And deep down, he felt some kind of desire… a desire for vengeance at the destruction of the scion prism.
Chapter 20
MIKE TURNED, staggered back toward the basin, and glanced over his shoulder. The snap of croatoan rifles split the air. The riders of both hover-bikes paused above the edge of the forest, steadied their black beasts and fired.
Mai’s head appeared above the step leading to Unity. He flapped his right hand, motioning her to get down.
Projectiles whistled past and threw up lumps of dirt and root. Mike’s right boot snagged between two thick stems of the flourishing crop and he crashed against the ground.
Pain coursed through Mike’s right shoulder after it took the brunt of the impact. Turning on his front, he expected to see the bikes hovering above him, ready to deliver their coup de grace.
Both remained in the same position. Four more whined into view, smoothly fanning out in an extended line. Mike fumbled around his belt and clipped off his handheld radio. “Enemy over the forest. I repeat, enemy over the forest.”
Mai extended a hand toward him and mouthed something. She disappeared below the top step cut into the ground around the edge of the drained lake, to provide solid foundations for the better houses in the city.
Mike didn’t blame her for running. He wanted her to be safe. It would be a pointless sacrifice if they both died in the field.
Already out of breath, and ignoring the twinges in his chest, Mike scrambled to his feet and squelched through the root field, expecting to be killed at any moment. He never thought he’d be the first casualty in the battle for Unity. If his plan had worked, they wouldn’t even be facing one. As it stood, because of the failure, they were at the mercy of Augustus and his advancing army.
A tweak would probably correct his new weapon. Mike was sure he had the fundamentals in place and all he needed was time. He looked over his shoulder again at the force that would deny him that chance.
One hover-bike thrust forward over the root field, directly at him. He planted the radio to his mouth. “Please. Come quickly.”
Mike internally kicked himself for not requesting a protective guard to carry out the field trials and ending up in this situation. With an attack on the horizon he should have known. He was the inventor who worked behind closed doors and had no idea about combat strategy beyond the video games he played forty years ago.
The heat of a projectile flashed past Mike’s ear and hit the dirt in front of him. His boot slipped in the loose soil and he dropped to all fours, gasping for breath. The hover-bike swept around in a wide arc and came for a second run.
In the distance, Unity’s own bikes punched into the air above Aimee’s residence. A few small figures ran from between the houses toward the field. Neither would reach him in time. The enemy’s engines rose in volume and the croatoan rider aimed a rifle down.
Mike closed his eyes and bowed his head. The alien wouldn’t miss a second time. He thought about some of the things he and his friends had been through to this point. The years living in a New York basement with Mai, supplying Charlie and Denver. Creating the bomb to bring down the mother and terraforming ships.
It led them to the brink of peace, but Augustus intended to snatch defeat from the jaws of human victory. Mike wasn’t a man of violence, but would drop his beliefs to give the old Roman a kick in the nuts.
The approaching engine stuttered and cut to silence, leaving only the distant whine of the other enemy and approaching Unity vehicles. Mike glanced up at the clear blue sky.
The stalled bike twisted on its side and veered down. It crashed nose first into the field. A shower of mud sprayed forward and splattered against Mike’s face and body. The croatoan rider flipped over the handlebars and cartwheeled through the air, landing on his helmet just five meters away.
Six Unity bikes, with their helmetless croatoan riders, powered over the field. The croatoan from the fallen bike lay face down with a rifle strapped to its back, not moving a muscle. Mike took a deep breath, scrambled to his feet and ran.
Two heads appeared above the edge of the basin.
Mai frantically gestured him forward.
Gib held up one of his prototype weapons, a thin metal tube with a trigger at the bottom of it. He knew the workings of hover-bikes and harvesters better than most and had created targeted radio frequency pulses to confuse the electronics within them, causing their engines to cut. They were due to trial it later, but Mike had no complaints about the results of Gib’s spontaneous pilot test. He felt like kissing his scaly little assistant.
Rifle fire crackled behind him. The Unity croatoans had reached Augustus’ vanguard and an aerial battle commenced. Ten of the city’s ground troops poured over the side of the basin, a mix of human and alien, and advanced forward in pairs, carrying out a controlled firing maneuver toward the enemy.
No longer able to run, Mike slowed and wiped his brow. His lungs burned and his heart thumped against his chest. If Unity could manage to hold the attack at bay for a short time, his small team would have a chance to refine the failed weapon.
Reaching the edge of the steep slope that ran down to the buildings on the first step, Mike smiled down at Mai and Gib. “I’m glad to see one of us can get it right.”
Gib blinked and the corner of his mouth twisted down. “Tested with family this morning. Weapon works.”
“You saved my life.”
“Get yourself down here,” Mai snapped. “You’re too old to be running around.”
The firing ceased.
Mike turned to look.
Two of the attackers’ bikes were down; the other three hovered in the air above the trees, without their riders. The Unity force surrounded the bodies on the ground and inspected them.
They had little time to waste and he wanted to get straight back to the workshop. “We need to get moving—”
Mai cupped her cheeks and her eyes widened. “Look out!”
Mike spun around. The croatoan from the stalled bike had raised itself from the mud. It pointed its rifle at him and fired.
A searing pain shot through his elbow. The force of the projectile threw him forward, down the steep slope between Mai and Gib.
Mai screamed.
Mike tried to grab something to slow his tumble but couldn’t gain any traction. He tucked in his injured elbow as he gathered pace toward a log cabin, spinning out of control and bashing against small rocks.
Clenching his teeth to fight against the pain, Mike braced himself for impact. His back slammed against the cabin wall and the world above him faded to black.
Chapter 21
AUGUSTUS STOOD amongst densely packed pines, two miles from Unity. The morning sun still hadn’t burned off a thin layer of mist that hugged the forest floor. He placed his hands on his hips and gazed at the clear blue sky through the sparse canopy.
The advanced scout group had still not returned from their reconnaissance mission. He deployed them to establish the strength of Unity’s defenses on all sides of the basin. They were ten minutes late.
Footsteps thumped along the needle-covered ground. Augustus looked over his shoulder. Zoe jogged up the track and slid to a halt, invading his personal space. “Sir, we’re all formed up and ready to move on your command.”
“Any news on the scout group?”
“Nothing yet. They might be here in a few minutes. Better late than never.”
He stepped toward her and crushed her toes under his boot. “Say that last line again.”