The Beginning of the End
As preparations continued, every member of the guild, Vanguard, was busy preparing for every possible outcome. And so, another month passed while they wondered each day if it was to be the last they had for preparations. With this time, the season began to change. Unlike many of the northern states, Texas didn't have a true fall. There was no changing of the leaves to radiant hues of red, orange, and yellow, but as the temperatures began to lower, the spirits of those living there began to lift.
No longer did the sun beat down, turning the world into an oppressive oven of one hundred-plus degree days, but instead, winds began to blow, coming in from the now much closer gulf coast, giving relief to the normally blistering days. Relief at the ability to keep cool in a city where the only source of air conditioning was the Trammel Crow Center was palpable.
As the days began to shorten, and the evenings came earlier, the brilliant sunsets with a combination of colors so vibrant they felt as though they had been painted in the sky became a time when members would gather to be grateful for the blessings they did have. The names of the adventurers who had risked their lives to ensure this level of comfort were praised in almost reverent tones during these moments of tranquility.
Harvest seasons, which came far more often with the use of magic to enhance the growth of both produce and livestock, were always a time of rejoicing. Food continued to become more and more varied as the guild continued to expand the repertoire of the farms continued to expand. With full bellies, comfortable living spaces, and increased security, the people of Vanguard experienced a time of peace unfathomable just a few short months ago. But it couldn't last.
On one gloomy morning, when grey clouds promising rain covered the skies across the city, a man raced down the halls of the guild building to the security office. When he burst into the room, gasping for breath and with a distraught look on his face, everyone turned to see what was happening.
"Guild leader, you need to see this!" the man said loudly, concern lacing his voice.
Tom, Derek, Brian, and TJ all raced from the room, following the man down to the basement and to the engineering station, where about twenty people were gathered around a machine sitting against the wall. When the gathered people had moved to make way for their leader, Tom noticed that the machine they were staring at had a screen that showed what appeared to be the Earth in a pixelated form. Pulsating waves began in what would have been Texas and expanded outward until they reached the edge of the screen.
Four small red dots blipped each time the waves passed them outside of Earth's atmosphere, inching closer as they watched. Tom frowned with concern as he took in the scene on the screen.
"Harold...what is this?" Tom asked.
"You can think of it as a global sonar system. Without the use of satellites, we had to come up with another way to monitor as far away as possible. Hebert and I had found in one of his experiments that all living objects had this sort of vibration. The Earth is no exception. So, in tapping into that sort of life wave, we were able to use that to create an image of sorts. Then, recreating an opposing vibration and sending that out as a sort of signal and reading the spaces where the frequencies have gaps, we can make an image that shows anomalies. That's what these red dots are," Harold said, placing a finger on the screens where the objects were.
"But what about all the dead satellites or the space station? Why aren't those showing up?" Derek asked.
"We were able to filter out anything under a certain size, knowing it was likely that the invasion would be from ships larger than anything we had sent to space yet," Harold replied.
"Wait...so you're saying these are...." Tom began but found himself unable to say it.
"I'm sorry to say that I believe these to be the space pirates we have been waiting on. The consistent, steady movement in a line that doesn't appear to be affected by the Earth's gravitational pull, which should be pulling the objects into its orbit, means they have some kind of propulsion system allowing them to stay on a steady course," Harold explained.
Tom stood stock still, staring at the red dots as they approached. His heart began beating faster, and he felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. Paralysis held him in place for a long moment.
"TJ, get everyone ready now," Tom said in a low voice, unable to look away. "Sound the alarm."
TJ rushed back to the security office and hit the panic button they had put in place for both monster attacks, and for this unfortunate eventuality.
"Tom?" Derek asked, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I know...It just didn't seem real until this moment. We were warned, and we did everything we could to prepare," Tom said, turning to look at the others. "Now, we get everyone ready. All eyes on the sky while we wait."
"They could be headed for anywhere on the planet. What do we do if they go somewhere else? There appear to be only four ships," Herbert asked.
"Then we take the fight to them. I have a feeling they will come straight for us, though," Tom replied.
"How can you be sure?" Harold asked.
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"If you were invading a planet that you assumed had primitive life on it, and you wanted to ensure your victory as soon as possible, where would you go first?" Tom asked.
"Probably the strongest place first. But how would they know what that was?" Harold asked.
Tom simply pointed at the mana collection banks that stored and expelled power out to the generators.
"You think they're tracking the flow of mana..." Harold said in a moment of realization. "Why didn't I think of that?!"
Harold suddenly ran off to another space in the back of the workshop and came back with a device that looked like a large battery booked up to an engine on a flatbed cart that looked like he had stolen it from Home Depot.
"What's this?" Tom asked.
An evil smile appeared on Harold's face, "It's a failed experiment. It was supposed to be a mana-powered engine for a car. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to get its output to be steady yet. A little more time, and I'm sure I could have fixed it, but right now, when you start it up, it expends all the energy at once in a giant pulse of power."
Tom began to laugh, "And you want to fire that off to get their attention, don't you?"
"Exactly," Harold replied.
"Harold, you mad bastard. I like the way you think. Get it set up. Take it up to the highest floor you can and set it off," Tom ordered.
"I want this to be big, so I've got nine more batteries I'm going to hook up at once. They won't be able to ignore this signal," Harold said as he grabbed two more people and rushed off to get the device in place.
"This is the moment we have been preparing for. It's time to show them that we aren't just some pathetic fools to be taken advantage of. All members prepare for the invasion!" Tom called out.
Everyone began to move to their designated jobs. They had been running drills for this exact moment, and it was time to see if their preparations paid off. Gunners manned the weaponry at the top of the building, ammunition that had been stockpiled for months was rushed into position, F-35s were prepped for takeoff and loaded with as many missiles as they could carry, snipers prepared to take up positions, fighters gathered in the courtyard, and vehicles were prepared for movement.
Not a single person was left awaiting orders. Children were moved to the gym with caretakers and parents who were noncombatants, all nonessential functions were shut down to ensure all hands could be ready. Rebecca had a team of healers on standby, and potions were handed out to every member to ensure that their stockpiles were complete while Charlene and her staff whipped up some energy bars that they could continually hand out to give buffs for the fight.
Herbert moved to Tom and tapped him on the shoulder, "Tom, if you have just a moment."
"What's up, Herbert?"
"I have one more thing I was working on. I don't know exactly how useful it will be, as I wasn't able to fully test it, but since we are rolling everything else out, I figured we should just give it a go. Follow me." Herbert said, gesturing that Tom should come with him.
The pair walked to the back corner, where a fairly large device was sitting with a sheet thrown over it. As Herbert removed it, Tom found himself staring at what looked like a contraption straight out of the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
"What am I looking at?" Tom asked, not sure what to make of the device.
"It's an energy cannon. The system takes power, converts it into a single beam, and fires it in a single compacted beam. In theory, if we fire it at a shield, it should either beat it into submission or, if it's being created by a machine, overload the capacitors creating it. I call it the Deshieldinator." Herbert said.
"Doofenshmirtz?" Tom asked.
"Ah, a man of class!" Herbert laughed. "If we can get this to the walls, I think we can aim it at the ships to take down any shields they may have to help give us an opening to attack the ships."
"Brilliant! Get as many people as you need to get it to the wall, and let's make it happen," Tom replied.
"I'll get on it now," Herbert said, rushing off to gather some helping hands.
"Brian, get back to the security office to help with coordination. Derek, come with me," Tom called out.
Walking back up from the basement and out into the courtyard, Tom saw that everyone was busy getting into position for the invasion. Men and women were moving items within the courtyard to use as makeshift blockades, the RVs were moved to the walls to provide extra standing space on the roofs, and teams were forming to prepare for a fight. Tom saw that each of the Mastadonians had taken a group of people to give final instructions and speeches of inspiration as well.
Tom's heart filled with pride at the seriousness with which each of the members was taking this threat. Derek called out a few orders for where to place certain items when he noticed they were not in the right place. Looking up at the sky, a low rumbling rolled out from the darkening clouds that obscured the view above. It would rain before long, no doubt about it. That would make things slightly more difficult, but it was nothing they couldn't handle.
"Are we sure the F-35s can fly if it's raining?" Tom asked.
"Yes, Anderson said that the restriction of flights during a thunderstorm was lifted a while back, and the specialized instruments on board allow for flying even in nearly blind conditions. They won't have any trouble after all the practice they have been getting," Derek replied.
"Perfect. Then let them come. We will be ready for them."