Mission 13: Part 2
The Xeno Machina soldier Taldyr took a deep breath as he watched the approaching blue globe in front of him grow larger and larger in the ship's viewscreen. He strapped himself into a seat on the command deck of the Gorgon, a light carrier in the alien fleet. Across the way, the hulking form of Commander Decimus braced himself while the cyborg ship captain and his drone crewmen continued about their duties with an unusual calmness about them. When going into battle situations, Taldyr had always been a little uncomfortable being in transports or advance guard ships. He was a foot soldier and the idea of being helpless in space unnerved him. He had no control of the ship and had to trust that the pilots and crew of the ship would land them safely. While the small carrier he was on was heavily armored and shielded, he could only wonder if it would be enough. He hated the thought of getting vaporized by Earth orbital defense guns without being able to fight back.
"Now entering Terran air defense zone," one of the drone crewman announced calmly.
The Xeno captain nodded slowly, "Deploy the countermeasures. Maximum power to forward shields. Engines, all ahead full."
Taldyr felt the ship rumble slightly as the engines powered up to full thrust. While the carrier sped forward, it deployed several smaller shield projectors which formed a protective interlocking screen around the front of the ship. Moments later, the carrier rattled again as several of the Earth's orbital guns powered up and got a fix on their target. The guns fired several alternating bursts of superheated energy which pummeled the shields of the advancing Xeno carrier.
Taldyr gripped a support rail with white knuckles as the ship shook violently and continued on through the barrage. Here and there, the artificial projectors buckled and cracked while each shot wore away more of the carrier's added protection.
"Clearing the range of enemy guns in 30 seconds," a droid announced, "Preparing for atmospheric entry."
The carrier was rocked again by one more salvo and its shield projectors failed, but it was just enough to clear the line of guns and enter the upper atmosphere. Had it not been a capital ship, it was likely that any less of a vessel in the Xeno fleet would have been obliterated just now. Taldyr gave a relieved gasp and turned to his commander. The mechanical war machine turned from a console and gave a report to the ship's captain, "Secondary shield projectors have been destroyed, but they got us through. Minor hull damage reported on decks four through seven."
The cyborg captain swiveled his biomechanical head back and focused on the new heading, "Very good. Helm, set course for the human city of Dubai. Decimus, you will have command of the ground assault when we arrive. You will have thirty minutes until the attack, beginning right now."
The next morning, Erik Dobermann and his team gathered together after breakfast and met with Dr. Rizal. From downtown Dubai, they took a special monorail which carried the group out on a short ride toward the edge of the city. While they glided along the rails, they saw the tracks lead out toward a cluster of artificially created islands just off the edge of the city's coastline. If one were flying above, they would have recognized the place as the famous Palm Jumeirah, or Palm Islands. In a feat of engineering and artistry, a cluster of the artificial islands had been constructed in the shape of a large palm tree which radiated out into the gulf waters.
As they sped along, Erik glanced out at the ships in the water and smiled, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see a few missile destroyers and patrol boats around here, huh?"
"How can you tell?" Ella asked curiously.
Erik shrugged and pointed out in the distance, "The UNAF ships have distinct profiles. You can't tell them apart?"
"I thought you were an Air Force guy," Erin pointed out, "I wouldn't have pegged you as an expert in spotting ships too."
Erik hesitated before speaking, "My Dad… he served in the Navy and still does. I guess a little bit of that rubbed off on me."
"I didn't know that either," Bharata chimed in, "How come you never mentioned that you've got family in the service too?"
Erik remained quiet and tilted his head toward the tracks, deciding to change the subject, "Let's stay focused everyone. We're almost there. Dr. Rizal?"
The older man nodded and took hold of a handrail as the tracks split off into an out of the way line on the Palm Islands. A bunker door opened and the monorail was directed into a downward sloping path where the secret underground Mecha-zord facilities were located. As they rode the final leg of the journey, Erin looked to Eric with quiet curiosity, wondering about some things from yesterday and trying to make some possible connections.
The monorail finally stopped and the squad was led out into the central hub of the underground facility. A small army of scientists, mechanics, and technicians buzzed about with their tasks as teams of armed UNAF soldiers stood guard, watching over the base. Rizal led the team through the security checkpoints with his badge and the enlisted guards gave salutes to the Rangers before letting them pass.
"Wow! This place is pretty amazing," Bharata remarked as they walked down the busy well-lit corridors. "Who would have thought they would have built a huge secret R&D facility here?"
"Exactly. A resort area would be the last place you'd expect the military to be operating out of," Erin chuckled.
Rizal smiled as he led the team toward the sprawling central hanger bays, "I'm afraid you haven't seen anything yet Miss Reilly."
He opened the last doors and led them to an observation deck overlooking the hanger and the four Nova Rangers stood with their jaws hanging open. Down below were three massive war machines: two of which looked to be a variant of military tanks while the third appeared to be some sort of aircraft. The three zords stood a few stories tall and were lined with scaffolds where technicians and engineers busily welded, riveted, and tested electronic systems. The doctor grinned proudly and made a grand gesture with his hands, "Rangers, I present to you the Mecha-zords. We're hoping that once we get them operational and field tested, you can use them in battle against the Xeno Machina.
"Are you kidding me? Those things are basically for us?" Ella exclaimed in excitement, "This is so awesome!"
"Of course we're not quite there yet," Rizal sighed as he led the Rangers away from the platform and into a secure lab. "Such a war machine will require massive amounts of power and I'm hoping the materials you gave me will be able to help us provide it."
Erik folded his arms and smiled, "Well, I've got to say... I'm really impressed. This could be a game changer in the war."
"So… how does this all work?" Bharata asked curiously as he began to eye the high tech laboratory situated nearby.
"I'm glad you asked Lieutenant," Rizal said as he led the team into a central lab and gestured to a huge tube-like device in one corner of the room, "This is the Mecha-zord's reactor core. I'm currently making some final adjustments before we test it out."
He flipped a few switches and began power up the device to an idle state causing the materials within the tube to swirl and glow with a soft blue light, "We've been experimenting with using anti-matter as a power source, but it's very finicky and volatile. This device is used to stabilize the reactions within a special EM field and then channel it safely to the zord systems. I'm hoping these isotopes should help with that process."
Ella nodded and walked around, glancing at some of the computer codes used for programming the zords. "This looks like a nice setup Doctor. May I look at it?"
Rizal nodded and gestured for the Rangers to come along, "Of course Miss Catalano. Come along everyone, there's still quite a bit to see here and lots of work yet to be done."
After clearing the atmosphere, the Xeno carrier Gorgon made a fast descent toward its target on the Earth. As they headed toward one of the ship's launching bay, Commander Decimus and Taldyr supervised the loading of the troop transports. As the last of the Eidolons strapped into their landing craft, Taldyr watched as his commander was fitted with additions to his mechanized frame. Besides some heavier blast armor, Decimus stirred restlessly while a flamethrower and heavy chaingun were fitted to his arms.
"You remember the mission plan?" the monstrous Xeno asked his subordinate, "Once we take control of the city's airspace, our groups will storm the Terran defenders on the ground with a direct assault."
Taldyr hesitated, "Commander... I'm still a little unsure about that part. I know we can take those positions, but a direct attack might be costly."
"You are questioning my orders?" Decimus boomed threateningly while swiveling his hulking frame around.
The Eidolon shuddered and sucked in a breath, "I... no sir. It's just the casualty rate might..."
"The casualty rate be damned," Decimus snarled, "We are here to get results and we won't do it by shying away from danger. If a lot of Eidolons get killed, we'll just grow some new ones. In the name of our kind's conquest, we are all expendable Taldyr. I am, and so are you."
The mechanized brute lumbered away leaving his rebuked Lieutenant pinned in place. It was true that Decimus was a successful warrior, but he often achieved his goals through attrition and Pyrrhic victories. For now, Taldyr went back to work with growing feelings of uncertainty and apprehension about this newest assault.
While mulled over these thoughts, the carrier Gorgon cruised over the desert skies and launched a wing of Strigon fighters to meet a small flight group of United Arab Emerite fighters that were en route to intercept it. The effort proved to be futile as the outdated planes of the local air forces were quickly slaughtered by the Xeno fighters. Having suffered no losses, the Xeno squadrons regrouped and led the way toward Dubai casting a menacing visage with their black and red paint. It was their mission to spread those same colors over the rest of the city ahead.
After leaving the secret facilities and emerging from the underground bunker, the Nova Rangers made their way back toward the city on the Palm Island monorail. While the scientists and engineers at the base continued their tireless work on the zords, the Rangers decided to get some rest after their long tour of the research labs. Early evening was fast approaching, but a thick bed of dark rain clouds had begun to blanket the skies. As they cruised along, Ella and Bharata sat quietly looking over some datapads to try and catch up on local news reports. While they did, Erik stood apart and looked out toward the deep waters of the Persian Gulf where several ships continued to cruise along in the distance.
"Thinking about your father again?" Erin asked as she walked over and sat down by Erik to join him on the train bench.
"I wasn't... what makes you think I was thinking about him?" Erik frowned with a mildly defensive tone.
Erin cast her gaze out over the waters, "Come on Erik, part of being a Communications specialist means listening closely to others when they talk... and at times, reading in between the lines. If I had to guess, it was on your mind yesterday too."
"Okay, so maybe I was thinking about it a little," Erik admitted, "I get that you want to do your job as my right hand woman here, but you don't have to be concerned about it."
Erin fixed him with a pointed look and put a supportive hand on his broad shoulder, "Or maybe I'm just being concerned because I'm one of your friends. I can see something is troubling you, and I want to help if I can."
The Blue Ranger looked away quietly and sighed.
"Come on Erik. Talk to me. What's troubling you?"
Before he could answer, the monorail stopped abruptly jolting everyone in surprise. The four cast puzzled looks to each other before looking outside to see if something was wrong with the train or the tracks. To their horror, they saw several large menacing figures descend from the cloudy skies over the distant city center. A large Xeno carrier vessel rumbled along followed by a cloud of fighter craft and heavy drop ships.
"Oh shit... this is not happening," Erin exclaimed in horror with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
From their position on the Palm Island rails, the four Rangers watched as large scale invasion began on the other end of the city proper. Ella turned to Erik and gripped his sleeve, "Erik... what should we do?"
The Blue Ranger blinked several times before he remembered he was now in command. He had to be decisive and do something. "Okay... Bara, get to the front of the monorail and tell the engineer to get going. We need to get back in the city and defend the civilians while they escape. Erin, get on the comms and warn Atlantis Base. Tell Caldwell we need help. Ella, try and call Martin directly and tell him everything."
While the team sprung into action, Erik could only continue watching in dread as the skies grew darker and the once shining city of Dubai came under alien assault.
A cool breeze gently rippled in the air as early evening began to set in over Atlantis Base. All along the West End, street lights began to light up the parkways and boulevards of the floating city's commercial and residential district. As the lights began to flicker on, Lucy Beckett made her way back toward her apartment complex and tried to keep her current jogging pace.
As she continued to run, she panted and gasped for breath feeling a sharp burn in her lungs and legs. She had pushed herself hard for a mile and a half and felt a renewed respect for the Nova Rangers and the other soldiers serving in the UNAF. Running two miles was likely just a warm up for them making her glad she didn't have to follow that up with all sorts of other strength training, obstacle courses, and combat drills. Although she had thankfully maintained a relatively slim and attractive figure, it was clear that being one of the Atlantis Base "eggheads" didn't exactly help when it came to physical fitness or conditioning either. She made a mental note to herself to add in an extra gym day during the work week.
As she cooled down and slowed her jog, she headed down a lit commercial thoroughfare which led to her home. While she walked the familiar path, she passed by some residents and other base personnel who were enjoying an evening off or doing some shopping in the many local stores. To her surprise, she stopped when she bumped into Martin and Sgt. Clarissa Lewis. The younger blond haired woman had served alongside Nova Squadron in their first battle in Paris and had taken charge of her unit when her commander was killed in action. While Lucy didn't know too much about the precocious sergeant, she had heard Martin speak favorably about Clarissa and praise her abilities as a junior non-commissioned officer.
She continued to watch as both soldiers headed out of an upscale clothing store and parted ways. Martin held a shopping bag and gave a grateful wave, "Hey thanks again for the help Clarissa! I really appreciate your help tonight!"
"Don't mention it Captain. I wish you luck... and I'm sure it'll look great too," she winked as she waved back and headed back off into the crowd.
Martin turned and stopped in surprise when he saw the disheveled looking Lucy still catching her breath and wiping some sweat from her gray workout top. "Lucy... I wasn't expecting to see you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she insisted while making one last effort to look presentable, "Really... I'm good."
"Sorry, it's just kinda unusual seeing you like this... I mean, not all polished and put together."
Lucy put her hands on her hips, "Well... maybe I felt like doing something different. Maybe I decided to work out more and challenge myself a little."
Martin scrutinized her for a minute and raised his hands with a neutral shrug, "Okay, do you mind if I walk you home?"
She shook her head the two friends continued on down the street. They walked in silence for a minute before Lucy spoke, "So... uh, you were out shopping with Sergeant Lewis tonight?"
Martin shrugged again, "We ran into each other at the gym earlier and I asked for her help gift shopping tonight. Erin and Ella are away on a mission and I needed a girl's opinion on something."
"I could have helped you with that," Lucy pointed out but he glanced away.
"Oh, I don't know... You seemed busy lately so I just didn't want to bother you."
She frowned slightly, "Oh... I see. I'm guessing you were buying something for Christina then?"
Martin reached into the bag and slowly pulled out a nice purple scarf, "Actually... yeah. Her birthday is coming up in autumn so I thought this would help keep her warm. She's from Minnesota, and a football fan too so I thought the color was appropriate."
For a Northern California girl like Lucy, it didn't mean much to her so she gave a quiet non-commital nod. After walking another block, she stopped abruptly and sighed, "Martin... I've been wanting to apologize to you."
He stopped and turned toward her, listening quietly as she continued, "I want to say that I'm sorry for being mad at you and for us getting into a big fight over lunch a week ago."
"No, don't sweat it. You don't have to apologize," he said gently, "I guess I haven't really been helping things either, so I'm sorry for arguing with you too. It's okay... really."
"No... it's not," she said looking away, "I know things between us have been a little... well, weird lately and I haven't been completely honest with you either. I know I told you that I wasn't ready to be um, like the way you and Christina are right now. But I haven't exactly been fair to you either. To be completely honest, I've been feeling more jealous than anything."
Martin stopped and frowned slightly, "Wait... you've been jealous? Of Chrissy?"
"Well... kinda," Lucy shrugged, "But not just her, in fact everyone really. I just... I just kinda miss you. I miss the way things were before everyone else came along. I miss the way you and I spent a lot of time together and confided with one another about everything. I liked our routine and I liked how safe it felt, you know? Just having our special friend time. God, this all sounds really petty and childish, doesn't it?"
He smiled gently and shook his head, "No. Not at all. You shouldn't have to feel that way Luce. You know that whatever is going on between us right now won't matter in the end. In my mind, you're still my friend... my best friend."
"Am I?" she asked turning to face him. She still didn't look completely convinced, "Now you have your Ranger team and this new girl in your life, and she really seems to like you too. I just... I just don't want things to change. I don't want to feel like I have to compete with them, or that I'm not as important to you anymore."
The Red Ranger stepped forward and surprised her by putting his arms around her in a comforting hug, "Lucy, you've always been there for me and helped me in so many ways. Our friendship will always be a top priority to me and nothing will ever change that."
Lucy gave a relieved smile and rested her cheek against his chest while returning the hug. It felt good to get that all out in the open. While it was indeed true, there was still a part of her that wasn't quite sure how she felt either... that maybe she might have still been holding back a little bit about being jealous... particularly of Christina. For now, she decided to let that be and just enjoy the reconciliation with her closest friend. As they stood there, Lucy shifted slightly in his arms, "Martin? You do know I'm all sweaty and gross still, right?"
"Does it really look like that bothers me?" he smiled before giving her a little kiss on the forehead. The two shared a quiet lingering smile before Martin's Nova morpher sounded. It was General Caldwell.
"Captain? Are you there?"
Martin let go of Lucy and spoke into his wrist morpher, "Sterling here. What's wrong General?"
"I need you and Dr. Beckett to report to me immediately. We have a major situation on our hands."
Lucy gave a worried look before Martin asked, "Another Xeno attack, sir?"
Caldwell's voice became even more grave, "A Xeno strike carrier has gotten through our defense line. It's launching a massive air and ground assault on Dubai. There's no time to waste!"
"Erik..." Martin's blood ran cold and his stomach dropped as he glanced to Lucy and then to the tall central command tower, lighting up the evening skies, "I... I understand General. I'm on my way."
A/N:
The name of the enemy Strigon fighter planes were derived from the Strigoi (or vampires) of Romanian mythology. The vehicles here also bear some resemblance to the modern Russian fighter jet known as the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker.