The Force Field

Chapter 9

The Force Field

 

            Agent Tidyaf (Ty) watched in shock as the Sneilian king stomped past his prison cell on Esab. He heard what he had said to his army: “This means war.” His heart sank at the very words. He had come here to spy on the Sneilians, making sure that they weren’t up to anything. But after this mishap, everything changed.

            He slumped down against the wall, acting unconscious as the Sneilians walked past. He didn’t want them to think he was spying on them… AGAIN. After they past, he looked around, making sure there were none still lingering. He crawled over to the base of the wall, picked up a rock, and tossed it behind him. Secretively, Ty had been digging a tunnel escape route when the guards weren’t looking. He’d gotten all the way to the outside of the prison, and put another rock at the other end. This was his chance to escape.

            The hole was barely wide enough for him to squeeze down through, but he fit nonetheless. He had no light to guide him, but he felt his way along the tunnel walls. It was humid and clammy, and Ty’s claustrophobia was starting to take a hold of him. But just as he was about to black out, he saw the light just peeping in through the other side. He army crawled as fast as he could to get there, and he pushed up against the rock with all of his might. Ty climbed out of the tunnel, his clothes caked in mud and his faced covered with dirt. He looked around to make sure no Sneilian guards were around, and he made a mad dash for the woods. Once there, he summoned his jetpack with his wristwatch. He mounted and flew back toward Anera.

            As he neared Anera, he knew that the CTC would be looking to found out what had been happening with him for the past three hours. He’d been in communication with the CTC up until the Sneilians found out he had an earpiece, so they confiscated and burned it. He had lied to COT and told him that he was snooping around the base, even though he was in jail. He would have to worry about those consequences later.

            Ty thought for a moment, thinking about a place to land and someone to talk to. And who better than the King himself? He set course for his house.

            When Ty landed at the proper coordinates, he raced into the rundown building that he knew was the secret entrance to the King’s mansion. He ran to the grandfather clock and pulled the lever, anxious to get down as fast as possible. When he got down, Ty raced for the mansion.

 

•••

           

Fred followed Fil to the front door. Fil swung it open, and sprinting across the yard was Ty himself, the spy who they’d been looking for.

            “Ty! What the hell is going on? Explain yourself!” There was adamancy in Fil’s voice.

            “Look, no time to explain,” Ty said, obviously out of breath. He got to the door and put his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

            “What is that supposed to mean?” Fred asked.

            Ty breathed twice more, and looked up at them. “The Sneilians… they’ve declared war on us. They know.”

            Fred staggered back. He never thought that the Sneilians would retaliate until the Anerians had attacked them. Now Anera was on the defensive. Something had to be done, and fast. Fred tried to remember experiments he had done back in America, one in particular that dealt with using an electric current as a shield.

            “Fil,” Fred said in a half-trance, “is there any way you can get me a science lab and an electric current?”

 

•••

           

Fortunately enough, there was a science lab in the mansion.

            Fred got right to work on building a miniature shield with the electric current. He would have to lace the current with bits of bullet-proof glass, which would hopefully also work on futuristic guns and shields.

            After hours down in the lab, Fred was finally ready to test the shield. It wasn’t any bigger than a riot shield, but hopefully effective nonetheless. Fred flipped the switch, and the shield came to life. He pulled a screwdriver out from his tool belt, and flung it at the shield.

            It worked better than expected. For some reason, the screwdriver did not bounce straight off the shield, which was the intended effect. Rather, it merely disintegrated. No ashes, no remnants: nothing. Fred looked flabbergasted as he sat on his work bench. It was a good thing he recorded everything he did. Otherwise this may never happen again. He grabbed his notebook and ran up the stairs two at a time. He burst into Fil’s room, since he and Ty were staying the night.

            “Guys, get up now. I have a favor to ask.”

            Fil and Ty sat bolt upright in their beds, wondering what had happened.

            Ty spoke up first. “What is it, Fred?”

            “Our key to protection.”

            Fil threw off his covers and took the notebook from Fred. He flipped through, examining the notes and illustrations. He closed it, and Fred said, “Take it to the factories, workshops, small stores, large corporations, and any business in Anera. Tell them to make these instead. Provide any necessary supplies. Tell them make it or die at the hands of the Sneilians. Because this right here, gentleman, is our force field.”

            Fil and Ty raced out of the mansion and into the Northern Zone. Fred, meanwhile, drove to the South region. He figured he might as well recruit every region in Anera, not just the manufacturing region.

            He went there for a different reason, though. Fred didn’t want their help making the force field: the Northern Zone would take care of that.

            Fred wanted fighters. He knew that his force field would not hold off the Sneilians forever, so he needed a backup plan. He went to the East and West Regions too, recruiting any able-bodied Anerians that were willing to defend their planet from the Sneilian invaders.

 

•••

 

            Meanwhile, in the Northern Zone, the mass production had begun. Every single business in Anera was producing upwards of 10 shields per day, which was an incredible rate given the complexity of the shields. Fil was walking around one of the factories, making sure everything was going smoothly. All of a sudden, Fil heard a noise from outside. A low droning sound could be heard, and Fil didn’t recognize it going from any of the factory machines. He opened the swinging double doors to the factory and stepped out into the humid afternoon day. He used his hands to shield his eyes from the sunlight and looked around. He saw nothing around him, but the droning sound was getting louder. He turned around, and to his amazement, he saw at least 200,000 Anerians flying towards him, being led by King Fred himself. Fred waved to him as they flew overhead and off into the distant mountains and hills to the northern part of the Northern Zone.

 

•••

 

            Fred led his army of 200,000 to the mountain range just outside Tidorxpla City (Top City). He wanted to acquaint his army with the terrain of the region so that they had an advantage over the Sneilians when it came to fighting them. Fred knew what he was talking about when he gave them their orientation in a large clearing.

            “Attention everyone, attention… thank you.” Silence. “You all know by now that the Sneilians have declared war back on us, and they will undoubtedly be attacking any day now. So we must acquaint ourselves with the terrain. This is where we shall gain our advantage over the Sneilians. We must use it to our advantage and take down the Sneilians from the shadows. Many of you may be unfamiliar with the improvise tactic…”

            Looks of confusion spread among the faces of the Anerian army.

            Fred continued. “Improvise means ‘surprise attack.’ That is how we are going to win this war. We will hide in the shadows, among the trees, behind shrubbery and landscape, and whatever else can conceal us. We will not fight in lines or any specific tactic. I have a plan already set for us.” Fred pulled out a rolled-up blueprint of a battle plan and spread it out on the ground. He scanned it over with his wristwatch, and he projected it above their heads in midair. “Ladies and gentleman, I give you Operation Organized Chaos.” Cheers went up from the army, and a smirk crossed Fred’s face.

 

•••

 

            “You foolish Anerian. You call yourself a King? No ‘King’ would project his battle plan into the sky for us to see it!” He let out a triumphant huff as he rose from his throne. “Beeorx!” the Sneilian King yelled. His new right-hand man stepped forward from behind the throne and knelt before him. “Yes Master. You called me.”

            “Oh, stand up you fool.” Bo stood as the king continued: “The Anerian King has showed us his battle plan. Go prepare your warriors. They are going to try and ambush us from the shadows. So make them aware. And DON’T screw this up. Go!” Bo ran out of the throne room, and the Sneilian king returned to his throne and sat. “He thinks he has us out strategized. He thinks we’re stupid. Well, let me tell you this, King Fred, you’re in for one hell of a surprise tomorrow.” He gave an evil guttural laugh that shook the throne room walls.