What are you going to do with us? asked Jet. Use you. How? asked Knuckles.
Don t expect me to cooperate. Said Sonic, grinning.
I didn t plan for you to. The whirring of four electric saws started, the whine coming from above. The lights above the group moved aside. The saws revealed themselves, huge, serrated blades spinning faster and faster as the blades came down. They screamed as the saws reached them, slicing through their flesh like it was butter, cutting open their heads, effortlessly sawing through their skulls
The sirens were wailing as Commander Ashstone rushed into the command and control room, the red alert lighting casting beams of red over everything with each pass. Ashstone stormed into the middle, observing the chaos around him.
WHAT IS WRONG!?! he roared. A technician turned away from a control panel and looked at him.
Sir, the dark emeralds have been stolen! Ashstone laughed, smiling.
That s funny kid, I thought you said they d been stolen for second! he said, laughing.
I did sir. Ashstone stopped.
How?
Uh I don t-
WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT! I WANT THOSE EMERALDS BACK FASTER THEN A BOOMERANG THAT WORKS! GET EVERY FUCKING MAN OUT THERE! LET PETER AND THE LIBRARIANS KNOW THEY CAN USE WHATEVER THEY WANT TO GET THEM BACK, PROVING IT S NOT NUCLEAR, AND THE FIRST PERSON TO TELL ANYONE HIGHER THEN ME, IS GOING TO BE BEATEN, NO ONE CAN KNOW ABOUT THIS! everyone nodded and saluted, quickly spinning back to the consoles and typing away, decoding, commanding, reporting, instructing and relaying commands to the soldiers.
Sir! I have a fix! All seven sol emeralds and all six chaos emeralds are heading for Megalo station!
I WANT ALL AIRCRAFT THERE GROUNDED! NOW! NO INBOUND CRAFT AT ALL! SEND THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND THEN HAVE THEM GROUNDED TO!
Skorch and Canestellia groaned as their bedside phone went off.
What time is it? mumbled Can.
Twelve. Replied Skorch.
Tell them to bugger off Skorch picked up the phone.
What!?! he barked, turning to the phone.
Uh Skorch the person stopped.
Yes, don t bother with the rest of my names, you ll only hurt yourself.
You and the rest of team demon are requested immediately, phoenix business, level red nine! the phone went dead. Skorch quickly leapt out of bed, red nine being the highest level priority. He woke up Canestellia, shaking her out of bed before running off to wake up the others.
The group skidded to a halt outside the main hanger at Metropolis Phoenix HQ s airstrip. Only Alex and Peter were not with them, having disappeared when they went to bed. The group gulped as Anarrack stormed out of the Hanger, roaring at Commander Ashstone.
YOU HAVE PUT THE UNIVERSE AT RISK NOW!
I had no knowledge of this! I had them under the highest level of security available!
THAT IS IRRELEVANT, HAD YOU JUST DESTROYED THEM THEN THE UNIVERSE WOULD BE SAFER THEN IT IS NOW! AS IT IS, YOU RISK DESTROYING ALL OF EXSISTENCE!
Those emeralds were essential for resurrecting the morph mother without her being evil!
STILL, IT IS IRRELEVANT! YOU HAVE SIX HOURS UNTIL I HAVE THE PLANET GLASSED, I WANT THE EMERALDS DESTROYED BY THEN, THEIR FRAGMENTS SENT TO MY SHIP, OR I WIL BE FORCED TO EXTERMINATE MANKIND! Anarrack shimmered out of existence. Ashstone took off his hat, rubbing his sweat-covered brow. He put his hat back on and walked over to the group.
The thirteen dark emeralds have gone missing. He said, sighing, And as you heard, Prince Anarrack is not happy.
How were they stolen, I mean, I couldn t even get into that chamber, even if wanted to, and I designed it! said the Professor.
How, is unknown, as is the why, the only definite is that the Quan are not joking.
Where are the emeralds? asked Spike.
Currently en-route to Megalo station. I have units awaiting to intercept and all out-bound and in-bound traffic has been halted, but I don t think it will be enough. The scanners are accurate to about a hundred metres, and in the city, there are a million places to hide and then several billion more to top. Failure is not an option. Take what need, ask what you want, providing it gets the job done.
Where s Alex? chorused everyone. There was a scream of jet engines. Everyone spun round to see a ship scream down from the night sky, the red glow following it showing that peter was excited. The Craft flew down, into the light of the airstrip, illuminating it fully. It had a large, multi-face cockpit, a large nose that looked as though it was for ramming and two large engines at the front, a short stubby wing protruding from each of them. The group walked around it, looking at it. it s flat tail extended out over the end of the main body, doubling its length. There were two smaller engines attached to the sides of the tail at the end. Beneath the tail, on the main body, a large door hissed and opened, hinging down to form a firing platform extension to the troop spacious compartment inside, ten seats, five cramped together on either side, opposite each other. At the end of the compartment was a sealed door. Sat in one of the seats was Brigadier Moonshine, a look of annoyance upon her face. She stood up and walked out of the ship, dropping to the ground and walking over to Commander Ashstone.
For all our sakes, you d better hope that you get those emeralds back. She said.
Is Anarrack that loud, M am? asked Ashstone.
Negative, I read the reflections of his sound from your eardrum. Said Peter, hovering down.
How?
My laser projectors were-
Don t care.
With a hiss, the doors at the end of the compartment parted down the middle, sliding away horizontally. Alex stepped out, a look of excitement upon his that suggested this was his dream come true.
You like it? he asked, laughing with excitement. Peter hovered round. There was a whirr of machinery as a landing pad on the nose extended down on to the ground. Two large arms on either side of the troop compartment lowered down, the ends touching the ground to complete its landing. The scream of the engines faded away, causing the ship to shiver slightly as the landing gear took its weight.
It s a halo pelican. Said the professor, Why?
It s cool. Said Alex.
I don t care! You lot, go and get the fucking emeralds back, now! screamed Moonshine, waving Alex back onto the Pelican. Alex quickly hurried back onto the Pelican, his friends following behind. Peter flew in, just as the door closed. Alex hurried into the cockpit, sealing the door behind him. Everyone looked round the interior, wondering what to do. The ship s engines shuddered to life, causing everyone to fall around, Spike falling against a seat with such force that the overhead storage locker fell open, dropping several Halo weapons on his head. The Professor s eyes lit up as he picked up a plasma pistol and sat down in the seat next to spike, putting on the four-point harness. He got out a screw driver from his tattered lab coat and was about to try and take apart the pistol, when Peter used his laser to take it off the professor and then put everything back into the storage locker. The others sat down, their wings and the shape of the seats, coupled with the harness causing them a mild amount of discomfort. The pelican rose up off the runway and turned round gently. With a roar of power, its nose angled to the sky, it flew off towards the city
The Pelican dipped in out of the traffic, its large wings and bulky body making it rather hazardous to be on the gravity highways that zigzagged throughout the city of Megalo. Its military status and powerful engines also allowed it to ignore the roads. Everyone in the hover cars on the gravity highways kept turning their heads to watch as the Pelican roared over the city, weaving in and out of buildings as it dipped up and down through the skyline. Alex was sat in the pilots seat, expertly piloting the vehicle as though the ship were nothing more then an extension to his body and mind that had always been there. Gamma 13 was sat in the co-pilots seat.
So this thing, is a ship from Halo? she asked.
Yup, waddya think?
I think you re obsessed.
You re being mean to me aboard my ship.
Alex, is that a threat?
Yes.
I could throw this ship into higher orbit, what can you do?
Fly it there faster. There was a beep from the radar screen in the centre of the dashboard.
Is that radar from halo? she asked, trying to wind him up.
Yes.
THAT S IMPOSSIBLE, HOW CAN YOU DISTINGUISH FROM FRIENDLY AND HOSTILE TARGETS ON A RADAR? Shouted the professor.
Peter made it, ask him. Said Alex.
Yes, it does distinguish between friendly and hostile units, although, it can be confused when tracking lots of things like the hover cars out there. The radar began to beep again, a red dot appearing on the screen.
How come it wasn t there a second ago? asked gamma 13.
Because, it s a motion tracker, it tracks moving things, like your mouth. Said Alex, peering outside, scanning for the enemy. The was a series of thuds and pangs as a fusillade of bullets punched into the Pelican. Everyone jumped as the loud sounds travelled through the metal. The sound of a helicopter filled the air. Alex gave a cry of surprise as their attacker revealed themselves at last. It was a cyber version of Miles Prower, his tails now being rotor blades, heavy cannons now mounted on his wrists and a desire to kill implanted in his brain.
Several rockets flew from his wrists at the Pelican. The ship instantly dived, avoiding them, only to discover that they could home very nicely. Alex put the Pelican into a nose dive, sending the ship plummeting down through the city. The ground was now in the sight, the missile still following and getting closer and closer. A gravity highway loomed up out of the lower city darkness. Alex swore violently, causing Gamma 13 to go pale. He pulled back on the controls, the Pelican s nose rising up as it levelled off, its belly skimming across the gravity highways. Cyber Tails suddenly leapt on to the cockpit, a saw mounted on wrist now. It whined and howled. The robot raised his hand and brought the saw down on the glass. Alex and gamma 13 turned away from the glass, expecting the window to shatter completely. It didn t. Alex looked back. A large graze on the surface of the glass was the extent of the damage. The robot cocked its head, confused. Alex threw the ship into a roll, only just avoiding the missiles as they passed and throwing the puzzled robot off. Alex raised the Pelican s nose and flew up into the skyline, the robot once more pursuing.
He s still following! called Gamma 14.
I KNOW! cried Alex.
Please stop doing such harsh manoeuvres, I m starting to get airsick. Moaned spike.
BUT YOU DON T GET AIRSICK!
That s my point Ungh I bet you my face is green
YOU VE GOT GREEN FUR! Spike clutched his stomach as the Pelican did a back roll on the spot, the robot passing beneath it with but a millimetre to spare. The sudden force caused Alex s body to feel like it were made of lead, every movement tired him, breathing was hard and laboured, everything seemed to be going dark.
Alex! That was seven gees! You re not able to withstand such force! echoed Peter, as if he were miles away. Slowly, everything came back to Alex, just in time for him to avoid splattering Deathsonic over the Pelican s armoured nose. He rolled to the left, nearly clipping the startled chaos hedgehog s head with the starboard wing. Deathsonic flew aside and watched as the Pelican rolled into a busy gravity highway before flying off into a tunnel.
Alex desperately tried to steer the Pelican through the tunnel without hitting anything. Everyone knew that he d have to be a god to be able to do that, especially as the wings were scrapping against the sides of the tunnel, even when Alex positioned the ship for maximum wing space they were dragging along the walls. The cars in the tunnel all parted, desperately trying to avoid the 78 tonne lump of armoured aircraft as it ploughed through the tunnel. Alex pulled back on the throttle, slowing the pelican to a standstill just in time to avoid smashing into a family hover car. Alex looked at the kids in the back window, sat backwards on their seats, looking at the ship, looks of amazement and awe upon their faces. Alex stopped. He reached beneath his seat and pulled an A3 sketch pad and a pen. He quickly wrote an order down on the paper and held it to the window so the children could see it. They instantly turned back round and sat down, hiding behind the seats.
What did you tell them to do? asked Gamma 13.
I told them to put their fucking seatbelts on. Gamma 13 grabbed the sign and looked at it, horrified.
YOU PUT THE F WORD ON IT!?!
Yes, helps convey the meaning more effectively. The cars ahead moved apart to allow the pelican through. Alex smiled, gently pushing forwards on the throttle and nosing the pelican out of the tunnel.
And that s without even using the cannon!
This thing s got a gun?
Yup, a .75 auto cannon, mounted on the chin, it s concealed at the moment.
Point seventy five? Well at least its not loaded.
When did I say it wasn t loaded?
You didn t, only I know for a fact that Peter isn t that stupid.
Yes I am. Said Peter, It s fully loaded with an experimental round I ve been working on!
Jesus Christ.
The Pelican roared out into the city, Megalo station now in view. Alex scanned the skies, searching for the emerald thief, and the robot tails. There was a drone of helicopter blades overhead. Alex looked up to see several cobra attack copters fly over the city. There was a screech of metal and a spray of sparks as another robot appeared, grinding off the top of the pelican before firing two small missiles. This one was a cyber form of jet, a lethally armed board built into the soles of its feet. It spun round, still travelling forwards, away from the pelican s nose. Alex pushed a button, a strange headpiece that looked much like a brown titanium flat cap, but stretched out to make it more vicious and streamlined. Built on to the right side of it, so that clipped to the ear was a hands free headset, only this one had a small screen attached to it, and the mike actually came down to the space bellow his moth but above his chin. There was whine as the screen extended out before flicking down over his eye. There was a whine from beneath the floor. Alex smiled. He flicked a switch on the main console in front of him. A screen went red, a schematic of the pelican appearing, a gun now mounted on its nose. The gun flashed red, the words: CANNON ACTIVE appearing bellow it. Alex smiled once more and fired, unleashing a torrent of lead at the two missiles first, completely obliterating them.
It s got the emeralds! cried Gamma 13.
No it hasn t! said Alex, looking at the robot, watching as it turned and flew away. Alex sped the pelican up, chasing it.
It s got the emeralds! Didn t you see the container in its hand?
That wasn t a container, it was a picnic hamper. There s a load of sandwiches in it. Alex fired, the cannon following his eyesight, shooting in whatever direction he looked.
Go get them! cried Peter. Gamma 13 stood up and left the cockpit.
Good luck! yelled Alex. A few seconds latter, he watched his friends fly past the pelican, accelerating off after the robot, gamma 14 riding on Skorch s back, the professor and gamma 13 using telekinesis to fly. He jumped in his seat as Ashstone s voice came out over the radio.
All units, be advised, the egg carrier has been reported to be moving in the direction of Megalo, speed it up. Alex activated the radio.
This is Alex, sir, we have found the thief, and the others are pursuing, requesting additional orders.
Just hold tight son, move to Megalo station, just in case they fail.
Yes sir. Alex clicked off the radio. He fed fuel to the engines and roared off towards the station.
Spike ducked and weaved through the traffic, barrel rolling aside with amazing speed, never letting the robot jet out of his sight. The others were close behind him and he knew it, he just didn t have time to see how far behind they were. The robot fired a missile backwards, at spike. Spike flew up slightly, letting the missile pass by underneath him. He grabbed it with his tail and turned it back round, throwing it at the robot. With amazing precision, the machine swatted the missile aside without setting it off. The Machine flew down, entering a tunnel in the side of a building. Spike waved at Skorch as he and gamma 14 passed him, accelerating into the tunnel.
Skorch entered the tunnel, stopping almost immediately. He looked around, searching for the robot. He felt gamma prod him very gently.
What?
You know in films when the cannon fodder troops enter a building but can t find what they re looking for
Go on
Then an assassin drops from the roof and kills them
Uh
We re cannon fodder