by Marcus Sloss
They raced out of the room in their civilian clothes. Perci would know where the underclothing and gear was at. I went back into my combat gear and double-checked my armor. I was ready; time to find out for what.
CHAPTER 8
The display screen on my Gpad was pinging with notifications. I was getting requests for extraction from members of the Pirate Crew. I sent out a blanket message.
We are hunkered down in a defensible position with supplies. Your orders are to get to the coordinates provided at all costs. ALL COSTS. For the crew. - Cap
After that, they knew what I would say. Nothing mattered besides getting to our new home FOB Mansion. Defeat the obstacles that were in your way, regardless of who or what they were.
When I glanced up from my Gpad, I saw Torrez racing through the mansion. The man was cursing about the timer as he ran for the barn to get gear on. Jevon bounded down the stairs with Becca to join me. Becca noticed we were geared for combat and fled to the barn. Our timelines kept getting bumped up; there must have been more countries going hostile.
“Status?” Jevon asked.
“Arrived moments before you.”
The screen we were half-watching flared with an alert.
‘The Russian surface to air missiles have only provoked the aliens to speed up their… intentions. At this time we don’t know what they intend to do. Our cameras on the objects are not being destroyed so we…’
I tuned the broadcaster out to watch the display. All three of the constructs were being tracked by separate cameras on different portions of the screen. The camera showed identical tall rectangular objects about thirty stories tall and fifty feet wide. The four exterior sides had an inner empty space that was framed in a black rectangle. The reason the reporter had suddenly stopped was the black inside of the structures lit with a turquoise shiny blue light. I grunted when I saw this.
“Thoughts?” Jevon asked, with his burly arms folded against his chest.
I saw the alien structure start moving at less than a walking pace on all three screens. Where the constructs were moving to seemed to be without a pattern. The camera angles rotated on the drones to face south to the north; probably ordered to get a baseline reference. All three devices revealed nothing I could ascertain from their random movements.
“Give me a minute,” I said over the reporter as he rambled on in the background.
I punched up data from the mother spaceship. The first wave was three, the second wave was nine, the third wave was eighty one, and the fourth wave was six thousand even. That six thousand even broke the pattern. Hmm… My mind fought over the reasoning of the sequential waves. There was a pattern here, but then there was not. There was no pattern on the…
‘This just in, the Russian fourgate is ejecting aliens. I repeat: the Russian fourgate is ejecting aliens.’
Oh shit! I muted the reporter to watch the scene unfold. An aquatic two-legged creature that stood no taller than four feet left the gateway with a rippling shimmy as they fell a few feet to the ground. They ran to the right side exterior grey frame and placed a hand on a button. The other three sides deactivated and the hovering construct landed with a billowing thud. What the…? Hundreds of these blue frail creatures poured onto Russian soil, desperately looking over their shoulders.
The warriors of the group carried long spears that crackled with energy at their tips. The soldiers wore light bronze armor with kilts, while most of their skin was exposed to the frigid Russian air. The civilians were garbed in thin, ragged clothing and started shivering. While there was a difference in weapons and military gear, they both shared the same fright. They kept glancing over their shoulders. A few minutes of aliens flooding onto the snow-covered grounds ended. The creature holding his hand to the button let go. When the button was no longer pressed the three dormant gates fired back up. The portal construct lifted a few feet into the air to continue roaming aimlessly.
“Fuck me! Are those aliens!?” Becca said as the rest of the team arrived from the barn fully geared.
Before I could answer my Gpad lit up with an override. I looked down to see Linda Growlen stern eyes. Not wasting time she said, “Assessment.”
“Fleeing something hostile, return to sender,” I replied and my Gpad returned to its normal status.
“Was that mom? What did we miss? Are those aliens?” The questions continued from the four late arrivals made me rub my temples.
“Enough,” Jevon ordered with an authoritarian tone. The man pointed up to the display. “Watch the screen.”
The Russians had not taken long to intercept the structure’s landing point. Their minimal forces were hesitant on how to address the situation. The Russian military in charge of pressing buttons was not. A drone caught sight of a missile barreling for the portal quadgate device. The munition diverted for the aliens. They saw the weapon coming with what I assumed was confused looks.
Boom. The screen flared with vibrant oranges mixed with reds washing over the drone camera for half a second.
The drone shook from the impact. The quadgate ignored the minor splash of damage that washed over its dull exterior. The aliens were dead. A majority of the aliens were vaporized in the powerful explosion. The rest became a gore-splattered mess across the snowy white landscape. The news crews were shocked, Willow was shocked, and I was not.
The camera shifted to the Manitoba quadgate hovering over the snow. Two bipedal bears landed with a thud as they tucked and rolled their landings. The billowing snow they ejected with their mass floated back down. The new warriors were in thick chitin armor with laser weapons. They had enhanced optics over their eye and the large bear humanoid rocketed into the air with a jetpack. As awesome as the sight was, it was equally terrifying. These aliens had superior weapons and technology. The sky-high bear spun in a circle and then returned to its brethren. They ran back to the portal and hopped in.
A moment later, the quadgate stopped moving when a black bear in combat gear jumped through and slammed a hand on the button. It was at this point I understood something. They were locking open the portal and keeping it stationary. The other three portal lights went black while the one shone brightly. Infantry marched through the portal and I about threw up with the knot my stomach twisted in. Drones were being sniped out of the air with electric precision fire. The video from the ground ceased.
A top down view occupied the screen a few second later. My guess was the news had to be broadcasting via satellite now. A thick missile was seen soaring in from the edge of the screen. The missile slammed into the marching formation of troops that exited the quadgate. The upright bear holding the construct button was ejected from his place and the four gates illuminated when he was removed. The device rose off the ground to keep moving. Bear soldiers continued to flood out of the gate. They fell the short distance to the grass in a growing pile of tangled limbs. A quick thinking soldier raced for the construct and placed a hand on the device.
Before I could see what happened next, the camera cut out. Uh-oh. The news feed showed the alien spacecraft aggressively charging for Earth as it blasted satellites out of the sky indiscriminately. The feed of the news cut off. My Gpad gave an alert that said ‘out of service’ and I flopped into the nearest chair in despair.
All eyes landed on me.
“Start the coffee, find the lights, and pray for your families. We get to work. Becca, you’re on over watch, get some scan glasses and perch on the third floor. I want you to look for any glowing blue light. Find me if you see any. Perci, get the radios out since we lost sync with the global networks. Everyone should have the data on where to go. It will just not track their movement updates. Auto taxis are probably stopped dead, meaning every road in the world is probably clogged. Shit! I want to start punching stuff and screaming in rage. We cannot do that. Here we go, if there is a god…”
“May he or she forgive us,” Torrez and Jevon said in our ritual.
“I got the coffee, we even bought thermoses, expecting
to have to work out in the cold,” Willow said, trying to distract herself from breaking down.
I could spare the two minutes and wrapped her in a hug. “Hey, your mom will be okay. She is driving herself, correct?”
“Yeah, we could never afford an auto car. It is electric, though. Not great for off-roading, and small. Derek and Tina will be stuck though and forced to go on foot,” Willow said, being far more resilient than I anticipated.
“Well everyone knows where to go. Thank you for being strong and for trusting me.”
“The craziest cliff I went off, was with you. Thank you for letting me fight and prepare. I should be at my acting seminar right now; I would be panicking wishing I had a man like you in this very moment. I am scared, but I am strong. I will never forget what you did for me,” Willow said softly and kissed my cheek. Her face turned sour and then went back to a smile. “Let’s hope they make it. Maybe you can try to pick them up?”
“A trip up and down the road makes a lot of sense once we get a semblance of a perimeter established. That was an alien army. My best guess, we are now networked into different alien planets where violence is common,” I said, leaving Willow’s side for the door.
“Hold on, Cap,” Perci said, clutching my silicone hand. “Why?”
“Those Russian aliens were scared of something savage. The bears were something savage, but based on their ranged weapons, I do not think that’s what the first aliens were terrified of. And lastly, we humans are savage. If Saudi Arabia taught me anything, it is that human nature is brutal when it is ‘you or me’ scenarios.”
“Alright, but Cap: bury the power lines first. Without power, we are doomed. Come on, Torrez. Time to dig out some radios.”
The two left the mansion, while Becca hesitated a bit. “Out with it?”
“Can I do something productive while I am on over watch?”
“I trust you up there. I haven’t had time to train Maria or Willow. So, train them when you can. Tell them what to look for. Teach them how to handle weapons. Build them into soldiers while we work. I will keep the guard rotations to every few hours and they will manage setting up for refugees, food, coffee, and training. Also, someone has to watch Jasmine when she is awake,” I said, pointing up the stairs. Becca nodded and went up to the roof. “You catch all that, Willow?”
“Coffee, and then join Becca. When radios are handed out, you will adjust from there, Cap,” Willow replied, and I smiled.
“Our Gpads should unlock the backhoes. You have physical keys for your machine, correct?” I asked Jevon as I went out the sliding glass door.
The cold air assaulted my face. The exterior lights started to flicker on as Willow was managing the central control box for the mansion from the kitchen. The outside space was actually illuminated fairly well, to the point that the floodlights were a lower priority. Even the moon shone brightly in the scattered night sky.
“Let’s go see how they rigged these up. Fancy houses like this... we should encounter higher quality materials,” Jevon said, scanning the thin power lines.
We neared the closest pole to the house and the wires were buried about twenty feet next to the foundation. The lines looked sturdy. Their coating was thick with a rubbery texture. While I anticipated they could handle being buried, I knew at the same time, we were messing with our most vital resource besides food and water. Electricity. The solar panels stored away would add days to our labor cost if we broke this system.
There were foot and hand pegs I used to climb up. I pulled myself up to where the wires were bound to the pole. I grew confused when I saw they were clamped to a peg with a metal tightening bracket.
“Hey, you were working construction after the desert. I think these are insulated lines. Give them a look,” I said, climbing down.
“A project like this on a property this expensive? Yeah, these should be safe to touch. I did not think of that,” Jevon said, going up the pole. “Most of the stuff I work on is Gcorp cheap housing. This is anything but that. Yup, I even have a multi-tool on my vest. Step back, please.”
“Wait, I can’t get shocked, correct?”
“Do you want wires to land on your head?”
“Fair enough,” I said, and the wires had enough give to hit the ground here while flexing at the next pole. Jevon stepped down the twelve-foot tall pole. When he was on the ground, he walked over with his tool held out. I grabbed the device with the screwdriver extended and said, “Okay, not going to complain about an easy win. I will pull them down and you dig the trench. I will bury the line behind you.”
“For the crew,” Jevon said.
“For the crew.”
The next twenty minutes was me following the power lines, as I would climb up to undo the releases. Jevon was a pro in the backhoe. When I neared the river, the poles thankfully stopped. The constant babbling of the water fighting the stones was competing against the whine of the hydro turbines. With it being dark, I could barely make out the river power station. A hoot caught my attention from the surrounding woods. The trees around me were a tad spooky without digital scan glasses or NVGs. I would need to get a set on, or at least in my vest. I jogged back down the line to find Perci handing Jevon a radio outside the backhoe. When I approached, she handed me the small cell phone-like device.
“Radio test, Becca.”
“Copy Cap, Becca out.”
“Cap, these radios are somewhat secure. Enough time or a smart enough alien can hack them. Hell, I could with a stolen or dropped receiver,” Perci said with a frown.
“Back to digging for me while you two talk,” Jevon said and hopped back into the electric machine.
I walked with Perci back to where Torrez was setting up lights. The exterior was already getting significantly brighter. If we were not so deep into the mountains I would worry the excessive brightness would attract attention. Perci held my hand tensely.
“I may have had an oversight moment. Please don’t be angry, Cap,” Perci said with pleading eyes. “Mother assured me the Gpads would operate without satellites. Our communication towers reach the entire country. Gcorp spent billions repurposing old towers into new Gnet redundancy stations. I want to believe the Gnet is up. Just not here.”
“Well, maybe the Gnet is working, just not this far into the mountains. What were you wanting to work on next? Hesco preparation or Hesco preparation?”
“Har, har,” Perci replied with a sarcastic tone. She twirled her hair to playfully whip me.
“I thought it was funny, Cap. I think this is enough light,” Torrez said, instinctively trying to shake off the light he just blinded himself with. The man recovered quickly and said, “Any objection to me shoving the crates closer with the dozer?”
“I need everyone to have scan glasses,” I said. “And I do not care about the grass getting destroyed. Use your best judgment. Those dirt containers will take a beating, so I think you’re fine shoving them over the ground.”
“We only have seven scan glasses. They are up with Becca for now. Well, eight if you count the pair Jevon has. They were rare, like the new electric guns. I am itching to test those, even if they were reviewed as disappointing,” Torrez said, losing focus as his mind drifted. “Those bears had superior weapons.”
“Sure, they also had no tanks or air support. Things that go boom obviously kill them. Is Maria going to sleep?” I said with a long exhale. “Are you against her learning how to be a soldier?”
“While I appreciate you asking, no; she will do what is needed. Cap, this is your show and if you need her, go wake her up. She fell asleep with Jasmine. I hate we are in another pickle, but we will be okay. Everyone will do their part. For the crew,” Torrez said.
“For the crew,” I replied and he left for the bulldozer.
“He super knows you are not going to wake Maria up,” Perci said with a teasing, snarky voice.
“Yup. Oh hey, Willow. Steaming coffee, perfect. Thank you.”
“I brought yours out earlier, Cap, bu
t you were in the spooky woods. I am going back to learning from Becca if that is okay,” Willow said.
“Sure. Did you get a carbine yet?”
“Yeah, it is right there inside the door. Becca was going to show me how to sling it,” Willow replied with a smile.
“Perfect. I want you to start shooting as soon as we can. Merely say when on the radio first. I will leave that pole over there up and we can stick a box on it for target practice,” I said, pointing to a pole now void of wires that was a hundred feet out. “Obviously wait until I say the area is clear. And you can get the box. I am going to be sliding electrical lines into the dirt.”
“So Eric, since it is just us. For the crew…” Perci said, and let the words hang in the air.
I let out a huff and my air frosted. Huh, it should not be that cold. My Gpad said it was in the high thirties. The forecast had been low forties when I looked at it earlier. I shook it off as minor and grasped Perci by the shoulder, ensuring our eyes were locked.
“The crew means we are not adhering to laws. Friendly, domestic, or otherwise. For the crew was our excuse. We need to be strong. For the crew. We need to provide. For the crew. We kill to save others. For the crew. The list goes on. Then there is the prayer. If there is a god,” I said.
“May he or she forgive us. For the crew,” Willow said, catching on.
“Yup.”
“Okay, I am with you, to the end. You think things will really turn that grim?” Perci asked, and I nodded.
My hand swept the area where Denver was way down the mountains and said, “That is not Saudi Arabia. There are not some hard desert people with AKs in Denver. There will be the strong, and the weak. Then the weak will become strong or follow the strong. Anarchy will set in when food stops arriving from factories.”
“Can we make a trip early? I want to know if our Gpads work closer to Denver. Intel from my mom and reestablishing links with the crew is worth the two hours,” Perci said convincingly. “It could mean a big difference. Also, I may have ordered more supplies. Like all I could when the mom gave me the alert. We should be getting the last drone deliveries.”