As he watched, a single fighter broke off from the main group, flying low and fast directly toward him. As the ship began to strafe the ground, the air itself began to churn as the heat and fire sent huge clouds of black smoke roiling into the sky. Bill realized too late that the beams from the fighter were advancing directly toward him.
Dropping his briefcase, he turned and ran back toward his house to protect his family. He got as far as placing his hand on the doorknob before the beams hit his house. Bill heard the air crackle as the extreme heat caused the air inside the house to expand violently, ripping it apart from the inside out. The gas feed ruptured as the house came down, igniting a massive fireball. The force of the explosion hurled Bill high into the air and slammed him against a parked car across the street. As he lay on his back, stunned, he looked up to see his home and family gone, an inferno in their place.
The Jerrollite ship completed its strafing run and rose high into the air to rejoin the other ships that were attacking different parts of the city. Bill watched through the smoke and haze of what was once his neighborhood. The attack ended as fast as it had begun. The sounds of war echoed in the distance. He struggled to his feet, holding his aching ribcage.
He could not fathom what he saw. Every house, as far as he could see, had either been destroyed or was burning. There was nothing left of his house but a burning pile of smashed lumber. The emotion welling up in him was too much to bear. He fell to his knees, sobs wracking his entire body. His beautiful wife and child were gone, killed by a faceless enemy he couldn’t get his hands on. An anguished moan escaped his lips as he withdrew into his own mind, squeezing his eyes closed, recoiling from the terror that lay all around him. Mercifully he lost consciousness.
Pounding. Pain. Life? Bill’s blinding headache reminded him that he was indeed still alive. Pushing his grief momentarily aside, he opened his eyes slowly, embracing an insane hope that it had all been a bad dream. Putting his hand to his head in a vain attempt to ease the throbbing pain, he stood up and looked around. The sky was no longer blue but a dingy gray, filled with the smoke of hundreds of burning buildings. The attack had left the streets filled with rubble and debris, making passage by motor vehicle impossible. Gathering up his briefcase, Bill stumbled toward the remains of his house. Not really expecting to find anything, he began to search the charred hulk.
Lifting burnt studs and kicking still smoldering furniture out of the way, he found no evidence of his family. Bill began to cry quietly, mourning his loss and venting his frustration at having been unable to do anything to save them. He was startled to hear a voice from behind him.
“They are in a better place, you know,” a frail old woman said.
Wiping tears from his face, Bill turned to face her. It was a neighbor he had never really met.
“The only way for you to honor them is to survive,” she said.
The woman’s words got past his anguish, causing a glimmer of rational thought. He glanced down at the briefcase in his hand as realization dawned. Looking up and down his street again only confirmed his suspicion. The Jerrollite line of fire had been aimed specifically at his house. They had been attempting to kill him! His family had not been the victims of a random attack by a faceless soldier but were casualties in a premeditated act of murder.
“Oh my God!” he said.
He was considered a military target because of his research into the singularity generator. All of his notes on the project were still in his briefcase, which meant he was still a target. Bill was not a large or physical man, but the resolve that formed in his mind at that moment would have put many mighty warriors to shame. He would indeed survive, and his weapon would be used to exact vengeance for his family.
Bolting down the street, Bill yelled back at the old woman, “Find shelter and get off the streets! Those bastards may be back!” He decided it would be best to make his way to the Pentagon, to retrieve the experimental versions of his weapon. Only preliminary models, they could still be used as a guide to construct the most fearsome weapon man had ever seen.
Picking his way along the street, dodging in and out of the shadows, he left his neighborhood and his old life behind. His resolve continued to build as he saw more and more death and destruction. It gave him new strength to go on. The old woman was right, he thought. I must survive.
CHAPTER 6
Rounding a corner, Bill drew up short and jumped back out of sight into the shadowy crevice of a building. A Jerrollite patrol ship had landed in front of the Pentagon, and ground troops were rapidly deploying in an attempt to encircle the building and prevent anyone from escaping. On the verge of panic, Bill tried to calm down and think of what to do next as his heart pounded in his chest. If the Jerrollites were able to gain control of his weapon, Earth would be doomed forever. He had no choice; he had to act.
“Think, man, THINK!” he said to himself, wiping sweat from his brow and breathing hard. He suddenly remembered a secret entrance to the Pentagon building. If he could only get to it without being discovered, he could retrieve everything possible and destroy the rest.
Circling around the huge building, he made himself invisible to passing enemy troops by staying in the shadows. The entrance he was searching for was used to evacuate personnel in the event of an accident or attack. It was connected to an underground tunnel that ran directly to the research lab. Bill could only hope that the security system had not been breached yet.
Reaching a wooded area directly behind the Pentagon, he found the entrance to the tunnel without being discovered by Jerrollite troops. The security panel on the door glowed green, which meant that until now no one had been this way. He removed the access card from his wallet and ran it through the slot. A soft chime prompted him to enter his access code. His fingers trembled slightly as he did. Bill heard a soft click as the door swung open. He entered quickly and closed the door.
The tunnel was pitch-black. Bill looked around, trying to get his bearings. He felt his way along the wall until he found a large button. Hoping it was a lighting control, he pushed it and was relieved when dim overhead lighting came on. As he continued forward, Bill’s footsteps echoed hollowly down the length of the tunnel. Dimly lit and dusty from lack of use, the passage had an eerie feel to it, oddly quiet amid the chaos going on outside. Finally reaching the end, he approached the main security barrier and entered his access code again. After what seemed like an eternity, the panel glowed green, and Bill heard a light rumble as the lock mechanism rolled back. Gingerly pushing the door open and peering inside, he faced the business end of an M-16 automatic rifle not more than three inches from his forehead.
“Freeze, you alien son of a bitch!” the guard said in a trembling voice. A loud click suggested that the bolt on his weapon had slammed home and was ready to fire. Not wanting to be killed by one of his own people after surviving the initial Jerrollite attack, Bill spoke cautiously.
“I am cleared for this area, Sergeant.”
The guard took Bill’s badge and examined it closely, turning it over in the dim light to make sure it wasn’t a forgery.
“Sorry, Mr. Johnson, but things are pretty hairy around here right now. When we saw the access light for this tunnel go green, we were afraid that the Jerrollites had found a way in,” said the sergeant as he handed Bill’s access badge back to him.
“Thanks, uh…” Bill read the man’s name from his badge. “Carson. No problem.”
Bill retrieved his badge and returned it to his wallet. Not wanting to waste time in idle chatter, he gave Carson instructions to lock down access to the tunnel and allow no one but himself to exit. Pushing open the door to his laboratory, he was relieved to see everything just as he had left it the day before. He opened his locker and removed a duffel bag large enough to contain the models of his weapon.
Startled by a series of muffled thumps from outside, Bill guessed that the Jerrollites had begun attacking the building, attempting to breach it through brute force. He quickly gathe
red the models and notes he had come for, knocking several pieces of equipment to the floor in his haste. After carefully placing them inside the bag, Bill zipped it shut and headed for the lab’s safe. In it were schematics and diagrams for larger versions of his weapon, as well as alternative recovery area instructions. These would tell him where to meet up with his colleagues in the event of an emergency. He couldn’t think of anything that more thoroughly qualified as an emergency than what was going on now. He opened the safe, grabbed the documentation and directions as well as a minimal survival kit, and stuffed them into his bag.
Before leaving, Bill entered the computer room. If the Jerrollites got their hands on the plans for his weapon, it would all be over. He entered his access code into a control panel to initiate the irreversible self-destruct sequence that would destroy the laboratory and everything else in this area of the building. The computer responded by sounding a klaxon to warn all personnel to evacuate and initiating emergency lighting. A secondary panel sprung open, and a synthesized voice prompted Bill through the remainder of the procedure.
“Enter secondary access code.”
Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Bill entered the second code.
“Engage primary detonation cylinder.”
Grasping the blood-red handle, Bill turned it clockwise until he heard it lock into place.
“Primary cylinder engaged. Self-destruct will occur in T minus forty-five seconds. Please vacate the area immediately,” the computer said.
A large red light began flashing in the center of the room as the computer switched to the main PA system for its announcements.
“Thirty seconds to self-destruct,” the computer said.
A white mist began hissing out of nozzles located in various parts of the room. The noise level was deafening. Bill gathered up his bag and briefcase and bolted from the room.
In the tunnel the voice echoed down the walls. “Ten… nine…eight…seven…” As he ran, his heart racing, he began screaming at the guard as he approached.
“RUN! This whole place is going to self-destruct!”
The guard’s eyes grew large, and, realizing what Bill had done, he frantically began punching the open code into the security panel. His fingers trembled as he fought to keep them steady. At last the door hissed open just in time to allow Bill to run through. Carson was right behind him as they headed for the exit. The self-destruct system automatically slammed the door shut behind them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Bill realized that door might be the only thing that saved their lives—it would prevent the explosion from entering the tunnel, if it held. Approaching the exit door, Bill saw that it was closed, and the access light was glowing red, indicating that it was locked. Hoping the door was not as heavy as it looked, Bill and Carson hurled their bodies against it. Yielding to their combined weight, the door sprang open as they tumbled out of the tunnel and onto the ground.
A low rumble began emanating from the tunnel, followed by a series of loud, percussive explosions. Looking back down the tunnel, Bill could see a fireball swiftly making its way toward them. Grabbing Carson by the collar of his uniform, Bill heaved him to one side and jumped to the other just before a column of fire erupted from the opening with a loud whoosh! The flame shot fifty feet, igniting several trees and bushes.
“Holy shit! I ain’t never seen anything like that!” Carson said.
“Me neither.” Bill replied, groaning. But that’s nothing compared to what the Jerrollites are going to get when I get this baby working, he thought as he patted the duffel bag.
“We have to get out of here. The Jerrollites had to have seen that explosion!” he said to Carson.
As if to prove his point, a patrol pulled up on the main road about seventy-five yards from where they were sitting and began to unload troops. Their commander was screaming orders and pointing in the direction of the tunnel, which was now on fire.
“Follow me, Sergeant,” Bill said as he ran deeper into the trees. Dodging undergrowth as he ran, he heard a Jerrollite soldier begin to yell. Carson had been spotted. The air began sizzling and crackling with the energy being released by the beam weapons the aliens were firing at them. Bill continued to sprint toward cover. He turned around to motion to the sergeant to follow him, just in time to see Carson’s body explode as he took the full brunt of a particle beam in his back. Bill had never seen a man killed by a beam of light before, and it was not a pleasant sight. The beam superheated the moisture contained in each cell, causing them to burst. It was a messy, ugly, painful way to die. The sergeant’s body, a pile of burnt flesh, fell slowly forward to land at Bill’s feet and splatter across the plant growth, still sizzling as the heat from the Jerrollite weapon slowly dissipated.
Bill retched as he jumped back under cover. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it would leap from his chest. He dug into the underbrush to create an effective cover for himself as the Jerrollites searched the area. Several of them were looking at remnants of the sergeant’s body, repeatedly firing bursts into it to make sure he was dead.
Bill couldn’t understand their language, but when they all started heading back toward their transport, he breathed a sigh of relief. His entire body shook violently from the adrenaline pumping through it. Apparently the Jerrollites were convinced that the sergeant had been the only person in the area, and they had dealt with the situation. Carson’s death had given Bill the opportunity he needed to escape. His life had purchased Earth’s chance to fight back. Bill swore that his sacrifice would not be in vain, but now it was up to him to get his plans into the right hands.
Bill unfolded the map to the recovery area and examined it closely. It was a topographical map covering a hundred miles in all directions. His assigned area was a cave located in the countryside approximately thirty miles due east. Bill could see hills in the general direction he needed to go. He would use these as a landmark.
Deciding it would be best to wait for nightfall before attempting the journey, he placed the map back into his bag and dug in a little deeper, covering himself with dead leaves and twigs. He might as well get some rest while he had the chance.
Closing his eyes brought visions of his family to his mind. He saw his daughter playing that morning. He remembered Marilyn’s laughter at his clumsiness. He saw the Jerrollite fighter sweep his house with weapons fire and saw it explode again and again and again.
“No!” Bill screamed as he woke with a start. Sweat was pouring down his face. He looked around, coming to his senses, and realized it was not just a bad dream. His family was gone. His life was gone. The only thing he had left was his burning desire for revenge on those who had destroyed them. Bill pushed that rage deep into his heart, where it smoldered and seethed, waiting for a chance to erupt in fury.
Night had fallen while he slept, so Bill gathered his belongings, removing evidence of his presence, and fled under the cover of darkness.
CHAPTER 7
Mark examined the men who stood at attention before him as he paced back and forth across the room. He wondered if they were capable of withstanding the pressures and dangers of the upcoming mission to Earth to retrieve experimental weapons and, hopefully, some of the scientists who had been working on their development. Each man stepped forward as Matheson called his name. When the last one had stepped up, the general moved from behind the podium.
“At ease, men.” They all took seats in the briefing area. “All right, gentlemen. I’ll cut directly to the chase. You’ve all been selected to participate in a mission that is as vital as it is dangerous. Colonel Hunter is in command of this little excursion, so I’ll allow him to brief you on your mission. Good luck,” said Matheson as he turned and left the room.
“Auhhhtenshun!” one of the soldiers growled. Everyone in the room snapped to attention until the general was gone. Mark moved to the front of the room and laid his notes on the podium.
“At ease,” he said. “We might as well get to know one another and dispense with the formal
ities. We’ll be working closely together in a very difficult situation, and the succ—”
“How difficult, sir?” one of the men interrupted. Looking at the notes he had prepared, Mark sighed and came to a decision. He lifted the notes and tore them in half. This action was greeted by several nods of approval and a surprised chuckle from around the room.
“Look, guys. I’m not going to feed you a line of official crap. You’re all aware of the situation on Earth. What some of you may not know is that top secret weapons research was being done in underground labs at the Pentagon. Several of those weapons were close to being complete, and if we can retrieve them, they just might give us the edge we need to beat the Jerrollites at their own game.” Quiet filled the room, the only sound coming from the faint rumble of the ship’s engines. The men were sitting on the edges of their seats, anxiously awaiting Mark’s next words. He understood the feeling.
“This mission is vital to the continued survival of the Hercules as well as that of Earth. Without those weapons, we don’t stand a rat’s ass of a chance against the Jerrollites.”
The statement hung heavily in the air. Mark looked at his men as he continued. “Our only chance is to retrieve those weapons and the scientists who were working on them. All I ask of you is that you obey my orders without question, holding the goal of the mission above all other considerations. Even your own life.”
The mood was somber as he continued. “Johann here will be my second in command.” He turned and pointed toward the large Jamaican standing behind him. “If anything happens to me, he is in charge.” The fierce-looking black man stood stiffly behind the colonel, his arms crossed, gazing fiercely at the men. He exuded an air of ferocious confidence. Several of them swallowed nervously as they met his eyes and quickly looked down.
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