Annihilation Saga IV - Fight and They Will Come Page 18

  “I have bogies moving in from a mile out. They’re running a serpentine course.”

  “How many?”

  “Targeting system says fifty.”

  Tag kept his eyes to the front and said, “These youngsters are tricky. Let me know if you need help.”

  Danielle began firing off rounds and the explosions were huge. Tag stayed focused on the sand in front of them and quick-fired as six-vehicles emerged almost directly under them. “MOVE!” Tag shouted and pushed his back against Danielle. Tag finished the six-vehicles and then whipped around to add his fire to Danielle’s. He kept his armor’s tactical monitor scanning the ground behind them but nothing else appeared. They finished the bogies and scanned the desert around them. A moment later, Eddie, Bobby, and Janie teleported down in front of them. Tag and Danielle shut down the guns and Tag smiled, “You’ve built quite a weapon here. The rounds blew through those vehicles with devastating effect.”

  Bobby shrugged, “We tried to make the targets as hard as possible, but we couldn’t come close to the skin of the OAs.”

  Tag’s face tightened, “Say what?”

  “These rounds your weapons used probably won’t penetrate the OA’s outer layer.”

  Tag looked out briefly at the ruined vehicles and said sarcastically, “Then what good are they?!”

  Eddie chuckled, “What would happen to a human body if it was hit by a punch moving at the speed of those rounds?”

  “It would go completely through it!”

  “Let’s say it couldn’t; what would happen?”

  Danielle raised a shoulder, “Well, if it hit them in the chest, their sternum would be shoved violently against their spinal cords.”

  “With what effect?” Eddie pressed.

  “It would probably pulverize their internal organs,” Tag hesitantly answered.

  Eddie smiled, “Bravo! The rounds probably won’t penetrate their skin, but it will push their outer layer into the inside of that skin. If there really are one-celled creatures, it would disrupt their internal structures in a major way.”

  “I don’t see how you get that without penetration?” Danielle stated.

  Bobby quickly replied, “The three-inch flat head of the penetrator will be hitting with the force of a fifty-story-building hitting in that small area. We know their outer layer is flexible; we can see that when they’re moving. It will compress the outer layer into the organs underneath. At least that’s what the science says.”

  Danielle glared at the three-of-them and then looked at Tag, as she said, “It may take more than one shot to kill them.”

  “I highly doubt that!” Janie replied. “If the outer layer doesn’t break, a cone more than four-feet-wide will be shoved into the OA’s inner body. If it doesn’t kill them outright, it at the very least will immobilize them.”

  “You can turn off the barrel locking feature if you find multiple shots are needed,” Bobby said over his shoulder as he examined the two-guns.

  “The only way we’ll know for sure they’ll take them out is to use the new guns against some of them and see,” Eddie said with a shrug.

  Tag’s expression was tight, and he exhaled sharply, as he asked Eddie, “So be it! Are you ready to leave and get this trip over?”

  “We need to make a few slight adjustments to the guns and, once that’s done, we’ve completed everything else.”

  Danielle nodded, “Let us know when you’re ready to go. We have a few last-minute details to handle.”

  Eddie, Bobby, and Janie bowed to Danielle, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Tag and Danielle teleported up to the Kosiev and Janie turned to Eddie and Bobby, “They appear to be somewhat on edge.”

  “How would you be feeling if you were going to have to face off with some charging OAs?”

  Janie smiled at Bobby, “I’d be very much looking forward to doing it!” She turned to Eddie, “What about our armor?”

  “Are you sure about this, Janie? This is not something you can later look back on and wish you hadn’t done it.”

  “I’m absolutely certain about it! What about you, Bobby?”

  “I was somewhat reluctant at first, but I contacted a friend of my father, who is a retired red warrior. He says he never notices his armor any more. He activated it while we were talking and said it felt fine. At least we’d never have to worry about being mugged.”

  Janie turned to Eddie with a stubborn expression and he raised his hands, “OK, OK. I’ll send a requisition to BC and you can get it done before we leave.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll wait, Janie.”

  “What if Bong gets in a tight spot?”

  “Why are you so insistent on doing this?”

  “Eddie, we’ve built five of the new guns. We might have to go in and pull the Gardners out of trouble if things get out of hand.”

  “I’ll just teleport them out; that shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Better to be safe than sorry, Sir” Janie replied. “Besides, I thought you might want to get some payback on the ones that caused Cali’s death.”

  Eddie stared at her in silence and his eyebrows slowly came together, “I’ll go with you to be fitted.” Janie clapped, as they teleported up to the Nightmare.

  • • •

  Five-days later, Eddie contacted Tag, “Your Majesty, there has been a slight delay in leaving.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “You mentioned to Captain Roberts that she could be fitted for armor with my approval.”

  Tag thought about it and nodded, “Yes, I did tell her that.”

  “Well, she hounded me to do it from that moment forward and we decided all three of us would be fitted. During the fitting, Janie discovered that the armor can absorb various weapons inside the outer layer.”

  “That’s true,” Tag replied.

  “Well, she and Bobby immediately demanded to reengineer the guns.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, they decided that the guns should be fired from waist high. They’re putting the stocks that originally hooked over the shoulder inside the outer layer of armor. The trigger mechanism will come out and the gun will be gripped just under the shoulder. The penetrator magazine and power systems will remain inside the armor’s skin while the gun is being used and the weight of each gun has been reduced by half.”

  “Where will the thrust go?”

  “Your Majesty, it will be directed inside the outer layer of armor. BC assures me there’s more than enough room to vector it into armor with no issues.”

  Tag thought about the time he went inside a power cell to find Alexander Kosiev and the space was larger than a galaxy. “Aiming might be an issue,” Tag said while thinking about it.

  “BC has incorporated the targeting system into the armor’s helmet. It will activate with the weapon heads-up display. We’ve also answered the teleportation issue by doing it this way. The teleportation unit will also be put inside the armor.”

  “Isn’t it too large to do that?”

  “No, it will go in pieces and they will assemble themselves once they’re inside. This is a much better design, but we’ll have to see how they function against a live OA before we start building the system on a major scale for our warriors. By-the-way, the new guns are now called Mag-Guns for the vocal call up in the armor’s software.”

  “Let me know when they’re ready, Eddie.”

  “I will. Thank you for your patience, Your Majesty.”

  “Call me Tag, Eddie.”

  “I will, Your…Tag.” Tag chuckled, and the monitor went dark.

  Eddie sat back in his chair and felt bad he hadn’t told Tag that he also needed the extra time to install the Mag-Cannons on the Nightmare. But like Janie said, better to be safe than sorry. The darts now had a platform that would launch them at speeds far beyond their previous ones. It was worth delaying the trip until they were operational.

  • • •

  Janie stood on the desert pla
net and said, “ARMOR-ON! MAG-Gun!” Instantly her armor appeared around her and the Mag-Gun flew into her waiting hands. She had practiced this move incessantly for hours and her fingers were on the trigger the moment it came out of her armor. Bobby watched her and shook his head in admiration, “I’m still nowhere near your speed.”

  Janie smiled, “Weapons and I do have an attraction for each other.” Janie watched Bobby and said, “Wait! Leave the Mag-Gun out.” Janie walked over as her armor absorbed the gun. “Look at where your hand is on the trigger.” Bobby looked at his hand. “Notice that your hand is up against your right thigh.”

  Bobby nodded, “Yeah, so?”

  “Put the gun away and put your hand on your right thigh at that spot. Bobby’s Mag-Gun disappeared into his armor and he put his hand on his thigh. “Bobby, the spot is two-inches higher. There is a ridge in your armor that you need to feel under your hand.

  Bobby looked down and Janie quickly said, “Don’t look. Feel for that ridge.” Bobby raised his eyes and slid his hand down his thigh until he felt the ridge. He stopped his hand and activated his Mag-Gun. It shot out of his armor and his finger was on the trigger. He smiled, and Janie smiled with him, “Now try it again…again…again.” Finally, Bobby got it right every time. Janie watched him practice and said, “I think you have a thing for Dottie, don’t you?”

  Bobby looked at Janie, “Why do you say that?”

  “I can see it in your eyes when you’re around her.”

  “Janie, Dottie and I sit next to each other at our stations on the Nightmare. We’re forced to be together most of our working hours.”

  “That’s not an answer, Bobby. Do you have a thing for her?”

  Bobby rolled his eyes, “I guess I do.”

  “Does she know?”

  “She has a boy-friend.”

  “She left him at the academy to be on the Nightmare., Bobby.”

  “But she has a boy-friend, Janie!”

  “You need to tell her and ask if you stand a chance. Time shouldn’t be wasted and if she says you don’t, then you need to move on. However, you might be surprised by her answer.”

  Bobby turned around with a furrowed brow, “Do you know something I don’t?”

  “No, I’ve not said anything to her.” Janie smiled and lowered her eyes, “But I can see her eyes when you’re not looking at her.” Bobby stared at Janie and then turned back to practicing. “Are you going to say anything?” Bobby continued taking the Mag-Gun out of his armor and nodded. Janie laughed, “Please let me know what she says.”

  “You’ll be the second to know.”

  • • •

  Later that day, Eddie contacted the crew and announced that they would be leaving as soon as the King and Queen had their armor modified for the new Mag-Guns. “We might be gone for an extended time, so please make arrangements to be absent for a while.”

  That evening, Bobby unloaded his luggage and went to his duty-station to put some snacks in his chair’s storage compartment. While he was getting organized, Dottie came in and smiled, “Hello, Bobby. You beat me here.”

  “I guess I’m a little excited about the voyage and couldn’t wait to get started.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  Bobby checked his rear-defense systems and paid close attention to the new Mag-Cannons. Dottie watched him and asked, “Can you bring me up to date on the new weapons; I wasn’t involved in their development.”

  Bobby walked her through the new system and showed her how to use the targeting system. Dottie caught on quickly and Bobby said, “I Haven’t seen you around the Defense Facility.”

  Dottie shrugged, “I went to Ross to visit Carl.”

  Bobby’s smile disappeared, and he turned back to his console. After a few minutes, he turned to Dottie, “I need to ask you something.”

  “What is that?”

  Bobby took a deep breath and decided to say it, “During the time that we’ve been working together on this ship, I’ve developed an attraction for you.” Dottie’s expression didn’t change except for the single eyebrow she raised. Bobby continued, “I know you have a boy-friend and if you and he are really serious, I guess I need to know before I let my feelings get ahead of me.” Dottie was silent, and Bobby asked, “Are you?”

  “Am I what.”

  “Serious?”

  “Bobby, before we left to crew this ship, Carl asked me to marry him.”

  Bobby’s face turned red and he turned to his console, “Oh, I’m sorry. Just forget it.”

  Dottie put her hand on Bobby’s arm, “I told Carl I would let him know by this past week-end.” Bobby turned to her. “I told Carl that it just wouldn’t work. I’m stationed here and he’s shipping out to Admiral Shan’s fleet. He agreed that the long separations had taken a toll on his feelings and he agreed that we needed to move on.”

  “Really?”

  Dottie nodded. “I didn’t tell him the real reason.”

  Bobby’s head tilted, “Real reason?”

  Dottie smiled, “I had fallen for another man; all I could think about was being here with you the entire time I was there. To answer your question; yes, I am serious…about you.” Dottie removed her hand and Bobby’s smile was huge. “We don’t need to rush this, Bobby.”

  “I know. I just wanted to know if I could make the effort to get your attention.”

  “You’ve already done that. Let’s move forward from there, shall we?’

  “Absolutely. We don’t need to rush this.”

  Bobby turned to his panel and Dottie stood up. She took a step between their chairs and saw Bobby looking up at her with a huge smile. She rolled her eyes and said, “Who in the hell am I kidding?” She fell into his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

  They finally broke the kiss and Bobby said, almost out of breath, “I like this not rushing things.” Dottie laughed and kissed him again.

  After a long moment, Dottie leaned back, “I thought you had a thing for Janie.”

  “I thought about it when we were at the academy, but it wouldn’t work.”

  “Why not?”

  “She’s like a sister. She has absolutely no romantic feelings for me and I could sense she never would.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know. I just sensed it would never happen.”

  “Why not…I sound like a broke record, don’t I?”

  “Dottie, if you’re worried about Janie, don’t. You’re the only one I’m interested in.”

  “That’s what I was waiting to hear, Bobby.” Bobby hugged her, and she put her head on his shoulder.

  • • •

  “Danielle, we need to be leaving.”

  “I’m about finished packing, Tag.”

  “We’re going to the Defense Facility first.”

  “Why there?”

  “BC is going to modify our armor to accept the new weapons Eddie’s crew developed, Darling.”

  “OK, just give me a few minutes.”

  Tag sat down on the sofa and sighed. A few-minutes could be a few hours with Danielle. However, five-minutes later she stepped into the living room and Tag saw she was wearing a royal-blue, form fitting jumpsuit. “WOW! You look fabulous.”

  “If we’re going to be wearing our armor the majority of the time, I want to be comfortable.”

  Tag looked down at his jacket, jeans, and boots. He snorted and rolled his eyes, “I need to change.”

  Danielle smiled with a mischievous expression, “Do you mind if I watch?”

  “Not at all! What are you thinking?”

  We might not have much privacy on that smaller ship. I was thinking…” she grew silent.

  “Say no more, say no more. Follow me.” Tag said over his shoulder as he took off his jacket.

  • • •

  Four-hours later, they left for the Defense Facility.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “That took longer than I anticipated, Tag.”

  “Danielle, t
he new systems to control the Mag-Guns had to be inserted into our armor’s software. It was a massive undertaking and teaching us how to use it is what took most of the time.”

  “Where’s the ship we’re using?”

  “It’s already been moved on board Eddie’s vessel. We’re teleporting out to meet them above Kelen.”

  Danielle looked up, “Alex, Grace, we’ll meet you back here.”

  “PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!”

  “We will, Alex.” Danielle turned to Tag and nodded. They activated their teleport systems and appeared on the Nightmare’s bridge a moment later.

  Everyone bowed, and Eddie said, “Welcome aboard, Your Majesties.”

  Danielle and Tag returned their bows and Danielle announced, “Admiral Taylor, you are in command of this voyage and we will follow your instructions.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. If you will join me and my crew in the conference room, we’ll go over the plan we’ve developed.”

  They followed Eddie to a very small room, there was only room for ten-people and it was crowded. Tag looked at Eddie and he raised a shoulder, “This room has to be inside the outer polarized hull to avoid being detected; we couldn’t make it any larger and keep it hidden.”

  “Tell me what you’ve got?” Tag requested, as he took a chair. Six-hours later, he was worried about what was coming. This plan was incredibly complex and, as with most complex things, it would only take a small mistake to cause cascading problems.

  Danielle looked at Tag in their quarters after the meeting and forced a smile, “I guess that wasn’t so bad.”

  Tag rolled his eyes and shook his head, “Be honest; if I hadn’t agreed to allow you to go with me, and you heard this plan, what would you say?” Danielle bit her lower lip slightly and remained silent. “Danielle?”

  “Yes.”

  “Answer my question.”