Chapter 22
Anton slowly exited the training simulator and grabbed a towel to dry off the sweat that covered him. It was irritating that the only way for him to use the abilities as a precog he had was to expend energy, together the ability and the exertion would leech away at him faster than anything else, and another part of it was that it was out of his control when it happened.
Something was happening, something dangerous, something that would change things, how he didn't know. He had left the conspiracy to find peace, but the world had found him again. It was irritating that he would be put back in this situation and be expected to change the fate of the world.
He lost his family and friends to the conspiracy when an act of revenge against, him, against him rather than his family, had blown up their car, and an ambush eliminated the team he worked with. The world was spiraling downhill on him again, though he was close to accomplishing his own goals, he had to find the blades if for no other reason than to prevent forces from using them for evil. They had sunk Atlantis and that was the powers of just one of them, one that had recently been uncovered in the USA.
He opened the box holding the blade Two had sent him, it was a slender rapier marked with the sigil of the Unicorn. It was the blade of light, a powerful force that would serve to keep the wielder safe from deception and fear.
The sigil glowed with moon light as he grasped it, he felt its power adding to the warmth of the phoenix's energy by the katana. He held the weapon up, watching its glow grow into a warm light of blinding intensity. It was peaceful and fortifying, a light of purity came from the blade as he slowly drew it from its sheath. The ornately decorated leather of the waist loops and sheath itself.
The energy reminded him of another time, a more peaceful and hope filled one. He remembered before that mission.
* * * * *
"Seraph, take the right pathway, Blaze, you take the left one, I'll take the center!" Shade yelled as he brought his fighter around the bend and through the center canyon.
"Last one to the beacon buys the beer," Seraph declared as he throttled up, "These sims are awesome!"
"I don't drink," Anton said as he rolled on to the fighters wingtip, "But, yes, these sims are a great thing, fun to!"
"The first wave of enemy fighters is incoming," he continued as he glanced at the radar display, "Twelve fighters per squadron with three minute breaks between squadrons, each fighter we down is ten seconds off of our time to the beacon for final firsts, right?"
"As usual Blaze!" Seraph responded over Shades maniacal laughter.
"Here they come," Anton said with a slight chuckle himself as he spotted one of them, "I'll take the ones in the middle and then drop into the canyons."
"Roger that."
"Blaze, I've got your wing, I'll cut through right behind you with Seraph in a pincer of those you leave behind, do leave us a few crumbs."
Anton smiled at his friends as he armed the first two missiles and prepared them for launch, the enemy fighters were bunched to closely together for their own good.
"I've got tone!" he said calmly as he pressed the thumb stud and watched the missiles go like twin shooting stars through the simulated dusk.
"I thought that you were going to leave us some crumbs?"
"Feel free to take out whatever debris is left," Anton said with a wide smile as the horizon blossomed in a chain reaction of detonating aircraft, each one taking the rest with it as he switched over to chain guns and accelerated to full attack speed.
"You missed one ace," Shade commented as one heavily damaged fighter escaped the cloud of burning and falling former arcraft.
"Look again," Anton said as his guns shredded the craft as it burst into flames.
* * * * *
Anton heard a beeping and he glanced over to see the comms array blinking and he walked over. With a simple flip of a switch, a face appeared on the screen.
"Two," he said with a slightly dumbfounded look on his face, "I'm surprised you called this soon, I managed to get ahold of two of those in the house, the boy, Artemis, was taken by an unknown assailant and an accomplice both armed with Beast Blades, I don't have the firepower to take them on, they have a lot more skill than I do."
"I wasn't calling about that, you have been temporarily re-activated, another of your blades was discovered, this one in the USA, Ohio I believe. It was stolen by what the security cameras show, and we believe are psion powers, the Company is waiting for you at Wright Patt Air Force Base in two hours, no friends this time though, you will take Wraith though, as backup."
"Roger that, the two I did recover aren't currently conscious, I'll let you know when they are awake, Blaze out."
Anton slowly exited the training simulator and grabbed a towel to dry off the sweat that covered him. It was irritating that the only way for him to use the abilities as a precog he had was to expend energy, together the ability and the exertion would leech away at him faster than anything else, and another part of it was that it was out of his control when it happened.
Something was happening, something dangerous, something that would change things, how he didn't know. He had left the conspiracy to find peace, but the world had found him again. It was irritating that he would be put back in this situation and be expected to change the fate of the world.
He lost his family and friends to the conspiracy when an act of revenge against, him, against him rather than his family, had blown up their car, and an ambush eliminated the team he worked with. The world was spiraling downhill on him again, though he was close to accomplishing his own goals, he had to find the blades if for no other reason than to prevent forces from using them for evil. They had sunk Atlantis and that was the powers of just one of them, one that had recently been uncovered in the USA.
He opened the box holding the blade Two had sent him, it was a slender rapier marked with the sigil of the Unicorn. It was the blade of light, a powerful force that would serve to keep the wielder safe from deception and fear.
The sigil glowed with moon light as he grasped it, he felt its power adding to the warmth of the phoenix's energy by the katana. He held the weapon up, watching its glow grow into a warm light of blinding intensity. It was peaceful and fortifying, a light of purity came from the blade as he slowly drew it from its sheath. The ornately decorated leather of the waist loops and sheath itself.
The energy reminded him of another time, a more peaceful and hope filled one. He remembered before that mission.
* * * * *
"Seraph, take the right pathway, Blaze, you take the left one, I'll take the center!" Shade yelled as he brought his fighter around the bend and through the center canyon.
"Last one to the beacon buys the beer," Seraph declared as he throttled up, "These sims are awesome!"
"I don't drink," Anton said as he rolled on to the fighters wingtip, "But, yes, these sims are a great thing, fun to!"
"The first wave of enemy fighters is incoming," he continued as he glanced at the radar display, "Twelve fighters per squadron with three minute breaks between squadrons, each fighter we down is ten seconds off of our time to the beacon for final firsts, right?"
"As usual Blaze!" Seraph responded over Shades maniacal laughter.
"Here they come," Anton said with a slight chuckle himself as he spotted one of them, "I'll take the ones in the middle and then drop into the canyons."
"Roger that."
"Blaze, I've got your wing, I'll cut through right behind you with Seraph in a pincer of those you leave behind, do leave us a few crumbs."
Anton smiled at his friends as he armed the first two missiles and prepared them for launch, the enemy fighters were bunched to closely together for their own good.
"I've got tone!" he said calmly as he pressed the thumb stud and watched the missiles go like twin shooting stars through the simulated dusk.
"I thought that you were going to leave us some crumbs?"
"Feel free to take out whatever debris is left," Anton said with a wide smile as the horizon blossomed in a chain reaction of detonating aircraft, each one taking the rest with it as he switched over to chain guns and accelerated to full attack speed.
"You missed one ace," Shade commented as one heavily damaged fighter escaped the cloud of burning and falling former arcraft.
"Look again," Anton said as his guns shredded the craft as it burst into flames.
* * * * *
Anton heard a beeping and he glanced over to see the comms array blinking and he walked over. With a simple flip of a switch, a face appeared on the screen.
"Two," he said with a slightly dumbfounded look on his face, "I'm surprised you called this soon, I managed to get ahold of two of those in the house, the boy, Artemis, was taken by an unknown assailant and an accomplice both armed with Beast Blades, I don't have the firepower to take them on, they have a lot more skill than I do."
"I wasn't calling about that, you have been temporarily re-activated, another of your blades was discovered, this one in the USA, Ohio I believe. It was stolen by what the security cameras show, and we believe are psion powers, the Company is waiting for you at Wright Patt Air Force Base in two hours, no friends this time though, you will take Wraith though, as backup."
"Roger that, the two I did recover aren't currently conscious, I'll let you know when they are awake, Blaze out."