Animus Complete Series Omnibus, page 271
Haldt studied the craft. “I’m having a look…it’s over the ocean but there’s a hell of a lot of rocks although it is high up. I’m sure if you wait a few more minutes you’ll get closer to earth very rapidly.”
“I’d rather not, thanks. I need you to come and catch us if you have the time,” he requested.
“I’m on the way,” Genos answered and altered course to the underside of the command ship.
“I’ll swing through as well. Ping us before you bail.” Haldt followed the Tsuna and they wove through the last remnants of the battle toward the command ship, which was now mostly broken and ablaze.
“Activating jets,” Chief stated and caught Kaiden seconds before he landed. He stabilized himself and confirmed that Raza had made it to the wall after the jump and now slid down using his claws to slow himself before he vaulted off.
The ace nodded at his companion. “Nice. Now, where’s a good place to break through, Chief?”
“Let’s see…judging by current damage, the thickness of the ship’s plate, and power of weapons at your disposal, I’d say that big hole over there that’s already been created.”
He focused on the area highlighted and acknowledged that there was indeed an already broken section, probably the result of falling debris. “Well, that makes this easy. Ping them, Chief.”
The two raced toward the gaping aperture and dodged a few pieces of metal and railing that plummeted from above. As they reached their exit and Kaiden flung himself through, he hoped his teammates wouldn’t be late.
Chapter Nineteen
“I have a ping!” Haldt shouted and his eyes widened when he saw the location. “Shit, other side—other side!” He and Genos banked sharply and accelerated toward Kaiden and Raza, who had now fallen through and plunged earthward. “I’ll get the Sauren. You go to Kaiden.”
“Understood. Going now.” The Tsuna cut the comm and increased his speed while the security officer descended sharply to position himself under Raza. He slowed a little and hoped his timing was right. The answer came in the form of a heavy weight that pounded into the ship and almost made him lose control. Metal rent beneath the Sauren’s massive claws and he focused on the large red head that stared at him through the left side of his cockpit and nodded to him in thanks. It had been a while since he had seen one and they were still as frightening up close as ever. All he could think of was that it was good to have a thankful one as his passenger.
Genos caught up to Kaiden quickly, positioned himself well below him, and noted his broken armor. “Kaiden, you need to decelerate. If I were to catch you now, it would still cause considerable injury to you.”
“Yeah, Chief says the same. Get below and hover. I only have one last attempt at this.” The ace tucked his legs and bent back. The ship had descended a fair distance, but his momentum made him come up fast. “Whatever is left, Chief, blast it!”
His jets flared to life, only for a brief spurt but enough to jerk him back a little and rapidly decrease his falling speed. He rocked forward, relaxed as much as he could, and landed on the wing of the fighter with a loud thud. His reflexive roll thunked his helmet against the cockpit window. God, he would feel that later, but he was alive. When he looked up, Genos waved at him. He returned the gesture wearily and a hasty glance confirmed that they were still fairly high with a beach in the distance below.
Genos opened his cockpit. “I should have assumed you had something to do with that destruction,” he quipped.
“Yeah. Raza did his part too.” Kaiden grunted and eased to a more secure position. “I’m glad to see you still flying. Did you enjoy yourself?”
The Tsuna nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes, indeed. I took part in some destruction myself.”
“That’s the spirit.” He held onto the edge of the wing. “I need to check in with the others. Head to the beach, would you?”
“Certainly, it’ll only be a moment.” Genos leaned back in his seat and closed the cockpit hatch as Kaiden tried hurriedly to tell him that slow was okay.
“A bomb?” Hartman asked. “Do you think this is some kind of doomsday device?”
“It could be any number of things,” Laurie stated and crossed his legs as he moved through the pictures on the holoscreen. “Chiyo thought it was an engine of some kind and that’s certainly possible. But the containment situation with the couplings and the way it is handled makes me feel more like it wants to simply keep it in place rather than maintain it. If so, it means this was a prototype in the early stages, or it was being built as a weapon.”
“Could it be for a cannon or mech of some kind?” the general inquired and studied the device more closely. He knew he didn’t have the technical knowledge of the professor, which made it a pointless exercise. Maybe it was simply a hope that they didn’t have a new problem now that they were so close to launching their offensive.
“That is certainly possible. As I’ve said, a number of things could explain it. But the reason I feel more assured in saying it is a bomb is the fact that they haven’t worked on this for too long. If it were something more advanced and they still had plans to use it, they would be deeper into development by now,” Laurie clarified, closed the holo-screen, and opened a hologram of the device. “This is a demonstration I constructed quickly to show how I believe it would work.”
The silver arches around it began to spin and the plates keeping the energy in place compressed to force it into a tight ball before they fell away. The arches whirled faster and something within the light began to swirl. Hartman leaned forward and stared as the arches fell away in a few seconds and the sphere shrunk before it erupted in a massive white dome.
He dragged in a deep breath. “What would the destruction be like?”
“Massive. Anything caught would be eradicated,” the professor stated grimly. “Something I noted was similar to the destruction of the colossus.” He brought the holoscreen up to show a map of the area. “When the vessel erupted, everything was leveled and vaporized for miles. Even now sometime later, while there are signs life could possibly take root again, nothing has. Although we can’t say for sure, of course, as this is the last real enemy stronghold here on Earth, and I don’t think requesting a mission to plant flowers is top of the list for potential suicide missions.”
The general frowned as he considered the information. “Merrick might have seen the destruction and decided building a few of these would be better and more practical than another colossus. Or they were for the colossus in case it needed to exchange one for another.” He rubbed his brow. “Do we have any other confirmed sightings of these devices?”
“Not as yet, no, but I sent a request for teams that are currently on raid missions to look for more.”
“I’ll make it an urgent notice. Merrick’s delusions have pushed him thus far. To have some kind of failsafe or trump card as a final way to beat us into submission wouldn’t be beyond him.”
“Agreed. I’ll continue my work but keep you informed if I can deduce anything else for this device.” The professor looked at the white dome and drew a sharp breath. “This is one of the few times in my life I hope my hypothesis is wrong.”
Kaiden removed his helmet and approached Genos. “Jaxon and Silas are good. They’re heading back on a shuttle.”
“Should we join them so we can accompany them?” the Tsuna asked as he hopped off the wing of the ship and walked to meet his friend.
“Let me limber up a little and yeah, I’m not gonna head out on a shuttle. I’m sure they will want to escort the Sauren to the base and I should probably be around for that.”
“I see. I should as well.” Genos tensed a little and tilted his head to look at the ace. “I assume with all the fighting and chaos, you didn’t have a chance to tell Raza about Wolfson?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “No, that will be the first thing I tell him when I see him again. He should hear it from me.” A gust of wind above caught his attention and he frowned when something thumped into the sand. Raza stood behind him and Haldt’s ship hovered above him before it moved to the left and landed.
“Raza?” Kaiden asked.
“The pilot wanted to bring me back to my vessel,” the War Chief stated and regarded the two friends curiously. “I wished to make sure you survived.”
“Oh, I see. Thank you.” He looked at the Tsuna, who nodded to him. Haldt cut the engine of his ship, opened his cockpit, and looked like he was about to say something, but Genos held his hand up to stop him. “Hey, Raza,” the ace continued, “when we met earlier, you asked about Wolfson.”
The Sauren snorted and nodded. “I did. I suppose the battle is over and we can speak. But I do not need to know what mission he is on. I can talk to him another time.”
“No, you can’t, Raza,” he stated quietly, and a brief trace of confusion flickered in Raza’s eyes before they widened in understanding. “We lost the Academy at the beginning of all this and initiated a large assault to take it back, during which—” His voice broke for a moment but he pressed on. “During which Wolfson sacrificed himself to save the rest of us from calamity. They planned to blow up a massive ship to try to destroy us when we were winning.” He tried to offer a smile. “He jumped the ship with him inside, said that was what had to happen…and obliterated an entire enemy base with him.”
The War Chief was silent, his eyes closed and his expression revealing nothing. Finally, he took a deep breath in through his nostrils and nodded. “I see. He went out a true warrior with honor, strength, and ferocity. It is fitting.” He opened his eyes, walked closer to Kaiden, and placed an arm on his shoulder. “He saw you as a soldier, as I see you as a hunter. I’m sure he sacrificed himself because he is courageous and knew there was another who could match him in that regard.”
The ace nodded and pulled his helmet on. “He always considered you a close friend and a great warrior. I think you might be one of the only leaders he truly respected.”
Raza nodded and lowered his arm. “He will be missed.” He looked at the Sauren ship. “I will have one of my warriors come for me. There is no need to cause more destruction to any of your ships.”
He was about to say it was fine and they could help, but he saw something in the Sauren he hadn’t seen before—mourning, he realized, which meant he was asking for something different than what they could offer. In silence, he simply nodded and walked to Genos’ ship to climb on the wing as the pilot slid into his seat. Haldt turned his ship as well and they took flight.
Raza reached for his comm and requested a chariot. He barely let the Sauren on the other end finish saying, “Yes, War Chief,” before he cut the connection. His expression focused on the sand, he took a few steps, looked at the wreckage of the command ship for a moment, and raised his head to utter a thunderous, pained roar into the sky.
Chapter Twenty
Merrick looked down on Earth from the window of his office—the space he had hoped, to no avail, would be his headquarters by this point. He made a note of the lights and the cities they sprang from. Even in this dark hour, life continued. He ran his fingers along his face and pinched his nose in frustration.
One of the louts would be by soon to tell him what he already knew—the assault had failed. While he hadn’t been optimistic enough to believe it would have been successful in destroying one of the military strongholds, he had hoped it would cause enough damage to the base to delay their eventual offensive. Perhaps it would have even subdued them a little and shaken off some of their ignorant hope that their attack could work.
He had to admit to himself that it could, especially now, and he should have had a failsafe ready long before. It wasn’t much of a failsafe to have to destroy anywhere from a fifth to a fourth of the planet he attempted to save. Would they push him to do it? They should take hold of his vision and make him the progenitor of the warriors they now held in such high esteem, yet they cast their gift aside. He knew they were certainly capable of denial and fear and for once, he hoped they would give into them again.
The doors to his office finally opened. “Sir!” Merrick turned as one of the Omega leaders ran in. Skilz was one of a handful who had been promoted into his private organization after the passing of his predecessor—the most agreeable one, in his opinion, if a little stupid.
The AO leader wandered to his desk, spun the chair, and sat. “You here to tell me about the outcome of the attack, correct?” he asked and regarded him with an indifferent gaze.
The man slouched slightly. “Yeah, but my guess is you’re already aware.”
He nodded and leaned forward. “A good guess. I can see you have a rather deductive mind, Skilz. A pity you weren’t down there yourself.”
“Then you know the dragons showed up as well?” the man asked, approached the desk, and rested his hands on it.
Merrick nodded and his gaze traveled downward to settle on his hands as they began to tap on the surface of the desk. “I am, although to be fair, the Sauren are closer to how we picture dinosaurs. I have to give them some credit, however. They are a tenacious race to jump such a distance over months. I didn’t think they had the technology to do such a thing without at least a partial warp gate run. It makes me wonder if the Tsuna and Mirus will join sometime soon. We could always do with more to take part in the fun at this point.”
Skilz bared his teeth. “Are you mad? There are at least a few hundred of those scaled bastards now, not to mention the ship they rode in on. I doubt it’s an unarmed peacekeeping vessel.”
“It wouldn’t be their type,” he agreed and looked at the man. “I suggest you continue to prepare for war as you have been.”
The Omega straightened and folded his arms. “We’ve brought up as many of our boys as we have left. Most of your facilities are now only guarded by droids and we even brought up all the terrorists and any grimy gangbanger who would be willing to shoot a gun for us for a few credits. But if they make a push now, we no longer have the advantages we used to. The WCM is reorganized, they have bots again, and our tech can’t control them. When they attack, do you think we have the numbers to defeat them?”
“You are the Omega Horde, correct?” Merrick asked, his head tilted. “Final yet endless—I believe that was your motto at one point.”
“Yeah, when we’re out there.” Skilz pointed behind him to indicate deep space. “We basically controlled everything beyond the fifteenth sector and no one could push us out. Who would bring a force so deep? But you brought us here”—he planted his index finger on the desk—“where everyone is. You promised a victory by now.”
“I promised you my riches—or rather, your superiors my riches,” the AO leader muttered, scowled at the offensive finger, and finally focused on his accuser’s face. “Although I understand that those I originally spoke to have all died by this point. One during the invasion, two in a battle over London, and four of them during the reclamations of the Ark Academies.”
“Another force we’ve lost,” the man retorted. “And yeah, the big bosses are gone. How we work is the next in line gets the title, which means everyone you’ve chosen to take over as your ‘council.’” The man leaned in so their eyes were only a couple of inches apart. “Without us, how many troops do you have? Do you think your shiny little metalheads will keep you safe? What if we all decide that now is the time to leave you to deal with the mess you’ve made, huh?”
Merrick stared at him as if in thought. When he stood, he walked around the desk and proffered his hand. The Omega leader looked at him in confusion, his anger still evident. He tried to knock the hand away, but the man blocked with his other hand and thrust the one he’d held out deep into the leader’s armor. It crushed the plating and dug in, much to Skilz’s shock.
The AO leader tightened his grasp and flung him into the window. He made impact with violent force but fortunately, the embassy windows were more than simple glass. Otherwise, both men would have been sucked into the void. When he tried to stand, Merrick drove his boot into the back of his armor and forced him to look out at the fleet of ships standing guard as he produced a switch. His captor knelt and showed the device to him before he pointed at the fleet. “I made sure all the repairs, upgrades, and retrofits came with a specific addition,” he said coldly as he leaned forward and gestured expansively with the hand holding the device. “Choose.”
“Choose? Choose what?” Skilz demanded. He tried to force himself away from the window but Merrick didn’t budge. It was bizarre how strong he was, especially since he wore no armor.
“Choose one of the ships,” the man stated and studied the fleet almost clinically. “Or I’ll choose far more than one.”
Despite his fears, the Omega looked out and pointed at a small corsair in the distance. “That one. Is that what you want?”
“It’ll do,” Merrick muttered, and his eyes glimmered for a moment as he selected the ship with his oculars. He held the switch up, flipped the cover, and pressed the button. Skilz gaped as the ship disassembled and fell apart. Bodies spilled out and vessels around it quickly went to its aid to save who they could while the merc watched helplessly.
The AO leader finally pushed away from him, closed the top of the switch, and slid it into his coat. “I’ll admit that not every ship has my personal additions at this point,” he stated and took his seat again. “But would you like to guess how many do?”
“You bastard!” Skilz roared, drew his pistol, and aimed it at Merrick. “Why the hell did we ever—”
“Should I die without deactivating this trigger, all the ships with bombs will end up exactly like that one,” the man revealed implacably as he folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. “Although I can tell you it will take much more than that to kill me, so either way, think hard.”
