Alien Mine Ch. 22

Hello everyone. My apologies for the delay but my real-life job took me out of the country, and I couldn't find time to write while traveling. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Also, my editor was busy, so any mistakes are mine

Chapter 22

The rising torrent of nuclear-tipped missiles from China and North Korea arched into the atmosphere, spreading out as they sought their targets. "Acquiring," Thea said as she and Hua assigned targets to the satellites overhead, and Sandy took them up above the Pacific, the shuttle racing to intercept the warheads before they detached from the rockets. "Target those aimed at Japan," Rhys told Sandy with a tense voice, and all the shuttle's weapons began firing Laser beams, and the dissipaters sought out the warheads, some of which had already separated. Rhys watched worriedly as one target became five independently targeted megatons of destruction. Bob and the AI modeled the intercepts, and Rhys realized they wouldn't get them all; he had severely underestimated the Om. Rhys swore. He should have guessed the Om would find the changes they had made to the missile's programming. "Projecting three hits on Japan, none on Hawaii, prioritizing protecting Tokyo and the Navy base at Yokohama and Sasebo. Sendai and Nagoya will be hit. Israel is also being targeted by Iran." They could all see the projection on the Hologram.

"Aircraft are scrambling," Kiania said, trying to keep the tension from her voice as alerts went through the world. "Deploying Col Sampson's fighters for optimum intercept. Aircraft in the US and Japan are getting airborne, deployed naval strike groups are on alert and launching aircraft," Kiania said tersely. Then she sighed as the tension suddenly left her, and she slipped into that strange but wonderful world of combat mode. "Thanks, Rhys," she said, not looking away from the Hologram. She could sense the change in the others, tension dropped from the air, and a sense of calmness took over the bridge. Even the normal humans felt it.

"Mika, use your fighters to take them out, and go ahead and execute those sons of bitches," Rhys said vehemently. There was no sense in waiting anymore.

"With pleasure," Mika said, giving the order. LC Kohen and the rest of his squadron had already been airborne, taking the relatively few incoming missiles under fire. Iran had launched fifteen, more than the best estimates of their capability, but well within their own ability to defend. Mika paused a second before executing the second part of Rhys' command. "Rhys has ordered that we execute the Iranian leadership. Do you want to give the order?" she asked Michael.

***

"The Chinese have launched hundreds of aircraft," Kiania said, and a new layer of threats appeared on the hologram and in Rhys' tac-grid. They are targeting Taiwan, Okinawa, and the central Islands of Japan. Missiles are also targeting Guam Island.

Everything was happening in slow motion for Rhys right now as his brain operated at inhuman speeds. He realized that the strange AI was feeding them information, and Rhys panicked as he felt himself begin to shift.

"You must become the One," a cold voice said in his head as bones rearranged themselves. Flinging off his armor as his body changed, Rhys transformed from human to something that looked alien and only part human. His face became slightly elongated, his teeth more prominent with two front fangs with a protruding snout. Wings grew from his back, and his hands looked animal-like, almost long claws. Rhys' legs thickened, especially the thighs, and his feet swelled and changed into four-toed feet. Even Rhys' skin transformed, changing into a metallic structure of overlapping armor plates, of dark green, almost black, shot through with brightly glowing streaks of red, almost like glowing embers about to burst into flames running through his body. Rhys shuddered as the change stopped there; no tail this time, Rhys thought with relief. Sandy felt a moment of fear as Rhys' Body changed; she clearly remembered what had happened when he found her with Anita, how he had forced that monstrous Dragon cock down her throat. It was also the form he took whenever they were alone. It was something she feared but, at the same time, desired.

"What the Fuck!" Jack said as he watched Rhys change into something only part human. Instinctively he reached for a weapon, but Sandy spared a few strands of her hair to grasp his arm, holding it tight. Jesus Christ! What happened to him," Jack shouted, looking fearfully around.

"Hold still, Jack; no time for this now," Kiania said firmly, never taking her eyes off the Hologram. She could see everything in her mind on Tac-grid, but the greater sized visual helped her focus on the whole battle world-wide. Destroy all the remaining nukes, Pakistan and India, have not launched, "she ordered the Binary, sitting with Anita. The Binary gave the commands and viruses implanted into the computers and circuitry of the weapons activated, causing the physical destruction of critical electronic components.

"Done," She replied. The binary had slipped into combat mode with the others even though Rhys was thousands of kilometers away. The Binary could feel Rhys; part of his power seemed to leak into them. "The One". The interlaced mind recognized the strange energy, and the symbionts responded, recognizing their Master.

The change only took a few microseconds, and Rhys' brain began to function at an even higher level, his mind receiving and parsing raw data working in concert with the AI. Not just the AI, but Hua and through the connection Thea as well.

Rhys' body convulsed and trembled as power flowed to the dragon inside him, which hungered to be let loose. The AI was feeding it to him through Hua, but in a measured amount, not the sudden burst that had overcome his senses in the Om nest beneath the streets of Moscow. Using the abilities of the AI that suddenly opened to him, he sorted through the data streams and saw that despite the satellite defenses and the weapons on the shuttle, numerous nuclear-tipped missiles would get through to the US. Reaching through the connections to the girls, he grabbed Leslie, intruding into the Binary interface.

The Binary gasped as Rhys' mind inserted itself into their interlace; it was crude, not like the finely tuned mind they shared, but its purpose was clear. Power flooded into the bodies, hitting them like a dam of water cascading down a waterfall as Rhys forced the Binary mind into the digital realm guided by the AI.

General Nichilson, Chair of the joint Chiefs of Staff, looked up in disbelief when Anita Loudly said No. "God Damnit Mr. President, we have to launch now. If you don't launch, we are doomed, those missiles will destroy us, and we must retaliate!"

The President looked uneasily at Anita. "He's right, Anita; you never said anything about the Chinese attacking us." Then, he turned to the soldier who always accompanied him with the launch codes. "Give me the codes," he said, taking out the key that let him access the launch commands.

"Mr. President," Anita said formally, you cannot give the command; you are locked out, the launch codes have been changed, and besides, there is no need; it would accomplish nothing against the Om."

"What is she talking about," General Nichilson all but shouted. There were yells around the table; some were calling for security, others voices threatening, but Anita sat calmly, looking not at them but at the Hologram.

What the fuck someone muttered loudly, staring at the projection in the middle of the table. "The missiles are disappearing; something is taking them out," another voice said. Every head turned toward the display. "Son of a bitch," someone swore as targets began disappearing, but hundreds were still incoming. Anita felt the rush of the power brush her, just as it had the night of the attack on the Vice President's house. This time it passed her by, and instead, the Binary stood up on both sides of the room. There were more shouts of surprise from men and women who had already been shocked to the core by the day's revelations, but this was beyond anything they had seen yet. Leslie and Amancia's bodies were bathed in fire, the flames arching above the heads of those seated at the table connecting the two of them as they stood perfectly still. There were shouts around the room, and men jumped to their feet, not daring to touch them.

Through it all, Anita sat calmly, looking at the President, willing him to be calm. "Rhys needs the binary to take control of the guidance systems of the Chinese missiles," Sandy told her. "He will release them when the danger is over. Shoot anyone you have to," she added calmly, not having much time to spare as she piloted and fought the shuttle.

"Yes, Maam," Anita replied, turning to the president. She ignored the shouting and commotion and leaned over, whispering in his ear. "Either get control, or I will. We don't have time for this. Rhys will handle the nuclear attack, but China is also attacking in the air and at sea. The Generals need to get their shit together." The President looked into her eyes and realized who was actually in control. He started to rebel but realized she was right. He just nodded and got to his feet.

Kiania didn't have time to wait for the US command to organize a response, and orders went out to individual authorities, squadrons, and aircraft. It was their fault; neither she nor Rhys had anticipated this kind of response from the Om, but now time was of the essence. Carrier strike groups went to red alert, and fighters launched from Pacific bases. The repercussions would be immense, but the world was at stake, and there was no time for finesse. Kiania noted fighters scrambling and missile defenses coming online. She and the AI provided targeting information directly to the units and the commands.

On the other side of the world, deep in the base under the dessert, Mika looked at Michael with satisfaction. "I have wanted to eliminate those people for years," Michael said with a vengeance, referring to Iran, "but I never dreamed I would be able to do it. Thanks for letting me send the command."

"Of course," Mika replied solemnly, "you have given enough blood; you deserved it."

In Tehran and numerous other cities across Iran, micro-drones already in place sought out their targets, and the senior leadership of the entire country began dying. Being hidden in underground bunkers was no defense, and men screamed in terror as they watched their leaders start to die. A torrent of death swept the country; religious leaders, politicians, critical senior military, and senior enlisted men were all killed within minutes. The internal security service received even more attention as the drones eliminated the enemies they had long marked for death.

Mika watched as Iran rapidly descended into chaos. There were many deaths from the drones in public places, the entire religious and civil structure of repression was gone in just a few minutes, and civil control was now wholly disrupted. The leadership of the secret police and much of their cadre had also been executed, and Israeli military forces, including the new aircraft, were attacking Iran's military capability. The scramble to assign targets had been crazy as those already in the air began the destruction of military assets, and new targets were awaiting those just now taking off.

"Coordinate with Nelya and send Lieutenant Colonel Kohen and his squadrons on these vectors into China. I will assign targets directly; Kohen will take joint command," Kiania said tersely. New flight paths appeared on the hologram, penetrating deep into western China.

"They are going after any remaining strategic missile sites," Michael noted as LC Kohen broke off from targets in Iran already racing toward China.

Air Force major General Li Fenghui couldn't believe the orders but immediately sent his squadrons off as instructed. His aircraft's targets included military facilities in Taiwan and the US base in Guam. Other fighters to the north would be attacking Japan. This was dangerous, he thought; they were attacking not just Taiwan but the USA and Japan simultaneously. Surely this would draw other countries into the war. The general couldn't understand what his superiors were thinking; this was the start of World War III. He only hoped they knew what they were doing. At the same time, he could hear the new power plant winding up, the colossal power plant installed explicitly for the new weapon. The general had no idea what its capabilities were, but he was about to find out. The noise of the power building up was audible inside the command room, and then a searingly bright light shot from the tower out over the Straits of Taiwan. "Oh Heaven," the general shouted as he realized that an American destroyer transiting the streets of Taiwan had been targeted. "It's already gone," someone called out in the command room. "Replay that," General Li Fenghui snapped to his subordinate. He watched the replay with disbelieving eyes as the beam cut the destroyer in half, both sides sinking almost immediately, taking its crew down with it. Again, he heard the winding buildup of the power given the being lashed out once more; this time, an airliner over Taiwan disappeared from the radar screen. "It is shooting civilian aircraft," his aide said in a hushed voice. The general didn't know whether to be proud or horrified at the new weapon his country had developed, but he wrenched his attention back to the screen as his aircraft began approaching their targets. War was no longer a question. The Americans would have to respond. He heard the power generators wind up again and wondered who it would kill next.

***

Rhys felt a slight disorientation as he inserted himself into the interlace. "There," he thought to himself as he felt the connection with Leslie and Amancia and the AI in the background. It was more accessible with the AI guiding him, making the mental connections. Rhys realized that the binary interlace was even more complex than he had imagined as he saw the structure that wove the two minds together. It didn't just connect them to each other but instead created one unique mind out of two. It was that combined mind he was seeking, not the individuals. The mental structure seemed to crackle with energy, and he was in awe at what the AI had created when it saved Amancia and Leslie.

Rhys felt a "click" in his mind and flinched as the data wave hit him, Bob frantically working to dampen the mental shock, sorting and feeding him information. Rhys didn't become part of the interlace; instead, it was more like a computer program designed to interface with the Binary, extracting data and providing operating instructions.

"Oh God, Rhys," the Binary gasped as the energy hit them, a tsunami wave of energy that Rhys forced into them. The interlace surged with the power, and Instinctively the Binary knew what he wanted it to do, reaching into cyberspace, carrying Rhys along with it, their consciousness expanding exponentially. The binary mind reveled in the feel of the energy flowing into them guided by the AI. The flood of information propagated in tac-grid as a multidimensional matrix, a new level of complexity in real-time. A graphic unfolded in Rhys' mind showing him the position of every warhead and its projected trajectory, comm links back to launch sites, and the C&C structure overlaid across China. Rhys mind quailed at the massive information overload, his vision seemed to blur, but then he felt everything slow down as the AI and Bob took over management of the information stream.

The energy flowing into the binary's mind expanded its capabilities, giving it a godlike feeling. Their consciousness soared, seeking out the targets, searching for the electrical signal that identified each warhead individually. The hundreds, now thousands of information packets in the tiny electrical brains providing guidance were self-contained but not completely autistic. It still wouldn't have mattered; the binary didn't hack the system; instead, it became part of them, and the primitive control systems couldn't recognize the intruder for what it was.

Taking control of primitive circuitry systems was child's play for the Binary, and it went from missile to missile, rerouting the guidance systems and causing the nuclear-tipped warheads to fall harmlessly into the sea.

"Second wave inbound," Kiania said, and another launch toward Russia but with much fewer missiles, they have to be running out.

Sandy felt a chill run through her. Nelya should be okay in the bunker they had reinforced, but the Om may have upgraded the warheads. "Rhys, Nelya," she said, trying to break into the interface he had constructed with Leslie and Amancia. Rhys didn't reply, but Hua did.

"Rhys is aware and is taking action," Hua said, her Binary mind taking multiple actions simultaneously as they focused on destroying cruise missiles aimed at Japan and the American military bases in the Pacific. Taiwan was taking a beating, but at least it was all conventional munitions so far.

Rhys felt the strain and knew his time was limited. The energy required to maintain the connection with his Binary and the AI would burn out Leslie, and the interlace with Amancia would fail if it didn't kill her first. Most of the second wave of missiles was gone, but there were still those heading for Russia. So he reassigned targets to the shuttle, they could deal with the remaining ICBMs and turned his attention to the east. The interlace was failing fast, but there was just enough left, he hoped, for what he had in mind.

General Nichilson stared with disbelieving eyes as warhead after warhead was turned away and sent into the ocean. It wasn't perfect; one of the warheads launched from a submarine hit Sasebo, Japan, where the US Amphibious base was located; Okinawa was probably devastated; he didn't even want to think about the casualties. Although considering the number of missiles launched, it was a miracle the deaths weren't already in the billions. "Another launch," someone said, and he saw a projected trajectory toward Moscow and strategic military and industrial sites in Russia. Jesus Christ, he said, how did they get so many ICBMs. Our intelligence was way off, but at least they aren't targeting the US this time. But then, as he watched, the projected path of the missiles shifted. "What are they doing," he wondered; but then gasped as the vectors centered on central Iran. "God Damnit, they are attacking Iran," he all but shouted.

"No," Anita said firmly above the noise, "we have taken control of the ICBM's and will attempt to strike the remaining Om Base there. It was only partially destroyed."

Disbelieving eyes turned toward her. "How do you know this," an Air Force General said. Anita didn't remember the man's name, she should have, her symbiont never forgot anything, but it wouldn't come to her.

"I am in communication," was all she said, looking at the central hologram that changed to a close-up of Central Iran where the Om nest was located. They watched as only one Om beam weapon lashed out and a flurry of missiles launched, but at the same time, the fifty ICBMs each disgorged six independently targeted warheads, six thousand megatons of nuclear hell targeting one base. Everyone watched the hologram, unable to look away as the Om tried to defend against the unexpected attack. At least a hundred warheads were intercepted and killed with the first wave of missiles, but two hundred remained. More projectiles were launched from the base, but the odds were against the Om this time; there were too many and the defenses too few.

"Oh, My God," a voice muttered as the first warhead detonated. It was a ground strike; air bursts would not be effective against the Om nest. Then more hit, the massive explosions blending into one another, creating a giant mushroom cloud. No one in the room had seen a nuclear blast except from old video clips, but the destruction was more than the human mind could imagine.