https://youtu.be/4DQcSNWTTBY
War and Glory
Lokians 3
By Aaron Dennis
Grays, Lokians, alien hybrids – Earth is under siege – is there truly any glory in war? Find out in War and Glory, Lokians 3
Contact info for Aaron Dennis
* Website – http://www.storiesbydennis.com/
* Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/madpete1111
* GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5302182.Aaron_Dennis
* Twitter – https://twitter.com/Based_Author
Riley led Mister Hawkins through the underground access halls and back to his Bureau shuttle. Both men stumbled over small chunks of stone—a result of the raging war overhead—during their approach. The sleek, angular craft with white paint job sat inside a subterranean, parking structure.
“What we stoppin’ here for,” Will asked.
“Demolition charges,” Riley condescended. Will winced and cocked his head back as though the obviousness of the answer gave him pain. “Now, where’s your ship,” Riley asked while opening the door to the craft’s interior.
The two entered. Will observed Riley root around a locker in the personnel hold. He removed a blue, duffle bag.
“By Browns Hotel.”
Riley heaved a sigh then motioned with his head to follow. They ran uphill a ways through the concrete structure. Subtle vibrations shook the ground. More dust fell from above. After rounding a corner, and climbing a set of stairs, they spilled onto the darkened streets of London. Will produced a pair of shades from his hoodie and placed them over his eyes.
“It’s dark,” Riley said, dryly.
“Don’t hate, crackra.”
“I almost hope you don’t make it. Now, let’s move,” Riley ordered and shouldered his bag.
The men ran across the pavement. A furious wind blew. Gunfire popped followed by soaring ships thundering in the vicinity. While the two made their trip to Browns Hotel, along the fresh puddles illuminated by orange streetlamps, no enemies reared their heads; the area seemed all clear of aliens. The Royal British Army, a local branch of Earth Army, held the enemy force at bay.
“Where?” Riley yelled.
Propulsion engines gave little peace. “Albemarle, just over there,” Will said, pointing a finger.
The antique building of stone was difficult to spot. “Okay, lead the way, but, uh, isn’t the power out? Is your ship docked?”
“No, we can get to it,” Will replied while running.
Together, the men covered the quarter mile in little time. A steel parking structure had been added to the ancient plaza. It was a fantastic mix of London’s old class and modern day utility.
“It’s at the top,” Will muttered. Riley looked at him in disbelief, but feared wasting time. Zaligons fluttered about the skies. “Well, I didn’t count on a full-scale alien invasion when I first got here, dude….”
O’Hara winced, shaking his head, and then made his way up the steps skirting the structure. Several, fine automobiles filled the lower decks. At the top, a few ships sat covered in dew, dust, and grime.
“Which one,” Riley huffed.
Will sauntered to the far end of the steel grated ground. “The Jersey Gold, baby,” he beamed with pride.
The Jersey Gold resembled a tailless manta ray. Two stories tall and constructed from tiny black and gold paneling, the craft looked gaudy, but held a superior design. Will laid his hand on the airlock’s outer door. A second later, it rolled away to reveal a round opening.
“Hop in,” Will said.
“Excellent.”
The exterior door shut when the interior one rolled open. The ship had an odd design. A ramp led from the rear of the vessel to the bridge deck on the second floor. A second, smaller ramp in the center of the main ramp led back down. Both levels were accessible without stairs or lifts. Will walked to the top and plopped down at the overly cramped helm. Two, white, leather, swivel chairs sat before the controls. He pointed to the chair on the right.
“That’s you,” he said. The controls were designed to wrap around the pilot, leaving the co-pilot with only modest tasks, ones that didn’t really need doing unless the pilot was asleep at the wheel, or monitor. “Holy Hell!”
Riley arched a brow. It was evident that Mister Hawkins was taking in the sites through the cockpit. Also gauging the far off flashes of lasers and photons, Riley reached out to touch the yellowish material.
“Looks like glass, right,” Will asked.
“What is it?”
“Euroydium…Euraydiom…somethin’ alien. Some kind of alloy…it’s metal…I think,” Will sneered.
“Yeah, okay, whatever, get us out of here,” Riley ordered. Will reached for the ignition switch, but halted then leaned back hard in his seat, facing his compatriot. They locked eyes. “What are you doing? Get us airborne!”
“I give the orders up in this beast, baby.”
“Stop your pissing contest. There’s no time to waste, Will!”
He raised open palms in false humility, and added in a slightly higher pitch, “You gotta’ do me a solid, first.”
A glint from nowhere sparkled across his shades as a massive grin manifested. It was a comical look and Riley almost cracked a smile, but the world didn’t wait for drama.
“What?!”
“On this ship, you call me Jersey Gold,” Will demanded.
“I have to call you the name of your ship? Fine, whatever, just get us up,” Riley barked.
“Get us up,” Will led him on.
“Get us up, Jersey Gold,” Riley said through clenched teeth.
“Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout,” Jersey Gold replied.
He switched on the generator to power the dark matter engine, an expensive and alien design, located where the center of the vessel humped. Jersey Gold strapped himself to the chair. With the roll of a three-dimensional display, they rocketed off the parking structure. Riley’s stomach sank to his posterior, his eyes wide as soap dishes. In seconds, they broke through the atmosphere and into the cold expanse of space.
“God damn it!” Riley coughed.
“Oh…buckle up,” Jersey Gold advised too late and smiled. “So, where we goin’?”
Riley strapped in and rubbed his face. “SALTS.”
“I know…where is it?”
“Sync your ship computer to my wrist comm., and I’ll upload the last known coordinates.”
“Done,” he said after pushing two buttons on the three-dimensional display.
“Done on my end,” Riley added.
Jersey Gold moved the display to reveal the position then locked on. “A few minutes before we get there.”
“Good, I need to suit up anyway,” Riley replied.
While he unzipped his bag and removed his new Bureau gear, Jersey Gold looked out into the void. Flashes of light indicated the war in space hadn’t let up at all. He then turned his attention to Riley, who stripped down to lycra-spandex shorts before donning the new suit. While similar to the previous, sleek, black armor, the newer suit was fortified with Swainium plates, flexible and energy resistant.
“So, what’s the deal here, agent,” Jersey Gold asked.
“Just Riley. I’m still new to The Bureau,” he was saying.
“New? Shit, I got more time in with The Bureau than you. I think you need to take orders from me. See, the way I see it, is, in the history of,” Jersey Gold prattled on.
“Shut up,” Riley yelled. Jersey Gold sank into himself for a brief second then smirked. Riley continued, “First of all, I was a captain for Earth Navy and led a crew to destroy the Lokians in subspace, so don’t try to give me crap about my time with The Bureau. Now, the deal, William, is Adams insists you’re the only one who can fly into a Teragon and back out in one piece. Otherwise, I’d gladly enlist the services of someone more…mature.
“At any rate, the real problem is that when Teragons reform as strongholds, there’s no known pathway. In other words, I can’t fly well enough to maneuver blindly, or at a whim, and my pilot is predisposed on Earth. Now, that being said, all you have to do is get me to the actual satellite structure inside the stronghold. Then, I’ll place the charges and run back to your ship, so you can fly us out.”
Jersey Gold nodded. Riley looked at him, but the fool didn’t show any facial expressions whatsoever. The man just pushed a button at his console. Music blared throughout, psychedelic-rock. Jersey Gold finally turned to Riley.
“You ever trip balls? This reminds of a trip I had…you ever trip balls?”
Riley was flabbergasted. His stomach suddenly went into knots with rage and aggravation. He slowly clenched his fists. Jersey Gold playfully slapped Riley’s shoulder with the back of his hand, grinning all the while.
“Don’t worry, dude, we fixin’ to bust it wide open,” he said.
“I hate you so much….”
The pilot laughed for minutes while Riley just shook his head in severe consternation. As the laughter died down, a massive construct came into view. The sight of the Teragon suddenly posed two problems.
Uh-oh, Riley thought. Not only are the ships moving about, changing the path we need to take, but if I get out of this ship to place the charges, I might not be able to make it back, unless he lands directly on the satellite. Then, I have to worry about aliens coming after me while I plant the charges.
“You look like shit just got real,” Jersey Gold commented.
“It did…shit just got real….”
Leave a Reply