Strikeforce (5 page)

9

From a distance, Skyship Atlas appeared untouched. Upon looking at it beyond the windshield, Cassius was reminded of the last time he'd been onboard, before everything with the
Pearls and Drifters had started. The Skyship had inspired
awe back then. It certainly was an imposing structure—a tremendous wedge of dark metal floating above the clouds—but in the midst of war, nothing seemed untouchable.

Madame had already contacted the Tribunal through official channels. Now that they were close enough to the ship, she could do so without worrying about scrambled or dropped lines.

He knew the Tribunal didn't like her, but they did respect her to an extent, and a meeting with a high-ranking Unified Party figurehead was nothing to brush off. Their cruiser was granted landing in one of Atlas's docking bays.

Meanwhile, Cassius and Eva sat in the back of the cockpit, as far from Madame as they could manage without actually leaving the room.

Cassius tapped his foot nervously on the ground. “Do you think the Tribunal will listen to us?”

Eva shrugged. “I think they'll be happy for the glimmer of alliance, even if it's with her. If they understand half of what's going on around them, they better be.”

“I hope you're right.”

She laughed. “Or they'll just shoot us down without question.”

Atlas's immense hull soon overtook the view of the sky outside. Cassius stood and kept his attention forward, searching for any indication of an attack from the Skyship. Even a
fter receiving positive confirmation, he wasn't willing to concede the possibility that this was all a trap.

“Relax,” Madame said. “Don't let them see you sweat. Remember last time. It's important not to show weakness. These people thrive on it.”

––––

After settling down on Atlas's most secure docking bay, their cruiser was met by a fleet of guards surrounding Representative Chandler, one of the three operating heads of the Skyship Tribunal.

Chandler was an eager, brown-haired man in his mid-thirties. Of all of the Tribunal, Cassius felt the least threatened by him. Even flanked by a battalion of guards, he had an easygoing, almost friendly nature.

Madame disembarked the cruiser first, striding onto the landing pad with instant authority. Whatever his feelings toward her, Cassius was continually amazed with her ability to put on a show for those operating underneath her.

Cassius and Eva followed, arms to their sides, free of any weapons or tech.

Cassius looked over the rows of soldiers. They were modestly dressed in navy jackets and slacks. No body armor, but each had a pistol holstered at their side, ready for action.

Representative Chandler nodded as Madame approach
ed. “Seems like we just did this yesterday, Jessica.”

“Trust me.” She walked beside him, moving deeper into the ship. “None of us has ever done something like this.”

He nodded. “You've come to tell us what's happened, I hope. Who's attacked us. Or maybe this is just another Unified Party trick.”

“If you'll listen, I can assure you we're not here to attack anyone.”

Chandler stopped, looking her up and down. “Security checks first, Jessica. One can never be too certain with you.”

“If you must.” Her lips pursed. “But make it quick. We're running out of time. You've already lost a Skyship. From the looks of it, the Chosen Cities aren't faring much better.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

He ushered them forward, through a series of energy and metal detectors, through a detailed pat-down, and finally to the elevator that would take them to the Tribunal meeting room. Even Eva was thoroughly checked. Throughout the entire process, she didn't mention that she was Skyship. No one seemed to question her on it either.

Once in the meeting room, Representative Chandler took his seat at the far left podium beside Representatives Buchanan and Leone. As Cassius moved to his place at the table below the Tribunal's three imposing podiums, he was reminded of the last time he'd sat in this room, sent on a secret mission to capture Jesse Fisher and bring him back to Madame. Had he known the chain of events that assignment would set off, he wasn't sure he'd have taken it on. Even back then, it had been prickly between Madame and the Tribunal. Now, with war raging outside, it could end up much worse.

Representative Buchanan—a round woman with harsh features—was the first to speak. “Would you like to tell us about Skyship Altair?”

“That's neither here nor there,” Madame responded pointedly.

Buchanan laughed. “Isn't it? Several hundred of our people died when Altair sank. A thousand more have been displaced. Is the Unified Party going to take responsibility for this attack?”

Madame clasped her hands in front of her. “We do not. The sinking of Skyship Altair was the opening salvo in a new war. We can't be enemies now. There is a greater threat.”

Representative Leone—a man so old and gaunt that he seemed to disappear when he turned to the side—leaned forward. “
Red
Pearls.”

“Of course,” Madame replied. “Raining down on Earth, more than you can count. More every hour. It's hell down there. We passe
d city after city, destroyed.”

Buchanan rested her chin on her fingers. “We're aware. These Pearls contain something. Soldiers, of some sort.”

“Drifters,” Madame countered. “Aliens. Just like the green Pearls. But these ones are not friendly.”

All three representatives paused. They turned to one another, whispering. Cassius was too far away to hear what they were saying. Their expressions revealed nothing.

Finally, Representative Buchanan turned to face them once more. “We are aware. Most seem to have hit the Surface, but a few have broken through the domes on the top decks of our ships. There have been attacks. We've taken a few bodies into custody, but our scientists have found no easy means of destroying them. Brute force. That seems to be our only option at this point.”

“We have a Pearlbreaker,” Madame said.

Representative Chandler's brows lifted. “What's a Pearlbreaker?”

“One of yours,” she continued. “A boy, trained at one of your academies.”

Cassius turned to face her. He knew how much she'd wanted to keep Fisher a secret in the past. The great lengths she'd gone to capture him in order to further her own agenda. Madame was laying all her cards on the table. In front of the Tribunal, no less.

“Alkine's academy,” Buchanan interrupted. “We know the situation well. They've been out of contact. Illegal
breach of the Skyline. Unauthorized use of force in Seattle.”

“Water under the bridge,” Madame said. “This boy …
this P
earlbreaker … can open green Pearls—the
good
Pearls—
and release our allies in this war. Green Pearl energy can
hurt our attackers. I know both of our governments have experimented with weaponizing it in the past. We'll need to do as much as we can, as
fast
as we can, if we're to have any hope in this.”

Buchanan crossed her arms. “I don't believe you. You may think you've flown under the radar thus far, but the Skyship Community has been keeping an eye on your behavior for some time. I know what you've been up to in the past. Experiments with the human mind … a seemingly unquenchable thirst for Pearls that goes above and beyond that of a concerned—or
sane
—government official.” She faced the other members of the Tribunal. “If you ask me, she's finally snapped. Regardless of what's inside, Pearls are energy. Any attempts we've made at turning it into something else have b
een middling at best.”

“
You
don't have a Pearlbreaker,” Madame countered. “Trust me.”

Representative Leone shook his head. “Even if this boy can do what you say he can, you're asking us to hand over our most valuable resources to our enemies.”

“You were spotted fleeing the wreckage of Altair,” Representative Chandler added. “How do we know this invasion isn't some thing concocted by the Unified Party itself?”

Madame bit her lip.

Buchanan smiled. “May I point out that most of these red Pearls have fallen to the S
urface, bypassing our community altogether? Maybe we let you fight this war and see how it goes.”

Madame opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Cassius stood.

“With all due respect,” he started, “the Authority won't stop once they've conquered the Surface. They'll come for you, stronger than before.”

Madame nodded. “And there isn't any place your ships can fly to escape this.”

Buchanan's eyes narrowed. “Attacks on our ships have been minimal and isolated. I'm sorry that the Surface seems to be taking the brunt of this, but—”

“Isolated,
now
.” Madame interrupted. “If that's truly the case, it's only because that's the way the invaders want it.”

Representative Buchanan folded her hands in front of her. “I don't think—”

A dramatic rumble interrupted her. It came from underfoot, like a chasm was about to open across the floor. Then, the ground sank beneath them, tilting to a diagonal. Cassius h
eld onto his chair. Madame stumbled, catching herself for a moment before falling to the floor in a heap. The Tribunal gripped the sides of their podiums, struggling to stay upright.

“What's going on?” Eva shouted. “Is the ship losing power?”

Nobody answered.

The ground lurched once more. Chairs scattered through the meeting room, colliding with tables and desks
. Anything not fastened to the ground tumbled through the air and crashed into the left-hand wall, which had tilted so far that it had nearly become the floor.

Cassius grabbed onto the nearest table leg just as the entire piece of furniture fell along with everything else. It was pointless trying to resist the pull of gravity. He let go and let it take him.

As he was falling, he noticed it, beaming through the slit of a window directly above Representative Buchanan's head.

The sky had turned crimson, like a sunset strengthened to otherworldly vibrancy. It was as if he was staring directly into a red Pearl, so all-encompassing that a beam of it shone through the window and hit the wall on the opposite side.

The sky bled.

That's when the lights in the room snapped off and the ship began to sink.

10

Even through the chaos of the city, I see it clearly.

Portland's core reactor stands in the distance, noticeable amongst the many other buildings for its cylindrical shape, widest at the bottom and stretching up to a narrow point, like a skyscraper-sized missile set upright on the ground. There are no windows or marks in its perfectly smooth, silver exterior.

Inside, there will be dozens of turbines, much like the one at the center of Skyship Academy. They filter and convert Pearl energy into a form that the Unified Party can harness. The process also kills whatever Drifter's living inside.

Hence, my dilemma.

“There.” I point to the reactor.

Avery pants. “It's getting worse out here, Jesse.”

A faraway explosion punctuates her statement. This time, I don't even flinch. There's too much going on in the city for one little explosion to rattle me anymore. I try to imagine them as fireworks, like there's not even a possibility that any of them would hurt me.

I turn to see a group of soldiers sprint down the street in front of us. Weapons forward, they're in pursuit of something. They pay no attention to Avery and me.

I'm just about to speak when a beam of red light shoots from around the corner of the nearest building and connects with the soldiers, exploding and throwing them into the air. They scatter in all directions, tumbling backward until they hit the ground, unconscious. Or dead.

Screw my firework theory.

Avery pulls me against the building. We flatten, concealing ourselves as a troupe of dark figures tramples over the fallen soldiers. When they reach the intersection, they separate and move down each available alley and side street, including ours.

We try to make ourselves as invisible as we can. Luckily, the foot soldier moves too fast to notice us. I catch a glint of red in his eye as he barrels past, offset by the dark bodysuit clinging to his thin frame.

We wait for a minute before venturing from the wall. Without Pearl energy, I'm no match for even a single Authority soldier. Seeing one so close is confirmation that we need to move even faster. Getting to the reactor may just be the difference between life and death on these streets.

We bolt forward, past the bodies of the fallen soldiers, through alleyways and side streets. We don't stop once, even as explosions ripple around us, nearing closer with every footstep. I push through the dust in the air, which at times is nearly blinding, and try not to choke as I breathe it in.

Then we reach the reactor. It dwarfs us in its shadow.

I freeze. Avery nearly runs into me before catching herself.

She struggles for breath. “How do we get in?”

I crane my neck to take in the full expanse of the tower. “Maybe we don't have to.” I turn back to her. “How do you feel about standing guard? I'm gonna be out of it for a second.
”

“You think you can break the Pearls from out here?”

“I hope so.”

She nods, then turns to take in the city behind us.

I close my eyes and connect with the Pearl energy. It floats all around me now, so close that it pulls and pushes on my body. Soft touches, but it feels as if it could escalate and yank me into the air—fling me around like a puppet. A familiar warmth bursts deep within my chest. If I let it, it'll spread through my arms and legs and take over completely.

I push my hands into the air and swirl them slowly around like I'm conducting a symphony. Although my eyes are closed, it's as if I can see the Pearls inside the reactor. They're just beyond the thick, insulated walls, waiting for me.

It takes all I can to differentiate between the alreadyharnessed energy coursing through the reactor and the stuff encased in the yet-to-be-broken Pearls. In the past, I've been able to draw energy toward me, even if it wasn't in Pearl form. I don't want to cause a malfunction in the city's defenses, and manipulating anything beyond the Pearls themselves would do just that.

My eyes bolt open as I latch onto the nearest set of Pearls. I could break them now, inside the tower, but there's no telling how many people are in there with them. The resulting burst would cause a concussive force, capable of flattening a crowd if they were standing too close.

No. I have to extract them from the building. Delicately, but quickly too.

I survey the outer wall of the reactor. Explosions continue to disrupt the atmosphere around me. I do my best to block them out.

My eyes settle on a security door, far on the right-hand side of the tower. Above that rests a narrow window. It's bound to be triple-paned at least, and bulletproof. But if I can get these Pearls going fast enough, they might be able to burst through.

Avery pulls on my shoulder, threatening to fracture my concentration. “Jesse,” she whispers. “I think I see someone coming.”

I tune her out, even though I know she wouldn't interrupt me unless it was important. But she's got a blaster. She'll shoot if she needs to.

With one swoop of my hand, I yank the distant energy forward. I imagine the Pearls pulling up from their bindings, flying through the corridors inside like ghostly orbs. If there are workers in the tower, they'll more than likely freak out at the sight of it. But there's nothing they can do. Not unless they find a way to stop me. And nobody would think to look outside … not at a fifteen-year-old kid, breathing heavy with his arms in the air.

Seconds later and the first Pearl bursts through the window, shattering glass. It's followed by several more, shooting through the sky like sideways comets. There are twenty in total. Together their green glow is practically blinding.

I glance to the side, even as they come at me. My breath shortens as I hold my hands tensed in the air above my head. As the Pearls bob around my shoulders, I'm struck by the sudden sensation that I'm buried under a pile of rubble, fighting to keep the world from falling down on me. Even though the Pearls don't come near enough to touch, their weight is undeniable.

Then come the whispers. That strange, alien language. Words from Haven. Words that, in another life, I would have understood. They form a ghostly chorus, more and more until I'm afraid they'll become deafening.

I don't have much time.

Avery flinches behind me, overwhelmed by all the energy floating around her.

“Get on the ground!” The words force themselves through my clenched mouth. But even without the warning, Avery knows what to do.

She hits the dirt and covers her head, weapon at her side. Once I know she's safe, I begin to lob the Pearls into the air. With a flick of my wrist, I send the first one shooting up to the heights of the towers. When it's safely out of range, I break it.

The Pearl explodes like a green firework. Even in the daylight, the reach and scope of its luminescence is impressive.

I do the same with another. Then two at a time.

Pretty soon, I'm shooting four straight up in the air. Crackles of green energy fizzle into the city's transformers.

Four more. Then the last few.

Each time, Drifters are released. This far down, they look like green fireflies, darting in all directions—narrowly missing towers and sky bridges. They'll fly in a blind panic at first, as their bodies and minds struggle to adjust to the shock of a new world.

Their presence, and the presence of the Pearl explosions, will draw foot soldiers from around the city. But if what Talan and the others say is true, the green Drifters will attack immediately. They have their marching orders. Fight against the Authority. Join forces with the humans.

At least, that's what's supposed to happen.

A curtain of green energy falls on us, dissipated some from the initial burst but still enough to pack a wallop.

I stand, shoulders back, and absorb it. The exhaustion and discomfort in my body fades as the Pearl energy works its way into my system, healing me.

Avery's not so lucky. It comes at her like a hurricane, whipping her hair up around her head and flattening her farther against the ground. When she finally gets up, she looks like she's been hit by a truck.

We stand in silence for a moment, watching the green mist disintegrate into the air. I turn back to the reactor. “There are more, deeper inside.”

She bites her lip. “We've only got one lousy blaster … ”

I'm about to respond when an explosion thunders above us. I duck instinctively, for the sound of this one is a hundred times louder than any we've heard so far.

Avery crouches, hands on her head, staring up at the sky. “That came from—”

She's interrupted by a crackle, like rolling thunder right above the city. I expect rubble to come raining down on us, but there's nothing. Instead, I see red.

It starts in the center of the sky, like a crimson star just beyond the Bio-Net surrounding the city, and expands slowly in a circular whirlwind, overtaking more and more of our view with each passing second. Before I know it, there is no blue left. The green of the Pearl energy's gone too, replaced by a bubble of red that surrounds the entirety of Portland.

“What's happening?!?” Avery stands just as the winds from the energy burst hit us.

Our hair's yanked into the air. Dust kicks up underfoot. The crackling continues as the crimson seeps ever closer.

I keep my eyes on the sky, arms trembling as I watch the destruction play out in slow motion.

The Bio-Nets—seven hundred pounds apiece—begin to shudder. Previously held aloft by magnetic forces, secured into their places, they succumb to gravity. A moment more and they plunge. Freefall.

Like man-made meteors, nothing stops them as they pelt the city.