Sole Scion - 9. Chapter Nine: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Chapter Nine: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Andrew knew a lie when he heard one. He’d been pacing up and down the runway of the British airbase on the tiny island of Ascension since landing. During past trips between the Falklands and Europe the plane spent only an hour at the refueling station. It been eight hours since they landed and there was no sign that the plane would be taking off any time soon.

While his plane waited for clearance to take off, countless dragonfly shaped Zephyr military class VTOL Zephyr aircraft had been leaving the island, heading south,

Whatever it is I’d bet my dad’s fortune Daniel is at the heart of it. Not seeing the point of continuing to wait patiently, Andrew went searching for his minder. This time he had been paired with the annoying regulations obsessed Captain Timmons. When he could not find the usually ever-present public relations officer Andrew’s suspensions grew ten-fold. The captain would not have left his sight if he wasn’t trying to avoid him.

After searching the plane and the disembarkation greetings station, he searched some of the more restricted portions of the airbase. With his famous face he thought he could squeeze out some information from the base staff but each man he tried to talk to answered him with tight lips and barred doors. It was as if they had been warned not to talk to him.

So desperate for information he decided he would go over their heads and contact his father. His dad might not be the one in charge of the situation but as the world’s largest military supplier he could demand answers from the one who was.

Taking out his cell phone he dialed his father’s office in Washington and got… nothing. He dialed again and still didn’t get a single ring. Examining the phone he thought its battery might have died but it showed a 93% charge. He was about to dial again when he noticed no signal bars showed in the left corner. But I’ve always gotten a strong signal here before. Fuck. They must have secured and encrypted the comm. towers. If he was flustered it was only for a few second. Quickly he came up with a solution. He would use the plane’s satellite communicator. Quite clever but not clever enough.

The plane’s communication station was equipped with a top-of-the-line anti-electronic warfare package. He should know… Labatt Industries was the top supplier of that sort of military grade equipment. He also had been trained on how to use it in case of an emergency. That was one of many things Lanyon had insisted the boys learn in case they ever got into trouble.

While they might be mirror images of each other’s personalities getting into trouble was one thing both boys were guilty of on multiple occasions. Be it one of Daniel’s exploding experiments or a very drunk Andrew hiding out in a rundown hotel while he sobered up the two had each other’s backs. This time Daniel was the one in trouble.

Back on the plane he saw that except for a few maintenance workers he was the only one on board. Dressed in his cadet officer uniform he could easily be mistaken as regular military. He even got a few salutes as he passed.

The door to the cockpit was of course locked but as the plane was manufactured by his father’s company he knew all the override codes. Once inside he scrabbled the codes so only his would now work. From there it was easy. He reprogramed the sat-line to the company’s emergency frequency.

He was first going to dial his father but at the last minute thought better of it. He never understood why his father was so uncomfortable around Daniel but it was enough of an issue that it caused Andrew to pause and decide it best not to contact him. Instead he dialed Commander Smith on his private line. He knew he could always count on Lanyon where Daniel was concerned.

Lanyon answered the phone before the first ring went silent. “Andrew is that you?”

Andrew could hear the panic in the security chief’s voice. “Yes…”

Your identifier shows you in Ascension. Is Daniel with you? Please tell me he’s with you.”

“No… He’s the reason I’m calling. I’m stuck on this rock when I should be back in the Falklands. Something is going on back at the school… something bad. I’m certain it has something to do with Daniel.”

“I cannot say if it has anything to do with Daniel but if he’s still at the Academy then he can’t be in worse danger.” He then filled Andrew is with what he knew of the Plague outbreak.

“They’re nuking the island!” Andrew shouted when the security chief got to that part. “They can’t do that!”

“The order has already been given.”

“But the school… the cadets! The ruling elite send their kids there.”

“There have been protests but the government is not the one in charge of the situation.”

“If not the government then who?” Before he had finished asking he knew the answer. “It’s the NSP. Isn’t it.”

“They are the true power behind the government. What you and I see as a disaster they see as an opportunity.”

“By killing their own people?”

“Yes… damn the bastards. They think that by letting Daniel and the others die in a purge they’ll prove that not even Neo sapiens are treated any differently when the plague is involved. The Homo sapiens will need to believe that when they are forced into the Arks.”

“The Arks?”

“The Arks were never meant to be anything more than giant concentration camps.”

“But that would turn the Arks into prime breeding ground for the Plague.”

“They believe that by containing the male population as they have the women they’ll be able to confine the plague among the Homo sapiens.”

“But why… the Plague has no effect on us.”

“We are usually immune to the mutating effects of the plague but we are still mortal. The Sleeper outbreak at the Academy proves that so long as the Plague exists NSP will live in fear that the mutants will end up on top.

“Damn the NSP and the mutants. I won’t let Daniel be sacrificed like a pawn in a game of chess. Can’t you do something… like send in the Specials?” The Specials were the elite military force of the Directorship. They were also the Mega Corps’s trump card against the NSP.

From the other end Andrew heard Lanyon moan. “The Specials can only be deployed if a majority of the Board vote to do so. You know quite well how divided they are. Except when it comes to fattening their pockets it’s impossible to get them to agree on anything.”

“Then we send in our own people.”

“You would have Labatt Industries oppose the NSP on its own?”

“We will have to one day.”

“Not if your father has his way. I… I understand why you hate them.”

“Fuck you do.” It was all about Daniel. The NSP saw Homo sapiens, now more commonly derogatorily referred to by Neos as Norms, as the inferior race. It was their belief that one day Norms would go the way of the Neanderthals and become extinct leaving the Neo sapiens as the only dominate species. Daniel, while a Neo citizen, had been given the title as a courtesy to the Labatts who were true Neos. In a way this placed him in the worst of both worlds… Norms glared at him with envy while Neos snubbed their noses at him as if he was nothing more than a subhuman pet.

While Daniel had come to accept his place in society, Andrew was less forgiving. He swore a long time ago that when he sat on the Board and the Directorship he would see that people like Daniel would be respected for their true worth. “I’m going after him. You can either help me stay the hell out of my way.”

“I can tell you not to do something that stupid but I know you won’t listen to me.” Lanyon pleaded. “Look… If want to save Daniel you will have to do it on your own. Get caught and you should expect no help from your father.”

“So be it.” Andrew cut the satellite connection.

What now? Whatever I do I’ll have to act fast. Lanyon will rat me out. I’m certain of it. Andrew quickly decided that the only way he could save Daniel was to steal a plane. He was a qualified pilot. It sounded easier than it was. In most cases such a plan would not work, not when he had to get through restricted airspace. For that he needed something that was fast and stealthy and nothing was stealthier or faster than Labatt Industries’ Mark XII Shadow Phoenix.

With all the planes coming in and out of Ascension he knew there had to be at least one Mark XII on the base. Finding it before being arrest was the true challenge.

Going to a weapons locker he found a Walker Industry power suit. It was not the latest model but it was fully charged. Once activated the suite split in half. Stepping between the two parts he pressed the seal button. As the suit closed around him it released a form fitting foam. The biologically active substance protects the wearer from physical concussion weapons as well as the suits inertia. The foam also acted to transmitter that would allow the wearer to control the suit as if it was his own body. Since Andrew knew he would need second suit for Daniel, he powered up another and slaved circuited it to his own.

This time when he went through the plane the cleaning staff noticed. They looked at him wide-eyed but did nothing to stop him. When he left the plane he sealed the hatch and ramps and scrabbled the locks. That would hold them long enough for him to make his escape.

Now that he was in the power suit he was able to access the base’s database. Among the information he found he discovered the ETA of four heavy bombers carrying the nukes intended for the Falklands. While he had been wasting his time talking to Lanyon they had refueled and taken off. The planes were expected to reach their target in less than six hours.

That made finding the hypersonic Mk XII even more vital. Luckily for him the database showed the hanger where at least one Shadow Phoenix was parked. According the maintenance records its missile targeting systems were undergoing an upgrade but it was otherwise flyable.

Making his way to the far hanger he passed several Cybernoid patrollers. On the outside they appeared no different than a normal soldier encased in a power suit. There was, however, no human being, Neo or Norm, inside the casing. Cybernoids were the opposite of Bionoids. Though synthetic, Bionoids were still made up of living tissue, just not the human sort. Cybernoids on the other hand were robots controlled by an encased human brain.

Luckily, instead of asking for his I.D. they ignored Andrew as if he wasn’t there.

He found the hanger open and unguarded. In the back he could see the repair crew playing cards. From their laughter and the blue smoke that came from their cigars Andrew suspected they had to be under the effect of Blue. With their heads fogged by the drug they wouldn’t present any real threat to stopping him. But they might bring others who could.

To make sure no one would arrive to stop him he had to disable the security and communication systems. The radios were easy to deal with. The power suit was equipped with jamming equipment. Of course if someone from another part of the base tried to radio in it would bring unwanted attention but he had come too far to stop now.

The alarm system was another matter. The panic button was located in the backroom with the crew. He could try to pass himself off as an officer and order them to leave but they might try radioing in to confirm the order. That was out of the question.

He could try shorting out the electrical system powering the alarm but that in of itself would trigger several alarms. He couldn’t do that either.

Instead of either plan he decided to take a more underhanded approach. He went to the break room and tapped on the door. The crew looked up from their card game, saw him and frown. They hadn’t expected anyone to intrude on their fun.

“Damm’t Gale I told you a patroller would come by.” The speaker waved his arm through the clouds of smoke, trying to dissipate it. As if that would do any good.

The crew boss, Gale, removed his cap. He scratched his balding head and said, “Well patroller, how we help you?”

“Ration cards.” As Andrew spoke, the foam transmitted his voice through a synthesizer. His voice sounded no different than that of an android.

“See I told you. They sent a god damn Cybernoid.”

“Then I guess there’s no point offering you a bribe. Is there?” Gale asked.

“Ration cards.” Andrew replied in the same monotone voice. Given his past encounters with the patrollers he knew exactly how to act like one.

“Take them out boys… It won’t be leaving until we do.”

Each took out a metallic card. Andrew took each one by one and scanned them. It was as he suspected, their cards didn’t show they were entitled to any Blue, let alone beer and cigars. “You are in violation of the Emergency Rationing Act. Put your hands your head and line up.” They placed their hands over their heads and one by one lined up behind the Shadow Phoenix. Andrew then had them fall to their knees. “You are to be detained until an MP squad comes for you.

“Detained? Fuck… it’s going to cover us with that shit.” Gale could see the murder in his men’s eyes. Being foamed was no different than being put in a full body cast.

Using the suit’s foam cannon Andrew cemented the maintenance crew where they knelt. It was all he could do to stop himself from laughing.

With them dealt with Andrew boarded the three-seat Mark XII. Most of the controls were located in the standard configuration of any Zephyr assault craft. Its shape and propulsion system however wasn’t.

Instead of the four engine quad-winged dragon-fly shape structure, its frame resemble that of a large gage sniper rifle bullet. It had only one engine. It was located a fourth of the way down from the tip. The thrusts circled around edged the circumference. At full thrust the craft could reach as high as Mach 8. At that speed he would have no problem catching up with the subsonic bombers.

Taking off was simple enough for the VTOL. Once the engine was powered up the Mk XII rose from its berth and headed up. Once it passed the bay doors in the ceiling Andrew launched the craft through the roof like a rocket. Before the base knew what was going on the Zephyr was heading south at Mach 5.

As the craft accelerated to Mach 8 the base commander received the call from the NSP Council. Karl Labatt, on learning what his son was planning went to the council to plea for his son’s life. They must have reached some sort of agreement because the general was ordered not to interfere. The NSP would deal with the future head of Labatt Industries in their own way. One option that was not on the table was letting Andrew interfere with the purge.

As Andrew disappeared from radar, ICBMs were launched from South Dakota. The general overseeing the purge had just received new orders. On the advice of the NSP officials within his government the Prime Minister of the United Domains had the head of missile command launch three multi-warhead missiles from their launch bases in North Dakota. The Government was not going to risk that some over pampered brat would prevent the bombers from delivering their nuclear payload.

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By the time Glenn had gotten him and Daniel to the airfield every craft capable of flight had been destroyed. Even if he could find one, the bombing had left the runways pockmarked with craters. With the sound of more jets approaching Glenn turned the jeep around and headed towards the road that would take them to Stanley. Hopefully he would be able to find some sort of boat. Mantis can’t swim, can they?

What a Mantis could do is stop a jeep running 50 miles an hour dead in its tracks. It appeared so fast that Glenn was only aware of the approaching crash a fraction of a second before the jeep collided with the giant insect. It was like hitting a brick wall. The vehicle flipped a complete 180°, landing on its roof. The Nano they hit grunted and glared in the offending jeep’s direction but was otherwise unfazed.

Now if Glenn had been any normal man he would not have survived. But like Ray and the notorious Talon he had a secret identity of his own.

He stepped out without a mark on him. Daniel however was in bad shape but that is why Glenn always carried an emergency supply of Blue on him. Rolling the jeep back onto its wheels he opened the back. Daniel was still drugged but at least Glenn had taken the time to strap him in. Lifting him out, he carried Daniel to the nearest building. It was a machine shop so Glenn was certain it would have a first aid kit. Laying Daniel down on a work table Glenn began searching for the first aid kit. He found what he was looking for in the back bathroom.

Before examining Daniel he gave him a shot of morphine. He then carefully stripped him down. Daniel had at least two broken ribs and a broken arm but those were minor injuries. What concerned Glenn most was the risk he might have internal bleeding. A double dose of Blue could help but Glenn had something better.

With his army issued knife he sliced his palm open. Instead of blood however a white milky fluid oozed out. He squeezed some of it into Daniel’s mouth and smeared it around the worst of the bruises.

With Daniel unconscious Glenn could hold on to the hope that his true nature would remain undiscovered. He was a Segundo… one of the children the Primes that had been born through the holy union between the Primes and the God Emperor. Like his famed forefathers his blood was a natural source for the drug White.

He knew he should wait for Daniel to wake up before continuing on but it was only a matter of time before the decision was made to sterilize the island. By now the Stanley was out of the question but if he were to head west to the docks of New Haven… he might find a schooner. It might not be able to take them back to the mainland but it should be able to carry them to across the Falkland Sound to Port Howard on West Falkland Island. An airfield had been built there ages ago. NET might have declared the island as a high security no-man zone but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

As soon as the bombing stop they got back into the jeep and drove west. Everywhere they drove was marked by the sort of death and destruction only awakened Sleepers could cause.

When they reached the ferry town of New Haven they found it abandoned and all the boats were gone. Glenn was about to give up when he found a catamaran under a pier. It had a sail but no engine which is probably why it had not been used by others to try to escape. Glenn was no expert on sailing but he had watched over the boys when they would go on sailing trips to Hawaii. It could work but he would need Daniel’s help to navigate. He therefore had no choice but to wake Daniel up.

This time he used Blue sand prayed the stimulant would fight off whatever sedatives had and been put in the coffee. It worked. Seconds after Daniel swallowed he jerked up with a start. “Where… where am I?”

“On the eastern shore of the Sound.”

“The Sound? What the hell are we doing all the way out here?”

“Sleepers.” That was all Glenn had to say to get Daniel to understand.

Daniel nibbled on his lower lip. He didn’t know how to respond. “Then everyone is dead? Andrew?” He could not help but place some of the blame on himself. The Nanos would not have wanted his experiment to succeed. That’s why they attacked. The Sleepers didn’t want him discovering the cause of the Plague.

“His plane hadn’t arrived before all hell broke loose so my guess is he’s safe.”

“He better be.” Daniel’s stern tone was close to a threat. If Glenn had left Andrew behind his bodyguard would have more to fear than just Sleepers.

He must really love him, Glenn thought to himself. “I’m sure he is alive and well. Hell, even if the plane didn’t turn around there’s no runway for it to land. I swore to your father I would keep you safe and by god I will.”

“Karl?”

“No… your real one.” He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned Avery. It never failed to upset the young man. “I’ll tell you what I know on the boat.”

“You better.”

Glenn didn’t know if Daniel’s irritability was due to the after effects of the drugs or a desperate attempt to hide his fear beneath a mask of anger.

Leading the boat off shore they raised the sail. With Daniel’s help they caught the coastal winds and sailed northwest.

Just as the sun rose over the horizon the nukes began to fall. Stanley and Mount Pleasant were the first to be flattened. The narrow span of land between Darwin and Goose Green was hit so hard that the southern landmass of East Falkland became separated from the rest of the island allowing the sea to rush through the gap.

When the shockwave hit the boat, the heated winds tore through the sail and nearly flipped the boat over. Both men were easily thrown over the side.

Daniel, still partly drugged and without a lifejacket struggled to keep his head above water. It was a hopeless battle.

Seeing Daniel sinking under the waves Glenn dived to save him. With no floatation device of his own keeping Daniel’s head above water was tiring. They had to get back to the boat.

The boat however had other plans. The sea current and nuclear winds was guiding it to the northeast. The course would take it out of Falkland Sound and into the South Atlantic. If Glenn had not been burdened keeping Daniel afloat he could have caught up with the catamaran. Things being as they were he would not abandon Daniel, not even to save his own life.

With the boat drifting further away Glenn had a stark choice to make. He could swim back the way they come or continue on heading west. Swimming to Port Howard was out of the question. The jut of land shielding the harbor from the Sound was the best and only option he could think of. The three mile swim would however be impossible if he had to carry Daniel the entire way. He had to give him another dose of Blue.

Digging into his pocket he pulled out the box of vials. Even though the box had been sealed tight sea water had gotten into the vials, diluting the mixture with salt water. Since the first injection didn’t work he would have to deliver the second dose directly into Daniel’s heart. He tore the buttons off Daniel’s uniform. He then primed the syringe with his teeth. “Sorry Daniel… this is going to hurt.”

The direct injection of the salt water contaminated Blue jolted Daniel to attention, the shock causing him to swallow a mouthful of sea water.

To keep him from swallowing more, Glenn, used his great strength to lift Daniel over his head. This gave Daniel a chance to clear his lungs. The combination of the Blue and salt water played havoc with his body however. Pressed together Glenn could feel the erratic pulse of Daniel’s heart and rapid shallow breath.

After Daniel had stopped coughing the two swam the remaining distance to the shore. With the current pulling them north, they ended up on a rocky beach on the opposite side of the bay several miles from Port Howard. Crawling until they were above the shoreline they collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness.

There they rested until Glenn heard the crunching sound of boots stepping on the pebble shore. Knowing better than to jump back onto his feet and confront whoever was coming. He stayed where he lay. He let his eyes open just wide enough for him to see through his eyelashes. Luckily his head was facing Daniel. He could see his chest rise and fall but otherwise didn’t move. Standing over him were three sets of black boots.

As a Segundo Glenn had some telepathic abilities. He could use them to check to see if Daniel was okay but of the men standing over them were what he thought they were then he might as well shout to them what he was. Given he couldn’t hear them talking on their greatly suggest what he suspicions were correct. One of them knelt and leaned over Daniel. He held some sort of diagnosis device. More important to Glenn was the tuffs of red hair on the man’s head. Be they their rescuers or captors these men were telepathic Greys… NET’s most feared agents. If Glenn had used his own telepathy they would have known at once what he was. That they had come, instead of NETs more common thugs spelled bad news for him and Daniel. When the Grey finished gathering readings from Daniel he injected something into Daniel’s neck. Glenn could only guess that it was a sedative. A stretcher was brought. Glenn thought he would be taken next but when he heard the sound of a vehicle starting and driving off he dared to hope they had left him for dead.

They hadn’t. The moment he tried to stand up he felt something roll off his back. It was a grenade. Damn you Thomas… damn you to hell. The grenade went off and that was that.