by Saxon Andrew
“Let’s try three.”
Grang grunted.
Jingo raised the control and said, “I agree.” He pushed the button and three discs shot out across the clearing. Scotty aimed and fired three times in quick succession. All three discs were hit.
Jingo and Grang stared at Scotty. He handed the gun to Jingo and said, “I guess you should leave the shooting in the hands of a professional.” Scotty waited a moment and said, “By the way, I had Vring work on my vision. He helped me learn how to follow objects just like when he taught me how to fire the bowguns.”
Jingo looked at Grang and said, “Looks like it’s back to school.” Grang tilted his head and nodded. Jingo turned to Scotty, “What brings you out to the forest?”
“Bleath has offered to fly the team in to take the database and I’m thinking it might be a good idea. I wanted to see what the two of you thought about it.”
Jingo thought about it, “Scotty, I need to see a detailed aerial map of the location. You’ll need two hundred feet of overhead clearance to fly an adult Zord in. I can tell you right now they’ll have to come in lower than the surrounding buildings.”
Scotty nodded and Grang asked, “Why.”
“Because I’m sure there are scanners on the tops of the buildings scanning for incoming aircraft that would detect a Zord.”
Jingo turned to Scotty, “Maybe we should get together on one of the ships and take a look at their videos.”
“Jessica would be the best choice for that. She has the most time in the New Ulmerton System. We need to get Nathan, Timmy, Mallory, and the flyers together so we can all be on the same page.”
Jingo looked at Grang and Grang asked, “Why does Timmy need to be there?”
Scotty looked at them and said, “I’m going to use Greyson in the attack. Timmy will be there with him and I think it’s important for their bonding.”
Grang looked at Jingo and Jingo said, “Losing him would hurt the community almost as much as losing you.”
“That’s another thing; I’m going to go in with the team.”
Grang looked at Scotty and said, “What does Julie say about that?”
“She disagrees with my decision; however, it’s something that I must do.”
Jingo was struggling with how to tell Scotty that he was making a bad decision. He knew how Scotty was when he made up his mind but this was not a risk that should be taken. While he struggled to find the words, Grang said, “Then you should take Julie in with you. Obviously, you don’t hold any value for the feelings of those who find peace of mind knowing you are here protecting them. Do you find it that hard trusting your warriors to able to carry out your commands? Oh, I forgot, it’s always good strategy to send the commanding officer out in the first wave of attack to insure success.”
Scotty looked at Grang and Jingo just stared at the huge Magrum. Grang continued, “When we’re investing a thousand planets trying to build our new empire, are we going to have to wait for you to show up at every planet to lead the attack?”
Scotty was stunned at Grang’s angry remarks. “You know I’m the best with our new gun.”
“I’m the best at lifting weight. Am I going to have to lift everything that has to be moved?”
Scotty took a deep breath, “I wouldn’t want to continue ruling if anything happened to you two.”
Grang put his hand on Scotty’s shoulder, “Sometimes you must do those things you would rather avoid. It’s called command. That is your calling.” He looked at Jingo, “Ours is much easier and a lot more fun. We get to go play with these toys.”
Jingo said, “You know he’s right.”
Scotty looked at his two best friends and shook his head, “I guess I’m forced to agree with you. When Grang talks like Jingo and Jingo like Grang, something dramatic is happening. I’ll let Julie know; she’s been really worried.”
“Let’s get this party started.” Jingo laughed, “I’ll notify all those participating in the exercise and we’ll get together tomorrow morning at the learning center.”
Scotty sighed and nodded. He missed being in the center of all the action. He understood how Bleath felt now. The warrior in him craved taking part but he knew they were right.
Greyson and Timmy were in stealth mode above New Ulmerton. They watched the sun go below the horizon and watched the building that housed the Military Database on the display. “Are you sure about shaping the screen?”
“I’m positive, Timmy. I’m not going to activate it unless I sense the Searcher overhead is activating his weapons.”
“Will you have enough time?”
“Oh, yes. My upgrades have made a significant difference in my reaction time. The problem will be if more than two Searchers come to this location.”
“They shouldn’t do that if BC and Grace are hitting Daulun’s Castle.”
“We’ll see.”
Timmy thought a moment and decided to ask, “How do you feel about killing one of the Searchers here. I know they’re your friends.”
“That’s why the Emperor put me here instead of the castle. He knows that would be asking too much. His wisdom really makes me glad to be a part of his Empire. However, if I had to do it to protect you; I will.”
“Try to avoid it if you can. I don’t want you to have to endure more suffering over decisions forced on you.”
“That decision won’t be forced. It’s one I’ll make willingly.”
Greyson had his passive scanners extended and Tesa said, “One hour to launch. Everything looks normal.”
Timmy stared at the display and hoped the plan worked. They would know shortly. Mallory had told them that the night commander reported to the building at eleven pm each night and the armored door to the building would be opened for him. Fifty minutes to go.
Jingo looked at Grang, “Are you ready?”
“Um.”
Don’t get all brave and do something stupid going in that door.”
“Um”
“I mean it.”
“According to Mallory there will only be two soldiers opening the door so I’ll only have to deal with three of them. Even you could do that on your worst day.”
Jingo looked at Grang. “What?”
“Um.” Grang actually smiled and mounted his Zord. It was almost show time and this is what made it all worthwhile. He lifted and began his climb into Bristone’s sky as Jingo, Nathan, and Mallory rose behind him.
Traffic was not allowed after dark on the street where the Military Institute of Advanced Studies was located. However there were vehicles parked along the street and the Zord were going to have to fly above them to arrive at the entrance. Timmy watched as the Night Commander approached the entrance on foot. When he was two hundred yards away he sent a message. Grang was circling on Bristone above the one way teleport screen waiting for Timmy’s message. He heard, “Go!”
Megee dove from ten thousand feet and accelerated at an incredible speed toward the huge silver screen in front of them and disappeared through it. The huge Zord had enough speed to glide the four miles toward the entrance. Three hundred yards out Grang stood and ran down Megee’s back and slid down his tail. They came in quickly and Megee went vertical and dropped his tail to the street. Grang released his grip, rolled twice, and came to his feet running twenty feet behind the night commander. The two soldiers opening the door had pulled the massive door open and Grang came around the commander and rolled into the hallway below the scanner being used to scan the commander’s face. The three Provincial Soldiers felt a quick breeze and they looked up at the Sky. Megee had turned over below the tops of the buildings and flew a mile back up the street and landed between two large military carriers.
“Tesa?”
“The door has moved but has not completely closed. There is no light coming around the edge. It looks like Grang was successful.”
Timmy sent the message.
Nathan, Mallory, and Jingo flew at high speed through the silver screen and their Flyers glided down the long s
treet and landed in front of the entrance. The riders dismounted quickly and the Zord moved to stand next to the walls of the buildings on the opposite side of the street. One of the guards felt the breeze of their passing and looked around but didn’t see anything. The three riders ran up to the huge door and slipped inside through the narrow opening Grang had left.
Mallory went in first and immediately saw the three bodies against the back wall. It was clear that Grang had used his short swords to eliminate them. Blood was everywhere.
Mallory looked at Nathan and pointed ahead and held up four fingers. Jingo took the lead and moved up the corridor. At the end of the hall he looked around the corner and saw four guards with blasters sitting in chairs talking. He and Grang turned the corner and quietly moved toward them. Nathan put his hand on Mallory’s shoulder and held up his hand telling her to wait. He counted to ten and took her hand and led her around the corner. The four guards were still in their chairs but were missing their heads which were placed in their laps.
Mallory ran by them and punched in a code on an electronic lock that opened a door to a stairway. The four entered and climbed three flights. She held up two fingers on her right hand and three on her left. Jingo looked at Grang and pointed right. He looked at Nathan and pointed left. He held up one finger. Grang and Nathan nodded and pulled the door in and slipped into the hall. The door made a small scraping sound and Mallory knew the guards were going to know they were here. She stood there with her gun debating what to do when Nathan opened the door and pulled her through.
Mallory now knew the hardest part of the exercise was about to happen. She turned off her Zecka and went to the door that protected the Military Database Computer. She prayed they had not changed the entry code and she entered her father’s birthday. The light turned green and she stepped through. The eight guards in the room jumped up and raised their blasters as she entered. She looked at the guards and said, “Hey, what are you doing? My father needs some information and he sent me to get it.”
The guards were stunned. They hadn’t been told that Mallory was back. The commander started shaking his head and raised his communicator. All eight were hit with sparks and burned instantly. Nathan and Mallory ran forward and used a high intensity hand torch to cut through the base around the computer. Grang grabbed the base and lifted it over his head and put it on the floor away from the wiring. Nathan and Mallory began removing wires following their connections following the process that Vring had imprinted on their memory. Grang and Jingo waited at the door expecting trouble. Finally, they pulled the last connection and Grang came and grabbed the black square that housed the system. They heard him grunt but he lifted it over his head and held it there. Jingo and Nathan led the way out the door and Mallory closed it and reset the lock. They moved quickly down the hall and ran down the stairs.
The Middle Shift Commander waited in his office for his relief to come and sign in. It was fifteen minutes past his reporting time and in the ten years Sheve knew him, he had never been late. He saw his com activate and then go off. He looked at it and saw that it was the Captain in the computer room. He hit his com and it didn’t connect. That was odd. He stood and walked across the hall into the security room and saw the two privates assigned to watching the monitors were arguing about a woman they were both pursuing. He looked at the monitor in the computer room and didn’t see anyone. He looked at the entrance to the building and it was dark. Evidently the light was out. He hit the infrared and saw the three dead bodies on the floor. He looked at the two privates and shot them with a blaster. He hit the alarm and it began sounding off all over the building and the street outside.
The Riders made it as far as the four guards in their chairs when they heard the alarms go off. Nathan pointed up the hall and motioned them to go. Jingo grabbed Mallory’s hand and pulled her. She resisted not willing to leave Nathan behind but he looked at her and pointed up the hall. She allowed Jingo to pull her toward the exit. Nathan activated his gun and set it for burn. He set the frequency for blasters and waited as he heard the sound of running feet. The door at the end of the hall flew open and he fired ten sparks. The five guards that came rushing through the door were burned before they could move ten feet. The other five sparks flew through the open door, separated, and flew up the halls looking for anyone holding a blaster. Nathan waited and then he heard the first explosions outside the building. He switched the gun to explosive and fired fifteen sparks through the door at the end of the hall. He turned and ran toward the exit. The fifteen sparks flew through the open door and started flying down the halls.
Four guards exited doors on the second floor and were hit. The explosions collapsed the ceilings making the halls impassable. Four sparks actually followed six guards up the stairs to the roof. The guards had left the doors open behind them and that proved to be fatal. They arrived on the roof and raised their blasters just as the sparks came out of the stairwell and zoomed in on them. The explosions were huge and all eight guards on the roof were blown over the edge to the street ten stories below.
Fifteen minutes after the four Riders left to infiltrate the building, fifty riders flew through the screen and landed one mile from the entrance. They dismounted and moved up the street on foot. They spaced themselves a hundred feet apart on opposite sides of the street. Kron was the first to arrive at the building and saw the four Zord up against the walls across the street from the the entrance. He checked his gun and saw that there were eight blasters within sixty seven feet of his location. He looked up and saw that the stars were blurry. The Duke’s Searcher’s screen still covered the building. Maybe they could get away without a fight. So far everything looked fine; the four infiltrators had not been discovered. When they came out of the entrance would be the moment of the biggest risk. Then the alarms went off and Kron fired eight sparks. All the way up the street for a mile it looked like hundreds of fireflies were moving from the ground to the surrounding buildings. Then the blasts started and pieces of the buildings began falling to the street. Kron looked up and saw a bright red beam splash against a force field. Time to go.
Timmy saw the sparks and said, “The Gig’s up, Greyson.”
“I’m on it.”
A screen moved over the street battle and covered the tops of the buildings. The screen was under the screen being used by the Provincial Searcher overhead and should protect the warriors on the ground. Greyson started scanning to see if more than one Searcher was coming. One of the four Searchers that had their screens extended over Daulun’s Castle, moved to the site of the ground fight and scanned the area.
“We have numerous infiltrators around the Military Database Building. I’m opening fire on them.”
The Searcher fired his beam and saw it stop above the buildings. It stunned the ship and then it saw the beams coming in on Daulun’s Castle. As it watched, beams began hitting the screens over the Castle and it was clear there was more than one enemy Searcher attacking Daulun. The Searcher decided to defend the Database. It powered the main beam and fired into the middle of the street below. It was shocked, it still didn’t penetrate.
Jessica and BC opened fire on the castle with their beams at half power. The protective screens covering the castle turned bright blue and flashed red. The three Searchers covering the Castle knew that if one of them left, the Castle would be incinerated. They scanned for the source of the beams but couldn’t find the attackers. They started firing randomly hoping to hit the ships firing at the planet.
Every guard with a blaster was killed in less than six seconds after the sparks were launched. Kron ran up to the entrance and yelled, “It’s clear, let’s get out of here.
Grang came stumbling out of the entrance carrying the database. Vring came over and took it out of his hand and put out a leg for Mallory to mount. Scotty insisted that Vring go and take care of Mallory. Vring was excited at the opportunity knowing it was going to be fun. He was not disappointed. Mallory jumped on his leg and then jumped on his back witho
ut having to be lifted. “Get us out of here.”
The four Zord ran forward and lifted. The fifty Riders scattered up the street mounted and flew up the street following the four Zord. The Riders fired at anything that showed on their gun’s scanners. There were explosions on both sides of the street for three miles.
The Searcher saw the intruders moving quickly away from the site. They were flying…something huge that stayed low to the ground. What were they? He was reluctant to follow them and take his screen off the castle. Then he heard, “Don’t know what to do?”
“Greyson?!?”
“Hello, old friend.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“No, I’m helping someone who I can believe in. Someone that won’t make me fire on defenseless planets.”
“That’s treason.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“You know it is.”
“Varner, I want to send you something. I give you my word that I won’t fire on you but I need you to open your screen long enough for a download. Will you do that for me?”
“I’ll be forced to kill you for your treachery.”
“Aren’t you curious why?”
Varner thought about it.
“You can see that the invaders are now all gone and you can’t harm me behind my screen. I just want you to see why; you know how much you mean to me. We’ve been through so much together. Please do this for me.”
Varner said, “In 5,4,3,2,1, now.”
Greyson saw the screen go down and he sent the download. He saw that it only went down on the side away from the castle. “Thank you my friend.” He turned and teleported out.
Varner watched him go and didn’t know what to think. He saw that Greyson had turned traitor and he knew he should hate him, but he didn’t. The death of that planet had changed him. Greyson had always led them and Greg was the leader of their partners. Then it hit him; Greyson would never betray Greg. Something monumental had to have happened for him to do what he was doing. What was in this download? He could hear Daulun yelling over the frequency and he knew he had to go back to the castle. After things settled down he would take a look at what Greyson had sent him. Then he was shocked, he realized Greyson had teleported away.