CAST OF HEROES

Chapter Thirty-Three

James was in his cell, sitting in the corner with his back against the steel wall. He felt the deep marks on his back from the thrashing he endured from Saladin's androids. James' arms were wrapped around his legs and his head in between his thighs as if he were rolled up into a ball. Terror escaped from his mind when he had nightmares of his homeworld Earth 1. As he dreamed of a blue wave of energy, that Saladin unleashed. His mother, Raya, Hunter, and everyone else that mattered to him was gone in an instant. The images replayed out in his mind. He couldn't breathe. James heard someone call out to him from his mind. The voice he heard was familiar to him.

"James, can you hear me?"

"Millennia, is that you?"

"Yes, it is me, my son. Where are you?" Millennia asked.

"I'm being held in a cell." James strained from his chains. "You have to hurry, Saladin is planning something big. It is about to go down sooner than you think."

"James, you just hold on, we are already here on the ship. Just sit tight." Millennia and the crew moved in the shadows of the hallway.

"Okay, I will wait for you."

"Good, see you soon."

"Be careful, Saladin is more cynical than ever. He is planning on releasing the Convergence Device. He."James paused for a moment trying not to break down.

"It is okay James, I'm coming for you. Know that my son." Millennia checked his surroundings within the ship.

The mind link between Millennia and James ended. Millennia was focused on the mission of saving James. He wondered what happened to Green Thunder since he hadn't heard from him in the past hour. He was worried.

Something that didn't sit right with him. Millennia's eyes glanced at Covac for a moment. Blue aura energy formed around Millennia's body. His eyes glowed blue and fist tightened. Millennia, Finder, and Hard Drive followed Covac across the ship's lower level deck. They were near cargo, surrounded by metal crates stuffed in shelves in a single row. Finder was alert. She kept her mind off the terrible gray creatures and how she was lucky to have Hard Drive to back her up. Hard Drive was scanning to locate the main bridge and getting a feel of the layout of the ship.

Covac gave the hand signal to stop. Ahead of their view from one corridor door, were five hundred androids. They moved in sync up the steps to the top floor. Covac waved the group to move on in with a hand jester."On my signal, we move to the other door. I should be able to disable the security system from here so you can go and play hero and rescue your friend." Covac accessed the controlled display on the wall with his hands.

Clenching his teeth, Covac reversed the key symbols on the pad at linear order. He moved two moons like symbols in the middle and three-ring symbols on the side. "Once we get inside stay clear of the androids. I will destroy the Convergence Device."

Millennia eyes squinted. "That's not part of the plan."

"I am not doing this for you. I only agree to help you to stop Saladin." Covac opened the door and five androids opened fire at him in the chest, blowing a hole through it. His wounds healed, sealing the gap.

"That hurt." Covac fired his gun at the androids that shot him. He walked up at one of the androids and shot it in the head.

More androids fired at Covac. Finder jumped in mid-air and fired her plasma rifle taking at three androids. One android shot Finder in the arm as she landed behind the cargo. Finder gripped her arm in pain as she felt the string from the shot.

"Finder!" Hard Drive yelled out firing his sonic wave gun from his hands disabling two androids. He ran toward her direction.

Saladin floated in the air, staring at him. "Such a disappointment Covac."