The Destroyers Book 3 Civil WarChapter 5 Mars and Space
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As they pulled up towards the cabin, the phone in Ted's hand started talking.
"Ted! I detect someone in distress in that building. By her life signs, it's a young woman. She is in great pain. Her body has a bad infection, and her body temp is 106 degrees and rising. Her blood is infected, and is septic."
The Ranger stepped out of the building, and reached for his gun as they approached.
Ted dropped the phone, and unfastened his seatbelt. He grabbed the door handle as they neared the Ranger. With a snarl, he unlocked the door as they came close. Gripping the window and the handle he waited for the right moment to act.
"You're dead, you mother fucker," he said under his breath.
Ken slammed the brakes on just as Ted opened the door wide. The opened door slammed into the big man, flinging him to the ground. Ted was on him, instantly. The man rolled with the kid as the kid grabbed his gun hand.
"I am going to kill you for that, punk!" yelled John as the two men grapple in the dust for the gun.
"You and what army, you shit head?" Ted grabbed the Ranger's gun hand, forcing the big gun down and away from his body. "When I get done with you, you won't know what hit you, you fuckin sleaze bag. Your own mother won't recognize you."
Ken was surprised when Ted dove out of the truck onto the Ranger. He slammed on the brakes on the huge SUV. The brakes locked up, and the SUV slid to a dead stop a few feet past the Rangers Jeep. By the time Ken was out of the car, Ted and the Ranger were in a hand-to-hand fight.
Ted snapped a kick at the Ranger's chest and hit him hard. He staggered back a few feet. With an evil grin the man whips a razor sharp knife out and slices Ted across the stomach. A thin line of blood appears staining his white T-shirt.
"A little closer and your guts will be around your feet. Then I am going to carve you up, and hang you from a tree. And your friend there?" he said as he points at Ken with the knife, "I'm going to stake him over an ant hill and cover him in honey. Then I will force you both to watch, while I rape your bitches, but I won't kill them. I will sell them to some friends I have in the Middle East. They love blonde bitches to put in their line. As you are dying and watching me raping them, you will regret having ever come after me."
Moving the knife back and forth in front of Ted he advanced and makes another swipe but missed as Ted jumped back out of danger.
"You fuckin talk too much," Ted snarled as he tried a leg sweep and missed.
Suddenly Ken was there as the girls raced by him into the building. Ken moved in and with a snap kick, he connected with the Ranger's hand, and sent the huge knife flying.
The Ranger snarled and reached for a second knife when Ken moved again.
Ken threw a second snap kick when he saw the ranger go for another knife, aiming for the chest. He was surprised when the man moved, suddenly.
The man tried to dodge the kick. He dropped down just in front of the kick, and pain shot through his head as Ken's foot connected to his temple.
The Ranger went flying. He landed on his back, and did not move.
Jenny was the first one through the door. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw a young girl. Tammy was running right behind and ran into her back, coming to a sudden stop, also.
The girl was naked beside a bed. A rusty chain ran from her right ankle, to the wall. She was cringing in the corner between the bed and wall. The look on her face was one of despair, and hopelessness. Her red hair hung lifelessly, dark circles graced her eyes, and the right side of her face was swollen from where it appeared that she had been slapped.
Cigarette burns and whip marks studded and streaked her bruised and battered flesh. Scattered on the floor were empty water bottles and sandwich bags from the sandwiches she had eaten. The smell coming from a large pot, made it obvious that it was a chamber pot.
"Oh my God! Tammy, go get a blanket. Get some Gatorade from the car, too! And see if there are any keys on that bastard. Most of all, keep the guys out of here."
Jennifer's words then registered in Tammy's brain, and she turned to go back outside.
"Right away, Jenny! I will be right back," she stepped back outside as Ken delivered a kick to the Ranger's head. The man flew backwards, and landed on his back. He appeared to be out cold.
"Ken, check that son of a bitch for any keys and tie him up," Tammy said.
Jenny grabbed a chair, and brought it over to the girl. She gently picked the young girl up and moved her to the chair.
Tammy went to the back of the SUV. She unlatched the back, and grabbed a six-pack of Gatorade, plus a blanket from the storage compartment. As she turned around, she saw her brother standing there with his T-Shirt rolled up. He was checking his belly, which was running with blood. Tammy screamed as she saw the blood.
"Ted! You're hurt!"
She rushed over to him, and started checking the wound to see how bad it was.
Ken was checking on the Ranger when Tammy shouted out for him to find keys, as she ran to the Expedition. He started going through the man's pants and pulled out a set of keys.
"How bad is it, Ted? Tammy, I found some keys on him," he said as he walked up to the twins, and handed them to her.
"That bastard is dead. I guess I kicked him too hard. What's going on in the shack?"
Taking the keys, Tammy said, "There is a girl in there that is chained up. She's in a bad way. You guys stay out here. We don't want her to flip out."
Ken nods his head, "Ok, I will help Ted. You go help Jenny with the girl."
"You're right, Jenny needs me. Do not come in unless we call you. Take care of my brother. I'll be back if you need me."
Without another word, Tammy ran to the shack and was through the open door. Then it slammed behind her.
Ken led Ted over to the SUV, retrieved his medical kit, and quickly pulled out the items he needs to bandage the wound.
"Ted, this is going to sting like hell."
"I know, just get it over with," Ted said, and Ken went to work on him.
As Tammy came in, she saw Jenny talking to the girl. Moving up she draped the blanket around the girl's shoulders.
"Hi! I'm Tammy," she said as she knelt beside her.
Jenny continued to talk with her.
"You're ok. We will help you. You are safe, now! That man cannot ever hurt you anymore."
"Got that right, he's dead," Tammy said.
Tammy opened the first bottle of Gatorade and handed it to Jenny. She then knelt by the girl's ankle and began trying the keys in the lock. On the eighth try, it unlocked the manacle. She peeled the bloody metal off the girl's leg. The smell of dead flesh that wafted up to her nose was so powerful that it overpowered the sour body odor of the girl.
"Jenny we have to get her to Amy, now! She could loose her leg."
Looking at the leg, she could see that it was inflamed with red lines under the skin. When she looked closer she could see that the skin was infested with maggots.
Jenny took the bottle of Gatorade and held it to the girl's mouth.
The girl just sat there. Her eyes were glazed. She didn't even realize she was being helped. The liquid flowed into her mouth and ran down her chin.
Jenny pulled the bottle back and brushed the greasy red hair out of the girls green eyes.
"Come on. Drink something. You need the electrolytes to get into your system."
Holding the bottle up again, Jenny tried to get her to drink some more. As the liquid entered her mouth, she gently rubbed her throat as she continued to talk with her. Finally, the 8 oz bottle was finished, and Jenny tossed it over her shoulder.
"What is your name, Honey? My name is Jenny, and this is my best friend, Tammy. Our brothers are outside. They are dealing with the man who has been hurting you. We want to help you, and take you to a friend who can help you get better. Will you meet us halfway?"
The girl turned her head, and looked at Jenny. Tears started running down her face, as her eyes focused on the woman in front of her. Opening her mouth she tried to speak, but her throat was still too dry and sore to talk. With a cough she tried to say her name.
"Mo..." cough ... cough...
Tammy opened a second bottle of Gatorade, and lifted the bottle of drink to the girl's parched lips.
"Here, take another sip of this."
She took a few sips, and tried speaking again.
"Molly. My name is Molly O'Neil."
Jenny wrapped the blanket tightly around Molly, and helped her stand.
"Hi, Molly. Let's get you out of here."
Helping her walk on one leg, Jenny led her to the door. When they get there, they could see the effort she was undergoing. The pain was very evident on her face. Jenny sat her down in another chair.
"Tammy, get Ted. See if he can carry her to the car."
Ken finished working on Ted, and got him into the vehicle.
"Ted, I'm going to go see what's taking so long."
"Ok."
"Oh my God! I forgot to tell you! Ted is hurt," she opened the door and saw Ken standing there with his hand raised. "Yikes, don't do that, Ken."
"Sorry, Tammy, I was just getting ready to knock, when you opened the door. Ted is in the car. The cut is not too bad, almost a scratch. It looks worse than it is. It just bled pretty badly. I got it bandaged up. The Ranger is dead. I guess I kicked him harder than I wanted to."
"Oh! I am happy Ted's going to be ok. Ken can you get her into the car? She can barely stand. I think her leg is badly infected. In fact, it smells like it is terribly infected. Her name is Molly, and she has been badly abused. Go easy on her."
"Yes, I can carry her, and I will."
Moving to the girl, he stops. He looked into her eyes and saw the fear there.
"Molly, I am going to help you. We need to get you into our vehicle, so we can get you out of here. I am going to pick you up."
He placed his arms around her. She started shivering in fear. He continued to speak to her.
"Molly, my name is Ken. I won't hurt you, if I can help it. But I must carry you to my car, and get you out of this hell hole."
Molly shivered and tears of shame ran down her face. She looked up at the man's face. She noticed that he was very handsome, and that he had a kind look in his eyes.
"Ok."
Ken bent and swept her out of the chair. Quickly and carefully, he went out the door and over to the SUV. Tammy had rushed ahead of them, and had the door open by the time he got there. He set her on the back seat. Jenny climbed in and placed Molly's head on her lap. Taking a wet wipe from the package in the carryall on the back of the driver's seat, she washed Molly's face as Tammy and Ken talked outside the car.
"Tammy, can you drive? I need to take the Ranger's Jeep. I will take care of the body."
Tammy looked confused at Ken's statement, and asked, "Take him where? Why would you do that?"
"Take him with us! We can't leave him here. He's dead! We don't want people looking for him. Someone will eventually come looking for him, when he fails to check in. But if there is no Jeep, and no body, they will think he is out on patrol or something."
She looked at him and then at the body.
"Ok, sure, no problem, we will follow you. The keys are in the shack, I'll get them."
Running into the shack, she grabbed the set of keys from where she had dropped them after she had unlocked the manacle from Molly's leg. With a shudder at the horror the girl had gone through, she turned and went outside. She saw Ken lift the corpse up onto his back. Then Ken walked to the Jeep and dumped the body into the back. She smiled at the man she loved, and rushed over to him. She handed him the keys. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to the SUV. Climbing in, she fastened her seat belt, and started the engine.
Ken moved back to the fight site and scuffed the blood into the ground. Looking around, he spotted the two knives and the pistol and picked them up. After one final look, he went back to the Jeep.
Firing up the Jeep, he backed up to the other car, stopping at Ted's window. Ted rolled the window down and before he could ask what was happening, Ken told him what he wanted.
"Hand me the communicator so I can lead us there."
Ted looked for the communicator and spotted it by his feet. He bent down, picked it up, and handed it to Ken.
"Here you go, Ken."
"Thanks."
Taking the com unit, he called Amy.
"Amy, we're coming back to you, give me directions. We have a medical emergency for you."
Putting the Jeep in gear, he headed on down the way they were going.
"Hi, Ken. I know, Medical is ready for her. Drive along the cliff until you see a trail that starts climbing up the side of the canyon wall. When you get closer to the trail you will see a huge boulder sitting off to one side. I will tell you which way to go, when you get there."
Ken drove along the side of the cliff. As he came around a small bend, and he saw the dirt road going up the side of the cliff. He also saw the huge rock. Picking up the com unit he contacted Amy again.
"Ok I see the rock."
"Ok, Ken, now drive into the rock."
Ken slammed the brakes on and looked at the communicator.
"What? I will crash!"
Behind him, Tammy came to a stop.
A giggle came from the communicator, and then Amy's voice came back on.
"Trust me, Ken, you won't crash."
Ken sat and listened to Amy, and then turned to the others. "First, I think we need to catch this psychopath before he kills his next victim. We have to do it. Then, we should get the Washington back up into space. After that, we need to recruit a crew," turning back to Amy he added, "I just thought of something. Do you have to be at the asteroid belt for your spider bots to build? And if not, is there a way we can get the spider bots there, quickly?" "Yes, we could use a shuttle and...
Philadelphia: 11:50 A.M. Tim let Amy cry in his arms as he held the woman who brought hope to a lot of people of this world. So she went overboard and took justice in her hands. He thought it was worth it as far as he was concerned. He felt Amy gently push on him so he released her. "Feeling better?" he asked. "Yeah, I am. Thank you, Tim," Amy replied. "Good, what are your orders?" Tim asked. Amy laughed and replied, "Tim you out rank me. I'm only a commander while...
She stood there and watched the four friends hug each other, and talk. She moved around the room and sat in one of the chairs. She studied each one, and listened as they talked about the fall. The one she had saved, Ken, was tall and handsome. He projected an aura of possible command material. The other male, jumped right in, and took over. He showed confidence and determination, a possible recruit as a Marine. The one, who carried her sensor crystal, had a quick mind, and a sharp eye. She...
Federation Fleet Ken stood on the flag bridge of the USS Washington and watched the gate open for his ship. Looking at his wife Jessica he said, "Okay, let's find out what is going on." "Yes, Sir. We are dropping out in three ... two ... one ... Now!" The Washington dropped out of fold. The two assault cruisers, Grizzly and Orca, and the seven destroyers were flanking her. The destroyers spread out in a half circle to protect the three ships. Sensors came online and flashed their...
The Battle for the Space Docks Federation Fleet Captain John Wilkes walked onto the bridge of the USS America and looked at the main screen. The news he had just received about the takeover had him nervous about possible saboteurs or traitors on board his command. Pressing the intercom, he started to address the crew, "This is the Captain speaking. All hands man your battlestations. This is not a drill. Units of the United States Military have engaged our bases on the moon and the Arizona...
President Thomas Kincaide was sitting down to his breakfast with his wife, when his chief of staff came into the dining room. "Mr. President, we have a situation out in Las Vegas, it seems a large ship was sighted taking off from somewhere in Northern Arizona. Nellis AFB dispatched five F-16s to investigate it. The tower was in contact with the planes when suddenly all communications was cut off. Nellis dispatched an additional ten more planes to the area, but nothing has been found of the...
05:30 Pluto, Base Station Elysian, 1-14-05 Ken watched the fleet approach the huge dry dock. The ships were spreading out for the docking arms as he turned and looked at his wife Tammy who was giving her fleet orders. "Helm. All ahead, slow. Starboard thrusters, minimum fire, in three ... two ... one ... engage," Tammy said as she sat in the command chair. "Firing thrusters, Ma'am," replied Commander Stella Salaneo. The huge ship slowly slid down the length of the gantry until it was...
Captured Space Docks Admiral Farragut froze when the round blew the com unit apart, which was built into his desk. He looked at his assailant. Before he could say anything or move, a dart slammed into his chest, and he flew out of his chair and crashed to the floor. Walking over to the man, the figure knelt beside him, and bound his hands and feet. Pulling out a scanner, the person scanned the man and found his locator beacon. With a quick tapping of keys, the scanner shut the beacon down....
Ken stood on the flag bridge of the Washington, and looked at the holomap. The Oregon was five hundred miles to his portside. The destroyers Bulldog, Boxer and Doberman were in an arrow formation directly ahead of the two battleships. Behind the flagship, the remaining ships of the fleet stretched out to their individual time drops. The last ones were the hospital ships, while directly behind him were the assault cruisers. Worried about what was going to happen, Ken chewed on his cigar. So...
Amy appeared on the bridge deck, and quickly reacted to the damage. Activating the tractor beams, she reached out and latched onto the crew. Only two were sucked out, as internal forcefields she had installed snapped on and covered the openings. Activating her communications system, she issued her orders. "This is Amy, I need medical teams to the main bridge we have casualties." Walking around the room, she checked each crewmember and finally knelt by her sister-wife. "Tammy, please...
American Fleet The Abraham Lincoln turned and started firing into the weakened shields of the Washington. Suddenly the shields failed and explosions detonated from the side of the massive ship. Admiral Callaghan grinned as he watched the ship heave as a dozen antimatter rounds slammed into the side of the battleship and half her weapons went down. "Keep hitting them. Blow those bastards away!" Mathew said with glee in his voice. "I am sir, do you want me to pull their teeth so we can...
Six weeks later, Ken sat at his desk going through Captain Windsor's logs. He was looking for the clues he suspected were there. "Tammy, it says here, that the Washington was split in half at the battle of Tallis. When she was rebuilt, she was two hundred feet longer than before. I think that is where Jessica is; I think she is in that area. We have been over everything else. Amy, please bring up a pair of holograms of the ship as she used to look and as how she looks now." The image...
Federation Fleet The Washington led her fleet towards the captured Space Docks where they circled the Earth, at five hundred thousand miles. Ken stood on the flag bridge with his wives and watched the American ships maneuvering in front of them. "Admiral, the American fleet is joining up. They have fifteen destroyers and four light cruisers," Lieutenant Jinnah Chin reported. "Thank you lieutenant, we will stick with the plan," Admiral Tammy Thompson said. "Yes, Ma'am. I am sending...
Captured Crytherian Space Dock Captain Sammy O'Rourke-Anderson watched as the twenty spider bots continued to build the small ship. It was now over eighty percent completed. Walking to the door, she looked out into the hall and saw it was still clear. "Come on Kevin, get your ass back here," Sammy snarled as she heard a clang behind her. Shutting the hatch, she walked back to the dock and watched the spiders lift a section of the black hull up to the side of the ship and fasten it to the...
Amy paced through the medical ward aboard the ship, while the spiders continued their maintenance. Down in the main cavern, the spiders scurried about the cavern, and over two gantries as they worked. Amy did a quick check and saw all systems were a go. She walked over to Ken and looked down at his peaceful face. She leaned down through the force field and kissed him, and tapped into Ken's nanobots. She was regretting what she had to do, but knew that she must. For they all needed to learn...
The sounds of Sonny Rollins drifted though the room as Lisa sat at the table, reading her medical books. Sitting beside her was a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich and a glass of milk. Cheri was playing with her squeaky toy. Lisa rubbed her head trying to get rid of her headache that has been bothering her for three days. Suddenly she snapped at the dachshund, "Cheri! Stop squeaking that damned thing." Under the coffee table, Cheri dropped her toy and whimpered. Turning around, her...
The shuttle gently set down next to the airlock. A small gantry extended from the ship to the airlock, and gently locked onto the side of the huge station. Down on the assault deck, Chief Engineer Cory Hill got up, and went to the airlock. He checked the hatch, and seeing the seal showed a tight fit he waited for the air to build up and the lights to come on. Activating his com unit, he called the captain. "Captain, I have a green light on the hatch, and airlock is pressurizing...
After talking for an hour, everyone turned in and got some sleep. While they slept, Amy watched over them, by making an image of herself appear in each room. Sitting in a chair, she watched them sleep, and sighed with contentment. A crew, at last! It had been so long since she'd had anyone on board that she could talk with. She then went back to examining their plans about using the mech warriors as ground assault vehicles. She took what information she could find on the computer game (and...
Molly watched her new friends drive away. When they were out of sight, she turned back to her mother. She stepped back in to her mother's arms and gave her a hug. Stopping the hug, she looked her mom in the face. "Mom, how about pizza tonight?" Kathleen looked at her baby, and she felt complete again as she realized the hole in her heart was once again filled. "What ever you want sweetie, the number for Pizza Hut is on the fridge like always." Shaking her head, she replied, "No mom,...
Commodore Thompson stood there issuing orders to the crew of the Oregon. "Lieutenant I want to know what is going on. Who authorized the launching of those mech lifters?" On the screen, lifter after lifter was dropping out of the bay and heading north. "How many mechs?" Lieutenant Commander Shawn Edwards looked at the Commodore and replied, "Sir, I don't know. All I know is that the red alert went off in the mech bay, and then three wings of mechs or thirty mechs loaded up and left...
American Space Navy Near Space Dock One: 1-17-05, 11:29 A.M. American battle cruiser America Captain Richard Potter watched the Federation cruiser he was firing on, her shields had collapsed and now internal explosions were ripping through her hull. He knew that inside it was becoming a death trap and with the ship crippled he made his decision. "Ensign Wilcox, break lock, and target the next ship," he said as he watched two heavy cruisers coming to the Federation ship's rescue. Ensign...
Ted staggered to his feet, smoke pouring from several consoles around the bridge, sitting down into his chair he snapped out orders, "Damage report!" "Sir, we have a fire in landing bay delta, damage to port side weaponry, shields down to forty percent. I'm estimating ten minutes to full recharge, minor damage to secondary engine four. Hull is intact, no breaches. Casualty report coming in now, thirty-nine dead, sixteen wounded." "Status report on the Crytherian battleship?" Ensign...
Ken jerked his head around to the main tactical screen. "To all ships! Red alert! All hands man your battlestations!" Ken ordered. He turned and walked quickly to the main CIC panel. He looked at the hyper wake coming in. "Estimated time of arrival?" "Six minutes, Sir," replied the sensor officer. "Stack us up. I want a full broadside of weapons to bear on the targets. Launch all fighters." "Yes, Sir! Launching all fighters, stacking the ships." "Dispatch the rest of...
The Federation battleship USS Washington: 1:50 P.M. Jessica handled the ship as though she was born to do it. The ship was shrugging off the enemy fire and her weapons were firing at the Washington D.C. shield trying to take it down. Turning her head she smiled at her husband and wife as the status reports came in from the fleet. "Enemy shield down to 36% power," reported Lieutenant Akiko Fujimoto. "Thanks, Akiko. Keep up the pressure," Tammy said just as Jessica screamed and the ship...
Ken stood in his office. With the forward wall pulled back, he could look out over the bow of the great ship. In the distance, the Oregon, along with three destroyers, blasted chunks out of Io - one of Jupiter's larger moons - scaring the landscape as he watched the target practice taking place. Walking over to his desk, he sat down, and went over the last report from the Dachshund. They had found a strange signal emanating from the planet Pluto, and how they were trying to track it down...
"Show me this ship," snarled Captain Tal. The screen changed and a ship that was five times larger than their own appeared on the screen. Her white hull was gleaming and her navigational lights were lit up. She was less then five miles away from his command. Tal stood there, and looked at the huge ship; he then turned to his weapons officer, and said, "Fire on that ship! Turn us hard starboard, full speed ahead. Launch countermeasures." The Dancer opened fire with her pitiful weapons...
Ted sat in the vehicle holding the cake, as the car shot through the hallways. It came to a dead stop in front of a familiar conference room. Ted led everyone into the room, and they saw Amy standing there. Setting the cake on the table, he turned to the others. "Go ahead and pick a spot. James break out the food, I will get dishes." Going over to the replicator, Ted issued some commands. "Computer fifteen plates, fifteen coffee cups, and flatware settings for fifteen, please." The...
Luis Fajardo looked out the picture window of downtown Bogotá Columbia. Picking up the paper, he read the article again. Slamming the paper down, he turned and looked at his companions. "Damn it! We have to stop these people from distributing these serums. They are going to give this miracle drug away free, and our product won't affect the people who use it. That will prevent them from buying from us. We need to stop them, but how? Already sales are down fifteen percent, because the...
Around the system, ships started hypering out. The ships destined to stay, started recovering the injured and helpless from the explosions on Terra; while Commodore White, along with his wife Maria, begin dealing with the UN. Two weeks later, the ships dropped out of fold and reformed into their attack wings. Ken stood on the Flag Bridge, facing the main viewer. On the screen were Captain Nickolas Johansson of the Hope, and Captain Jenny Mai-ling of the Freedom Train. "Captains, good...
Down in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, at a small lake, some friends were spending a week camping and fishing. As the sun was setting, David Granger walked back to his tent, his pole over his shoulder when he looked up and saw his roommate Brad Wilson walking towards him. Holding up the string of trout, he grinned. "Brad, it looks like we have trout for dinner..." seeing the look on the face of his friend he stopped speaking for a second, and asked, "What's wrong?" Walking up to his...
Up north, in Reno, Tina and her two friends were in the garage. They were loading the luggage into her mother's van. Closing the back door, they stood there chatting as they waited for Tina's mom. Tina looked around the garage, and saw a towel on the dryer. Walking over, she grabbed her beach towel with Jonny Depp on it as Captain Jack. "Damn, I almost forgot this." Walking back to the van she opened the door and stuffed the towel into her bag. Kathleen said, "Yeah, you would have...
The black car pulled up to the United Nations building and came to a stop. Across the street angry protesters picketed against the war in Iraq, while in the distance came the bustling sounds of one of the most populated cities in the world, coming to life. The driver opened the door and a man got out. He was carrying a black briefcase that was chained to his wrist. He walked towards the main doors of the building. Ambassador Joshua Chandler strolled into the United Nations building, passing...
Joshua sat down the street from Reno High School, and watched the kids come out of summer school. They went by on their way home, as he watched as the young sluts chat with their friends. Some even made out with their punk boyfriends, who wouldn't know what to do with them, even if they got into their pants. He sat there and remembered the last girl he'd grabbed ... Jennifer Taylor. Her long brown hair and hazel eyes were the things that stood out about her. How the fear flashed in her eyes...
Ken played his light around the cave, and saw that it was getting tighter. They were descending into an unexplored cave system at the bottom of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Ken moved some smaller rocks out of his way, and pointed his light down the incline. The area was less than eleven inches high at his position, but it seemed to widen out a few feet farther on. Looking deeply into the darkness, and seeing no danger of loose rock, he turned his body on its side. He looked back at the...
Amy accessed the data link into the Earths internet and started searching through the records and history. Happily, she started downloading all she could find. On the chat programs, and peer to peer sites, she gathered movies, books, music and anything she thought the crew would like an then she froze as she started reading some of the historical documents. "Oh NO!" Which caused her to dive into more pages and then she froze all her downloads, and locked her system down. Flight 329 from...
Under the Arizona desert, work continued in a deep cavern. Amy sent four spider bots into one of the shuttles. She ordered them to go into the storage compartment, and to shut down. She then sent a maintenance droid onto the shuttle's passenger deck. It placed two briefcases of money into another storage compartment. Another spider bot carried in a large cooler of food, and a stack of four cases of beer, securing the requested items to the shuttle's floor. Amy was waiting for night to fall...
Joshua drove back towards his home. His heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Pulling up to a red light, he looked down on his catch and smiled evilly. "I think I will keep you for awhile, you have been such a game to catch, but now you are mine." Reaching down, he squeezed her breast. Frustrated by her shirt, he started pulling it up. For some reason, it refused to yield to his grabbing. The light changed, and he pulled through the intersection and into a dark parking...
Jenny groaned as she came to. Her jaw hurt, and her body hurt even worse. She could still feel the effects of the device he had used on her. Opening her eyes, she saw she was in a metal room lying on a bed. Groaning, she stood up. She examined the bands on her wrists and tried to remove them. Each time she dug her nails under the band she got shocked. "Damn it, that hurts." "Then I would advise you not to do it, human." Jen jumped when she heard the voice. Turning around, she saw a...
Ken drove the big vehicle and continued to think about finding people to get to join them. One group he was going to ask was his Dungeons and Dragons group, and the ROTC class. They were going to need military people, so he added his dad's Vietnam buddies to the list, or at least some of them. As the miles went by, everyone else fell asleep to the drone of the tires on the road. Every few minutes they passed a car going the opposite way. A few hours later, they pulled into Tonopah, Nevada...
Ken caught the young mother before she could fall to the floor. He looked over at Molly. "Get in there and do what you can to help her." Molly looked in the window and her heart started to break at the sight of the little girl. Tubes running in and out of her, an oxygen mask over her face to help her breath. "Yes, Sir!" Molly went into the room and set her bag down on the bed. Nurse Gretchen Hilliard looked down at the little girl suffering from the cancer. Turning to get her pen,...
Maria had just sat down to her morning cup of hot coffee when the phone rang. Reaching over she picked it up. "Hello? Ted, Honey, how are you? Are you ok? Why have you not called ... oh silly me, you are calling now. Did you all have a good time? Did Tammy get any pictures? Oh, what's that? Ok, let me ask them." Getting up, she walked down the hallway, looked in the bedroom, and called to her husband, "Andy, wake up!" as she walked over to the bed. On the bed, Andy rolled over to look...
Amy appeared in the bedroom and looked down at Ken and Tammy curled up in each other's arms. "Sir? It's four am. It's time to wake up. You have four hours until the United Nations meeting," she said with a sigh. Ken opened his eyes and looked over at Amy, and replied, "Good morning, Amy, and thank you," Then he looked down on Tammy with her head pillowed on his shoulder, her other arm across his stomach holding him tightly in her arms. Ken tried to slide out but Tammy clutched him...
Amy stood there watching Molly heal inside the bed's force field. Several hours ago she had released Ted from medical, and sent him to his cabin to sleep. She ran a final diagnostic on her patient and shut down the force field. "Molly, it is time to wake up," she stood there as Molly's eyes fluttered open. "Hello, Molly. How are you feeling?" Molly dreamt of her mom making her breakfast, before school. She sat and ate the hot pancakes. The butter and hot syrup was dripping...
She sat, her power at minimum, for ages. Her servants repaired the great tears in her body. They restored her passageways, her components, and her systems to pristine condition. The servants burrowed deep down into the Earth. They gathered the resources she so desperately needed. They mined the gold, titanium, platinum, iron, and 'rare earths' that would have cost far too much in precious power to have been replicated. They brought her back to life, as she slowly rebuilt herself. In the...
The people went around and learned about the ship. They were each deciding what career choice they wanted. James Woods had decided he wanted to be a fighter pilot once he saw the sleek attack fighter sitting in one of the cradles. Code-named Tomahawk, the fighter carried a miniature rail gun in the nose cone, two lasers on each wing, and a missile bay with sixteen ship-to-ship missiles. The missiles were antimatter warheads for larger ships or 'fire and forget', for enemy fighters. James...
Around the base, the Marines gathered up the Crytherians as they surrendered. They herded them into the large underground hanger. While Jen and her squad of Marines moved through the base to the hanger bay, they passed other Marines gathering up papers, computers and any other intel that they could find. Walking out into the bay, she saw one of their shuttles, where Marines were herding four Crytherians into the bay and put them into chains. Walking up the shuttle ramp, Jen saw Lynn standing...
Jen finished her writing, stood, and stretched. Taking her bottle of water, she walked out the door. After locking the door, she walked down the driveway to the mailbox and checked the mail. She stood there flipping through the mail. Seeing a letter from her pen pal in England, she stuck it into her pocket. She turned to start walking back up the road with the rest of the mail when she saw a brown car slowly pass by the driveway's entrance. Looking up, she looked into a face she would not...
Night Skies Hotel VI: Destroyers of Worlds By Solari Author's note: "Destroyers of Worlds" is the third story in the three-part "Foundations" trilogy that shines a light on the wider Night Skies Hotel universe. The other stories in the "Foundations" trilogy are "Night Skies Hotel IV: The Lost Worlds," and "Night Skies Hotel V: Shadows on the Sun." It is recommended that the stories be read in order, or the reader risks not understanding the events that unfold. "What you consider...
Ted sat there looking at the woman who had just given him a blowjob. His eyes kept wandering to her scantly clad body as she crawled up his body kissing his bare flesh as she went which caused him to moan. "You are so handsome looking! I just had to come and thank you personally for saving me and my Angel," Augusta said as she licked his nipples. She straddled his waist, and raised her green eyes to look into Ted's brown ones that were wide, as if he was a deer caught in the lights of a...
Ted walked down the hallway, passing people who were being guided out of the medical bays, and were being lead back down to the shuttles. Passing a side passageway, he started to head into medical when he heard the crying. Turning around, he saw a brown haired girl sitting against the wall. Her dress was slightly dirty, and her knees were pressed tightly to her chest as she rocked. Walking over, he saw she was about eight years old. Kneeling beside her, he said, "Hi, I'm Ted. Are you...
Aboard the cruiser Starburst, fires raged throughout the ship. With the internal force fields on, the fires had air to burn, but with the damage to the ship, they knew if they lowered them they would lose many warriors trapped in damaged compartments. Lieutenant Vak watched as his squad of firefighters battled a fire near the number one magazine. With temperatures reaching up to the eighteen hundred degree mark, support beams were becoming weakened and the storage room was an inferno. The...
Lisa slowly woke up and opened her eyes. As she moved her eyes, they settled on her sister's face. In a scratchy voice, she said, "Hi, Sis. Can I have a drink of water? I'm really thirsty." Tammy brushed the hair out of Lisa's eyes. "Hey, Sis! Yes, you may have a drink. How are you feeling?" Reaching over to the bedside table, she lifted a glass of water with a straw in it to her sister's lips. "Take your time drinking. Well, we now know what was wrong with you, and it will...
Jenny hung from the wall. The pain had finally stopped and she looked around the room. Her eyes slowly focused on the only things in the room, a spider bot hanging on the far wall above the replicator and the camera in the center of the room pointed at her. Suddenly the pain started up again, and she started screaming until her voice was hoarse, and she lost control of her bladder and soiled herself. The pain stopped for a second and she started gasping for a breath. She screamed into the...
Jenny tossed and turned in her bed as she slept. She twisted and wrapped herself up in the sheets. The dream came once again to her. It had come often, since she had found out that she was supposed to die. She watched her dream self walk down the stairs of her home, dressed as a clown. Walking up to her parents, she gave them a kiss and a hug. A sad smile was painted upon her face, and she gave a small sigh for her brother. Her mother took her face in her hands. She looked deeply in her...
Setting his wife down on the couch, Mike staggered back up the stairs and over to one of the windows. He looked out. What he saw, appalled him. Black smoke billowed up into the sky all around them, while people staggered out of their shattered homes. Mike took one more look around, and limped down to the bathroom, where he pulled the first aid kit out from under the sink, and carried the kit back downstairs. Setting the box down by his wife, he looked over at his gun safe. Going over to his...
High above Reno, an F-14 plummeted towards the ground. All the electrical systems had failed throughout the plane. Suddenly the fighter stopped in midair and a voice crackled over the radio. "Devil Dog, this is Heavy Hauler one-niner. I have you, and we are taking you aboard our ship. Sit back and enjoy the ride." "Thanks, Heavy Hauler, whoever you are. Everything was failing, here, including the ejection seat. Lieutenant Commander Thomas Kincaide, United States Navy on this...
The miles went by quickly. One hundred and forty miles later, Ken saw a sign welcoming them to Hurricane City, Utah. Ken reached over and slapped Ted's arm, waking him up. "Hey, Ted, wake up." Ted jerked away. "Yeah, Ken? What you need?" Looking around he saw buildings and civilization. With a yawn, he asked, "Where are we?" With a glance at Ted, Ken replied, "We just entered Hurricane City. Look for a restaurant. We'll stop for a stretch, get something to eat and use the...
The next week went by quickly. The shuttle made nightly flights to the ship, depositing the belongings into the prepared quarters, or into a storage container in the hold. On Friday night, the gang finally arrived at the house. A cargo/lifter shuttle arrived, and all five of the kid's cars were loaded up, along with the U-haul carrying their belongings. Amy took the new crewmembers into medical and began their training until Molly could return. Molly had returned to Las Vegas to look for a...