"Captain Leeto," a small child said from the crowd, "I know how the collars come off."

  Leeto looked up and turned to the little child. She'd almost forgot that there were children at the camp until then. "Oh yeah? How's that?"

  The child pointed to the Marshal Tent. "The nerdy man," she said.

  Everyone looked towards the Marshal Tent. In the entry stood Lieutenant Peters. In a panic, he dropped the branding device and collar, and frantically started pressing buttons on his wrist device. "Get him!" Leeto shouted.

  It was too late. Every woman, teen, and child in the entire village suddenly stiffened, jolted, and jerked as their collars beeped. One by one, they collapsed onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust from the sudden reaction. Leeto stared in horror as she watched the entire village fall helplessly—and Robben slowly reached for the prod he had earlier dropped. She stood dazed for a moment, but saw movement out of the corner of her eye and snapped out of it. She dodged right at the last moment as Robben's prod hummed past her face, missing by inches. He quickly pulled the prod back and gave her a swift push-kick to the gut with his left foot, sending her backpedaling with a harsh gasp.

  "Destroy her, Major!" Peters yelled as he pumped his fist.

  Robben stepped forward and thrust the prod at her midsection, but she jumped backwards and arched her whole body to dodge the tip. She swung her prod at him from right to left and smashed into his left rib. "Come on, Robben!" the cowardly Peters cheered again.

  Robben thrust the prod at her again. She deflected it to her left with her prod's shaft, then quickly swung it back to her right and smashed into his face with the barrel. Robben stumbled backwards but kept his balance. His face was now a bloody mess.

  "No! Robben!" Peters whined.

  "It's over, Robben, drop your weapon," she said, as she pointed her prod at him.

  Robben began to feel outmatched. His body and ego had taken a beating; but he would not have it. He screamed in fury and charged her like a joisting knight.

  She tried to deflect his shaft again, but at the last moment, he angled his prod to his right, grabbed the shaft with both hands, and rammed it hard into her chest. The two crashed hard onto the ground, with Robben on top. The intense blow to the chest stunned Leeto, and she coughed and groaned as she lay pinned on her back. He pushed the shaft of the prod down towards her neck as his blood rained down on her face.

  "Yes!" shouted Peters, "She's done!"

  She resisted, pushing the shaft back up. Their arms trembled as the bar slowly moved up and down. Leeto began to tire, and the bar lowered onto her neck. She gasped for air and desperately tried to push it back up. Robben put all his weight onto the bar, and began to choke her out. Her eyes widened, and frantically scanned for a solution.

  "You're done, Leeto! You got nothing! Nothing!" Peters shouted, jumping up and down with glee.

  In a last-ditch effort, Leeto began delivering devastating knees to Robben's crotch, with audible thuds. He yelled in agony as he loosened his grip. She gave one hard push upwards, and the shaft cracked into his face, landing hard on his forehead. He immediately let go and rolled off her. Captain Leeto got to her feet with the prod in hand as he struggled to his knees, quickly kicked the other prod away from him, and pointed hers at his face.

  "Don't… you… move," she said with authority.

  "No, no, no!" Peters whined again, "I'm calling Space Force!" He began running away, tapping buttons on his wrist device. "They're gonna kill you! You better hide, cause they're gonna kill you all!"

  Peters' voice trailed off as he ran to the north of camp, until he disappeared into the ruins.

  Robben looked up at her and smiled. His entire face was covered in blood, but she could see the whites of his teeth peeking through the crimson mess. "Finish me," he said.

  She was speechless.

  "Finish me, you bitch!" he repeated, "Go on. If you don't finish me now, I'll just come back and kill you all. I'll fuck you all, then I'll kill you all. Do it! Now!"

  "Robben—"

  "Fucking kill me!" he screamed psychotically. "Kill me, you cunt! You fucking stupid-ass cunt! Do it!"

  Even in defeat, this evil man was still giving orders. Leeto looked around at all the devastation around her. She had always done the right thing, always given every suspect a fair trial, never taken the law into her own hands. As she contemplated right and wrong, Robben's orders continued to harass and aggravate her. She couldn't think clearly, and began to feel lightheaded. If she collapsed, it would all be over, and all the bloodshed would be in vain.

  She gripped the prod's shaft with both hands and raised it toward the sky. Robben's mad voice was drowned out by her sudden moment of clarity. She was through with doing things the right way. She vowed to do anything and everything required to destroy evil for the future of humanity. She looked down at Robben's bloody face, still screaming obscenities at her. She could see his mouth moving, but couldn't hear anything he was saying. She completely shut out the evil. Then, like a lumberjack ready to split wood with an ax, she lifted the prod back behind her head. She took a breath and went for the kill. She began to swing the barrel down on his head. To her surprise, Robben leaped at her, and the barrel smashed into the soil behind him. She dropped the prod in shock. His bloody face was now right in hers, yelling and spitting blood. She looked down in horror, and saw his knife in her chest. Suddenly, Robben was audible again.

  "You will never win, you stupid bitch! Never!"

  She pushed off him and stumbled backwards. Blood began to ooze out of her mouth. She looked down again, and saw the knife still protruding from her.

  "What did you think was gonna happen? Huh?!"

  Her trembling hands slowly pulled out the blade. She saw blood course out and drip down her midriff. She dropped the knife, and gazed back up to Robben.

  "You're all the same!" He laughed as he advanced towards her. "I wish you could see the look on your faces when you think you've escaped! But none ever do. None!" Robben ran his left hand up the back of her neck and through her hair to the back of her head. It gave her chills. His left hand gripped the back of her skull, and he gave her a hard right to the belly.

  She cried out, clutching her stomach as she fell to her knees, coughing up blood. Robben grabbed her by the neck with his left hand.

  "You know, there's a pill for everything these days," he said as he reached back with his open right palm, "even delusion." He delivered a devastating open-handed blow to her face. The slap landed so hard, Leeto fell awkwardly onto her back. She looked up to see him standing above her, looking down.

  "Rumor has it that you're carrying a baby," he said. "Well, I have some medicine for that as well." He flipped the prod so that the shocker was facing down towards her belly. "Just call me Doctor Robben!" he said, as he raised the shaft up to the sky, "And if you're lucky, this medicine might take care of you too!"

  Leeto closed her eyes and prayed for death.

  BZZZZZZZZZZZZZHHHHHH!!!!!

  To her surprise, it was painless. She wondered if there was a heaven, and then peacefully drifted out of consciousness. She was bathed in light. She saw her love, Colonel Levi Rogers. She could even feel the spirit of her unborn baby. It was that of a fierce warrior, a true leader like her mother, but possessing the ruthless traits that Leeto lacked. A chorus of angels sang her daughter's name faintly. It was too quiet to make out at first, but gradually they got louder and louder. Finally, she could hear the name: Victoria.

  Suddenly, the light began to dissipate, as if sucked back into the heavens, like water being sucked into a drain, only the drain was in the sky. The light began to twirl like a whirlpool. It was both magnificent and terrifying. As soon as the last drop of light disappeared, she opened her eyes, back on Earth.

  Robben was still holding his prod to the sky.

  Leeto told herself, This must be hell. Would she have to die repeatedly as punishment for failing to save humanity?

  She stared up at Robben's face—the face of pure evil. The madness in his eyes pierced to her soul. She noticed he was shaking, jolting uncontrollably. Like a chopped tree in the forest, he began to sway forward and backward. Finally, he began to tip forward, and fell right on top of her. His bloody head rested over her left shoulder.

  She looked up and saw smoke rising from Robben's back. Behind the fumes was the silhouette of a man holding an electro-prod: Josdin Pax, her fellow escapee. He dropped the prod, then collapsed. Leeto closed her eyes and passed out.

  Chapter 20

  Aftermath

  Leeto woke up once again facing the ceiling of a tent, surprised to be alive. She was medicated, but could still feel some pain. Leeto turned her head to her right and saw Colonel Pax, who was still out cold and hooked up to an IV. There was no telling how long they'd been there, or what time of day it was. She recapped all the events that had transpired. Had all those things really happened, or were some of them a dream?

  Suddenly she remembered Peters dialing Space Force on his com. She sat up and paused for a moment while her head spun. Her soiled undergarments had been replaced by spandex boy shorts and medical tape around her chest. She pulled out her IV needle, rose, and began stumbling through the large tent. It was full of wounded villagers. Most were asleep.

  "Captain," a familiar voice called.

  She stopped and looked to her right, "Adina, is that you?"

  Adina had bandages around her head, and was also hooked up to an IV. Leeto walked painfully to the side of her cot, and gently rested her right hand on the young woman's face. "It's so good to see you, Captain," Adina said.

  "Adina, I'm so proud of you. You did well, really well."

  "We're gonna be okay now, right?"

  Leeto paused for a moment. "Yes. Of course, Adina," she said as she stroked the young woman's cheek. "Now get some rest while I check out the village."

  "Yes ma'am."

  Leeto patted Adina's shoulder and continued towards the exit. On her way out, she also saw Asteria in a deep slumber. Finally, she reached the front entrance and hobbled out of the tent. It was just past dawn, and a crew of about fifty women were packing supplies. Just then it began to rain, and the working women all collectively sighed aloud.

  She saw that the Orange Marshals were all tied back-to-back, sitting in the center of camp.

  "Captain Leeto," one woman called, "what are you doing? You need to be resting right now."

  "Who's in charge here?" Leeto asked.

  "Sonya." The woman pointed.

  Leeto, still wincing in pain, approached a gathering of four women. Sonya Drakos was strong and athletic. Her signature Mohawk complimented her menacing scowl. Back on Olympus 1, she and Leeto would often get rather heated playing Ullamaliztli. Today, Sonya looked scarier than usual because she had a black eye, a bandaged nose, and some stitched cuts on her face. It was clear that these were the imposter marshals who had fought Robben.

  "We'll never survive with the mothers and children," said Sonya, "we need to split up."

  "That's wrong!" one woman said. Leeto recognized her too. Maya was the wife of Ricardo Portillo, who had been gunned down in the scuffle when Odin first landed. Her teenage son had been taken away during the second visit. She had medical tape wrapped around her ribs. "We can't just leave them behind!" shouted Maya.

  "How can you say such things, Sonya?" snapped a redheaded woman.

  This woman also looked familiar; Ginger Johnson was Flight Director Johnson's daughter, who had followed in her father's footsteps. Her belly was wrapped with tape. "You'll be a mother soon enough. Should we leave you behind, too?" asked Ginger.

  Leeto had no idea Sonya was also in her first trimester.

  "Don't you antagonize me," barked Sonya, "this is survival!"

  The fourth woman leaned on a crutch, and had a splint on her left ankle. Jacky was the partner of Doctor Carrie Nam, who had also been taken by Odin.

  "Sonya's right," said Jacky, "we should consider splitting the village up. It will make it harder for them to corral everyone."

  "Captain Leeto," Sonya said, "you look like shit."

  "Thanks, Sonya, so do you." The Mohawked woman smirked.

  "Captain, we're breaking down camp for evacuation," said Ginger.

  "We plan on heading north to Jacksonville," Jacky added.

  "She wants to leave the mothers and children behind!" Maya accusingly pointed at Sonya.

  "We have no choice!" protested Sonya. "They'll slow us down!"

  "Okay, okay," Leeto calmly gestured, "we aren't leaving anyone behind. Let's figure this out. How can we all get out of danger together?"

  "Captain, there's not enough fuel in the Ospreys for space travel, or even to go elsewhere on the continent," said Ginger, "and we have no seafaring vessels either. Nor do we have the material to make any."

  "What about the housing for the outhouses, supply house, and tents?" Maya asked. "Can we somehow turn that into a raft?"

  "Maya, you're wasting your breath," said Sonya. "There are over three hundred of us!"

  "Maybe you should come up with some ideas, then." Maya pointed at Sonya accusingly. "You haven't even tried! You're too eager to leave behind innocent people!"

  Sonya snatched Maya's pointing hand out of the air and twisted it behind her back, forcing her to her knees. Maya shrieked. "Point at me one more time," Sonya growled, "and I'll rip that finger off and shove it up your—"

  "Sonya! Release her!" Leeto ordered, "Now!"

  The other women grabbed Sonya and tried to pull her away, but she grabbed Maya by the hair with her other hand. The rain was coming down hard now, and the ground began to turn to mud. Jacky's crutch fell with a splat, and she began hopping on one foot.

  "Sonya, let her go!" Jacky said through her teeth as she tried to unlatch Sonya's grip.

  "Owww! My arm! Please!" Maya cried.

  "Let her go, Sonya," Ginger said calmly, as she began to choke Sonya from behind.

  Leeto grabbed Sonya's hand with the handful of hair and tried to unclench it.

  "Sonya!" shouted Leeto.

  The cluster of women suddenly split apart. Sonya fell backward onto Ginger. The two of them splatted hard into the mud. Maya fell forward, crying hysterically while nursing her right arm. Leeto and Jackie both fell to the sides of the scuffle. Jacky screamed as she rolled in the mud, clutching her shin.

  Leeto crashed hard with them, and immediately felt dazed. She rolled onto her side and looked at the landing grounds on the horizon. Everything looked blurry. The sounds of the other women shouting were now drowned out by her delirium. She tried to focus on the idle Osprey parked on the edge of the landing grounds.

  "Captain Leeto," said Ginger, "are you okay?"

  Leeto continued to gaze at the Osprey, and attempted to push herself up on all fours. An epiphany suddenly struck as her arms began to tremble. Finally, she collapsed into the mud. The other women finally stopped arguing and gathered around her.

  "Someone get her some water!" yelled Ginger.

  Chapter 21

  The Plan

  Leeto woke up staring at the ceiling again, with an IV drip in her arm. Ginger was sitting next to her in a chair. She could hear heavy rain on the tent's roof.

  "Take it easy, Captain," Ginger said, "you've been through hell."

  "How long have I been out this time?"

  "Only a few hours. We're almost ready to get the hell out of Dodge," said Ginger. "We decided to let a small group split off and go ahead of the group once we pass the Indian River."

  "Sonya," mumbled Leeto. "It doesn't matter anyway. No one will escape Odin on foot."

  "You're probably right, but what else can we do? We have to try."

  "Before I was knocked out, I remembered something," Leeto said. "In the event of a crash-landing into water, the Ospreys can float and act as vessels. They can travel a few hundred miles, depending on fuel and oceanic conditions."

  Ginger stared at Leeto in disbelief.

  "Do you know what this means, Ginger?"

  "Captain, we can escape. We can all escape for good!"

  "Yes, we can start fresh. In the islands. They'll never find us."

  "The Bahamas, or maybe Cuba or Puerto Rico!"

  The two women hugged each other. "Ouch!" groaned Leeto. "Still sore, still a little sore."

  "Sorry, Captain."

  Chapter 22

  All Aboard

  The rain continued to pour as the women finished loading up the two Ospreys.

  "Ginger will pilot Osprey 1, Sonya will pilot Osprey 2!" yelled Leeto over the thunder, pounding rain, and howling wind.

  "Captain, are you sure we shouldn't wait out the storm?" Jacky asked.

  "No time," Leeto replied, "they could be here any minute! Ginger, take half the village! Sonya, take the other half! Where are Adina, Asteria, and Pax?"

  "Adina and Pax are onboard Osprey 1 already! Asteria is on Osprey 2!" Maya replied.

  "All the wounded are boarded, Captain!" Sonya yelled as the wind began to howl.

  "And the prisoners?" asked Leeto.

  "We have one man on each shuttle, like you requested, Captain!" said Maya, "I still don't understand why we aren't just leaving them all behind!"

  "They should all be slaughtered!" cried Jacky.

  "Drop it ladies, Captain's orders!" barked Sonya. "We also got the full stock of pink pills as you requested, Captain!"

  "Good work getting everything ready, ladies!" said Leeto. "I'll be on Osprey 1 with Ginger, and we'll make the first attempt! Sonya and Jacky, follow our lead and stay with us on the radio! If you get stuck in the mud, just give her some juice! We don't have time to dig anybody out!"

  "Aye-aye, Captain!"

  "Let's blow this joint!" Leeto said, as she put her hands on Sonya and Jacky's shoulders. "Good luck, sisters!"

  Chapter 23

  The Escape

  "Osprey 1, this is Osprey 2 do you copy?" said Ginger as she powered up the shuttle.

 

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