H.I.V.E let their payload loose, and Tessa positioned herself as directed by Scout. She repeated what she did the last time. It seemed like H.I.V.E didn’t learn their lesson from before. Tessa halted all nine missiles midair and turned each back on the mountain. She sent three back toward each remaining missile bay so that no more projectiles could be loaded and fired against her. The other six she spread out over the surface of the mountain. She wanted the occupants to realize something terrible was happening on the surface. She sent one hurling toward the main door to crumble rock and block the exit.
Tessa recognized she didn’t have much time before they scrambled aircraft at the nearby Denver Airport. She landed on the top of Cheyenne Mountain and focused on executing her plan. When she charged the energy core, Tessa harnessed the raw power within the earth, which resulted in power produced earth tremors. Tessa wanted to replicate that power but take it all one step further. Last time Tessa vibrated in sync with the earth, she sensed all that raw untapped power. She believed she could manipulate the earth’s aether and harness the energy to create an earthquake. She was counting on the disaster to cause significant structural damage inside Cheyenne Mountain. With any luck, it would render the facility useless.
Tessa acknowledged there would be casualties, but she already accepted the inevitable collateral damage. The attack on her base targeted vulnerable refugees, and H.I.V.E counted on mass casualties in their attack. That was their intended point; to scare people. She could use the same tactic against them.
Tessa felt the raw energy of the earth beneath her feet. She crouched down to touch the ground with her hands, sensing the strength of the aether within. Like she did before, Tessa focused on the resonance of the earth and matched that frequency. Once she locked on to the power, she pushed and pulled it to her will. The earth trembled faint at first, but Tessa focused further, and the intensity increased. Tessa generated a massive earthquake, and sirens from inside the mountain base blared.
She shook the mountain long enough to cause maximum damage. Tessa did not witness anyone escaping from the base. H.I.V.E would need to deploy a massive rescue effort to recover any surviving staff; if there were any survivors. Tessa rocked the base hard enough to destroy the base and all souls inside. Part of her mourned the casualties, but then she reminded herself that H.I.V.E planned on sacrificing their personnel in the long run. They would leave the staff at Cheyenne Mountain behind when the arc transported their leadership to safety. The people in the mountain were already dead. Their fates already sealed.
Off in the distance, Tessa noticed three fighter jets headed toward her perch on the mountain top. The alarms triggered an aerial assault. The aircraft flew in a V formation giving Tessa the approach she needed. She took to the sky again, heading straight for the middle jet, and used the remaining extra core energy surge to create a protective cocoon around her body and played chicken with the lead jet. But Tessa wasn’t playing chicken. She intended to crash headfirst into the jet.
Upon impact, Tessa tore through the jet from front to back. The jet exploded into a ball of fire and smoke as the aircraft ripped to shreds. The other two aircraft circled back around to team up on Tessa. This time she reached out with her power and seized the energy in one plane. It glowed with the pinkish-purple hue, and she jerked the plane off its course. The jet de-stabilized, and the pilot ejected from the craft. Tessa hurled the uncontrolled aircraft toward the other, still targeting her. The two aircraft collided midair, bursting to flaming pieces and falling from the sky.
Tessa allowed the ejected pilot to survive. She wanted a witness to return to H.I.V.E and tell them what happened at Cheyenne Mountain. Tessa sent a profound message to those that opposed her. She wanted them to realize there were consequences for their actions. They were no longer an unopposed force on earth. They had a formidable rival. One who would take swift action. One who would hold them accountable for their crimes against humanity. One who would make them pay with blood.
19
By the time Tessa returned to base, most of the surviving refugees were packing up to leave. She knew there would be some who would go, but not in such large numbers. On approach from the air, Tessa could see the extent of the damage, and the outlook for their base was grim. The explosions destroyed most of the living quarters and supply storage. H.I.V.E did their homework and made sure their strike crippled her budding rebellion. They planned a clever inside job and Tessa would find the mole responsible.
Tessa landed outside the main terminal and climbed through the smoking rubble to find her team. The smoke tickled the inside of her nose and burned her eyes. Once inside, she found a group gathered on the second floor in the control room. It was easy to find them all with the walls and windows blown out. The control room was now open to the terminal.
Tessa stepped on broken glass, littering the terminal floor alerting the team to her presence, and they all turned around to look down at her. Arica, Norine, Sam, Finn, Stonewell, Melody, and the gang leaders all gazed on her from above with judgment in their eyes. They didn’t need to ask questions. They knew she did something awful. Stonewell and the gang leaders seemed to approve, but the others were clearly upset by her actions.
Tessa had to face them and make them see it was the only way. She made
