Five Moons of Pluto Read Free

yourself and not consult us to ruminate your plan… We are the gatekeepers! We are responsible for this mess. And all the while, you’re acting like…like…a human .”
    Orin stands and looks back at Thaddeus with equally hateful eyes. He’s just about to speak when a signal sounds off on their computers, breaking the tension between them. A ship is trying to gain entry. Calmly, they sit back down at their stations and proceed with the usual order.
    Walter speaks. “Alpha Gate Tower to vessel, please identify passcode, vessel number, and cargo.” There is no answer. Walter turns to Thaddeus. “Comm links down?”
    Thaddeus is sliding his fingers across the monitor. “No,” he says. “ Comms are operational. The vessel is not registered on record nor is it allowing me to scan for Unusual Threats to Olympus. I’m going to send a squad to check it out.”              
    “Don’t worry about it,” a voice says, too calm a voice to be Orin’s in such a situation, but Walter sees that it is in fact Orin who’s speaking when he turns back to look.
    “Sir…” Walter stammers. He doesn’t recognize the look in Orin’s eyes.
    Orin draws a weapon and shoots Walter three times in the chest. Thaddeus is too slow to respond—or even react at all—and doesn’t have time to press the alarm. Orin then shoots Thaddeus twice in the ches t, knocking him to the ground. He steps over Thaddeus and begins swiping on the monitor.
    Thaddeus speaks weakly, his voice a raspy, breathless whisper. “Traitor…” he says. “You betrayed us.”
    Orin walks over to him and looks at his wounds as they begin to sizzle.
    “Who was it?” Thaddeus manages to ask. “Who do you work for?”
    Orin looks at him, nearly speechless. “It doesn’t matter.
    “ Who ?” Thaddeus demands. He reaches for Orin with a bloody hand.
    “Humans,” Orin tells him.
    Thaddeus’s eyes widen in shock. “Im…poss…” He does not finish.
                  The central room doors are now locked. Orin looks at the third monitor and sees the warships entering through the gate. Several guards pound on the door outside. “Open up!” they shout.
    Orin continues typing and swiping at the monitor. A military cruiser swoops by the window and shoots at Orin. He dives behind the terminal for cover. A laser blast crashes through the military cruiser. The cruiser smashes down the side of the building and into one of the floors, then explodes. Orin looks to see who or what saved his life. The main door opens and the guards come rushing in. Without a second thought, Orin rushes toward them, dodging their fire. He snaps arms, breaks legs, and uses their own weapons against them. They never stood a chance , he thinks.
    T he guards lie on the floor, all of them either unconscious or dead. Orin hears the sound of footsteps running, then more grunts. He picks up a guard’s gun, but it’s DNA encrypted so he can’t use it. Then someone screams. “Get down now!”
    Orin doesn’t even search to see where the voice is coming from. He slides by the side of the door and crouches low on the floor. A barrage of bullets tear s through the grunts and the walls. Then the bullets stop, and a pile of grunts lay on the floor.
    Orin stands up to see a Tyrant ship floating outside the window. Inside the cockpit is a beautiful woman with long blond hair, green eyes, smooth skin. Vina . The cockpit shields open.
    “We haven’t got all day, ” she says.
    Orin grabs his gun and jumps inside the Tyrant. The cockpit shield closes behind him. Vina grabs hold of the controls and pulls the trigger, unleashing two mini missiles that destroy the terminal and half of the room. Then the Tyrant flies off to its next destination.
     
    ****
     
    The Tyrant flies low over 5 th avenue in Manhattan. Orin looks out the window, then up toward the sky; there are too many ships in the sky to count. Military ships fly toward the oncoming armada, but are easily shot down by