Chapter Seventeen: Danger Close


James and the others were given no time to make their getaway as the elevator door opened, and out spilled a collection of Polaris guards. They surrounded James, and tried to usher him away from the room's only exit. Tried to, as he resisted against their 'rescue' of him. One of the guards, probably the one in charge, walked up to Fitz. "Sir, we've just been attacked by hostile forces," he said. "We need to get Dr. Graves to a secure location."

"Hold on, don't I get a say in this?" said James, a slight hint of his native accent slipping through as the guards tried, as politely as possible, to shove him into some manner of secret bunker or other. "What's going on up there? I have a right to know!"

Fitz didn't miss a beat, immediately switching into a much more businesslike demeanor. "Just sit tight, Dr. Graves. Stay in the bunker until we can guarantee your safety. Oh–" He took the briefcase holding the plutonium. "I'd better get this to a secure location as well."

"But who's attacking us!?" shouted James. "You can't just leave me in the dark like this!"

"Let us handle the attack, someone will retrieve you once it's safe," said Fitz, turning to the guard. "What sort of enemy are we dealing with?"

"We…aren't entirely sure," the guard admitted. "Some sort of…there's no other word for it, a spaceship appeared over the base, and several smaller craft descended to the ground. We're surrounded by unknown hostiles now–humanoid, possibly mechanical."

Fitz looked to Luke, who nodded. "Right. Keep the doctor safe, I'll get topside to assess the threat. Butz, you're with me."

"Aye, sir," Luke muttered, following Fitz to the elevator. But before they could leave, James showed that he wasn't about to be left behind.

Annoyed at the guards trying to usher him away, James gave up trying to pretend to be Perry Graves. To the guards' great surprise, he tore the wig from his head, removed the pistol from one of their holsters, and sprinted to the elevator. "You're not leaving without me!" he shouted, his American accent good and gone. The guards aimed their weapons at him in shock, but let him leave after a wave from Fitz. The three in the elevator, Luke closed the doors.

"Nice of you to join us, Dr. Graves," Fitz said.

"Don't start," James grumbled.


"That's not possible," Daniel said in a hushed whisper as he saw the dropships descending. "They had no way of knowing…how'd they find us? How'd they find us!?"

"I don't think the 'how' matters now, sir!" said Hester, getting her rifle ready. "We'll worry about how later, but right now, we have bigger problems."

"Yeah, like a buncha dead robots," said Vargas, leveling his massive gun at the approaching machines. "Nothin' but scrap in three, two–"

"Hold," said Daniel, holding up his hand. The Koh'i'Noor had stopped advancing at the treeline. Dozens of units, some of a type he hadn't seen yet, just watched the people inside and around the base, as though waiting for something. "We don't move until they do."

Unfortunately, Polaris was far less patient than they were when faced with an unknown threat. The base's security was panicking, mobilizing everyone they had to perimeter defense. Guns raised, the guards opened fire on the robots. As expected, all hell broke loose, crimson beams of light flashing through the air back at the facility.

"Alright, now we move!" shouted Vargas. He opened fire, bullets ripping through the hull of the nearest robot as more of them turned to face the ambush. Ichigo and Hester followed his example, lighting up the enemy before they could respond. As Vargas carved a path, Fireteam Victor sans James and Luke made their way closer to the base.

Daniel had a machine lined up in his sights, but was forced to duck behind a tree as a flurry of laser blasts cascaded against the ground, some singeing his armor. Peering around cover revealed an airborne robot, both arms slinging the bolts his way. "Hester!"

"On it!" A sniper bolt tore through the flying bot's chassis, making its thrusters go haywire. After careening around in the air for a few seconds, it collided violently with a battalion of its fellows, knocking them all to the ground.

Emerging from cover, Daniel fired slug after slug into the machine before him. This one was a bit larger than the standard troops, and tougher to match. It aimed its massive cannon at him, letting loose a shockwave of energy that threw him to the ground. It approached, recharging its weapon to finish the job.

Before it could, Daniel noticed something small land behind it. The grenade exploded, staggering the already-damaged machine. Ichigo then ran up close, finishing it off by unloading a clip into its chest at point-blank range. With the robot scrapped, he hurried over to lift up his captain. "You good?" he asked.

"I'll live," Daniel said, struggling to his feet with Ichigo's help. He took shelter behind a tree, again with assistance, before sending a transmission back to base. "Command, do you copy? We are under attack by the Koh'i'Noor, send backup immediately! Repeat, the Koh'i'Noor found us!"

"Heard, Captain Bridge," a voice replied. "Air support is en-route, ETA twenty minutes. I'm detecting a massive energy signature at your location–"

"Yeah, no kidding!" said Daniel. "I wouldn't be surprised if this is a full-on invasion! You might want to send more than just air support!"

"Negative, Captain. All other available units are more than an hour away. We–"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be dead before then," Daniel shot back. "Just tell me, are there any other signatures nearby?"

"Just the one directly above you," Command said. "Has the ship made any offensive maneuvers?"

Daniel looked. Above the fray, the Koh'i'Noor vessel just hung above the base like an omen, its dark form peering down at the carnage. "Not aside from deploying dropships," he said. "Th–this might sound odd, but can you put Valdain on the line?"

"I…can certainly try," said Command. "Hold for a moment." As the line went quiet, Daniel got back to his feet, continuing to pump the machines full of lead. Polaris' defenses were slowly being whittled down, the Koh'i'Noor slowly but surely making their way to the main building. Thankfully, none of their ships were firing down on the hapless troops–though Daniel wasn't discounting anything yet.

"Team!" he called. "Command's getting me in touch with Valdain. I'm patching you all in." He patched the other three into the comms channel as more and more robots poured in from the forest around them.

Vargas hunkered down behind a tree to reload. "We need to dig in, Cap," he said. "If we keep movin', they'll just keep followin' us. Either we hold our position, or they'll force us back to–"

"Negative, Vargas," Daniel said quickly. Maybe too quickly. "We just need to survive long enough for Rook to acquire the package. Then we make our escape."

"I'm with Vargas on this one," said Hester. "James isn't acquiring anything if they level the place. We need to think more defensively."

Daniel sighed–they had a point. "Alright. Hester, you get behind the front lines and pick off any stragglers. Ichigo, you cover her." He shot a look at Vargas. "And you don't leave my sight."

"What'd I do!?" he protested. Nevertheless, everyone moved out, running out of the forest and into the clearing. If any Polaris security were surprised to see BAINE operatives, they didn't show it. At least for now, there was a bigger threat present.

After a while of holding the line, the familiar voice came over the comms. "Hello? Hello, Mr. Bridge, are you there? You said you were…under attack?"

"Valdain, buddy, your girlfriend's trying to kill us!" Ichigo said.

"So I was told," said Valdain. "What I don't understand is why she's attacking that facility in the first place. Could she have somehow known you were heading there?"

"You tell us, man, you're the one that's supposed to be in her head!" added Vargas. "Better yet, tell us how to stop all these robots!" Alkaria's minions bore down on their position, driving them further and further back, despite their efforts.

"What do you want from me, exactly!?" Valdain said frantically. "If anything, Teptromina's the one in her head–and Scavengers don't exactly have any glaring weaknesses! The only thing I can say is to destroy more than she can replace!"

Ichigo tossed a grenade into a group of them. "Thanks for the info, I'd've never thought of that!" he said. "Do you have anything more constructive?"

Before Valdain could reply, the group felt a distant rumble in the ground. It was very subtle at first, so they brushed it off as a distant explosion. It wasn't until the rumble came again, louder and stronger this time, that they realized something was up. And even if that hadn't done it, the sight of trees being felled as an unseen dark shape worked its way closer to the base.

"Uh, guys?" said Hester. "I don't want to alarm you, but I think that Alkaria's busting out the big guns…" There was a brief lull in the fighting as the Koh'i'Noor parted to make way for their giant ally. Just the sound of the thing approaching was enough to inspire several of the guards to retreat, though even those that stayed were not too pleased with their chances.

"Big? And how big are you implying?" asked Valdain. "Do you mean big as in a–-Oh, stars…she's brought in a Carnivore!"

Even though nobody knew what Valdain's words meant, the panic in his voice was enough to chill them to the bone. "Carni-what?" said Vargas nervously.

That was when it appeared. The earth trembled from its footfalls as the enormous machine tore through the treeline, uprooting the trees like they were matchsticks. Four spiderly legs carried it forward as its red eyes scanned the facility. The few brave souls who fired on it were only met by their bullets colliding harmlessly with its armor. Its arms ended in massive cannons that it raised to face the building's doors, a rising glow appearing from within.

"Go! Move!" was all Daniel had time to say. He and the others ran and dove to the side as the robot's cannons unleashed two blasts of energy that collided with the front of the facility. A giant cloud of dust was thrown up as debris was flung everywhere from the massive explosion. The dust settled to reveal that the building's entire front wall was gone, as robots marched forward to infiltrate the base.


James, Luke, and Fitz arrived in the lobby just in time to see the entrance get blown to pieces. Luke threw his hands over his face as the shockwave knocked all of them to the floor, along with just about everyone else present. As James got to his feet, his ears ringing, he saw several glowing red eyes walking through the dust.

The firefight resumed as the Koh'i'Noor started shooting the few Polaris guards still present. They fired back, taking out a few of the machines but not enough to stop their flow into the base. James and Fitz pulled Luke into cover, though he was soon standing again. "What just happened!?" he asked.

The ground shook again as the Carnivore peered through the entryway it had made. Its eyes scanned the interior as though looking for something. James darted into cover before it could see him. "Something tells me that thing just happened," he replied.

"Forget what happened, we still need to get outta here alive," Fitz said, looking around for potential exits. "What are the odds these things attack this place right as we're getting ready to leave?"

"Valdain," James said bitterly. "He's the only answer. The only explanation is that he told them we would be here. He set us up!"

"Hey now, let's not jump to conclusions," said Luke. "I'm sure there's a good reason why they decided to–Look out!" Luke then aimed and fired at a robot that had made its way behind the pillar, and was about to blast them. As soon as it fell, more appeared, drawn by the noise.

Luke fired at these as well, with James taking pot-shots with his pistol. "Hurry, this way!" Fitz, currently without a weapon, held up the briefcase defensively as he ran towards an open door. The two followed him, shooting at their pursuers.

BAINE's troops were making their way inside as well, the Carnivore thankfully more interested in searching for something than stopping them. Under their covering fire, James and the others sealed the door behind them as they entered a nearby hallway.

"Alright, call me crazy, but I think they're after this," said Fitz, holding up the briefcase. "It looked like all those bots out there converged on us once that big one saw us. And, of course, there's that…"

Pounding on the door from outside indicated that the Koh'i'Noor were still trying to get to them. "But that doesn't make any sense," Luke noted. "Why would some super-advanced aliens need to raid a place like this to get something like that? I mean, these guys seem a bit more organized than the Xevellans."

"Maybe they don't want the plutonium, they just don't want us to have it," suggested James. "If I'm right, and they found out about this from Valdain, then it makes sense they'd know about–"
James' theory was interrupted as the entire base shook violently. "...Wanna bet that's the big one?" said Fitz. "Look, we should probably split up. If they wanna cut off our plutonium supply, they'll have to find it first. It'll give 'em more ground to cover if they don't know where to look."

"Are you crazy!? I'm not going anywhere alone!" said Luke. "Besides, if you go off on your own, they'll be more likely to chase after you than go after…us…actually, you know what? Let's do it."

Fitz grinned as he took the pistol Luke handed him. "I knew you'd come around! Now, this whole place goes in a loop: if you have to hide in a room, remember where you came in from so you don't get lost. See you on the other side, hopefully." With that, he headed down the hallway and out of sight.

"Wait, shouldn't we…" James sighed, as he was already gone. The idea of letting someone working for the enemy run off with the entire reason they had come here didn't sit well with him. He didn't have time to ruminate on it, as a call came over the comms as he and Luke headed off as well.

"Rook? This is Captain Hugo," the voice said. "Have you made exfil with the package yet?"

"That's a negative, Captain," James replied. "Matter of fact, we're pinned down by machines at the moment. We're heading further into the facility to–"

"No, you have to leave now!" said Hugo. "It doesn't matter if you have the plutonium: whatever that thing is out there, it's tearing the building apart! At this rate, the entire place is going to collapse!"

James froze. "How long?"

"At this rate, this base is going to be rubble in eight minutes," Hugo replied. "Air support is supposed to get here soon, and they might distract it, but I can't imagine they'll buy us much time. My fireteam is making their way out through the garage–it's the only other way in or out. Get here quickly!"

The call ended. James turned to Luke, who was wearing a similar expression to him. "You heard the woman!" he said. The pair then hurried to the garage, hoping Fitz had gotten the message as well.


"Command, this is Falcon-1. We've arrived at the base, and we have visual on the alien ship." Internally, Vortex shuddered at the familiar sight of the massive vessel silhouetted against the night sky. "Preparing to engage ground-based hostiles."

The five planes streaked through the air, the sight of the battle appearing beneath them. "Ha! Easy prey," said Rattler. "Consider this revenge for last time!" She and Mayhem positioned their jets to fire on the machines on the ground, while their squadmates prepared for any attacks from the main ship.

"I'm not picking up any friendlies in the line of fire," Jump reported. "Light 'em up."

Mayhem and Rattler did just that, letting loose a barrage of missiles. The Carnivore held up its arms as the projectiles exploded across the field, decimating the rest of the robots that were still outside. The Carnivore itself was still standing, turning to face the planes as they passed overhead.

Above them, in turn, the ship seemed to regard them as well, though it remained still. "Negligible damage," Mayhem said. "We'll have to keep up the assault."

"I don't think our missiles can get through that armor," said Vortex. "We'll need to try something more direct."

"How much more direct can you get than missiles!?" Rattler asked incredulously. As if in response, Jump turned around, diving back towards the titanic machine.

"Something a bit more like this!" he said, unloading a stream of bullets into the Carnivore. Seeming to anger it more than anything, the robot then aimed its cannons at the incoming plane. Jump rotated just in time to pass between the energy blasts, which exploded far behind him after shooting through the air.

"That was too close!" said Tailspin. "Vortex, we need to think of something, and fast!" Below them, the Carnivore was beginning to charge up its cannons once again, aiming up at them.

To make matters worse, they had company. The Koh'i'Noor ship released several fighters of its own, which darted downward to engage Falcon Squadron. "Great–like the iron giant down there wasn't enough!" said Mayhem.

"All fighters, prepare to engage!" said Vortex, flying up to meet the incoming foes. Laser beams streaked down to the earth as he dodged the fire heading his way. The rest of the squad followed his lead, leaving the Carnivore to fire at them unhindered.

Although its aim wasn't the best, a single hit from one of its cannon blasts would be more than enough to shred their jets, and they knew it. Each blast detonated once it traveled a certain distance, meaning the sky around them was filled with explosions. The five did the best they could to engage the enemy ships while also keeping an eye on the ground.

When Tailspin's bullets tore through a fighter, sending it to the ground, an important revelation was made. "At least these ones don't have shields!" he said.

"Yeah, but I don't think they need 'em!" said Rattler. For every ship they destroyed, two more seemed to appear from the mothership. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the entire sky was blanketed with the things. "How do they all fit in there!?"

On the plus side, the Carnivore's massive cannons meant that friendly fire was inevitable; the denser the wave of ships became, the more were shot down by their ally. Neither it nor they seemed to care, as attacking the jets seemed to be their only priority. Falcon Squadron pumped missile after missile into the swarm, for all the good that did. "Any ideas, Captain?" asked Jump.

"Maybe if we focus fire on the main ship, we can damage it enough to get them to retreat," Vortex suggested. "I know it's not a perfect solution, but I don't have anything else!"

"Luckily for you, I do," came a voice over the radio.

"Bridge?" said Tailspin. "That you?"

In addition to Daniel's voice, sounds of battle could be heard over the comms. "Yeah, we're here with Fireteam Alpha," he said as he fired. "Listen, I was talking to Valdain, and he seems to think they're trying to keep us from that plutonium. They don't seem to know about Fitz–if we make them think we can't get to it, they might leave."

"That's all fine and good, but what does that have to do with us?" asked Vortex.

"Because…hang on." Gunshots could be heard from the other end. "Hugo says that the building is coming down 'cause of that big one. If it were to collapse, they'd have no reason to pursue us. We're fighting our way through the rear garage–get ready to bring the place down!"

"It seems a bit risky," Jump noted. "It's assuming they wouldn't know about the lower levels. Plus, we can't know whether or not they already know we have some."

"Hey, would you rather take your chances with the mothership?" asked Tailspin. "I'm heading down there–cover me!" He dove down towards the Carnivore, firing a missile for good measure to get its attention.

"Slow down there, Tailspin!" said Vortex. He sped down after him, dodging fighters and energy blasts as he approached the Carnivore as well. It glared up at them, its inability to hit them likely making it angrier. Its shots were wilder now, spreading them out as though trying to turn the air into a minefield.

"Ready when you are!" Tailspin said, getting into position beside Votex. The two flew level with the ground, approaching the base from the Carnivore's side.

"Falcon-1 to Captain Bridge–has the base been evacuated?" he asked.

"Yes, all of ours are here with me," Daniel responded. "And all remaining Polaris personnel are holed up in underground bunkers. It's now or never."

"Then it's now!" Dodging the Carnivore's attacks one last time, Tailspin and Vortex let loose a missile volley in its direction. The machine blocked, but the projectiles weren't aimed at it; they passed it by, exploding against the side of the building it had helped to weaken. The two jets flew around either side of the base as the Carnivore turned.

The foundations gave way. The walls crumbled, and the upper floors began to lean. The Carnivore only just now realized what was happening, raising its arms to fire at the falling building. The blasts did not stop it from collapsing, crushing the robot beneath an avalanche of metal and concrete.

"Ye-heah!" cheered Rattler, pumping her hand in the air. "That do anything for ya, you stupid tin cans?" The mass of ships had stopped shooting. "Ready to retreat yet?" They continued to swarm. "Uh, maybe now?"

Although the Carnivore's destruction–or perhaps the base's–had caused the fighters to shift from offense to defense, they still hung in the sky, neither retreating or advancing. "So…what's with them?" asked Mayhem.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Vortex. "Maybe we broke 'em–"

Just then, everyone's radios, both in the air and on the ground, erupted into static. After a moment, the static shifted into a harsh buzzing, loud enough to make some cover their ears. Just when it seemed like their radios were about to explode, the noise was replaced with silence. And then, she spoke.

"Impressive, BAINE. Very impressive. Almost worryingly so." A woman's voice spoke over the radio, carrying a calm malice to it. "I was not expecting you to put up as good of a fight as you did. But I suppose you have Valdain to thank for that." These last words were hissed out with even more venom than before. "And by the way, you can tell that rotten little turncoat that once he reawakens on the Oculus, he'll have me to deal with. But for now, consider this fight a test. For being such good sports, I'll let you all walk away this time. A small mercy considering what comes next, I know, but a mercy nonetheless. Use this time to prepare, BAINE. Our next battle is approaching, and I am quite looking forward to it."

And just like that, there was silence once again, as though she had never even been there. The fighters began to return to the mothership, which still did not move. Shaken by what they had just heard, Falcon Squadron remained as well.

"So…" said Rattler, breaking the silence. "I take it that was that Alkaria person?"

"A safe bet," said Jump. "Captain? What now?"

Vortex stared, uneasy, at the ship hovering above them. He didn't like it, but she was giving them an opportunity–it would be stupid not to take it. "Falcon Squadron, return to base."

"What? Are we seriously just going to run away?" asked Tailspin.

"We already have the plutonium, there's no need to stay and fight," Vortex explained, hoping that Alkaria's transmission only went one way. "Let her keep this place for now." With no reason to fight any further, the five fighters returned to base, the giant ship looming behind them.


Captain Steele wrestled a machine to the ground, blowing its head off with a revolver almost as big as that same head. "Keep advancing!" he said, supported by the rest of Fireteam Alpha. "Don't give them the chance to regroup!"

As he was saying this, however, the Koh'i'Noor had already begun to fall back. Seemingly uncaring about their numbers being gunned down, they fled into the forest surrounding the base. All three fireteams headed down a dirt road, having left the base through the rear exit.

"I think it's a bit late for that," said Captain Hugo, watching the robots leave. "Besides, you heard what that woman said: she's letting us live. No sense antagonizing her further at this point."

Daniel held out his hand, ordering his troops to stand down. He turned around as Luke arrived from the garage. "Any luck?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Every vehicle in there has some sort of thumbprint starter, and it'd take too long to get one hotwired. Unless we run into one of the Polaris guys out in the woods, it looks like we're walking."

"There are worse fates," Hester said. "Hey, we could've still been in the building when it–"

The relative silence of the night was shattered as a cacophony erupted from behind them. The ship's cannons had angled downward, firing a barrage of energy shots into the rubble of the structure. "Hit the dirt!" yelled Steele as dust and debris filled the air. The troops took shelter in the forest, watching as Alkaria devastated anything that would have remained.

"Did…did I see that right?" someone from Fireteam Bravo asked. "She just lit up what was left of that place! Er, how many Polaris people were still in there?"

"More than there should've been," said Hester. "We should probably get going before she changes her mind."

And so they did. Nobody really wanted to talk about what had just happened, but since the alternative was just an uncomfortable silence, Ichigo spoke up. "Sooo…y'all don't think Fitz just made off with the plutonium, do you?"

"He'd better not have," James grumbled. "It's bad enough having one traitor working with us. Speaking of, I'm going to have a talk with Valdain once we get back to base…"

They had only been walking for a few minutes when the sound of an engine came from up ahead. The parade stopped, guns forward as a black van came speeding down the dirt road towards them. The vehicle swerved to a stop right before it hit them, and the passenger side window rolled down. "Evening, fellas!" said Fitz, patting the suitcase next to him. "Need a lift?"


AN: Sorry this one took a bit, school was rough this week. Hopefully we're in the clear from here on!