Battleframe (The Mindwars Book 1)

by Michael Gilmour

  “I need you to stay with the Blue Sky team here. Can you do that?”

  “Sure, the girls and I will meet with them each day.”

  “No, not just meet with them.”

  Now she was getting curious. “What do you mean?”

  “I need the three of you to learn everything that you can about them and how their technology works. I know that this is a big ask but I’m sure that the girls will help out a lot.”

  “Why do you want us to do this?”

  Russell released his wife from his embrace so that he could better see the reaction on her face. “If what Mark and the rest of the Blue Sky team say is true then Alpha Three is only a tiny side battle in a much larger war. How long do you think it will take for the Scourge to discover Earth?”

  Esther paused for before continuing, “Oh… It won’t take them long,” she said with sudden understanding at what Russell was driving at.

  “While we’re gone you and Marie will have to prepare our girls as fast as you can.”

  “I understand,” Esther answered thoughtfully.

  Russell absently ran his fingers through his wife’s hair. “I’ve already spoken with Mihaly and he’s going to talk with Marie tonight.”

  “I’ll get us all studying as soon as you leave in the morning.”

  Russell smiled at his wife.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’re an amazing woman.”

  Esther batted her eyelids provocatively and coyly said, “Why do you say that?”

  Russell reached behind him to turn off the light as he said, “I think we’ve had about enough talking for now.”

  Despite the dire circumstances, Esther gave a little giggle as she felt Russell’s hands lovingly reach across towards her.

  The next day and their wives and girls said their good-byes over a lengthy breakfast. The previous evening they had unanimously elected not to attend the interstellar eport just in case they saw their loved ones go through something they did not want to see.

  Before he boarded the van to take them to Blue Sky Russell turned to Esther and said, “I’ll see you later.”

  Esther returned a reassuring smile and said, “I know.”

  After a short drive to the Blue Sky offices, the van door opened and revealed a smiling Crystal who said, “It’s so good to see you all again.”

  James could not help himself and replied, “It’s always good to see you Crystal,” as he took in her very feminine charms.

  Beside him Alex mumbled, “Calm down James, she’s way out of your league.”

  James smiled at Alex and whispered, “Nothing wrong with aiming high.”

  Russell stepped in between the two young men and said, “That’s enough you two.”

  Crystal ignored the byplay and once again as the consummate professional, she escorted them all to the room housing the interstellar TransWarp machine. Each of the men was wearing a set of grey Concord overalls and a pair of sturdy boots designed to withstand the rigors of the eport. Mark and the majority of the Concord staff stationed in Los Angeles were waiting for them to arrive.

  Mark stepped forward and formally saluted the Earthmen. “Don’t forget that when you get to Freehold you can use your wrist-comp to communicate to here. Sending and receiving a few bytes of traffic is possible as long as there is an active scanning tower nearby.”

  Russell was efficient as ever and replied, “CT Commander.”

  Tony, Adam and Frank approached, shook the Earthmen’s hands and wished them well. When Tony came before Russell he said, “I knew you’d come through for us Whizz.” He then embraced Russell in a bear hug and whispered, “Get those frapping Scourge for my family’s sake.” Releasing his hold, he stepped back a little embarrassed by the display of affection.

  “Tony, don’t worry. We’ll do our best for us all.”

  “Thanks Whizz.”

  Mark opened the door to the TransWarp and ushered them all inside. Despite the myriad of hoses, wires and other strange apparatus sticking out of the interstellar TransWarp on the outside the inside was plain, almost boring.

  Mark looked through the doorway at the six of them standing in the centre of the room. So much hinged on these six men. He hoped they had the strength to carry the hope of the Concord on their shoulders. Pushing aside his concerns, he smiled encouragingly at each of them and said, “Gentlemen, good luck,” and with a sense of finality, Mark closed the door.

  The Earthmen found themselves standing in a plain unfurnished room about the size of typical bedroom. The walls, ceiling and floor were all the same featureless grey. They could not hear any sounds from outside and their own voices sounded dull and lifeless.

  “OK, this is a bit of an anticlimax,” Pyro stated flatly.

  Elzetro looked around at the blank wall and said, “You’re telling me.”

  “Be quiet you two,” Whizzbang whispered in a hushed voice as he held up his fingers and began counting down on them. “OK, get ready!”

  General Grendig thrummed his right claw irritably on the metallic armrest of his high backed throne. The raised throne sat upon a dais in the middle of the Scourge Alpha Three command dome. It contained a series of dials and switches to activate various functions that the General required. Flicking one of those switches the General flipped to a fresh screen as he surveyed the results from the recent setbacks. Data flooded onto the left of the three massive displays suspended from the dome over forty feet above and in front of him. From these three screens, the General viewed the dispositions of individual fists, groups of fists known as strikes and could even launch battle-pods into the accursed human sanctuary inside Alpha Three.

  Despite the best sound proofing available the nearby twenty story high Barrier generators sent pulsing sound waves through the control room infrastructure. Normally the presence of the Barrier would assuage the General’s dark demeanour. However, as he watched the losses continue to increase he let out a low growl and hammered a communication stud on the control board in front of him. Things were not going to the plan.

  A pale skinned, pink-eyed face materialised onto the huge right hand screen. The twin crossed swords insignia on his shoulders indicated a strike leader, the commander of one hundred and twenty warriors. Upon recognising who had called him the strike leader visibly quailed and said with an almost panic-stricken voice, “General!”

  “Report!” yelled Grendig through snarling teeth that in the Scourge tradition were carefully sharpened to fine points. All the better to rip out an enemy’s throat if your blaster fails.

  “I don’t know how to explain it my Lord…” mumbled the underling.

  Grendig’s eyes narrowed, “I said, report!”

  “The StarBlade Lord General! The StarBlade attacked our forces and ruthlessly slaughtered them all.”

  “I can see that on my display you miserable excuse for one of the blessed!” The General let out a low growl in the back of his throat. “Do you think that I am unaware of the disaster that you have been overseeing?”

  Upon viewing the intensity of the General’s piercing eyes the strike leader panicked and resorted to the tried and tested Scourge solution in such circumstances, he lied. Suggesting just a hint of a smile the strike leader steadied himself. “General, the StarBlade ambushed us with over three hundred battleframes. Our warriors fought bravely but sadly they will be dining with their blood kin in the great halls this evening.” Feeling more at ease as the lie took shape, the strike leader continued, “Due to my superior abilities and intellect I escaped the StarBlade’s trap to bring this report to your greatness.”

  Grendig looked across to the left screen. Where only forty-eight hours earlier the board had red dots indicating Scourge warriors congregating for the final assault on the human settlement of Freehold, now there was none. Other than the forces within the command dome and a few scattered remnants, the Scourge forces on Alpha Three had suffered multiple defeats where there should have been victories.

  Shi
fting his gaze from the map of Alpha Three back to the strike leader, Grendig said almost casually, “Your services are no longer required.” He then pressed another stud on his console that activated a dormant ‘friend’ and watched, with almost eager anticipation, as the strike leader began to scream and claw at his face. His sharpened nails stripped great swaths of flesh from his sunken cheeks before he collapsed to the ground, twitching and convulsing uncontrollably. Death finally took hold and all was still except for a white grub that devouring the strike leaders pink eye, from the inside out. With the underling already forgotten the General indulged himself in a rare smile, after feasting, the little one would grow to become a large Barrier-born Spyderlynx.

  Turning back to the problem at hand Grendig mulled over what he had learned. It was obvious that the incompetent strike leader was lying and that it was more likely that two hundred and not three hundred battleframes had attacked his forces. Who was this StarBlade? Since he had returned, there was one set back after another. The plan was in tatters! The General was just about to order a minion to bring a cup of blood wine, when the central monitor sprung to life.

  He had only ever seen the middle screen activate once, when he was first instructed to conquer Alpha Three and enslave the surviving population. Now it was the General’s turn to be nervous.

  The indistinct fuzzy shape in the monitor was all that materialised of his superior. Although the video was purposefully distorted, the audio was crystal clear and crackled liked a lightning bolt across the central command dome. “General, report!”

  General Grendig swallowed slowly and replied, “We have pushed the Concord to a small patch of Alpha Three. Their defeat is now certain my Lord.”

  “Why is it that you claim to have nearly subdued this world and yet the forces at your disposal are greatly diminished?”

  The General took another swallow and felt the burning of stomach acid rising in his throat. “We are dispatching forces from the command dome now to complete the task.”

  “Your conclusion that the Concord is near defeat is based upon conjecture and hearsay, not fact!”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  With a snarl of derision the disembodied voice blasted out, “You will only speak when you have facts!”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “Keep your troops at the command dome and prepare for an attack.”

  This time the General’s turn to be shocked, “An attack my Lord? We are within a fortress in the middle of the great Barrier.” Then with disdain in his voice he said, “No human can reach us here.”

  The voice took on an air of malevolence as it boomed, “General, you are wrong! You will be attacked and it will be soon! Do as I command!”

  General Grendig bowed his head and replied, “My purpose is to obey.”

  The connection snapped shut and thirty light years away Zechlan, a green skinned, white haired humanoid sat in a dome similar to Grendig’s and looked for the first time in his long life, worried. It was clear that a new player had emerged in the war and was turning the odds in the Concord’s favour. He was certain that the fool Grendig would be attacked but he had to make certain that his hunch was correct. Punching a stud on his command desk, he opened up a one way communication screen into the General’s command dome so that he could observe what transpired while he remained hidden.

  Zechlan face broke into an evil smile and one inch sharpened incisors revealed themselves. He wondered if it was time for the General to develop an itchy eye.

  Chapter 6

  Alpha Three

  A typical eport lasts only for a few seconds and tears at the very heart and soul of a battleframe pilot. It is so traumatic that some pilots never recover from the experience. What Mark did not tell the Earthmen, was this was the first time the interstellar TransWarp had transported anything bigger than a mouse.

  Rather than lasting a couple of seconds, Whizzbang and his squad experienced the most horrendous, terrifying pain inflicting teleportation for a full forty-one seconds. There were not any swirling clouds or following a tube like in a science fiction novel – they saw nothing and felt like a hundred knives were slicing the skin from their flesh. The agony was unlike anything either of them had experienced before or wanted to experience ever again. Later, Kheldar would say his major car accident, that put him in hospital for two months, was a walk in the park compared to the experience.

  Nevertheless, the Earthmen endured the experience. They had the mental drive and fortitude to hang-on and push through the rigours of the interstellar TransWarp.

  Mark also did not share with them the fact that the TransWarp would place them within two hundred metres of the Freehold scanning tower, horizontally and vertically! When they materialised on Alpha Three, it was by sheer luck that they appeared on the top of the giant rock behind Freehold. They could very well have been dropped above the courtyard with the Freedom Flame and plummet to their deaths or worse still, materialise in the middle of the rock itself!

  The teleportation finally finished and the six travellers unceremoniously crashed to the ground next to the lookout tent above Freehold. The tent was not big but it did provide some cover for scouts. Panting and sweating profusely Bosk asked no one in particular, “OK, if you have the energy, put your hand up if you want to do that again.”

  Still lying on the ground Russell shook his head from side to side to make sure his brains were still intact. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. “There’s not a chance I’m having the girls go through that.”

  DG slowly got to his feet, staggered a few steps and then steadied himself by leaning against the side of the tent, “Hey guys, do you feel the difference?”

  “Hang on while I shove my brains back into my head DG,” Pyro replied, as he laid sprawled upon the ground. He finally got his elbow propped up under him and replied, “DG, I do feel the difference. It’s not like before at all. This feels real!”

  “That’s because it is real,” a gravelly bass voice said from the other side of the lookout tent. Tiny’s face appeared from the far side of the tent, surrounded in a cloud of blue cigar smoke. “It’s good to see you again Whizz,” he said as a big grin split his face in two and revealed his trademark shattered teeth.

  Whizzbang gritted his teeth, stood up unsteadily and said, “Tiny! It’s great to see you too! What are you doing up here?”

  “After you all decided to leave us at the end of the battle on the hill, Selfia coordinated Acheron, Gardner and I into squads to run patrols on the perimeter. I assigned myself up here and the rest of my squad is down near the beach doing lookout duty.”

  “I knew she had it in her to get things under control!”

  Tiny swiped at a passing fly with his armoured fist and said, “Can I just say you’re all looking terrible and a little naked without your battleframes.”

  Whizzbang had always enjoyed Tiny’s down to earth way of saying things just straight. He smiled and replied, “We’ve been through the equivalent of a forty one second eport. You’ll have to excuse us but I’m just happy no one is drooling out the side of their mouth.” Looking across at Kheldar, Whizzbang asked, “Kheldar, you OK?”

  Kheldar replied with an effort, “Yeah I’m OK. Pyro, I won’t be doing any partying for a while. I feel like I’ve the worst hang-over ever!”

  “Don’t worry Kheldar, I’m not dancing with anyone!” Pyro answered as he slowly gained his feet.

  Whizzbang laughed, “I think that you need some of the good liquid medicine served a Folly’s Kheldar.” Turning back to Tiny he asked, “So what’s been going on since we left?”

  Tiny took another long pull on his cigar and slowly exhaled a trail of pungent blue smoke. “After you left we scoured the battlefield for tellurite and spare parts. Selfia ordered your cyber-frames moved into the main courtyard until you returned. She was certain you’d be back.”

  “It’s fair to say that the Blue Sky team on our home world of Earth made it a compelling proposition.”

&nb
sp; “By the way, we called them cyber-frame because they had some hi-tech gizmo that allowed you to control them from where you come from.”

  “Didn’t people notice that we looked a little different?”

  “Whizz, over the years I’ve seen all sorts of crazy stuff dreamed up by Blue Sky. It’s real strange looking at you all in the flesh though. The exact replica of you they materialised from malleable energy was pretty good. Unless you looked close, no one would have noticed that you were energised. Besides, most of the time you had your face shields down or it was at night.” Tiny took another long pull on his cigar before letting out a long stream of blue smoke. “I must admit that even for Blue Sky this was one out of the box. What counted for me was that it was obvious that a real person was piloting the battleframe and that always gets my respect.”

  “You’re a good man Tiny.”

  Tiny revealed his shattered teeth in a smile that seemed to light up his face. “Don’t spread that around Whizz or I’ll lose my reputation as a rabble rouser.”

  Whizzbang winked and said, “You’re secret’s safe with me.”

  “Now that you’re here in person you won’t know yourselves when you finally get dressed with some good armour around you.”

  “Tiny, you have no idea how much I’m looking forward to getting into my Raven.” Before continuing, Whizzbang took a moment to gaze across at the spectacular vista and Freehold far below. “I can’t believe that I’m actually on another world. For the whole of my life I’ve wanted to go into space and now we’re all farther than any Earthmen have ever been before.” Coming out of his distracted ramblings, he reached up and patted Tiny’s armoured arm as if to reassure himself that he was for real. “It’s good to see you for real my friend. Come on everyone, let’s go and get dressed.”

  In a battleframe, it would take only a few seconds to leap off the edge off the edge of the cliff, kick in your jets and gently manoeuvre down to the courtyard below. Without their battleframes, it took Whizzbang’s squad close to half an hour to clamber down the mountain and that was with Tiny’s assistance. The good thing was the exercise managed to help clear everyone’s heads of the after effects of the TransWarp.