“Pyro, I’m sending reinforcements,” Caine said. “Captain, prepare to seal off the cargo bay and surrounding areas in the aft portion of the ship.”
“Understood,” Papagantis said from the Bridge. “I’m sending men to rig some additional pumps before I seal the area for good.”
“Do what you have to,” Caine said.
Titan Six
The Temple of Kalpur-az
Hawkeye stared at Tank. He’d lost men before, and members of his team had been seriously injured. But Quiz — he was a young man who was only on his second mission, plus his keen intelligence made him an invaluable asset to Titan Global.
More than anything, he was just beginning to taste life. Leave him behind?
Hawkeye would do what he had to in order to save the rest of the team, but it would be the most gut-wrenching move he’d ever made.
“Get ready to move out,” Hawkeye said. “Even if I could think of a way to rescue Quiz, it would take precious minutes, and we have less than an hour to get clear of the blast zone.”
The members of Titan Six quietly began to pick up their gear.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Aiko said.
Hawkeye looked at the Commander and saw that her condolence was heartfelt.
* * *
Dante knew that Titan Six would sacrifice Quiz if necessary. They were already preparing to leave the chamber.
He guided Quiz’s left hand to the toggle switch that made the harness pulley go forwards and backwards, much like the switch on a motorized wheelchair. He pulled Quiz’s hand back, engaging the motor.
The harness lurched backwards violently, causing it to swing parallel to the axis of the burning static line.
* I haven’t had a body for many centuries. I need to employ a more deft touch. *
Dante pulled back the toggle switch more gently, causing the harness to slide slowly along the static line.
Fire continued to dance along the line, searing it with heat.
There were three problems: Quiz’s physical condition was deteriorating due to oxygen deprivation; second, the fire was advancing rapidly across the static line, which Dante suspected might snap at any moment; third, Titan Six wasn’t looking at the harness any longer.
The harness continued to slide backwards.
Aft Cargo Hold 6
Aboard the Alamiranta
The cargo hold was busy with frenetic activity as crewmembers ran wide hoses to the Alamiranta’s built-in pumping system. All decks had been outfitted with a maze of pipes fifteen inches in diameter that were connected to hydraulic pumps that could discharge a thousand gallons of water per minute into the ocean in the event of a breach. The elaborate system had not been designed, however, to handle water flooding the vessel as the result of an explosion.
Pyro quickly assessed the situation as the last hoses were connected to the cargo hold. If he and his team could at least get the torpedo dislodged and into the Pacific, the pumping system might be able to handle the water. If the torpedo exploded, then the Alamiranta would be in peril.
“Start removing the seals around the torpedo,” Pyro said to the crew. “And get ready to get the hell out of here quickly.”
He pivoted to face the bomb squad. “When the seals are off, we’ll push this son of a bitch back into the ocean using the forklift in the corner.”
Pyro knew that the chances of success were fifty-fifty at best. Once the seals were gone, the force of the water rushing in would be tremendous.
The crew began removing the metal and plastic sealant that had plugged the jagged hole around the torpedo. Water started to leak into the compartment.
Bridge
Aboard the Alamiranta
Papagantis had believed that he could make proper course adjustments should Beatrice begin to move. The feeder band to the east, however, was moving swiftly, now only one half mile from the ship.
He couldn’t turn as sharply as he had before since such a maneuver would tilt Cargo Hold 6 at an angle that would make Pyro’s work nearly impossible.
The great vessel continued to veer away from the storm, but Papagantis knew that Beatrice was going to overtake the ship in fifteen minutes. He didn’t have the time he needed.
Titan Six
Temple of Kalpur-az
“Move out!” Hawkeye called. “Tank, you lead Titan Six. Commander, your forces will follow. We’ll evacuate your troops if we can get out of the crater.” Hawkeye pointed to the departing soldiers. “Lead your men, Commander.”
Aiko shook her head. “My men go first. I’ll leave when I know they’re safe.”
“We have more in common than I thought,” Hawkeye said. “I admire your dedication.”
The last of the Chinese forces were climbing up the stairway when a loud cry filled the air.
“Hawkeye!” yelled Aiko. “Come quickly. Your man is almost back to the ledge.”
Hawkeye scrambled to Aiko’s side near the opening to the seething cavern below the temple of fire. Quiz’s head was slumped to the side, but his harness was only ten feet from the opening where Tank had fired the static line.
“Help me, Commander!” said Hawkeye as the harness gently bumped against the ledge.
The two soldiers grabbed Quiz and heaved him into the chamber, unstrapping him from the harness.
The static line, fire claiming every inch of the steel cable, sagged and then fell away from the other side of the cavern. The far end now sank into a glowing stream of lava.
“Look out!” Hawkeye called. “Roll to the side!”
The other end of the static line, which had been secured in the rock behind them, snapped with a loud crack, slipped through the winch, and whipped across the chamber, the steel whistling loudly as it scraped across the rock floor.
Aiko, Hawkeye, and Quiz were rolled into a ball to the right of the cavern opening. The line missed them by a matter of inches.
“Let’s get out of here,” Hawkeye said.
Aiko and Hawkeye carried Quiz up the stairs, into the chamber above, and then out into the crater.
The temple walls were crumbling, tall columns falling inwards and the expansive roof falling to the floor in massive chunks.
Madison, surprised by the sight of Quiz, nevertheless waved Hawkeye and the Commander on frantically. “The whole structure is about to sink into the ground!” he cried.
“Proceed to the EFV!” Hawkeye said above the sound of giant blocks of stone crashing to the desert.
The sound of rushing wind filled the sir. In reality, it was the sound of the cavern below sucking the stones into a vortex of destruction.
The once-mighty Temple of Kalpur-az, where generations of Nizian rulers had been conceived, was gone.
Titan Six
Ruins of Raj Kithune
As Dr. Madison knelt by the side of Quiz, the blistering sun adding to the heat from the increasing number of fires inside the circumference of the crater, Aiko checked her communicator. Her face was ashen. She’d received a message from Dr. Me-Sung.
ORDERS FROM LI SOO YANG. KILL T6
Commander Aiko looked up from the text and spied Jao Me-Sung hurrying towards the EFV, the Dragons following him.
The vehicle had become visible after Tank’s earlier warning that stealth mode was consuming too much power.
If the Chinese were able to take the vehicle, Aiko knew that Titan Six would surely be slaughtered and their bodies abandoned.
“What’s going on?” Hawkeye asked.
“My forces have been ordered to kill your men,” Aiko replied.
“Titan Six!” Hawkeye called above the din. “Take cover!”
Lieutenant Cho emerged from the EFV; he was holding the limp body of Will Langhorne and several backpacks. He dropped the body and the packs on the sand and then reentered the vehicle. Seconds later he emerged again, handing out weapons to the swarming Dragons.
The EFV was near the granary in the southwest corner of the crater. Dragons quickly loaded the cache of a
ssault rifles that had been stored in the rear of the vehicle.
Aiko and Hawkeye dove behind a shrine bordering one of the smaller temples between the Royal Palace and the granary. Tank, Gator, and Shooter took cover behind a fallen block of stone from the Royal Palace.
Madison dragged Quiz’s body behind the palace, away from the looming confrontation.
“Care to explain?” Hawkeye asked Aiko.
“Jao is taking orders from Yang, not me. This is dishonorable.”
Tracer rounds crisscrossed the southern part of the crater. A large chunk of stone above the head of Hawkeye exploded into dust.
“Any ideas on how to manage this mess?” Hawkeye said.
“Maybe,” Aiko said.
“Good,” said Hawkeye, “because we only have forty-six minutes to evacuate.”
Ops Center
Aboard the Alamiranta
“Activating Quiz’s BioMEMS,” Touchdown said. “He’s suffering from hypoxia and poisoning. I’m going to neutralize the gas particles in his bloodstream and increase his oxygen levels. Pulse is very weak.”
“What’s the status of T6?” Caine asked.
“The Chinese forces are firing thousands of rounds per minute.”
“Where’s Aiko? Can you isolate her target? Maybe if we take her out, her forces will scatter.”
“She’s next to Hawkeye. I don’t think she’s our problem.”
“Then who is?” Caine said, her strained voice loud enough to turn all heads in the Ops Center.
“It’s more of a case of what is the problem,” said Touchdown. “Not who.”
“Explain.”
“I think the whole city is going to crumble any minute. Temples and pyramids are starting to collapse.”
“Are you reading the bomb?” Caine asked.
“It’s deep, but it has a very strong energy signature, as you might expect. Forty-five minutes to detonation. If the site blows before the nuke can seal it, this will all have been for nothing.”
“Let’s hope Mr. Hawke can pull a rabbit out of his hat,” said Caine.
“Ma’am,” said Touchdown, “I think the Chinese beat us in the magic department. I read a very unusual target outside the EFV. It’s a man, and he’s being hit by tracer rounds every few seconds.”
“And?”
“He’s not being harmed in the least. He’s reading . . . ” Touchdown stroked his chin, perplexed. “He’s reading as both human and machine. He’s a cyborg.”
Caine exhaled and lowered her head. The mission was falling apart.
Aft Cargo Hold 6
Aboard the Alamiranta
The seals around the torpedo had been partially removed, and water began to enter the cargo hold at a faster rate. Pyro sat in the caged seat of a yellow forklift and backed it gently against the nose of the torpedo.
“There’s going to be a short window of opportunity to get this done,” Pyro said above the growing volume of voices in the compartment. “When the water really starts pouring in, the forklift’s engine will shut down fairly quickly.
Pyro gently applied pressure to the gas petal, exhaust spewing from the machine’s tailpipe. The torpedo slid to the side by five degrees.
Pyro exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. Pushing against a live torpedo with a forklift was the height of folly, but it was the only thing left to try.
Half of the seals around the weapon were gone, and water was now rushing into the hold with considerable force. Within minutes, one foot of water surrounded the shins of the crewmembers.
Pyro motioned for members of the bomb squad to push on the torpedo as he gunned the engine of the forklift.
The torpedo slid backwards several inches, its metal skin grinding against the hull of the ship. Pyro cringed at the grating sound, instinctively closing his eyes and tensing his shoulders, as if bracing for an explosion.
All seals were off, and water rose quickly in the cargo hold. Pyro hit the accelerator and pushed the torpedo backwards. The gears of the forklift were straining, the engine coughing up smoke.
Water was at the three-foot level when the forklift stalled. The torpedo was almost out.
“Push!” yelled Pyro.
Five of the crew joined the others and heaved the weapon into the Pacific. The Alamiranta was free of the torpedo at last.
Pyro and the others fought their way towards the main cargo hatch. They swam in white, foaming water, which was six feet high and rising.
“I can’t get the damn thing open!” screamed one of the crew. “The water pressure’s too great.”
“We’ve only got seconds left!” said another.
Pyro frog-kicked to the hatch, plunged beneath the water, and, together with two other men, pulled the thick metal door against the tide of rushing seawater.
Water spilled into the passageway outside the hold as Pyro and the crew tumbled to the floor. They struggled to their feet, clothes dripping, and pulled on the hatch. It slammed shut, the men locking the hatch by forcing its heavy lever into the DOWN position.
“Let’s get out of here before the Captain finishes sealing off the area,” Pyro advised.
Pyro, the crew, and the bomb squad were two decks higher when the explosion occurred. The torpedo had detonated.
Titan Six
Ruins of Raj Kithune
Bullets continued to impact the stone structures protecting Titan Six. The ground shook, causing stones from the already-crumbling Nizian temples to fall at an accelerated pace. The Chinese had hurled a Titan Six concussion grenade at the team, causing the crater floor to heave up and then settle lower, the charge gouging a six-foot pit in the sand and stone.
“Your troops are well trained,” Hawkeye told Aiko as they covered their heads with their hands. He then lifted his body up to gauge the enemy’s strength and position. Dragons were firing at Titan Six from dozens of locations.
“You’re their commander,” he said. “Is there anything you can do to stop this mess before we’re all pulverized?”
Aiko took out her communicator.
Gator stood quickly and fired his SAW to the right of the EVF. He ducked down quickly again as four of the Dragons spun around in blood-splattered uniforms. Shooter took out two more with her assault rifle.
“Why are they fighting us?” Hawkeye asked Aiko. “I’m not sure any of us can get out of here alive, but they’re wasting valuable time.”
Aiko leaned to the side so that she could be heard above the firefight and placed her lips close to Hawkeye’s ears.
“They have betrayed my promise to you,” she said. “I suspect they have orders to fight to the death, even if doing so means suicide. I am ashamed.”
“Don’t be,” Hawkeye said. “Just help us out, and we’ll take you to safety. If you want us to, that is.”
“I’ll never be able to return to my people,” Aiko said with suppressed sadness.
“It’s your call, Commander.”
She sighed. “Yang would kill me for siding with you. I have no choice but to return with Titan Six.”
Commander Aiko began to rapidly punch the keys of her communicator, as if programming the device.
Lieutenant Cho was now advancing on Titan Six. He swept the area with machine gun fire as he walked forward, unharmed by Titan bullets thanks to his body’s force field.
Aiko pushed the SEND button on the communicator.
Cho stopped, standing completely immobile. He dropped his machine gun, arms hanging limply at his side. Blood began oozing from his eye sockets, his hands curling into fists and then uncurling. Raising his head and gazing at the sky, he let out a loud wail. Gasping for air, he sank to his knees. He was now also bleeding from his nose and mouth. He attempted to walk on his knees, but his movements were spasmodic and ineffective.
Aiko pressed the SEND button a second time.
Lieutenant Cho’s body exploded, his head flying high into the air, bouncing off the stones of a Cambodian-style temple. His limbs caromed off temple walls, his tors
o bursting open like a blood-filled bag.
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