The night had been a rollercoaster of emotions and events that could only be matched in magnitude by the night I discovered that I was an Untethered. But the best part of the night, or the worst, depending on how you saw it, was yet to come. As I trailed behind Samuel, I couldn’t help but feel this sense of dread in my heart as my entire attention was captured by the spaceship and the ominous red glow emanating from it.
Destroying such a mammoth structure seemed like a Herculean task, almost too grand in scale. I was interested in finding out the type of teammates Samuel and Eirini recruited and their respective strengths. I absentmindedly followed Samuel until we stopped, where I realised that we were in front of the now deserted bar previously owned by Frost. That brought forth another set of emotions that I wasn’t quite ready for.
Looking around, I saw that Eirini was present there along with three other people, people I had seen hanging around the bar previously. I wasn’t overly familiar with them but had seen enough of them to be aware that they had been Untethered before me.
“Hey, Third-Slotter! Heard you were the other leader of this group. Is that right?” This was said in an obnoxious voice that immediately hit me the wrong way. I turned to face in the direction of the voice and saw a stocky guy around the same age as me with a disgruntled expression on his face. Before I could respond, Samuel interrupted the proceedings, saying, “Broderick, behave.”
I looked at Samuel who looked back at me with a pleading expression on his face as if he didn’t want me to say anything inflammatory in response. I was considering following Samuel’s non-verbal advice when Broderick threw that one out of the window when he said, “Why should I? Unlike Mr. Great One over here, I am not your lap-dog. Or do you prefer the term ‘friend’?”
“Hey, what’s your problem? We have just met. I don’t think I have given you any reason to dislike me.” I was beyond annoyed and was having to mentally restrain myself from physically harming him, reminding myself that we were here for a common cause. But after all the disasters I had already gone through the evening, I wasn’t ready for this hostile attitude from someone who I was supposed to ally with.
“Well, the fact that your stupid mug is plastered all over the news might be one reason. Or the fact that you are the leader of this so-called team along with an alien when you have been an Untethered for no more than a month while we have had to toil and bleed to earn some respect around here, hotshot.”
Again, Samuel tried to mediate between us, saying, “Okay, that’s enough. We all have a common goal here. Let’s not make things more difficult for ourselves by infighting.”
Eirini spoke up at this point. “Agreed, friend Samuel. We have to present a united front to combat the threat that is upon us right at this very moment. I think it’s imperative that we cooperate completely to maximise our strength to the fullest.”
Samuel nodded and said, “Well said. With that spirit in mind, let’s all introduce ourselves and give others a brief about our abilities. That way, we can have a better idea of how to coordinate the attack and what to expect from our team members. Starting with you, Broderick!” He gave a pointed stare in his direction, leaving Broderick to fidget with a disgruntled expression.
“Whatever, man. The only reason I agreed to do this was because of you, Samuel. Anyway, I am Broderick and I can create explosives just by touching a surface of the material, provided the material is inorganic.”
I had to admit that it was an impressive power with the potential for mass destruction. It also perfectly fit in with the requirements for this mission and his power would be very valuable in our mission to destroy the radiating panels.
It was at this moment that the other two members of the team decided to make themselves known. The other male in the team just nodded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he said, “Ha, ha. I didn’t think the mood would be so tense. My name is Damocles and I can form force fields. It is mainly used for support and defence. I hope to rise to your expectations. Let’s go, team!”
I took the opportunity to look over the overly exuberant member of the squad. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, although it was hard to tell age in Untethereds. Tattoos adorned both his arms, although I couldn’t see them clearly in the relative darkness.
Finally, the woman decided to introduce herself. “Name’s Angela. Don’t use it too often. Super strength.” Short and stiff. That could describe both the woman and that introduction.
I introduced myself as succinctly as possible before Samuel took over the proceedings, “Okay, now that we know each other, it’s time for the plan. Eirini, go ahead.”
Eirini nodded. “Very well. The plan, simply put, is to blow up the panels entirely off the spaceship. The plan hinges entirely on Broderick and Damocles. Since we can't be sure if the panels are resistant to Broderick’s powers, we have decided he will form explosive out of adhesive materials that Samuel has procured. We will stick them to the surface of the panels and promptly make them explode.”
“To ensure no collateral damage takes place, Damocles will provide force fields to surround the entire spaceship. Although the task will be strenuous, it is vital. The others in our team are for the contingency that some unforeseen event happens that requires backup of some combat prowess.”
Everyone nodded as Eirini finished detailing his plans. Samuel spoke up at this point, “I will be the one who goes to summon reinforcements should shit hit the fan. All of you will try to handle any situation in the meantime. I hope I won't need to remind you again that this mission is dangerous and potentially life-threatening. If anyone wants to back out, now is your opportunity. After this, you are to forever hold your peace.”
Everyone just stared back resolutely at Samuel. Samuel just clapped his hands once as he said, “Very well then. Let’s go. We need to go to the terrace of the building just below the spaceship. Damocles and Broderick will carry out their task from that building while the rest of us will be situated on buildings on the four sides of the spaceship. Remember, our foremost priority is making sure no one else gets involved, especially the mortals.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned around and started making his way towards our destination. Time was of great importance, if only because we couldn’t let the mortals be a part of our affairs for too long. We made our journey in great haste and took up our assigned positions.
Broderick and Damocles stood on the building below the spaceship, waiting for their signal. Samuel shouted from his position towards them, “Remember, timing is of the essence here. So, make sure your signals are perfectly understood amongst the two of you. Damocles can’t hold up the shields for too long due to the sheer size.”
Broderick and Damocles merely nodded at Samuel to show their acknowledgment before Broderick sprang into action. Taking off the backpack containing the adhesives, he took two of them before jumping up in the air.
He attached the two adhesives onto the spaceship. A faint red glow was all the indication that the adhesives weren’t normal anymore. They had transformed into explosives.
We waited with baited breaths as Broderick continued this for the next few minutes, making sure to cover up as much part of the panel with the adhesive explosives as possible. I couldn’t help but wonder what the reaction of the mortal populace would be as they saw the fireworks in the city sky above them.
I looked around and saw that some of the stubborn drones had managed to follow us to this location and were keeping track of our every action. Even now as I stood waiting for Broderick to complete his task, more and more reporters were making their way to the building.
As soon as Broderick finished his part of the job, I prepared myself. Samuel shouted again, “Okay, Broderick is done with the installation of the bombs. Damocles, prepare your shield as soon as Broderick indicates. David, prepare to slow down the time to help Damocles, if necessary.”
I nodded to indicate my assent. Broderick closed his eyes in concentration. I imagined that blowing up so many bombs at once would require great focus. Broderick just raised his right hands and for a few moments, all of us were still. Suddenly, Broderick snapped his eyes wide open and shouted, “Now!”
That was all the invitation Damocles needed as multiple force fields sprang to life around the spaceship, covering every possible surface of the spaceship. I could only watch in horrid fascination as the sky was illuminated due to the bevy of explosions. The explosion and debris were thankfully kept at bay as Damocles performed his job admirably.
The fire blazed for a few minutes before it sputtered out of existence. I couldn’t wait to see if the explosives had done their job. To my immense relief, they had. Where before there was a panel radiating a faint red sheen, now there was more of the body of the spaceship. Getting confirmation that the task had been completed, Damocles retracted his shields.
No one was hurrying to congratulate each other though, anticipating some retaliation from the possible occupants of the spaceship. While we were in this highly-strung state, a mechanical voice sprung from the spaceship.
“Detected outside interference. Commencing self-destruction in 3….2…..1…”
I could barely call on my ability before the spaceship exploded in a blaze of fury.
