by Saxon Andrew
Kerry turned and started walking up the slope and Lissell screamed, “LYDIA!!” She ran and caught up to Kerry, “YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!! THAT HUSSY HAS BEEN TRYING TO TAKE YOU FOR CENTURIES!!”
Kerry grabbed Lissell by the shoulders and looked in her eyes, “Why…are…you…doing…this?”
Lissell’s eyes started to glaze over but she shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Kerry took her hand and pulled her up the slope, “Let’s go to the surface and discuss this away from that thing.”
“BOTH OF YOU WILL COME HERE!!” Kerry and Lissell instantly turned and walked back toward the large Artifact. They stopped directly in front of it. “EXTEND YOUR HAND AND PRESS THE FLAT YELLOW PANEL!!” Lissell lifted her arm and extended her hand toward the yellow panel. An inch from it she stopped and they heard the thoughts again, “PRESS IT!! PRESS IT, NOW!!”
Lissell dropped her hand and laughed, “We really had you going there, didn’t we? Did you think you had control of us?”
“PRESS THE PANEL!!!”
“I don’t think so.”
The being inside the Artifact thought a little less emphatically, “THE ONES WHO IMPRISONED ME HERE WERE EVIL. THEY LIED ON THAT OBLISK.”
Kerry walked back to the Obelisk and continued reading, “Lissell, the one who wrote this says there are bodies of innocent beings buried behind it that were killed by this creature.”
“PRESS IT!!”
“Hold on just a minute. I’ll be right back.” Lissell walked over to the Obelisk and pointed her digging tool beside it. The wall fell apart and they saw a large cavern filled with the bones of thousands of beings. Their skulls all had their jaws wide open as if they were enduring unimaginable pain.
Kerry looked at Lissell, “That thing has had control of your mind.”
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
“Why did you go directly to the Human’s planet to talk with their leader? It was so you could come back here and keep digging. Why didn’t you stop and examine this Obelisk when you were digging? Why have you always attempted to find a fast and easy way to do things? Why couldn’t you receive the data from the Cultural Center? That thing has control of your brain’s judgement center.”
Lissell looked back at the Artifact and felt it. Her eyes narrowed and she said, “Un, un, un, that’s not nice.” She turned to Kerry, “You’re right.”
“How were you able to break through it, Lise?”
“I think Lydia could make me break through just about anything. Were you serious about leaving me?”
“If you touched that thing, I would.”
“But why, Kerry?”
“Because you would have proven you are just like that maniac on Earth; you’d have to be insane to do it.”
“And you’d let me do it without trying to stop me. You know I depend on you to keep me in line, Kerry.”
“But I can’t stop you from doing anything you choose to do, Lise! You couldn’t stop me, either.” Kerry looked at the Artifact and asked, “How long has this thing been affecting you?”
Lissell lowered her eyes, “I started getting the urge to dig a long time ago; I never had the urge before. I started moving toward this planet about eighty-years ago, and I felt the pull to keep moving this way until I arrived here.”
“Come with me, Lise.”
“Where are we going?”
“I need to get something out of my ship and I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
They turned and began walking up the slope, when they were hit with a powerful mental impulse, “YOU WILL PRESS THE PANEL NOW!!!”
Lissell shrugged, “Hold that thought, we’ll be right back.”
Kerry reached inside his ship and pulled out a weird looking hand-device. They walked back into the tunnel and arrived at the artifact, “Lise, clear the dirt from around this thing for about six-feet.” Lissell pointed her digger and the rock around the Artifact began disappearing. An hour later it was clear. Kerry took his device and pointed it at the thing as he pulled the trigger on it. A thick, rose-colored layer of a hardened substance began covering the Artifact. He completely covered it and then turned to Lise, “Dig out from under it.”
“Won’t it collapse in the hole?”
“No, the blocking layer is extremely hard and the edges of it outside the hole will hold it up.”
“When I escape this prison, you will be the first two that die. You will be shortly followed by every member of your species!!”
Lise dug out the rock under it and Kerry began covering the bottom of the Artifact with the rose-colored layer. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?”
Kerry said, “This material blocks thoughts and is the hardest coating we have. You will not be reaching out to another to come and release you.”
Just before Kerry completed the coating, they heard a scream that chilled their souls. It seemed to come from the bowels of hell and it was cut off instantly as Kerry completed the last untouched area on the Artifact.
Lissell shook her head, “What did you mean by not reaching another?”
“You aren’t the first one to come here.” Lise’s eyes opened wider as Kerry continued, “the wall leading to those bodies broke easily because it had been broken before. Someone came here long ago.” Kerry took her hand and led her to the surface. They jumped into his ship and he took the device and inserted it into his panel. He lifted the ship and pointed the bow at the hole in the ground. He touched the panel and a rose-colored beam shot out into the hole. Fifteen-minutes later, the hole was filled with a rose-colored material. Kerry turned off the beam and pulled the device out of the panel. He pointed the bow at the crater wall a hundred-yards away and fired into it. The crater wall exploded in a giant explosion and it collapsed covering Lissell’s former digging site.
“Thank you, Kerry. I’m sorry I was so weak.”
“You weren’t weak, Lise, the power of that Demon was too much. You handled it easily once you knew what it was doing.”
“I’m just glad you were here to see it.”
“That wasn’t an accident, either.”
Lissell looked at him, “What do you mean by that?”
“The last thing engraved on that Obelisk was Pascal’s symbol. He was the last one to come here and he knew you would be forced to come back. He sent us out together to make sure I was with you.”
“So, the mission of keeping the Humans away was a subterfuge?”
“No, nothing he ever does has no meaning. But he was making sure you were not alone.”
Lissell smiled, “They were right.”
“About what?”
“That you will make a very good Elder to lead us.”
“That’s a long time coming, Lise. Let’s get back and see what’s going on with the Humans.”
They lifted from the frozen, giant planet and disappeared. Lissell said casually, “You know Chamberlain has been asking for my attention?”
“If you think he’s a better choice, go for it.”
“And you wouldn’t care?!”
“Lise, if I were interested in someone else, you’d know it.”
“That’s what I wanted you to say, Kerry.”
“Well…I did.”
Lissell smiled and felt good. For the first time in a long time, her spirit was free. “You still think I’m cute.”
Kerry rolled his eyes and sighed, “Yes, I do.”
• • •
Thorpe looked at his monitor on board the Fleet Speed Sled and shook his head. Every time he made progress at building up his forces, one or two of those Brax Warships would break through and attack the satellites in orbit. Two had shown up six-hours ago and taken out two more Defense Satellites. The first one they hit was still under repair and now all of his attention would have to be devoted to getting them replaced; he could not allow that many holes in his defenses. It was like they knew just when to attack. Could it be true they actually did have scouts that could not be detected. One thing for certain, they didn’t hesita
te to give up their lives to hit their targets. Mankin’s Fleet must be putting a lot of pressure on them.
That was another thing. At last report, Mankin had lost more than seventy-percent of his forces and was barely holding on. Should he recall them and spare them certain death. He looked at the monitor again and saw Stalingrad and Cairo in flames. No, it would be better if they stayed where they were in Brax Space stopping their warships there. It appeared they couldn’t be stopped when they arrived at Earth. It was a shame, he knew Admiral Mankin supported him and he could have used that fleet in quelling the Colonies. He’d just have to keep building his own warships. But something had to be done about the Brax Warships that managed to attack Earth. Kuchen was going to have to answer for any more that hit the planet. He lifted his communicator and began speaking.
• • •
Admiral Kuchen sat on the Stalingrad and slowly shook his head. How was his squadron of warships going to stop the next Brax Vessel attacking Earth? In order to cover the entire planet, he would have to spread his ships out and it would take at least three-battleships to damage it. And that was providing it slowed down enough for his ships to get to it in time. Kuchen hesitated and lifted his microphone, “Attention all members of the crew. I have just received a message from General Thorpe that all of you need to be aware of. Recording starts now.”
“Admiral, if any more of the Brax Warships manage to damage another Defense Satellite or a city on the planet, I will hold you and the crew on your ship responsible. Everyone will be executed if it happens again.”
“But Sir…”
“Crash your ship into it or order another one of our warships to suicide it. You and your crew are ultimately responsible.”
Kuchen waited for a few moments and left the PA system active. One of his crew asked, “Sir, none of our ships have been anywhere near the three Brax Vessels that attacked. They appear to have deliberately avoided coming near the Squadron.”
“I’m aware of that,” Kuchen replied.
“Why are we being held responsible and not the Defense Satellites?”
“Because the General has no naval experience. He has commanded ground and satellite forces his entire career and doesn’t grasp the particulars of orbital mechanics. He doesn’t realize that if the next attack goes like the last three, there is no way to get close to the attacker. I’m going to spread the squadron out and hope that maybe one of my warships will be able to get close enough to slow it down.”
“Sir, one ship will not stop a Brax Warship, even if our vessel crashes into it, their hulls are too strong.”
“Again, the General does not have naval experience to know that. I just want all of you to be clear on the importance of stopping the next attack. That is all.”
Kuchen sat back and hoped one of the General’s men on board would relay the conversation. He really didn’t know if it would make a difference. But at this point, anything was worth trying to get Thorpe to change his mind. Four-weeks later, he was going to find out.
• • •
Rory looked around the conference room table and shook his head, “Are all of you in agreement about this?” The question was met with silence and Rory said, “I need you to answer!”
Dean looked around and said, “Either we’re at war or we’re not. If we are, the answer is clear that we must do this. If we’re not, then we should just give up and hand the fleet to Thorpe.”
Rory stared at Dean and shook his head. Meredith quietly said, “That’s why the hard decisions are left to the best of us to make them.”
“History will make me out to be the most-villainous traitor, who ever lived.”
Dean shrugged, “If it’s the enemy’s history, I could live with that.”
Rory stared at him and then said, “Launch it.”
• • •
Kuchen heard the klaxons and alarms go off. The strobe-lights were flashing and he shouted at his pilot, “MOVE US OUTSIDE THE DEFENSE SATELLITES TOWARD THE INTRUDER!!” The Stalingrad accelerated away from Earth at maximum speed and Kuchen saw the giant drive-field passing the orbit of Mars. The pilot turned the battleship and moved to intercept the giant Brax Warship but it didn’t slow down and blew past them in an instant. “SHOW ME THE TACTICAL FEED FROM THE SATELLITES!!!”
Kuchen saw the huge monitor come on and the huge drive-field was moving toward Earth at an unbelievable speed. It hadn’t shut down its drive filed and it blew past the Defense Satellites in an instant. They didn’t even have time to fire on the fast-moving Brax. It entered Earth’s atmosphere and the Brax’s drive-field was stripped away by the atmosphere, dropping its speed tremendously; but it was still moving at a velocity that was incredible.
Kuchen looked at the Status Monitor and saw one of the Defense Satellites was tracking the Brax as it flashed toward Earth’s surface and Kuchen knew where it was going to hit. “Move us away from the planet.”
The pilot pushed the Engine Control Lever forward and the Stalingrad moved outside the Moon’s orbit. Even from the Moon, the impact on Earth could be clearly seen. Kuchen shook his head and knew Thorpe was just about to go ballistic. He activated the ship’s PA and waited.
Chapter Sixteen
Thorpe was watching the same satellite feeds as Kuchen from high above Argentina in South America. He saw the mile-long Brax Warship blow through the atmosphere and hit dead-center in the massive ship building factories and facilities in Nagoya, which was one of Japan’s largest industrial cities. It was one of the few cities that was never bombed in World War II but the Brax impact more than made up for it.
The Brax Warship was only a mile long and it hit nose first. But it weighed more than half a billion tons and the shockwave blew out and incinerated everything for more than three-hundred miles around it. All of the ship building facilities went up in the massive blast but that wasn’t the worse thing; all of Earths best scientists and Techs were located there.
Thorpe would later decide that choosing Japan as a site to build his new fleet was not a good idea. Japan was often rocked by earthquakes and the impact set every fault off. Even the San Andres Fault in California let loose half-a-world away with an Earthquake that measured 10.1 on the Richter Scale. The ones in Japan were even higher than that. The loss of life from the planetary wide earthquakes would measure close to a billion and the tsunamis would take even more as they roared out into the Sea of Japan and South China Sea.
• • •
Thorpe watched the incredible devastation and then screamed, “KUCHEN!! YOU AND YOUR CREW ARE DEAD MEN!! PREPARE YOUR SHIP TO BE BOARDED!!”
• • •
Kuchen looked at his pilot, “Activate the drive-field and get us out of here.”
“Where to, Sir.”
“Anywhere but here.”
• • •
“Sir, the Stalingrad had just activated its drive-field and has left the Solar System.”
“GET THE SQUADRON AFTER IT…NOW!!”
• • •
Kuchen sighed and knew going to the colonies was a wasted effort; Thorpe would nuke any planet he landed on. He looked at his tactical monitor and saw his Squadron start to pursue him. “Head toward the Gap where Mankin is located.”
“Yes, Sir.”
• • •
A Scout intercepted the communications and contacted the New York. Meredith received the report and turned to Mankin, “You need to hear this.”
“Put it on my panel.”
• • •
Kuchen had a head start but he knew he wasn’t going to be able to move outside the scanning range of the pursuers. He could only hope Admiral Mankin could step in and try to talk some sense into General Thorpe. A voice said over the ship’s PA, “Admiral, shouldn’t we allow the ship to be boarded and try to explain to General Thorpe there was nothing we could do?”
Kuchen rolled his eyes; didn’t this idiot hear the General’s tone of voice? “I’m attempting to save all of our lives. However, if any of you believe I�
��m making the wrong decision, please come to the bridge and take command of the ship.”
• • •
Thirty-officers stood up to go to the bridge. Twenty-two of them were killed by the sailors they commanded. Of the eight that made it out of their units, six-were killed as they moved through other units on the Stalingrad. Two-Officers made it to the bridge and Kuchen shot them with a blaster as soon as they approached his chair. Kuchen said over the PA, “Is there anyone else who believes I’m making a bad decision.”
His question was greeted with silence until someone on board said, “I hope you shot those idiots!”
“I did. I’m just waiting to see if anyone else chooses to die as General Thorpe desires.” There was laughter throughout the ship as Kuchen stared at the blips on the scanner-monitor pursuing his ship.
• • •
Kuchen didn’t see a way out of his predicament. He looked around the bridge and said, “We may have to fight our way out of this.”
The wall speaker suddenly said, “Good-day, Admiral. I hope your day is going well.”
Kuchen’s eyes narrowed, “I’ve had better.”
“I imagine you have.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Admiral Bennett; I’m one of Admiral Mankin’s recent promotions. He’s sent me to offer you some advice and I hope you don’t take it.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are one of Thorpe’s henchmen and most of us felt that you should be just allowed to endure your fate. However, Admiral Mankin feels differently, so here I am. Are you ready to receive your advice?”
“What advice are you talking about?”
“I’m going to start reading a code to you and I want you to enter it into your computer’s database.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Every one of Thorpe’s Warships have had a virus downloaded into their computers and he can set off your ship’s self-destruct circuit by sending you another code when you lower your drive-field.”