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Five minutes later, Doc came running into the vehicle wing of the underground base. He was pulling on his black jacket and had his medical supply bag in his left hand. "What's going on, Adrian? I was having a great dream about two gorgeous Polynesian women from Hawaii, and then I get a call from Sean. He just told me to meet you here. Well, here I am. What's going on?"
Adrian ignored Doc's obvious aggravation about being awakened from his dream. "Jake, you drive. Doc, I'll prep you with details on our way. We've got to go now!"
"Hold on," said Doc, still trying to pull his jacket over his massive frame.
Once the three men were inside the hover vehicle, Jake in the center driver's seat and the other two men in the seats behind him, Jake slowly maneuvered the craft out of the vehicle wing bay doors that opened two hundred yards above into the star-filled night of Terrest.
The vehicle was similar to the one that Jake had taken from the two Gnols he and Skip had encountered when they first crashed on Terrest. This one had some differences, however. This hover vehicle had the capability to camouflage itself according to the time of day. Jake reached down to his control panel and pressed the night camouflage button. The vehicle morphed from a pure white snow color, for which it had been used previously, to a color black as midnight.
"So, what's going on?" Doc asked, just as Jake sped off toward Celeste's supposed position.
"Celeste is in trouble," Adrian said.
"What kind of trouble?"
"Do you remember those distress beacons that Sean gave to Celeste and her people to use if they were ever in trouble?"
"Yeah."
"Celeste activated hers about twenty minutes ago. She hasn't moved from her location, so I'm assuming that she is either injured or ?" Adrian paused and looked at his son just as Jake glanced back at him, "? or she's dead."
Doc grabbed his medical bag and quickly began making preparations for what they would find.
Adrian grabbed Jake's shoulder. "Is the satellite readout clear?"
"Yeah, we're about two miles away from Celeste's beacon ? wait a minute."
"What?" asked Adrian as he glanced at the monitor.
Jake pointed to just above Celeste's location. "It looks like we're going to have some company."
Adrian looked a little closer at the monitor. "It looks like a squadron of about twenty ground-assault vehicles, fifty Chaties, and one hundred aircraft."
"How long before they reach Celeste's position?" Doc asked.
"I'm guessing another ten minutes. We've got to act fast," Adrian replied.
"Dad, how many people do those ground-assault vehicles carry?" Jake asked, slowing down as they neared Celeste's position.
"They carry about fifty soldiers each ?" Adrian stopped and shot a look directly at Doc, " ? You don't think they ?"
Doc nodded his head. "Why else would they bring a battalion of that many soldiers to our position?"
Adrian quickly grabbed his communicator and flipped it open. "Sean, this is Adrian!"
"You're clear, General," Sean replied.
"Code red! I repeat! Code red! Get three pilots to the civilian shuttles! Load them up with as many civilians as they will hold! Women and children first! Warn Scott and Petey at base two to be prepared for the shuttles. Get each team to their battle stations now!"
Sean hesitated. "Why? What's going on, Adrian?"
"Don't ask questions! Just do as you're ordered, General! You're in charge until I get back. Also, warn Skip's team at the temple ruins that the base is going to be under attack and not to return."
Adrian heard Sean curse. "Yes, General."
"I'll notify you as soon as we have Celeste and are prepared to return to base." Adrian flipped his communicator shut and looked at Doc, who was frantically putting together a plasma IV.
"Dad ? look," Jake said, pointing directly ahead.
Adrian looked and saw what the vehicle's lights had rested upon. About twenty feet ahead, Celeste's body lay motionless. She was sitting upright, resting against a large boulder. She looked dead.
Jake stopped the vehicle and was the first one to Celeste while Adrian and Doc grabbed the stretcher from the rear of the craft. Jake skidded to a halt and knelt down next to Celeste. She was unconscious and covered in blood. He could see the wound that caused her blood loss.
Celeste opened her eyes and looked at Jake just as Doc and Adrian arrived with the medical supplies and stretcher. She forced a smile, reached up, and slid the back of her hand along Jake's cheek. "Well ?" She coughed. "? How are you, handsome?"
Jake returned her smile and moved out of the way, so Doc could get to work.
"She's lost too much blood," Doc said. "She's going to need a blood transfusion when we get back to base."
While the three men placed Celeste onto the stretcher, she flickered in and out of consciousness. They loaded Celeste into the back of the vehicle. Doc crawled in and began to monitor her vital signs. Jake and Adrian ran to the other side of the vehicle and were about to climb in. "Shh ? Dad. Listen," Jake said.
Adrian stopped just as he was about to open his door. Sure enough, he heard the rumble of engines in the distance. Both of the men looked straight ahead and saw the lights of a massive number of attack vehicles making their way over a hill. Jake heard what sounded like a small blast emit from the massive army that was about to overtake them, and then ? an explosion.
The blast didn't damage the hovercraft, but it threw Jake and Adrian back about seventeen feet from where they stood. After Adrian regained his wind, he rolled over and saw that Jake was all right. Both men jumped to their feet and sprinted toward the hovercraft. Jake jumped into the passenger seat behind his father, who had secured himself into the driver's seat.
"Now, you get to see your old man in action," Adrian said as he fired up the craft and sped off. "Doc, do you have Celeste and yourself buckled in?"
"Yes!"
"Good, because it's going to be a bumpy ride!" Adrian yelled as he sped off back to the base.
Jake glanced behind and saw that four small lights had broken off from the large group of attack vehicles. "Dad, I think we've got company."
Adrian looked at his rearview screen and saw what he was dealing with. "Attack Chaties. They're faster, but they don't have as much shielding."
"How long before they catch up to us!" Doc yelled.
"I'd say about another minute or two."
"That's not enough time to get back to base, Adrian."
"I know that, Doc," Adrian said as he put his headset on. "General Gibson. Come in, Sean."
"Go, General."
"We have Celeste and are on our way back. E.T.A. three minutes."
"Got it. I'll open the bay doors precisely at your arrival."
"Also, get four pilots to four attack Chaties and send them our way. We've got some unwelcome guests coming to stop us."
"Roger that. Gibson out."
Jake continued to watch the Chaties that were narrowing the gap. He heard Celeste say something and looked down at her. Celeste was looking at Jake and said something he couldn't understand. He leaned down over the seat to where his face was within a few inches of hers. "My father ? my father ?" Celeste groaned in pain." ? he knows where the base is."