THE WOLF SOLDIER

Phase 2: The Betrayal

Chapter 30

.o.o.o.

It could be described as a light brighter then the sun, a great blinding supremacy! The entire complex went up in a massive blossom of light, capped off by a towering cloud of smoke. She shockwave shook the drop-ship slightly as they all made their way off the planet.

Since McKenzie and Einrich were pretty shot up, so Rita convinced them to submit to being sedated for the return journey to the Cruiser. The Drop-ship was now set on auto-pilot and heading on course.

"This is beyond anything I could have ever expected." Redford remarked.

"It's more than anything any of us could have expected." Frost added.

"So many dead," he paused. "And for what, the blueprint for the next great weapon of destruction?" Redford asked.

Artorus sighed. "It was the blueprint for conquest, the key to the gates of hell." He explained darkly. "To possess these creatures would be once of the greatest sins of man."

"As humans, we are driven to expand and better ourselves, but at some point things went wrong." He paused. "Humans got greedy, and when people get greedy, lots of innocent people suffer." Artorus finished.

"What we did here, what was it all for- what was any of this for?" Redford asked rhetorically. "Why do humans think they need these kinds of weapons in the first place?" He added. "And why do we think we can actually control them?"

"Hubris," Artorus replied. "We never think about these things until the tower comes crashing down." He remarked. "And this time, it's done far more damage in the impact."

"But at least it's finally over, right?" Frost asked.

Artorus nodded, not wanting to mention that he had seen Geraldy in person.

"The information is gone for good; they'll never be able to use it to create the super-race of aliens that Geraldy started." Jackson explained. "All the existing ones are dust and there will be no others."

.o.o.o.

Redford entered the cockpit and put his headset back on. He then noticed a blinking light on the control panel. "Someone it trying to contact us." He remarked as he opened up the communication system.

"This is Captain Beck from the Supplementary Dispatch team, on board the Hiraga, do you read me?"

Redford sighed. "Yes, this is senior piloting officer Hunter Redford of the USCM 181st squadron; I read you loud and clear."

"Good, we are en-route to your ship and have brought medical staff and facilities for the wounded." The voice explained. "Can you make it back to your ship?"

"Yes, we will be returning to the Kenmoru soon."

.o.o.o.

The Drop-ship entered into the docking bay, while the hatches shut and sealed behind them. Once the atmosphere reestablished itself; Artorus and the others made their way out.

"Their shuttle in on the way and it can get us out of here, so we need to be ready to reopen the hatches to admit them." Artorus explained.

Suddenly the lights dimmed. Artorus looked around and turned to the others. "Quick, back into the Drop-ship!"

'No need for that.' Said a voice over the intercom. 'I am now in active control of this ship and I'm afraid there is going to be a change of plans.'

Rita looked over at Artorus. "Who is that?" she asked.

"It's him, Geraldy."

'Very observant of you, and you as you may have also noted, I am now in control of the all the functions of this ship.'

Red lights began to flash as sirens sounded.

"What's he doing!" Jackson exclaimed.

"He's arming the Kenmoru's defences." Artorus replied. "He'd going to open fire on something."

"Shit!" Redford exclaimed. "That son-of-a-bitch is going to open fire on the Shuttle!"

'Oh, more then that, with the offensive capabilities of this vessel, the laser cannon should be adequate to destroy the Hiraga as well!' inferred the voice mockingly.

Then a monitor flickered to life and showed the other cruiser come into view.

"NO!" Frost screamed.

The Hiraga was hit by a beam of energy from the laser cannon and exploded, catching the shuttle in the blast.

'Did you think that you could stop me and my work that easily?' the voice asked over the intercom. 'This is my life's work, everything I've done has led to this moment and I will not allow anyone to stop me.'

Artorus and the others ducked out of the view of the cameras, behind a long row of tall steel crates.

'As for the rest of you troublesome insects, I think it will be simple enough to flush you out and exterminate you. With the full function of this ship at my disposal, the means for killing you all off are almost limitless.'

Artorus looked up at the ceiling. "Damnit, you've lost- the genetic data was destroyed with the complex! There's noting left for you to work with!"

Jackson nodded. "Yeah, and you know damn well that you'll never be able to recreate it ever again!"

'But you're wrong, I have the data- my creations retrieved it for me before I left, and while you killed all of them at the complex, it will be no trouble to mass produce them on the nearest inhabited planet.' He paused. 'So despite you're oh so heroic banter, I've still won! And now I think it's time for you to die!'

Artorus turned to the others. "I have to go after him and stop him, once and for all."

"How are you going to get to him?" Rita asked.

"Yeah, you don't even know where exactly he is." Jackson added.

Artorus smiled and pointed towards a nearby vent cover. "How else? Through the duct-work."

"Are you crazy!" Redford exclaimed.

"Probably." Artorus replied. He then stood up and looked down at them. "You guys need to get into the Drop-Ship, before he decides to depressurize this whole place." He paused. "And even more, I can't let him shoot McKenzie and Einrich out into space while they're asleep."

"But--!" Redford implored.

"Now!" The marine exclaimed back. "I've got a score to settle with this guy." He then turned and made his way to the vent cover.

(- End of Chapter 30 -)

.o.o.o.

Well, this story is just about over. I don't know what to say. This has gone on for such a long time and it's really become an epic in its own right. I have really enjoyed writing this over the last three years and beyond. I'll also up the narrative quility for the next chapter, as it will be a pretty important one.

Well, see you guys in the next chapter.

-Bojack727