“I’m not getting a response from anyone,”
Jaeda said. She reattached her comm unit to her belt.
“If it’s the Egesa, they’ll head for the
armory and for the control sections,” Torque said.
“The armory will be shut tight after the
alarm.”
“Unless that’s where they penetrated and
already have it under control,” Grady said. He grabbed what looked like an
Earth comm unit. “I’ve got warriors on standby. Shit. No service.”
“Do you have a trans-conn?” Torque asked.
“Of course.” Grady pulled it from his
jacket. “What the hell?” He fiddled with the controls. “It’s powered down.”
“They’re draining energy sources,” Jaeda
said. “We need to get to control to assess what’s happening. We can monitor the
whole facility from there.” She squeezed past Torque to look out the door.
“Follow me.”
Torque and Grady fell in step behind her.
She trotted to a stairwell. “Better we take the stairs.”
“Wait. Let me.” Torque pulled out his
weapon and cracked open the stairwell door.
Jaeda’s eyes widened. “Where the hell did
you get a gun?”
“Brought it in with me. Grady, you armed?”
“You know it.” He pulled out a disruptor.
Jaeda gave them both an incredulous look.
“So much for security.”
“Earth security,” Torque said. “It has
limits. You need to do physical body searches. The old ways are oftentimes the
best ways.”
True. She pulled a weapon out of her boot.
When he and Grady looked at her in surprise, she shrugged. “Like you said.”
Torque chuckled then he looked up and down
the stairway. “We’re clear.” They headed inside and descended. First him, then
Jaeda. Grady held the rear. Torque continually looked down the middle of the
stairwell to the levels below, making sure that they weren’t headed toward a
group of Egesa or whoever had breached the facility. He was grateful that he’d
left a vid-cell with Leila. As long as it worked, she’d be able to contact
Halah and get back to the ship.
* * * * *
Leila’s heart pounded.
Kirk pulled her behind him and around a
corner. “This way. Stop fiddling with that thing and keep an eye out.”
“I can’t contact the ship. Nobody is
answering. Brianna isn’t answering either. Can you get in contact with Jaeda?”
“My comm is showing no service. We need to
get to a safe zone.” He pulled her into an elevator and they started down.
Leila was glad that they’d gotten the serum
specifications sent out and the duplication process set in motion. The disease
center wanted her to confirm the safety of the virus they intended to use in
conjunction with Torque’s ammo redesign specifications. She’d specifically
brought the AMD unit for any advanced testing that might need to be done while
on Earth. But that wouldn’t be possible now. They’d have to continue the
production without it and take their chances. She set her case on the floor.
“You should have left that.”
“And tip the Egesa off to what we’re doing?
If they analyze the vials still in there, it won’t take much for them to figure
out what our plans are.”
“We don’t even know it’s the Egesa who
breached the facility.”
“Who else could it be?” A jolt tossed them
against the back wall as the elevator came to a stop. “What happened?” A bad feeling
raced down her spine.
Kirk moved to the front of the elevator and
punched a few buttons. “Shit! We’re stuck.” He glanced up.
“What do we do?”
“We go up. There’ll be a side ladder. We
can climb up until we get to a door control. Then after we’re on the floor,
we’ll take the stairs down. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.”
She glanced up and saw a hatch. After
living in the Lair on Xylon, she was used to being underground so this was
merely a glitch. Even so, she worried about getting out of here and off Earth.
Kirk chuckled.
She looked over at him. “What?”
“I’m glad I got that injection. If I fall
and break my leg, it’ll heal fast, right?”
“It’ll heal. But don’t take any unnecessary
chances. Healing is fast but isn’t immediate. Remember, severe injuries take
longer and oftentimes require additional treatment.”
“Then it’s a good thing I have a doctor by
my side.” He cupped his hands. “I’ll boost you up to open the panel.”
* * * * *
Earth’s Orbit
Daegal looked over the steady stream of
reports he was getting in. Things seemed to be progressing, though slower than
he’d hoped. Still, victory was well within their grasp.
When the door to his quarters slid open, he
turned. His brother was back. “Come.” He motioned him closer. “What do you have
to report?”
“We’re in the process of shutting down
power sources. We’ve also taken over most all Earth tracking facilities and
missile operations. Essentially the humans are paralyzed. We’re rounding up
prisoners and will send the healthy ones to our transports as soon as they’re
cleared.”
“Wonderful. Kill the rest so we’re not infected
with their diseases and filth. What about the militaries in the noncompliant
countries?”
“They’re making a pathetic stand. It’s only
a matter of time before they’re defeated.”
“And the Xylon Warriors on planet?”
“They’ve organized a few effective raids
but their numbers are so small against ours that they can’t win in the end.” He
wobbled slightly and reached out to steady himself.
Daegal grabbed his arm. “Let’s get you to
medical. You’ll be the first recipient of the harvested spinal fluid.”
“And you?”
Daegal hesitated at the look on his
brother’s face. Was that regret he saw? Odd, but now wasn’t the time to
question him. “I am feeling the effects but I’m managing.” He was actually
surprised. Normally his brother fared better than he did. Sending him to
conduct negotiations had obviously drained him more than they’d expected.
“After you are seen to, I will get my injection. We both will be strong and
powerful once more. So powerful that nobody will be able to defeat us. Until
then, our commanders are loyal and will carry out our wishes.”
“Have we gotten word on the number of
off-planet Xylon survivors or their force capabilities from their non-Earth
substations?”
Daegal shook his head. “Communication has
been patchy. A solar storm is creating interference right now. But they
couldn’t possibly have enough survivors to defeat us.”
“What of the unidentified ships in orbit
around Earth?”
Deageal’s concern increased. His brother’s
breathing was not normal. Sweat trickled out from beneath his mask. “It is nothing
to concern yourself with. Supply ships only. Under robotic control, we think.”
He didn’t actually believe that but he saw no reason to add to his brother’s
stress. “I have some men looking into it?”
The man visibly seemed to relax at the
news. “And Laszlo? You have felt the strain?”
“Yes.” Daegal smiled, barely able to
contain his excitement. “He is dying. He is not a threat to us anymore.”
“What about the legacies? Any word?”
He guided his brother out of the room.
“Laszlo’s legacies are also dead. Rest assured we will reign supreme—here and
on all the planets we will soon conquer.”
* * * * *
Planet Earth, State of Colorado, U.S.A.
Underground Tracking Facility
Torque, Jaeda and Grady exited the
stairwell. The hair on the back of Torque’s neck bristled and he held up a hand
to stop everyone. Grady pushed Jaeda flush against the wall. Torque knew he’d
smelled it too. Egesa.
Four of the creatures suddenly rounded the
corner, obviously headed for the control center. Upon seeing two Xylon
Warriors—their jackets were a dead giveaway—the Egesa froze just long enough to
give Torque and Grady the advantage.
Torque took out the first creature in the
team. Grady took down two more. The fourth one got off a shot but it went wild
as he was hit square in the forehead. Torque turned toward Jaeda, who shrugged
and lowered her weapon. “Hideous creatures.” She squeezed between the two men.
“This way.”
Down the hall, the control center came into
view. They all slid to a stop and Torque punched the entry button. Nothing.
“It’s locked down.” Jaeda pulled out her
security card and swiped it through the reader. It buzzed but nothing else
happened. “Damn it. It’s been set to high-secure mode. We need a second card.”
At the sound of boots quickly approaching,
Grady and Torque turned and aimed. Two people rounded the corner in a full run.
“Whoa!” Kirk stopped, skidding forward
slightly. “Don’t shoot!”
“They’re with us,” Torque told Grady.
Leila stumbled into Kirk’s back. “We’ve got
Egesa on our tails.”
“I need you to swipe your card, Kirk,”
Jaeda said.
He grabbed his card and ran it down the
sensor just as an Egesa soldier rounded the corner. Grady fired and the
creature went down. The door to the control center slid open and everyone filed
inside. Torque shot at two more Egesa through the crack in the door as it
closed. He couldn’t tell if he’d hit them or not. The door closed too quickly.
When they turned, they all simply stood
staring at the control center in silence. Leila was the one who finally spoke.
“Where is everyone?”
“Fuck.” Jaeda rushed over to a console. She
pressed a series of buttons. “We’re shielded now.”
“What’s that mean?” Grady picked up a donut
left beside another console and stuffed it in his mouth.
“The staff had to have been taken by
surprise. The whole lot of them must have been materialized out of here. They
wouldn’t have left voluntarily. I’ve blocked transport access.”
“We can do that?” Kirk asked.
“It’s top secret. The system sucks energy
like crazy so it’s not normally engaged. It was programmed to auto-set during
any high-level attack or breach.”
“You all did a bang-up job with that
programming,” Grady said around a mouthful of food.
“Shut up, Grady.” Torque assessed their
situation. “Can the Egesa cut the power?”
“Not in here.”
The best course of action now was to get
out of this facility, reconnect with Brianna and find a new base of operation.
“We need to contact Halah, turn off the shield and have her materialize us up
to the ship.” The oxygen levels in the orbiter would only accommodate five
though. One of them would have to be left behind.
“I haven’t been able to reach Halah,” Leila
informed him. “She must be out of orbit and out of range.”
Torque grunted. “Figures. Shitty timing as
usual. Keep trying to reach her. And contact Brianna.”
“I’ve tried. I can’t get her either. I
don’t know why.”
“Where the hell are our squadrons?” Grady
asked.
Torque turned toward him. “Xylon’s gone.
Daegal hit us with a PowerIIRad. We think the Ice Moon is still operational and
are trying to regroup from there.”
“So the rumors are true,” Grady murmured,
looking stunned. “Laszlo?”
“Still alive, but not well. Braden is in
charge back home. Brianna is in charge of this Earth mission.”
Slowly Grady sank down to sit atop one of
the desks. “And you’re sporting Laszlo’s insignia. Convenient for the Kolls.”
Many Xylons would no doubt believe that
their family had taken advantage of this situation to snatch up even more power
than they already had. It wasn’t true, but the accusation in Grady’s words was
clear. He could also see defeat in his eyes. Torque walked over to him and
leaned close. “Snap out of whatever ideas are running through your thick head.
We’re going to take out these fuckers and save everyone who’s left that we can.
Got it?” He knew that Grady had no immediate family on Xylon to mourn. The loss
of friends and their whole way of life would take a toll, but couldn’t be dwelt
on now. They had to concentrate on the fight.
Grady took in a deep breath and looked at
Torque. He still didn’t speak but he let out the breath he was holding in a
swoosh
and nodded.
Torque headed back toward Jaeda. “Do you
have video of the inside of this facility? Can we determine how many Egesa are
down here and where they’re at?”
“I’ll bring it up.” Jaeda headed over to a
bank of screens and sat down.
“I’ve got nothing on the airwaves,” Kirk
said. “No radio, no television, nothing on satellite either.”
“Most of the video feeds are down.” Jaeda
flipped several switches. “It looks like the cameras are being smashed. Some
are better hidden than others though. Here.”
Everyone but Grady crowded around Jaeda.
Torque rubbed his chin. “Damn. It looks like a whole contingent of Egesa
soldiers. They must think this facility is important.”
Kirk headed toward the back of the room.
“We have a lot of weaponry and tracking equipment here. Also communication
channels to the world. And some of the top scientists work here as well as top
military commanders and personnel.” He opened a door. “Break room is clear.”
Grady snapped to his feet and stepped
forward. “Don’t ever do that, dumbass. Let Torque or me check out closed areas.
A soldier could have been on the other side of the door and shot a hole right
through your ugly head.”
“Are we stuck here?” Leila asked, cutting
off whatever Kirk’s response would have been.
“For now,” Torque told her.
“There’s food and drink in the break room.”
Jaeda looked over the controls. “We’ll be all right for a while.”
Torque leaned closer to speak with her. “I know
that no one can materialize in, but if we got in here with two security cards,
can the Egesa do the same? If they’ve captured the team who worked here, they
have their access passes.”
Her eyes widened. “Shit. I should thought
of that. Kirk! Door access?”
“We’re okay,” Kirk said from another panel
on the opposite side of the room. “I’ve disengaged the door-entry system. It
can only be opened from the inside.”