The Khalanium Blades

Chapter 6: Project Alpha

Everyone, trusting their instincts, dived sidewards and curled up into a ball. Expecting an explosion, everyone braced for the worst. But the missile didn't hit. Quick looked up. The missile was going for the main building! The team scrambled to their feet. Then, as the rocket flew past the door, it slowly stopped. Someone or something had held it as if it was a baguette and was also pushing it back! Every step the mysterious man took was accompanied by a heavy grunt of effort. Everyone ran towards PROTECT's super-human as the man walked out of the shadows. It was Sam!

Sam had grown taller and more muscular. This was unbelievable! "Sam, I don't know how you do this, but right now I need you to stand still and hold it," Quick ordered, clearly surprised and overwhelmed. Sam, still his focusing his strength, didn't say anything. Quick felt bad for the teenager as he didn't know if it was too much. He acted fast. "Get me the electric decomposer!" Soon Agent Micah came with a small square disc, and she magnetically attached it to the rocket's end, where the fire was still persistent.

With a click of a button, the small missile was surrounded by electricity. Sam dropped it, fell on the ground, and fainted. Two men, including Doctor Lok, brought Sam on a stretcher to a medical room. Quick and Rob stared at the missile, until someone spoke behind him. "So, is he going to be alright?" It was Ray, standing beside Jane. Quick nodded. Jane blushed when Rob put his hand through this hair. She thought he was really cool, but knew her shy, antisocial personality never had a chance with him. "Well, it seems your friend here just saved over two hundred people, a billion's worth of materials and technology, and intergalactic information." Rob added.

Now Ray, Jane, Quick, and Rob were in the hallway, going to check up on Sam. When they reached Ward 25, they saw their fallen friend on the bed, but this time not enclosed in a glass cover. Doctor Lok was sitting on a chair beside him. "He's still unconscious. Just needs about twelve hours of rest," Lok reported. Ray pitied Sam. Then, for the first time, Quick glared angrily at him. What did he do?

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Quick stared at Ray as if he could see the boy's heart. Ray hesitated at first, but knew he had no other choice, lest he and his friends get thrown out into space as punishment. "Okay. When we heard the alarms, we thought it was being taken care of. But then we were really bored and decided to get a little peek." Jane was looking at him, as if waiting to correct him.

"So obviously we went back in, but we were dying of thirst," Jane continued. She didn't want Rob to think she was too shy to talk. "So we walked around, finding someone who wasn't busy. Soon we saw two nurses rush out of a room carrying a stretcher with a man on it. Obviously not thinking straight, Sam immediately ran towards the room. We had to follow, of course, and ended up spotting a jet. As we already know, Sam saw the missile coming, and suddenly he was strong and muscular again. We were too late to warn him."

Jane had said it all too fast, that Quick had to analyze it for like a minute. She was exhausted. She really had said a mouthful, and probably because she hadn't had a drink ever since she woke up. "May I have some water, please?" She asked, but Rob had already put the cup in front of him. He met her tired but grateful look with a smile. She liked him more than ever. "Hey, don't you think I'm tired too?" Ray called out, clearly not as tired. Rob forced a weak smile and went to get more.

Suddenly, a nurse came and said, "Sir, he's awake." Director Quick took one last glare at Sam and left the ward with her without comment. Jane gave Ray a look that said, "Who's awake?" Ray shrugged.

* * * 

As Quick hurried to medical prison eight or MP8, where the invaders' leader was being held captive, he accidentally bumped into a man. He was the one ordered to check the systems. "Sir, we have encountered a problem. They actually did steal intel. It was only a few, but it is very important," he said as the nurse recognized her cue and left. He continued, "They stole the plans to Project Alpha!" Quick's sleepy and weary face switched instantly, but he wasn't shocked. If he was, he was very good at not expressing it.

Project Alpha was a top-secret project that only a collective few of about ten high officials knew about, including Director Quick and the man, Agent Jason. It aimed to gather materials and people from around the Alpha Sector to create a super weapon only activated by Director Quick's successful retinal scan, finger-print scan, and practically a whole body scan, measuring his length, height, and weight. It means no one else except Director Quick and his will can operate the powerful weapon. It was designed to protect the Khalanium Blades until the special humans were trained.

The project was near completion, and was supposed to be operational that day, but the mysterious hacker, obviously working for the invaders, stole the final plans, its backup, and any information regarding it. Quick was speechless. Something not many people had seen him do in a long while. He stared at the wall, his mind racing and twirling, deciding what to do now. "Have you located the hacker or at least the slightest frequency we can locate?" He asked.

"Ah, I was just getting to that part," Jason replied. "My team and I were able to trace it all the way to the Delta Sector, somewhere just outside the unsearched planet of Phyros." Now Quick, deep inside was satisfied. "Well done, Agent. If you excuse me, I have other things I have to attend to. Call a Breifing for me, will you? Let's say about nine o' clock tomorrow." Jason nodded and walked away.

Quick made his way to MP8. The medical prison was basically a room with steel bars, just like a normal prison, but with a cleaner environment just like a hospital room. The sliding bars were already open, and the nurse was attending to the man's arm, where he had shot him. When he entered, the man looked up and gave the director an enraged glare. The man looked quite clean for a gun shooting ninja. He was a blonde human, with messy but short hair. His beard was neatly shaved, and he looked like someone who'd work at a coffee shop.

His right arm had a bandage wrapped around it just below the elbow. Quick sat down beside the nurse. He leaned forward but stared intently at the man. "So, Ninja, what have you to say?" He asked, clearly interrogating like a detective. The man looked away for a second and replied, "I was just doing my job." The director had anticipated this answer.

"So what was this attack about?"

"I already told you. I was just doing my job."

"What was your job? What was the purpose?"

The man sighed. "Look, all she wanted my to do was to come here, attack, and escape. We didn't know about the jet and the missile, I swear." Quick leaned back. This was exactly what he needed to here. This confirmed his thoughts. It was to discourage PRTOECT from keeping the Khalanium Blades, destroy the watchtower if possible, and steal the important intel. Whatever was going to happen next, Quick promised to always be ready. The time has come.