25,267 Words!

Tomorrow is the last day of NaNoWriMo. I'm ending it with just over half my word count goal and I couldn't be happier.
I've learned a ton of new information about my old characters. If you had seen how they started so long ago you would feel my shame. :) I love how they have changed. They are more than just weird pictures and paper airplanes with a scribbled conversation on cute notebook pages. They have a touch of depth that one day I know I'll enjoy exploring.
After all the Christmas projects and the fun of the holidays I'll go back to working on my MC in my WIP. Hopefully it will be better for the break I've given it. Plus I have a few new songs to add to my collection for listening to while writing!
I'm hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas! Travel safe!

P.S. I'll leave this story up for a while. I know it is a LOT to read over the business of everything. Then I'll be taking it down before next NaNo. Which at this point I'm sot sure I'll be joining in on. I think I say that every year... :)
God Bless! and Thanks again! Your Awesome!

Day 27 ~ Day 30

Huffing the man entered into the underground room from the dark dirt tunnel. “They're here!”

Everyone in the room looked up at him. They rolled their eyes, some of them laughed out right. Karter was always coming in with some big news. Usually he was right about whatever it was that he was excited about but usually it just wasn’t as important as he claimed it was.

“I’m serious. The twelve ring bearers they’ve come. The legends said they would and they have arrived.”

“Karter you have got to be kidding. If you saw them then why didn’t you just bring them here? I can’t believe you still believe in fairy tales.”

“I did see them and it is a legend not a fairy tale there is a huge... Never mind the bandits captured them, we have to help.”

“With what Karter? Those pirates are just out for their next break. If these ring bearers are so great as the stories say then how did the bandits caught all twelve of them?”

“I’m not sure they did catch all twelve but they have at least two and those bandits are usually pretty thorough. We know where there hid out is we can go in a break them out.”

“Wilter he may have a point. It’s time we did something. We are tired of sitting around waiting for them to find us. Even if this isn’t them at least we’ll be helping someone out. Isn’t it worth a try?”

Wilter always gave into Barwil, he was his only son and living relations as far as anyone knew. “Fine gather the group. This will be better than having to break up fights for the rest of the night anyway.”

Barwil ran off to gather the rest of the group. Karter went with him.

When they came together the first question was, “How do you know for sure?”

“It was the ring on her finger. I saw it when I helped her up off the ground. It is exactly like the one I’ve seen in the legend.”

“Doesn’t matter we are going. They need our help whoever they are and I don’t want to hear you all arguing about it. Now go get yourselves armed and lets get moving before that buffoon Mavrik gets himself another impossible idea.”

“Nevermind enough questions. Now my man here has something for you and if you're smart you’ll take it without problems.”

“What is it?”

“Now what would be the fun in me telling you everything?”

James was forced to take the pill. It took a matter of minutes for him to feel the effects.

“Good now I’ll be sure to get all the answers I need out of you. How do I get a hold of your ship to enquire about your ransom notice?”

His mind was groggy and the room seemed to slightly spin about him. Trying to look into the man’s face he answered, “There there there is no one to to to contact on on on the ship.”

“How is that possible?”

“We are all all all here here on the planet.”

“There are only  twelve of you running an entire ship?”

“Yes.”

“Well isn’t that fine indeed. Earth has gotten a bit more advanced. Perhaps he was right after all. How can I find this ship?”

Everything was coming back into place. His mind was realizing what he was answering and he nearly choked on his own saliva. He was ruining any chance he had of deceiving this man. He wouldn’t give him anything else. “You’ll never find our ship.”

“Ducon?” He snapped his fingers and the man behind him looked up from the timepiece he held.

“It’s done.”

The man shook his head. “When will someone find me a better truth finder? This stuff never last long enough. Oh never mind, I’ll get my answers. I hate making things dirty but you give me no choice. Ducon have them bring one of the girls. No wait, bring me the brunette.”

When the two were alone the man kept his eyes on James. “You can tell me now and no harm comes to anyone. You and your crew could take my place. It isn’t so bad and maybe one day you’ll be lucky enough to find transportation of this rock.”

James gave him a hard stare. He’d have to think of something. There was commotion in the hall just outside the door. Someone screamed and shots were fired. James pulled on his bonds only to be jolted. Mavrick went to see what the commotion was about. He ducked a ricocheting bullet. There were cries of pain and Mavrick disappeared. A few moment later some rather dirty and disheveled people broke into the room. One of them released the metal rings and helped James out to the hall. The corridor was lined with rooms. All of them were being broken into and the people released. More of Mavricks men showed up, shooting their way down the opposite side of the hallway. One of the people who had helped them escape was shot. Some shouted something about a Wilter. James, Joshua, and another man picked him up and carried him along. The rescuers lead them through a maze of underground tunnels until the reached the outside. A few of the others had taken Wilter from them and carried him off in another direction. James wasn’t sure but he didn’t think it would go well for the man.

The men were chasing them. After everything and they still had flashes from lazer guns and old fashion metal bullets, flying after them. A few scrapes and bruises was all the wounds the Rangers had accumulated but the rebels had gotten off far worse. They’d lost three of their people. James wasn’t sure there was a safe place for them on this planet.

“Barwil!” James called out as he ran towards the man.

He glanced back for a moment and came closer to James.

“We can take your men on board our ship. We just need a place to hide out for a few hours. Have a place like that?”

Barwil only nodded, “First let’s lose these guys.”

“Up ahead we’ll scatter in the cliffs and surround them in the reveen.”

Everyone’s adrenaline was running high and it didn’t take but a moment for everyone to scatter like wild rabbits. Then the rebels took a moment to gather their weapons and return fire. James lead the Rangers to the AstroStars, they’d return with more to pick up the Rangers. There were only twelve of them their which seemed odd when James thought about it but he wouldn’t have time to think until later. Now they had to get to the AstroShip and back to the planet as fast as possible.

To make a long story short. They do escape. The rebels are only a small part of a larger group that helps the Rangers to overthrow the evil guy trying to destroy Earth. Yeah I haven’t decided on a lot of the things like exactly how they do the overthrowing or whether the mad man actually makes it back to earth or not. This story has a ton of work in revising and editing. As for returning home... They figure out that by each one of them remembering where they disappeared at and thinking about every detail so they remember it clearly. Once they get back they wonder whether they actually wanted to come back. Meanwhile they’ve left the rebel group they helped rescue from the planet Allykein (which is a terrible name) in charge of the AstroShip. King ShaHarn willing took the Rangers appraisal of the group. Their new mission was to make peace wherever they could.

As to why the mad man wanted Earth destroyed. (No this is not Mavrick, the not so mad.) Apparently with Earth destroyed the rest of the solar system would look for a new leader to direct them. It would cause chaos but he thought he had things in place to keep it toned down enough for him to find a way to rule the universe.

Any questions and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Day 26

Two day later they joined back up in the bridge. “Are you sure it is a good idea to go to the planet? I mean we do have a shine new ship that might have a possible scratch or two. This place doesn’t really seem like a place to take her.”

“What do you think Rodger?”

“I don’t really think we have much choice. It is probably the only way we are going to find out who and where the person responsible for sending the missiles could be located. This is our only lead as far as I know.”

“Maybe only some of us should go.”

“Which one of us hasn’t been cooped up long enough on this ship that wants to stay while the others go explore a strange new place?”

“You're all making very good points. With everything we now know is there anyone who thinks we shouldn’t go to this planet? I think Rodger is right. This is our only lead and it seems very likely that it is a place where we’ll find what we need. We knew this mission wasn’t going to be safe or even easy.”

No one disagreed with James. “Alright then this is what I think we will do. We’ll take six of the unarmed AstroStars once we reach orbit. There doesn’t seem to be a very good reason why we should raise alarm. However we will all carry side arms. Once we land half of us will go see what we can find out the other half will watch over our transport. We’ll switch out after a few hours if we need to. Any objections?”

Still no one disagreed and James dismissed everyone. “Everyone should get a good nights sleep cause it looks like we have a busy day ahead for us tomorrow.”

“The message was sent sir. They have agreed to help you. I’m sure the Ranger’s will be headed this way any time.”

“See that they do. I want no more failure. I will have Earth destroyed then I will have my rightful place.”

“Yes sir. There are other arrangements to be made. I will leave you now. Oh, and you're lady has come to see you. She will be here shortly.”

There weren’t proper words to describe this place. One can often tell when a place has been beautiful once upon a time but this place was not like that. Even if the Rangers had circled the entire planet they would not have found a better place than this. If they’d desired to rent rooms on the planet rather than stay on the AstroShip they would have quickly changed their minds. The place smelled of burning metal, that is when it didn’t smell of garbage. There wasn’t a clean place to walk. Sure the paths were clear with only a little clutter here and there but there still remained and incredible amount of filth.

“My bedroom back home may not always be clean, okay ever be clean. If it even closely resembled this...” He glanced around then continued in his whispering voice. “I wouldn’t even be able to think let alone be able to create anything.”

There was a place that seemed to be busier than anywhere else. Like all the other shops and homes it was quite crumbly. It was as if the whole place had been haphazardly slapped together and hadn’t weathered time very well. Six of the Rangers cautiously went inside. Of all the places this is definitely not where they wanted to be. James glanced around the premises before leading his friends to a table. It was the best and possibly the only place they were going to get any information. Something told him it wasn’t going to be easy.

Everything seemed covered in a dust haze of red. Marian had decided to cover her mouth and nose with a bandana. She might look like a bandit but at least she’d be able to breath. Dim lights shone just beyond the hills. She wondered if they had to keep them on all the time or if maybe they’d just chose a bad time for a visit. Not that she was sure there was ever going to be a good time to visit. This place was definitely as bad as Daniel had first suggested it would be. They had tried to keep in contact using the devices Rodger and JoAnna had designed but something in the atmosphere made it impossible to hear what anyone was trying to say.

Marian, Rose, Peter, John, Carol, and Rodger had stayed behind to keep and eye on the AstrStars. Rodger was still fiddling with the communication devices trying to see if he could get around the interference. He didn’t like it when they things he had created didn’t work. Everyone else had scattered around and met back at the ships every fifteen minutes. So far they rest of the group had been gone about half the time they’d said they’d be. She was a little worried but mostly glad that so far everything had gone smoothly and without incident.

She watched as the dusty air moved around in the wind. Marian couldn’t help but smile when she thought about people saying that they couldn’t see the wind. This was as close to seeing it as anyone could get. She pulled the deep hooded wind jacket further over her head. She might be grabbing a heavier jacket from the AstroStar before her group went into town. provided they even needed to. She was hoping that James’ group would get all the information they needed and everyone could go back to the safety of the AstroShip.

Joshua and Julie went up to the counter to inquire about something to possibly eat and drink. They weren’t sure there'd be anything here that’d they even want to touch but it would definitely be impolite to sit at a table and order nothing. That was when things started to get out of hand.

At the other end of the room a fight broke out. Someone busted a chair over another person’s head. James caught Joshua’s eye and nodded toward the door. They didn’t need to be involved in anything like this with or without the girls along. It just wasn’t a wise choice especially since they were newcomers.

They skirted around the room and headed for the entrance. Everyone else seemed to be getting caught up in the fight. Joshua and Julie stayed close together and tried to make their way through. Something knocked Joshua off balance and he pushed into a table causing a chair to bounce off the floor. He didn’t bother to look up to see what or who had hit him and he wasn’t about to stop to see if he’d caused any trouble of his own. His main goal was to see his sister safely out of this rat hole.

Julie tripped and fell, someone helped her up. Her brother budged him out of the way without even looking at him. He had too many things on his mind to be thinking properly. She tried to smile her thanks.

Once they were outside they looked around for the others. They weren’t anywhere to be seen. It wasn’t like them to leave anyone behind so where had they gone? The two continued up the road a little ways when four men ambushed them. They both reached for their guns.

“I wouldn’t even bother if I were you. We have your friends and if you don’t them to get hurt you’ll come nice and easy.”

They raised their hands and the men from behind grabbed their guns, tossing them to their friends. From that point there wasn’t anything to do but follow. Finally they were joined up with the rest of the group. Joshua’s heart lept in hope when he saw that it was only the six of them. If they didn’t know about the rest then maybe there was chance of a rescue.

The man from the tavern who’d helped the pretty misplaced girl off the floor noticed something that jolted his memory. In surprise he was pushed out of the way by the man who’d been watching over her like a hawk. He wanted to say something but nothing came out until they were too far away to hear. He followed after them and nearly caught up when they were jumped by the four men. He hid in the shadows and watched as the two surrendered. Those dirty bandits were up to no good. Did they know what they had or were the just causing more trouble? It was never hard to spot a new comer. Bandits liked to collect what they could off the unwary. First they’d have to find out what they were worth, which might just give him the time he needed. He ran off in the opposite direction.

Marian pulled back to the ships to make sure everyone was still there and awake. Dust was occasionally flying in her eyes so that they seemed to constantly water. It hurt to look for too long so she would close them for a few minutes every so often until the sting faded away. She wondered if it was any better in town. James’ crew should be headed back soon.There’d be at least another fifteen minute shift maybe two.

Rodger was finally giving up on the communication pieces. He was grumbling something about starting from scratch and working in something she couldn’t quite understand. Peter wasn’t far behind her and they stayed for a few minutes before getting really worried. There wasn’t a way to tell the time. Everyone was always coming around within a few minutes of each other so there hadn’t been a problem until now. She’d been able to tell by the time she’d walk back out and gotten bored. Some of the others had been  counting or singing songs.

“Do we give them more time?”

Peter was already headed out in the direction that Rose had gone. “I guess not. I’ll...”

“You’ll just be real smart and stay up.”

She and Rodger turned to see who was speaking and instantly had their hands in the air.

The men had knives to the throats of Rose, Carol, and John. Marian closed her eyes in a silent prayer that James had the rest of them safe.

None of them knew where they were exactly or even how they’d gotten here. They’d been knocked out, like they really wanted to know where this secret lair was or something.

For this being the future it seemed pretty old fashioned but Marian figured that it the old ways worked then they must figure that they will work know. Unfortunately they might just be right. These were exactly ropes, no more like chains but without being hooked to the wall. Kind of like a pair of handcuffs that weren't attached together but didn't let the captive person escape their grasp.  They were metal and circular like a handcuff or chain yet they had this little blue light that ran it's way down the center of the band. They were stationary in mid air. When ever she pulled against them they stung her with a zap that caused her a jolt of pain up her arms. Worse yet she was completely alone in this small empty space. It was the first time she'd really been alone since she and her friends had been teleported to the future. Sure peace and quiet every once in awhile was an invited and even desirable circumstance. However to be utterly and completely alone frightened her perhaps even more than not knowing what these people wanted from her. What did she really have to give them anyway?

The same thing was happening to each of the other Rangers. Locked in place by these strange devices. Some, such as Joshua, were zapped more often by pulling against the bindings. He didn't know what these people were planning and he had his sister to protect. If they hurt her then they were in for more than they could imagine.

After the first jolt Rodger didn't even bother fighting it. He began to examine them as closely as he could. There wasn't much to see until he stared into the blue light long enough for his eyes to adjust. There was tiny lettering, "ALocks Corporation. Making keys extinct." He laughed a little to himself, maybe it was something to go on but it wasn't much. Definitely wasn't going to help him figure out how to escape. That was when he noticed a single red dot no bigger than the head of a pin. He'd had to look over his shoulder to see it.

For Rose it was interesting how the blue light glowed bouncing the color off the white walls. It was a bit eerie to look at for too long. This room had to be the most depressing room she'd ever seen. It contained absolutely nothing to look at. There wasn't even a decent spot to concentrate on and gather her thoughts.

The question that held everyone's mind was what did these people want them for.

James perhaps had it worst of all. It was his judgement that had placed them here. Now it was up to him to get them out. He kept going over in his mind what he could have done differently. If they didn't find a way out of here... No he wasn't going to think about that. They had to find a way to escape. The mission couldn't end here.

After a time three men came into the room. One was obviously a well beaten slave who pushed a carted tray, the contents of which were covered in a white cloth. Involuntarily he shuddered at the site of them. James didn’t recognize them but he knew they had been part of the group that’d ambushed them. It was the four man that followed them in that James didn't take his eyes off of. This man he hadn’t seen before. He was well dressed unlike anyone else he’d seen so far. The man’s size wasn’t the reason he approached James so slowly, although it would have completely been possible. No this man was confident of himself. He wanted James to know he had all the cards in his hand.

He looked up into James’ face, “I’ve been carefully watching you and your crew. It is obvious to me that one of two people I’ve captured is the leader of this expedition. Don’t try to lie to me because those cuffs there will tell me if you are.” The man ran his finger across the smooth metal ring that held James into place. “Is it you or the pretty brunette lady that is in command of this expedition?”

James’ eyes searched the man’s face. There were things he didn’t know. Things James was pretty sure he didn’t want to tell him. However if he was going to be stuck answering questions he might as well see about asking some of his own. He might get zapped but that was all he hoped the punishment would be.

“I’ll answer you your questions if you’ll answer me mine.”

“Fair enough but I get the first, just remember where you're standing.”

“I am the leader. Who are you?”

The man laughed but it sounded more like a wheeze as it squeaked out from somewhere in his nose. “I am Mavrick the not so mad and these are my men.” He said the first part as though he was slightly offended that he was not altogether mad. “Where is your ship? Those little craft are quite cute but they won’t make it very far through space.”
“It is orbiting the planet. I’m not exactly sure where because I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve been here. Although I’m guessing that if you really wanted to know there is a way you could scan for it.”

“So I am. I just wanted to be sure I had my boy searching in the right area.”

“Why do you want us?”

“I’m always partial to profit. If you can’t pay I’ll find someone who will. Where are you from?”

“Who paid you to shoot missiles at my planet?”

“Oh, so you're the Earthlings I was warned about. Not so bad are you. Well to tell you who paid me, which was a very good guess by the way.”

“It wasn’t a guess you're the only reasonable answer.”

“Anyway I’d tell you so you could seek your revenge but I’m afraid I don’t have a name. Besides what kind of reputation would I have if I gave away my clients names.”

“With some people you already have a pretty bad name. Destroying whole planets doesn’t exactly put you in most peoples good side. Putting yourself in league with is man is a very bad idea.”

“Are you so sure it’s a man?”

Day 25

“You heard her we are a go for launching. Daniel, Anna, Rose if you can read me stay back. We’ll rondevu with you after we’re safely away from the blast.”

“I’m bringing her around for the attack.”

“Arming weapon and preparing to fire.”

“Whenever you're ready.”

John took hold of the trigger. Everyone quieted while he concentrated. Rodger did his best to keep the AstroShip steady as they came closer to the missile. The glow of the new level of strength from the force field could just be seen. John too aim of the missile and counted under his breath. If he missed or fired at the wrong time this could all be disastrous. He fired and closed his eyes taking a deep breath as he felt Rodger pull them up out of the blast range.

When he opened his eyes he felt like his heart had stopped. Rodger had pulled the AstroShip around so they could see how they’d done. The whole planet seemed to be engulfed in flame. John swallowed hard. Everyone was holding their breath.

Suddenly the fire began to fade away and for one millisecond the Earth could be seen crisp and clear as ever until it was suddenly shrouded in a light blue glimmer from the force field.

Everyone was cheering and crying at the same time. They’d done it!

“Communication from Earth. King ShaHarn says thanks and good hunting.”

“Alright Rodger lets find our shipmates and get this ship on the road. We have a long way to go before this mission is over.”

“No!” He screamed on top of his lungs.

“There is always next time, sir.”

His eyes narrowed to slits. “Get out unless you want to die.”

They scurried like mice leaving the cloaked man in the room to himself. Even his pretty lady didn’t remain to accompany his mood. The man brooded as he gazed into his fire place. He’d come here to think to enact his plan in one of the farther reaches of the galaxy. The fire reminded him or how bitterly cold and desolate it was here. It reminded him of why he hated this place so much, why it was the perfect place to destroy the shobby nosey Earthlings. They had everything that he wanted everything he could have if only King ShaHarn wasn’t always out to stop him. Who were these new people he had under his command? What kind of kids could destroy his plan so easily? Maybe there was more to them then met the eye. He’d needed information on them. More than he was getting from the reports or the researchers. The fools were saying that the people coming to get him were from the past. That their last known locations where ages before humans had began roaming the galaxy. That was absurd. Unless of course one was to believe in legends but he was more likely to believe that King ShaHarn was trying to  pull wool over his eyes, before he was willing to believe in legends or destiny.

Space was a thing of beauty and wonder but it was also pretty boring. After exploring the ship and learning all one felt their brain could handle for a day there was only the smooth rhythm of the ships engines. The Rangers talked a lot about things back home, what they thought would happen if they actually tracked down the man behind the Earth attacks. Most importantly to all of them was how the thought they might be able to get back home. Everyone had told them it was up to themselves as a group to be able to return home but that didn’t explain how that was supposed to work. None of them had an idea of how to actually go about returning home when the time came. Not even Rodger knew, which worried some more than others.

There was a section of the ship that was like a giant greenhouse. It wasn’t necessarily for the plants and food that grew there or even for the enjoyment of the people that were stuck living on the ship. The greenhouse had been put in place like many of the other things on the ship. It was there to help run the ship. Something about having the greenhouse effect was something that only Rodger and maybe JoAnna could go about explaining. Then again they’d probably be the only ones to understand.

The AstroShip ran mostly by itself. With a little help from the computers once they were set on a course. It wasn’t as though there was nothing to do. James ran drills everyday. Someone at some point could be seen running or jogging down the halls. Some of them even found common interests in music. Peter on a guitar, John wasn’t half bad with a harmonica, Rose could manage a violin, and JoAnna turned out to be quite the pianist.

Each of them found their own favorite places on the ship. The greenhouse was popular and contained quite a number of hidden corners in which one could if they wished disappear for several hours. Rodger had fashioned a pin that could be used to contact someone from anywhere in the ship. JoAnna helped him work on them and made them so they resembled something that they would be ashamed to wear. Unfortunately it had one flaw... It required one to actually pin it to their outfit. Which didn’t always happen.

“Where are they?”

“One of the traders spotted them on their way toward the Allykein from where the missiles were launched. We suspect that they are more resourceful than has previously been presumed. They may have found a way to track from where the missiles came. Not that there is any doubt that they can figure out they came from you, sir.”

“Why would we want it any other way?” His laugh was cruel. “I’m headed to Vaspilnard. I’m going to conjure up a castle. They are so readily available there.” A wicked smile darkened his face.”Be sure my men leave word for the younglings. I want them to come to me. Don’t make it too direct I don’t want them knowing that I want them. They will have a new master soon enough.” He laughed again letting the sound echo behind him as he left the three men there.

They watched as he disappeared around a corner. “Too bad for them. Once he has his eye on something...”

“He does whatever it takes to get it.”

“Why does he want them though?”

“I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.”

A meeting was called and everyone gathered in the bridge. “After the destruction of the missiles Rodger told us he had an idea of how to track down the scoundrels that sent them. Seems he has finally figured it out and wants to share with us what he thinks should be our next move.”

“I was able to track where the missiles came from. The computers did most of the work for me. Anyway we are currently on a direct course to the planet that sent the missiles. My guess is that we will be able to figure out exactly who and why once we reach the planet.”

“What does everyone else think?”

“W-w-won’t-t-t they kn-n-now-w-w w-w-we’re com-m-ming?”

“I’m sure they will John and I’m sure they’ll be able to guess why. We’ll just have to wait and see what they are like.”

“Can’t we look it up on the computer?”

“Well, of course we could and we should. So we spend the next couple days researching what were coming into. We meet back here to talk about it. Although I think we’re going to find that we’ll learn more from the people on the planet than we will from the computer.”

“What are we going to do if he is on this planet? Rodger what is the name of this place anyway?”

“Allykein according to the report. Said to be know for trade and exports. Apparently they had a high end mechanical station there. Other than that I didn’t bother to look into. Finding the place was chore enough.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad.” James said up beatedly.

Daniel just shook his head, “You haven’t watched very much Sci Fi have you?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer. “That spells trouble. I suspect that this planet is pretty rogue. Probably full of pirates and the like.”

Science fiction really hadn’t been his thing. It was more something that was up his brother’s ally. Thinking back on what he remembered he guessed that Daniel might be right. “We’ll see what we can find out from the computer. Then we’ll make a decision before we are too close to the planet.”

Day 20 ~ Day 24

“What do we have that could help? Hello? Copy. What do we have?” There was a bit of panic in James’ voice. He was about to press the button again when Rodger stopped him.

“James I think I know what we need to do. It’ll be a bit tricky but it just might work.” He explained his plan to the group.

“Let him have the controls Peter. JoAnna you take Rodger’s station and Peter will take yours. Alright let’s give them what we’ve got.”

Marian was still studying the report of what the computer said the missiles were. “Joshua come take a look at this. You seemed to understand the components and compounds of the last missile.”

After a few moments he finally answers, “Yeah, this one is definitely made by the same person as the last. Everything is exactly the same except that each of these missiles is designed to blow the Earth apart. If we miss even one...”

“Hold on coming into range,” Rodger interrupted.

“Fire at will John and Julie. Whenever Rodger has you lined up.”

Joshua knelt down and held onto Marian’s chair and the console. They watched as John and Julie fired on the missile. One of them missed and the other caused a blasting explosion that caused Rodger to pull the ship up and away from to avoid an impact.

“If we miss one of those Marian it’ll destroy the planet. I’m not even sure if the force field could hold these off without at least being damaged.”

James exchanged looks with Marian. “Bring her round Rodger. We’ve more to go.”

Rodger was quick and precise. He once explained that it was like a video game he’d once played even though it had some major differences. He soon had them in position again. When John and Julie would fire the whole ship would shake. The gravity simulators kept the crew mostly stationary.

The first five missiles were taken down in somewhat ease. “James there are at least four more.”

“Earth’s force field is coming online but still not fast enough.”

“The weapons we were using need to cool down. I recommend we try the lazers.”

Everyone seemed to have something to say all at once. Marian watched as James took everything in stride.

“Bring the lazers online JoAnna. Peter see if we can’t find a back up plan if those don’t follow through. Marian and Joshua see if these things have some kind of flaw we can use. Daniel, Anna, and Rose get yourselves in a couple of AstroStars and be ready for my command. Make sure they are the ones carrying weapons, you’ll need them.  Carol keep trying to reach Earth let me know when you do. Julie and John stay where you are and be ready to take aim. Rodger get us to the next missile.”

Leaving the main bridge the three headed to the second deck. It was on the left/port side of the ship below the engines. The decks were on either side of the under sections of the AstroShip. They reached it from a transport. The ship was set up with several of these, where with a voice command one could tell the computer which transport to be placed on. It made for quick easy and instant travel from one section of the ship to the other. It had one slight side effect. There was an overwhelming tingling left in the legs for a few minutes. According to the scientist, the tingling in the legs was meant to keep the person stationary for a moment while the computer performs a quick scan. They didn’t say what the scan was for but Rodger was ‘kind’ enough to explain it to them later. Apparently because the techknowledge was new no one was sure how it would perform or how a human body would react. So far there had been no casualties but that didn’t mean there were never going to be any.

Once they had reached the hanger they each equipped themselves and climbed into three of the dozen or so AstroStars. “James do you copy? We are ready to launch on your word.”

“I copy you Daniel hold your place.”

They hadn’t really been given too many courses on how to deal with a crisis, or what to do when you're in a jam, or which is the best way to command a crew. Everything they did felt almost like a dream at this point because it seemed so far ahead of them, albeit a realistic intense dream. This just might have been one of those moments where James’ future self was smiling when he’d come to tell King ShaHarn about being apart of a group of people that would help save the Earth one day. Then again maybe it wasn’t.

John and Julie fired on the missile missing it several times. The lazers shot differently than the weapons they had been using before. They couldn’t seem to get them aligned properly. James grit his teeth. If the lazers weren’t going to work he’d have to hope the AstroStars could do the job. The lazer beam dented the missile sending it slightly off course but not stopping it.

“Alright Daniel take off..                                          

"Copy were taking off in one two three formation. We can reach the nearest target in four minutes."

"No Daniel it will take too long there are four of them and four of us. We are working on a backup plan for us meanwhile take the three nearest this location. Make all haste to get as far away as you can just in case things don't go exactly as I hope."

"Yes sir, good luck sir."

Rose giggled at Anna over the intercom. It sounded a bit garbled but it helped to slightly lessen the tense mood.

Streaking off the AstroShip into the dark starry sky was breathtaking. If they only had the time to take it all in. For now they'd have to see what could be done about not letting their planet get blown up before they'd even had a chance to start their mission.

"Earth Force field coming online but still not up to full power."

"How long until they're full power JoAnna?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Too long. Rodger get us to that last missile."

The ship was ruffled by the blast of one of the missiles being blown apart.

"Report. What happened?"

"One missile down three more to go." Daniel's voice came over the system.

"Approaching target in five, four, three, two, and..." There was silence for a moment as Anna fired her weapons. "Miss. Going back around."

"Rose how is it going out there?"

"Fine James. Nearly there."

""Fast guys I want you in and out of there. Don't get caught in the impact. Those AstroStars aren't equipped for that. How are we coming Rodger?"

"Not good James. Even if we get to the missile before it reaches the force field we will still be firing on it with the lazers. It doesn't calculate well."

"We've come this far. We can't give up. Any back up plans yet?"

"No. Well, wait. If we load the... Never mind. JoAnna bring those missiles back online. Joshua and I have a little fiddling around to do. This will make a mess so better wait until the last possible moment."

The two left before James could ask them what they were going to do.

"James?"

"Go ahead JoAnna do as she says. Can the force field absorb any of the blast?"

"Brilliant. I should have thought of that before!" Rodger exploded from his seat.

JoAnna got excited as well. "Each time the force field reaches a new strength level it makes a pass all the way around the globe. If we coordinate our fire with that cycle..."

"It might just be enough to protect the planet from any impact. At least most of it."

"Let's give that a go. Comes as close to a back up plan as I can think of. JoAnna try to reach Earth and tell them what we're' planning." He spoke into the intercom, "Marian how is it going down there."

Marian and Joshua were transported to the weapon loading. Actually there wasn't a direct transport into the weapons loading. Someone had been afraid it might interfere with the weapons launching or something like that. The closest one was about a hundred feet away. As soon as their tingling legs would allow them they ran the rest of the way.

"Are you thinking we can cool the missile launching system down faster by hand?"

"That is what I'm hoping Joshua. If that doesn't work we're in trouble."

"Why don't we just launch another AstroStar?"

"We could but that would be suicide. That's why James said we'd take care of this one. If we use a AstroStar they are equipped to handle gun and lazer fire.  The impact from the missiles is too strong there won't be time to get in as close as is necessary and be able to escape the blast. With the others there was a better chance. With this one it will ricochet off the force field, as weak as it is it will still keep back some of blast. There is just no way the AstroStar can be fast enough to escape."

"Right so how are we going to cool off these missiles?"

"They have a venting system that conduites from over there. If we pipe the cool air into it we might just get it cooled off fast enough to get another blast out of it. You get up there and unbolt it as best you can. I'll work on the one on top of the launch. If you take it off about there we might be able to swing the pipes down this way and clamp on and elbow."

"You remembered all that from the diagrams?"

"No. Just go! We don't have time!"

Gritting her teeth Marian put all her weight into working the bolts off. That was when James came over the intercom. She didn't stop to answer him. The launch was still quite warm and she was sweating. By the time she'd removed the last of the bolts Joshua was bringing the pipe down toward the launch. It was going to reach but he'd had to loosen and move the elbow from above before it would swing in the direction they needed.

Marian climbed down off the launch and searched through and closet of odds and ends. It was originally designed for use in making repairs.  She finally found what she wanted or at least something that would make do.

The intercom buzzed again and Marian could hear something of James’ voice. She pressed the button. "Give us a few. We're almost there." She tossed the pipe up to Joshua who seemed to have little trouble getting it to connect.

"There is a little bit of space in which the air is escaping."

"Here." She tossed up a few rags.

Joshua grinned. "It'll have to do."

"Okay James. It is cooling down now. Give us to the count of five then you should be able to load and launch. Just know that you're only getting one launch out of this. Joshua and I are going to stick around down here out of harms way and clean up the mess you're about to cause."

Day 19

Having left earth behind, the group was finally able to board the ship they had learned so much about. In all the celebrating the AstroShip had finally been christened. They didn’t spend much time in settling in. There’d be plenty of time for that later. It promised to be an amazing ship but all the exploring could wait until they were deep in space.

Rebarto entered the ship with them. “There are a few minor things that will seem major when you sailing through the stars. Let me bring up a few. You haven’t had to deal with currency because the king has provided everything you’ve needed. Out there you may find some difficulties. Most places run off trade so there is an area below where you have been supplied with everything we could think of that you might need or use as trade. Hopefully you won’t find yourself in any trouble and you’ll have a nice smooth journey. Nonetheless this is her first voyage so that is bound to be a thing or two that isn’t quite screwed down that it should be.” He chuckled a bit before continuing.

“Then there is also this small detail about command. You may decide what you like when you're out there in space. However for the purpose of Earth, King ShaHarn has place James in command and Marian as his second in command. James will see to it that you're jobs are assigned as he sees fit. We hope that Marian will back him up as needed.”

Marian had her mouth hanging half open. “I-I think I can manage that. But why me?”

“This is what the king desires and sees as fit. He also thinks that one day you will all come to understand why. Anyway, one last bit of business. This is a list compiled upon request of the king. It details where they think each of you should be placed and why. However I give this to James because not only is he in command during you're mission, we believe he will come or has come to know each of you better than we ever will get the chance to. “

James took the clip boarded list and tossed it into a seat in the center of the Command Deck. “Thank you for everything you have done for us. I’m sure that this amazing opportunity will continue to be something that changes each of our lives. We appreciate all that everyone has done for us.”

“We thank each of you for the sacrifices that you are making on behalf of us. Have a safe and prosperous trip. I hope that we will see you successful and sooner than any of us suspect.” Rebarto left them to settle into their commands and prepare for take off.

The crew found their positions as James gave them. Then they reported back to the space station as they checked and prepared for take off. They count down was given.

“Peter, take us out.”

“Sir, I don’t mean to disturb you.”

“What is it now?” The dark figure turned to the man at the door.

“It is you're information sir.”

“Tell me is there any flaws in Earth’s force field especially around the time of the little kiddies their launching into space?”

“Yes sir there is...”

“Good give me that piece.”

The man placed the paper on the desk where the other picked it up and poured over it. “Good. Good.” He said more to himself than anyone else there. It was easy to see that he liked what ever it was that he was reading. “Bring me Boren. He has some work to do.” He didn’t even look up from the paper.

“Yes sir.”

“What is that?”

“The computer reads it as incoming.”

“It is taking a direct course for Earth.”

“Bring the weapons online. Get me the readings. What is this thing?”

The intercom system buzzed through. “It’s a missile James. There are several coming in. They’ll reach us before the force field is completely brought back online.”

“Does Earth have a way to stop them?”

“We’re safe once the force field is back up. We don’t have anything to stop what is coming in. Although the AstroShip may.” They began to lose signal from Earth.

P.S. There are several things I am not satisfied with in this creation. Such as the naming of the group. Rangers was not my original choice but the first choice wasn't any good either. so and ideas on what to call them, would be appreciated. :) I apologize if things get confusing from time to time. I try to focus on the typing and hope against hope that everything sounds alright without looking it over too much. This is an extremely rough draft. Thanks to all who read. I pray you enjoy it!

Note

Sorry there is such a break in the story! Sometimes I forget to post after I'm done writing... Between that and the fact that it is usually passing midnight and all I want to do is close the lid, push the laptop away and sleep! Thank you for your patience and all your encouragement!
NaNo isn't possible without support! Off to type in a few more words before my hot cocoa wears out!