Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (21 page)

By the time the party reached the third floor, the pursuers entered the staircase and began to shoot at them from below.

“This
oughtta
slow ’em down,” Spaide said and threw down a round device. As they reached a safe distance, he pressed the button on his detonator, collapsing the lower portion of the stairs.

“We have to make sure the ship is on when we board it,” Exander said. “So we can take off faster.”

Spaide cleared his throat. “They might—”

Exander shot him a quick look. “Damn it, Spaide!”

“Dagoneth, start the ship!” the Dirsalian yelled into his transmitter. “Happy? I wouldn’t be surprised if that hunk of metal invites the Imperials aboard.”

As they reached the sixteenth floor, they heard more soldiers coming down to greet them.

“Stop!” Exander halted the party.

“What do you want to do?” Spaide asked. “Engage them?”

“No, we’ll cut through to the other stairwell and make our way up,” Exander replied, approaching the door.

Spaide neared the railing and looked up. “There’re too many from the sound of it,” he said. “I hope that path leads us there.”

Exander kicked the door. The entry opened a way into a long corridor, its right side lined with oversized windows made of thick glass that provided a view of the spaceport. After making sure it was safe, the team locked the door and hurried to the other end.

“Wait!” Exander stopped halfway through, once again sensing danger. “
Get down!
” he screamed, jumping backwards and toppling his brother along with Duell.

A rocket cracked through the window and exploded into the wall several feet away, covering their path in dust and debris. There was a helicopter outside with four Imperial soldiers: two pilots and a couple of gunners firing at them from the side door—one of them with a rocket launcher over his shoulder.

“
Run!
” Exander knelt down, pulled out his blaster, and began shooting back.

Spaide swiftly made his way across the rubble, shooting at the assailants, while Damocles ran through with Duell. The Dirsalian took out one soldier and Exander the other, leaving the pilot and the gunner with the rocket launcher.

“
Go!
” Exander yelled at Vincent and Gaia for lagging. As they lurched forward, another rocket struck the hallway, tearing a portion of the building apart.

Gaia screamed as the blast collapsed the floor beneath her feet, dragging her down. Vincent managed to clasp her wrist at the last second.

The blast created a huge gap between them and the rest of the party, taking out several floors.

“
Damn you!
” Exander stood up and furiously blasted away. A hole appeared in the pilot’s helmet, and he fell on the dashboard, crashing the helicopter into a nearby building.

The gunner managed to jump out and extend his parachute, but several shots from Spaide turned him into a corpse floating over the city.

Vincent used his strength to pull the Princess up. She worriedly hugged him as she reached the top. He then glanced over at his liability: the gap was over twenty feet wide, and the sound of soldiers descending the stairs made it impossible to turn back.

“Damocles!” Exander cried out to his brother. “You’ll have to get them!”

As the big man turned around, blasts came through the locked door behind Vincent and Gaia. The soldiers were already there. They were trapped!

Gaia swallowed. “This can’t be it,” she said. She pulled out her blaster and began shooting at the door.

Vincent looked at her and instead of the rebellious Princess saw a helpless young girl ready to meet her doom. The weight was on his shoulders again—he had to do something. “Not today,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, ran forward, and leapt. He jumped like he’d never jumped before—as if some force inside boosted him to fly.

They landed next to the twins.

The brothers exchanged shocked glances.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Exander said to Vincent as they continued on their way.

*

The soldiers entered through the shattered door but stopped short before the gap.

The escaping party was out of sight.

“Turn back!” the commanding officer shouted. “We’ll engage them on the roof!” They turned around and stormed back to the staircase.

*

“Dagoneth, prepare to lower the gangway!” Spaide screamed into his radio.

They made their way up, staying close to the wall because of the continuous blasts from ascending soldiers. When they finally reached the roof access, Spaide kicked open the exit door and stuck out the barrel of his gun. After there was no reaction, he peeked out. “Six soldiers to the left,” he said, “
headin
’ for the ship.”

“Cover my back.” Exander passed Spaide onto the rooftop and darted at the soldiers.

As the troops raised their guns at their bold assailant, Spaide came out with his revolver-blasters. Before they knew what was going on, four of them were down. Exander came hacking down on the fifth, spun around, and cut the last one apart.

“Everyone inside!” Exander sheathed his bloody sword, pulled out his blaster, and stood beside the ramp as Spaide, Damocles, Duell, and Gaia entered the ship.

Enemy fighters and gunships were approaching fast from afar.

“
Hurry!
” Exander yelled at Vincent and ran after the others.

As Vincent was nearing the entrance, blasts whizzed over his shoulder. The troops flocked out of the other roof access, feverishly discharging their guns. Vincent whirled around and began shooting back.

“
Vincent!
” Gaia cried out.

Vincent realized he was the last one. The rush of adrenaline had misplaced him from reality. He hurried up the ramp just as the
Serpent
began lifting off.

“Raise the ramp!” Exander cried out to the robot, blasting away.

The gate finally closed, and the party rushed to the cockpit. Damocles stopped in the cabin to lay his master on the couch and strap him with safety belts.

“Tend to me later,” Duell slurred out, closing his eyes.

“Shields to full power!” Spaide commanded, jumping behind the wheel. “Now scram, Dagoneth!”

“We’re going to have to redirect some energy into offensive.” Exander took his place in the co-pilots chair, pushing on certain switches. “Dagoneth, turn on the turrets.”

The droid stopped in confusion from the multiple commands.

“Damn robot,” Spaide fussed. “Retire
after
you turn on the cannons!”

“As you wish, sir,” the machine responded.

“Princess, Vincent.” Exander whirled around. “There are two gun turrets on either side of the cabin. I need you two blasting away any enemy ship you see. I’ll control the main gun while Spaide gets us out of here.”

Gaia nodded and ran to do her duty.

“Wait a minute,” Vincent said. “I don’t know how to use it.”

“Damocles is too big to maneuver in the turret, so you’ll have to,” Spaide added in a hurry. “Besides, Dagoneth will turn everythin’ on for you. Just point and shoot.”

“Like this!” Exander said, pushing the knob on his controls. The gun atop the cockpit released a ball of energy at the approaching helicopter, blowing it into tiny shards.

“Okay,” Vincent muttered as his heart began pounding in excitement once more. He hurried to the deck and proceeded up the rungs to the tower.

The turret was an octagonal cylinder with windows made of thick glass. The chair with the controls and the gun were attached to a revolving floor—allowing the gunner to fully rotate.

Vincent jumped in the chair and strapped himself in. “Oh, yeah,” he said, grabbing the control handles. Multiple screens appeared on the glass surface before him, displaying the sky from every angle. He jerked the wheel to the left, and the entire turret turned. “I’m in a friggin sci-fi movie,” he said, still trying to conceive what he was about to do.

As he got familiar with the turret, he didn’t become aware that the fighters were hot on their trail, beginning to attack.

“This isn’t a damn movie,” Spaide’s said through the intercom. “Now, take aim, and the very second the guns are activated, I want you to shoot like crazy!”

Vincent cleared his throat. “Right,” he said, changing his tone to a more serious one.

An Imperial frigate was dead ahead. Nevertheless, rather than avoiding it, the crazy Dirsalian flew straight at the battleship.

“We can’t take on that ship!” Damocles cautioned.

Spaide exchanged looks with his first mate; Exander bit his lower lip and nodded.

“Yes, we can,” Spaide said and accelerated.

The frigate opened its bay, and several fighter ships headed down.

Vincent turned the turret towards the gaining squadron composed of half a dozen fighters. He set his sight on the nearest one and waited.

“Battlestation operational,”
Dagoneth’s
computerized voice said after a second. “Fire at will.”

Small crosshairs appeared on the display screen.

“Okay, here we go…” Vincent targeted the nearest ship and pushed the buttons on top of the controls. The cannon released two green blasts: the first one raised the enemy fighter’s energy shield, and the second blew it to bits. “Great! I can get used to this.” He targeted another. The second ship met the same fate. Several more ships blew up—the work of Gaia.

Two more remained in pursuit.

Vincent shot several blasts at one of them, striking the ship in the wing. The pilot lost control, and the vessel exploded into the other.

A small image of Gaia appeared in the left-hand screen. “Nice going, Vincent.”

He shrugged. “Beginner’s luck,” he said, surprised at himself.

“Stay alert,” Spaide said. “More
approachin
’ from the east,”

Vincent rotated the tower to the left and waited.

Exander had his own share of action as the mighty frigate produced fighters and rockets that flew down to meet the approaching
Serpent
. His hands knew no pause: he shot at every moving object in their path. The windshield was pummeled with more fragments of metal than enemy blasts.

Despite the assault, Spaide increased speed.

“
We’re going to crash!
” Damocles shouted into his ear.

“No we’re not!”

“
Spaide!
”

Spaide leaned over and pushed a button, sending a rocket at the frigate. At the last second, he jerked the helm, and the
Serpent
passed over the enemy vessel just as the missile found its target.

There was a series of chain explosions and the frigate blew up, taking out the other fighters in its vicinity.

Exander let go of his controls and flexed his fingers. “Nice work.”

“They we’re so busy
shootin
’ at us they neglected raisin’ their own shield,” Spaide said in confidence.

“I swear, I’ll never doubt you again,” Exander said.

“Yeah.” Spaide scoffed. “That’s what you said the last time.”

“Now let’s hope our gunners take out the tail.”

Gaia was a natural shooter. She never ceased to surprise the team, taking out enemy fighters one by one. Vincent managed to take out several on his own, but was no match to her skill.

Three of the enemy ships remained, continuing the volley.

The
Serpent
was already far over the city, swimming through the polluted clouds.