While the interrogation was taking place, Kheldar called for medics and within minutes, he ushered them into the room where they inspected the other Generals to make ensure that there were no after effects of the drugged water. The water had traces of thalapozime in it, a drug that wildly exaggerate emotions and induce extreme paranoia. As they drank the water, the General’s behaviour would become more and more erratic.
Each of the Generals received a counteragent to nullify the effects of the drug and a thorough examination to make sure that there were no lasting side effects. It was not long before the counteragent had completed its job and the Generals were well on their way to being back to themselves, although a little embarrassed by the experience.
“Pyro, you can release General Felesh now,” Whizzbang ordered.
Felesh slumped forward in his chair as soon as Pyro released the mental constraints. Regaining his composure, he glared at Whizzbang and growled, “Granfaq aldag iet StarBlade.”
Although Whizzbang’s ears picked up the sound of Scourge speech, his mind was still in tune with Felesh’s and automatically translated, “You will die StarBlade.”
Whizzbang look Felesh directly in the eye and answered, “Gred a valqa gled ie vana pred.”
When Whizzbang spoke the Scourge language, a surprised Kheldar looked across to Bosk for the translation. “Whizzbang said, ‘Yes I will but not today.’”
“Good answer,” Kheldar replied.
Felesh’s eyes registered surprise and shock at Whizzbang’s reply in the Scourge language. Reverting to the Concord standard he said, “You don’t stand a chance you know. Our forces are overwhelming.”
Whizzbang’s eyes never left Felesh’s, “That may be true but you underestimate our resolve. In my world there have been many people that have thought the way you do and each of them has been defeated by those that cherish life.”
Felesh spat in Whizzbang’s face and screamed, “Your race is a blight on the galaxy! You will be erased from history as we are the Scourge!”
Whizzbang calmly wiped the spittle from his face with the back of his arm. “I’ve had about enough of you. Time for a sleep. Pyro, if you’d please.”
Pyro flicked a mental switch and General Felesh’s head flopped forward in deep sleep.
“Pyro, how long do you think he’ll be out for?”
“I just reset his internal body clock so that he felt like he hadn’t had any sleep for about a week. My guess is that he’ll be out for about twelve hours.”
Whizzbang smiled at Pyro. “You did good son, really good.” He then pressed the intercom and ordered security to come and haul Felesh away. By the time security arrived, the three remaining Generals were no longer feeling any effects from thalapozime and had regained their seats around the table.
Bosk slumped into a chair and looked forlornly at the fresh jug of water in the middle of the table. “Please excuse me for saying this but I never did trust anything that I could see right through. Is there any chance we could get a beer and some food up here? I’m starved after all of that action.”
Franky laughed and everyone around the table quickly joined in. It was the laughter of relieved tensions and the simple joy of being alive to fight another day. Finally, Franky said, “Bosk, you have a way about you don’t you? My friend, you’re right. An army fights on the strength of its last meal.” Still chuckling to himself, he pushed an intercom button and ordered a veritable feast brought to the boardroom.
For the next fifteen minutes, there was some small talk, as both parties began to get to know one another. General Bardon’s brow was not nearly as furrowed without the drug in his body and he voiced what the other Generals were thinking, “Who would have thought it was Felesh? I’ve known the man for over fifteen years!”
Whizzbang said, “It’s not your fault General. The spy was a facsimile of Felesh planted by the Scourge to disrupt the Concord’s command structure at a crucial moment. That moment was just before we arrived. The real Felesh was captured a couple of years ago.”
There was a polite knock at the boardroom door and the jug of water made way for the food and a selection of non-clear beverages. Whizzbang reflected that a possible downside to using some of their new abilities was they seemed to consume a large amount of energy. This theory certainly explained why they all seemed to feel so hungry.
Between mouthfuls of a chicken sandwich, Pyro broke the silence, “Generals you need to know what we’ve found out.”
“What’s that son?” General Bardon replied.
“Felesh reported directly to a General Grendig who resides in a command dome around the other side of Alpha Three. Felesh coordinated the recent Scourge attacks against the Concord for maximum impact. He was the one that scrambled the Concord’s defence grid that allowed Scourge troops to be positioned throughout Alpha Three without them being detected. What he didn’t anticipate was us,” Pyro indicated the Earthmen. “After their recent defeats, the Scourge are at their weakest for quite some time and have retreated back to their dome while they await additional off-world reinforcements.”
It was at this point that Whizzbang jumped in and said, “It’s from the fortress that the Barrier that’s keeping the Concord locked into this tiny part of the planet is generated. Generals, in my opinion, right now we have an opportunity to retake Alpha Three but we need to act quickly and decisively.”
“How did you get all this information?” Franky asked.
“And here I was seriously considering Felesh’s idea of evacuation,” General Alban mumbled half to himself.
Whizzbang sent a thought to the squad, “Should I tell them?”
Bosk replied, “I don’t think we have any choice.”
The others gave a mental nod of agreement.
Whizzbang took a deep breath and said, “Generals we’ve got to tell you something…”
Whizzbang and the team explained what happened to them when they put on their battleframes and some of the new abilities that they had discovered. General Alban was sceptical at first but her eyes widened in surprise and understanding after Whizzbang sent a thought directly to her. A person can never lie to another when they are in direct mental rapport with each other and therefore she knew that Whizzbang was telling the truth.
Franky took a long swig of his beer and said, “What else can you guys do?”
Whizzbang said, “We don’t actually know. We think that something happened when our physiology encountered the nanomeds. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?”
Franky looked to the other Generals who were both shaking their heads, “Not that we’re aware of. As you know from the computer game, Altavia and Professor Zeinberg developed the nanomeds as a way to heal infantry and keep them in the field as long as possible. Other than telepathy can you do anything else, anything at all?”
“We really haven’t had a chance to find out or do any real experimentation and by the sounds of the new Scourge intelligence we’re not going to get a chance any time too soon.”
“What do you mean?” Bardon asked.
“The Concord has a real opportunity to take back Alpha Three and I think we need to seize it with both hands.”
“Whizz, I know you guys are good and your new abilities are amazing but the Barrier will kill you as fast as me.”
“I wonder...,” Whizzbang paused mid-sentence and then turning to his squad he asked, “Did any of you drink the drugged water?”
Bosk said, “Come to think of it after the journey from Free I was a little thirsty so we probably all did.” The other members of the squad nodded their heads in agreement.
Whizzbang pondered aloud, “Why didn’t it affect us like the Generals then?”
Elzetro replied, “It could be that our biological machines have a slightly different genetic make-up so we are immune?”
“That could be the answer but I bet we’re immune to a lot of things now. General Alban, is there any cyanide on this base?”
“Of course, it�
��s used in the manufacturing of some specific electronic components.”
“Can you please ask for some to be brought up?”
“Yes but why?”
“I have a hunch about something.”
A few minutes later, an aid placed a glass bottle of deadly cyanide on the table and then exited the room. Bosk wrinkled his nose when Whizzbang poured a glass of water from the jug that had been pushed aside earlier.
“I’ll just put enough cyanide into the glass to make me sick but hopefully not kill me.”
Bosk exclaimed, “What the?”
“Trust me Bosk.”
Everyone looked on with astonishment as Whizzbang took a few sips of the water and then downed a full mouthful.
Whizzbang looked back at his son and friends and said, “Well, I’m waiting for the poison to take effect.”
Still nothing happened so he then drank the whole glass.
Bosk said, “Do you feel anything?”
“Other than having drunk the water a little too fast I feel fine.”
“Dad, seriously, don’t ever do this again. What was the point?”
“I think we can survive in the Barrier.”
“The Barrier! You’ve got to be joking!” Franky exclaimed.
Thirty minutes later the Generals and the Earthmen found themselves in their battleframes standing next to the enigmatic sparkling purple tinged impenetrable wall known as the Barrier. Many battleframe pilots had tried to see what was on the other side of the Barrier and some had paid with their lives for the experience. The massive Concord repulsor beams were the only power that affected the Barrier by shielding the current Concord area on the planet. Nothing else had managed to do anything against the Barrier.
Whizzbang tied a rope around his waist and said to Bosk, “Give me thirty seconds and no matter what pull me back.”
“CT Whizz”
Without further fuss, Whizzbang stepped through the Barrier and was pleasantly surprised to see that he felt normal. For the first ten seconds or so tiny purple sparks moved up and down his arms and legs but that was all.
Whizzbang sent a questing thought towards his son, “Do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear Dad. Is everything OK?”
“All is good. Hang on, let me try something.”
Whizzbang looked at the Barrier and “pushed” at it with his will power. The Barrier seemed to respond by creating a bubble of free normal space around him. Whizzbang pushed a little harder, focusing ever-increasing levels of his will into the task. Slowly but surely the Barrier retreated away from him until he could clearly see Bosk holding his end of the rope.
“OK, show-off, that seemed to work. How’d you do it?” Bosk asked.
Whizzbang smiled and said, “It’s actually quite easy. In fact, we can survive in the Barrier quite fine and other than a purple haze to everything, it’s quite normal. All I did was focus my will to push it back.”
All the Earthmen headed into the Barrier and even DG and Kheldar did not have any problems other than they could not push anything away with their will power. After returning to Franky and the others Whizzbang said, “Generals, we need your help.”
General Alban said, “There’s something that we need to clean up first Whizzbang.”
“Sir?”
Franky said in a very formal voice, “By the power invested in me by the Concord and my fellow Generals I now announce to those present as witnesses that Whizzbang is to be promoted to the rank of Commander.”
General Alban gave a wink and said, “We thought that we’d better make it official seeing that we’ve heard that the whole of Freehold refer to you as Commander anyway.”
The accolades and ranks did not finish with Whizzbang. Each member of the squad of Earthmen gained a rank in the Concord. Bosk became Sub-Commander, Elzetro and Pyro Lieutenants and DG and Kheldar Captains.
Despite standing next to the Barrier, it was a moving moment for each member of the squad to receive their rank and commission. If it is one thing that Generals know how to do and that is to bestow honours.
At the end of the ceremony Franky asked, “So, what do you need of us three Generals Commander?”
To speed things up Whizzbang went into mental rapport with the three of them as well as linking in his squad, “I plan on taking my squad of Earthmen into the Barrier to attack and destroy the Scourge fortress and Barrier towers.”
It did not take the Generals long to get accustomed to telepathy and General Bardon thought to the group, “That’s an ambitious plan Commander.”
“Yes it is, but after Felesh’s interrogation we have a window of opportunity now.”
“What else do you need?” General McCleod asked.
“I need all the drop ships in Alpha Three and pilots crazy enough to fly above the Barrier to this point here.” He then mentally sent a position on the map of Alpha Three on the other side of the world.
General Alban mentally said, “I have just the person to lead that sort of crazy job.”
“Who?”
“Why me of course!”
General Bardon mentally spoke to Alban via Whizzbang, “It’s good to see that you still get messy in affairs General.”
“I’ve been known to indulge from time to time. Just like you General Bardon,” Alban said with a smirk on her face.
Franky cut across the good-natured banter. “You need anything else Whizz? Anything all?”
Whizzbang thought for a moment, “Yes, there is one more thing General. Can the Concord fix up my bar tab at Folley’s? I didn’t realise how expensive drinks were in Alpha Three and the men and women at Freehold can really drink!”
All three Generals laughed heartily and Franky mentally said, “Consider it done.”
Whizzbang sent a thought to Bosk, “It’s good to see the Generals laughing.”
“Yes. We arrived with them at each other’s throats and now they’re beginning to function as a team once again.”
“It’s what we do Bosk. We fix things.”
“Now we just need to fix this Scourge base.”
“I wish we’d had more time to experiment with our new capabilities.”
“I just wish I had a drink,” Bosk replied quirkily.
Now it was time for Whizzbang to laugh, “Bosk, I think it’s time to see if these Generals have any of the ‘good stuff’ ferretted away somewhere.”
Bosk’s face split into a grin and Franky asked, “What’s the joke Bosk?”
“General, I was wondering if you happen to have…”
Chapter 12
Attack!
The purple hued clouds far below slowly slid by as the drop ship made its way to the other side Alpha Three. The Barrier sparkled through the gaps in the clouds and tinged the landscape with a purple hue. It looked like they were now traveling over a vast forest while twenty minutes earlier they had been flying above snow-capped mountains.
Their aircraft was the lead drop ship in a squadron that comprised every vessel that could fly on the planet. Each craft was jam packed full of battleframe pilots that were all eager to get on with the mission. As soon as Whizzbang’s squad had infiltrated the Scourge base, they were to destroy the Barrier towers so that the rest of the pilots could join in. Newly appointed as strike leaders, Gardner, Acheron, Happy and Tiny coordinated three squads each. After hearing of Selfia’s respect amongst the other pilots the Generals promoted Selfia to the rank of group strike leader to help in the coordination of the entire assault. Their orders were to wait up top for Whizzbang’s signal that the Barrier was clear before entering the battle.
Tearing his eyes away from the window Whizzbang said a few words of encouragement to the Earthmen and headed up the short ladder to talk with the pilot. Due to a shortage of pilots, the dual seat cockpit was currently only occupied by one. There was nothing to see in the cockpit. It was completely devoid of instruments and surrounded by reinforced armour with no glass visible whatsoever. Covered in sensors, the pilot’s flight suit lin
ked directly into the flight control systems of the dropship. The helmet provided an unobstructed virtual view of everywhere around the ship as well as relevant instrumentation and weapons status. It was very different to the flight decks that Whizzbang had experienced when he did his pilot’s training back on Earth.
“General, is there much further to go?” he asked.
Whizzbang watched as General Alban twitched her hand and reached up to adjust an invisible dial before she replied, “We’re nearly at the drop point. You’d better let the others know.”
“Thank you for flying us out here.”
“Not a problem, it’s great to get behind the controls of a bird again. I’ve spent way too much time being a desk jockey these past years.”
“All the same, it’s good to have you here. How much time do we have?”
“We should all be able to circle for a couple of hours before low fuel forces us to return. It’s not much time but it’s all we can give you. Do you have the tellurite explosives to take those Barrier towers out?”
Whizzbang nodded, “I think we’ve got enough to bring them down, anymore and we’ll be too heavy to glide. General, if we’re longer than a couple of hours then we most likely haven’t succeeded. Promise me that you’ll bug out and see to the defence of the colony.
“I promise Commander. By the way, remember that when you set the fuses you’ve only twenty minutes to get clear. Once set, nothing can shut off the detonators so there won’t be any fancy count-down timers for you.”
Whizzbang laughed nervously and said, “General, we’ll do our best.” He then grew serious and placed a number of envelopes on the vacant co-pilot’s seat. “I was wondering, if we don’t make it could you arrange this to be sent through to my wife and Pyro’s mother. There’s also one envelope for each of the others.”
Battleframe (The Mindwars Book 1) Page 30