“AlphaMax has entered the atmosphere, Sir,” a soldier watching several monitors reported the new information.
“Don’t want for him to land, fire at will,” Commander Ellis gave the order, and it was relayed to the field. A wall of screens lit up with red and orange light as different vehicles opened fire on the approaching target.
“No damage. He’s engaging ground forces, Sir,” the soldier reported. Commander Ellis nodded.
“Good, good. They’ll hold him until the artillery arrives. Keep the pressure on, I’ll report our progress to the Global Council.” Commander Ellis left the war room and adjourned to his personal office. He sat in his highback leather chair, then connected to the G.C. A translucent hologram of an older woman appeared in the center of his office.
“Madam Defender, the weapons are working as expected. AlphaMax doesn’t stand a chance.” The hologram nodded.
“That’s great news,” the woman smiled. “There are those that had their doubts, but I’m sure they’ll be happy to be wrong.” A look of confusion washed over Commander Ellis’ face.
“Doubts Ma’am? About what?” The hologram’s hand covered her mouth with a slight gasp.
“Sorry,” her face scrunched up in thought, then finally she gave a firm nod. “I’m not supposed to tell you, but once the artillery arrives it’ll all be over anyway.” The hologram looked to either side of her as if she were checking for eavesdroppers. Commander Ellis sat up straighter in his seat. “The ‘new weapons’,” she used air-quotes. “weren’t developed by us. We got a signal from space warning us about AlphaMax over a hundred years ago. That’s when we founded the G.C. and started studying the advanced technology sent by the signal.”
“But who sent the signal?” Commander Ellis asked, the woman shrugged.
“We think it was another planet attacked by AlphaMax. Possibly destroyed, because we haven’t heard anything else from them since that last communication.” A beeping sound distracted Commander Ellis. He pulled a cellphone from his pocket, checked it then turned his attention back to the hologram.
“Artillery in position.” The Commander pressed a button on his desk and part of the wall slid out of the way to reveal a large monitor. On screen were several futuristic heavy tanks. In the distance a giant robot could be seen slaughtering infantry soldiers with every step.
“Open fire,” the woman ordered. Commander Ellis repeated the order.
“Open fire.” He spoke into the cellphone. On the screen the large canons sitting atop the futuristic tanks began to gather energy in their barrels. After a moment solid beams of blue light shot from the cannons towards the giant robot. A cloud of dust erupted around the robot.
“Piece of cake,” Commander Ellis chuckled. The woman’s hologram also joined in the laughter. On the screen the dust began to settle. A short, electronic, buzzing sound seemed to sync up with their laughter. The cloud of dust settled down around the robot writhing on the ground. He rolled back and forth; the buzzing sound emanated from him.
“What’s he doing?” Commander Ellis asked.
“I think he’s… ” the woman’s hologram was interrupted by two beeps. One came from Commander Ellis’ phone, and the other from her own. Her hologram reached into her pocked to check the phone. “…laughing. He’s laughing.” Commander Ellis checked his phone. His screen displayed an AlphaMax logo followed by the text: “FUN!”. Then their phones beeped again.
“I got you!” AlphaMax said, followed by all the “top secret” plans used to develop their heavy artillery.
