Earthman Jack vs. The Secret Army (Earthman Jack Space Saga Book 2)

by Matthew Kadish

  Just then, the floor beneath the group jerked and started to move. Everyone looked down, alarmed, as the floor toward the wall where they entered began to recede, revealing a bubbling green liquid underneath with wisps of smoke rising from it.

  “Uh… what’s happenin’ here?” asked Scallywag, not particularly looking forward to the answer.

  Suddenly, a tiny fish leapt from the liquid. It fluttered its fins rapidly, hovering in the air for the briefest of moments. It had glowing red eyes and a mouth filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its jaw dropped and a tiny bolt of red energy shot from it, before it dived back into the bubbling liquid below.

  The group all dodged the tiny red streak, except for Grohm, who took the bolt in the shoulder. The Rognok grunted and his arm quivered more against the unrelenting pressure of the walls as his skin smoked where he’d been hit.

  “What the bloody blazes was that???” shrieked Scallywag.

  More fish started leaping into the air as the floor continued to recede, each one shooting out a tiny red bolt before plopping back into the bubbling liquid. When the splashes of the liquid hit the stone of the walls, it caused it to corrode and smoke, as the liquid disintegrated anything it touched.

  “An acid pit? Filled with mutant piranhas? That shoot lasers from their mouths???” squealed Heckubus, giddily. “If I weren’t about to die horribly right now, I’d be so happy!”

  “If ya weren’t about ta die so horribly right now, I’d kill ya meself!” sneered Scallywag.

  More of the mutant fish began to leap out of the acid, each one shooting a tiny laser bolt from its ravenous mouth. Jack and the group dodged the tiny bolts as the floor continued to diminish.

  “Quickly,” said Shanks. “Grohm, let the walls come in closer so that we can all brace ourselves against them!”

  Grohm nodded and allowed the walls to close in more so the group was able to brace against them as the floor beneath moved away. Jack was immediately uncomfortable, pushing his hands against one wall while his legs were against the other. Grohm particularly looked strained as he adjusted his large frame to help make the gap in the walls small enough for the entire group to press against it.

  Scallywag drew his pistols and began shooting the mutant piranhas as they leapt out of the acid, but the laser bolts from the fish continued, occasionally hitting those who couldn’t dodge them – particularly in their current precarious position.

  “Ow!” cried Jack as he took a bolt to his leg. The sharp pain reminded him of a bee sting – annoying and painful but not as bad as a serious injury. However, if he got hit with enough of them, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. “There’s got to be a way out of this!” insisted Jack as he moved his leg to avoid another laser prick. “We’ve bought ourselves some time to figure out the riddle, as long as things don’t get any worse, we should be able to get past this!”

  Just then, the ceiling above them rumbled and deadly looking spikes began to emerge, slowly growing longer as they made their way downward to impale those beneath.

  “Things just got worse,” muttered Scallywag.

  “Ceiling spikes!” cheered Heckubus. “Just as I imagined them! How glorious! I mean… horrible, of course… but glorious! It’s like every deathtrap I’ve ever wished for, all rolled into one!”

  “What once was you but now is me!” cried Jack. “What could it mean???”

  “Transformation? Metamorphosis?” answered Shanks as he struggled to keep his position between the walls.

  “The other three answers had to do with the Ancient’s philosophy about knowledge!” said Green. “Could it refer to learning from others to better one’s self?”

  “So… trinity, enlightenment, free mind, learning… how does that answer the riddle?” asked Jack, wincing from another piranha laser strike as the ceiling spikes came closer.

  “Wait,” said Shanks. “The four answers… they’re a process! One learns to free one’s mind. A free mind leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment achieves perfect equilibrium between body, mind, and spirit.”

  “Are you saying the key means you have to reach Equilibrium?” asked Jack. “I thought you said hardly anyone can do that!”

  “That can’t be the answer,” said Green. “The riddle starts with the trinity and works its way down to learning. The key must be an answer that is more accessible to those seeking the seal!”

  “Perhaps the answer lies in the second part?” Heckubus said. “All that is locked requires this key, to see the scope of possibility. For everything that is, was, and will ever be, holds no secrets from eternity.”

  “Oy! Someone just solve the bloody thing already!!!” cried Scallywag.

  “Great Scott! That’s it!” cried Green, his eyes lighting up. “The scope of possibility! That’s the answer!” The group all looked at the Professor as he glanced around. “I have the key!” Green shouted. “I wish to present it now!”

  The image of the Gatekeeper appeared before Green, looking down at him. “Present the key,” the Gatekeeper said.

  “To the Ancients, the key to everything was knowledge,” Green said. “But not just any knowledge… they had to open their minds to the infinite possibilities of the universe! The key isn’t a single thing. It’s everything! And the potential to see it!”

  “And do you see this?” the Gatekeeper asked.

  “Not yet,” said Green. “But I am willing to learn! I’m willing to try!”

  “Then let us see if it is enough,” spoke the Gatekeeper as it took its hand and phased it into Green’s head. Green immediately went cross-eyed and his whole body began to tremble.

  “Professor!” cried out Jack. Grohm reached out and grabbed Green from underneath, so he wouldn’t fall into the acid pit below.

  The Gatekeeper removed his hand. He smiled down at Green, who looked up at him wide-eyed. “Your key…” the Gatekeeper said, “…has been accepted.”

  With that, the Gatekeeper faded away, and immediately the room returned to normal – all instruments of death vanishing into thin air. The group all dropped to the floor, somewhat stunned and disoriented by the sudden dismissal of danger. Jack got up and rushed to Green’s side. “Professor!” cried Jack. “Are you okay?”

  Green rubbed his head, smiling stupidly. “My, my, my,” he muttered. “That was certainly an… experience.”

  “What happened?” asked Scallywag as he walked up to Green. “What did ya do?”

  “I just… gave the Gatekeeper access to my thoughts,” said Green. “I let him see my potential, my dreams, my ideas… I figured the Ancients placed so much importance on imagination that it made sense it would be the key to unlocking anything they ever created. I showed that I am aware of the possibilities that exist in the universe, and that I have the potential to discover them.”

  “Indeed,” said Shanks as he smoothed out his robes and gripped his staff. “Your instincts were correct, Professor. The Ancients prized inquisitive minds. It would make sense they would wish to guard the Great Seal from those who are selfish, ignorant, and closed-minded. They would only wish to grant access to those with the curiosity to achieve wondrous things with their knowledge.”

  “And yet, it let the possessed Princess waltz right in, eh?” said Scallywag.

  “She has the advantage of being the Blood of the Ancients,” Shanks replied. “She would have had control of the Gatekeeper the minute she set foot in the room and would have ordered him to let her and her companions pass.”

  “Well, the Ancients coulda stood to let their creations make a few judgment calls from time ta time, if ya ask me,” Scallywag said.

  “Despite the rather harrowing experience we all just suffered through,” Heckubus said, brushing himself off, “I must say that I am quite impressed that you all not only thwarted what is now my favorite deathtrap of all-time, but also proved you’re not the complete and utter dolts I previously believed you all were. Well, the Professor proved that, anyway. I’m fairly certain the rest of
you are still quite ridiculously stupid.”

  “We’re the dumb ones?” asked Scallywag. “We were smart enough not ta think of a bloody deathtrap in the first place.”

  “Yes, I shudder to think of the travesties of deathtrapery you lot would have come up with,” mused Heckubus. “Something quick and painless, no doubt, without the artful use of animal assassins, mutations, chemicals, or sharp, pointy objects. Lucky for us I am skilled in the imagineering of doom and, thus, gave us the time we needed to figure out the riddle.”

  “Oy, can we get outta this place before I imagineer some doom all over this tin can?” asked Scallywag, wagging his thumb toward Heckubus.

  “Sounds good to me,” said Jack turning toward the room’s door. The eye etched into it glowed with a bright white light and the door transformed into a ghostly portal. The group all gazed at the exit, their journey finally having reached its end.

  “Anna’s on the other side of that thing,” Jack said.

  “So is Armonto Virtuoso,” said Green.

  “So are four o’ the most legendary Paragon Warriors in tha Empire,” said Scallywag.

  Jack turned to his friends, looking at each one of them in turn. “This is it, team,” Jack said. “Are you all ready?” Everyone gave Jack a nod in response. Jack turned and faced the portal, looking steadfast and resolute.

  “It’s time to end this,” he said.

  Chapter 63

  Jack and the others stepped through the portal and into the Chamber of the Great Seal. The room was a grand, circular auditorium similar to the one on the Ghost Planet, with its massive domed ceiling and amphitheater-like ascending benches. But unlike the one on the Ghost Planet, this chamber was constructed from modern materials, built with gleaming metals, brilliant lights, and glowing murals upon the walls and floor.

  In the large, circular area in the middle of the chamber, steps stretching its length led up to a raised level where Anna stood before an access orb kiosk. The Royal Vanguard surrounded her. The Maguffyn worker-bots had just finished attaching the cone-shaped device of Armonto’s digi-matrix machine to the face of the Great Seal mounted upon the wall on the platform, which stretched all the way back to the domed area of the chamber. Armonto Virtuoso stood off to the side, hands clasped behind his back, smugly smiling as his robots put the finishing touches on his machine.

  Anna glanced behind her, and then turned and gasped when she saw Jack and the others standing in the area below. The members of the Vanguard also turned, as did Armonto Virtuoso, whose eyes went wide at the sight of Jack and his group.

  “No…”Armonto said, genuinely taken aback. “It’s impossible…”

  “Hate to break it to ya, dude,” said Jack, cockily, “but impossible is kinda our thing.”

  Seqis exchanged disbelieving glances with the other members of the Vanguard. “How did they make it into the chamber?” he asked. “No one but a member of Legacy Prime could have made it past the sunshell’s defenses.”

  “Those worthy of accessing the Great Seal can,” Jack said loudly. “Which we just proved we are.”

  “They obviously made it here by trickery, Commander,” Anna said. “Jack’s ship must have had some way to teleport them here.”

  “Indeed, it is a powerful and unique vessel,” Armonto chimed in, picking up on Anna’s lie. “No doubt responsible for this unexpected interruption.”

  Seqis looked at Jack. “State your purpose, Earthman,” he said. “Or we must assume it to be a hostile one.”

  “Their purpose is to interfere with the directives of Legacy Prime and stop this procedure, obviously,” said Armonto as he stepped forward. “Robots, initiate defense protocol.”

  Upon his command, every robot worker in the room came forward, lining up before Anna and her group. Each one ejected a blaster cannon from one arm, pointing it toward Jack and the others, creating an armed barrier between Jack’s group and the platform the Princess’s party were on.

  “Stand aside, fools! I shall handle this,” said Heckubus, stepping out in front of his group cockily and glaring at Armonto. “So, Herr Virtuoso… at last we finally meet.”

  Armonto looked Heckubus up and down curiously. “And what might you be?” he asked.

  “I am Heckubus Moriarty!” said Heckubus proudly. “I understand you call yourself a genius?”

  “No,” replied Armonto. “Other people call me that.”

  “But do they call you an evil genius? Didn’t think so!” said Heckubus as he activated his wireless transmitter, immediately beaming out his nefarious mind-control virus to every robot worker in the room. The robots’ receivers all picked up the signal, freezing the androids in place as their programming was by-passed. Their eyes glowed red, and they turned on Anna and her people.

  “All Hail Heckubus Moriarty,” the robots droned. “You have no chance to survive. Make your time.”

  “Mwuahahahahaha!” laughed Heckubus.

  Armonto sighed. He pulled out his datapad and after a few taps on the screen, the robots’ eyes all returned to normal as he overwrote Heckubus’s programming. The robots unanimously turned back toward Jack’s group, resuming their defensive stance in front of Anna’s. “Defend. Defend. Defend,” the robots all droned.

  “I’m fine with just plain genius,” deadpanned Armonto.

  Heckubus eyed Armonto’s work ponderously before taking a step back into the group. “Okay, he’s good,” Heckubus muttered.

  “It doesn’t matter how many robots they have, we’re close enough to get a lock on Anna,” Jack said. “Professor, activate the signal booster.”

  Green produced the teleportation beacon and activated it, the foot-long cylinder’s readouts lighting up and glowing blue. “Activated!” he said.

  Jack stepped forward, looking up at the Royal Vanguard. “Sorry about this, guys, but I’m afraid we can’t stay. So if you’ll excuse us, we’re just gonna be going now.” Jack reached his hand out toward Anna. “TELEPORT!” he cried, dramatically.

  Nothing happened.

  Jack looked nervously at the unimpressed faces of Anna and her incredibly dangerous escorts. “Uh… TELEPORT!” Jack said again, more forcefully, as though that would suddenly make it work.

  Armonto smiled down at Jack, smugly. “If you’re trying to use your ship to teleport any of us away, I’m afraid it won’t work,” said Armonto as he walked over to a crate-sized machine, its read-outs glowing bright red as it hummed quietly. He rested his hand upon it like he would a pet. “Though this chamber is lightly shielded from teleportation I took the precaution of bringing along a matter transference disruptor in case any unwanted visitors should attempt to drop by. It activated automatically upon my command for the defensive protocol. I was able to get plenty of readings from your vessel when you so heroically rescued Kimlee Evenstar, and I’ve since determined how to effectively block your teleportation signals. Your ship is rather useless to you right now, I’m afraid.”

  Ohhhhhhh, crap, thought Jack, now extremely worried.

  “Oh, dear,” said Green.

  “Diabolical,” Heckubus commented. “I respect that.”

  “Superior technology,” grumbled Scallywag, looking rather perturbed. “Our only weakness.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we can think of a few more,” said Lugard as he and the other members of the Vanguard stepped forward, all manifesting their weapons as they moved past the robots and down the steps toward Jack and his group.

  “Whoa, whoa, hold up,” said Jack, raising his hands as if to calm everyone down. “Look, you don’t understand – that’s not really Anna! You’re protecting an imposter!”

  The Vanguard all stopped at the base of the stairs. Seqis narrowed his eyes at Jack. “If this is not the Princess, then who is she?” he asked.

  “She’s been taken over by the Deathlords,” Jack said.

  “And how would the Deathlords take someone over, exactly?”

  “Brain worms,” explained Jack. “They’re controlling her with brain worms!�
�

  The Vanguard all looked at each other, obviously not believing Jack’s explanation. “Brain worms?” replied Seqis.

  “Invisible ones!” cried Jack. “EVIL invisible brain worms!”

  “Well, of course,” said Lugard with a smirk. “Everyone knows the good invisible brain worms always ask you politely to do their bidding.”

  “We really must figure out a less ridiculous way of explaining this,” muttered Heckubus.

  “He speaks the truth, Commander,” Shanks said. “This worm to which he refers is the darkness I was sensing around the Princess.”

  “And yet I have sensed nothing,” Seqis replied. “Nor has any of my brethren, whose sole purpose is to guard and protect Her Imperial Highness from any and all enemies. You seem to have bought into this excuse the Earthman has concocted to go against the orders of Legacy Prime, but tell me true, monk… have you seen these brain worms for yourself?”

  Shanks frowned. “I have not,” he said. “But I believe the Earthman to be telling the truth.”

  “I can assure you, he’s not,” said Anna, looking like she’d already had enough of the conversation. “Jack has become jealous over my engagement to Mourdock Skyborn. He does not care about the seal. He is here for me. He is trying to justify his kidnapping to his friends with this lie. I’m sorry to say, he is not the man I once believed him to be.”

  “That’s soooooo not true!” argued Jack.

  “You do have affection for Her Highness,” said Seqis. “That much is obvious to anybody.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not jealous of Mourdock!”

  “Super-rich good looking famous war hero who’s engaged to the gal of yer dreams,” mumbled Scallywag. “What’s there to be jealous of?”

  “You’re not helping!” snapped Jack.

  “Commander Seqis,” said Anna. “Arrest the Earthman and his companions. Should they resist, kill them.”

  “There!” said Jack, pointing to Anna. “See? The real Anna would never order you to kill anyone!”