Mission Origin View (Final Days Trilogy) (36 page)

“
Sipes, stand back a few feet. I’m going to fire a particle beam at you to destroy the devices on you and keep ‘em off you for a few minutes,” Gideon said.

Joseph stepped back
. Gideon fired, and the energy from the beam knocked the big man back a few feet but didn’t knock him down.

“What’s the plan, sir?” Xia asked over a private channel.

“
I don’t think we’re going to make it, Gunny, and I’d rather not suffer like the prisoners. Maybe we can even take a few czar soldiers with us,” Gideon said over the same private channel.

“
I agree, sir, and I see no reason to tell the others,” Xia said.

“
I’m sure Manelly and Kindle have already figured it out, but you’re right. No need to tell the rest,” Gideon replied.

Gideon and Xia began making several explosive charges that would totally disintegrate the
top of the hill and more than likely kill most of the czar soldiers at the bottom of the hill.

***

The devices that continued attacking Joseph’s armor were immediately destroyed by the residual energy from Gideon’s blast. With his mind temporarily off the red devices attacking him, Joseph looked around and saw the mangled and torn bodies of the prisoners who had been killed. Joseph shook uncontrollably at the sight.

Joseph
watched as Gideon and Xia took the explosives and detonators out of the rucksack to build their deadly devices. As he watched, Michael walked over and stood by him.

“
Joseph, are you frightened?” Michael asked on a private channel.

Joseph turned to face Michael and answered
, “Yes.”

“
There is nothing to fear. Nothing is going to happen to you, and you will soon be safe aboard your ship,” Michael stated in a warm, calming voice.

Joseph stopped shaking as an unexplained calm came over him
. He said, “I was told by my grandma to help save people. What about the others? What can I do to save them?”

Joseph saw Michael smile
behind the visor of his environmental suit helmet and answered, “I should have known you would be more concerned about the others than yourself and do whatever you have to do to save them. You and the men with you cannot save yourselves, but I will save you, Joseph, so you can continue to save others, and I will save them because you care about them.”

Joseph watched as Michael
turned and walked to the small building. Michael climbed up a maintenance ladder attached to the wall facing the east. Once on top of the building, Michael walked to the highest point on the roof and stood. Strong winds coming from the approaching storm caused his robe to wave around him.

***

“Done,” Gideon said as he finished the last charge.

“
Sir, the czar soldiers are beginning another attack,” Manelly said over the platoon channel.

“
Anna, how long till those approaching clouds of devices reach us?” Gideon asked.

“
Forty-five seconds,” Anna said.

Just after she answered
, the devices that’d been digging in the sand began reaching the buried prisoners. Several prisoners uncovered themselves and began running around, trying to knock the devices off.

“
It’s been an honor serving with you all,” Gideon transmitted over the platoon channel. “Gunny, set the charges to go off in forty seconds.”

“
Wait! Michael is going to save us!” Joseph yelled over the platoon channel and pointed to the top of the building. “Look…look at him!”

The
marines turned, looked at the top of the building, and saw Michael.
Michael pulled his environmental suit helmet off and tossed it away. Dark, long hair fell from his head to his shoulders, and then the hair began blowing in the wind like his robe. He also had a beard, and the part of his face not covered with hair was the color of bronze.
He then reached his right hand
behind his head, pulled his weapon out, and held it over his head.

“
Is that a sword?” Kindle asked over the platoon channel.

“
Looks like it. I knew the guy was nuts. He’ll be dead in seconds from the atmosphere!” Xia said and then enabled the explosive charges detonation timers. His Anna began counting down over the platoon channel. “Forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six…”

Gideon and his team
watched as Michael held his sword over his head. A moment later the sword emitted a bright white light that was so bright the marines’ helmet visors automatically darkened to protect their eyes. Then, thousands of needle-diameter-size light beams erupted from the sword, each beam of light destined for a single red device in the remaining clouds of devices. Instead of a beam of light burning through every obstacle in its way to reach its target, the beams went around any object that would injury a marine or prisoner. Microseconds later, each beam precisely hit its targeted red device and destroyed it no matter where it was—in midair, on the ground, on armor, on an environmental suit, or on flesh.

The
marines and prisoners were amazed. They’d never seen anything like it before. Breach alarms in the marines’ armor stopped as the holes self-sealed, and the prisoners began screaming for help to seal their suits. Joseph was already slapping patches on the prisoners’ suit holes as fast as he could.

“
Fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten…” Xia’s Anna continued counting.

“
Gunny, disable the charges!” Gideon yelled.

Xia disabled the charges
, and his Anna reported over the platoon channel, “Detonation aborted.”

“
Sir, the czar soldiers are still coming,” Kindle reported as they started firing mag rails and laser again.

The sandbag wall was taking heavy hits
, and some areas of the wall had been knocked down. Lightning from the storm was also striking all around them. The marines couldn’t tell the difference between the sounds of a thunderclap from the impact of a mag rail projectile striking the sandbag wall.

Gideon looked over what was left of the sandbag wall protecting him and saw the
czar troops running toward them as they continued firing. “Return fire!” Gideon yelled over the platoon channel.

The
marines began to fire mag rail, but it only slowed the attack. The marines were severely outnumbered, and they couldn’t kill all the czar troops before they were overrun.

“
Michael, can you use your weapon on the czar troops?” Gideon yelled over the platoon channel and helmet speakers.

“
Stop firing your weapons, and I will destroy them,” he yelled. The marines stopped firing and turned to look at Michael.

Michael held his sword over his head
, and it began to glow white with energy again. Suddenly a bolt of lightning from the storm struck the sword, and the light of the sword intensified. A bubble of power slowly began to grow until it surrounded Michael, the building, the marines and the prisoners. The marines’ helmet visors auto-darkened again, this time to max, but the marines still had to close their eyes from the blinding light. Gideon could hear the prisoners scream with pain because their eyes were totally unprotected. The bubble expanded a few more feet and then exploded outwardly. The shock wave from the explosion radiated slowly over and then down the hill. The wave destroyed the remaining sandbag wall, and when the wave struck the approaching czar soldiers, it disintegrated them. The wave continued down the hill until it reached the bottom and dissipated.

“
What was that?” Tidwell exclaimed over the platoon channel as
Bernice
streaked at a low level over the hill and rose as it banked right to circle. “I was preparing to execute a strafing run, and then I saw the explosion or whatever it was. I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“
I’m not sure what it was, Tidwell,” Gideon said and then asked, “Is there enough room on the hill to land?”

“
Looks like it, sir,” Tidwell said.

“
Good! Land, and let’s get out of here,” Gideon ordered.

Small Building, Political Prisoner Camp, Planet Leonis

0710
—February 28, 2372

Bernice
landed on the hill with little room to spare. Gideon ordered Tidwell and Xia to work on the landing gear and allowed Manelly and Kindle to help Sipes with the wounded prisoners. The beams from Michael’s weapon had not only destroyed the bugs but also cauterized their wounds and stopped the bleeding. The marines injected painkillers and antibiotics into the wounded using self-attaching and self-dosing combat syringes from their medical kits. The combat syringes would attach to armor or environmental suits, pierce the suit and flesh, take a blood sample, analyze it, and then inject the proper dosages. The syringe would simply drop off armor when it had expended its contents or stay attached to an environmental suit to keep it sealed.

“
When are we leaving?” Dr. Qasim asked as she stood by Gideon, looking on as the marines tended to the wounded.

“
As soon as we can, Doctor. The pilot is trying to repair a problem with the landing gear. Until it’s fixed, we can’t leave the planet,” Gideon said.

“
What about the prisoners?” she asked.

“
They’re not my problem, Doctor,” Gideon answered. He paused and added, “I assume Michael will know what to do with them.”

“
Warning!” Gideon’s Anna said into his ear and transmitted over the platoon channel. “
Bernice’s
long-range sensors have detected fifteen czar troop transports approaching. ETA, ten minutes.”

“
Tidwell, get the ship ready. Let’s go now!” Gideon ordered.

“
Sir, the landing gear isn’t fixed yet; we can’t go into space until it’s fixed,” Tidwell said.

“
I know, but we can leave and land somewhere else and sit in stealth mode until it’s safe to continue repairs,” Gideon said.

“
Yes, sir,” Tidwell replied.

“
Must be reinforcements,” Xia transmitted.

“
I’m sure they are, and I don’t want to be here when they arrive,” Gideon said, “Kindle, Manelly, Sipes, get on board now. We’re leaving!”

“
What about the prisoners and the women and children in the building?” Michael asked Gideon.

“
They’re not my responsibility. Anyway, it seems as if you and your weapon can take care of yourself and these people,” Gideon said. He noted Michael was surviving the atmosphere without a helmet; undoubtedly, he was using some type of energy or force field to protect himself.

“
Yes, I could protect them, but I am going to remain here and cover your escape. If the prisoners stay with me, they will die when I use my weapon,” Michael said.

“
They survived your attack on the red devices and the czar soldiers who attached us earlier,” Gideon said.

“
Yes, but the power I must use to destroy the approaching enemy would kill the prisoners too. They must go with you,” Michael explained.

“
If I take ‘em with us, where can I leave ‘em?” Gideon asked.

“
They can be left with one of the rebel groups,” Michael answered. He paused and added, “But know this, Lieutenant. If you leave the old women and children with the rebels, they will eventually be killed because they can neither contribute to the rebel cause nor work as slaves for the czars.”

“
Okay, just give me the coordinates of a rebel location,” Gideon said, and added, “And what about the women and children? They don’t even have environmental suits to get out of the building.”

“
I will get them aboard your ship safely,” Michael said as he walked away and entered the building.

Tidwell started
Bernice’s
engines and transmitted, “Let’s go, Lieutenant. The czar reinforcements will be here in seven minutes.”

“
It’ll be a few minutes before everyone is on board,” Gideon answered.

“
Everyone, sir?” Tidwell asked surprised.

“
Yes, we’re taking the prisoners, women, and children with us for now,” Gideon answered.

A few seconds later Michael came out of the building with the women and children. The
y were bunched together, wrapped in each other’s arms, as Michael wrapped his arms around them as far as he could reach. A light-blue glow surrounded them as he guided them up the ramp. Gideon followed and told Xia to close the cargo ramp. Once the ramp was closed, the environment in the cargo bay returned to normal, and Michael let go of the women and children.

“
Manelly, get the women and children into one of the main cabins,” Gideon said.