Belinea

by Andrew Mack

  Admiral Holland replied, “Attack Squadron Four, Lord Argo said it would be a huge ball of fire.”

  The Leader of the Attack Group kept looking. After a few seconds, in the distance, she could see the smoke billowing from the mountains. “Copy that Command Center, I have visual. Valmay Base is on fire.”

  Octavious asked, “Cortes, how long until we get to the Cataco Shaft?”

  She replied, “Six minutes!”

  Octavious got on the intercom again. “When we get to Cataco, any grenades, missiles, rockets, get them on my ship. We need immediate evac into the mines.”

  Octavious sprinted back down to the bay and began shaking down the soldiers for anything they had left. One soldier managed to find some torpedoes in the ammunition rack. Octavious spoke into his intercom. “Cortes, time?”

  Cortes responded, “Four minutes. And one of these attack squadrons is going to intercept us at about the same time.”

  Octavious replied, “Porter, the F-81’s, how much fuel?”

  Lieutenant Porter responded after looking at the gauge. “For what?”

  Octavious responded, “To get to Bisi?”

  Porter was confused. “We have enough, why?”

  Octavious nodded, “Do it, best speed!”

  Porter yelled, “We are not leaving you behind, sir!”

  Octavious responded, “That’s an order, Porter. You can not protect us, and the Fighters are too valuable to lose. Go.”

  Porter, after a split second of contemplation, replied, “Copy that sir. Octavious, good luck.”

  The four F-81’s broke away from the other pack of aircraft. After a few adjustments, they climbed high, for about twenty seconds at top speed. When they got to a safe altitude, Porter looked to see if he had anyone following him. “Valmay Sirator’s, light it up.”

  The four F-81’s flew off in a blink, now going ten times faster than they were previously going.

  Cortes yelled, “Two minutes!!!”

  Octavious went to Donovan and the miners. “We are coming up on the Cataco Shafts, are any of you familiar with them?”

  Two of the older miners, Virgil and Lucas, came forward, in front of Donovan. Virgil said, “We mined them a long time ago, sir. It’s been dormant for some time, unstable.”

  Octavious replied, “That’s the least of my concerns. When I was a child, there were tunnels, from the mining, that connected to the Bosa Forterra Mountain Shaft, correct?”

  The two miners looked at each other before confirming. Lucas said, “Yes, I believe so. Old Tunnel Eleven went out that way, and I believe it connected with those shafts. But there is no more Vait in those mines, Octavious.”

  Octavious looked at them and said, “I am not looking for Vait. I am looking for a lifeboat.”

  As the ships were getting closer to the mountain’s side, Octavious could now see the opening of the shaft. It looked dusty, almost swallowed whole by the desert storms. One would really have to know what they were looking for to find it. The voice on the intercom was Cortes, causing everyone to look up in the sky. “Octavious, attack squadron, 9:00 to the west, about 40 degrees up.”

  Octavious looked that way and could see the enormous attack squadron coming. It had over thirty-five fighters and fifteen attack bombers. An engagement with them would not last long. Add in the additional two attack squadrons, and it would become suicidal. Octavious said into his intercom. “Cortes, step on it. Park this thing right next to the entrance.”

  Cortes said, “Copy that, thirty seconds.”

  Octavious then turned to his soldiers. “I want one side of this ship blasting the doors open of the shaft. I want the other side to provide cover for all the soldiers getting here. This is gonna be our only chance.”

  Admiral Holland was listening to the Attack Squadron Leader on the intercom. “Command Tower, I have visual. I count eight ships. They are slowing down to land.”

  Admiral Holland turned to the Majavkee Lords, who were a distracted bunch. They could not get over what they had witnessed at the Processing Center, and they were getting individual reports about how much of their security they had lost in the battle. Admiral Holland said, “What is out there? Where are they going?”

  All of the Majavkee Lords turned and looked at the map, temporarily forgetting their other conversations. After a long pause, Majavkee Lord Bialos said, “That is near Cataco.”

  Admiral Holland replied in question, “Cataco?”

  Lord Bialos answered, “Yes, the Cataco Shaft. It’s in Bosa.”

  Lord Evander added, “It’s abandoned, for years now. That area is probably near one of the shaft openings, but we would have to ask our experienced miners, they would know.”

  Holland looked up and responded, “Attack Leader Two, shoot everything on site. Even if they land, no prisoners.”

  “Copy that.”

  Cortes reversed the thrusters and spun the assault ship around. The wing brushed against the desert floor as the ship came to a violent stop in front of the boarded shaft doors. The rest of the ships began landing next to them as the side cannons from the assault ship blasted open the shaft doors. The cannons on the other side of the ship started shooting at the AuFa fighters in the sky. Octavious responded over the intercom, “Everyone out, leave your ships, get to the entrance of the shaft!!!”

  Shots from the AuFa fighters connected with two of the landing Valmay ships. As both exploded, soldiers began running out of the other Valmay ships, through dust and smoke, towards the shaft entrance. At Octavious’s assault ship, the soldiers dropped off bombs, torpedoes, and grenades before they proceeded into the cave. Octavious yelled, “Hurry!”

  Another explosion rocked the ground as an attack bomber connected with another one of the Valmay vessels. Once all the Valmay soldiers were inside, Cortes tapped Octavious’ shoulder. With bombs cascading down everywhere, Cortes and her co-pilot got off the ship and ran to the entrance. Octavious remained behind, surveying the bounty of explosives left for him. Putting one bomb on a timer on top of the pile, he ran out of the ship.

  As Octavious was running, another explosion went off, causing him to stumble to the ground. He tried to get up, not noticing the burning chunk of shrapnel in his leg. He looked at the doors, which were twenty meters away. Cortes had turned around after the explosion and saw Octavious on the ground. She had stopped, waiting for Octavious to get up. When he did not, she ran back towards him. She helped him up and got his arm around her shoulders. The timer was at ten seconds, and yet another explosion went off behind them. AuFa soldiers were landing, a mere fifty meters away, as Cortes and Octavious skipped and stumbled towards the entrance. The timer was down to three when they got to the doors of the shaft. A soldier grabbed Octavious’s arm and yanked both of them in.

  The bombs went off, a series of explosions that went through the ships. The AuFa ground forces were instantly killed as the Attack Squadrons pulled back. Soon, a fireball reached one hundred meters into the sky. Watching from video screens in the command center, the Majavkee Lords and Admiral Holland took a small step back.

  Inside the cave, Cortes was lying on top of Octavious. Dust was everywhere from the explosion, as the shaft was shaking from the explosions. Cortes turned Octavious slightly over, looking at the wound. She immediately took out her ring, made it into a small fire saber, and dug the shrapnel out of Octavious’ leg. Octavious was moaning in pain. She then yelled, “Who has a Pulsator?!”

  One of the soldiers ran up with a small first aid kit and immediately pulled out the skin healing device. Within seconds, Cortes had patched up the skin on the open wound. As Octavious got to his feet, he looked back out the entrance door to the mine. It was still a wall of smoke. Octavious said, “That should buy us a few minutes.”

  Lucas, the older miner, came up to Octavious and said, “I found tunnel Eleven Octavious. And a car.”

 
Octavious recovered but with a small limp, began walking with the miner to the tunnel. He responded, “Open up all the tunnels. They need to guess where we are going.”

  The miners and soldiers broke apart and began taking down the boards blocking the tunnels. Dust was still settling, but better than it was a minute ago. Lucas and Virgil were scurrying through the Base Tower at the shaft openings. They came out with two packs that they attached to the side of the cars. As the car lit up, Virgil said, “Not much juice left on these Electro-packs, but enough to get us where we are going.”

  Everyone climbed aboard the cars, which were flat and on tracks. They rolled away from the shaft base, down tunnel eleven, all sixty of them, towards the Forterra Mine Shaft.

  Belinea 6.3

  Avola

  Lowell Province

  Inside the Temple, Sterling and Felicia were giving gifts to the orphans. The children were smiling and appreciative of the toys. Quillisar Balerra, a rather old lady, walked up to them and said, “Sterling, Felicia. Thank you for the offerings. Where is Nix?”

  Felicia answered, “With my mother. He does not need to see us give toys to others.”

  Balerra smiled and said, “Patience my child, he will learn. How are both of you?”

  Sterling smiled, Felicia did not. “Sterling is working way too many hours.”

  Balerra said, “He is providing for his family, Felicia. I am sure there is a financial reward for his dedication.”

  The smile from Sterling’s face disappeared. He said, “Well,...”

  Felicia said, “No, there is not Quillisar. The Majavkee have him working more for less money.”

  Sterling interrupted, “That is not true, Quillisar.”

  But Felicia cut him off again. “It is. There are no bonuses. The conditions are getting worse and something needs to be done.”

  Balerra nodded her head. “Walk with me, my children.”

  They followed Balerra outside, so they were now in the children’s playground. Balerra continued. “I hear this from all in my congregation. The energy is not bright, everyone is hurting. Their faith is being tested. Do you remember what happened at Valmay?”

  They both nodded their heads as Felicia said, “Such a tragedy.”

  Balerra continued, “Indeed. There is an Opposition group that has retaliated those actions. Have you heard of them?”

  Sterling just looked at the old lady, while Felicia looked puzzled. “You mean the terrorists? The ones that call themselves the Valmay Opposition Group?”

  Balerra stopped walking and looked at both of them. “And why do you call them terrorists?”

  Felicia said, “The videos that were shown, they were more responsible for what happened than the Majavkee. I have even heard they have old members of the Red Ring Rise.”

  Balerra looked directly into Felicia’s eyes and said, “Do not believe everything you see unless it is with your own two eyes.”

  Felicia continued. “But Quillisar, the Majavkee Lords preach faith in the Quill. It may be a different form, but they are at least spiritual. Violence and greed is the only faith the terrorists practice.”

  Balerra said, “That is what the Majavkee want you to believe. Where has the faith you have given them got you? Who has more faith? The person who quietly meditates on their own daily or the person who boasts about the Quill and all it’s good, but never actually goes to Temple?”

  Felicia and Sterling said nothing. Balerra let them think about that for a moment before she continued. “You may not approve of their methods, nor do I. Violence only leads to more violence. But never say that Octavious Killian is a man with no morals or principles. I promise you, his heart, his faith in the Quill, is just as strong as mine.”

  The two continued to look at Balerra when someone shouted across the playground. “Quillisar, there has been an attack at the Processing Center. Hundreds are feared dead.

  All three looked at each other. Sterling looked at Felicia and said, “Get Nix and go home. I need to get to work.”

  Belinea 6.4

  Capital City, Belinea

  AuFa Headquarters, Military Services Building

  The Council Security Group Board Room

  All eighteen Ambassador’s of the Council’s Security Group were in the boardroom. Also in the room were Chairman Hassara, Admiral Magloan of the AuFa, and three of his officers. Everyone was seated around a huge circular conference table with a 3-D hologram image of Avola’s attack in the center. Defense Minister Tempest Hassara was standing while giving the presentation.

  She continued speaking. “As you can see, after the initial attack, there is an additional attack here on this medical transport by their leader Octavious Killian. Thirty-four people died, including wounded soldiers, civilians, and children….”

  The hologram’s image showed Octavious Killian taking down a clearly marked white medical ship instead of a green transport ship. The footage had Octavious dropping the grenade satchel into the medical transport cockpit and then images of children killed because of the explosion it caused. It was damning evidence of a terrorist group causing collateral damage at the highest level. Tempest continued to speak. “The Valmay Group continued their destruction by taking out these massive C-112 Cargo ships, eight in all, each full of Vait. We estimate a twelve percent loss of our entire Vait supply with this attack.”

  Ambassador Yi asked a question. “Defense Minister, may I ask, why were the Vait transport ships all pulling out at once?”

  Tempest quickly answered, “My brother, Argo Hassara, was sent to Avola to negotiate on our behalf. He quickly determined the situation was much graver than previously reported. It was his decision, along with the Majavkee Lords, to extract as much Vait from the planet as quickly as possible before another major attack could take place. Unfortunately, they were too late.”

  Ambassador Campova of Braccus leaned back in her chair and spoke next. “Ambassador Yebba, this is nothing short of an act of war.”

  Many of the Ambassadors were nodding their heads. Ambassador Yebba of Avola looked at the map, then around the rest of the room. He stood up, and Tempest moved to the side, pausing the image on the hologram right as the medical transport was burning on the ground. Yebba spoke. “I have received a joint statement from the Majavkee Lords, demanding retribution. Ambassador’s, my planet needs your help. This is not a civil war. This is an injustice, by a small group of terrorists over the peaceful, hard-working, greater majority of Avolian citizens. I, like them, are outraged. The financial implications of losing such a large amount of Vait, as well as transport ships and weapons, further adds to the weight this Council must now bear. Innocent Avolians died. Soldiers, both Belinean and Avolian, died trying to protect those innocents. This vicious, unprovoked attack came at a time when we were negotiating a compromise. We are past peaceful solutions. We need leadership from this Council that protects all of us moving forward.”

  Yebba sat down. Chairman Hassara immediately spoke after. “In conjunction with the terrorist attacks by Taz on Earth, Braccus and Torsalli, the latest killing Earth Ambassador Bird, the Valmay Group is a much stronger organization than we previously thought. In front of you is Admiral Magloan’s analysis, describing in detail the challenges we are facing. Issue one is Avola’s numerous logistical problems. A full battalion will be needed to eliminate the threat entirely and not disrupt Vait production. Issue two will be what other terrorist organizations they are working with? Taz could just be the tip of the iceberg. Hunting down a potential larger network of terrorists will require an additional battalion and a twenty percent increase into both the AuFa and BRG budget.”

  There was a hush in the room. The Ambassadors had their heads down, not knowing what to say. Ambassador Campova spoke again. “The attack on my planet alone, where over a hundred innocent people died, is enough to consider drastic measures. Combined? The message needs to be clear
. No price is too high for our safety and security.”

  Another long pause at the table. Tempest had walked back over to the middle of the table, where she was ready to ask for a vote before a voice at the end of the table spoke.

  “Where are we going to get the money?”

  Tempest looked down at Ambassador Garvalin. Garvalin leaned in a little more so that Tempest could see her. She said, “Excuse me, Ambassador Garvalin. What did you say?”

  Ambassador Garvalin put her arms on the table, leaned in, and now slightly louder, said, “Nothing about this will be cheap. I assume the Council will be responsible for taking the funds out of something else or, even worse, raising taxes. Is that part of our recommendation as well?”

  Chairman Hassara interrupted, “We have a few options regarding that. Before proposing this to the full Council, being in unison here with our decision was more important.”

  Ambassador Yebba of Avola quickly followed, “And we agree with you, Chairman, the sooner the better.”

  Ambassador Garvalin leaned back in her chair. She crossed her hands in front of her and continued. “Defense Minister, the incident on Nuhalla eighteen months ago….”

  Tempest was led into the question, and she answered without adequately thinking. “Another tragedy Ambassador. Yet the AuFa, in a joint task force with the BRG, found the small terrorist groups and eliminated them.”

  Ambassador Garvalin nodded her head in agreement. “Yes, they did. Quickly and efficiently.”

  Tempest was slightly annoyed. “It was a difficult operation, executed flawlessly. Yet, these crimes presented before us today are a mere fraction to those. We are simply asking you to do our jobs.”

  Ambassador Garvalin, still with her arms crossed, waited a few seconds before replying, “Except, that is not what you are asking, Defense Minister.”

  Tempest gave a scowling look. “Excuse me?”

  Everyone was looking at Ambassador Garvalin. Uncrossing her arms, she said clearly, “Defense Minister, surely the mission on Nuhalla was not flawless? The AuFa and BRG must have had some limitations to their capabilities. Perhaps the terrorists even exposed a potential weakness?”