As expected Riojme and Jake got in the vacikarce and headed to the site with all the remaining attendants to help them. Once the space station had been destroyed, the Aye had immediately prepared a pressurized room on Earth in case an evacuation was needed. Ming and Jang decided it was better to return to Earth during this mission and the Yellow Emperor agreed, though sadly and reluctantly.
When they reached the site, the Attendants jumped out of the vacikarce and killed all the guards before they could even give out a warning to their comrades. Their pistols easily burned through the metal doors that blocked access to the elevators and the orbs infiltrated the security systems of the building. The orbs guided them to where the bombs were. The facility was so large, that it took them a full hour of walking to get to the bombs. Once they had definitively located the bombs, they told the orb to infiltrate the computers controlling the bombs and detonate them in two hours. That would give them plenty of time to get out. They abandoned two of the Attendants to guard the bombs and the orb. It took them another hour to fight their way out of the facility. They were nearly back at the vacikarce when the Attendants guarding the bombs warned that they were under full assault and soon to be over run. If the Black Kingdom forces managed to retake the bombs they would surely be physically disabled and saved for another time.
Jake decided to take a gamble. He ordered the remaining Attendants to teleport back to reinforce the guards. He retained just one to protect himself and Riojme. It turned out that was sufficient and they got back into the vacikarce. By that time, the remaining Attendants were nearly defeated. He told the vacikarce to ascend at full speed. The g forces were almost painful. Once they were nearly clear of the atmosphere, Jake sent the order to detonate the bombs. He looked out the window at the peaceful planet below. He saw the nearby sea, the barren valley plains and in two directions, vast metropolises and farmland.
Below him was a flash. He didn’t see it directly, but he saw it reflected in the land to the sides. The South Pole lit up brighter than the equator. He saw a shock wave slowly spreading in all directions. A wall of fire followed by blackness and glowing embers covered the barren valley. The explosion reached the vacikarce and it shuddered violently. He watched in awe with Riojme by his side as it wiped out the farmland and finally reached the cities. The wall of fire was weakening, but even the skyscrapers were no match as they were engulfed. Their inhabitants were silently converted into cinders.
They had certainly underestimated the size of the explosion. Surely the Black Emperor had died in his palace. Jake felt an enormous pain in his heart. He had been at least partially responsible for killing millions. What about the millions of others that would surely starve because of weather changes resulting from sunlight being blocked out by dust?
It was with a heavy heart that they flew back to the Yellow Kingdom. Riojme was quietly sobbing. She had such a tender heart combined with such courage.
