Blaze (The High-Born Epic) (62 page)

             
“This thing ain’t hollow,” Harold said as he knocked on it like a door.  “It’s as solid as a rock.”

             
“We’ve got a lot of work to do with this one,” someone sitting at the table said.

             
“It’s short for hologram wall, Harold,” Colonel Stevens smiled as Harold turned around.  “Why don’t you just sit down and eat right now,” he gestured to the food.  “And just enjoy how it looks.”

             
Harold tapped it one more time and watched ripples rattle across it, and then walked to table.  He looked across it.  There was a month’s worth of food in front of him.  Mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rice, peas, and several different kinds of fish that Harold had never seen.  There was also a dish that was completely new to him.

             
“What’s this?” he asked as he pointed at it.

             
“Don’t worry about what it is,” Stone said as he continued stuffing his mouth with potatoes.  Harold noticed River roll her eyes as he continued.  “It’s good, Fire.  Everything here is good.  Just eat it.”

             
“It’s a squash casserole,” Colonel Stevens answered.  “One of my personal favorites.”

             
Harold found something familiar about Colonel Stevens as he dipped himself a large spoonful of potatoes, but he could not quite figure it out.  Then, he gave himself a helping of everything across the table, and sat down and started eating.  Everything was much better than he expected.  It all had flavors unlike anything he had ever experienced.  He tried some of all the fish, but he particularly liked the dish they called blackened grouper.  And the squash casserole was very good.  The others at the table just talked to Stone and River about how things were in their villages, but Harold did not pay them attention. 

             
The food was too good.

             
On his second plate, he just ate some more grouper, and more casserole.  He felt guilty about getting a third helping, but he spooned more casserole and cut another small piece of grouper.  None of the others seemed to notice.  Now that his ferocious hunger was somewhat sated, he began looking around at the people at the table as he slowly chewed the food before him.

             
They all were wearing uniforms similar to his, and all of them had a device similar to a data-pane.  Though these data-panes were smaller than the data-panes he saw the High-Born use.  These could fit in your pocket.  He noticed that they constantly pressed them, especially when River and Stone answered questions about the things they had seen before they had rescued them.  Harold gathered that Stone had been in three battles prior to his rescue and River had been in two.

             
Harold had not noticed at first, but everyone sitting at the table was much older than him.  In fact, most of them seemed older than the oldest person he had ever seen in Foxx Hole.  However, they seemed very fit, most of them moved with the surety of youth, and their minds were very sharp.  They all seemed to be soldiers of some sort, and most had medals pinned to their shirts.  Harold finished the last of his meal and leaned back.  He had never been so full in his entire life.  In fact, his stomach actually hurt.

             
Harold looked at the beach scene, and let the breeze blow across his face.  He thought about how they made that breeze for a moment, but then he just let the thought go as he relaxed.  He did not care how they made the wind.  He just enjoyed it, and realized he had never felt so safe in his life.  He wanted to share this feeling with Aunt Nean, Cooper, Ollie, and Sarah. 
And everyone else still in Foxx Hole
, he thought.

             
“When can I go back?” Harold said, interrupting the ongoing conversation.  “I want to get my family.”

             
The table fell silent.  Harold looked from person to person.  No one would look at him in the eye, not even Stone or River.  The other people pretended to be busy typing information into their small data-panes, but Harold knew they were not doing anything but avoiding him.  The only person who was even looking at him was Colonel Stevens.

             
“When can I go bring them here?” Harold asked, looking directly at Colonel Stevens.

             
Colonel Stevens regarded him for moment.  Harold could see that he was choosing his next words carefully.

             
“We are going to get them, Harold,” he answered.  “Them, and many others as well.”

             
“When?” Harold repeated.

             
“As soon as Gabby recovers, and as soon as we properly train you, her, Ralph and Michelle,” Colonel Stevens calmly answered.

             
Harold could see that Colonel Stevens was telling the truth, and he relaxed a little while trying to figure out why he seemed familiar, “How long will that take?”

             
“Probably not very long,” he replied.  “Given what all of you are capable of doing.”

             
“I’m ready to go now,” Harold replied and stood up.  “I can’t let them stay in what they’re living in.”

             
Harold noticed the people at the table shuffling uneasily, and he saw Stone start to say something, but Colonel Stevens just held up his hand toward Stone.  He could see River wiping her eyes.  Then Colonel Stevens stood up.

             
“You could quite possibly be the most powerful being on the Earth, Harold,” Colonel Stevens said.  “And if it had not been for my task force, you would not be here right now.”

             
“They got lucky,” Harold replied, sneering.  “I’ll be ready for those A.I. Drones next time.”

             
“Yes,” Colonel Stevens replied.  “You most certainly will be.  And you will burn everyone of them the next time you engage them.  And you will save your loved ones as well.  But storming the gates with no back up or solid plan is what landed you and Gabby in the hospital, nearly dead.”

             
Harold looked down at the table and remained silent.

             
“Despite the foolishness of what you two did,” he hesitated until Harold looked up at him.  “It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen.  You two thought you were alone, and you still decided to act when no one else could and when no one else would.  Your courage is worthy of honor.”

             
Harold relaxed and he could feel an overwhelming, patient resolve coming over him.

             
“We couldn’t let you fight this war alone, in fact we’ve been searching for you since the first reports of you came in, but you managed to evade us and the lab rats alike.  While we were searching for you, this guy showed up,” Colonel Stevens motioned toward Stone.  “After we pulled him out of a battle that would’ve led to his death, she decided to make an appearance,” he motioned to River.  “We hadn’t even had time to fully debrief her before you and Gabby decided to commit suicide.  We all talked about it, and decided that we had to come after you.  Because we absolutely had to see a guy who takes nothing but a sword into a fight against several dozen tanks, and wins.”  Colonel Stevens was smiling now.

             
Harold started chuckling, as did many others at the table. 

             
“What did the AI Drones do to Gabby and me?” Harold asked.

             
Colonel Stevens took a deep breath, “It’s complicated, but they were built with a weapon called a neural disruptor.  It’s one of the reasons human pilots had such difficulty combating them, and without getting technical, they scrambled your senses by interrupting your neurotransmitters.”

             
“I thought you said you weren’t going to get too technical,” Harold smiled as he returned to his chair.

             
Colonel Stevens just smiled and shrugged, “I don’t know how else to explain it.”

             
Harold finally figured out why it seemed like he knew Colonel Stevens in some way.  It was his voice.

             
“You’re one of the pilots of the fighter jets that saved Gabby and me, right?” Harold asked.

             
“Yes, I am,” Colonel Stevens said as he sat down.

             
“I thought your name was Archangel,” Harold said.

             
“Pilots and ATLAS operators have nicknames known collectively as callsigns,” Colonel Stevens answered.  “I’m the leader of the Angry Angels, and my callsign is Archangel.  Major Young’s callsign is Rat-Trap.  It’s similar to the difference between Harold and Blaze.  And Gabby and Aireon.”

             
“And I guess Ralph and Stone, and Michelle and River,” Harold answered as he nodded toward Stone and River.

             
“That’s right,” Colonel Stevens said with a smile.

             
Harold did not know why, but he liked Colonel Stevens.

             
“What’s an ATLAS?” Harold asked.

             
“Atlas is two different things,” Colonel Stevens replied.  “Atlas was a Titan and giant from Greek Mythology who fought against the ancient gods, and was cursed to hold up the sky.  The ATLAS Corps takes their motto from that story, but ATLAS is also an acronym,” Colonel Stevens continued.  “Each letter in the word stands for another word.  A-T-L-A-S means All-Terrain Land Air Sea Armored Corps.  They are the ultimate support force.  Their armor gives them the ability to be air support for ground troops, most of which is comprised of CASE units.  That is also an acronym for Cybernetically-Assisted Strength Enhancement armor.  It’s not as advanced as ATLAS armor, but it allows normal individuals to physically compete with the lab rats.  ATLAS units can also double as a supplementary force for fighter jets, and can even operate in the water as well.  They often provide close support for naval forces.  In fact, there is always a team ready to fight in the event that the Washington is detected.”

             
“What are those missiles that turn into smaller missiles called?  Those things are really neat,” Harold said.

             
Colonel Stevens smiled and replied, “They’re called SWARM’s.  Strategically-Weaponized Anti-Retaliation Missiles.  If a missile defense system retaliates against them, they break apart.  However, they can also be set to detonate at an arbitrary distance from target.  We also use something called LAMPP’s as well.  It’s very technical as to how and why it works, but it was the bright light in the sky that made all of the lab rats become visible during your rescue.  It stands for Long-range Aerial Multi-directional Photonic Paint.’

             
Harold’s eyebrows raised, “I’m sorry I even asked.”

             
Colonel Stevens smiled, “You’ve got a lot to learn, Harold.  But I will be personally overseeing yours, Gabby’s, Ralph’s, and Michelle’s training.”

             
“I’m ready to get started,” Harold said. 

             
“Very well,” Colonel Stevens said.  “Training starts right now.  Lesson one.  Never again refer to them as High-Born.  From this moment forward, you call them lab rats.”

             
“Why?” Harold asked.

             
“Because that’s what they are,” Colonel Stevens replied.  “You’ll probably hear some people call them Frankensteins or Frank’s for short.  You see, they’re created in laboratories, they’re not born at all.”

             
“How?” Harold asked.

             
“That is a very, very, long story,” Colonel Stevens answered.  “But right now let’s focus on getting your family back.  The first step is for you to tell us everything you know about your village.  How many people are there?  Then, tell us about everything you’ve done in the past few months, when and how your powers developed, and everything you’ve encountered since you began fighting them.”

             
Harold leaned back, and took a deep breath.  He thought for a moment, and then began telling them about Foxx Hole and the people who were still there.

Chapter 53

              The sun on the holo-wall never seemed to move and Harold noticed that the clouds always moved from left to right.  When they reached the right side of the wall it was like they just wrapped around to the left side.  The palms trees looked like you should have been able to walk right out to them and sit underneath them.  Their leaves even seemed to rustle in perfect harmony with the artificial breeze.  Every so often there seemed to be dolphins leaping in the background and seagulls would occasionally dip and caw.  Harold had almost forgotten that he was actually on what these Americans called a super carrier-submarine near the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.