Jackson responds, “Negative Ace, even if I have to play it as decoy I will, but the royal flush squadron isn’t going in with a busted hand.”
Ace, obviously concerned, replies, “Jacks, you’re crazy man they’ll see you. Your jammer is damaged, you’re a sitting duck.”
Another pilot replies, “Jacks this is King, listen to Ace and bug out man, we can handle this.”
Then a female voice comes over the com as she states, “Jacks sweetie, come on now, you’re just being stupid now.”
Jacks clearly unconcerned replies, “Queen, I know what I’m doing. I’ll pull myself far enough away from you to draw their attention away from you three.”
King angrily chimes in, saying, “Jacks, I know you think you have to keep your old man happy, but this is beyond stupid.”
Jacks now getting annoyed states, “I’ll move south, drawing their attention, you three hit the rebel base and bug out.”
Ace sighs loudly, saying, “Ok Jacks, but I suggest you move at top speed.”
Jacks fighter breaks away and heads across the southern province of Myanmar, for over fifteen minutes nothing happens when all of a sudden the alert goes off, “Missiles detected.”
Jacks alarmed, says aloud, “Damn, that’s a lot of missiles.”
Cavalier clearly shows six missiles locked onto Jackson as he pushes his fighter into an accelerated climb.
Cavalier studying the entire attack states, “Caleb is four minutes away, by my calculations Jackson will not be able to avoid all six missiles. It is possible that he could be killed, thus causing a paradox.”
Kalen now concerned asks, “Wait, are you saying we need to get involved?”
Cavalier responds, “Unknown master Kalen, but there is a less than a four percent chance that Colonel Andrew Jackson will survive.”
Tess alarmed states, “Cavalier get us down there, but keep us back unless we have no choice, but to get involved.”
Kalen overtly alarmed says, “Tess, four percent is pretty much a no chance win, we obviously changed something by being here.”
Tess holds to her belief, saying, “No, we don’t do anything until the last possible chance. We’re talking Caleb and Jackson here, two of the greatest people in our history. We will not get involved unless we have no other choice.”
Jackson releases all his countermeasures destroying two of the missiles. He then rolls over, dodging three of the missiles and locks onto the fourth firing. Several seconds later, the missile is destroyed, but the other three regain lock and pursue Jackson as he dives his fighter to the hard deck below.
His fighter moves far beyond its safe limits while he does all he can to stay conscious, as the g-forces are beyond his limits, even with his G-suit, he is barely able to remain conscious as the blood from rushes from his head.
The maneuver, however, causes two of the last three missiles to lose its lock and veer away.
Kalen, studying the battle states, “He’s done for.”
Cavalier reports, “Caleb is still ninety seconds away, we have less than a two percent chance that Colonel Jackson will survive.”
Jackson, barely able to focus pulls back as hard as he can on the stick as the fighter moves upward, causing Jackson to black out, but the missile cannot pull out of its dive and crashes into the ground.
Jackson, however is unconscious as his fighter once more climbs upward out of control.
Cavalier reports, “Colonel Jackson is unconscious and will not regain consciousness for twenty more seconds, and one of the remaining missiles he avoided has regained lock and is now in pursuit. It will impact his fighter in twenty seconds.”
Tess concerned asks, “Where is Caleb now?”
Cavalier reports, “Caleb is within weapons range of the missile, but he has less than a one percent chance of hitting that missile from his present location, and that is only if he is aware of who that fighter is. This mission was a covert mission and Caleb may be unaware of what nationality that plane represents.”
Kalen eyes go large as he panics, saying, “Cavalier prepare to fire.”
Tess yells, “No!”
Before Cavalier can react Caleb fires a missile, and from the maximum range, he successfully strikes the missile destroying it.
Cavalier reports, “It appears that Caleb instincts are far more precise than previously thought. That missile had less than a one percent chance of success, but Caleb was able to successfully destroy it.
Tess sits back in her seat saying “That was too damn close. We could have screwed up the timeline.”
Cavalier reports, “Caleb has made contact with Jackson and has inverted his fighter deflecting any additional missiles from locking onto him, they are presently moving south towards Thailand.”
Then another voice comes over the com, saying, “You two are in so much trouble I’m not even going to start to describe just what Mama Caroline is going to do to both of you.”
Kalen alarmed asks, “Gaul, what are you doing?”
Gaul clearly annoyed states, “Do you two really think that Caroline wouldn’t notice either of you both missing and Cavalier also missing. Come on brother, you know she may be old, but she is far from senile.”
Kalen annoyed, says, “We are not brothers Gaul, and I don’t need permission to use my ship.”
Gaul laughs, saying, “Kalen, I’m so going to enjoy watching Mama Caroline tear you a new one.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CROSSROADS
The year is two thousand and seventy-nine, the year it all begins. A Whitefeather specialized support fighter known as Cavalier is currently in orbit hidden behind a highly sophisticated cloak. On board are three members of the Whitefeather family, Kalen, the oldest is at the helm, while his sister Tess and brother Raphael prepare to shift down to Earth.
Kalen, obviously annoyed, states, “Tess, I’m only doing this to protect you and Raphael, if you fail to grab them you will return at once.”
Tess, equally annoyed, says, “I didn’t ask you to come brother, nor do I want or need your protection. You know full well that the extremists have been seen on this world shadowing the Ocodas and if we don’t stop them they could alter the timeline.”
Kalen glares at Tess, saying, “Really, sister, must you always be so dramatic.”
Tess growls, as she looks at Raphael and says, “Let’s get out of here.” Tess and Raphael shift to Boston, Massachusetts, Logan airport, where they remain cloaked, watching from a safe distance as Caleb and Emily play out their parts preparing to board the plane.
Raphael studying their interaction asks, “So that is Caleb, the man responsible for all our existence?”
Tess more focused on the surrounding area, as she searches for any of the extremists says, “Raphael, could you stop gawking at him and help me make sure none of those crazy nut-jobs are hanging around here.”
Raphael is very intelligent but is also very young, often times lacking motivation. He looks around briefly, sees nothing, and then goes back to watching Caleb and Emily board the plane.
Tess glances back towards Raphael seeing that he is once again mesmerized by Caleb. She slaps him aside the back of his head angrily, whispering, “Raphael, you’re not helping.”
The plane door close and the jet quickly taxis down the runway. Tess aggravated yells, “Ok, let’s wait for them to land in New York.” The two quickly shift to JFK airport, but find the area extremely crowded, and difficult to maneuver around. Tess sees an area with very few people and points to it. They both shift there as Tess whispers, “Raphael, there is far too many people around here to stay cloaked. We need to uncloak and wait for the Ocodas to arrive.”
Raphael looks around and sees a service van that is unloading. He smiles, saying, “Follow me.”
The two enter the truck uncloaking. Tess immediately notices that their clothes may make them stand out in the crowd. She sighs, saying, “Great, now we can walk around better, but we’re going to stand out like a sore thumb.”
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Raphael chuckles, saying, “Its New York sister, we’ll blend in just fine.”
Tess giggles, as they sneak out of the truck waiting for Caleb to arrive. Tess studies the area searching for anything that stands out, but all she notices are the many stares that they both receive.
After an hour passes, she sees Caleb walking with Emily and their children towards a taxi. She watches as they kiss. Tess can only grin. Raphael noticing her grin says, “Now who’s gawking.”
Tess annoyed at Raphael says, “Hey, it’s their final kiss, you gotta watch that.”
Raphael, however notices the taxi driver is staring at them, concerned, he says, “Sister, the driver of the taxi, has been watching us, and now he looks worried.”
Tess shifts her view, seeing the man, and recognizes him as one of the extremists that she was briefed on, saying, “He’s one of them. Go get us a taxi.”
Emily and the family load into the taxi, as Raphael quickly gets another taxi. Caleb waves his family off as Tess and Raphael jump into a taxi and follow them out of the airport.
The taxi driver asks, “Where are we going?”
Tess focused on the taxi in front of them points saying follow that taxi.”
The driver of the taxi laughs, saying, “It’s your money.”
Raphael bluntly speaks, saying, “Money, oh we don’t have money.”
The taxi driver slams on the brakes, yelling, “Get the hell out of my cab! Damn crazy deadbeats!”
Tess sighs heavily as she pulls out a plasma pistol and points it at the driver, saying, “Drive, or I’ll shoot your ass.”
The driver looks at the gun and laughs aloud once more, saying, “Really now, is that your toy ray gun.”
Tess powers her weapon that glows and makes an ominous hum as she says, “Do you really want to find out if it’s a toy.”
The driver quickly becomes concerned for his life, stepping on the gas, and chases after the other taxi.
Raphael confused, says, “Sister, you’re endangering the timeline by showing this man your weapon.”
Tess slaps Raphael once more on the back of the head, saying, “Raphael when will you learn to keep your mouth shut.”
The taxi follows the other taxi all the way out of the airport and to Emily’s family home. Their taxi slows, keeping a safe distance from Emily’s taxi as the driver asks, “Ok, this looks like their stop, can you please just get out of my cab without shooting me?”
Tess, aware that this man is doomed to die, as are millions of others, gets out of the cab with Raphael, she leans down next to the taxi driver window and says, “Leave the city if you want to live.”
The driver guns his vehicle and races away, yelling, “Crazy psychos!”
Raphael alarmed, says, “Tess you need to be more careful, you have no idea if that man was supposed to live or die. If he heeds your warning, he could survive and alter the timeline.”
Tess lowers her head, and says, “Raphael, there are hundreds of transports currently hiding in high orbit from the Paladonian moons. They’re all here to save as many people as they can. No matter what we do here we will endanger the timeline.”
Raphael confused asks, “Well sister, won’t most of these people want to return home once Caleb travels through time?”
Tess looks to her younger brother and says, “Focus on our mission here. We need to keep our eyes on Emily and the children. We don’t know what that nut-job was doing, driving that taxi, but you can be sure if there is one of them around, there will be more.”
Raphael looks over and sees a large gathering of family members under a canopy as they celebrate together. He immediately perceives Carla walking away from the party with an older man. He stops and asks Tess, “Sister should I follow Carla and that man?”
Tess, who is focused on Emily glances over and states, “That is her grandfather, he is most likely taking her down to the store to spoil her with candy. History states she was not with the family during the time of the attack. We cannot interfere in those events. We need to focus on grabbing Emily and Domingo.”
Raphael looks down noticing that they are standing on a street corner in plain view, and people are beginning to stare at them. He grimaces, saying, “Tess we should probably cloak.”
Tess realizes that they are not cloaked sighs heavily and looks seeing a dumpster nearby and no one around. She says, “Ok smarty-pants lets go hide.” She leads Raphael to the dumpster looking around, after confirming the area to be secure, they both cloak and move back towards the party. For almost twenty minutes, they stay close to the party, as they wait for their time to act.
Tess receives a signal from Kalen, stating, “The T-Challa have begun their assault on the Earth. Cavalier has detected an energy signature that could only be Paladin. The time will soon be upon you to save her.”
Tess whispers, “I know what to do brother, just be ready to receive us the moment we get them.”
Finally, after several more minutes the call comes in from Caleb. Tess says to Raphael, “Be ready to move the moment I tell you to.”
They wait until the giant fireball comes into view for all to see. Emily looks up, seeing the giant fireball heading right for them as her conversation with Caleb is cut. Tess is about to act when all of a sudden a cloaked ship opens all its doors directly above the home of Emily’s family as hundreds of well-armed troops drop stun grenades down upon them all and start shifting people out.
Tess is dumbfounded, and quickly puts on her specialized goggles, which allows her to see all those who are cloaked. She sees the ship bares no markings of any of the Paladonian moons. She immediately tries to contact Kalen, but discovers that all communication is jammed. She jumps up and says to Raphael, “Stay here. I’ll go get Emily and Domingo.”
She moves cloaked towards Emily, who is now unconscious. Unfortunately, she is seen by the assault team who also wear the very same specialized goggles, as they open fire towards her. She shifts towards Emily but is too late, as the rouge retrieval, team grabs her and Domingo first, shifting back to their ship. Overall, the mysterious team captured everyone at the party, including Emily and Domingo.
The ship's engines roar off, as the giant fireball charges straight towards the city. Angry Tess curses, “Who the hell were they!”
Raphael noticing the approaching fireball says, “Sister it’s time to go.”
Tess looks up, seeing the T-Challa mass driver barreling down towards the city. With no time left, she screams out in frustration and she shifts back to Cavalier.
Kalen is completely aware of what happened, and states, “They’re far too many transports cloaked in the area to guess which one grabbed Emily.”
Tess still angry yells, “They were good! They knew just what to do and how, and they weren’t Paladonians!”
Kalen curious, asks, “The nut-job extremists?”
Raphael says, “It is most likely them. They would not hesitate to sacrifice everything to attain her.”
Tess races to the helm pushing Kalen aside as she studies the hundreds of Paladonian ships trying to guess which one possibly has the Ocodas.”
Kalen, visibly annoyed, stands up and says, “Tess she’s gone. You failed, get over it, and move on. We need to return home quickly. The council will be convening soon to vote on our next course of action.”
Tess is enraged and slams her hands on the controls, saying, “To hell with the damn council, we need to find Emily and Domingo.”
Kalen tries to contain his grin, saying, “Fine little sister, I will return home on one of our transports and meet with the council. You can waste your time searching for your needle in a haystack.”
Tess is all too consumed with finding Emily and Domingo and is not thinking clearly, as she looks up at her brother and says, “Whatever brother.”
Kalen, now grinning in delight is barely able to contain his luck. He looks to Raphael, saying, “Stay with our sister Raphael, I’ll take care of our duty at home.” Kalen shifts away to one
of the many Whitefeather transports as Tess remains focused on finding Emily and Domingo.
Cavalier then reports, “Mistress, I’m detecting a ship moving away from the gateway and out to deep space. Its course is away from the gateway, and I cannot scan its origin.”
Tess grins, saying, “Lock onto it and begin pursuit.”
Cavalier is one of the most prized ships in all of the Paladonian moons, having been personally designed by Paladin and Caleb. It was built to be a permanent mobile command center with a several advancements not found in any other ship its size.
Cavalier reports, “The vessel was already in hyperspace and moving at an amazing velocity. I may have difficulty in matching its speed.”
Tess completely absorbed in the moment yells, “Less talking and more chasing!”
Cavalier pursues the vessel for almost a day until Cavalier reports, “I’m sorry mistress Tess, but the vessel is too fast. It has once more increased its speed, and will soon be out or my sensor range in three days.”
Raphael goes to his sister's side and says, “We need to go home Tess. I have a bad feeling about Kalen being left alone with the council.”
Tess finally realizes just what she has done, and screams, “Oh my god no! That idiot will vote for the Rooke plan unless I’m there to override him.”
Cavalier anticipating Tess’s next request states, “At top speed we are still a day away from the gateway mistress.”
Tess, frustrated tremendously says aloud, “I’m such a fool, ever since mother stepped down Kalen has wanted to approve that damn plan.”
Raphael sighs, saying, “Kalen has always wanted a stronger military presence for us. I’m sure that he will vote in favor of the plan, especially now that you are not present to object.”
Tess annoyed, says, “Well Gaul won’t vote for it, nor will Valentine, but Marianne may, which could make the vote two to four.”
Raphael sighs, asking, “The vote will pass, and we will risk activating the Paladin protocols.”
The Ocoda Chronicles Book 5 Paladonians Page 18