CHAPTER 146: Open the Gates
Cruxannith’cz’Jurzax smiled as she looked at a display floating in front of her. The image came from one of the dedicated. Those that served her. He had another crystal that was capturing the scene, and she was watching it through the display. Sgolkr was also watching from behind her, and he wasn’t smiling.
“Why play these games? We should wipe them out!” he snarled.
“Of course we should,” she agreed.
“Then why are we waiting?”
“Why shouldn’t we play with our food?” she teased.
“That can’t be the reason. Wasting time on them doesn’t make us stronger or allow us to get ahead of others,” he argued.
“I disagree with that. Those natives are stronger than any single force so far. It is worth feasting on their XP.”
That argument caused Sgolkr to frown, at least as much as the Scyrric could. Natives had never gotten this strong. They couldn’t get this strong. Cruxannith chuckled at him, causing him to hiss menacingly at her.
“Besides,” she continued, ignoring his posturing, “you were sent to guard me while I captured the aberration.”
“And now you have done that,” he hissed. “You didn’t even allow us to make an offer for the aberration, who should be our property by right.”
“Bah!” she scowled. “You would have just torn him up and gained nothing from him. At least the Red Clan can learn from him.”
“Tearing him up is worth more to us than giving your people more power and knowledge.”
Cruxannith laughed at him again.
“Fine, go and destroy the natives. Just make sure to do it slowly, as tradition dictates. I have called on the Kukiolis should you need help getting through the wall. They will be here in four daytime cycles.”
“You think I need the ‘little giants’ to break that base and the natives? How much you underestimate us. But I will do it slowly, as you said.” Sgolkr put on a sadistic grin.
As the Scyrric leapt from the building roof, Cruxannith laughed louder. She had gotten the aberration for her people, and the natives’ rebellion would be broken. Once those were done, she still had much to gain on this planet. She was already close to Tier 4. Was it possible for her to make it to Tier 5 before the end? Such a bounty to allow her to advance.
Her laughter and smile lasted a long time as she watched the distant city of Jackson through the display, and the conflict that was unavoidable.
***
“Open the gates!” shouted Colonel Davian.
Sirens filled the air, a desperate sound to those outside the base as well as those within. These weren’t the warning alarms that had been going off occasionally. These were the “get your asses in here if you want to live” alarms.
People from the city who hadn’t been trapped within the walls since the last large conflict were gathered outside the base. There was uncertainty, fear, and an antagonistic human army between them and safety within the walls. Many of these people had been forced to give information to General Carmichael’s army while more had been forced to fight with them on hunts or in training.
Now that the alarms were sounding, there was no belief that Carmichael’s army would be enough to protect them. They didn’t have a choice before, allowing the general’s army to conscript them. Now it was different. They knew what this alarm meant and there was no safety outside the walls, whether they stood with Carmichael’s troops or not.
Unfortunately, the strongest of Carmichael’s men stood at the gate, preventing anyone from getting to safety. There was plenty of yelling, cursing, and pleading. Adults and kids, all desperate to get inside, watched the army in front of them with distrust. They knew the Sentinel Army had fought and won. The Sentinel Army had developed a plan and kept them safe until now. And the Sentinel Army warned them to evacuate. Something bad was on its way based on the frantic sirens.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Elouise for the third time. She nervously placed her hand on Davian’s arm, feeling the fabric of the military uniform he still wore. It was only a little comforting, reminding her of her husband and the great men who fought to protect their country and its place in the world.
“We don’t have a choice,” said Davian gruffly. “There are still too many people trapped outside. General Carmichael is a reasonable man. He wouldn’t sacrifice all his countrymen due to his own pride.”
“He was a reasonable man in a peaceful age when he got to dictate the terms of conflict,” Elouise reflected quietly. “We can’t be sure how the [System], the invaders, and the increased power have changed him. It could be the end of Jackson if he starts conflict inside the walls with the invaders coming.”
The Sentinel Army’s operators that had been monitoring the other networked Rifts had seen the invaders gathering. The scouting Leputi and humans had watched the forces amassing. This wasn’t a small-scale battle coming. It wasn’t a siege. The Scyrric were gathering a large mass of organized and obedient troops and beasts.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Quickly the news had been sent to Jordan and Lashtam. Now they were trying to prepare the base for the attack. They might have a day or two before the enemy forces would fully gather and be ready. It might also be less than hours the way a leveled army could move, or even if they had some magic or technology to help them arrive faster.
Regardless, inside the base people were rushing to get to their assigned positions or meet up with their units. Everyone was hurrying. Yet inside the base there wasn’t a sense of panic. People were scared, sure, but they had developed belief in Adam and the Sentinel Army.
Of course, Adam wasn’t here, Davian thought guiltily. Few people knew. Adam’s group was also gone and hadn’t been back for two days. People assumed Adam was with them.
In a situation like this, Davian thought it was best to bolster their own forces with those of General Carmichael’s. Detachment Commander Rexus and his special forces were at the level of Adam’s group, or even more considering how quickly they had been leveling. It was almost unreal. If leveling was as easy as those soldiers made it seem, then resisting the invasions wasn’t a pipedream. They just needed to find out how they were leveling so fast and apply it to more people.
At the colonel’s command, the gate opened about 10 feet wide. The soldier controlling it from the top of the wall wisely left it narrow enough that they couldn’t swarm should the other side attack.
The US soldiers that had already been working with the Sentinel Army all this time had been dismayed and confused by the conflict between those outside the wall and within. To them, they were all part of the same force. Yet after working with the Sentinels for so long, most felt pride in the sanctuary that Jackson had become, that they had helped build. Their families were protected here, those that had them, and they had been given a good place to live.
The soldiers didn’t want to endanger their people and place, so they followed orders. Unfortunately, rank is supposed to trump orders, and it was still difficult for the troops to compartmentalize the situation. On the other hand, those in the Sentinel Army who weren’t US soldiers knew exactly which side they stood on, and there were many more of them than US soldiers. Both sides recognized that if a violent conflict occurred within the base, lives and maybe the entire base would be lost. At the least, anyone who stood against The General would die.
As the gate opened, Davian could see the throng of civilians outside wanting to come in but scared to push into the soldiers that blocked their path. Rows were formed up as the troops blocked the people from coming into the Jackson base while other rows faced the walls, should they be attacked by the soldiers on them. Davian had been told the other three gates had the same situation.
Once the gate stopped opening, showing that it would only take in so many for now, a group entered the base. At their lead was Kevin Spence, Cody Sloan, Jamari Gillum, and Jack Flemming. They were followed by General Carmichael and several of his officers. The group was finished by Tyler Zito, Willis Abrego, and Victor Rexus. All the special forces were between levels 24 and 29, except for Commander Rexus. He was at a shocking level 43.
Davian couldn’t even fathom how they had gotten their levels so high in the short period they had been in Jackson. Not even Adam’s group could level that fast.
“Ready to turn over the base, Fredericks?” asked General Carmichael without subtlety. His group stopped 30 feet from where Colonel Davian and Elouise stood. About twenty troops, a mix of US soldiers and Sentinels, stood behind him. Davian knew that even with the numbers advantage they weren’t a match for the Tier 3 special forces before him.
“I’ve told you before, general, that isn’t a possibility,” answered Davian with a sigh. “This is more important than that.”
“More important than a bunch of treasonous dogs claiming land in MY country?” Carmichael shrieked. The intensity took Davian by surprise. As he shouted, the man looked almost rabid, practically frothing as he spat out his words. “This land belongs to the United States of America! You have betrayed the United States, betrayed your position within the armed forces, and betrayed all the people we have sworn to protect! I hereby remove your rank and authority and demand you turn yourself in for questioning!”
Davian shook his head. Elouise had been right. Something had changed General Carmichael, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t try to find a peaceful resolution.
“Yes, this is more important than any of that. A stronger invader army is being formed, and they are heading here to attack. Anyone outside the walls will probably die. It would benefit everyone if we join forces in defending them.”
“Join forces? JOIN FORCES?! You were supposed to be in the same force! To follow orders and protect our country. Now here you are begging for our help because you know that your fake army, your traitor army, is following an enemy sympathizer!”
At Carmichael’s words Davian shook his head. Those arguments meant nothing, but if the general wouldn’t even listen, then there was nothing else that could be done. He felt a squeeze from Elouise on his jacket sleeve and looked down to see her sadly shaking her head.
“Speaking of enemies, I don’t see that traitor boy with you. Are you sure you don’t need his permission to speak to us? Your alien overlords might not approve!”
“Sir…Howard, at least let us bring the civilians in,” pleaded Davian.
“Allow you to get more people to give over to your masters? Not a chance! This is for their own protection,” snarled Carmichael. “Now that it has come to this, Fleming, go bring that traitor here. Fredericks, you have until he reaches you to surrender yourself and this base to us.”
“This isn’t about the base, Howard! This is about lives!” shouted Davian.
The colonel was getting past the disappointment now and his anger was taking over. This isn’t how officers and leaders should be. The situation would be dire in the best of alliances and here was a man he had followed, a man he had respected, a man that should be working with them and supporting them, trying to break the tools and operations the Sentinels had created. Had the man gone insane? Was he being influenced by the mind witch Adam was obsessed with?
The answers didn’t matter. Whether Adam had been right or not about their group being compromised wasn’t the issue. Right now, a level 28, Tier 3 “Flamethrower” was slowly walking towards him with a smile on.
Fleming was approaching him looking every bit the predator, grinning sharply with manic joy. He raised his hands in front of him as he moved, with fire spreading across them. The flames licked up and around, looking for something to burn. They were yellow, the heat warping even the controlled temperature in the base.
The troops behind the colonel all had their weapons out and were moving forward to protect him, but Davian signaled them to hold still. Another flick of his hand and two soldiers rushed forward and pulled Elouise away from him and to the protective warriors.
Fleming looked around at the buildings. With the flames dancing around his palm and fingers he took in the sight of the buildings while smiling.
“Yes, this place looks better for us than those converted buildings out there. I hear that kid’s building is quite luxurious. Definitely a better fit for us than some barely of age punk.”
Davian scowled at the man. “You are making a big mistake here, Jack. You don’t want to do this,” he warned.
“After the last few months, I do want to do this,” nodded Fleming. “Oh yes, I really, really want to do this!”
Then Fleming rushed forward, his burning hands reaching for Colonel Davian.