Jolt’s next move could be dangerous as he confronted the chief overlord in Farringay. He wanted her in a safe place until he could come back for her.
If he could come back….
Chapter Twelve
As the shuttle lifted off and eased out of the hangar, Jolt tapped into the internal network to contact Commander Dark to let him know they were about to begin. Most of the 500 men under his command only had virtual combat training. The level of opposition his men had faced in the first attack was wholly unexpected. They especially didn’t expect them to have the weaponry they had used against the demolition teams.
Jolt still felt his men were capable of putting down the gangers’ attacks. Somehow, the overlord had acquired armor piercing missiles and projectiles. Such weapons were no longer made on Earth or anywhere in the system. They would have been smuggled in from out of the system by interstellar freighter.
Smuggling almost anything would have been relatively easy before theStarfirewas back in orbit. More than likely the weapons had been acquired well before the cyborgs had returned from the war. Maybe they were stocking up in case the Mesaarkans made another run at Earth.
Had they only been seeking revenge for the killings on Procyon II, their attack on Earth alone should have sufficed. They had killed a million people for every one of three hundred Mesaarkans murdered on Procyon II. Millions more died due to the destruction of the world’s infrastructure.
Many of the North American cities had fallen under the control of feudalistic overlords ruling in the urban ruins, that had become their kingdoms. The top overlord of Farringay had not yet been identified, but there had been no trouble until the demolition teams were getting close to the one corner of the city that seemed to have been restored.
“What do you think set them off,” Axel asked.
“I think we got too close to there territory. We should have notified them about what we were doing,” Jolt mused. “We’re warriors, not diplomats. It never occurred to me to negotiate for territory to build the starport.”
“It didn’t occur to me either, sir.”
“There haven’t been any law enforcers here for almost a hundred years, so the overlords took over. Now that we are here working, they think we are trying to take it back,” Jolt said.
“You don’t think it was payback for those bastards that hurt your female.”
“I thought about that. I didn’t think they were that valuable to the overlord to take on hundreds of cyborgs.” Jolt said. “I hope that’s not why they came after our men. Men who would do what they did to a female deserved what they got.”
“I fully agree, but we need to figure out how to stop their attacks before we can go on with the demolition and rebuilding.”
“We’ll go in with an armed company and ask for a meeting with the overlord, but we will have back up in case we need it.”
“If they stop shooting long enough for us to ask,” Axel replied.
“Let’s send a drone in with a recorded message,” Jolt said. “Even if they shoot it down, it will still deliver the message.” He accessed a drone from the storeroom with his cybernetics, and it flew into his office momentarily. While Axel went to get the company suited in armor and ready for the mission, Jolt recorded a message.
“I am Jolt Somber, in command of the details demolishing the ruins of Farringay to build a new starport under the authority of the United Galactic Federation. Our project will not encroach on the property you have restored, and may ultimately prove beneficial to you. We come to you armed only because your gangers have seriously injured four of our men.
“I ask for a truce, so I may speak with you directly to show you the exact boundaries of our project. Jolt Somber out.”
As soon as he completed the message, he sent the drone flying to the coordinates of the mansion where he felt sure the overlord resided. Then he went to don his own armor and prime his ion rifle. The gangers had taken his demolition teams by surprise; the newbies were not combat hardened like he was. They never saw the attack coming until it was too late. He would.
Twenty minutes later, his company boarded two troop transport shuttles and headed into the city. During the flit, Jolt used their cyborg network to give them a crash course on how to combat the gangers and their weapons. Unless the gangers had more secret military hardware, they wouldn’t take the cyborgs by surprise again.
Surprisingly, they hadn’t shot down the drone Jolt had sent. An armed team was flanking the entryway of the mansion when the troop carriers set down in front of it. Fifty armored and armed cyborgs jogged out and formed a semicircle in front of the estate, holding their rifles ready to aim if necessary. Once the troops were in place, Jolt emerged from the shuttle and strode toward the dwelling with his rifle held ready.
That’s when the shooting started. This time the cyborgs were ready. They used their ion rifles to shoot the projectiles and rockets out of the air as fast as the gangers could shoot at them. A few cyborgs sustained minor wounds from the armor-piercing bullets, but that didn’t stop them from fending off the attack.
After several minutes, the attack stopped abruptly, apparently when they realized they weren’t taking down any of the cyborgs. Jolt continued his advance toward the front entrance, holding his rifle ready in case the shooting resumed.
He stopped about three meters from the front porch. “Jolt Somber, here to speak with your overlord,” he addressed the armed guards by the door.
One of the guards opened the door and went inside. He returned a moment later and beckoned Jolt to enter. Using the strap to sling his rifle over his shoulder, Jolt followed the guard into the building.
The lavish furnishings in the meticulously clean rooms were incongruous with the ruins east of the overlord’s compound. Jolt follow this guard through the parlor and down a long hallway toward multipaned glass French doors at the end. The unnamed minion opened one of the doors and gestured for the cyborg to enter.
Jolt receded his armor’s helmet to face the overlord eye to eye. The well-dressed male with luxurious blond hair looked to be in his forties. He looked up as the cyborg came to stand in front of his antique wooden writing desk.
“I am Jolt Somber,” he stated. “Why have your gangers attacked my demolition crews?”
