“I don’t get it,” Eddie declared. “Why are the rocks like that?”

  “Those are hoodoos,” Jane explained. “They’re a naturally occurring formation that can be found in this area.”

  “But why do they have that funny piece of rock balanced on top?” Issi asked.

  “Well… you see… The rock in this area is soft, and it gets eroded by the wind and the rain easily, which is why there are channels between the sections of rock,” Jane said, stuttering slightly.

  “That doesn’t explain the rock,” Eddie frowned. “Why is it up there?”

  “It’s because…” Jane muttered before turning towards Sir Froggington, who was hanging out with the escorts. “Help!”

  “It’s because that piece on top is a different type of rock, one that’s harder than the rest of the pillar. Despite being exposed to the same conditions as the rest of the Hoodoo, it erodes slower, resulting in the balanced rock look,” the frog explained.

  “Oh? What type of rock?” Issi asked.

  While the kids were occupied with Sir Froggington I slid closer to Jane. “It seems net knowledge will only get you so far,” I grinned.

  “I did some pretty in-depth research, you know, took notes and everything so I could answer the kids' questions,” Jane pouted.

  “And you did pretty well too, managing to answer almost everything they asked you until this point. Unfortunately, those two are at the age where they question everything, and you can’t learn absolutely everything about an area in just a couple hours. That’s why it’s always smart to bring an expert,” I said, gesturing to the frog. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but Issi was gesturing animatedly, while Eddie was making notes in one of his books. Apparently they were getting answers for their questions.

  “How are you enjoying the tour? You seemed to be hyped for it yesterday. Is it living up to all your expectations?” I asked.

  “It’s strange… This area has a haunting beauty to it. When we were in Yellowstone and there were plenty of trees and small animals around, it felt alive. Out here it’s the opposite, like we’re the only living things for miles and miles,” she replied, dreamily.

  “I wish that was the case,” I muttered under my breath.

  “You don’t have to whisper to yourself. I already know about your little alien problem. You told me, remember?” Jane said.

  “Oh, right,” I mumbled. “I guess I’m just so used to being a smart ass around the other samurai that I did it without thinking. Sorry.”

  “How is your little side project going anyways?”

  “I don’t know… I left it to Deadbeat and Bandit. You could call it a test of their abilities, but the truth is I didn’t want to spend a couple hours running around the Badlands when I could spend it with you and the kids. I told them they could use any of the Stratocarrier’s resources. If the two of them couldn’t crack a single hive using several hundred bears and armored vehicles, I’d be seriously concerned,” I said.

  “Is that why the carrier is moving?” Jane asked.

  “It’s what?” I asked in disbelief, slowly turning to look at the massive craft. It wasn’t where we’d left it. It was both moving away from us and gaining altitude. I immediately reached out through the command network.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  [Spooky… What's going on? Why are you moving the carrier,] I asked.

  [My apologies, Commander, I’ll have the ship back in position in a few minutes. I just had to move it far enough to provide fire support,] came the bear's reply.

  [Fire support…?] My brain stopped working for a moment--half of the ship’s defensive turrets were still inoperable, and they had the same caliber weapon as the Kodiaks, so there should have been no need to bring those to bear on something. That only left…

  My eyes went wide as I saw the Stratocarrier’s massive main gun swivel, targeting something off in the distance.

  “Everyone cover your ears!” I shouted a second before the massive UHR fired. There was a moment between the muzzle discharge flash and the resulting shockwave and sonic booms. We felt the fallout from the weapon firing, even several hundred meters away. It was more like a brisk wind and the crack of thunder than the devastating sonic boom you received when standing right next to the thing, but it was still something.

  I turned back towards everyone. Issi and Eddie had their ears covered and were staring at the carrier in awe, while Jane stood there staring in disbelief. “What, the fuck, was that?” she finally said after a couple seconds.

  “The ship’s primary weapon,” I explained hurriedly.

  “And that thing was just sitting underneath our feet the entire time we were onboard?” Jane asked.

  “I never planned on, or authorized anyone, to fire it while we're on vacation,” I replied defensively. “It’s not something you take lightly. Besides, it can’t be aimed up, and there are dozens of layers of soundproofing between the mounting and the residential area. You’d barely be able to hear it.”

  “Not the point, Evelyn. Why didn’t you warn us, warn me, that there was such a dangerous weapon on board?”

  “It’s a perfectly safe weapon! It doesn’t use any explosives or dangerous materials to fire, just good old-fashioned magnetism. It’s only dangerous to the Antithesis… usually.”

  “Usually?” Jane’s voice raised a few octaves. She was a lot more agitated than I expected.

  “Look, you know that I fight the Antithesis, and occasionally I need something exceptionally powerful to deal with them. I’ve seen them shrug off smaller caliber weapons, and the UHR is supposed to be a last resort weapon. The fact that Spooky and Deadbeat fired it here is…” I shrugged helplessly. “If you want me to disarm it for the rest of our vacation, I understand, but that discussion will have to wait until later. I really need to go find out why they fired it.”

  Jane took a moment, then shook her head. “Right. Yes, go. Whatever is happening over there must be important. We’ll talk later.”

  I nodded and turned towards the kids.

  “Do that again!” Eddie shouted. “It was cool.”

  “Yeah, cool!” Issi echoed.

  “Not cool, dangerous,” I declared seriously. “You two stay close to Jane and your guards, okay? I’ll be right back.”

  I waited just long enough to receive the barest hint of a nod before turning away and sprinting for the nearest Kodiak, my brain simultaneously putting together a group call with the squad and working through the backlog of messages on the network.

  [I’m pretty sure that I sent Bandit and Deadbeat to track down a handful of Antithesis, and burn their hive,] I growled as I jumped into the back of the IFV and smashed the close door button. After silently prompting the driver, the vehicle shot into the air, [At no point did that order include ‘fire the UHR.’ Someone better explain what’s going on, now!]

  [I was the one that requested the strike boss, and Spooky authorized it, based on the circumstances,] Deadbeat said.

  [For what? Please don’t tell me that we didn’t stumble upon a hive pumping out Antithesis models in the mid- to high thirties again.]

  [Not exactly…] the bear replied, hesitantly. [Not yet anyways.]

  [What, the fuck, does that mean?] I asked quietly.

  [We found something. It started with surface growth that mimicked the local scrub brush and ended at the entrance to a hive,] Bandit explained.

  [So? We’ve taken out dozens of hives before. What makes this one so special?]

  [Well, first of all, this one had a door,] Bandit replied.

  [I beg your pardon?] I asked in disbelief.

  [Big one too. It kind of resembled a beetle shell. Airtight and resistant to everything we could throw at it. We considered calling in an engineering team and trying to dig through the walls, but if I’m reading my seismic sensors right, the shell goes around the entire area,] Bandit said.

  [That’s when I made the decision to try and crack it open with the UHR. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through my time with you, it’s that we can’t afford to sit around when encountering exotic hives. The longer you leave them alone, the more likely they are to cook up something nasty and throw it your way,] Deadbeat explained. [I figured it was worth seeing if we could crack this thing open with a surface strike, and it worked. The first recon teams are penetrating now.]

  [And… what have they found?]

  [Ummm… a humid atmosphere and goo,] Bandit replied. [They literally just stepped inside.]

  [I’ll be there in a couple minutes,] I grumbled. [Make sure to have an assault team ready by the time I arrive.]

  [No problem, we’ll be ready!] Deadbeat replied.

  I cut communications and sent another command to the driver, getting them to redirect to the carrier. It was on the way, and I needed my weapons and armor anyways. With that done I reached up, rubbed my forehead, and sighed. “So much for a work-free vacation.”

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