Chapter Sixty-Nine.

The Invictus makes good time flying over several camps and towns, only to find destruction again and again and again. They fly over the lost sh.o.r.e and notice a silver glimmer in the distance west of them, so they go to investigate, still having the ship cloaked as they fly. They approach with caution, because unlike the other towns and camp, this one has no smoke bellowing out from it. In fact, there is what seems to be a convoy readying to travel.

"Looks like an underground bunker to me. Those silver towers are air towers and they stand out like a sore thumb, and it looks like the Thorn Guard colours too." Sam turns his turret gun towards them and zooms in with his scope. "Thats the prime ladys rover, I can tell. I would know that rover anywhere. I helped design the shields on it."

Nova flies past and turns around for another pa.s.s. As she pa.s.ses over the top of the mountains she notices the Fahrenheit; a dark ma.s.s that has never been seen from the air before as this was restricted s.p.a.ce. Suddenly four drone ships detect the cloaked ship and begin to open fire on the Invictus.

"Oh c.r.a.p! Well, they know we are here now. Let the others know, Rusty. We will have to get started sooner than planned, thats all." Rusty contacts everyone involved and everyone begins to hurry.

Noticing the Invictus drop out of cloak, Eve is infuriated and jumps into her rover. "Get me to the Fahrenheit now. Ill teach this fool a lesson he will never forget hurry." Eve and her guard set off for the t.i.tan ship, unaware of the surprise that waits them. "Call the other troops back to defend the t.i.tan. Not that one ship will do anything against my mighty flagship." Eves driver puts his foot down and they fly towards the ship as fast as the machine can drive, but it would still be a while before they got there.

"Maam, the ship is almost ready and by the time we get there, we will have some time to get away from the Oakthian vessel." The driver waits for an answer but Eve is silent, looking at a litepad.

"Yes!" Sam laughs, "I got one, three to go." Sam is enjoying using the turret gun again. It was like a computer game but real to him, the same thrill and the same kind of fun. A spray of fire leapt up towards the Invictus from Eves convoy like angry hornets, and Nova spins the ship avoiding most of the fire, and soaks up the rest without concern. The Invictus is once again in the thick of it and holding its ground. Nova manoeuvres the ship downwards, the ball vessels still hot on her tail. She levels off and is flying now almost at ground level, just a few feet from the surface. The weapons fire is. .h.i.tting the shields like tiny sparklers bouncing off with no effect. It seems the modifications are working a treat.

At the last possible moment, Nova pulls up and the chasing ball ships collide with the first few rovers of Eves convoy, exploding and lifting dirt, and metal showering Eves convoy like molten rain. Smoke bellows from the twisted sh.e.l.ls that have been used for death and destruction. They now lay hissing and popping with regret, motionless, their drivers and pilots erased from the time line. Now that the ball ships are gone, air s.p.a.ce is free again and the Invictus lifts up into the sky and disappears. They had done a fair bit of damage and slowed the convoy down somewhat. They are free to soar up in the blue sky once again. They head towards the Fahrenheit to help there.

Chapter Seventy.

It was cold in the Fortune Mines and slow moving. Trying to navigate underground was hard going and it seemed they had been there for days, yet it had only been a short time. The governors rover pressed on, its powerful search lights cutting through the dark murky air like lasers, with each turn the gunner holding his breath and fear inside.

"By the looks of it we are almost through, sir." One of the governors men is sat at a console gazing at the map and navigating. He had done an amazing job of getting them all through, so far avoiding giant chasms and tight ledges. There had been several cave-ins along the way, which had cost them a few lives, but despite this the people were in high spirits.

"Wait a minute, sir. Stop! Something big is above us. I have only just noticed it. It must be the metal in the rock that has hidden it from our scanner. There is what seems to be a ... oh c.r.a.p!" The man turns to the governor with fear in his eyes.

"Spit it out man, will you!" The governor brings the rover to an abrupt halt and sliding a few yards, the whole column comes to a grinding halt.

"Sorry, sir. We are almost there and there is a large open area up ahead, and then a short way along a tunnel to get out. However, the open area up ahead seems to be full of what I can only make out to be Kalgoray. We would have no chance of getting through, plus there is something extremely large somewhere above us." The governor shakes his head in disbelief. They had come so far and there was no other way around, they would have to fight through.

"Right, everyone that is walking, get them on top of a transport. I dont care how, even if they are clinging on by their fingertips, we will have to drive through quickly and out the other side. We need to act as rear guard for them. You understand what that means?" Two men with the governor agree, there is no other way, and they let the column of people know their plan. A second rover and its crew decide to stay behind and help, and their plan is to seal the exit shut and hold off any of these hideous creatures from taking more lives. People clamber on top of vans, trucks and anything with wheels. They are ready with their weapons and waiting for their first fight and surprisingly most of them are calm.

"Ok, here we go." The governor accelerates into the open cave before them. It is a ma.s.sive place and now it is very obvious that it is a nest teaming with life. They peel off to the left hand side of the cave and the other rover goes to the right hand side, while the column makes a mad dash straight down the middle towards the exit tunnel. They get quite away along before the Kalgoray begin to wake from their slumber, now angered that someone is in their home. These creatures are fast and deadly, and quick to kill anything that moves. The two rovers notice the movement and open fire. Arches of light lift into the air as hundreds of small rockets and land mines are launched. The rockets find their mark and the land mines wait for their prey. The large turret guns blast huge amounts of energy at anything that moves towards the rovers. Hundreds of Kalgoray die in just seconds as they spring up into the air to attack, only to return to the ground as dust.

A few vehicles exit the room and enter the tunnel leading up to the surface. They are driving as fast as they can, so as to hold up any of the others. The people on top of the vehicles are now also firing up at the waves of monsters, wanting to devour them. Some of the Kalgoray are feasting on the poor humans that were unlucky enough to have fallen off or be ripped off the vehicles. The make shift medical truck was under attack, Kalgoray hanging onto the sides, their tails piercing the metal sides and trying to get in, the truck behind them picking some off as they continue to drive, not wanting to stop. Even the old medical robot is fighting with one Kalgoray who had got in the rear door. They seem to be well matched and exchange blow for blow, until the robots energy core is pierced by the tail of the Kalgoray and explodes, killing two patients and the Kalgoray along with it. The rear is now on fire, which at least is keeping the Kalgoray at bay.

Swarms of Kalgoray now enter the cave from every hole, nook and cranny, and the rovers are now firing everything at maximum, while piles of bodies are forming around the rovers.

"We need to move. Movement is survival. Move in a clockwise direction and fire out towards the walls." The governor is sweating but determined to get the last few transports out before he goes down. The rock on the walls around them splinters off, killing more Kalgoray with every blast. The two rovers are moving around at break-neck speed in the room and the last van is nearing the exit.

"Cole, you get to that exit and close it, ok. I need it done, dont let me down." Cole was a sergeant that men respected; he always got the job done no matter what the pressure.

"Not a problem, you know I will get it done, just give me a minute, the last van is in trouble." The two friends look at each other out of their windows on their final pa.s.s and smile, each knowing all will be well at the end of the day. Coles rover wheel-spins off to aid the last van and cuts a wave of Kalgoray down like a combine through wheat. Warning lights flicker on and off on his dashboard. His rover now has several Kalgoray attached to the outside, stabbing their tails through the hull with ease, the shields are down and his navigator has just been sliced in two by a tail. He presses on and draws closer to the last van, his gunner blasting off a few Kalgoray as they go. Cole looks down. The engine has suffered a blow from a large jagged rock underneath and the rover is spewing out oil everywhere, along with core fluid. One spark could send them to their doom. Cole thinks fast and decides there is a solution. He can still get his work done but at the same time get out of the cave, there was no point in sticking around and dying.

"Get your jet pack on, we are leaving. I am programming the rover to blast the exit mouth in three minutes and then loop the cave firing until she is done. Come on, lets go, lets get it done." Cole tugs at the leg of his gunner but there is blood dripping down on him. It was too late for his gunner. Cole, now in his jet pack, opens up the top hatch and blasts off into the air, killing two Kalgoray in the process, before landing on the van and killing a third. A woman and her son are fighting a fourth and so he helps them to defeat the creature, before turning to witness the blast from the rover and tons of rock falling behind, sealing the governors fate.

"I need to get to the front of the column and take charge." Cole blasts off. He has made the right choice. He flies over the column, people looking up waving at him, he is just happy to be able to make it to the front.

The governor notices the exit being sealed and breathes a sigh of relief. He has done his job. He has thought of the people first and saved them and probably the whole human race in the process. The other rover, now on auto-pilot, laps the room twice before exploding in a rainbow coloured blast that brings down half the cave on top of it.

"Good man!" says the governor. However, now the rock fall has brought a new problem. A giant Kalgoray, one that has never been seen before, only heard of in rumours, is now staring at the governors rover, intending it to be a snack. It moves in a stalking motion, slowly creeping towards the rover, slime dripping from its ma.s.sive mouth, its silver eyes burn in the dark with the reflection of flames from the other rover. Its tail is covered in six foot spears, waiting to impale, to slice and kill. This was the ultimate killing machine and could probably take a ship down, if it had the chance, thought the governor.

"Tony, ready the acid rounds. He may be bigger, but remember what they say ..."

Tony the gunner interrupts, "Yeah, its just stupid to fight a dirty great big monster without a way out with only a pee shooter." The two men laugh. "I think, if you dont mind me saying, sir, I am a far better driver than you and I know you have been itching to fire something for hours, so swap?" The governor did like the idea and it was true, Tony was a great driver.

"Sounds like a great idea." The two men swap over. Tony sits in the drivers seat and rubs his goatee and laughs. The governor had been driving all this time with the handbrake on. No wonder it was getting hot inside. Tony turns the fans on to cool the cab and floors the accelerator. If he is going out this day, he will go out in style. The governor begins to blast the acid rounds towards the giant Kalgorays eyes, but no one knew if the Kalgoray could see anyway, especially living underground. The rounds did not really affect the giant. To the creature it must have been like having hay fever. The giant rears up on its hind legs and then slams down on the ground, sending a subterranean shock wave hurtling towards the tiny rover.

"Youre kidding me right? I can jump that." Laughing once again, Tony clears the giant ground ripple with ease and pa.s.ses underneath the giant. Looking up, it was just like going through a tunnel, with the governor blasting the Kalgorays belly, which was also covered in scales. Turning with a skid, the rover is ready for its second charge.

"Sir, we aint getting through that thick armour and its just a matter of time before it eats us. What are we going to do? I cant drive around forever."

The governor smiles, "We are just going to sit and wait."

Tony looks up at the governor. "I dont know about you but I value my life, Im not going to give up on this, I am going to live." Tony shakes his head and has had enough. "Sod this, you drive, Im going out to have a word." Tony opens the side hatch door, much to the governors surprise. "Oi, tough guy, youre beginning to bug me now, and I have had a hard day, so what Im suggesting you do is turn around before you see me get really angry." Tony, having just realised what he was doing, begins to think it was probably a bad idea to be doing this, but then everyone needs to stand up to bullies. The creature just looks at Tony and then notices the rover spring into action once again. The creature strides by Tony without a second glance and Tony is blown over with the moving air. He is left looking up. "Yeah that told ya!"

The loud speaker on the rover yells out to Tony. "To the left of my signal flare is a gap, up and out, go now." The governor fires a flare. He had seen on his scanner a small gap that had been left in the opening, but he has to stay behind to seal it. Tony runs towards it as fast as his feet can carry him. A Kalgoray attacks him from the side, but Tony rolls out of its way and blasts at it with his blaster and dives through the gap. Soon after, it is sealed by the governors blasters. Tony continues up the tunnel, not believing what just happened. He only wishes he could thank the governor for saving his life.

The giant Kalgoray catches up in an instant to the rover and lifts the machine up, almost to the top of the cave. At eye level the creature opens its mouth and speaks. "You made me." The words bellow in the governors ears. He is shocked and before he can reply through his loud speaker, the giant flicks the rover into its mouth and begins to crush it, killing the governor with his sharp pointy portcullis teeth, ripping through the rovers metal as easily as it rips into the governors flesh.

The column reaches the surface and appears between White Crest and the giant mountain tunnel door, the guards at White Crest notice and are about to engage the column but are surprised by a frontal a.s.sault. Blaster fire rings out like alarm bells but the White Crest troops are caught off guard. The small bombs that Ca.s.sy set explode, causing chaos and death on a grand scale and the guards struggle to keep White Crest from falling. This gives the column time to get to the second tunnel, and after they kill the guards, they go unhindered through their second tunnel of the day, this time a little bit more relaxed.

Cole has reached the front of the column and stops in the tunnel briefly. This will be a new fight, this time against people. The plan is to travel right up to the ship and then spring the surprise attack, and at the same time Pace and Ca.s.sy will get the auto-turrets blasting.

"Ok everyone, you know me and I know you, and I know we can do this, we just have to work as a team and get off this planet."

One man dressed in coveralls sticks his hand up to ask a question. "Whats happened to the governor?"

Cole replies in a sad voice, "He did not make it, but he did give us all time to escape, just remember that. People will die today, just like tomorrow and the next day after, but as long as we remember their deeds, then they are not ever forgotten. Come on, lets get going."

The column starts to move once more. The droning of machines and chatter is loud so they could not sneak in unnoticed. Eves guards, who have heard the explosions and the flashes of light beaming in the sky for all to see, realise they will soon be under attack also and hunker down behind the supply crates outside the ship. As soon as the column begins to leave the tunnel, they become under fire. Coles rover is. .h.i.t several times but they drive on, until the rear is blown off by a twisting missile that cracks the hull like an egg. The rover skids sideways out of control and rolls over twice before coming to a halt on its side. Cole is still alive, along with one other. The rest of his crew are torn and dying, and without a way to help them, the two men exit the cab and dodge blaster fire and run towards a pile of crates, ducking down behind returning fire, when they dared to pop their heads up to look. The rest of the column charges out, just like Cole, at top speed, but this time something is different, the sound of the giant ship powering up and the distinct sound of gun turrets moving are music to Eves troops ears, until the guns begin to fire upon them, killing Eves forces with ease, as their backs are turned to the ship.

Chapter Seventy-One.

Pace and Ca.s.sy watch as the war unfolds on their screens, as they train the turrets on the enemy. Many people lay dead now, smouldering and twitching slightly.

Pace opens up a ship wide broadcast. "People of Eve, your time is done. Anyone left on the ship in three minutes will be shot on sight. Lay down your weapons and we will allow you to leave in peace. You now have two minutes and forty-two seconds." The broadcast is heard outside too, and what is left of Eves forces lay down their weapons and stand up with their hands in the air. They have been beaten and could never take a t.i.tan ship once it was armed. The forces on and around the ship begin to leave in one direction, and the column led by Cole begins to go aboard their new home.

"Was that it?" smiles Cole. He stands on a ramp leading into the ship. He thinks it would take around five to ten minutes to load everyone on, even some of the a.s.sault troops were coming out of the tunnel now, bloodied but alive. They are hurried onto the ship where they are looked after.

Tony appears out of the ground right next to a jet bike and he mounts it quickly and heads for the t.i.tan ship. The dust is making it hard to see now, but he presses on. He engages the turbo drive and in just a few hair-raising moments he is outside the t.i.tan ship, catching his breath and dusting himself off, creating a dust cloud of his own.

Pace watches as the last few of Eves men go out of sight, and unseals the doors to the bridge.

Pace turns to Ca.s.sy. "I need to get to my ship, contact them and get them here. This is your ship now and you need to get off this rock and get people to safety."

Ca.s.sy looks at Pace with a confused frown. "What do you mean? Im coming with you."

Pace holds Ca.s.sy by her shoulders and looks into her eyes. "Dont worry, we will meet you up there and it will be fine. There will be plenty of people to man turrets and pilot the ship, but I need you to get her gone." Pace walks out the room and Ca.s.sy turns and gets on the loud speaker and begins to take charge. Pace pa.s.ses so many people on the way out of the ship, that stop him and thank him for his help, and he feels good to have helped others. People are patting him on his back, shaking his hand and hugging him, and he has never felt this much love in one place before. Eventually he steps off a ramp onto the sand. Everyone seems to be on board now, but in the distance he can make out rovers heading his way at speed.

Pace calls up to Ca.s.sy, "What we got coming in? Looks like trouble to me." Ca.s.sy confirms that it is a group of rovers and that they have now reached the troops that were just removed from the ship, and they have all turned around and are moving as one group, a large battle force, and more and more smaller groups are joining it. Pace uses his hand to rest on his forehead to deflect the suns rays from hurting his eyes, and then like a rainbow the Invictus appears, lifting Paces spirit once again. Nova brings the Invictus down to hover and Pace jumps on the loading bay ramp that has been lowered by Anc.

"Thanks, Anc, it is great to see you, my friend." Pace uses his fist to hammer on Ancs chest armour to say h.e.l.lo, and then the ramp closes and Pace enters the lift and heads for the bridge.

Upon reaching the bridge, Pace is greeted well and the crew has its Captain once again. It was an empty ship without him, each of them thought, as Pace sits down in his chair.

"Cap, Eves forces are close enough to fire on us, shall we slow them down to help the Fahrenheit escape?"

Pace smiles and coughs, "What do you think?" The ship turns around and heads towards Eves group. "What is that on the front of my ship?"

Nova raises her eyebrows and twists her lips slightly. "Its Rustys toy, not mine, Cap." Pace looks at Rusty and just beams at him and Rusty grins back.

The Invictus is. .h.i.t by a spray of fire, doing no damage to it at all, and Nova takes the ship down low, heading straight towards the first few rovers. The Invictus opens fire and the first rover springs up into the air in flames, flipping many times before it lands and takes out a rider on a jet bike, who is flattened into the ground without feeling a thing. Nova pulls back on the sticks and the Invictus responds quickly and dances in the air, like a carnival kite drifting gently on a breeze. She swings the ship around for a second pa.s.s. The t.i.tan ship Fahrenheit begins to kick up dust and the huge engines deafen everyone for miles. Nova almost loses control at the sound, but grips on for dear life, while her ears pop and whistle, and everyone else are covering their ears.

The Fahrenheit slowly lifts up higher and higher into the sky, the ground becoming dark in its shadow. A screen opens on the Fahrenheit and Ca.s.sy looks back at a face of sheer disbelief.

"That is my ship! You turn it around and let me board and I will keep you out of jail, young lady. What on earth do you think you are doing? Im the Prime Lady, you know."

Ca.s.sy laughs out loud. "I think Im taking your ship, so I dont think a jail term is likely, do you, and you were Prime Lady of the planet, so you keep doing what you do best love, eh, and rot there for the rest of your days." Ca.s.sy tells the pilot to carry on to their meeting point and the Fahrenheit slowly disappears into the cloud and then off, up into s.p.a.ce.

Chapter Seventy-Two.

"You d.a.m.n s.p.a.ce pirates; you will pay for this I promise! Fire everything at the remaining ship. The Invictus will fall this day!" Eve is breathing deep and fast, in such a rage she has turned red all over. Her second-in-command General Stern tells her to calm down, and tells her that all will be ok, if she just relaxes.

"There is another ship maam, its only a fighter but she is fast and hardy. This fighter is on board another t.i.tan ship, which we used for parts for the Fahrenheit. The t.i.tan is in no way ready to fly, but the troops dont know that. We can tell the troops that there is much to fight for and that we are taking the t.i.tan ship, and they will cover us until we blast off in the fighter." General Stern whispers this in Eves ear, and a smile comes across her face once more, an evil smile, grown from years of greed and self-service. Eve nods and the plan is under way, and as they turn away, leaving the rest of the army to engage the Invictus, the blue ship blinks up on her rover screen.

"Maam, no need to panic, I have signalled to the troops to begin to retreat to the second t.i.tan, and we will be out of here in less than half an hour, I promise." Eve pours herself a gla.s.s of wine, from a small bottle stored near her seat, and congratulates the general on his quick actions.

"Where will we go, General, and who will serve us?" Eve sips her wine and relaxes her shoulders.

"We can't go to the new planet now; the blues are probably swarming it. We have two options open to us. We can drift and find somewhere habitable and lie low for a while, or we can go to the Tarkon home world and tell them that they face great danger, and use their army to rule the galaxy. I like option two best, if I was to be honest." The general punches in some coordinates and the auto-pilot takes over, the driver had been killed by shrapnel from a blast earlier.

The general turns to Eve and she reaches out for his hand. "It has always been you and me for as long as I can remember. Maybe we could go and find our own little haven, and populate the planet with good genes. I know how you feel about me and maybe its time to think about a retirement plan. I always wanted children and I know you have too. Get me out of here and we will start over somewhere together." These words were like music to the ears of General Stern. He had always loved Eve, she was all he wanted in a woman but could not ever get with her due to her job.

"You mean you feel the same way as I do, after all these years. I never thought you would say that." Stern smiles and Eve smiles back, this time hiding another well thought out lie. He would fight harder for her now that he thought she was his lady, and at the last possible moment she would just stab him in the back too. Eve was thinking to herself that once up in s.p.a.ce she would pose as a fighter pilot and head for the Fahrenheit for help and safety, leaving the general behind in a pool of blood. He was not her type at all.

"I have always loved you; I was just too busy before." She touches his face gently. "We better get going; the blues will be here soon."

Chapter Seventy-Three.

Now lined up for a second attack, the Invictus now swoops down like an eagle upon its prey. Eves troops are now turning around, so their backs are exposed.

"Cap, why are they turning away from us?"

Pace is looking on his screen, a.n.a.lysing data. "The blue ship is almost on us. If I know Eve, she will be hatching a new plan with that general of hers. Continue attacking her army, we have to stop her, they must pay for the deaths they have caused, and it is what Megan would do for me."

Nova can see the pain in Paces eyes as they begin to well up with tears. More jet bikes and rovers are hit by blaster fire from the Invictus and are sent sprawling across the sandy plains in pieces, littering the whole area in hot shards of molten metal. After about ten minutes of battle the crew of the Invictus spot, with their tired eyes, a second t.i.tan nowhere near able to fly. Eves rover boards a ramp at the rear of the ship and a second rover comes to a halt. The men dash inside the t.i.tan, while the rest of the army concentrate their fire on the Invictus.

"Nova, spin her around for another pa.s.s. This time, Rusty, you be ready to test that toy of yours." The Invictus manoeuvre through all the fire and smoke and turns.

"But Pace, we cant fire this gun here, only in s.p.a.ce, she is just too powerful when gravity is involved, we would be ripped in two." explains Rusty.

Pace is not stupid and changes his plan quickly. "Ok, then we will concentrate our fire on their engine core and make it pop instead." The Invictus turns and targets. All guns are facing forward and poised to fire. Suddenly the lights on the t.i.tan flicker on and the auto-turrets begin to pump out blaster fire at an alarming rate, and now the shields of the Invictus are being damaged and the ship groans under the added stress.

"d.a.m.n it, turn away, we need a new plan, we cant get even close now."

Sam is busy firing his turret gun when he suddenly stops and turns to face Pace, and in a calm voice points on his screen. "We could always bring that mountain down on them. The last time I checked, mountains could not fire back. We could approach from the other side and avoid fire completely. Just an idea." Pace agrees to this plan; it was a fantastic idea.

The Invictus disappears out of sight of Eves forces and the cheers and happiness of her men are loud and boost their morale. As a lot of them lay dead in the defence of the ship, one sergeant moves towards the t.i.tan ship to enter, and arrange for his men to get on board to leave. He is mowed down by turret fire, his blood and guts spray his men over a large area. More and more men realise it was a double cross, and also begin to attack the t.i.tan ship in retaliation. There are explosions and carnage everywhere.

"Cap, it seems Eves forces have turned on her. They are attacking the t.i.tan."

Pace is happy for the distraction. "Well, lets seal their tomb then shall we, the least we can do is bury them." He says with a grin on his face.