Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 532: Divided
BANG!
The air erupted as he fired from the weapon that appeared in his hand. The weapon he was using was the Wasp Rifle. It was the more final version of the experimental railgun rifle that he used on Yuri. He was able to make a final version out of a form of chemi-metal alternative that was discovered during their search for a stronger metal. Now the metal was resonating and causing a chain reaction that would send it farther and with more force as it was launched out by the electromagnetic cannon.
The round smacked into the ship that was going to land to pick up the leader and his subordinate. It tore through the cockpit window and the remaining window was covered in blood as the ship’s rear end exploded and the ship did a nose dive that had it veering off course and crashing in some buildings in the distance.
Jace noticed the ships that did a strafing run were coming back and started another run. Tearing through the village and igniting fires with their high heat laser weapons. So he moved to the middle of the street and aimed up to the one on his right and fired.
BANG!
Then he switched and fired at the one to his left.
BANG!
The ship on his right wavered as the shot tore through the base of the ship before spinning and crashing through a bunch of rubble and burning debris. While the ship on the left was hit through what he figured must be the engine and the back of it exploded, sending the remains of the cockpit overhead and crashing at the entrance to the village behind him.
He glanced at it for only a moment before sending his Wisp Rifle back into his tattoo’s dimensional space. He walked over to the sheriff building which was fortunately still standing with both the horse and Gaz standing on the porch with Liz who looked horrified as he walked over.
"It sounds like they are going to hunt you as well now." Jace pointed out as he crouched down while glancing at the horse again. Which climbed off the sheriff house’s porch.
"Yeah... our visits are usually much more tame. But..." She looked at Gaz who had turned visible. "It looks like we are going to have to go on the run." She then looked around the destroyed houses as people started coming out with most of them grabbing what they could carry, some were already running away, some were using vehicles or mounts.
"How likely are they to lockdown the entire island?" Jace asked as he found what he was looking for. He had hobbled together a communication device using spare parts from the communication device that is inside of the sheriff station. He made it to cut through the various signals that were on or around this planet. Instead it would only pick up the signal that was using a specific frequency that was predetermined. It looked like it was already picking up a signal from the north. Unfortunately it only gave direction and not distance.
"A fleet will get here within a few months to lockdown the island and planet. But the initial patrolling ship will probably send a few more soldiers. To conduct some searches. But the chances of us getting off the island are low." Liz explained as she patted Gaz who went back invisible but was clearly rubbing its head against her hand.
"Then we will need to split up to better our chances. I will act as a distraction and draw them towards the cities you told me about. I need you to take this bag to this location. It is probably on the northern part of the planet." Jace explained as he handed her his bag of gear and the communicator he put together.
"Why..."
"Because I am probably far more of a target and I need to make contact with the local government anyways to make sure they have not captured any more of my people. So I need you to take all of this and keep it out of their hands and get it to my people. With it they will figure out what my plan is." He handed her the communicator and bag. "You are going to want to avoid making tracks, it looks like that is how they learned about Gaz to start with."
"Why are you helping me? We just met today." Liz pointed out in confusion.
Jace pulled himself on the horse and grunted in annoyance at the discomfort. He looked at her and shrugged. "I am just following my instinct." He then dug his heels in and the horse neighed and started running through the path out the village. Inside the sheriff’s station was a map of the islands that he had already memorized. He may have only spent half an hour in that building but he had learned and done enough for this new plan to work.
—-------------------------
Liz rode on the back of Gaz as he moved from tree to tree. Moving to the border of the island. She did not expect them to start coming after her as well. But maybe it was for the best. She had been tied to this island for far too long.
Her parents already passed away when she was only a teen. She distinctly remembered the event as they were murdered before her eyes. The warning from the person who did it was forever imprinted in her mind, because she remembered the woman’s emotionless expression as she dissected them. The words she whispered to the girl before she left.
Her parents were not anything special. Her father was the lighthouse keeper before her. He was a Prima Terra human with a capacity for hunting and fighting. But in the face of his killer he was nothing special.
Then there was her mother, she was something that was called a Zeno. Not a species of humanoid native to this galaxy, she came through one of the many blackholes and wormholes that seemed to be attracted to Prima Terra. Her species were similar to humans but lacked noses and a harder external skin. According to her parents she barely survived her crash landing on the planet which occurred because she was an experimental pilot for her people. Fortunately for Liz she took after her father more, with only her skin being a bit weaker than normal people. Although she had a gift in turn that helped her.
After her parents passed she stayed in the lighthouse and watched over it and the shores around it. She stayed in a lull of hunting and protecting the lighthouse until a few years ago. When a different kind of trouble landed in her lap.
A man, or more specifically. A Martian human. They had a higher tolerance for heat exposure and could breath fire under the right conditions. He did not crash land, instead he just landed next to the lighthouse with his scaleback. She was young and foolish and welcomed him into her home. Learning too late what kind of person he was.
She absentmindedly rubbed her arms where the scars still lingered. She was fortunate for Gaz because she might have never survived if it was not for him. Which was why she was more than willing to leave behind her life if it meant protecting the loyal scaleback.
She shivered as she suddenly felt something strange, like she was being watched.
—-------------------------
"Cain, can you still not get in contact with Jace?" Shinobi asked over the channel.
Cain shook his head before answering. "No, I have something that I think is his signal. But it is in the southern part of the planet on a small set of islands where there are less towers and more radio interference." Cain explained. "You and Valkyrie are the closest ones to him but I am guessing it will still take him a while."
"How about the others?" Shinobi asked.
"K, Jamal, and Shilla are on Luna. The planet’s moon. They are doing scouting for us while Crystal, Colvert, and I are all hiding out in a debris field. We are going to find a suitable disguise soon. But you need to keep your head down, the chatter says that someone of importance is coming to the planet." Cain explained and looked at the timer. "Our time is just about up, expect sporadic communications, I will give you updates on Jace as he gets closer to you."
The channel disconnected as Cain moved away from the console and walked out into the larger hangar room. Where Crystal and Colvert were currently working on the spacecraft that they were making.
"We need a better energy source!" Crystal called out.
"No we need-" Colvert stopped as Cain walked over. "How are they? Have you got in contact with Jace yet?"
"Nope and the time limit until the next time I can check is a few hours. Any more than a few minutes on one of those satellites will get me caught." Cain explained. "It looks like we are going to need help to build this for our disguise."
"What about Victor?" Crystal asked.
"No clue."
