Chapter Sixteen: Incursion

They sat there. Just watching the screen. They spoke not one word. They waiting for Williams’ team to reach the Nexus convoy.

‘One of them has stopped’ Celeste said. One of the rovers had indeed stopped.

‘It’s his plan. The long range weapon he never used to get us out of Nexus territory. He’s going the make them scatter, trap them in smaller groups and pick them off’ Jason said. They didn’t need the screen to see what happened next. They could see it from where they were. Something had been launched from the stationary rover. The projectile shot towards the Nexus convoy before exploding in mid-air. The resulting pieces crashed into the ground below tossing up dirt and black clouds. For a moment they couldn’t see anything. Then a beeping sound came from a computer.

‘What is it?’ Jason asked. Celeste didn’t answer immediately. Instead she tapped buttons, watching the monitor intently.

‘Oh no’ She finally said.

‘What? What is it?’ Jason asked again.

‘A second Nexus convoy. They’re heading straight for the Southern Gate!’ Celeste replied.

‘Can we defend against it?’

‘You better hope that we can’ Celeste told him. Jason thought for a moment.

‘Rally the civilians. Anyone who wishes to stay behind and fight can as long as they are able bodied. Send everyone else to Greylands Hospital. It’s less than a kilometre north of here, but it should be safe. Also, tell Claire to meet me here in ten minutes’ Jason said as he left the pavilion.

As Jason approached the nearest wall, another soldier came down to meet him.

‘Sir’ the soldier said.

‘You would be?’ Jason asked.

‘Sergeant Carlisle’ Carlisle replied.

‘Ok. We just picked up on another Nexus convoy headed for the Southern Gate. I want you take your forces there and turn on your radios. Channel one’ Jason told him.

‘Sir? I thought we weren’t using radios because they attract the Tallentiri’ Carlisle said.

‘I know. It’s what I’m counting on. Move your men, now’ Jason replied.

‘Yes sir’ Carlisle said. Jason turned and walked back across to the pavilion. Jason entered the pavilion and saw Celeste there, already waiting for him.

‘You didn’t take long’ Jason said.

‘A large group of them had congregated by the Northern Gate. I told them the message, and they’ll tell the rest. Sarah and a guy called Eli are going to oversee the evacuation, they’ll leave with the last of the civilians’ Celeste said.

‘How long until the Nexus are on us?’ Claire asked as she walked in.

‘At current speed, eleven minutes’ Celeste replied.

‘Tell Sarah she’s got ten minutes to get everyone who isn’t staying behind out of here’ Jason said. Celeste nodded before leaving.

‘What do you want me to do?’ Claire asked.

‘Direct all anti-air defences. Concentrate your fire on any aircraft in range. Also activate the Bastion shield in now nine minutes’ Jason said.

‘We have a Bastion?’ Claire asked, surprised.

‘Yeah. We received it with the last lot of civilians’ Jason asked.

‘So what’s the plan Commander?’ Claire asked. ‘An epic fight to the death?’

‘Something like that, but I guarantee you’re not going to like it’ Jason replied.

‘That goes with out saying. When it comes to you I am notoriously hard to please. Three minutes to go’ Claire said. There was a loud explosion from outside and the ground shook.

‘They’re firing, activate the Bastion’ Jason ordered.

‘Sarah and about a hundred civilians aren’t out yet!’ Celeste said running back in.

‘We don’t have a choice. Activate it!’ Jason yelled at Claire and Claire begrudgingly activated the Bastion shield.

‘Jason-’

‘She’ll be fine’ Jason said as he took out his radio.

‘What are you doing?’ Claire asked, shocked. ‘That’ll attract Tallentiri’

‘I know,’ Jason said. ‘Sergeant Carlisle, come in’

‘This is Carlisle’

‘Have your soldiers communicate by radio. We need those signals going’ Jason said.

‘Yes sir. Right away’

‘Jason, think this through. Those signals will draw an army of Tallentiri here, and instead of being outnumbered five to one, it’ll be fifty to one’ Celeste said.

‘I have thought it through. The Tallentiri can’t pass through the shield. Only the Nexus can do that. Hopefully the Tallentiri reach them, before they reach the shield and deal with them for us’ Jason answered back.

‘And then we’re left with an army of Tallentiri outside the shield!’ Claire exclaimed.

‘It doesn’t matter. Once they realise they can’t pass through, they’ll leave. Just like they did at the Barracks.

‘Sir, come in’

‘Go ahead’ Jason said into his radio.

‘A Nexus Commanding officer has entered the shield alone and unarmed. He says he wants to talk to you’

‘I’m on my way’ Jason said.

‘You can’t be serious’ Claire said.

‘Bring me my weapon in five minutes’ Jason said as he left the pavilion.

‘Jason. Blake. What…an…honour’ The man said. He was indeed alone and clearly unarmed.

‘What do you want?’ Jason called.

‘I am Colonel Aaron Swift-‘

‘I don’t care who you are. What do you want?’

‘To talk. The High Commander has decided to waste as little life as possible here. After all, a high percentage of civilians live here and they are not a threat to us. The military on the other hand, are a threat to us. I’m simply here to discuss things with you’

‘These things would be?’ Jason enquired.

‘The terms of your surrender for one’ Swift replied. Jason laughed.

‘What makes you think I’m going to surrender just because you asked nicely?’ Jason retorted.

‘Mr Blake, your father also laughed at me, had it not been for the actions of one, now lieutenant Williams, he would’ve been dead long before the Tallentiri invasion. I give you one warning: I will take the showgrounds by force if I have to’ Swift replied.

‘And I give you one warning Colonel: I do not respond well to threats’ Jason snarled. Swift laughed for a second.

‘You think you can threaten me?’ Swift said. Jason saw Swift’s arm swing for the side of his head. Jason reacted off instinct and, no one saw how he did it, Jason had both of Swift’s arms locked in front of his chest and Jason was up in Swift’s face.

‘That wasn’t a smart move’ Jason told him.

‘I don’t care. You should fear me’ Swift said.

‘I’m not afraid of you’ Jason replied.

‘You’re just like your father. He was always the bravest, but he could never make the hard decisions. The life and death decisions’ Swift said. Jason head butted him, twice, before  throwing him to the ground.

‘My father was never a Nexus soldier’ Jason said.

‘I wasn’t a Nexus soldier, Mr Blake. I left the military after I saw the atrocities committed in Saudi Arabia. The murder thousands of innocent people’

‘They would’ve murdered all of us had it been the other way round, you know it and I know it, and I am not going to argue the past with you’ Jason said, angrily.

‘Surrender the showgrounds and I may let you live’ Swift said.

‘Or I kill you and maintain the showgrounds’ Jason replied.

‘If you had that in you, you’d have done it already’ Swift told him.

‘The point is I have the ability to end this conversation right now’ Jason retorted.

‘Sir? We have Tallentiri drop ships on approach’ Said a voice over Swift’s radio.

‘Order your forces to surrender themselves and I will grant them asylum’ Jason told Swift.

‘If I order the surrender, you will not hesitate to execute them the moment they step through the shield. Either way we are dead’ Swift replied.

‘Then we are done talking. Kill him’ Jason said. One of the soldiers up on the walls fired three shots and Swift lay dead on the ground. Suddenly, the Nexus soldiers ran through the shield and an all out skirmish erupted inside the walls as Celeste emerged leading the civilian fighters. Although the Nexus solders were shooting to maim rather than kill they eventually broke through and splintered all over the showgrounds. Jason ran over to Celeste who handed him the Aug.

‘Take the civilians and defend the pavilion, if they take it we’re screwed. You’re not engage them though unless fired upon first’ Jason told her.

‘But what about-‘

‘The soldiers and I deal with the rest, just go’ Jason said. Celeste reluctantly obeyed. There was ominous sound and they looked up to see shield absorbing a huge yellow beam.

‘The Tallentiri are firing on the shield!’ A soldier yelled.

‘Jason! The Bastion’s strength just dropped fifteen percent’ Said Claire’s voice.

‘Copy that’ Jason replied as he began running after the Nexus soldiers.

‘Where are you going?’ Carlisle called after him. There was another ominous sound and a wave of super sonic wind tore across the showgrounds as the Tallentiri entered. The Bastion shield had collapsed allowing the Tallentiri. The super sonic wind effortlessly tossed Jason and most of the other soldiers twenty metres across before slamming them against an outer wall. When Jason looked down the wall, he saw Sarah lying on the ground. From where Jason was, she didn’t appear to be doing much.

‘Sarah’ Jason croaked as he got up and slowly made his way across. Jason cried out as he was thrown against the wall again. This time it was the result of a Tallentiri soldier firing on him. The weapon was a very long and wide barrel, pointed directly at him. The meaning was clear: don’t move. Jason defied them, intent on reaching Sarah and was immediately hit with the weapon again before shot again and thrown back again. He flipped over and landed on his front, sliding to a stop. There was nothing he could do except watch as the Tallentiri carefully picked up Sarah and took her away. After that, all Jason could hear was the sound of planes approaching before everything went black.

Ok, I have a few things to say. Firstly, for my American readers or anyone else who doesn't know the Metric System, twenty metres is the equivalent of 65.6166 feet. Secondly, this will be the last post for about two to three weeks. I'm taking some time off over Christmas and New Year's, so this could be considered the Mid-season finale. If you don't want to consider it that because it's a text not a TV show that's fine. Chapter Seventeen will be posted around early to mid January next year.