Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (59 page)

“So if you’re not controlling the ship,” asked Anna, “who
is?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Heckubus.

“Look!” said Professor Green, pointing to the viewscreen. 
“The tornado – it’s leaving.”

The group turned to see the Ghost Planet’s doom cloud
tearing off away from the ship.

“Good riddance,” muttered Scallywag.

“Curious,” said Heckubus.  “I wonder where it’s going.”

Anna’s heart almost skipped a beat as the answer to the
robot’s question became clear to her.

“Jack…” she said.

In the skies above the surface of the Ghost Planet, Jack was
still struggling with the Deathlord – though it was actually more of a
combination of trying to keep the Deathlord from killing him and hanging on for
dear life.

Jack had managed to climb behind Abraxas, wrapping his arms
around the Deathlord’s neck.  Abraxas continued to try to reach back and grab
Jack, but he was having a hard time controlling the jetpack and fending off the
Earthman all at once.

“Fight!” cried the Deathlord.  “Fight like a warrior!”

Jack knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer,
especially if Abraxas were able to regain some control over the jetpack and
manage to shake him off.  He decided to risk letting go with one of his hands
to make a grab for his blaster pistol.

“Sorry, dude,” said Jack as he quickly pulled out his pistol
and shoved it into the back of the jetpack.  “I fight to win!”

Jack pulled the trigger and instantly the jetpack sparked as
the plasma blast tore through its casing.

Jack turned his face just in time to avoid an eruption of flame
as the jetpack fuel escaped from the breach he’d created.  Almost immediately, the
two began to twist uncontrollably in the air as the jetpack lost altitude; they
began plummeting straight toward the ground.

Jack let go of his pistol and held on as long as he could as
Abraxas frantically tried to regain some measure of control over their descent. 
But it was no use.

The ground came rushing up to meet them.

At the last minute, Abraxas was able to pull up out of the
dive, but not soon enough to keep from crashing.

Jack jumped off before the two hit the ground.  He tucked
and rolled as he landed, though not as gracefully as he would have liked, since
his momentum still caused him to hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of
him.

Jack looked up to see that Abraxas had been able to land
better than Jack had.  The Deathlord climbed back up to his feet, completely
unscathed.  He shrugged off the broken jetpack and turned to face his enemy. 
Jack got back up, not taking his eyes off the Deathlord.

“Earthman,” growled Abraxas.

“Sorry,” said Jack.  “Were you expecting someone a little
less
petulant?
”

“We should have killed you the moment we teleported you
aboard our ship.”

“Well, now’s your chance, jerk-face,” said Jack.  “Bring
it.”

Abraxas hurled a blast of death energy toward Jack.  The
chaotic ball screamed toward him, but again, Jack could suddenly see the energy
for what it was – something he could control.  As it neared him, Jack reached
out with his own energy and redirected the projectile, sending it veering away
from him and impacting the ground harmlessly.

Jack wasn’t sure if the Deathlords had expressions behind
their masks, but if they did, he took a little bit of pleasure in thinking that
Abraxas was completely, and utterly, surprised.

“Uh, huh – that’s right,” said Jack, smugly.  “I’ve learned
a few new tricks since we last met.  How ya like me now?”

Abraxas tilted his head, regarding Jack for a moment, before
hurling another death blast at him.  Jack swatted it away.  Abraxas hurled two
more.  Again, Jack deflected them both with ease.

“I can do this all day, Abby,” chided Jack.

“So, you’ve learned the ancient art of Servuchur,” said
Abraxas.  “How did this come to be?”

Jack raised an eyebrow.  Since this whole adventure had
started, he’d figured out how to do a lot of things because of the Ancient brain-dump
he’d been privy to.  Speaking different languages, flying spaceships, and
opening doors to temples at the center of planets – but he’d never heard of “Servuchur”
before.

“I’m just… that awesome…” said Jack, not really knowing how
to respond.

“Only the Void Lords have the knowledge of Servuchur,” said
Abraxas.  “It was their gift to us when we were created.  Our ultimate weapon
handed down from our masters.  How did one such as you come by it?”

“The Void Lords?” asked Jack.  “They
created
you?”

Abraxas’s eyes narrowed.  “Are you…
him?
” the
Deathlord asked.

Jack was starting to get pretty sick of never knowing what
anyone was talking about. 
“Him” who?
he wondered.  Why was it nothing
about the Deathlords ever made any sense?

“I’m Jack,” he responded.  “I’m the guy who’s gonna beat
you.  And if these Void Lords are the ones calling the shots, then I’m pretty
sure I’m gonna beat them, too.”

In the distance, an ear-piercing screech rang out.  Abraxas
and Jack turned to see the haze of the Ghost Planet’s doom thundering toward
them.  Suddenly, Abraxas leapt into the air, flying directly at Jack.

Before Jack had a chance to react, Abraxas landed on him,
pinning him down with a knee to the chest, his clawed hand wrapping tightly
around Jack’s neck.

“Then I will ensure you die here, with me, Earthman,”
growled the Deathlord.

The screeching of the impending doom grew louder.

“Sorry, Abby…” said Jack as a large shadow grew over him.

Abraxas looked up to see the Ancient Earthship hovering overhead. 
He looked back down at Jack, the Deathlord’s eyes wide with surprise.

“This time, you die alone.”

And with that, Jack teleported onto the ship, disappearing
in a flash of light.

The Deathlord looked up as the Earthship sped away,
releasing one last defiant scream of anger as the Ghost Planet’s doom swept
over him.  His body disintegrated, and his very essence was absorbed into the
swirling chaos that was the Ghost Planet’s final security measure.

Though it is impossible to know what was going through
Warlord Abraxas’s mind right before his ultimate defeat, one thing is for certain…

Earthman Jack had finally proven, once and for all, that you
could indeed kill a Deathlord.

Jack rematerialized onto the bridge
of his ship in a spark of blue light, his friends all turning to him as soon as
he appeared.

Man
, thought Jack. 
No
one’s ever around to hear my best lines
.

“Jack!” Anna cried as she rushed to
his side.  “Are you hurt?”

“Please.  After taking out a Deathlord Supreme, that guy was
a joke,” replied Jack.

“Lad, next time I head to Vasgalas to hit the casinos, yer
definitely comin’ along,” said Scallywag as he helped Jack to his feet.  “Ya
have enough luck to make even Osirus the White jealous.”

“Thanks, I think,” said Jack.  “So no one got eaten by the
angry evil tornado?”

“No, everyone’s fine,” responded Anna.  She hugged Jack’s
arm and whispered in his ear.  “You were right.  It was soooooo creepy!”

“It would appear we were rather fortunate that your ship
seems to have gained the ability to operate itself,” replied Green.  “Its
timing was impeccable.”

“Fly itself?” said Jack.  “I made it to do that.”

“You did what?” asked Heckubus.

“Psychic link to the spaceship, remember?” said Jack tapping
his head.  “I had it come get you guys.  Think I’d run off and let you all get
eaten by the dust storm of doom?”

“Well played, lad,” smiled Scallywag. 

“So, you’re able to communicate with this ship and operate
it mentally?” said Green his eyes wide with wonder.  “Even from a distance?”

“Pretty much,” replied Jack.

“Fascinating,” responded Green and Heckubus at the same
time, their minds buzzing with completely different ideas on how such a thing
would be useful.

“Yeah, it’s cool, I’m cool, the spaceship is totally
awesome,” said Jack offhandedly.  “Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but
I am ready to get the heck out of here.”

“Amen to that,” said Scallywag as Jack hopped into the
captain’s chair.  “Jump us away, lad.  Preferably someplace tropical with cheap
drinks.”

“Um… yes, about that…” said Heckubus.

The group turned and looked at the robot in unison, a chill
running through them collectively at the implication of his words.

“I’m afraid the ship’s Entanglement Engine is not ready
yet,” Heckubus finished.

“What?” replied Jack.  “That doesn’t make any sense!  It’s
had plenty of time to charge back up!”

“Robot,” Scallywag sneered.  “What did you do?”

“Don’t act like this is my fault,” retorted Heckubus. 
“Remember how you asked me to bolster the shields during our rather harrowing
entrance here?”

“Don’t tell me,” said Jack, exasperation growing on his
face.

“Yes, I had to divert energy from the Entanglement Engine,”
replied Heckubus.  “I’m afraid that set us back a bit in its recharge cycle.”

“The bloody planet is about to explode ya twit!” growled
Scallywag.

“If you remember, at the time, that was not part of our
plan,” Heckubus shot back.  “How was I to know we’d be rushing against the
clock to escape a planetary explosion?”

Scallywag looked like he was about to pounce on the robot
before Anna placed her hand on his arm to calm him.

“How much time before the Entanglement Engine is ready?” she
asked.

Jack called up the information on the holoscreen.  “Ten more
minutes,” he said.

“Well, that’s not all that long,” said Green cheerily.  “How
much time before the planet explodes?”

“Approximately nine minutes, by my calculations,” said
Heckubus.

Scallywag smacked his palm to his forehead.

“You gotta be kidding me,” muttered Jack.  The thought of
them dying at this stage of the game, after all they’d just been through, did
not sit well with him.

“Luckily for all of you, I was smart enough to anticipate
this situation,” Heckubus continued.  “If we can get far enough from the planet
before the explosion occurs, we’ll be able to make up those sixty seconds and
initiate the jump just before the shockwave reaches us.”

“Get far enough away?” growled Scallywag.  “We’re surrounded
by a bloody minefield!”

“Don’t forget the space bugs,” chimed in Jack.

“How could I?  Or the fact that we’re trapped inside a
bloody
planetary shield!
”

“Oh, ye of little faith,” twittered Heckubus.  “While you
all were off gallivanting around with the Deathlords, I was not here twiddling
my thumbs idly.  First of all, the chain reaction currently occurring in the
planet’s core will cause the planetary shield to dissipate in approximately 90
seconds.  Once that happens, we use the enhanced shields I’ve been able to
configure to simply punch through the mess of space insects that will surely
swarm toward the planet, and then we make our way through the nebula with the
enhanced engine speed I’ve engineered for you, avoiding the mines and the
missiles with your newly upgraded sensors, and engaging the Entanglement Engine
the moment it’s ready, effectively jumping away to safety approximately 0.25
seconds before we’re utterly destroyed by the explosion.  It’s quite simple
really.”

The group stared at Heckubus blankly.  The robot squinted at
them in response. 

“What?” he asked.

“Well, better than nothing,” sighed Jack.  He turned the
command chair to face the main viewscreen of the ship, commanding it to raise
the shields and rev up the engines.  “Buckle up, everyone.  It’s gonna be a
bumpy ride.”

Heckubus settled himself in front of an engineering console
while Scallywag took his seat in front of the weapons station, grumbling as he
did so.  Anna joined Professor Green in front of the navigation console, while
Grohm stood nearby, his massive hand wrapped around one of the bridge’s
railings.

Jack brought the Earthship around and began climbing into
the sky toward the Ghost Planet’s shield.  What was once a solid golden shell
was now discolored and chaotic, like oil trying to mix with water.  It seemed
to pulse like a lightbulb on the fritz.  Behind its shell, Jack could make out
a huge swarm of activity as the space bugs they’d brought with them surrounded
the shield, trying to chew away at it.

“That’s a lot of space bugs,” muttered Jack, doubt and worry
starting to take root in his gut.

“Fear not, Earthman,” said Heckubus.  “After extensive
review of our last encounter, I’ll assure you that our shields will now
adequately protect the ship from them.  The shields will not survive their
onslaught; however, they shouldn’t be able to damage us in any significant way
before we break through their swarm.”

“Great,” said Scallywag.  “Round two with mines and missiles
and no bloody shields.”

“After analyzing the Earthman’s reflexes, I have no doubt we
can avoid anything that might harm us in the nebula,” replied the robot.  “I’ve
had the opportunity to apply one of my more experimental programs to the ship’s
sensors which should compensate for our previous lack of signal strength.  It’s
never been tested in the field before.  However, considering that I am, in
fact, a genius, there is little doubt that–”

“Heckubus,” interrupted Jack.

“Yes?”

“Shut up,” he said.

“Hmph,” muttered Heckubus as he went back to monitoring the
ship’s systems.  “The slightest bit of insurmountable danger and you organics
get so testy.”

Jack checked the sensors.  The planetary shield was about to
go at any second.  He took a deep breath and steeled himself. 
Nothing more
than level 19 on Nova Commander IV
, he thought to himself. 
Time to
finally break my top score
.

“Here we go,” said Jack as he punched the ship’s engines, accelerating
fully toward the planet’s shield.  All across the viewscreen of the Earthship,
holes began to form in the shield, like paper burned over a flame.  The holes
grew slowly as the energy of the shield died.  Black tendrils made up of
hundreds of trillions of insects shot through, greedily rushing toward the
planet to consume anything they could find.

As he angled the ship toward a newly opening hole in the
shield, Jack could almost feel his companions on the bridge tense their bodies,
much as people brace themselves right before the apex of a rollercoaster ride. 
A swarm of black death rushed up to meet them as Jack pushed the engines as
hard as he could.

An alarm sounded as the Earthship met the swarm, its shields
rapidly depleting.  Jack gritted his teeth as he felt his vessel shake from the
impact of pushing through the swarm.  In reality, it had happened in half a
second, but it felt like it had been an eternity.  After he broke through and
saw the brilliant blue and purple of the surrounding nebula before him, he was
finally able to breathe again.

“Ha, HA!” exclaimed Heckubus.  “What did I tell you?  Made
it through without a scratch, and with 2% shield strength left to spare. 
Sometimes my brilliance even amazes me.”

“Heckubus,” said Jack.

“Yes?”

“Shut up,” the group said in unison.

“So ungrateful,” muttered the robot as he sullenly went back
to monitoring his console.

“Oy, we got company,” said Scallywag as his station beeped
at him urgently.  Jack called up a rear view on his holoscreen.  The Ghost
Planet was now covered with a swirling black mess, peppered with pale white
oases where bits of its surface were still visible.  But more disconcerting
than the image of an entire planet in the process of being eaten, a large cloud
of darkness trailed behind the Earthship as a swarm of the insects had broken
off to pursue them.

And it was gaining.

“Those things are faster than I thought,” said Jack.

“Bloody insects,” growled Scallywag.  “Ya got a whole
sodding planet ya could eat!  Why chase us?”

“It’s quite simple really,” chimed in Green.  “They’re
predatory insects.  They see prey; they pursue it.  It’s simply their nature
to–”

“Professor,” said Heckubus.

“Yes?”

“Shut up,” the robot said.

Green blinked at Heckubus.  “Not so nice when someone says
it to you, hmmmm?” chided the robot smugly.

“Guys, get me everything you can to the engines and get our
shields back up!” ordered Jack.  They were racing toward the lip of the nebula,
but even at their current speed Jack could tell the swarm would eventually
overtake them.  “Scally, shoot at them – see if that will at least slow them
down.”

“Aye-aye, capt’n,” the pirate muttered, having already
opened fire on the pursuing insects.

The red plasma blasts from the ship’s rear battery tore through
the swarm that was following them.  Where they hit, the swarm briefly hollowed
out but quickly reformed.  If the blasts were indeed slowing them down, it was
not by much.

The Earthship raced into the blue and purple of the nebula,
the front viewscreen now just displaying an ocean of gorgeously colored gas. 
Jack called up the new enhanced sensors Heckubus had configured.  On the
viewscreen the ship quickly added wire-frame outlines in the shape of diamonds
and orbs in various places on the readout, giving the whole thing the odd feel
of a 1980’s video game.

Jack’s link with the ship instantly let him know that the
diamonds seemed to be mines, and the orbs seemed to be missile platforms.  He
made a mental note to stay as far away from the orbs on the screen as possible.

All in all, there didn’t seem to be that many around.  As
long as Jack had some idea where they were located, he felt confident their
escape was all but guaranteed.

We may just get out of this yet
, thought Jack,
allowing a small smile of relief to form on his face.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a mess of diamonds appeared on the
viewscreen in front of them.  Jack’s heart leapt into his throat as he
frantically jerked the ship into a corkscrew, narrowly missing the closest new
mine that had magically appeared out of nowhere.  A proximity alarm blared as
they rushed deeper into a suddenly dense minefield.  Jack did everything he
could to bank and weave to avoid hitting them.

“Heckubus!” he screamed.  “Fix your stupid sensors!  They
almost flew us right into a butt-ton of mines!”

“My sensors are working perfectly,” the robot replied. 
“Those mines were not there a second ago.”

“Mines just don’t appear outta thin air,” said Scallywag.

“Seriously?” said Heckubus as he stared down Scallywag. 
“After being on that planet, you’re going to question instantly appearing
minefields?”

Scallywag looked like he was about to say something, but
then he acknowledged his defeat to logic.  Grohm chuckled.

“Quiet, you,” retorted Scallywag.

“Jack,” said Anna.  “Those circles… the missile platforms in
the nebula… they’re moving.”

Jack checked his sensors.  Sure enough, the circles seemed
to be repositioning themselves toward the path of their ship.

“Son of a…” mumbled Jack.

“I say,” said Green.  “I don’t suppose it’s possible that
those platforms aren’t just for shooting missiles but perhaps for laying the
mines, as well?”

“That would make sense,” replied Heckubus.  “My guess is
they have some type of replication technology allowing them to create missiles
and mines as needed.  It could be as simple as them tracking ship movements and
teleporting mines into their path.”

“Great!” sneered Scallywag.  “How the bloody hell do we
avoid a minefield that can appear right in front of us?”

“Easy,” said Jack.  “We don’t fly in a straight line.”

With that, Jack began to bank and weave the ship, pulling it
into wide arcs and corkscrews.  The wireframe diamonds on the viewscreen
started popping up, but quickly moved out of the way as Jack tried his best to
keep their path random – all the while keeping an eye on the rearview of his
ship as the space bugs struggled to keep up with them.

“It’s working!” said Anna.  “The platforms aren’t able to
pinpoint our trajectory, and the insects are having a hard time following your
movements.”