From Chapter 29: The Hunter

Page 434…

The vehicles began their return to a safe area, with the same dizzying speed they had arrived. The clouds followed them, with any that came within firing range being immediately and successfully shot down.

“We are not safe yet,” Menelik informed them. “We have no organized defenses in this desolate area, and neither does Daemon.”

“Where are we heading?” Terry asked.

“Home,” Menelik answered, confirming a piece of information Terry had suspected. “To Antioch.”

As they traveled, the sky flashed with QEMP explosions. The Creators’ vessels were trying to position themselves over their vehicles to lift them into the air, but without success.

In the midst of their euphoria, however, a cry from one of the crew members brought them abruptly back to earth.

“Menelik, we have a BIG problem.”

Menelik stuck his body out of the window and looked around. What he saw left him speechless.

A massive vessel was coming towards them at high speed, from behind and at a low altitude. It was almost the size of the Ziggurat and could have lifted all four of their vehicles at once. Its size barely allowed the condensed vapor of its cover to conceal it. The edges of the nebulous veil swirled and dissipated from its speed. The otherworldly black metal of its construction emerged as the cloud around it failed to keep pace.

“All units, fire,” he ordered, unable to believe what he was seeing. “Show them what we can do. This is our moment!” he tried to rally his comrades.

The vehicles all began to fire on the massive vessel together. The QEMP volleys, however, did not seem to be causing it any damage. They were too weak for it.

Then, from the vehicles’ speakers, Daemon’s update, paradoxically reassuring and calm, was heard.

“I see it. I am on my way.”

A moment later, the alien vessel caught up to them and took position above them. A hole appeared in the bottom of the cloud like a mouth about to suck them in. Menelik froze. His mind pictured the image of a large fish preying on smaller ones. His face contorted in horror. The alien vessel resembles a stingray sucking in its food.

Grains of sand began to rise around them, a sign that its anti-gravity beam had been activated. The vehicles began to lift slightly when Menelik came to his senses and gave the order.

“Break formation.”

The Insurgent vehicles, which were moving in a rhombus formation, abruptly changed directions, as they had been trained to do on this command. The left one cut sharply left, pinning its passengers to the walls, and the right one veered sharply to the right. The central one continued straight, while the rear one, where Menelik, Terry, and Rhea were, almost came to an instantaneous stop.

The side and rear vehicles managed to escape, but the front one did not. The alien vessel, knowing where its main targets were, shut off the anti-gravity beam while the first one was in the air. The Insurgent vehicle fell sharply from a great height onto the sand, tumbling over many times from the violent impact, rendered useless.

“One, what is your status?” Menelik asked over the comms, his voice filled with anguish. “One, do you read me?”

“Continue, Four,” One announced, with sounds of pain and crashing debris heard from the speakers. “Only bruises.”

Menelik exhaled with relief, but the danger remained. The alien vessel made a turn and was coming after them again, ignoring the other two.

“I hope your ‘girlfriend’ isn’t late,” Menelik quipped, addressing Terry and Rhea, his face betraying desperation. “The situation is critical, and we can’t face this alone.”

“I hope I am not only theirs, Menelik,” Daemon’s voice was heard again. “Our cooperation has just begun, and we have much to learn from each other.”

Menelik heard Daemon calmly speaking of friendship between them amidst the chaos around them. He looked at Terry and Rhea with bewilderment, as if he believed Daemon had gone mad.

“After the upgrade,” Terry explained, holding a handle tightly, “she’s not the same. She’s developed more humor. How should I put it, she’s more… more zen.” Then he tried to justify her. “It might be useful for facing this crisis with a bit more calm and wisdom.”

“It seems to me you both have a screw loose,” Menelik declared, shaking his head.

“I am approaching from the west at an azimuth of 49 degrees,” Daemon’s calm voice was heard again. “I would ask you to come towards me at an azimuth of 229 degrees, so that we align, placing your hunter behind you.”

Terry nodded to Menelik, encouraging him to follow Daemon’s instructions. The certainty in Terry’s eyes was the push Menelik needed to overcome his disbelief. Though hesitant, he did so; he ordered the crew to make the necessary maneuver.

They followed the designated direction, and the alien vessel turned and found itself behind them, just as Daemon wanted.

“I am 20 seconds ahead of you; do not open fire,” Daemon was heard again.

With the vessel chasing them catching up and preparing to take position above them again, Menelik thought that this amount of time might not be enough for them. With his head out of the vehicle’s window, he looked ahead and saw, low in the distance, a swarm of hovering aircraft that looked like mosquitoes from afar.

Ten Pegasus in formation, four on top, four on the bottom, and one at each end, were approaching rapidly. They were flying low so that their engines could take maximum advantage of gravity and develop the maximum speed they could, even at the risk of being destroyed in the process.

The air around them seemed to vibrate from a distance. Their low flight altitude caused the desert sand to rise in their wake. Moments later, they passed just over them at hypersonic speed. The pursued Insurgent vehicles were buffeted. The usual gentle hum of the Pegasus engines had been replaced by a deafening, otherworldly shriek as they operated beyond their limits.

Their formation in depth was like a crescent moon, calculated to the centimeter to match the circumference of their predator vessel, as perfect as only Daemon could control. Her plan was clear: a simultaneous collision designed to transfer every last bit of their kinetic energy into the impact. Menelik, spitting out the sand that had entered his mouth, quickly got back inside, shouting in a panic.

“IMPACT! IMPACT!”

All their hearts were pounding furiously as they assumed brace positions, preparing for the impending danger…