Sentry Post 9B, outskirts of Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"What have you got for me on the weapon you mentioned earlier, Double-D?"
"It's almost done," Edd replied. He hissed a little at his still sore arm as he gave her some rough notes.
"So, what's the plan?" Nazz asked as she paged through them.
"We modify the engines of Katarn's ship," Marie replied. "Uh, how is she?"
"She'll be fine," Nazz replied. "Continue?"
"I'm glad to hear," the Kanker said. "But, as we were saying… we've modified the ship's engines. What we need to do is fly the ship low over the city in a side swiping action." Marie motioned to a map of the city. "We've adjusted the frequency of the engines' exhaust; we should be good to go."
"What we're hoping is that the discharge of smoke, when inhaled by the Zygrans, will induce a chemical imbalance that causes them to fall asleep. It would be a lot like carbon monoxide on Earth, but not as lethal," Edd continued.
"That's the key," Nazz said as she nodded. "I want minimal casualties on both sides. Mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing…"
"Really," Marie replied as she cocked her head. "Why would you say that?"
Nazz shot her eyes up from the notes.
"Dude, I'm a kid from the Midwest. I'm not some… military tactician mastermind. I'm winging it."
"If I may be so bold," Edd interrupted, "you seem to be doing just fine."
"He's right," Kevin said. "Look, Nazz. We already made it this far. You took out a whole base of these ugly things. Heck, you saved Double-D and Marie from a compound crawling with 'em."
"Hatted Kevin boy is correct, furry Nazz girl," Rolf added. "We work now as a team, yes?"
"Certainly better than we ever did on Earth," Ed nodded. "You have done a great job so far." Nazz blushed.
"Thanks, dudes. I just hope I know what to do after, 'cause no one says Kaijexians are gonna want to listen to me." Inhaling, she straightened again. "Can you guys do this in about forty-five minutes?"
"Yes, we should. Er, what exactly is the plan for this uprising again?" Edd asked with an edge of nervousness.
"Yeah, maybe you should brief everyone about this," Marie drawled.
"Good point. Let's have a war room meeting back on the ship."
Aboard the Trak'zrath, on Sentry Post 9B's Tarmac
"Okay dudes," Nazz began. "I've asked you all here because it's not going to be much longer before we do this, and it's time to know exactly what we're doing. As you know, we've been in contact with civilians in the city who have agreed to sabotage. The sculptor is going to set off a weapons depot. That should create a huge explosion, and be the signal for everyone else. Just after we see that explosion, we fly over the city and dump as much of the smoke as we can. A lot of Zygrans are going to run to investigate, and the general will do his best with the White Hand to engage them and buy us some time. Finally, the engineers and the transmission techie will bring down the power and the communications. After all this, we attack the palace with what weapons we have and try to decapitate the occupation by the head. With any luck, it'll break. So… any questions?"
"How reliable are the guys we're using gonna be?" Eddy asked.
"Koax promised since we rescued his family, so I'd say he's definitely in. The same goes for Ing and her crew. I'm pretty sure Rec will have what troops he has ready, from what you and Rolf told me about him. I think the shaky one will be Bild. For all his gusto when he talked to Sara and Jimmy, you gotta remember setting off a spark in a weapons depot may be a suicide mission. He's the one we're all counting on, though, so I hope it works..."
"Um, what if he doesn't, Nazz?" Johnny asked.
"I guess one of us may have to do it," Nazz sighed.
"Well, let's start drawing straws then," Sara snarked.
"I have faith in Bild," Jimmy squeaked. "He'll be there."
"'Revenge is a dish best served cold,' Ed replied."
"Okay, Shakespeare, that's enough," Nazz replied with a smile. "Any other questions? Rolf?"
"Go-go Nazz-girl, who is driving the craft?"
"...oh, right..." Nazz trailed off.
"I know you're hurt, but isn't there any way you can help out?"
"I would love to, Nazz, but my arm," Katarn sighed as she pointed to the mass of purpled-stained bandages. "It still hurts a great deal; I don't know what use I could be to you in this condition. What exactly do you need for a flight path?"
"Zigzagging over the Zygran barracks. We have a map in the data banks, over here," she pointed.
"I shall do my best, Nazz," Katarn said.
"Works for me, dude. I'm gonna check on Double-D and Marie about the engine stuff."
"Are we almost done Double-D?"
"Yes, I think we're quite finished with the engines and can start with the grenades now," Edd replied. "If you would get me some sort of breakable material..."
"Will this do?" Marie asked as she picked up several empty contains of a glass-like material. "I think this is Zygran recycling or something."
"Yes, it should do nicely. Over here, please," Marie brought the box with her, and Edd began to fill them with a dark black smoke. He quickly capped them as they went.
"Double-D, I'm sorry about what happened back there at Omtig," Marie said as she scuffed her foot and looked down.
"Oh, yes," Edd said with a note of ice to his voice.
"Really, I am!" Marie insisted.
"You nearly jeopardized our mission, though," Edd shot back. "And lest we forget what planet is next on the Zygrans' menu if we fail?"
"I know, I know, but... I care about you."
"You do," Edd said skeptically. "You honestly care. Considering how you've treated me and my fellow Eds, those words ring a little hollow, I'm afraid."
"But, why else do you think we'd do it?" Marie snapped.
"Tormenting us? It wasn't exclusive; you did do the same to Kevin."
"One time, and that was Lee's idea," Marie shot back.
"Well, I suppose you wouldn't have risked our mission if you didn't care about me." The boy sighed. "Perhaps I was a tad harsh. It's… appreciated, Marie."
"Not appreciated enough. You like Nazz, not me," Marie mumbled. Edd was about to answer when said girl peeked into the room.
"How's it going, dudes?" Nazz asked.
"This is the last of them," Edd replied as he clamped one shut. "We have about a dozen or so, so we must use them wisely."
"Okay. Bring 'em up front. We've only got a few minutes before Bild hopefully does his thing."
"Of course," the boy replied. "If you'd help me, Marie..?"
"Sure," the blue haired girl mumbled. She hefted a few and plodded after the skinny whiz kid.
"Oh, Marie? Hang on a second…" Nazz said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah?" she answered, in a half depressed voice.
"I didn't get to say how much I appreciated you coming to help, even if it was just because of Double-D. Thank you." She gave a characteristic grin and left.
"Yeah. Thanks," Marie said quietly.
Ch'n'tka Weapons Depot, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
Remember, this is for your wife and little ones.
Bild snuck through a rusted grate in the side of the massive building. As he entered, he was thankful there were no sirens or warnings. He climbed up a ladder and down a catwalk over what looked like a stack of explosives. Perfect. He just needed to strike his tools for a spark…
"What are you doing here, Kaijexian?"
Bild, adrenaline coursing through him, whipped his head around. Standing there were two angry Zygrans, their weapons trained on him."You expect to kill us with that, fool?"
"No, masters," the sculptor said with heavy sarcasm. "I expected to kill you with this," Bild said as he quickly struck the two tools together. Several sparks drifted down into the boxes, which quickly started to burn. The Zygrans' eyes swelled.
"The fool!" one managed. "The cursed f—"
A massive explosion tore through the building. Bild was flung back several feet as the catwalk writhed beneath him. As he got back to his feet, he saw but a smoldering mass of twisted steel where the Zygrans had been. Another explosion rocked him back into focus; more weapons were going off now. Without a second thought he fled. He raced down the catwalk, towards a window at the end. All around him, masses of weapons and armaments went off like a fireworks show. The building started to collapse, twisting and groaning as steel supports gave, the catwalk itself threatening to dump him into the inferno.
It's just a little further, Bild thought to himself. I can make it... The catwalk finally gave way underneath him. The sculptor leapt as it dropped away, catching the window sill. He finally hauled himself through and stumbled away just in time as the building collapsed. He was thrown to the sand, coughing. Bild turned and looked up at the mass of burning material and oily black smoke.
"I've done my part… I hope to the goddesses you do yours."
Aboard the Trak'zrath, on Sentry Post 9B's Tarmac
"Holy crud!" Kevin cried as a massive fireball ballooned over Kaltaran City.
"Bild must have done it!" Nazz beamed as she pumped her fist. "Let's get this bird airborne!"
"As you wish, Nazz!" Katarn commented as she managed to take off with her uninjured hand.
Streets of Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"The signal has been given!" Rec called out as the fireball swelled over the skyline. He turned back to his men. "It's time. For Kaijex!" he finished as he jumped to the front of the ranks.
"For Kaijex!" the fighters returned as he led the charge.
Kaltaran City Generator Complex, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
Ing quickly raced up the ladder as a dull boomed echoed outside. A huge pall of flame and smoke towered between in the distance.
"That's it, that's what we need! Shut down all the generators! Tear out the breakers! Shut this thing down!" she yelled, clutching the catwalk railing. Her crew happily did the task. The lights began to fade and dim.
"If you'd like to pray again," Ing said in the darkness with a note of sarcasm, "now would be the time to do it."
Main Transmission Array, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"Dad, what's that?" Koax, still cuddling his son, looked up at the wall of monitors covering the city. He blinked, shocked, as the building disintegrated in a ball of fire.
"J'lor, I need my hands now," Koax said as he took the small Kaijexian off his lap. He quickly threw every failsafe switch he could. Just as he was starting to admire his handy work, the lights flickered and died away.
"Koax, what happened?" Mapatia asked. "What did you do?"
"My part of the bargain," he said simply.
Kaltaran City Airspace, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"Approaching first stronghold!" May yelled.
"I see it," Katarn replied. She brought the ship in low and fast, almost as if she were intending to belly flop it onto the building.
"Slow down, you're going to kill us all!" Eddy screamed. Just as all seemed lost, Katarn yanked the joystick up, and the Trak'zrath pulled up sharply, its engines blasting their exhaust into the stronghold's ventilation system.
"One down, five to go…" Nazz said quietly as they pulled away.
Melnor Stronghold, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"Put your backs into it!"
First Rank Ramad Ulg crossed his arms and glowered as his men banged at the thick, electronically-operated door. He cursed quietly to himself as he recalled the Guard's refusal to provide them with an emergency power source. "Why would you need it, the Kaijexians would be fools to try anything." They were aloof bureaucrats that only fought at their desks. They had no idea how even the most defeated of enemies could still surprise you.
"Smash it down!"
"The armor isn't giving, sir," one of his soldiers replied.
"Then get on the line and ask someone what's going on..." Ulg hissed, irritated. The woman dutifully did so, and frowned. "I can't reach them, sir, there's interference!"
"Fine, try another base. Maybe Koret or..." The large lizard yawned. As he shook his head and blinked his eyes, he saw his men trying starting to grow sluggish and fall over. "Hurry up girl," Ulg barked groggily. He trailed off as he saw she had passed out. As Ulg himself collapsed, there was no way he could have known that this same scene was already playing itself out in three other strongholds.
Former Site of Ch'n'tka Weapons Depot, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
The Kaijexians had won the race to the blazing inferno. They paused, feeling their collars briefly.
"My goddesses… they've been broken! We can fly again!" a girl cried out.
"And hide," another added.
"Exactly. Take up defensive positions, and remain as quiet as you can..." Rec cautioned as he scanned the streets. "The battle is not ours yet."
"In the name of the Oracle, what has happened here?"
First Rank No'uyew Atrov growled in disgust at the smoldering hulk before him. "I told those fools time and time again something like this could happen unless we took proper care of this place."
"Perhaps it wasn't an accident, sir," No'uyew's aide muttered as he nervously fingered his weapon. "Maybe it was intentional." The officer scoffed.
"Really, Narhs, you should not be so fearful of such things. There is no way the cowardly Kaijexians could do anything on this scale. And even if they were, we could quickly put down such a revolt. We even have a ship above us," the Zygran continued, pointing at a ship currently hovering over the city.
"Isn't that flying rather low over one of our bases?" the younger officer asked. "And, why are all these footprints here?" No'uyew sighed.
"You fear ghosts, Narhs. That is all there is to--" At that moment, hundreds of Kaijexians materialized around the group, guns at the ready. One man in particular stepped forward, coming almost nose to snout with No'uyew.
"This is Rec Ke of the Kaijexian White Hand. There's no need for this to turn into a bloodbath. Put down your weapons, and you will not be harmed. I promise you safe passage to your homeworld." Many Zygrans, looking at the assembled mass of opponents, numbly put their arms down.
"It is the wise thing to do, first prime" Narhs urged.
"Cowardice," the officer snapped. "We will do no such thing. Right, men? Men...?" He blinked as Narhs aimed his weapon at him. Seeing he was outnumbered, he finally deactivated his weapon, knelt down and offered his rifle to the Kaijexian leader. "My men and I accept your surrender terms," he said simply.
"A wise choice for both our sides," Rec replied.
Royal Gardens, Kaltaran City, Kaijex
"We've sprayed all the garrisons, and Rec secured the response force!" Kevin beamed. "We just might do this…"
"Now it's our turn, guys," Nazz breathed as the Trak'zrath touched down on the grounds just in front of the palace. Two guards at the door came forward.
"This is a restricted area," one barked. "Let's see some ID." A gun snuck out from behind the door and stunned them.
"There's my ID," Kevin grinned. His comrades groaned, annoyed.
"…why. Just… why," Marie sighed.
"Sorry, I've always wanted to say something like that," he blushed.
"Let's keep the one-liners to a minimum there, Rambo," Sara replied as she gave him a pat on the back and pushed the door open. Lee and Rolf jumped out and swung their guns over the gardens.
"We're clear," Lee said as she got up.
"What should I do, Nazz?" Katarn asked as the cul-de-sacers left the ship and made their way for the doors.
"Wait here," she said. "If I'm not back in ten, come and see what you can do." Katarn nodded, and Nazz swooped above the gang to take her place at the front.
"Ready?"
"We're behind ya," Eddy replied. Nazz smiled at the shortest Ed's bravado.
"Then go invisible, and let's go."
The foyer was empty.
"This is kinda odd..." May said as she looked around. "You'd think we'd have some sorta reception with the racket we made outside."
"Well, we don't want one," Edd added. "
"Good observation, Double-D," Nazz replied. "But we need to take out at least some of the guards so we don't get jumped from behind as we go further. Now, if I were a guard, where would I be...?"
"Likely the throne room and/or master bedroom, as it would be a waste of resources to have them in every room," Ed hypothesized. Several guards rushed in through the doors.
"Right, men… I'm sure you've heard that something's happening in the city. We've lost communication with all our bases, and there's been a citywide loss of power. Worse yet, there are rumors that some of our men have been captured by Kaijexian renegades. So, be ready for any--" Suddenly, a small glass object hurtled towards the assembled unit. Black smoke came free and entwined itself around the assembled soldiers. The leader coughed.
"What in the Oracle's…?" Within moments, the entire group slumped over, unconscious.
"This is going better than we could have hoped," Marie grinned.
"We can pat ourselves on the back later. We still have the leader to contend with," Nazz warned. The others nodded, and they headed up the stairs for the large double doors, destination the throne room.
Overseer Arhal Ml'tor growled as he looked over the city from his balcony. Smoke was still rising from the site of Ch'n'tka. The power was out. And all communications were down, so there was no way of getting reinforcements. Judging from the chaos below most of his units in Kaltaran City were now out of action. It would only be a matter of time before a group of them got up their courage and stormed the palace.
They could not have done this on their own, he thought to himself. There must have been outside help. But, who could possibly he-- His thinking was interrupted by the door swinging open. He turned to see a dozen determined and relatively small Kaijexians walking through the doors.
"Children? They have sent me children?" Ml'tor roared. "I do not know if I should laugh or cry."
"Not just any children," the blond at the front answered. She clasped her hands together and, in a mocking sugary-sweet voice said "Hi, my parents used to have that chair. I'd like it back, please? Thanks!" The overseer's eyes went wide.
"Nazz'Tara," he growled in a low voice, lips curling revealing his teeth. "I had thought your survival was a myth to help these fools sleep at night."
"That's my name, dude," she replied.
"I find your confidence most comical, little one. I should have known when you were not…" Ml'tor shook his head and continued. "Even if your pathetic race has retaken the capital city, we will easily take it back. And of course there will be reprisal killings," he said causally. "Ten for every Zygran killed or captured." He paused. "Why bother retaking Kaltaran City now that I think of it? We'll just reduce it to kindling. After I've given the order to do some liquidation first to be sure…"
"You're wrong, overseer. There isn't any one to order around," Nazz calmly said back. "All of your men are passed out and locked in their bases."
"And the power's out," Jimmy chimed in.
"Communications? Plank says it's not gonna happen," Johnny grinned.
"And, anyone not locked in is safely in Kaijexian custody," Marie finished with a smile as she crossed her arms.
"Your own arrogance defeated you," Edd stated.
"So, here's the deal, bub," Nazz continued. "Surrender and get lost, or else." Ml'tor's eyes narrowed.
"I do not surrender to Kaijexians. Especially children," he growled, accenting the last word with a snarl.
"Your funeral, man," Kevin replied. The Zygran general chuckled.
"If the princess wants her planet back … surely she's willing to fight for it…?"
"Indeed we are," Ed said. Ml'tor shook his head, and pushed a button on the nearby wall. All of the cul-de-sacers save Nazz fell through the floor with a yelp. Nazz turned, horrified, as the door quickly sealed back up.
"I believe I said 'the princess,' gentlemen," Ml'tor smirked.
"Wh… what did you do? Where are my friends!?" Nazz choked.
"I can assure you, Princess, that that is now the last of your concerns." With that, he punched the small alien in the face.