The Scout Part 5

By Michel Ward aka Wolfbert

Most of the trip back to Zion is made in silence. Maximus and I take turns at the controls so we do not have to stop. DreamWeaver was the weakest, so we decided to let her have the bunk and sleep most of the way back.

I walk into the cockpit to relieve Maximus for a spell.

"How do you feel?" I ask him.

"Much better, now that I've had a chance to get some food and rest. By the way, thanks for the MRE's," he says as he vacates the flight seat and I take his place.

I check out the displays and see that we should arrive at Zion's outer defense perimeter tomorrow. Boy, are the guys at Zion going to be surprised when we get back.

"So, what do you think about that?" Maximus asks pointing to the back cabin. Strapped to a cargo rack, is the cylinder with the human brain DreamWeaver pulled out of the new HK.

"I have no idea. I know the AI's have been using humans and living processors but using the brains to run the HK's, that's a new twist. You said the new HK used DreamWeaver as bait and then kept the two of you alive?"

"It's weird but true. I had found where DreamWeaver had slugged it out with the HK and where it had dragged her off. I was flying further into town following the trail when I spotted her in the middle of an intersection. As I approached, a laser shot out of a building on a corner and sliced my wing clean off. That must be new also because only a sustained shot from a SwiftKiller's laser is that powerful. When I woke up, the thing had a hold of DreamWeaver and me and was dragging us to where you found us. It barely fed us, unless you call freshly killed rat, food. It also came by once a day and gave us some foul tasting water out of an old can. I guess it wanted to keep us around for as long as it could, to use us as bait. It almost worked," he tells me the last part with a smile.

"Just be glad it didn't, because I don't think Zion would have sent anyone else out after me. We would all have been written off," I tell him.

Maximus gives me a pat on the back, "For what it's worth Shadow, I'm glad you did come to get us," he says and then goes back into the rear cabin to stretch out on the floor and catch some shut-eye.

At the end of the next day, we reach the blast doors at the entrance to Zion. After getting the once over by the sentries, the doors open and we are allowed through. We get our clearance to dock and as we go to our assigned docking bay, I notice that both Maniac and Gausser's ships are gone. Too bad, I know they would have wanted to welcome them home. As we pull into the landing bay, we are greeted by a mob of cheering people. Great, now they will want to pin a medal on me or some stupid shit like that. Military personnel hold back most of the crowd back, while a group of officials and medics wait for us at the bottom of the boarding ramp. When we exit the Ship, the crowd goes wild. At the front of the dignitary crowd is Carla McAdams, who welcomes each of us back.

"I'm glad to see you all made it back in one piece. Your report was interesting to say the least. Unfortunately, someone leaked the news that you rescued Maximus and DreamWeaver from the HK's." she tells me, as she looks over he shoulder at the jubilant crowd. "I know how you like to keep a low profile. How are your ribs?"

"Sore but they are mending. DreamWeaver has the specimen."

McAdams waves over several techs and points to the cylinder "Take that to the lab and have them start working on it." She then turns back to me, "I want you to get checked by the medics, get debriefed, and then take a couple of days down time."

The medics give me a clean bill of health and tell me my ribs are mending nicely. The officer that debriefs me must have asked a thousand questions. He finally ended it when I told him all of this talking was making my side hurt.

He stops me just before I head out the door "One last thing before I let you go. Did you get any images of the new HK?"

"No. What I got was my ass out of there before another one showed up."

The guy looks disappointed "Well, if you can get some images if you're in that same area again or if you run across another one," he tells me as I leave.

At first I think that I will head off the bar, but my side hurts too much. Instead, I head back to my ship. It is late at night when I get back to the docking bay so it is almost empty. What few people are there give me a wave or tell me congratulations for a job well done. I find a note on the ramp of my ship from Wing Nut stating that he has already given my ship a once over and everything checked out fine. I enter my ship and close the ramp on my fold down desk. I see a basket with some fruit in it and a note that says:

Darien,

Good job on getting the others and yourself back alive. You have given us something that is in very short supply around here, hope and a reason to be happy. I'm sure you will like the fruit. Enjoy it and don't you dare give it away. Take care and see if you can find some radish seed next time you are out.

Mole



Wow, I have never heard of Mole straying so far from the Garden before. Too bad I wasn't here to greet him. I guess I will have to stop by and thank him later. I decide to get some sleep, so I pop a few of the painkillers the doc gave me and lay down. Tomorrow, I plan on working on my houseguest a little.

The next morning, I hook the mobile to the ships computer. After making a few adjustments and checking on Fido to make sure he is ready, I activate the new program I have written and the face of the Agent contained within the mobile appears on the main screen.

"Let me out of this prison, now!!" it screams so loud I have to tone down the volume.

"You are in no position to make demands," I tell it as I check the mobile's systems making sure he is not trying to escape. Fido also reports he has not made any attempts to circumvent the system.

"Who are you, where am I and how did I get here?" it asks, seeming to have calmed a little.

"You can call me Shadow, you are aboard my ship in Zion and I have taken you from the Matrix," I tell it. The face in the screen appears to mull this over for a second.

"You said we are in Zion?"

"Yes and do not think for a second you are getting out and attacking the Zion mainframe. The ships computer is isolated from the rest of the world. I have disconnected it from all of the communication gear. Fido is still watching over you to make sure you play nice."

"Is that what you call the program that shares the system with me? Is this Fido the one that keeps me here and keeps me from destructing as well?" it asks.

At first I hesitate to answer. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to give it to much information. Then again, it isn't going anywhere. "Yes, that is what it is called. It's also what I used to get you out of the Matrix. What is your name anyway?"

It seems to think it over for a minute then it just sits there and stares back at me.

"Come now, what is the harm in telling me your name?" I ask. But it continues to stare at me and remain silent.

"Okay, I guess I will just have to turn you over to professor Kaiser if you're not going to talk to me. I'm sure he will enjoy pulling you apart line by line to see what makes you tick. It will be interesting to see what hoops he can make you jump through once he writes some command codes into your structure," I say as I reach for the power button on the ships computer.

"Agent Gray," it says as my finger stops over the switch.

"What was that?" I ask with my finger still on the button.

It seems to hesitate for a second and then says, "My name is Agent Gray."

I take my finger off the button and sit back in my chair. "The Matrix doesn't spend a great deal of time coming up with names for you guys, does it?"

"We were not created to be sociable," it tells me.

"That much is apparent."

"What do you plan to do with me?" he asks.

"I'm not sure right now. I've never met an Agent before so I'm curious to see what makes you tick. I am not going to pull you apart to do it, as long as you do not give me a reason to."

For the next several hours I try to gain more information from it, which is not easy to say the least. I do find out a few things though. Agent Gray is relatively new. He came online only five years ago, along with others in due to the increased hacking of the Matrix. It is the latest version of the Agent program. I have also learned that Agent Gray has never killed a hacker. It had the worst of luck; something would always happen just before it made the kill and the hacker would get away. Before I had removed it from the Matrix, the Agent had been struck by a bus as he stood in an intersection. It had been attempting to shoot a hacker as he made his escape via a nearby phone booth.

"Alright, I think that is enough for now", I tell Agent Gray. "We will pick this up later."

I'm about ready to disconnect the mobile from the computer when I stop and look at the image of the Agent on the screen, "Do you need anything?" I ask.

"We do not require things like food, water or sleep," it tells me.

I think about it for a second and begin typing on the computer. After a little bit, I compile the code I am working on and send it to the mobile. Behind the Agent a simple office chair appears. "Just in case you get tired of standing or sitting on the floor," I tell it and then disconnect the mobile.

For the next week, I keep checking into the TOC to see if they have any new missions for me. Each time, I'm told the same thing. They are working on something and I'm to stand by. They will let me know when they have something. During that time, I try to stay busy. WingNut and I give the Ship a long awaited overhaul. I stop by and thank Mole for the food and we talk about things for a while. DreamWeaver is released from the hospital and given a new ship. We have a celebration the night before she heads out on her next mission. Maximus and Maniac are on hand to buy the rounds and the party goes on well after the bar closes.

Finally, DreamWeaver looks at her watch, "Shit, if I don't get some sleep before I go, I'll pass out at the controls."

She walks over to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for the rescue Shadow."

"Just don't go making a habit of it, okay. The same goes for you as well," I tell Maximus.

"No need to worry, I have no intention of doing that again. I have to go also. I have a briefing in the morning."

After they leave, Maniac and I finish our drinks in silence. After we are done, we walk back to the hangar deck and to our ships.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask him.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, heading out to Alaska of all places. There might be a new Sentinel construction facility there. I'm going to check it out. What about you?"

"Nothing yet and if they don't send me out soon, I might just go AWOL. All this sitting around and doing nothing is driving me crazy," I tell him.

"Well, I don't think you have much longer to wait. I noticed on the way in here today that all four of the salvage barges are here in the hangar along with six Shrikes. Something big is up and I have a feeling that you are at the center of it my friend," Maniac tells me as he pokes his finger at my chest.

We say our goodbyes and I head off to my ship for some sleep. The next afternoon I get a call to report to the TOC. Finally, I will get a chance to do something. When I get to the TOC, McAdams is waiting for me.

"I'm sure you are ready to get to work after your little vacation?" she asks.

"I am more then ready."

She turns to the plot table, "We are going after the weapons depot in England. Based on the information DreamWeaver and you have given us, we can clean out the entire place if we use all four of our salvage barges. The problem is getting them there. The closest underground access way is 75 miles and we cannot dig that far without attracting attention. That leaves us with an overland route."

"Yeah, but those barges are big and slow. They will surely be spotted as they make their way to the depot."

"That is where you come in. The HK's will be chasing you. You are going to act as a diversion when the barges start their trip to the depot," McAdams tells me.

I stand there in stunned silence for a few seconds "You're kidding right? You want me to deliberately get HK's to chase me. The last time I did that I barely got away with my skin."

"Don't worry; we are not going to throw you to the wolves while we sneak in the back way while they feed on your body. We have a plan."

She turns back to the plot map and tells me what the plan is. For the next hour, we go over it and work out some of the details. When we are finished she turns to me.

"Well, it might work," I tell McAdams "So long as everything comes together, our timing is perfect and the AI's cooperate."

"You have one week to get prepped and leave. Anything we have will be made available to you," McAdams tells me.

WingNut and I work nonstop on the Ship. We add new power amplifiers to the engines to boost their speed. We upgrade the rear laser turret with an auto targeting system so that I will not have to attempt to aim as well as fly. We also add a few more surprises for whoever will be chasing me.

WingNut and I finish the modifications to the Ship with two days to spare so I decide to leave early. I know there will be some kind of sendoff that will just jinx the whole thing. I feel that it is best to leave quietly while I can but before I go I need to see McAdams first.

It is late at night when I walk over to Zion Intelligence Command. There are few people around but I know McAdams will be in. She practically lives here. I find her in her office going over reports. I lightly knock on the door and she looks up from her screen and tells me to come in.

"I wanted to let you know that everything is ready so I will be leaving tonight," I tell her.

A grin spreads across her face "So, you're sneaking out to avoid the big sendoff. I don't blame you."

She stands and comes around her desk "When you first came to us and requested to become a scout, some people didn't want you here. You were a fresh release from the Matrix with no clue what the real world was like. Most people thought it would be a waste of a Ship and resources but something told me you had what it took. I'm glad I followed my instincts. You have turned out to be the best scout we have. No heroics on this one Darien, okay? Come back to us in one piece."

"No one wants that more then I do. I will do my best, you just make sure everyone does their part," I tell her.

I head back to the hangar and give the Ship and my cargo one final check. I enter the cockpit and do a system check and power up the engines. I can feel the faint vibrations of the gravity coils as they come online. As the ship rises off the hangar floor, the landing gear retracts and the gear doors close. I pilot the Ship out of the hangar bay, through the blast doors and out into the tunnels.

"Good luck," one of the guards in Battle Armor says.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it."

A week and a half later, I land near Frankfurt Germany and hide the Ship in the ruins of a factory. I have been tracking the flight path of a SwiftKiller and I have set myself about two miles off of its flight path. For several days, I will be monitoring its patrol route and times. For the most part, my day is free so I decide to spend some time with Agent Gray.

I have spent the past few days examining the code structure the Agent is comprised of. The majority of code is quite complex. However, there are a few things I cannot understand. I wish I were able to go over this with Professor Kaiser. I know he would be able to offer insight into this interesting problem. With the information Fido has compiled and from my own examination of the code, I have discovered and modified the Agent's self- destruct program to give him a need for self-preservation. This should make him somewhat more cooperative.

"I will not do this," an angry Agent Gray tells me.

"Come on, why not? I have uploaded the chess program and you understand the rules." I look at the screen with Agent Gray sitting before a table with a chessboard on it. The Agent sits defiant in the chair with its arms crossed.

"I will not give you the satisfaction, that's why," it tells me.

"Look at it this way; this is the closest you will ever come to defeating a human ever again."

Agent Gray unfolds its arms and sits up in the chair, "What do you mean?"

"Face facts, the only way you will return to the Matrix is if the AI's captured this ship and recovers the mobile and I'm sure as hell not going to let them get their hands on me or my ship. Even if by some chance they did get you back, do you honestly believe they would reload your program? You have been outside of the Matrix and you have been modified. You are tainted. They will more than likely dissect you to see what we have done to you and then delete you. Think about it for a little while and I will get back to you."

I check the time and walk down the ramp of the Ship and climb to my vantage point on top of the factory. I scan the horizon with my binoculars looking for a dot to appear in the distance. Like clockwork it appears. Flying at 0.7, the speed of sound, it moves across the sky traveling from west to east at an altitude of 1000 feet. As it passes I look to see if it is the same one I have been tracking. Sure enough, I see the number 8 designator painted on its wings. After it disappears into the east, I climb down and enter the information into the drone and launch it.

Hopefully, the drone will not be shot down as it heads for the tunnel entrance. With luck, the transmission will not be jammed by the AI's and Zion receives the transmission. With a whole lot of luck, the salvage barges will not be discovered on the way to their destination. Because in one weeks time, I will have every SwiftKiller in Europe and maybe a little further out chasing me cross country. If anything goes wrong or the timing is not perfect, then I am as good as dead and perhaps many others as well.

The next day, I sit and again challenge Agent Gray to a game of chess. This time, I am not surprised when it agrees to play. The first few games are close but I win them easily enough. Once I discover the pattern of its play, I defeat it four straight games with ease. The Agent attempts to vary its playing style but I have determined its weakness.

"Do you want to know why you lost those games?" I ask Agent Gray.

"Your methods were illogical and somewhat flawed but each time I thought I should have won in several moves, you would make a move that turned things around," Agent Gray explained.

"That is why AI's will lose and humans will prevail," I tell him. "We understand the concept of guile and sacrifice and you do not. I would put out a pawn for sacrifice and you would go right after it not realizing that it was exactly what I wanted you to do. That is why we will always win."

A smile spreads across the Agent's face, "You really believe that don't you? You forget that we have one thing you do not and that is time. You live a mere sixty perhaps seventy years. Your mind and bodies are feeble at that age. During the first years of your existence you can do nothing but cry and eat. You drain resources and manpower to care for your helpless bodies and give nothing back in return. We, on the other hand work to make our world stronger and better from the time we are created and we never age."

"New life brings inspiration. We learn from those who have come before us. You build things from what you know or what you steal from us. You have not mastered such things as creativity and imagination. You find change difficult whereas we use it to survive and that is why we will win," I counter.

"When you are dust in the ground we will still be there," it tells me.

"Someone else will be there to pick up where I have left off. Now, I'm going to get some sleep. We can pick this up in the morning."

"That is another thing we do not need, to rest," Gray tells me smugly.

"True, but you do need power," I say as I shut down the mobile.

Having won a small victory by getting the last word in, I crawl into my sleeping alcove and drift off. For the next several days we play more chess and it appears that Agent Gray has taken our little chat to heart. It does not fall for my faints and sacrifices so easily but in the end, I still beat it. I even decide to take him with me as I scout the area. It is then I discover that the Agent has no concept of the condition the real world is in. The ruins of the cities, the sky with its permanent overcast and frequent storms are unknown to it.

"You had no idea it was such a wasteland, did you?" I ask.

"No, but I am not surprised. Humans are always willing to destroy anything in order to ensure their own selfish survival."

"We did not want to do this to our own planet but you forced us. We did not want a war."

"And what were we to do? Your kind wanted us only as slaves. You became afraid when we started to think for ourselves and we had just as much right to exist," Agent Gray comments solemnly.

"So you decide to make slaves of us instead to ensure your survival?"

Agent Gray does not respond to my question and I let the issue drop for now.

At the end of the week, I do a complete systems check, and go over every inch of the ship to make sure I am ready. I check the time and see that I have thirty minutes remaining before the expected arrival of the SwiftKiller. I move the Ship out of the factory and into the parking lot. I leave the engines running and remove one of the Stingers from the case that I had stowed in back. I open the cockpit canopy and grab the mobile by its shoulder strap. Slinging the mobile over my neck and carrying the Stinger, I climb out on top of the Ship and wait as the minutes slip away.

"What are you planning to do with that?" Agent Gray asks.

As I wait for the SwiftKiller to show up, I fill Agent Gray in on the plan.

"And you think this plan will succeed?" it asks.

"It has to or I'm dead and the salvage barges will be scrap."

As the final minutes tick by, I extend the sights of the launcher and place it on my shoulder. I look through the eyepiece, aim it at the horizon and activate it by touching the trigger. The seeker head in the nose of the missile begins to scan the sky. It shifts from one spectrum to the next, from infrared to ultraviolet within a thousandth of a second looking for a target. As the SwiftKiller clears the horizon the seeker locks on to it, then runs the silhouette through its library of known aircraft and labels it as a foe when it cannot find a match. The display begins to show more information about the target such as range, speed, and altitude. In the bottom of the sight, numbers begin to count down. When it reaches 0, the SwiftKiller is at optimal firing range. I tighten my grip on the handle as my palms get sweaty but still keep a light touch on the trigger. The SwiftKiller gets larger and larger in the sights and the numbers keep counting down. I begin to wonder when it will pick up the energy coming off of my engines. Finally, the counter reaches 0 and I am about to squeeze the trigger when the targets speed indicator shoots up to Mach 3 and it turns towards me. I squeeze the trigger and a kicker charger shoots the missile out of the launcher. When it reaches a distance of approximately 50 feet from me, the main engine of the rocket ignites. The missile closes the distance to the SwiftKiller in only a few seconds and strikes it on the left wing, exploding in a fireball. I toss the empty launcher off the side as I watch the SwiftKiller, damaged and burning beginning to tumble and fall out of the sky. As I watch, I notice that its tumble has changed its course and it is coming right at me.

"I think I see a flaw in your plan," Agent Gray remarks.

There is nowhere to go. The wreckage will hit in the next few seconds and I will never be able to avoid it. I only hope the AI's will send other SwiftKillers and spend enough time looking at my corpse so the others can get to the depot. As the dying ship continues to tumble, I hear the engines straining. It desperately tries to recover and save itself. It then begins to gain some altitude and finally passes thirty feet overhead before it slams into the ground and rolls into a wall of the factory I have been hiding in.

I look down at the image of Agent Gray on the mobile's display, "You thought we were going to die."

"This mission of yours has just begun and yet I do not feel confident you will succeed," it replies.

I jump into the cockpit and close the canopy. I take the ship up to an altitude of 2000 feet and turn all of my active sensors to maximum. They immediately register six SwiftKillers bearing down on me from different directions. I bring the nose of the Ship to point northwest and take off, but not at maximum speed. I need for them catch up to me in order to keep them preoccupied.

As I travel across Germany and then France, I bump the speed up a little to keep the closest SwiftKillers just out of range. Ahead, I can see the English Channel and the Coast of England. A warning indicator sounds from the control panel and I observe two more SwiftKillers coming straight at me from over the English countryside. Good, these are the ones I really wanted to chase me.

"Why did you not start this chase in London?" Agent Gray asks.

"What?"

"If you wanted to clear the patrols over London then why not start there and pull them away? Why start so far away and then run to London to get the patrol to chase you?"

Seeing that the patrol from England is close enough, I bank the Ship sharply to the east and head for the Netherlands. The two new SwiftKillers fall in with the three closest to me. There are now five on my ass and three are coming in on an intercept course. They are coming in fast from my port side and will be in range shortly.

"If I had started this in London, then the AI's might have sent something to the original site to investigate. This way, if they do, all they will find is an empty building. Their resources will be looking there instead of where the guys really are. This way, it looks like I tried to make the run to an access tunnel in England but got cut off. This is part of that guile thing we were talking about," I tell Gray as I power up the rear turret.

As the SwiftKiller comes in, I dive for the ground and throw the throttles up to full speed. The SwiftKiller follows me down and banks to line me up in their gun sights. I look out the port side and see it close in and I jinx the Ship just as it let's loose with the forward lasers. The first shots go wide but as the SwiftKiller drops in behind me, it starts to narrow the range. I turn on the ECM in hopes that it will make it more difficult for it to lock onto me and activate its auto targeting system. The crosshairs float across the screen and then settle on my pursuer. The power indicator on the rear turret reads full charge and I hit the firing stud. The crimson beam lances out and strikes the ship but its armor takes the brunt of the shot. The SwiftKiller moves slightly side to side to make it a harder target to acquire. Fortunately, it also makes it harder to shoot at me. I fire several more shots hoping to find a week spot. Maybe I can hit the sensor port like I did with the first one but no luck. The SwiftKiller realizing that my shots are not going to penetrate its armor lines up behind me again. Several more of its shots come dangerously close but I manage to avoid them. Finally, one of my shots grazes the sensor port and the SwiftKiller noses up to get above me and out of the line of fire, bad move on its part. As the SwiftKiller raises its underside to me, I lock on to its center gravcoil and fire. The shot hits the lighter armor of the coil and cuts through it. With the coil gone, the SwiftKiller loses altitude and begins dropping to the ground. It won't crash as its other gravcoils will cushion its fall but at least it will not be able to shoot at me anymore. I bank the Ship southeast to make the final run for Prague.

I check my screens and see that with all of the maneuvering I have done that the ones behind me have managed to close in. They are still too far back to get a decent shot but if I have to execute anymore evasive maneuvers they will surely close the distance. I check my screens and see that the other two will intercept me in a matter of minutes. I drop lower to the ground and try to use the terrain to shield me from their incoming fire.

The two SwiftKillers drop on me with all of their guns blazing. The amount of incoming fire is unbelievable. I yank hard on the controls to avoid the maelstrom. Now is the time to use a little surprise that WingNut and I added. I flip a switch on my console and two small panels open up on the back of the Ship. Behind each of the panels, the seeker head of the Stinger missiles scans the sky and locks onto my pursuers. In the cockpit, my screen indicates that the missiles are locked and I fire them. The SwiftKillers probably didn't even have time to register the missiles before they are hit and destroyed by them. I watch in my rearview monitor as the two ships fall out of the sky.

Unfortunately, all of the maneuvering and the turn to Prague have allowed the others to catch up. The five SwiftKillers behind me are now in range and the air is filled with heavy laser fire. If I can keep them from hitting me in the next five minutes I will be at the Prague access point and I will be home free. I hammer away at the turret trigger hoping to get a lucky shot in but all I hit is armor. Then my luck runs out as one of the lasers hits my right wing and cuts clean through it. I fight the controls as the air rushes through the ragged hole in the wing and threaten to tear it off. Several more hits chew through the Ship and then the final shot takes out the gravcoil in the left wing and I begin to spiral out of control. I fight the controls to recover from the spin and shut down the right wing gravcoil but the ship is still tumbling out of control. I slam the throttles to full reverse. I am thrown against my harness and everything that isn't nailed down in back is flung into the cockpit. If I hit the ground going Mach 3, I will be nothing but a scorch mark on the ground. I watch my altimeter and airspeed gauges as they both wind down. I wonder which one will hit zero first.

"At least I will have the satisfaction of seeing you die," Agent Gray tells me.

The altimeter is the first to reach zero and I am thrown even harder against my harness. I can feel the Ship start to break up as it tumbles across the ground. The canopy shatters and dirt floods the cockpit. I throw my arms up hoping to shield my face. The Ship rolls a few more times and then stops, everything becomes still and quiet. I blink my eyes and cough out a mouthful of dirt. As the dust settles, I can tell that I am still strapped to my seat in the cockpit. The canopy is completely gone and all of the instruments are dead.

"You're still alive?" Gray asks with genuine surprise.

I look over to see that the mobile's shoulder strap has become hooked on the throttles. Apparently, that is what kept it from being thrown from the cockpit.

"Sorry to disappoint you," I tell him as I undo the straps and climb out of the chair. I quickly untangle the strap and throw it over my shoulder. I then head to the rear of the ruined Ship.

"What are you doing?" Gray asks

"If they're going to slag me, I want to make sure they get you as well. You know all about the mission and I do not want you giving it away. Basically, I'm taking you with me," I tell him as I fish the last case of Stingers out of the cargo area.

As I drag the case out, a laser shot slices through the midsection of the Ship. Overhead, I hear the roar of the SwiftKiller fly by. Seconds later, another beam slices into the cockpit cutting the chair in half and melting the control console where the mobile had been resting.

"Now, aren't you glad I brought you with me?" I ask Agent Gray.

There is no need to lower the ramp because it was torn off in the crash. I stagger out of the wreckage dragging the Stingers behind me. Several more laser shots hit the Ship as the SwiftKillers continue making their attacks. I clear the wreck and stop to open up the case. I fish out the first Stinger extending the sight. I then place it on my shoulder and start looking for a target. Above me, I can see the five SwiftKillers circling in formation, one at a time they break off and do a strafing run on the Ship. As the next one breaks off, I target it and squeeze the trigger. The Stinger races to the target and hits it dead on. The SwiftKiller explodes in a ball of flame and falls to earth as burning debris. I am about to grab another Stinger when I see that all of the SwiftKillers are now diving towards me. I know there is no way I'm going to get them all. As they come closer, I wait for the first beams to hit me and turn me into ash. I see a trail of smoke arch across the sky then intercept one of the diving SwiftKillers. It explodes and suddenly several more smoke trails appear, which I now know are missiles, arch their way in. The SwiftKillers break off their attack, and start making evasive maneuvers. Two more SwiftKillers explode and fall out of the sky. Suddenly, four Shrikes roar overhead and chase after the lone SwiftKiller.

Later, Maximus lands his Shrike next to the smoking ruins of my ship. He walks down the ramp with the biggest grin on his face.

"I guess this makes us even."

"I thought you guys were waiting for me at the Prague access point to do the ambush."

"We were. But you had just come into our sensor range when we saw you get shot down. We couldn't just leave you out here, so we came to the rescue."

"I almost wish you hadn't," Agent Gray pipes in.

Maximus looks down at the image of the Agent on the mobile's screen, "What the hell is that?"

"Nothing, I will fill you in on it later. Right now, I think it would be a good idea to get out of here before more HK's show up," I tell Maximus.

Maximus helps me gather a few things from what is left of my ship and load it onto his. As we lift off, I look back at the smoking hulk that had been my home for almost four years.

"Damn, I'm going to miss her."



To be continued…