Wasteland Rules: A New Dawn (The World After Book 3) (18 page)

   Everyone agreed and nodded their heads. They were
relieved to be free of Boise, Storm, and whatever that metal man was. They
could just sit back and enjoy the ride home. They all knew a big reward was
waiting when they delivered their prisoner. That relaxation was ruined about an
hour later when the pilot spoke into their comms.

   “Captain, we have company.” He said gravely.

   “What now?” Tom snapped at the pilot.

   “We have three Apex Predator UAVs flying on an intercept
course with us. They will be within range in three minutes.” He replied very
seriously.

    “Can we evade them?” Tom asked. “I thought they wouldn’t
exceed their normal patrol range outside Boise?”

   “That was what intel told us, but these UAVs seem to be
behaving differently from the other UAVs we have encountered.” The pilot
reported. “We are well outside the expected patrol range and they are using a
different formation then we have seen before.”

   “Where did they come from?” Tom demanded.

   “It looks like they came from Boise.” The pilot informed
him.

   “Call for air support and start taking evasive
maneuvers.” Tom ordered the pilot. “Everyone else buckle in and be prepared for
a wild ride.”

   They all buckled in and waited as the UAVs approached.
The plane bucked and bobbed as the pilots began evasive maneuvers. They
wouldn’t do much good in a plane this size, but it was better than nothing.
Then they could feel the slight shudder as the plane began launching flares and
chaff.

   “We have six missiles incoming. Jamming ineffective.” The
pilot reported in a scream.

   “Two missiles decoyed by flares, four still closing.” The
co-pilot updated them, also in a near scream.

   “Three hit the chaff, only one left!” The pilot yelled as
the plane rocked from the nearby explosions.

   “Yeah! We dodged the last one!” The co-pilot yelled
triumphantly.

   “They are still coming after us!” The pilot snapped,
cutting through the cheering. “Looks like they are switching to guns.”

   The plane began to shudder from the repeated impact of
the UAVs’ M61 Vulcan Gatling cannons. They all felt the explosion and saw the
flames as one of the jet engines disintegrated under the heavy fire. The plane
lost altitude immediately and began to shake. They couldn’t take much more
damage before they were shot down.

   “Take us down to five thousand feet.” Tom ordered as he
unbuckled himself.

   “Sir?” The pilot questioned.

   “Just do it!” Tom snapped as he made his way to the back
of the cargo bay.

   He clipped himself to the guideline that ran along the
side of the plane and moved to the hatch release button. Jamal realized what he
was doing and smiled. The big master sergeant got up and clipped himself to the
other side. He gave Tom a thumbs up and readied the M-18M that he was now
carrying since Zach’s death. Tom hit the hatch button and the rear hatch began
to swing open.  The wind gusting into the plane nearly knocked Tom down and the
resulting suction strained the clip he was attached to.

   The plane immediately dropped in speed causing the UAVs
to roar by them.  As they passed by Tom unloaded his entire clip and Jamal
fired almost the entire box of ammo from his weapon. The UAVS came by so fast
they were unable to see if they had done any damage. But the co-pilot informed
them of their partial success.

   “You got one!” He cried out. ”One of them is trailing
smoke and flames and going down. “

   “The other two are coming back around.” The pilot told
them.  “We will attempt to turn the plane to give you the best angle.”

   Tom and Jamal reloaded and readied themselves for another
pass. This time, the UAVs ought to be heading away from them, giving them more
time to do some damage. More impacts to the plane signaled the UAVs approach
and the two Red Berets were ready as the aircraft whizzed by from either side.
With unspoken coordination they each took the one coming from their side and
fired. Jamal’s hail of gunfire shattered the wing of his target and it spiraled
down to earth to crash in a large fireball.

   Tom’s target took some damage but continued flying. It
circled around for another pass and resumed firing on the cargo plane. Another
engine exploded into flame and the plane began to lose altitude. The UAV made
another pass but didn’t fire. Instead it took up a position above the doomed
plane and out of range of Tom and Jamal’s guns. He didn’t know why the UAV
hadn’t finished the job, but he was glad it hadn’t. You could never figure out
what the Collective was doing, they had their own agenda and mindset.

   “Captain, we have lost too many engines. We are going
down.” The pilot reported calmly.

   “How far can we get before we have to land?” Tom asked in
frustration.

   “The closest we can get to our territory that has a
suitable runway is Omaha, sir.” The co-pilot responded.

   “Templeton, what is the latest intel on Omaha?” Tom asked
as he closed the rear cargo hatch.

   “It has always been the scene of vicious infighting
amongst various warlords and gangs, but recent reports indicate a new warlord
has taken control of the city.” The lieutenant reported. “He seems to be
consolidating power and putting a stop to the constant fighting.”

   “Hopefully he is reasonable and open to negotiation.” Tom
replied. “Pilot, take us in to Omaha and call for a pickup.”

   ‘Yes sir!” The pilot responded and turned on a new
heading for Omaha, Nebraska.

September 7, 2029

Boise, Idaho

   The android known as Father crashed down to Earth in
Boise with a ground shaking boom. His trip there had been so quick that none of
the Collective UAVs patrolling the area had been able to chase him. He had
blown through at speeds reaching Mach 6. They knew he had passed through, but
he was gone before they could react.

   He rose from the crater and began to seek the signals
from the surrounding Collective forces. He had seen the cargo plane fleeing the
airfield and marked it as belonging to the U.S.T.G. They were not supposed to
be here as per the treaty, but he didn’t have time right now to deal with them.
Asserting control before whoever had taken over the Collective in his absence
could regain it was of paramount importance.

   Small arms fire began to patter off his armored body and
he absentmindedly noted a scattered group of people attired in ragged clothes
surrounding him. He only diverted a small fraction of his mind to ending the
nuisance. Rotating slowly he fired a steady stream of pulse bolts from his
palms at the attacking humans. They fell quickly as he blasted them apart with
pinpoint accuracy. The attack ceased as he began to gain control of the local
forces.

   It appeared as though all the Humeks had perished from
the event that had destroyed the control tower. The drones had taken a beating
in the aftermath as they had been leaderless and directionless. Now that he had
control, they regained their fighting ability and began to fight back. Under his
control, the drones and the UCVs were able to counterattack the militia forces
and drive them back. Father reviewed all of the footage taken over the last
year or so in a flash.

   What he saw surprised him. Bob had not been the only
follower to create a virtual persona on the LINC and then pursue their own
agenda. Reinhardt had done it as well. He had told Father that the attacks on
Boise were to secure the technology used to create the LINC. That had been a
lie; he had been after the technology that had led to the device created by Dr.
Carter. He wanted to destroy Father and take control. He was the one who had
created the control towers and it was he who was in control now.

   Father felt a rush of anger, an emotion he hadn’t truly
experienced in a while. He gathered the remaining drones, UCVs, and UAVs to
him. He would take them tower by tower and eliminate Reinhardt’s hold over the
Collective. Father would take back what was rightfully his and then he would
launch a crusade to bring the world under his benevolent leadership.

   But first, he had a more pressing issue. The militia had
developed technology similar to the device that created a null zone for the
LINC. That technology must be destroyed if he was to be successful. He scanned
the footage for any clue where the militia might be running to as they
retreated. He noticed two things, one that startled him and then one that
angered him. Both were familiar faces that he had not expected to see.

   The most recent was the villain Storm. He was on a pickup
technical firing at a vehicle that had entered the cargo plane Father had seen
fly off. A UAV on surveillance had captured that image and then footage of
Storm and the treacherous girl, Dr. Carter’s daughter, boarding a private jet.
The private jet took off after the cargo plane heading east. With a thought he
dispensed three Apex Predators to hunt down the cargo plane. They would disable
it versus destroying it and force it to land outside U.S.T.G. territory. Storm
would follow them and Father could catch up with them there when he finished
here.

   Here he saw the beautiful face of Dr.Baikul amongst the
militia. It was only a brief glimpse, but he would know those features
anywhere. If she was still here, it meant she was the creator of the nullifying
technology. She had been one of the originators of the LINC and she could still
be of use to him. He needed to rebuild the LINC, but better and more
diversified. And he knew right where to find her.

   People always retreat to the places they know, their comfort
zones. So he launched himself into the air and came plunging down through the
roof of the Engineering building. He crashed through the upper levels and down
into the labs below. He felt a slight sensation, like a minor blurring of his
senses as he descended. That must be the effects of the nullifying technology.
But he was more powerful and he shrugged off the effects and kept going.

   His landing shattered any remaining glass on the level.
He rose and strode towards the doctor’s lab. Militia members burst forth to
attack him, but their gunfire merely bounced off his armored body. Didn’t they
know they couldn’t hurt a superior being like him? Almost casually he fired
pulse bolts at the militiamen sending their bodies flying to land in limp
heaps. A set of steel doors barred his way, but he simply smashed through them.
The doors were ripped from their hinges and flew to the sides. Nothing could
stand before him as he approached the lab. The few militiamen left fled,
leaving the way empty.

   He walked into the lab and paused. Dr. Baikul stood at
the entrance. She was afraid but she still held her ground. He studied her for
a moment. She had aged over the years since he had last seen her, but she still
had that fierce inner beauty he had fallen in love with. The memories came in a
rush and had he drawn breath he would have gasped. Their time together here had
been magical, but he had tossed everything aside in his quest to be healed. He
felt another emotion that he hadn’t experienced in a while, regret.

   “So they finally sent someone to finish the job?” Dr.
Baikul spat venomously.

   “Finish the job?” Father asked curiously.

   “I survived the first assassins by sheer luck, using the
null device. But then you sent an army to get me. Do you know how many lives
were lost just so I wouldn’t be a threat anymore?” She pressed angrily.

   “Mira, I would never want you dead. I always hoped you
would see the light and join me.” He said softly.

   “Stefan?” She asked incredulously. “Is that you in
there?”

   “Stefan? Yes, that was my name.” He said aloud. “The
download to this body was interrupted and I have lost some of myself.”

   “This body?” She asked anxiously. “So your consciousness
resides directly in this body?”

   “Yes. When the LINC was destroyed it activated a backup
protocol, but the station crashed before it could finish. I am currently
confined to this body. But you can help me rebuild the LINC and make it better
than before.” He told her fervently.

   “Never!” She shouted and activated a device she had been
concealing.

   He felt the blurring sensation again, but stronger. The
connection to the Collective forces nearby was cut off and he felt his sensory
range shrinking. It was as if he was collapsing in on himself. His world grew
smaller and he was unable to move. She had caught him off guard but he rallied
and pressed outward. The pressure slowed and then began to reverse. Somehow she
could tell he was regaining control and she began frantically fiddling with the
device.

   He felt his senses expand again and he gained enough
control to walk over to her. He snatched the device from her hand and crushed
it into a thousand pieces. Then he let the pieces slowly trickle from his hand
onto the floor. She fell back and wailed in frustration.

   “That’s not possible! It should have fried your
circuitry!” Mira cried as she stared at him in shock.

   “I have tried to explain to you that I am more than a
collection of circuits and chips.” Stefan said patronizingly. “I am the future.
Join me and together we can remake the world.”

   “You are an abomination! You have lost what it is to be
human and I won’t help you take that away from everyone else!” She insisted. “I
would rather be dead!”

   Stefan sighed. “Very well. If you aren’t with me, you are
against me.”

   He fired a single pulse bolt killing her instantly. He
stepped over her prone body and went to the workstation behind her. Cables
extended from his hand and he plugged into the system. Mira had tried to wipe
the system when he had entered the lab, but she had been only partially
successful. She had wiped the information on the nullifying system, but that
wasn’t what he was after. She had done further research on the LINC after he
had left and that was what he wanted.

   He downloaded everything and then wiped all the servers.
Stefan blasted up through the lab and came to a stop hovering over the
building. He leveled the building for good measure, to make sure that no one
else could gain access to Mira’s research and use it against him. He was
confident she had kept it all to herself. She had always been selfish like
that, never wanting anyone else to share in the credit.

   Now he could turn his attention to Storm. He reviewed the
footage from the UAVs he had sent after the cargo plane. Amazingly two had been
shot down before the plane was disabled. The Red Berets on board had cleverly
lowered the rear cargo hatch and shot them down. No matter, they had served
their purpose. The plane was being forced to land in Omaha, and Storm’s plane
was on its way there now. Stefan could go there now and confront them.

   The remaining Collective forces were dispatched to attack
the nearest tower while he took care of this business. They would be out of his
control range after a while, but he had altered their programming to resist the
effects of the tower. Once they seized control of the tower, they would
broadcast new instructions over their wireless network. The survivors should
then join his new army. They would then move to the next tower and replicate.
Once he was finished with Storm, he should have a good sized force capable of
attacking Seattle. Then he could take back what was his from the traitor
Reinhardt.

   But first, he needed to settle up with Storm. He hadn’t
had the UAVs shoot down Storm’s plane because he wanted to take revenge
personally. He wanted to see Storm’s life leave his eyes as Stefan strangled
him to death. But first he would rip that pesky girl’s heart from her chest
while Storm watched helplessly. He wanted the man to suffer for all he done.
Stefan wanted Storm to feel his pain.