by Paul Moxham
“What do you mean, the turning point?” Logan asked. “Is Mount Shasta that important?”
Mike nodded. “You must understand that Mount Shasta was one of the first bases on Earth. The place is so old that it’s hardly vital, but symbolic value cannot be understated. So if the Alliance can seize it, that will be a much-needed success. That isn’t to say the rest of our species will flee, but they will be forced to think twice before attacking.”
“And what happens if the army gets wiped out?” Logan asked.
“If that happens, I can assure you that they won’t be the last to suffer a devastating defeat. You see, my species thrives on success. So if one attack succeeds, they will go on to the next attack and so on. So while this may only be a battle, it is going to go a long way in determining who wins the war.”
Logan sighed. “I hope you get some Hybrids on your side. We’ll need all the help we can get.”
“I’ll try. Get some rest. I’ll be back in three or so hours. Hopefully I’ll have good news then.”
Logan held out his hand. “Thank you for helping us. I don’t know why you’re doing this, but thanks.”
Mike shook Logan’s hand. “I’ve learned a lot from humans, and I can see a future if we are to work together. But if we’re divided, we’ll fall, and we can’t have that happen.” Mike lowered his eyes and muttered to himself, “Especially not now.”
“What’s special about now?”
Mike hesitated. “What?”
“That last bit, about especially not now.”
Mike dismissed Logan’s question with a wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about that. It’s just how I talk.”
Logan frowned. “Are you sure? If there’s something else that I need to know about Mount Shasta …”
Mike blinked. “No. It has nothing to do with Mount Shasta or even the attack tomorrow.”
“Okay, well, I’ll see you soon.” Logan stood up and climbed out of the vehicle. As he trudged to the house, he glanced back just as the Striker lifted off and rose into the sky.
Chapter 12
Dawn was not far off as the Striker headed back to Redding. Unfortunately, Mike hadn’t been able to convince anyone to join their cause, so it was just them.
Remembering the white briefcase that he had been trying to protect from the Seods, Kenneth thought he would ask Mike if he knew of such a thing, and if he did, what was in it.
As Mike nodded, everyone leaned in a little bit closer. Logan and Jet had heard about the briefcase from Kenneth and were also mystified by what it could have contained.
“Ah, yes, a white briefcase, you say?” Mike said.
“Yes. And it was hard, just like the clothing that—”
“Yes, of course,” Mike interrupted. “That’s an invaluable resource. Without it, our mission here would fail.”
“So what’s in the briefcase?” Logan asked.
“A hologram of Earth,” Mike replied.
“That’s all?” Jet said. “What’s so special about that?”
“That hologram pinpoints every base and mine we have on the planet.” Mike grinned at the awestruck expressions on the faces of the others.
“Are you saying that you have places all over Earth?” Logan said.
“Yes. I’m actually surprised you’ve seen the briefcase. There’s only two of them in existence, and normally they’re guarded night and day.”
“How many mines and bases are there in the United States?” Kenneth asked.
Mike shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve only heard about the hologram. I’ve never seen it for myself.”
“So the hologram may not even exist then,” Logan said.
“Oh, I’m pretty confident that what I was told by my contact was the truth, but who knows what the truth is these days?” Mike sighed. “If I do have to go to war with my species, that briefcase will be an invaluable tool to have.”
“No wonder they pursued us the way they did,” Derek said.
“If we had it, the military could go to the mines and blow them up,” Molly said.
Mike shook his head. “No. I couldn’t allow that to happen. While I disagree with how some of my species are going about doing things, the one thing that we all agree on is that we need the metal that’s underneath Earth’s surface.”
“What’s so important about it?” Molly asked.
“I’m sorry, but there are certain facts that I don’t want to disclose right now.” Mike pointed his finger at the others. “As for that briefcase, don’t tell anyone else what I said about it, okay? I wouldn’t want that information to get into the wrong hands.”
“We won’t tell,” Jet said.
“Promise me.” Mike’s hawk eyes bore into each one of them in turn as he waited for their promise. After they had, he smiled in relief. “This is a very delicate time for both your species and mine, and I don’t want anything that I’ve said to make a difference.”
Mike turned back to the screen. “Looks like we’ve reached Redding.” He adjusted the controls and the Striker slowed down. “Let’s hope my contact has made the necessary preparations. If not, we might get attacked by the very people we came to protect.”
A few minutes later, the Striker landed in an empty field on the outskirts of the city. Mike was the first to climb out, and as he did, someone holding a flashlight appeared out of the darkness.
Logan noticed that the person looked relatively similar to Mike. He was roughly the same height, had the same hair color, looked the same age, and had the same weird accent Mike had.
“Everything go smoothly?” the man asked.
Mike nodded as he looked toward the others. “Everyone, this is Frank, my contact. He has arranged for us to meet with the general. He has a vehicle waiting, so let’s go.”
“Should someone stay back?” Logan said.
Mike shook his head. “Frank will see to it that it’s not disturbed, won’t you?”
“I have a man down the road, but I only have a jeep, so I can’t fit all of you in.”
“I’ll stay here,” Molly said.
“I’ll stay as well,” Lucy said.
“Are you sure?” Logan asked, turning to his fiancée.
Lucy kissed Logan good luck. “I’ll be fine. You go and do whatever needs to be done.”
Jet and Derek also decided to stay back. The rest of the group hurried to the road.
Mike and Frank sat in the front of the vehicle. Kenneth and Logan took the back. Frank put the car in gear, and with the headlights on high, the jeep roared down the road.
~*~*~
General Loreto leaned back in his chair and gazed at Mike. “So you’re part Seod?”
Mike’s nostrils flared. “Yes, for the tenth time, and I know things that you don’t about Mount Shasta.”
“Such as?” Loreto said.
Mike walked over to the large oak desk in the center of the small room. A detailed map of Mount Shasta lay on top of it. “What if I told you that I’ve been inside the structure and seen where the weapon emplacements are?”
“I’d say that it would be helpful, but not essential,” Loreto admitted. “I have to get my men inside the mountain first.”
“There’s a way that a small group of men could traverse the mountain and enter one of the secret entrances without getting killed.” Mike waited for the general to walk over. “This mountain is rigged with every possible device to stop anyone who isn’t invited. Believe me when I tell you this: the only way that you won’t have a slaughter on your hands is if you blow up the emplacements before your men climb up the mountain.”
“My men are not climbing up the mountain. I have a bunch of helicopters flying in from San Diego. They should be here within the hour. Once they arrive, I’ll order my troops to attack the mountain with heavy mortars. That should get rid of the emplacements or at least block them up with falling rocks. While they’re still reeling, we’ll fast rope down, right on top of them.”
“How are you going to get
into the mountain?” Mike asked.
“As far as I can tell, there’s only one entrance,” Loreto said, “which is where Clarence King Lake is. At least, that’s where it was. I managed to get some surveillance photos of the area the other day from one of my jet fighters. He had a hell of a time taking them and crash-landed, but he and the camera survived.” Loreto shuffled through some papers and found the photos. “Here they are.”
Mike looked through them. “Hmm.” He frowned. “I wonder why they created this.” He cocked his head at Frank. “Did you know about this?”
Frank hesitated at the door they had come through. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”
“Sure,” Mike said, sidling over.
As the two whispered to each other, Logan and the others took a look at the photos. As the general had pointed out, they showed the crater near the top of the peak. In the middle of what looked like a frozen lake was a giant black hole.
Loreto glanced at Logan. “Can I trust them?”
Logan tilted his head toward the two arguing Hybrids. “They seem to be telling the truth. They also seem to want what we want. So yes, I would trust them, for now.”
The general frowned and raked a hand through his graying hair. “I see.”
As Mike and Frank rejoined them at the table, Loreto turned to them. “What were you two talking about?”
The two Hybrids shared a grimace with each other before Mike spoke up. “We were wondering why that hole is there.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Kenneth asked. “How else could someone get into the mountain?”
“There are numerous tunnels crisscrossed all across Mount Shasta,” Mike said. “We never needed a big entrance, so there are four small entrances on all four sides of the mountain.”
Loreto frowned. “I didn’t spot them in our surveillance. We had men scan every inch of the mountain, and I can assure you that the only entrance we saw is at the top.”
“You can’t see the entrance until you’re standing right beside it,” Frank answered. “And even then, unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s still hard to see. Now getting back to your plan, once you attack the weapon emplacements, you can be sure that an aircraft will be sent to destroy you.”
“If that occurs, I have men with Stinger missiles,” Loreto said. “Though I must admit that our missiles couldn’t get a read on the two aircrafts last night.”
“Lucky you had us then,” Logan said.
“What do you mean?” Loreto asked.
“We were in the smaller aircraft,” Mike stated. “If it wasn’t for us, this city would no longer be standing.”
“Was the other one that powerful? Enough to wipe out an entire city?” Loreto asked.
Mike nodded. “Absolutely. So you can imagine what would happen if your soldiers faced one of our aircrafts.”
“I realize that,” Loreto admitted, “and that’s why I’m not waiting for your species to strike us. I’m taking the war to them today.”
“Why don’t you just blow the mountain up?” Kenneth asked. “If you plastered the area with bombs, you might not be able to get in, but no one would be able to get out.”
The general shook his head. “I do have weapons that could do the job, but I can’t take the risk. I know Mount Shasta is regarded as a dormant volcano, but there have been several tremors this past week. If it did erupt, the loss of life would be more than I could bear.” He studied the map. “How long do you need to disable the weapons?”
“Give us an hour.” Mike reached forward and pointed to four spots on the map. “Here are where the four entrances are. Two of them are used as runways. The others are for individual use. So, that being the case, we should head for the one least likely to be attacked, which is this one.” He pointed to a spot just above the tree line on the north side of the mountain. “Now do you have any motorcycles we can use to get there?”
The general thought. “I have some ATVs. Will that suit you?”
“Excellent.” Mike and Frank locked eyes. “Is the north side the best?”
“It should be, but once we disable the weapon systems, we still need to capture the base.”
“That’s where my boys come in,” Loreto said.
“Just wait fifteen minutes before you attack. I’m hoping that when they see that it’s all over, everyone in the mountain will join forces with us. It all comes down to who they are aligned with, and I have no way of knowing that until I get inside.” Mike gazed into Loreto’s eyes. “Do we have a deal?”
Loreto stood up. “Fifteen minutes and not a second more. Now how will I know when their weapons are out of commission?”
“We’ll have to split up.” Mike jerked his thumb at Frank. “You can stay with the aircraft and fly back here when you see us give the signal. Plus, if we do encounter trouble, you can help us.”
“Sounds good. What shall I do about the Alliance?”
“What’s the Alliance?” Loreto asked. “Some kind of rebel group?”
“No.” Mike shook his head. “Rebels act against the leader. We act for him.”
Kenneth frowned. “But isn’t your leader the one who invaded Earth?”
Mike fiddled with his watch. “It was done in the best interest of everyone—”
“Everyone?” Loreto interrupted. “What the hell are you talking about? We don’t need your help. We never have and we never will. You obviously don’t think much of our species, but I don’t think we’ve done too bad for ourselves.”
Mike chuckled. “Two world wars, as well as countless others, isn’t what we would call good.” His jaw went taut. “But that’s nothing to what will happen if we don’t return to our planet with what we came here for.”
Frank scratched his neck. “If we don’t return before time runs out, all hell will break loose, and I’m not just talking about this country. I’m not even talking about this planet.”
“What the hell are you talking about then?” Loreto asked.
“Earth, our planet, as well as countless others, will be thrust into a war that will stretch from one side of the galaxy to the other.” Frank stared at the general. “I know you might not believe me, but it’s the truth. You’ll die, as will the rest of you.” Mike stared into the faces of everyone. “Once we start this mission, there’s no turning back. We only get one chance, so make it count.”
Mike put up his hand. “Time is running out, so let’s drop this discussion.” He gazed at the map. “We’ll have to clear the airspace.” Tapping the board, he craned his neck. “Frank, talk to our contact and see if you can arrange something.”
Frank puffed out his cheeks and quickly left the room. Mike locked eyes with everyone who was left. “This will only work if we are all in agreement.”
“I’m willing to trust your judgment in this matter, but if it fails—” Loreto said.
“If it fails, you don’t have to worry because you’ll be dead. As will the rest of you.” Mike stared into the faces of everyone. “Once we start this mission, there’s no turning back. We only get one chance. So make it count.”
Chapter 13
The sun was rising above the horizon as the group got ready to depart. It had been decided that only the fittest would climb up the mountain, and so Kenneth, Logan, Mike, and Jet had been chosen to make the trek.
Once they’d gathered their gear and weapons and put them into several backpacks, they walked over to the nearby military truck and dragged out three ATVs. The others waved goodbye as the five climbed onto the ATVs and drove away.
Frank looked at the driver of the truck. “I’ll circle with the Striker when the job is done, okay?”
“I’ll tell the general.” The soldier climbed into the truck and drove down the road.
Frank surveyed the quiet campground to make sure they were the only ones there. Satisfied that they were, he joined the others at a picnic table. Through the binoculars he had placed on the table earlier, he glanced toward Mount Shasta.
“Can you see
any sign of them yet?” Lucy asked.
“Of course not. It’ll be another fifteen or so minutes before they emerge from the trees.” Frank looked in the direction of Redding.
Even though he knew where to look, the city was too far away to make out any specific details. “I better scout the area. Better to be safe than sorry.”
As Frank faded away, the teens asked Lucy a barrage of questions about Logan to pass the time.
Frank took his time and had just returned when an explosion rocked the silence.
“What was that?” Molly asked, glancing around.
“It didn’t sound good, whatever it was,” Lucy said. “Seemed to come from that direction.”
“Right in the direction of Redding.” Frank reached for the binoculars, but before he put them to his eyes, he saw plumes of smoke rise into the air.
“Damn! They must have hit the city,” Derek said.
Frank scanned the sky and spotted an aircraft. “You’re right. It’s right above Redding.”
“Do you think the soldiers had time to escape?” Molly asked.
“I don’t know.” Frank sighed as he stared at the destruction unfolding. He couldn’t see much from where they were, but he could still see the smoke, and as more smoke appeared, he groaned.
Lucy reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “At least we weren’t in Redding.”
Molly glanced around. “But are we safe here?”
“Of course,” Lucy replied. “Why …”
An aircraft roared overhead and drowned her out. It was a Striker heading for Mount Shasta.
“I hope he doesn’t see the others,” Molly said.
The four watched on as the Striker circled once, twice, and then headed back to Redding. But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, it flipped around and dove.
The color drained from Lucy’s face. “What’s he doing?”
Suddenly, red bolts spurted out of the aircraft and hurtled toward the slopes of Mount Shasta.
“Damn!” Derek didn’t need the binoculars to confirm what he had assumed. There was only one thing of interest on the mountain.