Chapter Eight: Summit Sortie
The mountain range that Falcon Squadron had been dispatched to investigate appeared over the horizon. All five jets sped through the air, gradually slowing as they approached. "Vortex, remind me again what we're supposed to be looking for?" said Mayhem.
"Should be some sort of crashed Gem ship somewhere in these mountains," he responded. "Or at least part of one. Our job is to locate it, and destroy it if possible, or at least mark its position."
Rattler hummed thoughtfully. "Seems like they didn't need to send in a full team to do all this," she noted. "But whatever, anything to get out of the hangar once in a while!"
"Careful what you wish for, and all that," Tailspin replied. "...I agree, though. Things have been pretty quiet since we took down the Koh'i'Noor, it's nice to see some action again."
Vortex kept glancing down at his radar as they drew closer, expecting something to pop up any moment. But the screen stayed entirely silent, with no sign of anything out of the ordinary. He began to wonder if Rhodes' data had been mistaken–but he hadn't been mistaken thus far. "Okay team, I say we do a couple of sweeps, then report back," he decided.
"That doesn't sound like the Vortex I know," said Jump. "What happened to seeing our missions through to the end, no matter what?"
"There might not be much of a mission to see through," he replied. "I'm not getting much of anything on the radar, and I don't know how reliable those satellites of his are. We might have to chalk this one up to a false alarm if we don't find anything."
Falcon Squadron soared above the mountains, scanning the ground below with their eyes as well as their systems. "Hang on, something about this feels weird," said Mayhem. "I'm getting some pings from inside the mountains, but they keep disappearing. It's like there's some hollow pockets in there or something."
That definitely sounded like something worth checking out, but it could just as easily have been an anomaly. "Air pockets do occur naturally," said Jump. "Might not be anything out of the ordinary."
"I say we send in some ground forces to check this all out," said Rattler. "This really isn't something fighter jets should handle. Heck, even a helicopter would be better suited to this than us!"
Rather than weigh in, Vortex looked down at his radar. He was picking up these same ping, as they all likely were, and he couldn't help but notice a pattern of sorts. Though they seemed random at first, they appeared to be forming an oval with how they were arranged. Chasing a hunch, he veered off towards the center of this ring. "Vortex? Where are you going?" asked Tailspin.
"Getting a better look at…whatever it is that's going on here," he said. A pattern as perfect as that in a place like this had to be man-made–or Gem-made. Ascending higher to view as much of the mountaintop as he could, he began to notice some strange discrepancies with how it was formed. With the way parts of it had crumbled, it almost looked like something had crashed here long ago…
His proximity then finally triggered the long-dormant systems within the ship. Everyone's sensors lit up as it reactivated, with bits of rock tumbling down the sides from pieces of it bursting out of where it was buried. Large crystalline spires pierced through the stone, their tops turning to face the flyers. The tips then began to glow, firing white-hot beams of light at them.
"Turrets! Evasive maneuvers!" shouted Jump, rolling out of the way of the lasers. Before long, the sky was filled with the beams, which all together began to outshine the sun. "Vortex, orders!"
Now that they had confirmation there was a Gem ship here, there was no reason to stay–they were there just for recon, after all. But an evacuation might be too risky with the turrets targeting them–not to mention, he couldn't send anyone else in there with how dangerous it was. "Take it out!" he swung back around towards the automated defenses, opening fire.
"You heard the man!" Rattler did the same, weaving between the projectiles as she likewise peppered them with bullets. But the turrets appeared to be made of sterner stuff, as the shots didn't even scratch them.
Tailspin squinted as the beams continued to light up the already-bright day. "What even is this thing!? Has nobody really stumbled across it before?" he asked. "Is this even what we were supposed to look for?"
"Is now really the time to be asking questions?" Mayhem answered. Seeing how guns weren't working, he locked on to the nearest turret, firing two missiles at the point where the spire bent. This damaged it enough to take sizable chunks out of the crystal, but it was still trying to fire at the interlopers.
During the battle, more and more of the ship was becoming uncovered as the beams carved away the rock. Like the spires emerging from it, it was made from a white crystalline material, and appeared to be disc-shaped. While, to Vortex's disappointment, its lasers did not appear to harm it, the crumbling bedrock did allow for more movement.
He flew close to the ship's hull, continuing the trend of firing missiles up at the turrets. "Fly close to the bottom!" he called to the others. "It messes with their targeting!" Indeed, the turrets seemed to have trouble aiming at them when they flew low. They followed his advice, sticking close to the crystal surface to better evade the beams.
"From the pictures of 'em I've seen, this sure looks like a Rhinestone factory," said Rattler, referring to the ship's pale white color. "Surprised it's not pumpin' out a bunch to go after us!"
Jump took out another of the turrets with a well-timed missile straight into the point. "Lucky for us Rhinestones aren't airborne," he said. "...At least, I assume they aren't."
As they continued doing battle with the re-emerged ship, a call came in from Command. "Falcon Squadron, our satellites detected a surge of energy in your area. What's going on over there?"
"Not much, just fighting for our lives again," Vortex replied, weaving between two intersecting beams. "What's new on your end?"
He could hear some chatter in the distance over the radio. "Falcon-1, you were sent out on a recon assignment. Pull back, now–you're putting yourself and your team in danger."
"This is nothing we can't handle," he said. "Just give us a little more time, and this ship will be completely safe..from the outside, at least."
More silence, as Command deliberated. "Fine. But remember, Falcon Squadron, this is not a priority mission. If things escalate, return to base immediately. Is that clear?"
"Crystal." Vortex switched over to the team's channel. "You heard the lady, Falcon Squad! Keep up the attack!"
The ship's targeting systems soon proved no match for their fancy flying, as it wasn't long before the turrets were disabled. One by one, they had been broken apart, damaged beyond usability. But it would soon appear that the ship wasn't done with them just yet, as the mountaintop began to rumble once again. "Great, what now?" groaned Mayhem.
More of the stone the ship had been buried in crumbled, as it further shifted position. Three large panels slid out of the way on its top, with a cylindrical object slowly emerging. Its length was made of a clear material, with a coil of cables in the middle that sparked with green electricity along the edge. The top then expanded into something resembling a satellite dish.
"Great. Looks like it's calling for backup," said Rattler. "Normally, that'd be exciting, but I doubt anyone's still listening after all these years."
However, the device's true purpose didn't seem to be summoning aid. Energy pulsed up through the coils, collecting in the dish, which was beginning to glow. A low hum was emanating as it glowed brighter and brighter. "Everyone, scatter!" shouted Jump, recognizing its intent. "It's an EMP!"
All of Falcon Squadron took off in different directions, as sure enough, a powerful shockwave was fired from the top of the ship. All the fighter jets were hit by the pulse, their systems fried. Jump and Mayhem had gotten far enough away to avoid the worst of the attack, but the others weren't so lucky. "C'mon, you stupid thing, work!" yelled Rattler, pounding the side of the cockpit. She had at least been fortunate enough to go into a stable glide after she was hit, unlike the other two.
Both Vortex and Tailspin had gone into a, well, tailspin. "Mayday! Mayday! I can't control it! Can anyone hear this!?" asked the latter, as he plummeted towards the ground. Fortunately, his systems came back online just before he collided, allowing him to pull up. However, his wingmate wasn't so lucky, as there was an explosion on the side of the mountain. "No! Vortex, Vortex, come in! Tell me you bailed!"
"Vortex here–I ejected in time," he said. "Plane's totaled, though, as I'm sure you saw." His parachute carried him down to earth, putting him right at the foot of the mountain. "Is everyone else alright?"
"Barely," reported Mayhem. "Looks like taking out this ship was the right call. That EMP might have wrecked any boarding party before they even got close. Speaking of…" He sped towards the ship's last line of defense, unleashing several missiles towards the emitter. But just as the projectiles approached, bolts of electricity shot out from the core, causing them to detonate prematurely.
"Figures that wouldn't work," said Rattler. She went in for a run herself, peppering the dish with bullets. It remained undamaged. "Worth a try…"
It began to hum again, charging up for another pulse. "Everyone, increase your altitude!" said Jump. "Put as much distance between the emitter as you can–not to mention the ground!" The four remaining planes soared skyward, just as another pulse blasted out from the ship. All of them had gotten enough distance to avoid the worst of its effects. But there still remained the matter of destroying it.
While the others rebooted their planes, Vortex was determined to make himself useful. From his landing spot lower on the mountain, he hurried along its edge, looking up at the ship above. "Everyone, over here on the Southeastern side! The ship's balanced pretty precariously–a few missiles should be enough to send it tumbling down!" In his haste to find a solution, he failed to note the small tunnel that had been drilled into the mountainside, just barely big enough for a person to fit through…
As none of their weapons seemed to damage the EMP, this was their best bet. "Heard. Just make sure you're out of the way by then," said Tailspin, leading the group in that direction. The four jets looped around to the spot Vortex had mentioned. They needed to hurry, as the emitter was charging up for another pulse.
"Light 'em up!" Rattler unleashed a salvo, followed shortly by the others, into the ledge the ship was positioned on. Its underside was rocked by the explosions, raining molten chunks of rock down from above, which Vortex had thankfully gotten far enough away to avoid. Just as the ship was ready to unleash the EMP, it tilted onto its side, interrupting the firing process.
More of the ledge crumbled under the weight of the unsteady ship. Metal–or whatever it was made from–creaked as it gradually started to slide off the side. Soon enough, the last of the supports gave way, and it plummeted to the ground. It crashed into the mountain on the way down, before flipping over onto its top, crushing the emitter beneath its weight. Vortex took shelter behind a rock as it hit the ground with enormous force, kicking up sand in every direction. But when the dust settled, there was no longer any movement from the ship.
"Mission accomplished!" said Mayhem, raising his fist. The pilots flew around to get a good look at the ship, making sure it was good and destroyed. "Orders, Vortex?"
"You all return to base," he replied. "I'll just catch a cab or something. Maybe I'll–" He was interrupted when there was a sudden screeching sound over the radio. All five of them winced in pain as it turned into a static hum, before turning into what sounded like a voice. It then became clear that it was indeed a voice.
"Congratulations on demolishing my sentry," it said. "While I'm certain it was no simple feat for you, for me, it was merely a commodity, and losing it was nothing more than a minor setback. You see, there is plenty more where that came from, and you will soon see it unleashed upon you."
The five of them were dumbfounded by being suddenly contacted by an unknown source. "Who is this? What are you doing on this frequency?" demanded Jump.
The voice didn't respond, as it became apparent it was prerecorded. "For the sake of your time, as well as mine, I'll keep this brief: we are both after the same thing. That being the destruction of Homeworld. You were able to dismantle SEEN, fend off the Children of Homeworld, and fight back against the Koh'i'Noor. However, I have been preparing for this battle for millennia. You do not want to fight me, nor should you. Although I highly doubt you will listen, I implore you to simply let it play out. Everything will turn out better for Earth in the long run if you do. But if you refuse to listen…just know that this is the last warning I am prepared to give."
With another bout of crackling static, the voice was gone. "So, um…any idea what that was about?" asked Rattler.
Although none of them had heard Mr. Echo's voice before, they had heard enough about the man that it was difficult to think of anyone else it could be. "...Why don't we regroup back at base?" said Vortex. "I'll try and get back in contact with Command." As the rest of the planes flew back the way they had come, he reestablished radio contact with them. "Command, come in, this is Falcon-1. Mission accomplished. My team is returning to base now, but, uh…" He looked around at his barren surroundings. "...I'm going to need a pick-up."
Repeated beeping from the monitor alerted Fitz that something was wrong. Going over to check, a blinking light on the screen indicated where the disturbance was coming from. "Welp, looks like they found our decoy," he said.
"It was only a matter of time," said the same voice that had addressed Falcon Squadron. "All we can do is hope it distracts them long enough to complete our preparations here."
Fitz approached the pink-skinned man. In the low light, the two watched from a balcony as a pool of dark liquid churned beneath them. Occasionally, a humanoid form covered in the inky substance would crawl out of the muck, with the excess sloughing off to reveal a Rhinestone. A number of the disguised robonoids oversaw the process. "Just say the word, and I'll do what you need me to do to ruin their day."
Turning away from the Rhinestone pit, Mr. Echo focused his attention on another project. "No. Right now, it is in our best interest to remain under the radar. The device will not be ready for some time, so it is paramount we keep BAINE from learning our location."
In the next room over, a collection of wires resembling roots descended from the ceiling. They all met at the center of the floor, where a warp pad had been placed, haphazardly sticking into its form. "Yeah, that's easier said than done, though," said Fitz. "Aside from a few tricks here and there, how can we be sure they won't track us down?"
"They will, before long," said Echo. "But if everything goes well, they will be too distracted managing other…issues…until it is too late." He turned towards a briefcase sitting on a nearby table. "And when that day comes, I will finally accomplish what we should have all those years ago. The Diamonds will be no more, and Earth will be free from the scourge that is Gemkind. And humanity will take its rightful place as masters of the stars."