Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (58 page)

Abraxas and his remaining soldier began evasive maneuvers. 
As long as the Deathlords were focused on not getting shot by Anna, it made
things easier for Jack and Scallywag.

“Kill her!” screamed Abraxas.

The Dark Soldier fired directly at Jack and Anna as Abraxas
hurled yet another death energy attack at them.  Jack swerved left and right,
trying his best to avoid the incoming fire, but one of the plasma blasts hit
his left forward stabilizer.  Before he had a chance to react, the hoverbike
rotated violently to the left, almost turning upside down.  Anna shrieked as
she fell out of Jack’s lap, losing her pistol in the process.

“ANNA!” screamed Jack as he reached out and grabbed her by
the wrist, his thighs tightening around the seat of the hoverbike and his right
hand gripping it’s handle as he held on for dear life.  Anna dangled in
mid-air, looking up at Jack as her hair whipped around her face.  Jack’s hand
burned and his arm ached as she swung in his grasp.  He gritted his teeth,
trying desperately to hold on, even as his hand refused to obey – his grip
slowly slipping. 

Below them, Jack could see Scallywag bringing the hovercraft
in line; Grohm was there waiting to catch her. 
God, I hope this works
,
Jack thought as his grip finally gave out.  Anna fell, squealing slightly
before she landed in Grohm’s arms.  Jack breathed a sigh of relief and looked
behind him just in time to see Abraxas hurl another ball of death energy.

“
Oh, crap!
”

The blast rocketed toward Jack.  He let go of his grip on
his bike and fell just as the death energy impacted it.  What was left of the
hoverbike twisted away, disintegrating as it hit the side wall of the tunnel.

Jack screamed as he fell – the fall from his bike wasn’t on
target for the hovercraft below him, and it became frighteningly clear that he
was going to miss it.  Suddenly, Grohm reached out, his massive hand wrapping
around Jack’s forearm as he fell.  The hulking alien was leaning halfway out of
the hovercraft, his other hand holding firmly to its railing as Jack flapped
about like a rag doll in his grip.

More blaster fire and balls of death energy shot toward
them, with Scallywag frantically moving the hovercraft to and fro, its engine
whining with the weight it now carried.  Jack flailed about helplessly outside
the hovercraft as it banked and juked, the Deathlords not letting up on their
assault even for a moment.

“Somebody – do –
something!
” Jack yelled.

Professor Green reached over and grabbed one of Scallywag’s
pistols from its holster and with a scream rushed toward the back of the
hovercraft, firing the weapon wildly at their pursuers.  Abraxas wheeled away
from the sudden blaster fire but his sole remaining Dark Soldier was not so
lucky.  He was hit directly by the Professor and tumbled to the ground, his
jetpack erupting in an explosion.

Taking advantage of the sudden respite, Anna helped Grohm
pull Jack onto the hovercraft’s platform.  Scallywag looked at Professor Green,
who was grinning proudly.

“Horrible with a blaster, eh?” said Scallywag.

“Easier than flying, my good fellow,” responded Green.

The control console beeped at Scallywag.  He looked down to
see that the tunnel was about to change directions, curving vertically toward
the surface.

“Everyone, hold onto something!” Scallywag ordered as they
raced toward the incline of the tunnel.

All who could, wrapped their arms around the side railing of
the hovercraft bracing themselves as Scallywag angled it into a climb and
gained altitude.  Above them, the golden hue of the Ghost Planet’s sky revealed
itself in the distant opening.  Jack glanced beneath them and saw Abraxas
below.

“Professor!” Jack said urgently.  “Your gun!”

Green glanced at the pistol in his hand like he’d forgotten
it was there.  He slid it across the floor of the hovercraft to Jack, who
snatched it up and immediately started firing at Abraxas.  The Deathlord
avoided the blasts easily, trying to angle himself into the ship’s blind spot
directly beneath it.  Jack could see he was charging up another attack.

“Scally!  INCOMING!” Jack yelled as Abraxas unleashed his
projectile.

Scallywag jerked the hovercraft to the left, but the death
energy grazed their side, taking a small part of the ship with it as it flew
by.  The hovercraft jolted, and alarms on the control console beeped in
protest.  Scallywag cursed as he tried to regain control.  The hovercraft
swayed unstably as they continued their ascent, the opening to the surface
growing bigger and bigger as they got closer to it.

Jack glanced down again just in time to see Abraxas fire
another attack.  “RIGHT!” he screamed.  “To the right!  The right!”

The group slid to the right as Scallywag banked in the
direction Jack had ordered.  The death energy blast sailed by, just inches from
the ship.

“Somebody kill that sodding browner!” Scallywag snarled.

Jack, happy to try to oblige Scallywag’s request, looked
over the side of the hovercraft, blaster pistol at the ready – but there was no
Abraxas to be seen.  He glanced around frantically, trying to see where the
Deathlord had gone, when suddenly the hovercraft jolted, as if something had
hit it from the bottom.  Alarms on Scallywag’s console blared angrily as it
happened again.  This time a ball of death energy shot right through the center
of the hovercraft’s floor.

“Blast it!” yelled Scallywag .  “We’re losing engines!”

“Get us to the surface!” yelled Jack as he climbed to the
hole in the floor.  “Whatever it takes!”  Jack shoved his arm through the hole
the death energy blast had formed and fired blindly, hoping to flush Abraxas
off their tail.  Meanwhile, Scallywag tried to level off the hovercraft,
redistributing the strain of their ascent to the outer areas of its
stabilizers.  They continued to climb, but their speed was steadily slowing.

“C’mon ya bloody piece of…” grumbled Scallywag as he angled
the vehicle to the side, the tunnel’s exit steadily coming toward them.

No sooner had they passed the edge of the opening to the
surface of the planet than Abraxas appeared by their side, having come up from
under them, a ball of furious death energy swirling in his hand.

“DIE!” he screamed as he raised the attack over his head,
ready to unleash it.

A collective scream emanated from the group at the
Deathlord’s sudden appearance.  Scallywag banked the hovercraft to the side,
away from the Deathlord and his attack, but without much luck.  The blast
impacted the side of the hovercraft, sending them spinning like a top.  The
hovercraft hit the ground like a frisbee, its metal undercarriage shrieking as
rock and dirt tore at it.

The vehicle’s rotational frenzy came to an abrupt end as it
impacted a large rock, sending those inside of it flying out as it flipped
over.  Jack and the others flew a few feet into the air before hitting the
ground, rolling as they did so.

Jack shook his head, dizzy from the impact, his joints
protesting as he tried to sit up.  He looked around him, the hovercraft’s
carcass smoking and sparking a few feet away and his companions all coming to,
nursing injuries from the landing.  Then, Jack’s eyes looked down and focused on
his hand as it lay flat against the dirt of the Ghost Planet.

Oh no
, he thought.

A blood-curdling shriek pierced the air, echoing out from
far away.  Jack got to his feet, his heart racing with panic.  “Off the
ground!” he shouted.  “We gotta get off the ground!”

“Jack – LOOK OUT!” he heard Anna cry.

Before he had time to react, Anna had hurled herself into
him, tackling him to the ground as a death energy blast impacted right where he
had been standing.  Jack glanced in the sky as Abraxas hovered there, lording
over them.

“Behind,” bellowed Grohm as the massive alien grabbed what
was left of the hovercraft and wielded it like a shield in front of him.  The
group scrambled to its shelter as Abraxas lazily tossed another ball of death
energy their way, laughing as he did so.

“We are so bloody kittened,” grumbled Scallywag.

“We gotta get off the ground,” said Jack.  “That thing will
be here any minute!”

“Great idea,” the pirate responded.  “In case you haven’t
noticed, the flying DEATHLORD has us pinned down!”

Another death energy blast shook the hovercraft.  Grohm
grunted under its impact.

Jack’s mind raced.  They couldn’t allow Abraxas to keep them
on the ground while the Ghost Planet’s security system came rushing up to eat
them.  He needed a plan, and he needed one fast.

Almost as though it were responding to his desperate
request, the back of Jack’s head started to tingle as he felt his connection
with the Ancient Earthship.  He smiled as a new strategy popped into his mind. 
It certainly wasn’t the best plan in the world, but it was better than nothing.

“Scally,” said Jack urgently.  “Distract him!”

“What?” growled the pirate.  “How am I supposed ta do that?”

“Shoot at him, keep him busy, I don’t care!” said Jack.  “I
just need Grohm to be free for a few seconds.  As soon as I draw him away, get
off the ground!  Then, come and get me.”

Anna, Scallywag, and the Professor all looked at each other
skeptically.

“Trust me,” smiled Jack.  He turned to Scallywag.  “Now,
Scally!  Shoot that jerk-wad!”

Scallywag grumbled but proceeded to pop out from behind the
cover of the hovership, unleashing his remaining blaster at Abraxas.  The
Deathlord saw the blasts coming and dodged them, momentarily taking his
attention off the group and hurling a blast of his ghost energy toward
Scallywag.

“Quick, Grohm, throw me at that Deathlord!” ordered Jack.

Grohm raised his massive brow inquisitively.

“Remember how you did it in the Pit?” Jack asked.

Grohm’s lips curled into a smile.  “Yes.”

“Do it exactly like that!  Just, uh… don’t miss!”

With that, the Rognok dropped the hovercraft and grabbed
Jack, flinging him high into the air directly at Abraxas, who was still hurling
his death energy blasts at Scallywag.

Abraxas didn’t seem to notice Jack until the Earthman was
almost upon him, and if the Deathlord did have time to react, the sight of a
flying boy heading right toward him no doubt caught him a tad off guard.  Jack
slammed into the Deathlord in mid-air, quickly wrapping his arms around the
alien’s neck.  The momentum of the impact caused Abraxas to lose control of his
jetpack, sending the two flying off away from the crash site.

“Blimey,” muttered Scallywag.  “The lad’s got some stones,
I’ll give ‘em that.”

The screeching sound was getting louder.  The group turned
to see the Ghost Planet’s swirling mass of doom heading right toward them, the
angry tornado speeding across the surface directly for their location.

“Quickly,” said the pirate.  “Get onto the ship!”

Grohm flipped the carcass of the hovercraft over and the
group all climbed onboard.  The Professor looked up at the encroaching ghostly
entity that was rapidly approaching.

“Oh, dear,” he muttered.

“Everyone stay together!” ordered Scallywag.

The group huddled together on the flimsy remains of the
hovercraft as the tornado of doom rushed up to them.  The vicious cloud began
to swirl around the hovercraft’s location, unable to reach its targets because
of the cover the metal body of the vehicle provided.  The group watched in fear
as the doom cloud almost enveloped them.  Ghostly figures within its winds
writhed and moaned, their pained faces appearing and disappearing as it twirled
around their location.  Occasionally, it looked like hands reached out to grab
at the group, wanting to pull them into the tornado’s ghastly vortex.

“Son of a—” growled Scallywag, holding tightly onto the
Professor as the ghostly wind bit into his eyes and a hand narrowly missed
reaching out for him.

“Stay close!” screamed Anna.  “Don’t let it touch you!”

“Brilliant idea!” Scallywag yelled in response.

Beneath their feet, the hovercraft shifted, its metal frame
groaning in complaint as the doom cloud swirled around it.  Had it not been for
the hulking weight of Grohm, there was a good chance the craft might have
flipped over.

“We can’t last much longer like this!” said the Professor
over the screeching howl of the death cloud’s wind.

“If ya got any sodding ideas,” replied Scallywag, “Now would
be the time ta share ‘em!”

“Grohm have idea,” grunted Grohm.

“Great,” said Scallywag.  “And what, pray tell, is the
Rognok’s bloody brilliant plan?”

“Get on ship,” Grohm replied.  He looked up, and the group
followed suit.  There, above them, hovered the Ancient Earthship.

“But how—” Scallywag started to say, when suddenly, in a
flash of blue light, the group found themselves huddled together on its bridge.

“Welcome back,” said Heckubus, who was standing by one of
the consoles.  “I see my plan worked brilliantly.  As usual.”

“Ya bloody tin can…” said Scallywag as he approached the
robot and wrapped his arms around Heckubus, lifting him into the air with a big
bear hug.  “I never thought I’d be happy to see yer rusty mug!  Ha, ha!”

“Un… hand… me… you… jackenape!” mumbled Heckubus  in between
joyful shakes of the hug.

Scallywag set the robot down.  “So ya figured out how to
take control of the ship?” the pirate said.  “And ya still came back for us?  I
say, I underestimated ya, robot.”

“Yes, well…” said Heckubus.  “Not from lack of trying, but
this wasn’t me.”

“What?” replied Scallywag.

“I’m not in control of the ship,” said Heckubus.  “It flew
here on its own.”

Scallywag scowled at the robot.  “Shoulda known.  I take
back everything I just said about ya.”

“Good,” replied Heckubus.  “Because things were starting to
get awkward.”