Prisoners of Sol 14

Spirits were high as we glided closer to the city. I tried to shake my feeling of unease and enjoy myself. I leaned my skull back, imagining that I was a dog sticking my head out the window. Mikri seemed relieved that I was back in the truck alongside him, and I decided against telling him that our proximity didn’t improve my odds of safety. My pupils turned toward the farmsteads we passed, where I saw one parent hurry a child away from the windows and shut the curtains. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed my android friend following my gaze…and wondered if he understood.

Just a parent who loves their child and is trying to keep them safe. We can’t have Mikri mowing down civilians at will, so let’s hope he got our lesson. Once we secure the region, I’d be curious to try to talk to some of the common people, and compare them to the royals.

We might’ve expected to see more civilian traffic, as the roads branched out in suburbia; we cruised down the turnpike that offered a straight shot to the city. The maps we had of its layout were the images Khatun’s shuttle had captured on the way down, but that was enough to plot our course. The Asscar had retreated into the first city triangle, from what our drones could see, but had set out roadblocks and spike strips to obstruct us. They’d tried launching munitions and mortars at us, though we could intercept most of them. Our aircraft had been cleaving through theirs, which signaled that we’d found success on all fronts. Well, I couldn’t attest to our orbital efforts, I supposed. No reason to assume it was any different.

“We’re unstoppable!” Troy declared. “We got into a fistfight with tanks and won. Tell those fuckers to raise the white flags already.”

I shook my head. “Don’t go saying that. Our physics might make us strong as fuck here, but that’s a two-way street. We have to crush them, quick and fast. You understand that we have to be perfect, right? All it takes is one weapon getting through that portal and Earth is gone.”

“Why? We can shoot down all of their shit, piece of cake. Earth can defend itself.”

“Not from a spacetime-breaking missile—it doesn’t even have to be a missile, right? It could be a tiny asteroid fleck that they slingshotted out a cannon, and going that fast…no more Earth.”

“Preston is correct,” Mikri agreed. “Any object moving faster than the speed of light has infinite energy and requires infinite energy to slow down.”

Troy shrugged. “Then we just shoot our own countermeasures through the portal, also going FTL—infinite energy meets infinite energy, cancel it out.”

“That collision would destroy your universe, as it would release that infinite kinetic energy.”

“See? It’s not a joke,” I scoffed. “It’d make an antimatter bomb look like a birthday candle.”

“I did not understand this analogy, but I assume yes.”

“So we can’t give them a chance to get a single shot. That’s all they need.” I noticed several soldiers’ expressions turning serious, and cleared my throat. “We do have The Gate. Let’s just remember that it’s not fun and games. It’s very real.” 

While it’d be rather human to mock the Asscar up ahead and to gloat prematurely, that sort of pride was never a good thing. Our vehicle rolled up to the dense city, and the organic soldiers hopped out to clear the path ahead. Mikri tried to follow me, but I shook my head at him; I wanted my favorite tin can to stay back. Enemy soldiers had taken positions, and my dialed-in mind registered that they were about to shoot. Taking cover behind one of the roadblocks, rather than throwing it out of the way with my newfound strength, bullets peppered our position. I poked my barrel out to return fire, feeling debris fly onto my vest.

I cast a glance back to the truck, to ensure my Vascar friend wasn’t still trying to follow. Mikri had leapt into action after seeing me in peril, using shoulder-mounted rockets to shoot at the enemy. I chuckled to myself, as the force of our explosives sent the android flying backward off of the truckbed. This was why the humans needed to handle this. While we’d pulverized the soldiers back in the tanks, I had the idea of seeking their surrenders; we could afford to gather some intel from the prisoners, and it’d give Mikri a chance to learn about them alongside us. We needed to frighten them and get closer.

I lifted a roadblock and threw it at their position, finding it no heavier than a football; however, sending that to land on top of them with immaculate precision scattered them. I took the opportunity to speed closer to their position, firing shots at the moving blurs in my vision along the way. There were screams as more of our soldiers got the idea to chuck debris at them, which buried and crushed the aliens like it was nothing. The Asscar were beginning to show signs of fear toward us, backing away from us. I couldn’t deny that it was satisfying to feel godlike, and that a part of my psyche wanted to mimic Troy’s proclamation that we were untouchable.

“What the fuck even are they, Commander?” one hostile shouted. 

The Commander’s mane was scarcely visible behind a barricade, and he ducked as a shot grazed his fluffy hair. “I don’t fucking know, but we can’t let them get a hold of the EMP weapons! It’s critical for Prince Larimak’s entire plan against missiles, the silversheens; get the pulse generators out of here! There’s covert tunnels in that shipping center. Hold them back long enough to remove the cargo from sight.”

“But sir…”

“Those are your orders! Move!”

“We can’t outrun them.”

“That’s why we’re holding them back, dipshit.”

My interest was caught by that conversation we’d overheard, proving the advantage of our translator technology; it was fortunate that the duo were speaking loudly, shouting to be heard over the gunfire. The Asscar weren’t aware that we’d had a program given out to all of our soldiers, so we could tell exactly what they were saying. How amateurish regardless, as I did find their military to be bumbling fools; I didn’t know how Mikri’s people were losing to these buffoons. What I understood was that there was an asset we needed to intercept, before it made its way back to Larimak. The grunt had it right, that they couldn’t outrun us.

If Mikri gets a hole in his suit, those EMPs could be used against him, to fry him. At the very least, we can study the weapons to learn how to neutralize their defenses, and protect our android friends and Earth's technology from their effects. 

“Pursue them to the shipping center!” I shouted at my squadmates; the enemy didn’t have translations of our language yet, so we had the advantage in that regard. Well, come to think of it, they might’ve plucked that data off of Khatun’s corpse, after they disabled the camera. It didn’t matter. “Find the EMP weapons, and take them out of Larimak’s grubby claws. Don’t let these guys slow you down. If they think it’s critical, then so do we!”

Without any further ado, we charged the enemy’s position; caution was chucked to the wind. Grenades were lobbed ahead of us, with throws that flew as far as a baseball homerun. Perhaps I loved my sports metaphors a bit too much, but how else was I supposed to compare superhuman physical capabilities to normal stuff? I felt a bullet connect with my gut, but it didn’t seem much different than Mikri poking it with a claw. I wasn’t even staggered by this standard round, which meant the Kevlar had absorbed almost all of it. A few humans were struck in uncovered areas—for the most part, appendages. The side with corpses littering the ground wasn’t ours.

“Preston! Stop!” I heard Mikri scream. “Please come back! Wait for me.”

I risked a glance over my shoulder, despite being in the heat of combat; I did feel a bit guilty leaving the android in the dust, but he couldn’t match my speed. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. My preference was for the Vascar to stay back anyway, since despite him being made of polycarbonate and steel, he was the more fragile of the two of us. I held up a single finger to my metal friend, a gesture he knew meant “in a minute.” It was a poor idea to let him tag along, with how he constantly worried and fretted over me. He didn’t know how to handle caring about people, and dealing with any potential of some bad outcome befalling them. Mikri would be happier back at The Gate with Sofia, out of harm’s way and using his analytical skills on the Elusian data.

Mikri said we needed to crush the Asscar to even consider challenging the Elusians; on that front, I’d say we’re doing alright. When the tales of this battle reach Earth…no. We have to secure the EMP weapons, secure that military base, then secure the palace. Focus, Preston.

I was practically on top of one Asscar, whose gun had jammed, when I blasted him in the chest. Most enemy forces had lost their resolve and were fleeing, with some hurrying crates into a sprawling building. They tried to move faster as they spotted us, and ducked through the double doors. The human soldiers closed the gap in a matter of seconds. One alien had tried to deadbolt the door, but I plowed through the entryway shoulder-first, sending it flying off its hinges. After seeing this, the hostiles dropped the crates just shy of a hole in the floor, and ran for their lives. 

I stayed vigilant, taking inventory of my surroundings. The floor inside was as wide-open as any distribution warehouse, but vacant aside from a few shelves. ESU soldiers crept toward the hastily abandoned crates, and began studying what equipment was inside. There did appear to be some kind of jamming device inside, which our R&D would be happy to pick apart. A few other weapons and open, clear vials were stuffed inside, though I had no idea as to their purpose. Mikri might have some insight, when we brought him our findings. 

Troy raised his hand for a high-five, which I accepted; he then fished out a radio to contact our leadership. “Orbital command, come in. We’ve confiscated a shipment of high-value enemy assets, of interest to the Vascar prince. Please advise of a pickup site.”

There was only empty static, which I found strange; our ships wouldn’t have gone down that quickly. I was beginning to feel a bit light-headed, so it was difficult to think. I blinked several times, and focused on what was in front of me. 

Pursing my lips, I pointed to the jammer. “Must be blocking comms.”

“I thought they were EMPs?”

“Who knows. It’s…” I coughed roughly, feeling my legs become weak. I noticed one human trying to exit with a jammer in hand, but the door we’d busted down had been replaced by a slab of concrete to seal her in; she collapsed by the barrier, which perked my alarm. “Gas. Can’t see it…a trap. Have to get out…”

My vision had already begun dimming as I said those words, and I toppled over onto my side. By the time I realized that sleeping vapors were being released to incapacitate us, the effects had kicked in. Maybe Mikri could save us, I thought, and weakly groaned the android’s name. We might’ve been untouchable on the outside, but this universe’s physics hadn’t bolstered our insides. Those scheming aliens were more clever and more resourceful than we’d given them credit for.

A/N - Chapter 14! Preston warns his peers to temper their enthusiasm, reminding them that a single FTL round to Sol would destroy our universe; humanity has to be perfect. The invasion proceeds to crush the organic Vascar with hurled debris and air support, but as they retreat, they trick the humans into chasing down “priority EMP weapons.” This offers an opportunity to trap our forces inside the hangar and knock them out with sleeping gas. Mikri, meanwhile, was left behind, despite his worried pleas for Preston to wait for him…

What will become of the humans, now that the organic Vascar have incapacitated Preston’s group? What will Mikri do with his friend now a hostage?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!