Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Page 20

  A cold tremor shot up my spine as I finally gripped the handle of the door with my right hand, but my heart nearly leapt from my chest as the superhuman strength of my frantic grip nearly tore the entire handle away. Luckily, it was still attached firmly enough to keep Charlie and I from flying off into space, and I hurriedly pounded on the door with my left hand as I prayed for someone to open it before Charlie and I were lost forever. I was certainly strong enough to rip the door from its hinges if I had wanted to, but that would have only put the rest of the crew in danger. My heart fluttered with excitement as the door was finally unlocked from the inside and I quickly flung Charlie through and then pulled myself in as soon as it was opened. Ace quickly reactivated the air lock, then dropped from the ladder and stood next to me as I ripped off my mask and fell to my knees.

  “Are you okay, Reaper?” he asked as he kneeled beside me and place his hand on my shoulder.

  “I’ll be fine,” I said between gasps. “I just need to catch my breath.”

  “Okay. Well I’ll be right here if you need anything,” he nodded.

  “I’m okay. Just give me a few seconds. How’s Charlie?” I asked as I hung my head and tried to slow my heart rate.

  “Happier than a dog with two tails, Hoss!” Charlie chimed from somewhere further in the room.

  “Glad to hear it, bud!” I chuckled as I took a seat on the floor near Ace and leaned against the wall.

  “I’ll tell you what, Hoss, you’re about as nutty as a squirrel turd for what you pulled up there!” Charlie continued as he tipped his black cowboy hat at me from across the room.

  “Yeah, I know. Crazy or not, I had to do it though. I couldn’t just let you die,” I replied as I leaned my head against the wall as I started to catch my breath.

  “Yeah, you coulda— but you didn’t and that’s what matters, Hoss. As far as I’m concerned, I owe ya my life,” Charlie said as he tipped his hat once again.

  “Don’t mention it, Charlie,” I said as I finally pulled myself to my feet and looked around the control room. Our ship had taken quite a bit of damage however it was still intact enough to propel us forward at a fairly decent pace. Many of the key control panels and displays around the room were still somewhat functional but at the same time the room kind of looked like a miniature tornado had torn through it.

  “I need a status report,” Tango called out as he turned to one of the Strangers sitting at a terminal near him.

  “We still have sixty percent of our thrusters and the hull, though heavily damaged, still remains intact. We’ve lost all shields however and our weapons systems are completely fried,” the Stranger operative responded.

  “The shock wave has dissipated and The Pillar can’t fire the IMW again for another few weeks so it should be smooth sailing to Earth now guys,” Howie added over the radio.

  “Wait, we can’t go back to Earth yet! We need to rescue Monica,” I protested as our sparkling blue planet appeared in the distance.

  “We will go back for her, Reaper, but we have work to do first,” Ace said as our ship sped closer and closer to Earth.

  “No, I’m not doing anything until I know she’s safe,” I insisted.

  “If you turn that ship around to go after Monica the Anokians will blast you right out of the sky before you even get close enough to land, Reaper,” Director Wells suddenly interjected over the radio as our ship began to rumble with turbulence as we entered the Earth’s atmosphere.

  “You can’t expect me to just leave her behind, Wells. I’m the reason she got sucked into this mess in the first place!” I replied as our damaged ship cut through the atmosphere like a meteorite.

  “You don’t have a choice, Reaper! The Infinite Mass Weapon may be temporarily offline but The Pillar’s short range weapons will annihilate you if you go anywhere near that ship,” Director Wells warned.

  “He’s right, Reap. You literally have a zero percent chance of success if you go back,” Howie added.

  “How is it zero percent when you guys just saved me from the same ship, Howie? That doesn’t make any sense!” I scoffed.

  “We had the element of surprise on our side then, Reaper. Right now they’re on high alert. To go back now would be the same as committing suicide,” Howie said.

  “He’s right, Reaper, and right now we need you with us more than ever,” Ace urged.

  “What do you mean?” I asked as Tango finally stabilized our flight and steered us forward over a vast blew ocean.

  “The Anokians are planning to detonate a bomb in India that’s powerful enough to destroy the entire country. If we don’t stop them they’ll use the lives that are sacrificed in the explosion to bring back their Goddess and for all we know She could destroy our entire planet if She’s allowed to return. We’ve got a plan to stop them but our chances of success are next to nothing without you, bro,” Ace explained.

  “So that’s their move, huh?” I asked rhetorically.

  “That’s what it looks like— and we’re the only ones who can stop them, Reaper,” Ace replied.

  “And what happens to Monica after we stop them?” I asked skeptically.

  “You need to focus on the big picture, son. We don’t have time to think about anything else right now,” Director Wells suddenly snapped over the radio. “We need to save the world first— THEN we can talk about saving your girlfriend!”

  “You know, Wells, I’d be a little more gracious with that tone if I were you, because I haven’t exactly agreed to help with this plan of yours,” I growled.

  “But you have to help, Reaper. We’re all dead if you don’t,” Ace protested. “And I’m not just talking about this team. I’m talking about everything, bro— the destruction of this entire planet.”

  “What’s it matter, Ace? I never really fit in here anyway,” I grumbled as I turned my back to him.

  “Reaper, what’s gotten into you? I’m asking you to help me save the world and you’re acting like you don’t even care,” Ace said.

  “Why should I care?! Why should I be bothered with the problems of the people who have manipulated me from the very start?” I demanded as I whipped around and glared at him.

  “Reaper, what are you talking about? No one’s manipulating you,” Ace retorted.

  “When were you going to tell me, Wells?!” I snarled, as I ignored Ace’s remarks and turned towards the intercom. “When were you going to tell me that The Righteous was my father?!”

  Ace was just about to interject but his eyes suddenly widened with shock as he realized what I had just said.

  “It was…classified.” Director Wells finally admitted. “We didn’t know how you would react to that information and I… couldn’t take the risk of you switching sides.”

  “So you didn’t trust me but you expect me to trust you? You expect me to believe that you actually give a damn about what happens to Monica after this is all over?!” I fumed.

  “We’ll save her, Reaper!” Ace insisted. “I don’t care what anyone says. We will save her!”

  “Then why didn’t you save her when you came for me?! She was on the same freaking ship, Ace!” I snarled.

  “It was my call, Reap,” Howie interjected firmly over the radio. “Monica was simply too heavily guarded and the chances of rescuing you both given the circumstances were virtually impossible.”

  “So you just gave up on her?” I asked as I shook my head in disapproval.

  “Of course not! I just accepted the fact that we needed more time to save her. And that is exactly what we have now that they’ve used the IMW to destroy the moon. We’ll have at least three weeks before that weapon becomes operational again, which should be more than enough time to formulate a proper plan of attack.”

  “What makes you so sure we’ll have three weeks?” I asked skeptically.

  “Because that’s the cool down time that the IMW requires. If they fire it early they would run the risk of destroying the weapon as well as that entire ship. You just have to trust me,
Reaper. You know I’ve always had your best interest in mind,” Howie reassured.

  “Alright. I’ll do it, but as soon as this is over I’m going after Monica with or without you,” I finally said.

  “We’re all with you, buddy. You can count on that but before we go on I think there’s something else you need to know,” Ace said cautiously.

  “I’m listening,” I said as the hesitant tone in his voice caught my attention.

  “This may come as a shock to you, Reap, but it looks like your brother is still alive,” Ace continued.

  “I know… The Righteous told me, but I can’t figure out how he could have survived that explosion,” I responded as I fought to hide the mountain of grief that was building in my stomach as I thought of the tragedy of my adoptive older brother.

  “This wouldn’t be the first time that he’s faked his death, Reaper. You know as well as I do what your brother is capable of. He’s just as smart as Howie. If he figured out a way to make the world think he was dead before, what’s to stop him from doing it again?” Ace asked.

  “Then where is he? I’d like to speak to him,” I replied.

  “We don’t know,” Howie interjected. “I didn’t think it was really him at first until he managed to hack into the moon base’s network in order to tip us off about the Anokians transferring you and Monica to The Pillar of Eden.”

  “I don’t understand why he would help us though. The last time I saw P.J. he was trying to kill me,” I replied.

  “The Suspect discovered that The Righteous planned to double cross The Strangers once their Goddess was reborn. He initially promised to offer them safe passage to the Andromeda Galaxy once the Anokian fleet arrived; however, P.J. discovered that The Righteous was simply using them and that he never truly intended to fulfill that promise,” Howie answered.

  “And so we’re working with The Strangers now? Now that they don’t have any other choice? This is a joke, and have we considered the fact that this may be some kind of ploy to throw us off our guard?” I scoffed.

  “It’s not a ploy, Reaper. Your brother cares about this world. Just as he still cares about you,” a familiar female voice rang out suddenly from behind me.

  “What is she doing on this ship?!” I barked at Ace as I whipped around and glared at Audrey, who stood in the entrance of the room wearing dark, light weight body armor and a stylish black and red trench coat.

  “We couldn’t have saved you without her, Reap. She—”

  “No! Screw this! I can’t do it, Ace! I’m sorry, bro, but she has to go!” I growled as the tidal wave of love and hate that I felt for her threatened to overwhelm me.

  “Where is she gonna go, Reaper? We’re flying over an ocean! I can’t just throw her out the airlock!” Ace protested.

  “I don’t see why not,” I snarled as I glanced angrily at her.

  “You don’t mean that, Reaper,” she replied as she brushed a few locks of her red hair out of her face while her shimmering crystal blue eyes threatened to melt away my defenses.

  “After what you did, you bet I do,” I lied as I looked away from her.

  “Reaper, I’m sorry for—”

  “Save it! I don’t want to hear a freaking word you have to say,” I snapped.

  “I get why you’re mad, Reaper. I have no one to blame for that but myself, but don’t you think for a second that you’re fooling me, mister. If you think I can’t still tell how you feel about me then the only person you’re fooling is yourself!” Audrey said firmly as she stepped towards me and stopped her flawlessly beautiful face mere inches away from mine. I was still beyond furious at the fact that she had betrayed me but it angered me even more that she was absolutely right about the fact that I still had feelings for her.

  “I want her off this ship as soon as we touch down,” I barked to Ace as I pushed past Audrey and headed toward the exit.

  “We’ll need her for the mission, Reaper. We can’t do this without The Strangers,” Ace replied.

  “Fine,” I grumbled as I paused and glared over my shoulder at him. “But if she gets in to trouble… you save her.”

  “The fate of the world is at stake, Reaper, and this could very well be the last conversation we ever get to have. Are you sure this is how you want things to end between us?” Audrey called after me.

  “What did you think was going to happen here, Audrey?” I fumed as I whipped around to face her.

  “I thought we could at least talk about what happened, Reaper. A few hours from now we could all be dead, for crying out loud!” she retorted.

  “I’ve got nothing to say to you,” I said flatly.

  “So you’re saying you don’t love me anymore? Is that what you want me to believe?” she asked.

  “I don’t have time for this,” I grumbled as I dodged her question and turned back towards the exit, but before I could reach the door Audrey hurried after me and grabbed my left shoulder before I could get away. I gritted my teeth in anger and whipped around with the intent of letting her have it, but at the end of the day I was frankly powerless against my overwhelming attraction to her. In truth, I think I hated her just as much as I loved her, but the fact that I did indeed love her was really all that mattered in the end.

  “Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me,” Audrey insisted as her velvety voice melted away my contempt.

  “I—” I started but my words were instantly cut off as something violently slammed against our ship from the outside and sent Audrey and several others flying into the air. I zoomed forward and leapt after her in the blink of an eye and I plucked her outstretched body out of the air and fell to the floor with her cradled in my arms just as the ship was struck again by another mysterious impact.

  “What in the hell is going on?” I shouted as I leapt to my feet with Audrey still held within my arms.

  “You’ve got company,” Howie answered over the radio as the ship violently trembled yet again. “It looks like one of the smaller Anokian ships must have survived the shockwave.”

  “Why couldn’t I see it?” Tango shouted as I zoomed Audrey over to a seat and strapped her in before she could object.

  “It must have been cloaking in order to hide itself from our scanners,” Howie replied as another impact sent me stumbling across the room.

  “Dammit,” I cursed as I slammed against the wall and fell to the floor.

  “You okay, Reap?” Ace asked.

  “I’m fine but we need to do something about that ship, ASAP!” I replied as I pulled myself from the floor.

  “Can we outrun it?” Ace asked as he turned to Tango.

  “I doubt it,” Tango said as our ship continued to take fire. “I’m giving it all I’ve got right now but we took a lot of damage in that shock wave. Most of the thrusters are shot.”

  “Crap… and all of our weapons are damaged so I doubt we’ll be able to shoot it down,” Ace groaned.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Hoss.” Charlie suddenly interjected as he raised an eyebrow and looked to the rear monitor that displayed the small ship that was attacking us. “That thing got any shields left, Echo?”“

  “I doubt it. You both barely made it out of the shock wave. I’d imagine he’s running off of reserve power just like you guys,” Howie replied.

  “Well alright then. All I’ll need is a bungee cord and a dadgum rocket launcher and I’ll see to it that this hunk of junk makes it in time for the big dance,” Charlie grinned as he held his black cowboy hat in place with his right hand and continued to hold onto a nearby hand rail with his left.

  “There’s a bungee cord in my gear,” Audrey said as she pointed to a black backpack across the room. “And you’ll find an RPG launcher next to a couple of heavy machine guns in the armory down the hall— but what are you planning to do with them, Charlie?”

  “It’s called a RendeZook, sweet cheeks,” Charlie replied.

  “What the hell is a RendeZook? And don’t ever call me sweet cheeks,” Audrey sn
apped.

  “Stay tuned, honey buns. You’re about to find out!” Charlie winked as he made his way across the room and withdrew the bungee cord from Audrey’s back pack.

  “Charlie, please tell me you’re not about to try what I think you’re about to try,” Howie said over the radio.

  “Damn right I am, Hoss,” Charlie said as he kneeled and strapped on a chest harness over his dark brown duster coat.

  “Charlie, that’s insane! Do I even need to tell you how terrible the odds of actually pulling that off are?!” Howie warned as our ship was violently rocked again by more incoming fire.

  “This ain’t no damn dress rehearsal, Hoss! Now, if I don’t do something this dadgum ship’s goin’ down!” Charlie barked.

  “But what you’re talking about is impossible, Charlie!” Howie argued.

  “I don’t care if I told you a duck can pull a dadgum pickup truck, Hoss! If I said it you just shut the hell up and hook that sucker up, ya hear?! Now, where in the hell is my dadgum rocket launcher?!” Charlie shot back.

  “Down the hall— it’s in the armory on the left!” Audrey replied.

  “Alright, let’s git to it, Reaper!” Charlie called out as he hurried towards the exit. “I need you to reel me in when the crap hits the fan, Hoss,” he continued as he hurried into the hallway with the bungee cord held tightly in his hands.