56. Missions
1533 Words
We wake up to warships flying around outside the window again.
"I guess it's time to get up and corral the kids."
I laugh. I can't help it. That was funny. We get to the command area and Elroy is sitting there with a headset on. But Johen is with him.
"Good morning boys." I put a headset on so I can hear.
"Can we fire these at the moon?"
Elroy laughs. "No. No firing here. To close to a planet with humans." Then he smirks. "All they want to do is fire the rockets."
"Whose out there?"
"All of Nadine's kings except Johen. He wanted to see in here. Kane. Gunner. And all of us except you, me, and Alden. They want to shoot. Your parents are down on the planet."
"I'll give them what they want then."
"What are you thinking, baby?"
"Bring the warships in and move us to the next planet over. Line them up and let them get rid of the rockets. Then I want to test the shields on them. Let them play a little game with the lasers, then bring them back."
"I'M DOING THAT." Alden takes off running.
"ME TOO." Johen takes off after him.
"It's always us to do this part."
Elroy smirks, "AI, return all warships to the ship and get ready for a hyperspace jump. Leave them in the warships though."
"Give Alden and Johen a warship as well. Once the room is sealed."
"As soon as it's sealed, jump into hyperspace and get us to Mars."
"Yes sir."
"Are they all on my ships?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. I don't want anyone left out there alone."
"All warships returned. Airlock in 30 seconds. Alden and Johen will then be granted access to a warship."
"Great, let us know when they're locked in."
Elroy pushes something on the screen, "How many hits from the lasers should the shield be able to take?"
"Approximately 50."
"That'll be alright. We'll have to bring them in at 30%. We don't want 1 failing at the last minute."
"Good plan. And I want them to send the rockets first. I don't want rockets on them when they're getting shot at. End up having 1 detonate by accident."
"True."
"Alden and Johen are locked in ships and airlock is complete. Jumping to hyperspace now. Arrival in 4 seconds." We laugh at the ship. "We are at the destination. Airlock in 2 minutes and 30 seconds."
I hit the green button. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, this is your command speaking. Allow me to welcome you to Mars. This planet is not inhabited by humans." My people cheer. I have to stop. I start laughing.
Elroy smiles. "The rules are the same as always. You will not engage or lock weapons on each other or this ship. Anyone not following these rules will be returned to the ship. It's going to take a few minutes for everyone to get out. So entertain yourselves for a couple of minutes. Then you will be given missions by command. Complete your missions to continue on. Anyone not listening will be returned to the ship."
"And keep in mind that you are in a high-speed weapon of war. Do not hit each other with them. Do not hit my ship with them." My people laugh again. I shake my head. "10 seconds."
The ship takes over the countdown.
"Inform us when everyone is out."
"Yes, sir."
I see them start flying all over the place.
"Everyone is out."
"What do you want to do with them first?"
"Line them up again. Then have them lock the planet. We have to check the locks then. After that, I want them shooting the rockets. I don't want any live rockets on them for the shields test."
"Yea that's a good idea." He hits the green button. "This is mission 1 by command. Everyone line up in front of the ship. At least 20 feet away from other ships. You will face the planet for this. No farther away from our ship. Keep going. There you go. Everyone move out there. I meant 20 feet away from each other, not us."
"They seem good. Is anyone roaming or lost?"
"Nope. All ships on screen. Mission 2. Weapons lock on the planet." They turn green on our screen. I click a couple and see the planet. I give him a thumbs up.
"Mission 3. Firing rockets. Fire only when counted down. 3…2...1 FIRE." He doesn't even give them a second. "3...2...1... FIRE. 3...2...1...FIRE. Fire at will."
"Ship, does anyone have rockets on them?"
"No. All rockets fired successfully. No rockets left on any deployed warships."
"Wonderful." I click the green button. "Welcome to mission 4. Give us a minute to reset everything. Turn on shields to full power."
"Ship, your shields too. Probably going to be some friendly fire that hits us."
"This mission is the shields test for the warships. You will be firing lasers at each other. When your shield runs down to 30% you are out. You will be returned to the ship. Please note, my ships' shields are on as well. Do not get too close to me. If anyone does not wish to play this, return to the ship now." I wait a second and nobody moves. "Great. There are no teams for this. It's every man for themselves. Remember when your shield hits 30% you will be returned."
"And as an added bonus," Elroy smirks. "This planet has no atmosphere. You can fly very close to the surface of it. But do not hit it. The shield will not protect you from that. Also keep an eye on fires down there. You don't want to fly through them, and we just sent a s**t ton of rockets down there."
The ships start flashing green. I check and it's the shields. They're good. "All warship shields are at 100%." I give Elroy a thumbs up.
"Game starting in 10 seconds... 9... 8... 7..." They scatter. "6... 5...4... 3... 2... 1... Fire at will."
Lasers start firing all over the place, and they try to outrun each other. It's hilarious to watch out the window.
I step back and watch the screens with Elroy. They fall at about the same rate. There are 5 that are staying at 100%.
I glance out the front windows as a warship stops in front of it. Another goes flying past.
Johen says, "HA, GOT YOU ASSHOLE."
I crack up laughing.
"First 1 out here. Say the order that their ship hits 30%."
The brain answers, "Yes, sir. Gunner, Starlet, Jenny, Collin, Tim, Tye, Mason, Alkawn, Nik, Tera, Clark, Tre, Mason, Kane, Victor, Tobias, Dipak, Elek,"
"Who is left?"
"Marcus, Alden, Johen. Marcus is out."
I hit the green button. "Only Alden and Johen remain." Elroy and I watch out the window for a few minutes, then everyone who is out comes roaming in. Elek comes over and watches them too. "I closed it and opened it back up. They are taking too long."
"They are. But damn, they can fly."
We watch those 2 go back and forth for a while.
"Johen's at 34%. Alden's at 42%... Never mind 38% now."
"They are so evenly matched."
"Johen's out. Alden got him."
"How much do you want to bet he's going to call for a rematch?"
Elroy pushes the green button. "Game over. The winner is Alden. 2nd place Johen. 3rd place Marcus. Come in and we'll get some lunch."
They come up after a minute and everyone sits around the conference table. "Thank you for running the shields test."
"I want a rematch."
"I figured you would. Was that your first time in 1 of them?"
"Yes."
"You were both amazing out there."
Victor nods. "You 2 can really fly. I couldn't touch either of you."
"Do you want to do it again or go back to earth now?"
"We can do 1 more round."
Tye smiles. "It is really fun."
"We'll run it the same way. Take 15 minutes to fly around and get comfortable. Then we'll line you up and dump the rockets. After that you can do the lasers again."
"Why does it take so long between missions?"
"We're still new in here too. And we have to verify that the rockets were shot. All the shields are on. There are no issues with anything. It does take a minute. But I don't want anyone getting blown apart because I missed a shield check. They are weapons of war. They can cause a massive amount of devastation."
Elroy nods. "There are also 2 different kinds. We are using warships with 4 rockets. There is a warship with only 2 rockets. It is faster. If you want more speed, tell the brain to put you in a 2 rocket warship instead of the normal."
An hour later, we send them back out. They pick a mix of 2 rockets or 4 rocket warships. They do the missions and then fight it out.
"Johen wins this round. 2nd Place is Alden. 3rd Place is Elek. Come back in and we will head to earth now."
- Writer
