Galaxy of Heroes

Fires burned in the city’s black skyscrapers. Great plumes of gray smoke rose from the towers, smudging the pink sky with an expanding volume of soot. The city’s walkways overflowed with the walking wounded. Hover transports rushed about the city corridors carrying the dead and the dying.

Everywhere were Jod’s security forces. The heavily armed black clad humans were taking control.

The Gallos Defense Force asserted itself in the chaos—administering aid, transporting the wounded and guiding traffic. People looked to them for help. The soldiers obliged with calm authority, seemingly heroic in this confused moment of terror.

Thousands upon thousands of bloodied humans had crowded into the large open plaza in front of the Founders Building. Gallos Defense Force soldiers tended to them and transported the most seriously wounded up to the building’s hospital.

Capt. Casey was kneeled down over a woman in the mass of people. “You’re going to be OK,” Capt. Casey said to the bloodied woman.

With her gloved hand, Capt. Casey yanked a large piece of shrapnel out of a nasty wound on the woman’s shoulder. The woman grimaced and then wailed.

“The pain is temporary,” Capt. Casey said. “Remember that.” She cleaned the wound and then wrapped it tightly with a bandage to stop the bleeding. She moved on to another badly injured human.

She was exhausted. In such a big city, it was astonishing to her to watch people die from wounds that could easily be treated in any second-rate medical center, or even out here on the street with the right equipment. But no one had prepared for a mass casualty attack, and the city was overwhelmed with urgent need. There was no organization in place to deal with such a calamity.

A young man with his right arm missing below the elbow went into shock. Capt. Casey pulled the last analgesic injector from her belt pack and shoved it into the man’s chest. She then cauterized the stump with her multi-tool.

“Please move aside, ma’am,” a medical cyborg said. “This corpse needs to be disintegrated.”

“He’s still alive,” Capt. Casey said.

“Roger. Please move aside. He needs to be taken to a medical center so that a new arm can be attached.”

“That can be done in due time,” Capt. Casey said. “There are others with mortal wounds that need immediate attention.”

“Roger that, ma’am,” the slender cyborg said.

“I need analgesic injectors,” she said. “Where can I get more?”

“Analgesic injectors are authorized only to Gallos Defense Force personnel,” the cyborg said and walked away.

Capt. Casey moved on to another injured human. The numbers of wounded and the destruction around her reminded her of the war for Heliac years ago. It was all happening again.

But this time it was at the hands of other humans. These so called Cryptos. Who were they?

She couldn’t comprehend why humans would inflict such horror on their own kind, as if they had retrogressed and were reliving the fratricidal human upheavals of ancient times.

She did what she could to save those who could still be saved.

Screens on the buildings that surrounded the plaza came to life. The face of Verman Jod was being displayed on the numerous large screens around the city.

“My fellow humans,” Jod said. “A great horror has been inflicted on us here today. The Crypto Syndicate has struck a cowardly blow upon us at the behest of the Diocon Empire.”

The humans in the plaza all turned their attention to the large screens around them. Jod’s huge, misshapen face carried a calm expression of resolve.

“As the storm clouds gathered, I warned you of the malevolent designs being plotted in the shadows, but you did not listen. Fortunately, aware of the great evil that lurked in our midst, I had the foresight to arm and equip a militia to counter this treachery. The brave humans of the Gallos Defense Force have heroically stepped forward at great sacrifice and have driven the Crypto Syndicate out of the city.”

Scenes on the screens showed soldiers in black attacking and turning back men in Heliac Defense Forces armor. A diagram showed arrows pointed into the city, labeled Crypto Syndicate. Arrows pointed out from the city center were labeled Gallos Defense Force. Scenes depicted armored cars followed by black-clad Gallos Defense Force troops moving rapidly with urgency. Cannons on the cars fired at Crypto Syndicate soldiers, who turned and fled as Gallos Defense Force troops pursued them.

Capt. Casey stood up in the mass of bodies and looked up at the nearest screen. Jod, armed with a pistol at his hip and clad in the black armor of the Gallos Defense Force, was standing in the center of the pit in his large arena.

Capt. Casey made her way through the crowd and onto a walkway, watching the screens as she walked.

“We have been caught off guard by this ruthless evil. Dire suffering has been inflicted upon us. But we will not be caught off guard again!”

Capt. Casey entered the arena. The terraces were crowded with humans looking down at Jod who stood alone in the center of the pit.

“Our collective failure to recognize the evil that lurks in the human soul has resulted in this catastrophe. Lives have been lost. The city has been shattered. The specter of fear and confusion spreads its malevolence like a pandemic disease. But we have learned our lesson. Together we can rise from the ashes of this cataclysm and fight back against our hate-filled foes. This shadowy network of hatred is at war with the good humans of Portagallos. We are weak now, but with unity, we can stand as one against the traitors who have perpetrated this barbarous evil. Together we will smoke them from their holes and smash them!”

The screens displayed shattered bodies lying on the city streets. Gallos Defense Force soldiers were working steadfastly to save grimfaced, bloodied humans.

Everywhere in Portogallos, crowds of humans with grimy faces stood in the streets looking up at the screens.

“Our adversaries threaten our dream of a new life and a new civilization on this beautiful planet. But history has proved that when humans are united under a determined leader, we can survive great hardships and rise up again–stronger, wiser and more unified. Today I say to you that we can face down this Crypto Syndicate and fight back to restore hope for humanity on this new Earth. Know this, we will hunt down our foes and extract our justice. This crime inflicted upon us will not go unpunished!”

Jod turned and pointed up at the large screen above him. “Behold your enemy!” he exclaimed.

The screen depicted the face of Capt. Jace Spade.