by W. R. Hobbs
“Thank you.”
“Taon, do you remember Dr. Hauer?” Cadan inquired.
“Yes. But, I am not certain what happened to the doctor after I escaped,” Taon worried.
“Ironically, I believe he and General Bracken have been discussing how they can help each other in our cause. I believe Bracken may ---”
“I feel like I have a huge gap of my memory missing,” Taon interjected. “I am not clear about what you call our cause.”
“Once we get to the facility, all of your questions will be addressed. Your development and training will also resume and hopefully be completed,” Cadan revealed as they approached the door to the warehouse.
Mykah backed up to the outer wall of the warehouse and gently sidestepped over to the door handle. Cadan pulled out his weapon and aimed it as Mykah twisted the knob and flung open the door. Nothing happened and Cadan lowered his pistol.
They slowly entered the windowless warehouse with the door locking in the darkness behind them. The space was cold, dusty and completely black until Mykah’s light switched on and revealed a cavernous structure several hundred cubic yards in size.
“Do Not Move!” a deep voice ordered beyond the range of Mykah’s light.
“We are not here to harm anyone,” Mykah replied.
A circle of lights formed around the trio and began closing in on them. When they got close enough, the stranded travelers could see it was a group of men holding flashlights.
“Who are you?” a voice in the darkness asked.
“We are not with the NAU or C7,” Cadan informed the armed inquisitor. “We are just trying to get somewhere and our car stalled nearby,” he added, deciding truth would pay the higher dividend with this particular group. “I saw someone enter this building and we decided to see if we could get some assistance.”
“Assistance?” a man laughed loudly with the others joining him. “You are lucky that you are not dead right now. Why should we assist you?”
“Our mission is in the interest of anyone that opposes the C7,” Cadan responded with a hunch.
“How so?”
“It would be foolish of me to discuss such a topic at the barrel of a gun,” Cadan asserted, hoping that his suspicion was correct about this group being part of the underground movement against the NAU.
The man shined his light one more time at Mykah and Taon, then back to Cadan.
“Follow me,” he said, turning around and heading toward the center of the warehouse.
After walking about 300 yards in the dark, the group came to a halt and one of the men activated two large doors in the floor. The heavy metal doors folded open, exposing a wide staircase descending one level. They walked down into the former engineering bay which had been converted to a small underground base, housing approximately fifty people.
The apparent leader of the group stopped at what looked like a small command area, turned around and extended his hand to Cadan.
“My name is Jael Davenport,” he disclosed. “If you oppose the NAU and the C7, then you are in good company. Have a seat.”
Stepping into the light and removing his hat exposed Jael as a tall, broad shouldered man with wide eyes the color of varnished wood. His long, wavy brown hair was worn in a ponytail, fully exposing his well-trimmed beard and moustache. Jael’s rough tan complexion extended to his domed forehead giving him the appearance of a man older than his thirty-eight years.
“My name is Cadan, this is Mykah and Taon.”
“And you say your mission is in opposition to the NAU?”
“That is correct,” Cadan responded.
After carefully examining the bottom half of Cadan’s flight suit and his pistol, Jael decided he believed the visitors’ story.
“So where are you people headed?” he asked.
“About eighty miles south of here. Do you think you can help us find a ride?”
“Hold on a sec,” Jael said as he gestured one of his men to come closer, whispered in his ear, and received his acknowledgement. “I can have a working car here in a few minutes. But tell me Cadan, why should I offer you such a valued asset?”
After Cadan whispered something to him, Jael looked over at Mykah and Taon.
“Fortunately we have an infirmary that is unoccupied at the moment. If you two want to get some rest on clean sheets you are welcome to do so,” Jael suggested, pointing in its direction.
Using the half hour Mykah and Taon were away, Cadan made a good friend in Jael, giving him information that served to provide new hope for his group and the thousands like them. He let Jael know that the Residential Occupation Centers were about to be disbanded. Although this was only the tiniest slice of what Cadan knew of the coming events, it served to be sufficiently abundant for Jael.
“Cadan, we need to get back on track,” Mykah said as she and Taon arrived back from their brief respite.
“The car is outside,” Jael declared. “Follow me.”
The four of them exited the lower level with two of Jael’s men leading the way.
“Tomorrow may be a great day,” Jael supposed after a couple of minutes of walking, reflecting on Cadan’s disclosure.
“Tomorrow will certainly be a day that everything changes,” Cadan declared.
When they arrived at the door, one of Jael’s men tactfully opened it, pointing his thermal-scoped weapon outside to check the area. The man jerked back and signaled them that is was clear. They all exited single file from the warehouse with Jael’s men in the lead, staying close to the wall and heading back to University Parkway.
“Wait, I hear something,” Taon alerted.
Jael’s men, moving forward around the warehouse, did not hear Taon. As they cleared the corner, the men were shot to pieces by an incoming V33. The rest of the group pressed hard against the wall.
Mykah watched the Raider streak by and bank to redirect its fire on their position.
“Move!” she yelled.
“No! Stop! Stay close to me,” Taon shouted.
As the V33 flew directly at them, Taon turned his palms upward and slightly forward from his body. Two balls of energy began quickly forming in his hands, arching over his head and around the entire group. The V33 opened fired, using all of its offensive capability but Taon’s shield protected them from the onslaught of missiles and cannon fire that tore gaping holes into the wall behind them
Standing within the shield, Cadan looked carefully at the V33 and noticed it was Valik!
“Taon, be careful. That is the same SETH from Vegas!” Cadan warned, astonished to see the S2 still alive after their last encounter.
The barrage of fire coming from the V33 stopped as the heavily damaged Valik surveyed his results. Taon released his shield and told the group to run as he walked into the path of the Raider, hovering about seventy feet high in front of him. Valik momentarily stared down at his target before opening fire again.
From the time he first ejected out of the emergency lift at Dugway, Taon felt he may have a limited ability to control gravity.
It felt like I was almost floating back to the hanger floor, Taon reflected. Just as he remembered the sensation, Taon’s body autonomically generated a close proximity repulsion field that caused him to quickly ascend above the spot Valik had targeted, causing another complete miss.
Taon floated upright with his palms in the same position as before and leveled up with the V33. He began flying forward at a slight angle with the balls of energy forming in his hands. Valik redirected his fire. Before Taon commenced his attack, he was pounded with the Hughes M330 chain gun. He was not yet aware that his electrostatic repulsion field was weaker than his stationary field. The ordinance from the automatic cannon exploded ferociously against Taon, disabling his flight ability and throwing him backwards through the air, landing on the warehouse roof.
Valik aimed his cannons to finish off his downed adversary when the systems alarm sounded. A stream of missiles struck the Raider. The left nacelle flew off and explode
d against the fuselage, sending the crippled V33 down to the warehouse roof.
Simeon and Ben slowed to a hover over the rising black smoke emanating from the warehouse roof, assessing the destruction of Valik’s Raider that was now hanging halfway off the edge.
Mykah, Cadan and Jael scaled the latter leading up to the roof as Simeon landed the V33. Mykah and Jael ran over to Taon who was just beginning to sit up while Cadan approached Simeon and Ben after they landed. “Nice shot guys!” he complimented. “Now tell me, what the hell are you doing here?”
“We received a request from the old man to provide assistance. By the way, he says you need to check your messages more often Cadan,” Simeon said with a large grin.
“I have some passengers that would surely appreciate a lift,” Cadan suggested, looking over in the direction of Taon as he stood to his feet with Mykah’s assistance.
Taon looked over at the smoking V33 with its aft section slowing peeling off the edge of the roof. He sensed that this confrontation was not over and observed the wreckage with his enhanced sight. Some of the debris began to move and Taon wasted no time. He bolted over to the destroyed Raider and grabbed the emerging Valik by the throat with his left hand.
The S2 was catastrophically damaged but still intended to follow its order to kill Taon. Valik attempted to fire a high yield laser from his left eye but as Taon saw the beam starting to form he smashed Valik’s face with his right hand. He then looked at his hand and it began to phase to a lower density and became translucent. Taon pushed his fist into Valik’s chest, increased the density and projected an energy burst from the inside out. The S2 exploded into tiny bits of flesh and polymers. The force of the explosion threw Taon down and back into unconsciousness.
“Whoa! Who is this guy?” Jael asked Mykah as they hurried over to assist Taon yet again.
“Did you see that?” Ben asked Cadan and Simeon.
“Well it’s official! That damned S2 is dead now. Let’s get Taon loaded up and get to the facility before anything else shows up,” Cadan remarked while running over to help them.
Jael and Mykah were carrying Taon away from the wreckage with his arms draped over their shoulders. Cadan ran up and took Jael’s place helping carry their unconscious friend.
“Well, it looks like we have our ride,” Cadan alerted Jael. “The loss of your men is unfortunate. I suggest your group relocate as soon as possible.”
“I understand. With the information you have provided, it’s time for all of the groups to come together anyway. Our time to fight back is now.”
“I will stay in touch and up to date with your efforts,” Cadan vowed.
Jael watched Cadan and Mykah put Taon in the rear seat of the V33. They are up to more than ROC liberations.
“Good luck!” Jael yelled as Cadan climbed into the pilot seat, displacing Simeon to his right and Ben to the back.
Simeon double checked the destination coordinates on the navigational console; verifying the numbers: 33.333397, -116.135101. With the Raider lifting off, he looked over his left shoulder at Mykah.
“My name is Simeon and this is my friend Ben, freshly plucked from the Oakland ROC. It seems we are all headed to the same place,” Simenon paused, “tell me Mykah, is the case still undamaged?”
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 06
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park – Near the Salton Sea
Cutting across the San BernardinoNational Forest, Cadan piloted the Raider toward their destination slightly west of the Salton Sea. Located directly above the San Andreas Fault, the ‘sea’ was actually an endorheic rift lake with a higher salinity content than the Pacific Ocean and was California’s largest lake. Many decades ago, the lake was a lively tourist location but was now almost completely abandoned with its surrounding salt encrusted structures slowing corroding away. The NAU geothermal power plants offered the only evidence of remaining human habitation.
Through the night sky, the crew flew parallel to the mountains of the Santa Rosa Range until they reached their designated coordinates. Hovering in the V33 above one of the higher peaks in the range, Cadan typed in a series of commands on his console. As the Raider began descending, Ben nervously watched the peak come closer. Are we landing on the top of this mountain?
Just as it seemed they were about to touch down, the V33 kept going, directly through the crest. Cadan modulated a holographic force field to maintain the projection of the mountain peak while lowering the force field. The Raider entered a wide tunnel that had been smoothly carved from the peak, running down through the interior, and under the base of the mountain. After they cleared the entrance, the force field reinitialized and they carefully descended with all five passengers remaining silent for different reasons. After nearly one mile, the ship reached the bottom.
“Welcome to the Zealieon Sanctuary,” Cadan declared after landing and shutting down the Raider’s systems.
“I never get accustomed to that part,” Simeon remarked, referencing some of his previous visits.
After Mykah and Ben helped lift the still unconscious Taon from the backseat, they peered up in awe at the seemingly endless chasm.
“What is this place,” Mykah asked.
“Let’s call it our home away from home,” Cadan replied, happy that the first part of their mission had been successfully completed. “Our predecessors created this place a few centuries ago.”
Ben, still ignorant of the big picture, tried to comprehend what his eyes were seeing. Scanning the interior, he noticed two more Valkyries flanking the landing pad next to a massive bulkhead door.
“Why is it called Zealieon Sanctuary?” Ben asked.
“The Zealieon is the name of the ship that our ancestors piloted to your planet 16,000 years ago. Eventually they created this facility when it was determined that the Zealieon would better serve as the nucleus of an underground sanctuary for our leadership,” Cadan replied matter of factly.
The Israeli was frozen in place, helping to support Taon and stunned beyond words. Mykah was shocked as well. Although Cadan had given her a cursory history of the current events, she was mesmerized as she observed her surroundings.
“Follow me,” Cadan directed while gesturing to Simeon to take Mykah’s place helping carry Taon. Mykah walked over to the V33, grabbed her pack and jogged back to catch up with the group before they reached the bulkhead doors. The doors slid open exposing a long corridor with polished white marble floors and walls that were brightly lit.
After filing through two more corridors and traveling down three levels in a lift, Cadan led the group to their destination in the command center which was the Zealieon’s bridge.
The room was very large, spanning at least 120 feet wide. There were two progressively elevated levels holding the destroyer’s control terminals and command instrumentation in a semi-circle around the lowest level in the center that was directly facing a large wall viewer.
In front of the viewer that displayed an image of nearby space, a slightly hunched over old man, relying on a silver cane for support, stood next to a round table with a glowing white surface.
“Akilan! It is good to see you again,” Simeon exclaimed as he and Ben gently sat Taon into a chair. He then walked over and embraced his old friend.
“It is good to see you too,” the old man warmly replied, hugging Simeon with his left arm and steadying himself with the cane in his right hand.
Akilan was indeed a very old man but despite his current appearance one could detect how imposing he must have once been. Even hunched over, the old man was still well over six and a half feet tall. He was dressed in a thinly insulated white and gray jumpsuit but the old man’s muscular build was still visible through the material. Despite his age, he still had a full head of hair that had turned almost as silver as his cane. From under his aged and slightly drooping brows, his penetrating blue eyes still held their brilliance.
“Cadan informed me that you guys retrieved the power core without difficulty. I
apologize for my late arrival,” Simeon said, referring to his detainment in the Oakland ROC.
“Yes, we have it safely stored here. Your efforts in its recovery are most appreciated. I have been in contact with your father updating him on our progress. I am certain No.9 in London would enjoy receiving the next update from you directly,” Akilan suggested, patting Simeon on his shoulder. “Your old quarters have been prepared and you can establish a secure channel from there. Cadan and I will attend to our guests.”
As Simeon left the bridge, Akilan turned his attention to the semi-consciousness Taon. He slowly approached the GEO, looking down at him with a critical eye.
“Cadan, you and …” Akilan paused, waiting for Cadan to introduce his new friend.
“This is Ben,” he informed.
“You and Ben bring Taon to the lab. I have a newly designed chamber that should help speed his recovery. Initiate the regeneration cycle and set it for only thirty minutes. He will likely absorb as much energy as we can provide but we must be careful to not compromise our systems’ operations. Keep a close eye on him and I will be there shortly,” he instructed.
After they picked up Taon and headed toward the lab, the old man turned to face Mykah.
“Mykah, you have grown into a very beautiful young woman. Kele has done a fine job in your preparation. You have never met me. My name is Akilan and I am your uncle. We have a great deal to discuss --- ”
“So you are Cadan’s father?” Mykah blurted.
“Yes. Actually I am one of three brothers. You have another uncle that is still alive named Gideon,” he paused and placed his hand on Mykah’s shoulder. “I can appreciate that you must have endless questions. And I am going to do my best to answer all of them. But for now there is something of vital importance that we must address.”
“The case,” she concluded.
“Yes, the case,” Akilan chuckled.
“The case was actually the easy part,” she admitted. “May I ask what is in it?” she asked, pulling the pack off her shoulders and carefully placing it on the glowing round table.