Return to Atlantis

Chapter 30 - Worlds Collide

Somewhere round the coordinates of Earth space are the vanguards of WDF spacefighters ships strategically positioned everywhere, Lt Phil Wilson and his men knew all too well. But the view from the exteriors of their cockpits had been nothing but the seemingly peaceful blanket of stars for the past couple of hours.

Ava had successfully eluded them all - the three men realised.

They had flown in silence for most of the 3 hours in space, their ships flying at their max hyperspeed of 30 kiometers per second, waiting for a command from HQ for their unprecedented situation, knowing that the enemy fleet is just a couple of hours trajectory from where they are, probably aware, in one way or another, of the rogue Earth unit that seemed to be headed their way. But there have been no movement from the adversaries as far as their radars are concerned...so far.

They are probably just waiting with their guns for these trivial pursuers to appear within sight and annihilate, Alec thought. What a senseless death it is going to be. How could this supposedly intelligent girl not think things through? What is going on in her mind?

He sighed back in his chair. He could only see one ending to this: They will be told to turn back soon enough. What is taking so long though? he thought.

The silence among the men broke when Sanders shared a thought through the comms. "I think we are now the first Earthlings to have travelled this further out in Earth space since the dawn of time, lieutenant!"

Alec and Phil agreed to that. The furthest mankind could have travelled would have been to Mars but those plans were thwarted by the enemy. Since their arrival, no one has or can venture out beyond the orbit of the moon when it was just assault after assault - Earth always on defensive.

"Lieutenant!" Sanders, who was manning the radars, suddenly cried in alarm. "Our sensors have just intercepted a large...no...an innumerable enemy contingency has just entered Earth space radar parameters! I don't know if I am seeing this right but I think it is what it is as crazy as that sounds! The WDF should be seeing this! I am seeing a million extraterrestrial objects!"

Alec adjusted his radar screen to see what Sanders was seeing and he couldn't be anymore right. And Alec saw something else:

"And I think I am seeing movement from the existing enemy fleet as well, particularly 3 of their mother fortresses!" Alec pointed out. "They seemed to be..."

"They are headed our way!" Sanders exclaimed, making the same conclusion as Alec.

Phil's face appeared onto their cockpit monitors. There was no look of shock and surprise on his face. "Alec, Sanders, I was just on the comms with Lt. Kaine and yes they are seeing all this. They don't know what is going on but he has ordered us as a matter of urgency to turn back immediately! We are to abandon the mission. Alec, change course immediately!"

"What about Ms Kinski, lieutenant? Do you mean to abandon the mission, abandon 'her'?" enquired Sanders.

"Alec," Phil called. "Communicate briefly with Ms Kinski. If you can't get some sense into her head, commence the u-turn. There is nothing we can do about her. It is her decision now. We have to turn back asap," ordered the lieutenant.

"Lieutenant, just letting you know that at the rate the enemy stronghold are moving right now, they will reach us in 7 minutes, and the contingency fleet - trailing just behind the existing fleet - will reach us in 10 minutes," Sanders was explaining and stopped himself short to exclaim. "--Wow, their ships are that fast!"

Alec stared out dimly at the lone minute profile of Ava's spaceship not too far in front of him. It looked so small and insignificant against the vast and boundless universe...