Infidel's Corner
Page 20
Near the surface, almost a half of their H-fighters had perished. Upon reaching the deck, new warships had joined the fight; the Islamic Empire, vying for a piece of Hypatia’s power. The entire Eastern waters were awash with blood, oil, sinking ships and bodies. Landers had collected those in retreat, leaving Mezox behind.
Thick clouds of choking smoke had set the scene. Edra landed away from the crumbling section. She made room for Mezox by removing her deceased co-pilot.
Another thud sent Mezox crawling on the floor. A groan also emanated from the hole from which he came, prompting Mezox to glance back. It was Summanus coming to finish the fight.
Mezox retrieved his shield sliding on the surface and moved desperately toward Edra, who’d just spotted the developing situation.
With a sharp fragment of metal, Summanus closed in for the kill. Mezox turned on his back while crawling – then flashes of light and powerful clasps of thunder distracted all. Summanus raised his arms wide open to the sky as it undulated into a thick orange soup.
“Yes. I summon the storms of doom, and God shall follow. Vanquish this world of Infidels forever.”
White lights descended from their individual cloud bubbles, proceeded by triangular objects more extensive than the mega-carriers themselves.
The ominous signs weren’t the supernatural forces Summanus had assumed. Unsure of their nature and intent, he turned back to Mezox, who was smiling. Edra took the shield and stood between them.
Summanus felt fear on a level never experienced before. The non-believer’s symbol upon the shield angered him into a furious rage and engaged Edra in combat.
As they fought across the deck, the new arrivals engaged enemy jets and ground forces. The Hypatians didn’t fear them. Stories of their visitations were perceived as positive in nature. Pilots gained a boost in morale and fought side-by-side. Their exotic manoeuvres and ability to strike multiple targets without a blind spot made them formidable. Their shots protruded from a metallic surface and wrapped by a sheath of ionic discharge that extended to its target.
A flood of enemy jets rushed to engage their unwelcome party-crashers. An orgy of battle had reached its climax. Black triangles pounded mega-carriers and warships with enviable powers of destruction.
Joe had over thirty kills under his belt when a high impact dart struck the hyperdrive. He and his co-pilot ejected. In a freefall through the carnage of aerial warfare, his parachute failed to open. After several seconds, it was clear it never would. Eyes closed and several deep breaths consumed before surrendering to his impending fate. Arms stretched out like wings and viewed with pride the obliteration of enemy forces. Vehicles, bullets and beams of fire whizzed around him. The spectacle was worth dying for as he crashed onto the beach below.
Sallace had joined the battle despite his injury. The cavity between the defence rings filled with enemy bodies. The enemy continued to pour in, wide-eyed and barely blinking. But, victory was in sight as enemy reserves held back. Such was the confidence of Sallace’s soldiers that they jumped into the fray.
Theocratic forces trickled away as their drugs wore off. Further secular troops charged downhill. At base, Sallace ordered his troops into new formations to charge the reserves. Pounded and weakened by fighters and their new allies, the theocrats disbanded as Sallace’s forces marched on to victory.
Summanus fell, exhausted from fighting when Edra saw a triangular ship pointing in their direction. Aware it was about to target Summanus’s mega-carrier, she rushed back to her ship.
Mezox had returned to his feet and began clambering into the co-pilot seat. Engines shifted to full power out of desperation to move.
A two-meter wide beam struck the mega-carrier near Summanus before narrowing with a brighter output. A blinding flash sent the warship detonating from within its heart.
Several feet from the deck, a blast wave sent Edra ship spiralling out of control. It slammed into an adjacent carrier’s side and tumbled into the ocean.
Edra swam to the surface, but Mezox had failed to follow. The fighter floated, but tail up. And as the nose sank downwards, she dived to retrieve him.
Hypatian soldiers stood and watched as ships and the ocean burned. Bodies washed inland with the tide. A group spotted Edra swimming to shore with an unconscious Mezox. Several rushed to their aid. Exhaustion forced her to lay while others tended to him. A shield similar to Mezox’s laid beside her. She reached out and touched it, dreaming of a new future. Her hand grasped its edge and slid across to Mezox’s position, who was lifted upon it and hoisted.
Hundreds of others were stretchered off to transporters in a similar fashion, but many in the vicinity had recognised him. One such person was Adams from the mines. In a mark of respect, he was the first to bow on one knee. Thousands followed along as victory became official in a world filled with the embers of war.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
A new world
Eyelids flickered as sunlight beamed in Mezox’s face. The instinct to move into a comfortable position was hindered by a level of unfamiliar weakness. To his left was a nurse passing the ward. The effort required to raise his arm for attention was akin to lifting a twenty-kilogram dumbbell while half asleep.
His effort wasn’t in vain. The nurse froze on the spot with a large gasp and ran off. With one option to wait, he gawked around. Catheters fed sustenance into his arms. The ward had a unique appearance. The floor was a glossy brown and the walls and ceiling a perfect shade of white. Sophisticated instruments stood aside an empty bed across the room. What else was different, he wondered? The window was several feet from his bed, but the sun obscured his view.
Extra wrinkly and hairy hands sent his heart racing. Doctors arrived with a motorised electric chair. One gently explained, “You’ve been in a coma for almost seventeen years. Your muscles have atrophied, but you should recover.”
Mezox used his right hand to grab and twirl the wedding ring.
“She’s well,” confirmed the doctor. “Your wife and daughter should be on their way now, in fact.
Drips were disconnected before getting transferred to the motorised chair. A testing of buttons demonstrated that it enabled him to stand. Once accomplished, he advanced toward the window. The sun’s glare shifted behind a tall structure, and a metropolis of life came into view. Buildings extended beyond thin clouds, and he was in such a tower. Vehicles ferried people and cargo across the city and beyond.
One flying out from a ship would see the city in all its glory. The greenery intensified and dominated the landscape. The oceans were blue once again, not the turgid purple it had once become. Across Europe, other cities of similar structure appeared. And as America came into view, darkness was overcome by light from hundreds of Hypatian-like cities.
Further still and a ring structure encircled the entire globe with other orbiting habitats in the mix. Resources from asteroids arrived in giant ships.
Another ship leaves port with thousands aboard her. All antimatter and Electrokinetic engines engaged it in the direction of Alpha Centauri. The first of its kind.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: In the beginning
CHAPTER 2: Leila’s Story
CHAPTER 3: Sallace’s Story
CHAPTER 4: Alexshi’s Story
CHAPTER 5: Angela’s Story
CHAPTER 6: Rise of Theocracy
CHAPTER 7: Exodus
CHAPTER 8: Fourteen Years Later
CHAPTER 9: The Technician
CHAPTER 10: The Director
CHAPTER 11: The Shack
CHAPTER 12: Revelation
CHAPTER 13: The Atheist
CHAPTER 14: The Gamble
CHAPTER 15: Dark Ambitions
CHAPTER 16: Home
CHAPTER 17: In the Footsteps of Heroes
CHAPTER 18: The Hypatian Realm
CHAPTER 19: Our Home
CHAPTER 20: Day Four
CHAPTER 21: Luck’s Not-So-Perfect Streak
CHAPTER 22: Othe
rworldly
CHAPTER 23: First flight
CHAPTER 24: Fifteen Months Later
CHAPTER 25: Throne of Power
CHAPTER 26: Battle of the Pennines
CHAPTER 27: Paradigm Shift
CHAPTER 28: The Essence of Trust
CHAPTER 29: Three Years Later
CHAPTER 30: Yes, Captain
CHAPTER 31: Kidnapped
CHAPTER 32: Great Preparations
CHAPTER 33: Mother of all Battles
CHAPTER 34: A New World