! We are taking heavy fire from several Destroyers and can’t get them off our tail. We need your help!”

  ​“I hear you, Captain,” Vade weakly responded over the comm. “I am attempting to target the Destroyers with Freedom Bound’s weaponry, but I need to… to maintain the defensive perimeter. If I turned the cannons around to help you, the Ribiyar… would get the opening they need to wreak even more havoc.”

  ​The reality of what the Jack was saying weighed heavily upon him. Without assistance, the Thunderfox stood no chance against its pursuers.

  ​“So, there’s nothing you can do?”

  ​There was a pause over the comm and then, “There… is one alternative. For it to be successful, you must do precisely as I say.”

  Location: Aboard the Defender, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, near the island containing Freedom Bound, the Defender-controlled Holding Facility positioned in the Atlantic Ocean

  ​“Hard to starboard!” Captain Rickman ordered as Defender shook violently beneath him, struggling to endure the Ribiyar attack. “Fire a wide spread with the cannons on the bottom of the hull; target their engines and weapons. Show ‘em what this girl’s made of!”

  Though strapped into his chair, Rickman held tight as his ship banked sharply to the right.

  ​From the holographic display above the central console, he watched the ship unleashing its firepower on the three identical Ribiyar cruisers swarming around it. While the ship had managed to destroy three engines on one ship and two on another, but the damage was not severe enough to disable either vessel, and the Defender had taken a substantial beating from its opponents during the interim. Chief Lexton had done well to stabilize the ship’s systems as best she could, while the computer continued to send the Ribiyar’s spherical, six-armed repair drones to fix as much damaged components as possible.

  ​“Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Nickland called out from his station, “The fleet is in position and is ready to emit the EMPs on our command.”

  ​“Then by all means, let's fry those aliens. Lieutenant Ty, get us out of the range of those weapons!”

  ​Lieutenant Tucker Ty, a shorter man that was almost engulfed by his chair, responded, “You got it, captain! I recommend you guys hold on to something!”

  Moments later, the ship rocketed forward as the eight engines on the ship blasted at full thrust, throwing the crew against the backs of their seats.

  ​Clear of the blast radius, the fleet activated its EMP emitters, large petal-shaped sensor dishes placed on the hull. Powerful electro-magnetic pulses surged over the vessels, and the metallic surfaces sparked and flashed as its systems were compromised. For a moment, the three ships seemed frozen in the air before they plummeted into the ocean, crashing as a mangled mass of metal as they hit the water.

  ​“Good work, everyone,” Rickman said as the bridge crew cheered, watching the ships sink deeper in the water. “But we’re not out of the woods yet. Lieutenant Ty, get us back to Fre
edom Bound, ASAP!”

  Location: Unknown

  ​“I hope you know what you’re doing, Vade!” Captain Syvon yelled as the Thunderfox soared forward on the digital overlay before Jack. “If this doesn’t work, it’s safe to say I won’t be around long enough to clean up this mess.”

  The ship wove between the taller structures of Freedom Bound as fighters and Destroyers chased after them. Though the crew did their best to dodge the attacks, the Thunderfox was being hammered.

  ​Jack monitored the Thunderfox and its pursuers while still directing Freedom Bound’s weapons on the dwindling Ribiyar forces. Though he was solely concentrated on his task, he found it more and more difficult to maintain his focus. The damage to his neural systems during his last encounter with Freedom Bound’s computer was still lingering within him. The constant supervision of the base’s systems and weapons were draining him like a traveler in the Sahara being sapped of strength from the heat.

  ​“There is a sixty-three percent probability… that this will work, Captain Syvon,” Jack weakly spoke through the comm channel to the ship. “I admit… that does not guarantee its success, but we are out… of other alternatives. And time.” Jack paused as he surveyed the information around him, and he continued, “I am ready for your arrival, Captain Syvon. Please… do not delay.”

  ​From the display around him, Jack saw the Thunderfox soar across Freedom Bound with the Destroyers and fighters closely following behind. Confirming that all the equipment was ready for action, all Jack could do was wait and hope his crazy plan would save them.

  Location: U.S.S. Thunderfox, in proximity of Freedom Bound, the Defender-controlled Holding Facility positioned in the Atlantic Ocean

  ​“Now, Mooring! Take us in!” Syvon shouted as the ship rocked under Destroyers’ fire.