The Valkyrie Chronicles: Conflict Z

by mmulhollon

Following the repelling of Cervello's Invasion the Challenger receives a distress call from the Vega System over a disease that is infecting the inhabitants of a region on the habitable planet. Michael and the crew of the Challenger were told it is a minor and curable disease but when they got there they witness something else.

The Valkyrie Chronicles VIII:

Z Conflict

By the Imaginary Mind of Michael Mulhollon

The Challenger and other starships grouped around various spots outside the Terra II system according to ships from their home planets or organizations as shuttles flew back and forth between ships trying to conduct repairs if they could. Michael Valkyrie sat in his command chair straightening out his uniform when Gross said, "Too tight captain?", Michael said, "No, I'm just use to wearing the other uniform. Are the hanger doors repaired yet?", Gross said, "In about a half hour sir, same goes to the VerKa.", Law said, "Sir I'm receiving a transmission from Vega IX requesting medical assistance.", Michael said, "Unfortunately we are not in shape for anymore missions till we finish repairs in dry dock. Relay their message to command.", Law said, "Aye sir.", Michael turned to Petra and said, "Ms. Arkanian how is Commander Wiggin doing after this ordeal?", Petra said, "Exhausted. I even had a hard time trying to drag his but out of bed to have him go take a shower, let alone change his clothes!", Michael said, "Do you want to know the quickest way to get him out of bed?", she looked at him puzzled and he said, "Cherry bombs.", some of the crew hid their laughter as Petra laughed before Law said, "Sir I have a message from Zhargosia Command. They want us to head to Vega IX immediately and render medical assistance or any aide the inhabitants request.", Michael turned and looked baffled and said, "US! Do they know our situation?!", Law said, "Yes sir, and they informed us when we reach orbit they will send a ship to continue repairs while we assisted the inhabitants.", she paused as she touched her earpiece and said, "They are also informing us that the disease the inhabitants are suffering from is contained on one region of the planet and it is equivalent to a case of rabies.", Michael sighed as he turned to Petra and said, "Engine status.", Petra said, "Warp drive is operational only up to warp factor three.", after a short pause Michael said, "Law, inform command that we will comply and we will proceed directly to Vega IX.", Law said, "Yes sir.", Gross said, "At least sir this is a case of rabies. According to sick bay we have plenty of medicine to treat it and is a easy cure.", Michael said, "Yea, thank goodness. Ms. Arkanian proceed to Vega IX warp factor two!", Petra said, "Yes sir.", Michael said, "Law open all channels to the rest of the ship.", the Challenger (battle scarred and damaged) turned away from the rest of the fleet and went to warp leaving a blue warp trail.

Michael walked down the hallway rubbing his face as he looked exhausted and felt hair on his cheeks as he sighed while crewmen passed him some carrying boxes or tools for the upcoming away mission as he walked into his and Chloe's cabin and went straight to the bathroom and shaved not looking into the bedroom. When he came out freshly shaved a voice said, "Seriously, you are just going to ignore me?", and he looked to see Chloe wearing a pink robe lying on her right side facing him revealing one of her legs and Michael said, "Not really. Just want to get rid of this caveman beard.", Chloe said, "That's a relief.", and they both stared at each other as Chloe smiled and said, "We have a lot to make up for.", and Michael said, "We sure do.", and he pressed a button on a panel and the lights in the room dimmed.

Once the Challenger achieved orbit to Vega IX Michael appeared in the transporter room where Carol and three other medical staff were already waiting and she said, "Sir is it wise you should come? The area we are beaming to is a peninsula and it will be teaming with people that are trying to evacuate.", Michael stepped on the pad and said, "For something this small I think it is wise for the commander to beam down and assure the inhabitants that everything is cool.", Carol rolled her eyes, sighed and said, "Are we ready yet?", transporter chief said, "Yes ma'm.", Michael said, "Energize!", and they dematerialized. They rematerialized on what looked like a helo pad and four blue terrain jeep like vehicles waited for them with drivers wearing blue plastic fitted suits and wore hockey like helmets that are blue and had a single glass shield in front of their faces with displays showing on them. They loaded the supplies they were carrying on the vehicles and they were driven away and noticed people were either walking or running past them and Carol said, "Why are they moving away in a hurry?", the driver said, "They are evacuating the hazard zone.", Carol said, "Take me to this hazard zone!", the driver said, "Sorry ma'm but I have orders to take you and your team to the designated field hospital.", Michael was about to speak till Carol yelled, "As the chief medical representative of the Federation of Planets I order you to take me to the hazard zone or else you try to cure this disease on your own fuck tards!", Michael looked a little baffled but amused as the driver looked really frustrated and he turned the wheel and the lead vehicle turned making the other three follow as they entered a highway that is clogged with people that are moving the opposite direction. As they drove a little farther there were more people running and they began to move faster and faster as they drove farther till it seemed like people were trying to sprint but were carrying their belongings or little ones with them that prevented them. Michael then leaned over and said, "Driver what the hell is going on?!", but the driver continued looking ahead and Michael stood up to see over and a hovering solar powered cycle sped up right beside Michael on the left side and yelled, "GET DOWN AND TURN AROUND RIGHT NOW!", and Michael sat down as he leaned over to speak to the cycle driver as the driver also yelled, "REMAIN IN...", then he was slammed from behind and was crushed beneath a motorhome as the medical personnel and Michael looked in shock as the motorhome kept going, crushing people and smashing vehicles in its path till it slammed into what looked like the back of a moving truck and it fell on its right side as people screamed and some raised their hands to stop it only to be crushed beneath its weight. Michael then looked back as he heard what sounded like a dog snarling and he stood back up on the vehicle and looked ahead as his robotic vision enhanced his view ahead and at first he squinted as the sun shined down on him and in an instant had a look of terror in his eyes and expression while around him more people ran and many of them started to scream or yell and Carol called up to him, "Captain what is it?!", and Michael continued to look as he saw a wall of beings charging towards them as if they are a wall of water running over each other and on top of people trying to run away either ignoring them as they were crushed or were started being eaten and he looked back down and Carol and the rest of the medical team looked nervous as they saw his expression and he yelled out, "ZOMBIES!", he then screamed at the driver, "GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!", and the driver began turning the vehicle around as well as the others but they were swarmed by the onrushing people trying to flee and they couldn't move. Michael then yelled into his communicator, "LAW BEAM US UP!", Law yelled back, "I can hear you fine loudmouth! I can't beam you back to the ship due to interference from whatever it is around your position!", Michael said, "Then beam us north of here!", Law said, "Where sir?!", Michael yelled, "ANY FUCKING WHERE!", and they heard louder snarling and a low thundering noise as they looked up and see a wall of charging zombies either running over either each other or non infected people as some were being eaten while others were ignored and were crushed or swarmed beneath the zombie wave and Michael and the others pulled out their phasers only to be dematerialized.

When they rematerialized they were on a grassy hill with trees behind them and they over looked the same road still crowded with people and moving fast only this time no one is screaming or rushing through. Michael pulled out his communicator and said, "Law where are we?", Law said, "Thirty miles north of where you were sir. Is everything all right?", Michael said, "We're fine now, notify Gross and tell her the situation is more serious than we thought. We'll contact you later when we have more information, captain out.", he then turned to one of the former vehicle drivers and said, "We need an aerial transport now!", they still looked shocked but one of them pulled out a communications device and started talking. Three non bladed helicopters landed (colored blue and white and were powered by a jet engine on top) and they all boarded and left the hill before refugees started moving up the hill. When they flew away they watched in the distance zombies swarming the countryside, forests, and roads trampling over people as behind them they were either consumed or infected by zombies behind the onrushing wave. They also saw makeshift barricades of vehicles or other large objects as soldiers and police stood behind and fired on the zombies as they charged at them but the barricades fell as well with jets and non rotor helos flew over firing rockets and machine guns at the zombies. Carol then called out and told the pilots to head to the field hospital but one of the pilots told her that place is being evacuated but Carol told them to fly there anyway and the pilot shook his head and turned the helo. When they reached it Carol and the others looked in horror as the medical center is in total chaos as ambulances and med. buses try to leave but people were clambering onto them and pulling and pushing people out including patients and amongst the chaos they saw zombies mixed in with the people running around in the chaos making it confusing who is infected and who is not and Carol told the pilot to take them as far north as they can.

The helos reached what is called Tall City and they landed on a makeshift military firebase and when they disembarked Michael pulled out his communicator and told Law to have two regiments of security standing by and when they reached what they believed is the command center he told Carol to get the rest of her med. staff out but she told him she is staying there and if he has a problem then oh well. Michael just shook his head and moved away as Carol and the medical staff went the opposite direction where nurses and medical staff were running in and out of a large white building and Michael walked up to a large tent and at first the two guards stood in his way but they parted when one of the pilots showed his ID and told them who Michael is and he entered and saw military generals and older men and women in suits standing over a large table chart with a tv screen in front showing what Michael believed is the president of this nation and they stopped talking when he entered and Michael looked furious and yelled, "DUDE, you call this a fucking rabies epidemic?! W nearly got our asses chewed off and all I see is police and civil defense forces! Where is the fucking army, navy or even your air forces?!", the president told him he is trying to prevent a mass panic and it is all taken care of and then the president told Michael he finds his tone offensive and rude and he will not tolerate it or listen to him continue if he talks in that tone and Michael fired back, "How about this , I leave and make a report to the Federation Council how you've lied and endangered the lives of the away team and myself due to just covering your ass and have you only defend yourselves without any aid! How is that for tone fuck face!", and all military personnel looked at Michael with a mixture of shock and anger and then the president said, "As of right now Captain Valkyrie we do not need your help anymore and you have one hour to get off the surface and leave or I will authorize...", and all of a sudden the screen went blank and one of the generals said he didn't hear him but then another called out, "TREASON! You should be arrested and tried for...!", the same general that turned off the screen said, "Go ahead! See if you can hold the southern defenses when my infantry divisions leave! Without me those soldiers will literally drop their weapons and leave!", same other general said, "Then they will be executed as well for mutiny!", another general yelled out, "ENOUGH! That is stupid! No one is executing or arresting anyone!", they all started arguing amongst themselves till one called out that the president is far away and is obviously thinking for himself and clearly not aware of the seriousness of the situation. Then a woman in a suit said, "Mr. Valkyrie what do you think we should do in this crisis?", and Michael went straight to the point and asked how far the zombies have spread and they told him in the Northeast they were as far as New City to Cleve and Pitts and in the Southeast as far as New Jack to thirty miles from where they are now. Michael told them that they must fully evacuate Tall City and every place east of the Main River to the other side and have their civil defense forces along the river to as far west to the Thendore Mountains to form a wall at least twenty feet high while defense forces west of the mountains build walls along any gaps and close off all the roads except the main highways and rail tunnels in case the Main River barrier doesn't hold. He also went over plans to have all naval and coast guard ships on the West coast inspect every ship that approaches the safe zone and if anyone is infected they are to be separated from the rest and discreetly execute anyone or destroy any ship that is infected and the same goes for the Main River gates. Michael then pulled out his communicator and said, "Law this is the captain, send in all data relating to zombie extermination and survival including Max Brooks Zombie Survival Guide to the Vegians computers on these coordinates.", Law said, "Yes sir.", all of a sudden Carol entered the tent and told Michael they must get to the CDC in Lanta and help get all the diseases and cures out before the zombies get there and that stuff may hold any chance of finding a cure and Michael agreed and once they were dismissed they left. They flew out in a non-prop small airplane and they looked out the side windows and saw large pacts of zombies approaching in the distance and there are military jets that made passes dropping bombs, firing missiles and made strafing runs in the hopes of thinning the large clumps of zombies or slowing them down while gunships and helos flew over what they believe is the front and flew around making strafing runs or their door gunners fired. Carol said, "Do you believe there is any chance of these people surviving this madness?", Michael said, "I don't know.", and their aircraft and the one behind them carrying the rest of the away team flew away from the approaching madness to Tall City.

Once they landed in Lanta they were escorted to the CDC where it is already being evacuated and Carol left with the rest of the medical team as they helped loading all the diseases in safe containers for transportation and helped with the rest of the evacuation while Michael stood aside and called Law and told her to send down the security detail and the two regiments of security teams were all rematerialized on the surface and Michael told the team leaders to help gather all the equipment before the zombies arrive as they are within fifty miles from their position. They all hustled as fast as they could loading the large transport trucks that are about twice as high over an average person to climb on (due to the large wheels) and shuttling them to the airport where they are put on private blacked out transport aircrafts as they are flown to New Day where they have a new CDC building built. As Michael was carrying a box a figure jumped from a corner snarling as a zombie in a straight jacket and face mask appeared and Michael jumped back with his phaser drawn and yelped, "DUDE WHAT THE FUCK!", but the zombie pulled back as the holding stick leash jerked by Zombie Handler Kelley who also smacked the zombie's head to the wall and escorted it outside along with four other zombies with their handlers and Michael found the nearest senior doctor and asked why are they holding live zombies and was told they need them in case they need to test for a cure or something to kill them and Michael okayed it as long as they are away from him and the doctor told him they have a special aircraft waiting for them that is separated from everyone else. When they were finishing up they heard the growing sound of explosions and gunfire and Michael pulled out his communicator and ordered to beam up the security detail and Michael and Carol boarded the last transport truck and they drove away leaving an eerie quiet CDC. They followed the bus where the rest of the medical personnel are riding on as they drove through deserted streets littered with wrecked or abandon vehicles and other goods as people were not able to carry everything as they fled. They also passed through solid quiet neighborhoods with homes and stores either half empty or ransacked and Carol said, "It's too quiet for my taste.", they finally turned on the last street to the airfield only to find a massive hoard of civilians at the gates and Michael yelled, "What the hell are they thinking?! Do they know the zombies are going to be here any minute?!", the bus in front of them is crawling forward trying to make its way in and Michael called the bus driver on the radio and told him to drive through faster or else these people will tear them apart. The bus picked up speed and they were almost on the airstrip with the last military transport in sight until the bus ran over a couple of people and it stopped and Michael yelled over the radio to get moving but they watched in horror (except Michael looked angry) as the riot tipped the bus over on its right side pinning the people within and a couple of cocktails were thrown at it and they began to try to turn their transport truck over as well. Michael yelled for them to get to the bus and force the backdoor open to get them out while he takes care of the riot. He then smashed the side window as he pulled out his phaser and fired a few shots into the crowd set on stun and the people pulled back a little giving Carol and the others to get out while Michael followed behind and when the reached the back of the bus with the people inside screaming as the fire spread Michael (with little effort) tore the back door off with his right hand and Carol helped get the people out. They heard the sound of snarling and moaning and the people either started running away or began coming after them again. Michael then pulled out both sets of phasers and fired at the angry mob that was charging after them and they still kept on coming. Michael yelled for them to run and they all ran with Michael behind and the drivers fired their assault rifles into the crowd and as they reached the field Michael saw the zombies breaking into the airfield and began attacking the mob still coming after them and they all began sprinting towards the aircraft as Michael ran while continued to fire.

The transport was already pulling forward on the tarmac and Carol and everyone else boarded the back ramp except Michael. Carol yelled, "MICHAEL, RUUUUUN!", and Michael heard her over the roaring props and he stopped firing as he was running back and sprinted towards the aircraft. The transport moved faster and faster down the tarmac and Carol yelled back for the pilot to slow down but he said, "We can't, or else we would not have enough room!", they all watched as Michael ran faster and faster while the zombies gave and mob gave chase and he got closer and closer breathing heavily as he ran as hard as he could. The transport then lifted off and Michael jumped just as when the ramp rim was almost as high up as his head and landed halfway in. He then began to slid back out and he clambered crazily on the flat ramp trying to grab hold of something and Carol just grabbed one of his hands and stopped him from slipping. Michael was pulled up all the way and the ramp fully closed and he sat on the folded out side seats and breathed heavily as Carol said, "Out of breath? I thought a cyborg like you should be able to run with no problems.", Michael (breathing heavily) said, "Shut up.", Carol, Michael and the others looked out the windows to see the mob gave up the chase but were quickly consumed by the zombies that were chasing them from the start turning the tarmac into one large feeding ground. The transport later landed at New Day and Michael and the others stepped off as personnel vehicles were waiting for them and Michael told Carol he is going to the command center and she and the others should rest before they leave again and before Carol could protest he jumped in the vehicle and told the driver to drive off leaving her stammering and furious as she stomped away. When he arrived at a large tent Michael was escorted inside and he past another large map with various commanders around it to another tent in the back that was connected and saw a large tv screen and a different man sat behind the so called leader's desk and they were both left alone when he told Michael that he is the new leader as the last one was narrow minded and he told Michael that as of now Michael is in charge and once this zombie epidemic is over Michael will find what lead to this catastrophe and report before he leaves. When Michael left the separate tent and entered the conference room with the large map he asked the status of the spread and was told by a general that they have reached Indy, Louis, Charleton and are ten miles north of Capital City. Another general told him in the South they have reached Mob City, Chat, Column and Myrtle and Michael looked over the chart and sees what they are described and tells them that the bottleneck between Louis and Chat must be held open at all costs so the forces and civilians east can escape. He also says, "Blow up bridges, roads, tunnels or any type of path that those things can cross.", general, "Sir what if we can't?", Michael said, "Then bury it! Cause rock slides, mud slides, blow up damns! Hell, even create a wall with derelict vehicles! Just as long as they can't pass!", one of the generals asked why can't the Challenger fire its weapons to do this job and Michael told them the ship is still undergoing repairs from the last battle and its weapons system is out of commission. Michael told them that he is going to Louis to assess the situation of the evacuation and no one spoke in protest before he left.

The small private jet left the tarmac with Michael and Carol onboard and Carol told him that the medical away team has beamed back onto the Challenger to study the results and their examinations to see if they can find the right cure for the virus and as she told him she and then Michael noticed the streets and highways below are clogged with vehicles and people leaving the cities and towns and headed toward the safe zones. They also saw large groups of people crossing through either fields or forests around the clogged roads till the pilot announced they are arriving at Louis. When they reached the city they saw zombies either running or stumbling into the river and tried getting across but the forces on the other side shot at them both with sniper and automatic rifle fire and they also fired artillery into the river as well. Their aircraft landed and Michael was taken straight to the forward command base while Carol went to the main medical facility in the center of the city. Once Michael arrived at the forward command base the commander called out to him and Michael followed him till he noticed they were all alone inside one of the tents and he said in a low tone, "Mr. Valkyrie we have to evacuate and leave now.", Michael looked concerned and said, "Why?", the commander showed him a thermal red image of the bottom of the river and said, "This is before the zombie hoards arrived.", he then showed him another and another and each one grew brighter red and said, "These images show they are falling to the bottom and every time more arrive and sink they fill up the bottom and are making the river shallow with their bodies.", Michael said, "Can you stop them?", the commander said, "We are using artillery to blast them but we do not have enough guns or ammo to stop them all.", Michael said, "How much time?", the commander said, "A day, two the most.". At the medical center Carol was standing at the front desk and asked where Dr. Woo is and over the loud commotion the attendant asked why and Carol told her she is the acting doctor from the USS Challenger and according to her sources Dr. Woo is of extreme importance. The attendant said, "He maybe in B wing! I can't call cause the lines are down so I can't help you out from here!", Carol pushed her way through the crowd of nurses, doctors and injured patients till she reached what she believes is the B wing and to her luck a doctor bumped into her and she noticed it was him from one of the archive images at the CDC and she called out his name. He looked at her and she told him who she is and she wanted to ask him about the zero patient of the epidemic. Without saying a word he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside as she looked both angry and surprised and was unable to break his grip as he hurried outside where suddenly he let her go when they are alone behind a corner and he said in a low and stern voice, "There is no zero patient.", Carol (still angry by him grabbing her) said, "Why?", the doctor explained to her that once he got there the whole town of Lock was quarantined and half the people were already infected. He was told the hospital apparently let the people go and told them to stay indoors because the hospital was unable to respond to all their patients due to the doctors and nurses reporting to work less and less. Woo then explained that he went over the reports before is started to fall apart and found out it started when four teenagers were fooling around in the woods till they saw an object fall from the sky and crashed deeper into the forest and they followed it but when they came out they were fine at first but then they became more tired throughout the daytime the next couple of days until all of a sudden they seemed to just die in their sleep. Their bodies were taken to the morgue and were about to perform an autopsy when all of a sudden one of them reanimated and bit one of the doctors over him. They were able to secure the reanimated corpse and the others before they also awoke and struggled under the restraints and the doctor that was bitten was treated as if he was bitten by a wild animal and was let go for the rest of the day. Woo also said he asked the military commander that reported to the town about the location and the whereabouts of the object that fell from space and he was told the defense force destroyed it in a matter of national security. Without the object where the disease originated from Woo said he tried to find a cure to this disease the best he could but without success.

Dr. Woo was able to figure out the runners are ones that have a very high metabolism and a stronger urge for hunger compared to the slow ones and based on his observations he ruled them as zombies. He urged the defense forces and the government to destroy the town but they refused and continued to send medical assistance and believed these people can be treated by this new form of rabies and he continued pushing his true findings and recommendations till the government ordered the CDC to fire him on the bases of insanity and obsession and that is how he ended up as a regular doctor in a hospital. Carol said, "Do you still have the lab results for the cure?", Woo said, "No, it is pointless! I told you there is no cure, the only way to stop them is to destroy the brain!", someone yelled, "INCOMING!", and Carol and Dr. Woo looked up to see a twin engined passenger liner flying down and everyone screamed as they took cover as the aircraft just barely missed them but smashed the roof of the building and on instinct Carol jumped into a large trash can and closed the hatch as debris fell on top and all around. As the liner came down directly towards Michael he jumped into the nearest ditch as the nose of the liner smashed the ground and created a path of destruction as flames raced over Michael's back as he laid down face forward while above the command base was whipped out as the liner made impact and one of the artillery batteries was smashed by the left wing of the liner and consumed by flames as the gunners and soldiers screamed and the liner ran into a large ammo depot and created a large explosion sending bullets, bombs and artillery shells all around causing secondary explosions that blasted apart other battery positions nearby and trench lines where the soldiers were trying to take cover but end up being trapped as flames and unexploded ammo rained down on them as they yelled and screamed.

When the explosions ceased and the flames stopped blowing over him Michael got up and saw a path of destruction and fire and saw a lot of dead bodies when he heard moaning sounds and some of the dead soldiers including the commanding officer stood up and began stumbling towards him. Carol peered out of the trash can and saw people stumbling around as some of them cried in pain and she got out and looked around to find Dr. Woo only to find out he is gone. She looked around and saw people coming out of the hospital with doctors and nurses helping the injured to get out of the building. She then noticed a woman on the ground with a broken arm next to what appears to be a dead body and Carol began administering first aid for the woman until the dead person right beside her jumped and bit her broken arm as she screamed making Carol jump back but then immediately grabbed the zombies head and tried pulling it away as it continued to chew till with growing frustration and anger Carol cried out and ripped its head off with all her strength. She then heard more screams and moaning mixed with snarling noises as more dead bodies reanimated all around and inside the building. Carol started running as did everyone else and she saw ambulances trying to drive away with patients inside but the zombies swarmed after them causing them to wreck and she saw another ambulance as a few zombies jumped on the back of one and yanked the back doors open and leapt inside while patients inside screamed and the ambulance swerved uncontrollably and ran over a few people which later reanimated before ramming into a telephone pole and it fell knocking down a medical tent with patients inside setting it on fire as people screamed within as they desperately tried to get out. As she continued to run she saw people around her continued to scream but then noticed she was in the middle of a feasting ground as zombies began attacking and either eating everyone or just bit them and created more zombies as Carol slid beneath a car and watched and counted "1 1000, 2 1000, 3 1000, 4 1000, 5 1000, 6 1000...", and she watched as one of the bitten began flopping on the ground making gurgling sounds, shivering and his eyes rolled back and when she said, "10 1000.", the infected person stopped shivering and it slowing got up and began moaning as it looked around and stumbled away in the confusion as the zombies were mixed in with the non infected. She remained under the vehicle looking around scared but tried to remain calm when she saw to her shock an old couple walking through the middle of the chaos as zombies ran or stumbled past or around them completely ignoring them as they attacked other people as she ignored the fact she was being beamed away.

When she rematerialized on the transporter pad Crow was there waiting for her but she heard loud noises coming from behind him and as she stood up as Crow scanned her she noticed Michael was yelling at the transporter chief as to why he was beamed back on the Challenger till Gross appeared and said, "I gave the order.", Michael said, "Why?", Gross said, "We have received word that New Day is being attacked by zombies within the city. They also report people that are dead and not bitten by zombies are being reanimated. The Capital, Rich and Will have gone dark but we are receiving transmissions of resistance or survivors within.", Michael yelled, "FUCK!", Carol said, "Sir, when I was on the surface I saw an old couple walking through the chaos as zombies were running around them as if they are not even there. I think there is something but I need to analyze any old person on the surface so I can have more data and find out why they are being ignored.", Michael said, "You got it, but once we are transported behind the Thendore Mountain chain.", she and Crow left as Michael pressed the call button and Michael said, "Lt. Law, inform whoever is in charge of the Thendore Mountain defenses to destroy the passes and seal all passageways into the western safe zone and tell those in the central area to form their own safe zones and to seal the gates and blow the roads and bridges to the Main River Barrier and have those trapped on the other side to spread out and find a safe place to hole up and tell them about the current situation using all channels and frequencies.", Law said, "Yes sir.", Michael began working on the controls on the transporter and said, "Beam me to these coordinates in the safe zone.", and the chief complied. Gross said, "Sir before you go I think...", Michael stepped up on the pad and waved her off and said, "Not now commander, energize!", he rematerialized on the surface of a rocky terrain of a hill with soldiers and people running about excitedly and yelling till a female voice boomed out, "GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASSES AND DO AS YOU ARE TOLD NOW!", and Michael looked around with surprise and concern as he thought to himself that voice sounded familiar till he looked up at the top where he saw what appears to be a command tent and started moving up till his eyes popped open and he yelled, "WHAT?". In the command tent surrounded by various military and political figures Michael stood face to face with Chloe and a commander whispered to a politician, "Do you see anything that makes them attracted to each other?", and the politician shakes his hand "so so". Michael said, "I still do not want you here!", Chloe said, "Well tough luck captain.", and Michael looked furious but turned away and faced the holographic table and charts with the others surrounding it and said, "So what's the situation.", he was told that all the mountain passes are sealed as instructed and word has been passed down to all commanders east of the mountains to hold onto their positions and to destroy all dead bodies no matter if they died under natural causes and Michael still sees the concerned faces of all of them and asks, "So what's the problem?", and he is told the people from the east not attached to any military units are still coming to the sealed passageways demanding to be let in and the chaos on their end of finding bodies of dead people not attacked by zombies is proceeding slowly. One of the generals asked Michael if his people found the cure yet and Michael told them that his chief medical officer may have something and she is now testing her theory.

A politician then said he recommends they go on the offensive and some of them shook their heads and they started to agree with him till Michael said, "Not until our side is safe and all the chickens in the hen house have settled down.", there was silence as they all looked at him confused and Chloe said sarcastically, "Chickens in the hen house, nice analogy.", and Michael rolled his shoulders and said, "Sort of fits.", then Michael asked where is the acting president and they all spoke low to each other until a military commander said, "He is trying to find a place where he can put his office.", Chloe said, "Tell your president if it's not an inconvenience he should get here so he can help save whatever is left of his country or make himself a high class meal for the zombies when they compromise the safe zone.", they all looked at her stunned while Michael smirked and then his communicator goes off and when he answered Carol spoke, "Captain I have found the reason why the zombies won't attack these old people. It appears that if someone is terminally ill or has a very weak immune system these zombies will completely ignore them. Unfortunately we cannot simply infect someone with a dangerous disease to act as a camouflage because these diseases on the planet will kill the hosts and even if we could vaccinate them the zombies can tell if someone is recovering from any form of sickness.", Michael looked depressed and thanked her. Michael then got everyone's attention and told them all what Carol told him and they all looked depressed as well and one of them said, "Great, what are we going to do now?", and Michael said, "We are going to proceed as planned and make sure all the normally died people are truly dead.", one of the generals asked if they can try to get people out of the hot zones or at least give them supplies and Michael told them they could get them out but it would have to be quick but resupply is not an option unless they can find a way to mask the noise of their aircraft so they won't alert all the zombies in the area plus most of the aircraft right now are needed to establish the safe zone. A scientist in the room said they can use remote control gliders to carry the supplies to them. Michael agreed and he said he will have the Challenger send their shuttles to help them speed up the building and supplies in the safe zone and beam down security and medical teams for assistance. The shuttles from the Challenger descended through the atmosphere as the other starship finally rendezvoused and began landing and unloading supplies and equipment as away teams from both medical and security beamed down and began assisting the crews, civilians and military personnel on the surface till all the excitement started settling down and the people began living normal lives within.

An assembly was called and all the commanders are assembled in an auditorium and the President arrived as Michael and Chloe looked on. He thanked everyone for coming especially Michael and Chloe and he revealed his plan that they are going to attack the zombies and reclaim the homes they have lost to these monster hordes. He looked to a couple of generals and admirals to his right and said he has divided the offensive into two phases. The large ultra tv screen behind him came on and showed the map of the entire country with 2/3 covered in black to stand as the occupied zone of the zombies and he continued to speak as he pointed with a long stick on the map. The first phase is for all ships along the shoreline and artillery and heavy gun crews to unleash a bombardment to destroy as many of them as they could and attract them away from the boundary. The second phase is for establishing beachheads, reclaiming the coastal cities and maintain a defensive posture as their main forces in the mountains attack in a three prong maneuver. One will move along the North securing the northern territories, another will move through the central area while the southern group will move south to where they believe is the most heavily infested area and link up with the secured coastal cities and move up to link up with the central forces and eventually with the North and whip out the zombies once and for all. Everyone in the auditorium clapped and cheered as Michael and Chloe looked humbled and Chloe whispered, "He makes it sound so easy.", and Michael said, "Shhh, don't jinx us!", and Chloe smiled. Once the applause stopped the President told them the offensive will begin the day after tomorrow and once they start this will be a blitzkrieg maneuver so the conflict will end quickly and avoid any chances the zombies could swarm and the meeting was adjourned.

Unfortunately the rest of the civilian population also knew and they came to the mountains either to celebrate or protest and the whole area next to the mountain barrier was crowded and Michael had multiple squads of security with him and Chloe when they begin the offensive. Then people began shouting through a couple of loudspeakers and other the other side of the mountain barrier the zombies heard the noise from the loudspeakers and at first a few zombies began clawing the sides of the mountains and eventually more and more arrived and they ended up on top of each other and started clambering on top of each other and up the side of the mountains. As they wait for the word to begin Michael and Chloe sat down to rest and eat and Michael asked her if she is ready and Chloe replied, "That's a stupid question.", Michael laughed and then he stopped and looked around concerned before standing up and Chloe looked at him worried and said, "Michael, what's the matter?", he walked away towards the mountain's edge as he was hearing a low continuing rumbling sound like thunder as security looked at him with an odd expression as well. As Michael got closer and closer to the edge the sound got louder and Michael looked over and saw a massive horde of zombies climbing over each other and even though lots of them fell they still kept climbing and Michael looked wide eyed and said in a low voice, "Oh shit.", and Chloe looked over as well and looked shocked. Michael and Chloe yelled to the security teams what they saw and they ran to the nearest command center and Michael yelled, "THEY'RE CLIMBING UP THE WALL! START THE ATTACK NOW AND GET RID OF THOSE LOUDSPEAKERS AND CIVILIANS! THEY ARE ATTRACTING THE ZOMBIES!", all the soldiers radios went off and they jumped up from resting or relaxing and began hauling their gear to the edge of the mountains and began firing downwards ranging from assault rifles to gatling guns. Attack helicopters flew over the side and saw the massive hordes of zombies climbing over each other to get to the top and the helicopters started firing along the middle of the climbing hordes including the door gunners and the pilots reported their findings over the radio. As they continued firing downwards some of the zombies got over and began running to the nearest body only to have their heads explode from phaser fire from the red uniformed security teams from the Challenger then more zombies came over and one jumped on one of the red shirts and he tried holding it back as it snapped its teeth at his face till all of a sudden it was thrown off and a red armored soldier with a Neo-Zeon crest stabbed the zombie in the face with his long musket like rifle with a bayonet at the end. Neo-Zeon Knight yelled, "YAHOO!", and more of them appeared from behind and gave the rebel yell as they charged and either chopped the zombies heads off, stabbed their faces in the ground or fired bolts of light from their rifles blasting holes through the zombies bodies or exploded their heads. They even shoved the zombies back with their rifles as the knights behind them gave them covering fire and either shoved them or threw them back over the edge like rag dolls. In the chaos some zombies even grabbed some of the Defense Forces soldiers along the edge and either pulled or threw them over to the zombies below. Chloe (The Green Comet) first fired her handguns at the hordes but when they came over the edge she pulled out her swords and either chop their heads off or stab them through their heads. Michael was firing his phaser repeatedly like a machine gun blasting apart the zombies trying to make it over the edge till he saw one running up behind the Green Comet and Michael yelled, "CHLOE!", and he ran, grabbed the zombie with his right hand on its back collar threw it past the edge a good few feet before falling to the bottom and the Green Comet yelled (over the firing and zombie snarling), "Sorry, won't happen again!", and before Michael could reply the president's voice came on over their radios and said, "Begin phase two!", and then all the artillery guns, tanks, aircraft and helicopters unleashed their arsenal either at the zombies climbing over the mountain wall or in the roads, fields and highways behind them vaporizing large groups of zombies while others were either shredded to pieces or burned from the fires created by the explosions and the same goes to the naval forces as they fired their gun batteries into the coastal cities.

When the intense fire ceased there were multiple large explosions as the sealed tunnels exploded knocking down or whipping out any zombies that were standing around the entrances leaving a cloud of smoke and dust till bolts of light fired forth and soldiers ran out firing as motorized or hovering vehicles appeared behind as they began their offensive. The Neo-Zeon Knights and Challenger security personnel attached climbing gear as did Michael and the Green Comet and Michael said to one of the knights, "What are you doing here?", and the knight said, "Lord Deikun thought you needed some assistance and he is in orbit above us!", and Michael just shook his head and smiled. Once the tunnels were blown they repelled down as they saw soldiers with blaster and automatic rifles firing with others using flamethrowers setting fires to multiple zombie corpses as tanks and personnel carriers followed behind. More zombies appeared beneath their dead comrades and started moving towards them and the knights, security personnel, Michael and the Green Comet began firing their rifles and phasers as they continued to repel down and when they reached the bottom and detached their repelling gear helicopters began flying over the area and began laying fire giving the forces aerial cover. The knights started hacking or clubbing away with their rifles or firing while the Green Comet pulled out her swords and Michael pulled out two large knives and began fighting hand to hand stabbing or slicing the zombies heads off. The Neo-Zeon Knights worked together as one grabbed a zombie from behind while another bayoneted its face as another knight saw a couple of zombies coming behind the Green Comet and he ran, tackled both of them as he screamed and immediately pulled out his rifle and in one swing smashed both their heads apart with the butt of his rifle. Michael continued to stab into the temples of the zombies or sliced their throats before shoving his knives through the bottom of their jaws not knowing that he was being surrounded as he continued to fight savagely. Four of the knights noticed Michael being surrounded and one yelled, "TO THE VALKYRIE!", and they all yelled as they charged and swung their bayonets slicing zombies in their way or stabbing them either in the face or body before blasting them apart as they barreled in to Michael's assistance and used their shields to shove the zombies away as they charged past Michael and shoved their rifles either over or in between their shields and fired their rifles. A knight jumped over his comrades with a large knife in hand and sliced off two zombies heads off in one stroke, stab another directly over its head and into its brain and ripped its head off as he was pulling the knife out. He then turned and sliced off another zombie's head and he stabbed another in the belly and looped the head off of another before throwing the body over him knocking a few of them down before the rest of the knight's comrades joined in the savage fight.

In the chaos Michael continued to fire his phaser rapidly till the zombies were almost on top of him and in his vision the words "TERMINATE" appeared and all the zombies were targeted by crosshairs and Michael's eyes glistened red and he fired faster till the zombies swarmed over him as he didn't say a word as they snarled, grabbed him and dragged him down. The Green Comet saw this and she screamed, "NOOOO!", and she ran towards him stabbing one zombie in the face with a knife and used its head as she jumped on it before pulling the knife out and sliced off a few zombies heads. She jumped off the zombie and pulled out both her swords and began slicing her way through to Michael yelling, "HOLD ON MICHAEL! I'M COMING!", and as she sliced her way through heads, limbs, various body parts, organs and purple ooze flew in the air and all around her till all of a sudden she saw zombies thrown up in the air as if they were blown off someone or something and the Green Comet ducked and covered her face as they fell on top of her as they lost their balance. Instead of attacking her they got up and moved away from her as she was being ignored and headed towards Michael's direction. She ignored this fact as she immediately continued slicing and stabbing her way forward till she stopped and looked shocked at what she saw. Michael appeared with almost half of his face torn away revealing with looked like the face of a T-800 as he grabbed a zombie by the throat, lifting it up, shoving his right hand into its stomach as he looked longly at it while driving his hand in and ripped part of its spine out before dropping the zombie and in one stomp on its face he crushed its skull. The zombies then came after him but as they did so Michael looked up showing no expression as the clothing around his forearms tore and his forearms and hands transformed into silver gatling guns and he fired shooting bolts of light as the zombies in front of him were ripped to pieces throwing bones, organs, limbs and purple liquid all over the place. The Green Comet stood shell shocked ignoring the zombies walking or running past her and Michael's lower body remained in place as his upper body turned clockwise making tearing/ripping sounds as his upper body turned making his skin rip as it couldn't follow. The Green Comet saw Michael turn in her direction and she ducted as over 12,000 plasma bolts per minute (from both gatling guns) fired over her covering her in purple liquid and slime. A zombie jumped on Michael's back and began biting him on the left shoulder only making metal clanking sounds as it chewed into his shoulder and ran into his metal inner skin. Michael swung his left arm/gatling gun and knocked the zombie off before firing at point blank range in its face throwing purple liquid and chunks all over Michael's face and body (leaving only his one robotic and one normal eyes untouched) as he fired and ripped apart the zombie's body from face to toe as Michael yelled till only the zombie's arms and legs remained. Then another zombie jumped on top of him and knocked Michael onto his back and before the zombie could bite him as it snarled Michael locked both gatling guns to the sides of its face and there was a cocking sound of two shotguns before the zombie's head exploded. Michael quickly got up and as more zombie's charged after him he repeatedly fired the shotguns (where they are between the barrels of the gatling guns) at the zombies either blowing them in half, blew apart their limbs before their heads or directly exploded their heads till there was a huge explosion next to him and Michael fell to his knees as the zombies were blown apart. He looked up and he saw a tank with a machine gun nest on top firing away at the zombies around him and the soldiers followed with rifles and flamethrowers and cleaned the area around him as some of the soldiers looked at him in shock seeing his robotic eye and half his face. Even though he kept an expressionless face Michael looked around and the Green Comet knew that he is confused and she walked up to him slowly and said, "Michael, its over.", and Michael snapped his head to her direction surprising her with one of his gatling guns drawn and the Green Comet stood her ground with her hands raised and she said in her continued calm voice, "I'm unarmed.", Michael scanned her and his display spelled, "UNARMED", and the Green Comet said, "You may stand down. The area is secured.", Michael looked around as if ignoring her and the Green Comet pulled off her mask and looked at him innocently while walking towards Michael till she was in arm's length and he looked at her again and she said, "Please Michael.", and she touched his metal cheek and said, "Come back to me.", and she continued to look at him innocently and Michael's display began to fluctuate as he looked at her sad and innocent face while lightly touching his cheek till all of a sudden his display snapped to normal sight and his robotic eye turned blue. Michael's expression then went from expressionless to a look of shock and breathed heavily as he stumbled and almost fell till Chloe caught him and said, "Are you all right?", Michael looked around still in a state of shock until he finally said, "What, happened?", Chloe said, "I think in human terms you lost your cool.", he looked down at her and saw she was covered in purple slime and he suddenly looked disgusted and flinched back and said, "Eww! You look disgusting!", Chloe frowned in anger but calmly said, "You should see yourself pretty boy."

As the offensive continued onward Michael and Chloe saw from the distance that as far as the eye can see the entire landscape was scorched earth or dead and they saw the ground was covered with limbs or bodily remains of the zombies that once covered the landscape as they tried to make their way to the mountain barrier. Chloe said, "No wonder the president made it sound so easy.", Michael said, "Except they made this entire area uninhabitable, and this noise!", Michael is referring to the tracked vehicles rolling over headless or dead zombies making crunching sounds as bones and skulls were crushed beneath their weight. They even encountered zombies that had no legs or unable to walk and they still moaned and snarled even as a tank rolled right over one crushing its skull, muscle and bones beneath its weight as it drove right over. Reports started coming in that the coastal cities were able to establish beachheads and take about half the cities encountering small groups of zombies till they reached the downtowns and encountered the rest of the population and with covering fire from air support and gunships (including survivors that are still able to fight) they were able to cleanse the cities. When the forces Michael and Chloe are attached to reached New Day they heard a radio report from a reconnaissance aircraft that the CDC is still secured but is attracting zombies throughout the surrounding area as they tried to climb over the perimeter wall. Michael immediately grabbed the handset in the tank and said, "This is captain Michael Valkyrie in the Eight Ball, we'll take care of the CDC. Just make sure we have aerial support on standby in case we need them.", the tank commander said, "Sir that's almost five miles of city blocks and streets filled with dead people!", Michael said, "Then you are going to earn your pay today.", tank gunner yelled out, "RUNNERS!", Michael and the tank commander looked through their scopes and they saw a large number of zombies growling or snarling as they ran towards them while others stumbled as they walked their way. Michael went on the radio and said, "Platoon, batten down the hatches! We got an entire city coming down on top of us!", as he watched the zombies coming after them Michael called for air support but was told that they are heading back to base to reload and Michael yelled, "WE ARE NAKED DOWN HERE! OUR TROOPS CAN'T HOLD AGAINST AN ENTIRE CITY!", a voice said, "I'm sorry sir! The only support you will get from us is to drop spit balls on them! WE ARE OUT!", Michael changed the radio dial and yelled, "ALL TANKS, LET'EM HAVE IT! DO NOT LET ONE PASS!", the tanks in formation ahead of the troops unleashed their firepower from both their machine guns and fired their main cannons blowing apart the zombies running at them but they still kept coming and Michael pushed the machine gunner inside the tank aside and yelled, "GIVE ME THAT!", and he fired shredding the zombies to pieces even as he yelled but they still kept on coming like a small tidal wave as they were almost on top of them till suddenly they were thrown back by an invisible force and some of the surrounding buildings exploded or were ripped apart by the same invisible tidal wave including abandoned vehicles and the zombies were ripped to pieces either in mid air or when they were about to hit the ground.

Michael and the tank crew wooed at what they just saw and Michael looked around in his scope till he saw Carrie in a purple and black spandex type suit with her hands raised and her hair blowing forward as a constant gust of wind blew forward affecting everything in front of her till all the zombies ahead of them were incinerated and she dropped her hands and the wind stopped leaving the streets clear of zombies or dead people. Carrie breathed heavily as her pupils are still dilated and two large hands laid on her shoulders and a voice said, "Calm.", Carrie snapped her head to her right to look over her shoulder to see Arsenal standing behind her as he said again, "Calm. Remain control.", and she began control breathing and her pupils returned to normal and she began stumbling till Arsenal held her ribs and said, "Steady.", Michael watched as one of the gunner's said, "We might as well sit back and let her clean up this town!", Michael kicked him in the back as the gunner yelped and the gunner yelled, "I'M NOT A FRICKING DOG YOU...", the radio went off and heard reports that the survivors in the city are trying to fight back but they are being overrun by more zombies than they could handle. Michael got the radio and called back to base to send aircraft to pull them out and was told, "Yes captain, we have more than enough aircraft to handle this due to we are running low of explosives.", Michael said, "What! Pull out your reserves!", commander's voice, "We have been captain, and as a result we almost have nothing left!", after a few moments of silence Michael said, "To all commanders, continue forward. Make sure you use silencers. If you see any large groups report immediately and if you have any doubts of attacking them then don't engage.", the soldiers then proceeded to check every building from block to block with soldiers on the rooftops looking down ahead of the columns for zombies that are obstructed from the view of the rest of the forces and fortified every odd building (not destroyed by Carrie's power) as they slowly continued forward. They finally reached the CDC eliminating either lone or small groups of zombies in their path as they saw the zombies outside the compound were crushed up against the wall surrounding the place as Carrie's wrath had extended to their destination and the people within the compound started to cheer till the soldiers either made signs for them to be quiet or in one instance a soldier ran up to one of the defenders and clamped a hand over his mouth and said, "Shut up moron! I don't want to be their next meal!", one of the tanks opened and Carol emerged along with her sister Chloe and said, "Who is the senior doctor here?", one of the soldiers pointed inside and she went in as the rest of the soldiers helped secure a perimeter while in the meantime she asked the doctors and the senior in the CDC that during their time isolated did they find any cure or weapon that they can use against the zombies. They told her they found a weapon they can use to liquify the zombies brain and make them die instantly and told her it can be delivered either as a gas form or insert the chemical in the projects or tools used to kill them and they can hit anywhere in the zombie's body and the chemical would work up to its brain and will perform its work.

In the meantime Michael sat inside the command tank as the rest of the crew went outside to either eat or relax as he listened to the radio of reports coming in from everywhere else in the offensive as he sat looking tired and he heard Carol's voice on the radio as she cut in and told him what she had learned inside and showing no excitement he acknowledged her report and set the radio channel to high command and relayed it. Michael was then told that Can City is having problems and they need reinforcements and Michael said, "I'll be there and fix their problem. Send one of your jet helos to pick us up.", Michael got out of the command tank and saw the Green Comet and the Neo Zeon Knights waiting for him and Michael smirked as the non propelled helos landed, boarded the aircraft and they took off heading towards Can City. Once they are airborne Michael was handed a headset with a glass shield from the copilot and he said, "For you captain!", and when Michael put it on it showed a 3D map of the country with areas highlighted which are secured and which areas are still infested. The president's voice came over the headset and told Michael that he heard about the BD (Brain Dead) virus that could kill the zombies and his military officials have already implemented a plan to have all aircraft equip with gas canisters and spread this virus through the air over the eastern region and once that's completed all the soldier's will have darts instead of bullets to clean out the rest of the zombies that haven't been affected and was told by his scientists that the virus only affects dead tissue so the soldiers or civilians will not be affected. The pilot said (over the roar of the engine above), "Sir, we have reached our destination!", Michael said, "I'll call you back later Mr. President!", he removed the helmet and saw the Green Comet was glued to the window ignoring Michael as he called out to her till he saw exactly what she is seeing and looked shocked and said, "Oh, my, god.", the city was in total chaos as fires were ragging out of most of the skyscrapers and various self propelled weapons or rockets flew blindly from one part of the city to the other. They also noticed that a few tanks and mortars were firing on a building where zombies were either lying over the sides or trying to get out and fall into the streets below. There were also soldiers running out of the buildings with a lot of zombies chasing after them making areas that were secured now filled with zombies. Michael told the pilot to take them to the command post in the city and the pilot radioed before the jet helicopters flew off.

Once the jet helos landed Michael and the Green Comet were taken to the command post just outside the helo pads and saw that the commanders were already assembled and waiting for them. Michael looked astonished, threw his arms out and yelled, "Dudes! What the hell is going on?!", the Green Comet and the others looked at him confused and she said, "Michael, you have to stop saying that. It means absolutely no sense.", but Michael looked like he was ignoring her when he was told by one of the commanders that they entered the city and everything was running smoothly until they entered the heart of the city where the banks are and when they began entering them the zombies stampeded down the large buildings down to the streets and they could not contain the waves of zombies coming out but they are able to contain them within the city but the troops inside are in disarray and there is no definite frontline or established perimeter to contain them and as a result they are everywhere and aerial reconnaissance cannot tell who is a zombie or not unless they see the muzzle flashes of their weapons at night. Michael said, "Are we in contact with anyone inside?", a army commander said, "Yes sir, but the lines are jammed requesting assistance from various areas in the city.", Michael said, "Retrofit as many of your jet helicopters as you can with loudspeakers and have the pilots order the soldiers in the streets closest to the skyscrapers to get indoors and secure the stairs and elevators leading up to the upper floors and the same goes to the soldiers outside the city center as well till reinforcements arrive. I am going to one of the skyscrapers and assess the situation from within.", all the commanders began talking either confused or shocked and the Green Comet said, "Are you serious?!", Michael smiled and said, "Come on, we fought in this kind of situation before!", the Green Comet said, "Yea but people were trying to shoot us not eat us!", Michael said, "Excuses, excuses. Since when did you decide to become a fairy all of a sudden?", the Green Comet rolled her eyes and sighed.

The jet propelled helos flew into the city and Michael and the Green Comet looked down to see the troops starting to resume forward while at the same time liberating those that fortified themselves into various buildings. As they reached the target skyscraper they flew around to make sure the rooftop was secure before they landed. When the helo carrying Michael and the Green Comet landed the Neon Knights were waiting for them as their choppers were the first ones to arrive and Michael drew his phaser while the Green Comet drew her swords and Michael said, "Do it.", and to their surprise the first Zeon soldier ran up and rammed the door down before the rest of the soldiers charged through but quietly. The knights used the stairs and they walked down one step at a time, with Michael as the third person back and the Green Comet in the rear. As they carefully moved fast down the stairs trying not to make any noise Michael looked over the railing and saw a never ending stairs barely lit and said, "I hate to be the person on the bottom if someone barfs.", and one of the knights said, "Sir.", and Michael looked to see one of the Zeon knights standing in front of a closed door and Michael said, "Might as well start somewhere. Go ahead, but quietly.", he opened the door and there was a loud crook as one of the zombies charged at the knight and he quickly stabbed his blade to the hilt into the zombie's forehead before falling motionless. Loud crooks, snarls and moans echoed through the building and Michael made a face and said, "Damn it I said quietly! Now we're fucked!", they all drew their weapons and aimed them down the staircase as they heard the sound of multiple footfalls growing and Michael said, "Raise shields and charge forward! Those on the left side mind the doors and watch your motion sensors! Same goes for the rear!", they watched as a massive horde of zombies appeared coming up the staircase and as they leaped at the knights with their shields up they either bounced off or stumbled back and many of them fell over the side or knocked their comrades down behind. A Zeon Knight yelled, "HAIL ZEON!", and all the knights echoed the call and they drew their rifle blasters or swords and they surged forward forcing the zombies back or pushed/threw them over the side and down the stair shaft. They moved down a dozen or so floors till one of the knights told Michael that they are running out of energy for their rifles and Michael yelled, "Get out of the stairwell!", and the next door they reached (after they checked the coast was clear) they all poured in while keeping the zombies at bay till the last knight threw a small device down the stairs and jumped in just when there was a large explosion and the knights surrounding him barricaded the door with furniture and various loose items before there was multiple poundings and snarls, moans and hisses on the other side.

As the zombies continued to pound on the barricade Chloe yelled, "Great plan dumbbell! Now how are we supposed to get out of here!", Michael looked around and out the windows behind and saw they were more than two dozen stories up and he said, "Uh, just give me a minute.", the barricade then started to break apart and some of the zombies appeared showing their grotesque faces and tried to claw their way through and Chloe yelled, "We don't have a minute!", Michael then pulled out his sword he had hidden and said, "Those of you that have swords or sharp objects, prepare to fuck them up! Those that don't, just bash their heads in and keep them from...", all of the sudden the entire wall facing them collapsed and a massive horde of zombies came pouring in and started jumping on top of all of them before they knew it as the knights started to scream. Michael sliced the head off of one before he was jumped and held another at bay as a zombie (more of a skeleton) began chomping its jaws at his face while being held back by Michael's sword at its throat. Michael looked away at his right to see his wife but lost sight of her as she was engulfed by them as she screamed in anger and Michael yelled, "CHLOE!". All of a sudden he heard a loud explosion above and flames shot from behind the zombie as it was engulfed by flames and Michael covered his face with his left forearm. As he tried to look up he saw an outline of a female figure with her arms out and hair flowing up with solid black eyes when all of a sudden he felt himself falling as he heard the sound of crushing/falling cement blocks and steel as he noticed the building was falling apart around him. He tried to grab hold of anything as the flames dissipated but found himself suddenly bouncing/slamming about hitting cement debris and steel till his vision went black. When it ceased the whole ground was covered with ash and burnt debris and rubble till there was a small disturbance as some of the ash fell away little by little. Then it all flew back as a figure jumped up screaming and Michael turned wildly only to notice he was the only one standing and almost covered in black and grey with the exception of his eyes. Michael said as he breathed heavily, "What the fuck?", he then heard the sound of choppers and he looked up to see them flying with their jet engines spraying the BD gas all over the city where he then started hearing popping or dropping sounds as zombies began falling like flies all over the city even falling from the sides of tall buildings or skyscrapers to the ground below. Michael suddenly looked around noticing he was alone and yelled, "Chloe!", and he began pushing or digging through the ash and debris trying to find her as the Zeon Knights started to get up moaning or groaning with pain and Michael kept yelling Chloe's name till suddenly a female voice yelled, "Shut the fuck up! I heard you the first time!", and Michael looked to see her with her Green Comet uniform torn and frayed as she pushed away large pieces of false wall off her. Michael said, "Are you okay?", Chloe said, "Now that's a stupid question after falling a good few stories. Which how the hell did we survive that?", Michael responded as he looked back, "Maybe you should ask your sister.", and Chloe and the others looked to see Carrie emerging from the fog from where the center of the building was and walked calmly towards them. Michael said, "I guess the Challenger was able to replicate the gas to spread throughout the city?", Carrie said, "Yes. Gross also wanted me to tell you that they also were able to install the gas into the torpedoes and fired them at various parts of the country.", Michael replied, "And why couldn't she notify me through my communicator?", Carrie said, "Because it's broken.", he looked at his belt and pulled it out to notice the controls are smashed and said with a dumb look, "Oh.", Chloe said, "I'll notify the Challenger and tell them...", before she could finish they were all suddenly in the transporter room and the transporter chief looked up in shock and yelped, "What the...!", the knights, Chloe and Michael looked around in shock and Michael said, "Where's Carrie?", and Chloe replied, "Don't ask me."

Arsenal entered his quarters and dropped off his belt with his communicator and other equipment from the surface and was about to walk out till he noticed the light is on in the bathroom. He went close to the door and hears Carrie whispering and when he knocked on the door and asked her if she is all right she stops and begins to sobs quietly. He opened the door and notices she is wearing a black spandex/armor uniform as she was kneeling on the floor. He kneels down to her and lightly touches her left shoulder as she looked away from him as she was shaking lightly and he asks, "Okay?", and Carrie replied, "I felt her. I felt my mother when I killed those zombies and tore down that building, and I enjoyed it. Its if she has possessed me.", Arsenal replied, "Michael and Chloe.", and Carrie said, "I know, but I still felt her. I just got them away in case I started killing again.", Arsenal was about to caress her and she said, "Can I please be alone for a while? I'll be fine.", Arsenal had a look of sadness as he turned away and closed the door behind him, but when he came back later he saw she was still in the bathroom but lying on the floor asleep. Arsenal closed the door behind him and he lied on the floor behind her and caressed her as they both lie on the bathroom floor. In the transporter room Michael went to the control console and called the bridge and Gross said, "Captain are we done?", Michael said, "It's a little complicated, what's the status on the surface?", Gross said, "It looks like this conflict would be ending soon cause we are getting messages from people that are hiding in the hot zones that the zombies are falling like dominos.", Michael said, "Good, send a message to Arsenal to check up on Carrie.", Gross said, "Is there a problem?", Michael said, "Maybe, I just want him to make sure. Notify me or Chloe of any changes on the surface, I am going to my quarters to take a nap.", everyone around him in the transporter room looked at him confused and even Gross said, "Sir did you say you are going to take a nap?", Michael said, "That's affirmative Ms. Gross.", and when he started to leave Chloe said, "Seriously, in a time like this!", Michael whirled back with his hands out and said, "What else is there to do? The zombies are almost eliminated and we are all safe back onboard with the ship ready to launch more of that gas in case anymore zombies are still roaming about. I don't know about you but I am taking FULL advantage of this and get a nice, long, rest.", and he looked at her smug before walking out of the transporter room towards his quarters with Chloe running after him leaving the Zeon Knights looking at each other dumb until one said, "What the hell are we supposed to do?", one of the rolled his shoulders and grunted, "I don't know." while the others scratched their own heads confused.

In the dark quarters of Michael and Chloe, there was a low beeping sound as Chloe was woken up in a silent shock and she saw the computer monitor light bouncing off the wall and she looked back to see Michael sitting in front of his computer and she heard him say in a low tone, "Excellent, give their president my regards and prepare to leave orbit. I'll be on the bridge in a half hour.", he turned off the monitor but as soon as he did the lamp light came on and he turned to see Chloe sitting up on the backboard with the covers just covering her chest and she said, "Now tell me.", Michael said, "Sorry, I forgot to turn off my alarm.", Chloe said, "Doesn't matter at this point.", Michael said, "Anyway I was just checking in on Arsenal and he said your sister is okay. She was just overwhelmed with her powers and needs to rest a little. Plus the zombie epidemic is now over on the surface and all the leaders placed all their security and civilians on alert in case there is one that is still about or if it flares up again. Lt. Law also said the nearby systems are also placed on alert in case the supply or transport ships are carrying anything infected.", Chloe said, "Then I guess we are finished here.", Michael replied, "We are.", in a swift motion Chloe threw back the covers and grabbed Michael's pants and threw it to him and said, "Get dressed.", to Michael's surprise.

The turbo lift doors opened and Michael struggled to keep from smiling as he said, "I don't snore!", and Chloe replied, "The hell you do! I...", they stopped as they noticed some of the crewmen looked at them nervously including Lt. Law while others were working fast at their stations on the bridge and Michael looked at Law and said, "Commander what's going on?", Gross appeared from her science station and said, "Sir we have received a message that I think you should hear.", Michael stood at Law's station as she gave him her ear piece and she pressed a button and Michael heard an ominous calm male voice at it said, "You have defeated the greatest threat to your world and you all think you are safe. We all knew the galaxy would not be the same. A few people laughed. A few people cried. Most people were silent.", Michael had a serious but alert look as he stood as Chloe looked at him nervously while everyone else either looked frightened or somber as the voice kept saying, "Do you remember the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita? Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds.", the line went dead and Michael lowered the ear piece not watching and he said in a low voice, "My God.", and Chloe looked nervous as well as she saw Michael's shocked face. The Challenger moved at full impulse from the planet's orbit and just as it left the ship suddenly went to warp towards Terra II.