The ten new cyborgs came to a wall. One after the other, in succession, they each rested their elbows on the wall to support their rail-guns as they opened fire.
Tonya built up a new amp charge with the fresh adrenaline pumping through her body and raised a protective shield. Bullets pinged the shield, ricocheting in all directions.
Sly held his mortar gun up and lobbed three more rounds at the metallic cyborg, impacting the cement barrier they hid behind.
The cement wall broke into several chunks, exposing the cyborg to the destruction of Sly’s mortar rounds.
Luella, watching their front, shouted out, “Incoming!”
The first squad came around the corner, firing several rail-guns and launching mortar rounds of their own at the freedom fighters. Explosions discharged their report all around them.
Luella, Hargrove and Sly returned fire with all they had as Tonya continued holding a protection bubble surrounding them.
The approaching cyborg began falling from the side position, being flanked by Chuck, Matt and Jim with their weapons fire.
Half of the approaching cyborg turned to face off with this new threat before Jim shouted out, “Make your run for it now! The roof is clear!”
The mechanical cyborg clanked toward the freedom fighters from three directions as Tonya moved the group within her shield.
“The freight elevator is just around the corner, “Matt added as the three sent rapid fire rounds into the metal cyborg.
The four began retreating toward the elevator as Tonya moved her shield, protecting Luella, Sly and Hargrove. Reaching the open doors, the first group entered the large elevator and held their weapons at the ready.
Chuck, Jim and Matt turned to run for the elevator, the first group opened fire over their heads at the approaching vanguard.
Crouch running, the three entered the elevator before Matt grabbed the upper door and slid it down. Jim activated the elevator after he closed the metal cage. The Freight elevator rose to the top floor before rocking to a stop.
Jim raised the metal gate as Matt pulled the door open.
Exiting the elevator, they could hear the metal clanking sounds of the cyborg climbing the elevator shaft.
Looking down through the grated flooring of the freight elevator confirmed their worst fears.
“Stand back!” Luella ordered as she rose her hands to the elevator.
Sparks began issuing from her finger tips. The entire freight car electrified, searing the cables holding the elevator in place.
She closed her eyes and focused on dropping the freight car. Creaking and metal fatigue echoed down the shaft as the car broke loose, plummeting to the bottom floor. Crashing into the climbing cyborg resulted in metal clanking as the metallic aliens broke into hundreds of pieces before slamming to the ground, crushing the rest that waited below.
Relaxing her hands, the power wave diminished, but electrical arcing continued to discharge across the metal elevator shaft.
“That’ll hold ‘em a little while,’ Luella smiled.
“The roof’s this way,” Jim nodded, “It’s our only chance to get out of here.”
The group quickly made their way up the short steps to the roof exit.
Luella ran to the alien side of the roof edge and looked down, “Oh god! They’re scaling the wall!”
Tonya ran over to Luella and jumped on the ledge before looking down. Holding her arms at the climbing Vanguard, she sent a power wave down the side of the building, knocking several mechanical cyborgs off the structure.
She stepped back down with Luella, “There’s just too many of them, Lue!”
Hargrove ran to the opposite side of the roof and looked down, “More coming up this side too!”
“They’re trying to surround us!” Sly exclaimed.
Hearing a sound of incoming ordnances, Hargrove gave the order, “Hit the deck!”
The freedom fighters fell to the roof top as they watched a blue colored fireball rocket over their heads and impact the ledge of the building where the mechanicals continued to climb.
Three more volleys flew overhead and crashed into he building, destroying any remaining climbing cyborg.
A transport ship came into view from the lower side of the building and hovered over their heads.
Jim pointed at the ship and shouted, “It’s Colonel Griffin! He’s coming to pick us up!”
The ship lowered to the roof, its side airlock door opened with the smiling face of Beverly, “Come on! We don’t have much time! Everyone onboard!”
The freedom fighters returned to their feet and ran for the ship, each one receiving a hand up from Beverly, they all took a seat and strapped in before Griffin flew from the roof and back toward the Saratoga base.
Chapter 11
Derelict Space Craft
En Route to Earth
Xat-Anah, the green-colored three-legged tentacled alien, stood on the command bridge of the derelict ship with his arms folded behind him. He stared out the front viewing glass at the bleeding stars that zipped past them.
Several bird-like alien creatures operated the bridge stations, controlling the ship as it piloted toward Earth.
A screen floated at eye level to Xat-Anah. Palms up, he suspended the familiar orbs. Two blue discharges fed into the floating display. Xat-Anah’s dark-colored and slanted almond eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to the screen.
“So, Governor McCormick, what is your report?”
“Yes, your Excellency,” the image of McCormick flickered on the floating screen, “We are close enough to Earth. I have established contact with Doctor Childress from the Olympia Base.”
“… and?”
“He has been in pursuit of the remaining freedom fighters.”
“So, the Vanguard selection programming has been successfully engaged?”
“Yes, to some degree, your Excellency.”
“You do realize, based on your answer to my next question, your future depends on whether I allow you to reanimate to a clone body, or not, don’t you?”
“Yes, your Excellency, I fully understand,” McCormick gulped.
“Very well, then. I ask you to explain the statement containing the phase to some degree. Please elaborate, because it is sounding as if the programming was not completely successful. The only way we shall ensure success to our mission, is that we are always exceeding performance parameters. Are you telling me you are no longer operating above specifications?”
“No, your Excellency, I report that I am operating above specifications.”
“Then, what other reason do you have, or should I say, excuse, do you have, for not achieving above a one-hundred percent programming effectiveness.”
“The programing is running at or above operational parameters, your Excellency, the issue is not with my programming, rather it is with the inferior infrastructure the programming is using to facilitate its propagation across the net.”
“Inferior infrastructure?” Xat-Anah shook his head in disgust. Then he moved the orbs closer to his palms, increasing the blue discharges in a rage of anger, “If you were operating above specifications, you would have known about this inferior infrastructure and implemented measures to overcome these deficiencies!”
“Rest assured, your Excellency, the only reason the programming is working at all, is due to my subroutine that allowed the programming to propagate at all, on this network. The power grid is in a state of overcharges and transformer station blowouts, on a global scale. If it weren’t me operating above specifications, the program would never have been implemented. The Nadine and Kurtis clones may have escaped Doctor Childress for the moment, but once they come in close enough proximity to an active accelerator on the net, either of them, if not both, will be reprogrammed as Vanguard.”
“Very well, Governor, I have reviewed your report and have come to the conclusion that you did meet specifications. So, for the time being, you have a reprieve.”
“Thank you, your Excel
lency,” McCormick gave as sigh of relief. “I also thank you in advance for allowing me to transfer into a new clone and out of the Core.”
“I haven’t decided if you are worthy of a new clone body, just yet.”
“What more must I do to convince you that I am worthy?”
“Stay in contact with Doctor Childress.”
“Doctor Childress is currently offline, your Excellency. However, I will reestablish communications once he returns online.”
“In the meantime, see if you can hack into Nadine or Kurtis’ chip and activate them.”
“Yes, your Excellency. However, I will require more resources…”
“You will get more resources, Doctor, just as soon as the next Y models are completed with gestation. Until then, you will have to make due with the resources you currently have.”
“Yes, your Excellency.”
Xat-Anah lowered his hands slightly as he raised the floating orbs, diminishing the blue arcing across the floating screen, “We are less than three days to our arrival. See to it you have Nadine and Kurtis’ Vanguard selection programming successfully completed by then… clear?”
“Yes, your Excellency, I shall make haste.”
Xat-Anah terminated the comm link to the Core as the screen vaporized into a white cloud. The orbs lowered and rested on his hands, as the blue arcing ceased.
“Maintain course and speed.”
“Yes, your Excellency,” one of the bird-alien creatures nodded, “Two days, fifteen hours and seventeen minutes until we make orbit.”
“Very well, very well indeed,” Xat-Anah said, growing a wide, unnatural-looking smile.
Derelict Space Craft
Alien Core
Governor McCormick sat back in his holographically generated chair within the Core. He held his hands out in front of him and began to form the makings of a computer station. Surrounding him stood a squad of fifty, fully armored and weaponized Vanguard soldiers.
The computer console’s growth slowed. McCormick stood and paced the vacant room of black squares. The walls flowed zeros and ones in a strange alien data pattern that made up his surroundings.
Stepping up to one of the computer-generated soldiers, he folded his arms before addressing it, “You are dedicated to serving our supreme leader, Xat-Anah, correct?”
“I am only at your disposal, Governor McCormick, I am not real; only data patterns within our Core. I have no feeling or fear of not existing as when I am transferred to another form within this Core, my data bits will still exist, only in a new form.”
“Very well, then,” Governor McCormick smiled as he reached a hand to the Vanguard’s forehead, “Then I shall utilize your data patterns within this Core to facilitate the location the Nadine-clone chip.”
The Vanguard began to dissolve and wisp away into a white cloud before the Core reabsorbed the data pattern. Standing at full attention, the Vanguard data bits flowed like water to the ground until it was fully absorbed by the programming.
“There,” McCormick again smiled as he returned to his computer-generated console, “I shall utilize these new resources in building a higher-powered computer to scan for her chip ID.”
Governor McCormick chuckled as he began to grow the computer equipment, “Even though Nadine and Kurtis had installed the isolation sub-routine, I will break the code and find her, if it’s the last thing I do!”
He glanced over to his right on an indicator resulting in raised eyebrows, “I do believe that the good doctor is back online.”
Reaching for a few commands on the terminal, he patched in a link to the Doctor’s chip, “Doctor Childress, do you hear me? This is Governor McCormick. Come in Doctor Childress.”
An image began to form in the dark computer grid of the Doctor, “I am returning to online status. I read you, Governor; go ahead.”
McCormick watched as the clone body of Doctor Childress formed from the ground and into the cyborg-clone. The background depicted darkened skies and thick black smoke wafting across the air.
“It would appear that there isn’t much left of Earth for us to return to, from what I can see.”
“Yes, Earth is all but destroyed. However, there are still pockets of freedom fighters. Which is apparent by my being offline for a time.”
“What happened, Doctor?”
“It was J, Nadine and Kurtis fleeing for downtown Seattle. They induced a self-amp charge and was able to make their getaway.”
“Are your circuits working at optimal levels? How were they able to escape if you were?”
“They knew I tied into the live satellite feed, so Nadine used her amp charge to shove cars into my way. I avoided all of them. However, Kurtis used his charge to pull down a freeway overpass. I crashed into the fallen structure. However, had I not been operating at optimal levels, I would not have stopped in time and my chip would have been crushed.”
“Yes, well, that would have been unfortunate, wouldn’t it, Doctor?”
“Yes, fortunately, I was able to regenerate. I will be operating at optimum specifications shortly.”
“Good. Very good, Doctor. I have a mission for you.”
“Yes, Governor?”
“You are not to eliminate the Nadine or Kurtis clone’s, do you understand?”
“I do understand, Governor. However, I fail to understand how keeping these defective pair of clones from being recycled will benefit our cause?”
“Once they get close enough to a charged amp device on our net, the Vanguard selection program will find them and convert back to our side.”
“Nadine and Kurtis both have Bennie’s isolation protocol imbedded. How will the programming locate them once they are in range of an accelerator on our net?”
“That is where you come in, Doctor,” McCormick began to explain, “The Vanguard programming selected you when you were in range. You also had Bennie’s isolation protocol as well. How did the program find you?”
“I do not know, Governor. I was in the backseat of the Town Car. I was selected, but Nadine and Kurtis were not. They were in the same proximity.”
“Yes, that is what I thought as well. Somehow, in your chip’s programming, we will find the answer.”
“Very well, Governor. I shall begin downloading my chip specifications to the Core for processing.”
“Once I have the dataset, I will discover a way to identify their chips. We will arrive in Earth’s orbit in a few hours. We should have the answer before we do.”
Doctor Childress closed his cybernetic eyes and began transmitting the data to the Alien core.
McCormick nodded his satisfaction., “I am receiving your dataset now, Doctor.”
“It will take several hours to complete the transfer,” Childress said to the Governor, “Once complete, I will resume making my way to the downtown sector to ensure we have several accelerator units online.”
“Very well. Should we arrive prior to your completed data stream, I shall begin implementing the programming changes to find Nadine and Kurtis.”
“Very well, Governor,” Childress answered before remaining silent, “I estimate the total upload will take seven hours.”
Governor McCormick closed the comm channel and began searching through the data.
Xat-Anah appeared in front of McCormick, sporting a wide smile, “I understand you may have a breakthrough, Governor?”
“Yes, your Excellency, I am currently in communication with Doctor Childress. He is uploading his dataset so I can discover how the selection program was able to choose him over the isolation protocol.”
“Very well, Governor,” Xat-Anah leaned forward and narrowed his almond shaped eyes, “If you succeed in finding our two rogue clones, I shall approve your transfer to a new clone body.”
“Thank you, your Excellency. The complete dataset will take less than seven hours to finish. I estimate I shall have the answer within the code in five.”
“Very well, Governor. I see you are operating at optimal pe
rformance.”
“Thank you, your Excellency. I shall alert you once I have changes to the Vanguard Selection program installed and downloaded to our Seattle based accelerators. Doctor Childress will make his way in seven hours to ensure they are powered and on our net.”
“Excellent! Most excellent, Governor. I look forward to hearing your report.”
Xat-Anah’s image faded before McCormick leaned forward and poured over the incoming data at an amp-charged speed.
Chapter 12
Downtown Seattle
January 17, 2068 13:43
Mitch powered his military jeep toward the wall breach. Charlie stood at his passenger seat and held the jeep’s forward guns while Bennie held a shield with his remaining amp charge.
Kent and Jack stayed hidden behind piles of rubble and opened fire on the tentacle creatures that swarmed to investigate the wall breach and missing Vanguard soldiers.
One of the creatures fell to the ground, its three tentacle legs cut off from the alien. The two remaining aliens erected shielding on each side they were being flanked from.
Mitch floored the jeep, sending Bennie and Charlie backward, each holding on as they sped at the two remaining aliens.
Charlie opened fire with the jeep’s fifty-caliber machinegun. Hitting them dead center on the two partially-shielded aliens, cut them down quickly, causing their shields to drop.
Kent and Jack’s cross fire finished them off in seconds after they fell to the ground and dissolved into green goo.
Mitch slid his jeep to a stop after crossing the breach to their neutral side of the barrier. J’s Humvee crossed after avoiding the alien spill in the city street and came to a stop.
Mitch pressed his headset, “Fire Team 1 reporting in! We’ve made it back across the enemy line at the south border. We’re making our way back to Saratoga base! Meeting high resistance! I repeat, meeting high resistance! Requesting assistance!”
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