Jack's True Calling

"Send six squads of troops to hold the depot and push back the females!" Jaas growled to Skarl who passed the command to his troops.

The tech had tapped into a nearby traffic camera and watched as another truck went up with a brilliant flash.

"Sir?"

"NOT NOW!" Jaas snarled.

The tech looked nervously at Skarl.

"What is it?" the second in command asked quietly.

"We have a distress call broadcasting from an incoming ship."

That caught Jaas' attention. "What? A space craft?" The tech just nodded.

Jaas scowled at the smaller male who touched his controls and the big screen split between the fires at the truck depot and a representation of the planet, the nearby moons, and an approaching dot which seemed to be changing vectors strangely.

"Is it Altarian?" Jaas asked.

The tech tapped the controls and read the response. "No sir, its registry is Wuu."

Jaas had been hoping it was that freak Danner, coming to 'rescue' the Princess. "What is a Wuu ship doing in our region of space?"

The tech spoke into his mic and listened to the response. "They say they were hunting at a planet on the outer edge of their territory. Their control core failed as they were returning to Wuu. They are asking for an emergency landing."

Jaas shook his head as he grimaced in distaste. "Denied. I have no desire to have any of those orange vermin on Phem Kalos. Inform them they must turn back."

"But sir-"

Jaas raised his hand to strike the disobedient tech but was blocked by Skarl who stepped between them. It was too much for Jaas. The frustration of fighting the enemy he couldn't see, and hearing reports of his warriors being bested day after day by these... females... pushed his rage to the breaking point. Jaas grabbed the front of Skarl's uniform and threw him down. He pounced on the fallen Warrior and roared in his face.

"YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE WITH MY DISCIPLINING AGAIN!"

Skarl held his eye insolently then tilted his chin up slightly, exposing his throat.

Jaas felt a wave of unease rush through him. So be it. He raised his hand for the killing blow.

"Sir, the ship has changed vector again. It cannot be redirected. It's entering our atmosphere," a frightened voice interrupted him.

Snarling, Jaas pushed himself off of the prone second in command and turned back to the tech. "Shoot it down."

The tech gasped at the order but quickly connected to the Air Defence Center to give them the order. "They are beginning to fire on the incoming ship." The tech's voice trembled.

The graphic on the big display zoomed in to show the ship's progress and they waited for it to wink out... but it didn't.

"All those guns and they can't hit one ship?" Jaas asked incredulously.

"The ship is moving very oddly but its present course has it landing outside the city," the tech explained.

"How oddly?" Jaas asked quietly.

The tech looked over his shoulder at the big warrior.

"Evasively."

-=-

Nann struggled to keep her stomach from climbing up her throat to escape her body. The ship surged forward again and the internal dampeners struggled to compensate. They'd apparently been turned down to minimal levels to allow the ship to move very quickly.

The concussive bursts shaking the ship told her it was a good thing that they were moving this way. Better to be shaken than shot out of the sky.

She looked across to Leo and Maxim who were giggling like school children on a field trip.

"Is like... best roller coaster ever!" Leo called out to her and Maxim nodded with a big grin.

She aimed a scowl at them then looked to their leader who seemed to be keeping it together. Then Nann noticed the white knuckles and the jumping muscle in Cha'Risa's jaw. She smiled at the woman's attempt to present a brave face.

BassDrop had securely tied itself down with four tentacles to mooring points on the deck. She noticed it was on standby mode. Resting through the ordeal... or just avoiding it.

The Altarian Agents were also sitting still but they had their eyes closed tightly. Likely recalling their long ago tumble through a Gate into the Australian outback. They were probably wishing they were packed in impact gel now as they had been then. Of course, impact gel would be no protection at all in a fall from space. Her stomach lurched at the thought.

Finally, she looked at Jack.

Glancing up she took in the sharp points of his horns. She recalled the preparations Jack had done before they strapped in. He'd opened his duffle and pulled out a wide leather belt with two old leather holsters. Her mind had flashed back to a western movie she'd seen as a kid. She was so relieved to see he was actually going to carry weapons. But instead of the dual six shooters he'd just placed the bone caps from his horns in them. Then he'd warned everyone to stay clear of the points.

Of course Leo and Maxim had asked for a demonstration of exactly how sharp they were. Poking a hole through a metal wall access panel they'd worked loose was sufficient to satisfy their curiosity.

Nann had watched Jack pull two small jars from his bag next and examine them. He seemed to be struggling with a decision then he put one of the jars back into the bag. Jack used a small brush to liberally coat his horn tips with the sticky substance from the remaining jar then it too went back into the duffle. Finally, he'd stuffed the bag into the ship's disposal chute.

As she sat, strapped into her chair her curiosity was burning about what he'd put on his horns. She looked to his face and saw he was utterly calm though the ship jerked one way then the other, up and down accelerating and decelerating in a seemingly random pattern. He... went with it.

"How are you so calm?" she cried out over the noise of the ship complaining.

Jack smiled at her. "I spent three months unable to do anything but wait and worry. This? This is doing something. I have no control over it so I'm thinking about what I'm going to do to that bastard when I get down there."

She nodded to him and actually felt a little better.

She'd feel even better once she got off this crazy ride.

The ship dropped from under them. Leo and Maxim chuckled happily.

Nann scowled and swallowed her stomach once more.

-=-

Jaas watched with the others in the control room as the ship evaded most of the surface to air blasts. The ones that did any damage were only glancing blows and none did sufficient damage to bring it down.

"Current trajectory still has it landing outside of- course change!" the tech called out.

The ship suddenly gained altitude while swinging wildly over the rooftops towards the palace.

"Use the palace guns on it! SHOOT IT!" Jaas bellowed.

"The palace fortifications are still offline. The required energy cells went up in that munitions truck," Skarl said.

Jaas bared his teeth at his second in command then looked back to the screen. The surface to air battery had stopped shooting at it because they were too close to the palace. The cumulative damaged the guns had done finally had an effect as sparks and smoke suddenly exploded from the back of the ship, causing it to lurched sideways. It first looked like it was going to land in the palace courtyard but it skewed and wobbled to the right and crashed down on the barracks, obliterating the building... and his recovering troops.

The view switched to a camera on the opposite side of the courtyard. Jaas was about to order his warriors to attack when the side of the ship blew open and a torrent of small orange fuzz balls poured out, each somehow holding a small spear. Then his eyes widened in surprise and delight. Two Altarian agents stepped out followed by a tall, horned figure. Its mane, including its beard, was black but Jaas was certain it had to be Jack Danner. Four humans carrying weapons and a Tik followed him from the ship.

Jaas smiled as his bloodlust soared. Here was an enemy he could fight face to face. Danner wasn't carrying any weapons. He seemed to prefer hand to hand which made Jaas happier still. He needed to kill someone so badly. Danner's death at his claws would be such a sweet victory after so much frustration.

He picked up the mic as the tech triggered the palace wide paging system. "The horned one is MINE! Kill the rest." Jass looked to the tech. "Order the squads sent to the truck depot to return."

The palace shook with a muted thump and the lights suddenly went out. The screens went dark as well. Their security systems were offline and communications as well.

The emergency lights came on and Jaas looked to his second in command. "Stay here and get the power back on. Get those squads back here. I have a freak to kill."

As Jaas strode purposefully from the command center, he grinned and flexed his claws. Danner's blood would feel good dripping from them.

-=-

SennLann eased her way through the tunnel beneath the palace. She had FrenHall at her back and six volunteers. They were all aware that there was a good chance they weren't getting out alive.

The faint light of their glow sticks gave them all the light they needed to navigate this older tunnel, bored through solid rock. It was smaller and deeper than the others. Ancient, SennLann guessed. FennLann hadn't liked using this one as its narrowness made him nervous. She had no issues with it now as it was going to get them close to the kitchens which were close to the Royal living quarters.

Her team would be starting their diversion now. She hoped they would be safe.

The ground heaved under their feet and only a few of them remained upright after the shockwave passed.

"What was that?" FrenHall gasped as she picked up her glow stick.

SennLann gestured for her to be quiet then moved forward quickly to climb a long set of stairs. They extinguished their glow sticks as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs. SennLann eased closer to the hidden door and listened carefully. Voices were mumbling something. She caught the words 'ship' and 'invaders' then the voices moved away.

SennLann's heart soared. She knew what it had to be! "Jack! He's arrived!" she whispered to the group and quiet but excited squeaks returned. She eased the door open and saw it was dark in the hall as well. Glancing both ways in the hall she saw only emergency lighting was operating. This would make their task easier.

They moved through the dark corridors and reached a fork. FrenHall touched SennLann's shoulder and received a nod. She turned to one of her team.

"Marress, take Jeena and Seva down to the right to the servant's quarters and the kitchen and collect the staff. Get them all out through the tunnel. We're going after the concubines," FrenHall said.

They split up at the fork and SennLann led her group to the left.

At the next intersection, SennLann and FrenHall peered around the corner and saw six elite warriors positioned in a vestibule at the entrance to the royal family living quarters. A corridor led away just beyond them on the other side of the vestibule. SennLann knew that hallway led to the main Audience Hall.

SennLann watched in stunned silence as a pursuit orb rolled erratically across the floor, chittering angrily. She flung out an arm to hold back her team as three of the warriors moved forward to investigate the orb. One managed to grab it but received a nasty shock before it sprung from its hand and zipped away down the far hallway with the others in fast pursuit. The stunned one followed close behind.

While distracted, the other three guards didn't see the twins drop from a vent above them until the black streaks bounced off them and away, running directly towards the hiding females.

As they rounded the corner, SennLann grabbed them. Startled, Adina pressed the button on the trigger in her hand. A terrible boom shook them as the vestibule echoed with the sound. They glanced around the corner and saw the warriors were down, one dead and the others badly injured. Three of FrenHall's team rushed in to take their weapons and hid behind the bodies, covering the entrances to the vestibule.

FrenHall immediately went to the door, unlocked it, and led the way inside. She rushed forward and pulled her sister into her arms.

"Hugs later! We have to go now!" SennLann hissed.

Gunfire rang out in the vestibule behind them and the prisoners shrieked. One of their team poked her head in the door. "We got the three remaining warriors when they came back," she said.

SennLann relaxed just a little and realized she hadn't let go of Adina and Zaina's hands yet. She looked down into their eyes. "Where is your father? Why did he bring you?"

The twins shared a look. "He didn't. We snuck through the Gate," Adina said cautiously.

Zaina rushed to continue. "We discovered you escaped but we couldn't find you."

"Instead, we helped and waited for you to show up," Adina finished.

SennLann stared at her naughty, brave daughters then the sense of urgency returned. "We'll talk when we get to safety!" She looked to FrenHall. "We have to go-"

A burst of gunfire ripped through the air then two warriors were standing in the entrance of the room pointing their nasty little machine guns at the group. Jaas stepped into the room behind them and grinned at SennLann and FrenHall.

"Thank you for gathering in the only room in the palace with no other exit. SennLann, you've proven to be quite problematic but now that you're contained this little 'discontent' can be squashed for good."

SennLann snorted, drawing a scowl from the leader. "We're only a small part of the revolution. Not even the most important part. The message has spread. The day of the Warrior has ended."

"Your message and efforts are meaningless! I'll crush the rest of your people as easily as the three in the hallway," he scoffed.

FrenHall stepped forward and sneared at him. "You can't win if all you can do is fight. The females now know they have nothing left to lose. And they won't be waiting for you in a small little room for you to find and kill. They'll be everywhere. In the dark. While you sleep."

The room suddenly filled with a flash of white light and the sound of electronics sizzling. Before the Warriors could realize the aiming systems in their guns had been fried, the twins were bouncing off their chests.

The concussion wave from the explosions that ripped the two Warriors apart, slapped everyone else from their feet and sent them into oblivion.

-=-

Jack's knuckles ached from punching the Warrior's hard faces so now he had a pair of clubs. They were actually wooden chair legs but so far they'd proven to be harder than the heads he'd thumped them against.

He did his best to stay out of the way of the Wuu warriors. Their swarming attack was actually rather gruesome to watch. The much larger Phem Kalos warriors were proving to be no match for twenty to thirty small orange balls of fur... armed with tiny spears. Up to five of the diminutive warriors might be lost for every Phem Kalos taken down but the effect of seeing your comrades killed by a swarm was extremely demoralizing.

Jack lost track of the four Earth commandos when a squad of warriors suddenly burst through a side door into their midst. That's when Jack had grabbed a handy chair and brained the first one through. The chair broke, as did the skull of the warrior, and Jack was left with his clubs. Gee and Bal pushed him further down the hall as the Commandos went after the remaining four with their blades.

Before he was pushed around a corner by the Altarians and the Wuu, Jack saw a spray of blood from Leo's chest and Maxim grappling with the final warrior. Then Jack was in the thick of it once more as another squad jumped them.

Gee and Bal held their own with their throwing daggers, though collecting them slowed them down.

Jack reached the main Audience Hall before anyone else in his group and found a huge empty chamber. The emergency lights mounted high along the walls around the room were buzzing quietly and cast an eerie light over the space.

He was tired, frustrated, and wanted this done!

"JAAAAAAAAAAS! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU FUCKING COWARD! JAAAAAAAAAAS!" Jack bellowed.

-=-

Jaas cracked open his eyes and lifted a hand to his head. It was ringing badly. He stared around himself and saw his warriors weren't much more than a red smear and chunks. He turned his eyes to the two small children that took them out. He shook his head gently. Madness. Weeks of losing his warriors to females. Now children? He forced himself to his feet and staggered forward. He knew how to deal with naughty infants.

Seizing them by the fur on the back of their necks he lifted them from the ground.

He heard a sound as his hearing returned. "-UCKING COWARD! JAAAAAAAAAAS!" That had to be Danner! And he was close by!

With a final glance at the unconscious females, Jaas rushed out of the room holding the twins out from his body, as they seemed to be waking up. He walked down the corridor and marched boldly into the Audience Hall.

"DANNER! So, you've come to die? You get to see the deaths of these abominations first!"

Jack looked at the twins and saw the fear in their eyes. Dropping the chair legs, he tilted his head down and began to charge directly at Jaas across the wide chamber, keeping his eyes on the twins.

The Warrior Supreme gaped at the freak. Didn't he see he was holding his adopted children? Maybe he didn't care for them after all?

Jaas extended his arms straight forward to put the children directly between him and Danner but the freak just increased his speed.

"OOPLA!" Jack yelled and the twins curled their bodies up to cling to the top of Jaas' arms, their neck fur still caught in his painful grip.

Jaas could no longer see Danner so he lifted his arms higher to peer between them. Then it was too late to avoid Jack's charge as he dipped under the outstretched arms to crash directly into his hardened leather breastplate, just above his stomach. The stiff armor shattered, Jaas lost his wind, and they all went down in a pile, the twins rolling away.

As he struggled to suck air back into his lungs, fire coursed through Jaas' left cheek, just below his eye. A sharp horn had bitten deeply into Phem Kalos flesh.

Jack recovered first and pushed back up to his feet to stagger backwards into the arms of the two Altarian agents.

Cha'Risa and the others ran into the room after him but Jack held up his hands to keep them from shooting Jaas. Jack saw bandages on Leo's chest and another around Maxim's head.

The Wuu rushed in, howling, many covered with the blood of their enemies. Their numbers had decreased as well, but not by many. They quieted when Jack held up his hands again.

The Wuu Leader purred to Jack as he saw the Phem Kalos struggling to his feet. "You have captured the Leader! Do you intend to fight the Phem Kalos hand to hand?"

Jaas stabilized himself on his feet and looked down at his shattered breastplate. He tugged it down and the armor fell away in pieces. The Wuu's words finally registered in his mind and he grinned at the possibility of killing Danner with his bare hands.

There was a sudden commotion behind him as SennLann, FrenHall and the former concubines rushed into the room. Jaas took a few steps away from the entrance to put some space between himself and the angry females. He looked down in surprise as his legs had difficulty moving as they were starting to feel tingly and a little numb. Jaas rubbed his fingers together and they tingled too. His lips also felt odd.

SennLann smiled at Jack and he returned it. Then he looked to the Wuu. "As much as I'd enjoy ending the miserable bastard, this kill doesn't belong to me." He looked beyond Jaas to the group of enraged females who'd lost their husbands and children to the monster before them. "I'd be stealing it from the rightful owners. Jaas' death belongs to them." Jack said, gesturing to the females.