The Apex Warriors

by Marc Stevens

  They did as I instructed and were surprised when the uniform wrapped around them and cinched itself up for a perfect fit.

  “Justice are we above our target destination?”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  I took one final look at my guests. “ I suspect you are going to be very very busy for the next few days. I hope that you will come to your senses and realize that I am only trying to protect this planet. The steps I am taking will ultimately benefit the entire world. If you do not see that, then I am truly sorry for you. Goodbye Gentleman.

  Justice scooped them up with the tow beam and sent them out the hangar door. He must have made it a fast trip. White House security was going to have no problem locating them because they screamed all the way to the ground.”

  Justice lingered above the Capital for several minutes so I could see what would happen to my former guests. They were not greeted with open arms. Security rapidly converged on them with drawn weapons. They were holding their hands in the air when they were tackled to the ground and quickly handcuffed. Things were probably going to hell in a hand cart at the capital, and their rough treatment may have been a reflection of that. When the President is notified that all the nukes were now worthless junk, he along with a lot of other people were going to need some new underwear.

  My friend Karl walked up to me shaking his head. “Nathan, I sure hope you know what you are doing. The whole world may go crazy when they find out about you.”

  “I am sorry I had to drag you into this Karl, but the alternative could be the extinction of our entire species. The longer we wait to prepare, the more devastation a hostile race will bring down on our homeworld. Every minute that is wasted, will mean more lives lost. The people of Earth cannot afford to wait for when an incursion happens, they need to be prepared and ready for the moment it does. I wish I could tell you there was another way, but I just don’t see one that will lead to rapid and effective action.”

  Karl just nodded. “Nathan, I would like to get back to my family. If word of this hits the news, a lot of people are going to be scared. I want to be there if it does, so I can try to reassure them things are going to get better.”

  “No problem buddy, we will drop you off just this side of Bonner Pass. Before you go, I want you to have a comms device that will keep you in touch with me through the drones in Earth’s orbit. Just put it near your computer or cell phone and you will be able to get a message to me.”

  That brought a smile to Karl’s face. “Thanks, Nathan, I appreciate that.” An arm extruded from the overhead and presented Karls with the comms module. He took it then boarded his Cessna.

  I waved to him. “Go ahead and fire her up.” He waved back and yelled “clear” out of the vent window. He fired up the Caravan and Justice picked it up off the hangar deck. He pushed him out the door at considerable speed. I looked out at the plane as my friend nosed it over for additional airspeed. He did a smooth recovery from his dive and made a course correction that took him in the direction of Seratook. I knew that what was happening would cause him some trouble with the military sometime down the road. I would do whatever I could to minimize the effects of my actions. If necessary, I would warn anyone that might try to use him or his family as a tool against me, they will face severe sanctions if they try. As much as I loved Earth, a strange sensation gripped me. I felt like I no longer belonged here. I was sure my former guest thought that I had gone alien on them. The mixed emotions I was having, was telling me they were probably right.

  “Justice, please instruct our freighter crew to jump back to Venture for another Containium run, then take us home.”

  “Roger that Commander, message sent. I am currently moving the Legacy to a safe departure distance from Earth. Our ETA to Alpha Base will be twenty minutes.”

  I looked at Tria and shrugged my shoulders. “It didn’t go as well as I planned, but it is a start in the right direction.”

  She nodded in agreement. “They will have no choice from this point on. If they embrace the changes quickly, they will soon forget about the pain the transition will initially cause them. I hope that some will take action right away so that others can see the benefits of the technology available to them.”

  When Justice had the Legacy well outside of Earth’s star system, he engaged the DEHD Core and jumped us back to Alpha Base. As usual, we were greeted enthusiastically by the members of our clan. They were happy to see that we came back without being shot to pieces. Other than an ugly bruise on my thigh, we were all in good shape and ready to take on another mission.

  My first order of business was to consult with Jaran on the Prule entity, and see if it had attempted contact with the Overseer. The inquiry was a waste of time. The piece of scat was not communicating with anyone. I would give it a little more time, then I would tell Justice and the Overseer they could actively take measures to produce a dialog, even if it resulted in the termination of the entity.

  I told my crew to take a rest period and we would meet in the galley in twelve hours. We would discuss current events and what we thought Earth’s response might turn out to be. My stop at Earth slowed our progress on other missions. I knew that things back on my homeworld would take time. I was prepared to give my warning six months. If no action was taken on the part of the major players in that time, I would let Justice take the reins. I had a feeling that some of the smaller nation-states would jump on my bandwagon because it would be a way to quickly develop an otherwise inferior economy. It would not be easy, but Justice’s tech upgrades included many easy to manufacture tools that would give unskilled labor jobs to help speed the process.

  I awoke six hours later and was taking a shower when Justice called to me saying there was comms traffic from Earth. I quickly got dressed and went to the bridge of the Legacy with Tria in tow. It was pretty early for any kind of meaningful response. There was no way my message could have run its course through all the proper governmental branches so quickly. I wondered if I was going to get served up a bucket of scat telling me it was impossible, or something else entirely.

  As it turned out it was the latter. A face came on the viewscreen that I had not seen in more than seven years. It was my father, and he didn’t look happy to see me. He was just staring at me with a frown. His hair was now completely gray, and what General McNeal said about his build was true. I doubted if he had an ounce of fat on him. Other than looking skinny and his hair being a little prematurely gray, he had aged well for his fifty-five years of age. The expression slowly faded from his face and was replaced with disbelief. He didn’t say a word so I decided he was waiting for me.

  “Hello Father, it has been a long time.”

  He finally found his tongue. “Nathan, if it is really you, you could tell me how old you were when I took you to your grandparents?”

  He was having a hard time recognizing me. Admittedly my appearance was nothing like the teenager that packed up and drove to Alaska.

  “I was nine. You told me it was just going to be for the summer because you did not have the heart to tell me mom had left. I did not understand what was happening when I found out I was not going back to the same school. Granddad finally told me why.”

  My father cast his eyes downward and had nothing to say.

  “It broke my heart when Karl told me they had both passed away.”

  When he looked back up, I stared into my father’s eyes. “They were the only family I had until I found my way to where I am now.”

  My father stiffened at my comment but didn’t attempt to refute it either. “I wished I could have been around more but it was not in the cards.”

  “I take it General McNeal put you up to this?”

  The change of subjects was a relief to my father. “Karl, the General has told me some pretty crazy things about you. If I were not seeing you for myself, I have to tell you, I thought he was nuts.”

  “I hope you got the right story, and not something that might sway your opinion one way or another
.”

  “Nathan, I have known both General Thorton and General McNeal for a long time. They would not lie to me. That being said, I had one hell of a time believing what I was hearing. They told me you lead some kind of alien vigilante group that is going around the galaxy killing other aliens that are preying on primitive races. They said you came here to warn us but instead gave the Earth an ultimatum.”

  “Apparently, they did not show you any of our combat videos or told you that humans may face extinction if any of the races we have encountered were to stumble onto Earth.”

  My father’s mouth became a thin flat line and he looked away to his right. I must have hit the nail on the head because my father suddenly moved off-screen. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but the connection suddenly terminated.

  More than ten minutes passed and Tria just shook her head. “They have only told your patriarch what they wanted him to hear.”

  Justice called to us as we started to walk away. “Commander, the comms channel has been restored.”

  We looked back at the viewscreen and the picture no longer had the American flag in it. There was now a generic white background. “Justice has the location of the broadcast changed?”

  “Yes Commander, the signal is now coming from a bunker one hundred and seventy feet below the White House.”

  General McNeal stepped into view. “Mr. Myers, you need to listen to reason. You have caused considerable chaos with your stunt of disabling nuclear weapons and commandeering ships. There are other ways to get things done, but you are going about it all wrong.”

  “Like using my father to try and enforce your way of thinking?”

  The General’s face was already rosy, but now it was quickly turning beet red. “Damn it, Myers, you don’t have any idea the trouble you are causing.”

  “Trouble! That is what is bothering you! We are talking about every man, woman, and child on this planet being enslaved or outright killed, and you think that my method of preparing this planet to protect itself, is inconveniencing you? My allies and I are this planet’s only hope if you are discovered by a hostile race. I have taken the necessary steps to defend Earth, now it is time for Earth to step up and show that you are up to the task of fending for yourselves. I might not always be here for you. You have to be able to put up a viable defense or you… will… all… die!”

  The General suddenly looked to the side and stepped off-screen. A person I did not recognize stepped into view.

  “Mr. Myers. My name is Walter Reacher and I am the President of the United States. “ I first want to say that we are listening to what you are saying, but every leader of their respective countries is pointing fingers at you. They say you are to blame for other alien races trying to seek us out for destruction.”

  “President Reacher, all primitive species are being actively sought out by the advanced predatory races that roam this galaxy. To make matters worse, there is a race of Bio-machines from Andromeda that wants to end all naturally occurring biological life. Earth is not being singled out, it will just be another checkmark on some advanced race’s list of conquests. Look, you need to get the best scientific minds together and look at what I have shown you. It is not too late to get on the right track. Every day you waste will amount to more lives lost if there is a hostile incursion. If you will take the steps to prepare, I will give the Earth the tools to make it so difficult for another race to attack, they will move on to easier targets.”

  “Then give us the tools so we can show others what we have learned.”

  “Mr. President, I have already explained to General McNeal why that is not an option. You must all work together. There has to be unity for a well-organized and effective defense. If the countries of this world can do that, I will give you access to the stars.”

  I guess the President wasn’t used to having someone dictate to him how things were gonna be. It was easy to see he was getting pissed. “Mr. Myers, do you still consider yourself a citizen of the United States?”

  Now I was getting irritated. “What kind of fool question is that?”

  Rather than give me an answer, he continued down the same path. “You were born and raised here. You enjoyed the freedoms our democracy has to offer. You were sheltered from the woes of the world by soldiers who gave their lives so you could enjoy those freedoms. So, I ask you, do you love your country. It’s a simple yes or no question.”

  I suspected where the President’s comments we going and didn’t like it one bit. “Mr. President, I love my homeworld and good or bad all the people who live on it. You obviously believe you can somehow sway my opinion and make me submit to your authority. Let me make this absolutely clear to you. The world will be moving forward with or without you. I will not stand by while there is even the smallest chance Earth can be decimated by predators. I was hoping that the people that hold the reins of power in the United States would be intelligent enough to take the lead in what I am offering in exchange for world unity. The data cube has already given you several incentives without obligation. The true benefits of the advanced technology I am offering can only be accessed once a working world government has been established.”

  “Mr. Myers you cannot come here and demand that we submit to your will. While some favor many of your ideas, the majority of our governmental system does not. In a free nation things like this will have to be written up in a way that is agreeable to all, and then at some later date voted upon. In case you have forgotten, that is how a democracy works.”

  While the President was lecturing me, Justice pinged my implants with some interesting information. He was data mining all of the supposed secure information networks of the world and found me a big juicy bone to beat President Reacher over the head with. It also affected several key government officials and some of the biggest power brokers on Earth.

  I interrupted the President mid-sentence and he gritted his teeth in anger. He was about to spit some fire at me when I doused his heated anger with a bucket of cold piss.

  “Mr. President, You and your fellow politicians, have just generously donated the entire balances of your illicit offshore accounts, to the veterans who selflessly served the country you so dearly love. It is the least you can do for the families of the soldiers who gave their lives so you can enjoy the freedoms they have provided. Don’t feel too bad. A lot of political officials worldwide have done similar things and they will not be exempt from the same sanctions. The transactions will take place across the globe.”

  The President’s mouth fell open and he gawked back at me speechless. His pallor when to slightly green when he turned and stepped out of view. To my surprise another face I was not familiar with quickly stepped into the picture. He looked shaken but quickly composed himself.

  “Mr. Myers. I am Lawrence Redman the Vice President of the United States. I…”

  Redman looked off-camera and scrunched up his face. He turned back to me and tried to put on a neutral expression but was having difficulty.

  “Is there a problem Mr. Vice President?”

  “I am not sure Mr. Myers. President Reacher seems to have fallen ill, and was unable to keep his breakfast down.”

  “I wouldn’t worry Mr. Vice President. It is probably happening all over the world right at the moment, but it will pass. It is my understanding that it is a stomach bug that only affects government officials that have committed crimes they believed would never be discovered. According to my AI, depending on the severity of the crimes, they can lead to removal from office and possible jail time.”

  The Vice President cleared his throat and was frazzled about what just happened. “Um… yes. Your AI is correct. It appears to be well versed in the laws of our country.”

  Justice informed me the President’s offshore account was just the tip of the iceberg. There was a trail of crimes that Walter Reacher committed in his previously held offices. They predated his Presidential election. The revelations hinted that the people responsible for investigating Reacher fo
r office may have been complicit.

  “I have additional evidence of other crimes that range in scope from bribery to money laundering, that I will make available to you. You will need it for the President’s immediate resignation and a smooth transition of power. I am telling you this because My AI has informed me you are an honest politician. That is a rarity on and off the Earth.”

  The Vice President swallowed hard and then gathered himself. “Mr. Myers, the President will have a strong legal team to defend against your accusations. Many will say that you are manipulating the information so you can achieve your goals.”

  “Mr. Vice President, my AI is named Justice. He can move in and out of the most securely encrypted networks around the world with impunity. No matter how deeply something is buried, he can find it in seconds. Nothing is sacred.”

  “Okay Mr. Myers, I believe you. I want a chance to look at the evidence and at the data cube as well. I promise I will get back to you in forty-eight hours on my findings, and then we will have a meaningful discussion on your information.”

  “I look forward to it Mr. President.”

  Giving the Vice President the title of President, almost got me a reply. He chose to close his mouth and just nodded instead. The comms signal terminated.

  Justice gave me another bit of unfortunate news. “Commander, I am picking up comms traffic that indicates the Chinese Premiere was just assassinated by a member of his military guards. The news he was taking huge sums of wealth from the country’s treasury and putting it into private accounts was not well received.”

  I didn’t need Justice to spell it out for me. I knew he was systematically removing the obstacles that were hindering the formation of a world government. I wasn’t going to questions his methods because time was of the essence. Any world leader with a sordid past was in for a rude awakening. If there was even the smallest shred of recorded evidence against them, Justice would find it and follow it tirelessly until it was either proven false or in most cases leads to other crimes.