jetski Three Star Member
Number of posts : 90 Registration date : 2009-12-29 Age : 64
| Subject: AntiChrist's Dark Hour; Revelation of the Children of Light Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:12 pm | |
| Avalilable on http://www.amazon.com Chapter One
Losses Radio silence had to be kept. It didn’t matter what was transpiring across the Atlantic Ocean and other parts of the hemisphere where the Breakaways militia was concerned. The Missy May had to reach Turkey. She was still sea worthy thanks to the fact that the Commander of Anti-Christ’s forces hadn’t had time to do any real damage to her small frame, due to the storm breaking her free from the small dock where she had been anchored.The angel had been specific. He had ordered the five swordsmen plus one to sail her to Turkey. No further instructions had been given. The point was that their mission on Shasta Mountain had been successful. They had slain two hundred giants, which would otherwise have killed who knows how many believers in Christ.Being translated miraculously and instantaneously was something unexpected. Jael pondered her life from being a small town waitress in Arizona, to being known as Angel-One in the army known only as the Breakaways. The transformation was mind boggling. The losses had been almost insurmountable.Lord, you used my parents Rachel and Jacob to help Captain Steven Johnston survive the terrible island known as Terra Verde. You had him bring back crucial Intel, which the Breakaways could use to battle anti-Christ. You allowed him and my parents to be killed by anti-Christ’s forces. You brought me into the knowledge of all these things and called me into this battle against anti-Christ.0nce we found my sword there was no turning back for me. I knew at that point that I truly was called to battle anti-Christ’s forces. Thank you for the abilities you endowed my sword with. They have come in handy. They have saved our lives on more than one occasion.Terra Verde was an awful place. Watching Mike, Joey, Ben, and Colonel Saunders; my fellow swordsmen being killed, almost destroyed me. Had it not been for the angel’s visitation, I surely would have given up the fight. Thank you Lord for giving me courage to continue this fight.Ben was the most decent man I had ever known. I loved him Lord. I was hoping we could have been married. But you had other plans, and I know that you know best. Just the same, it sure would have been nice to settle down and raise a family. Ben would have made a great father.“Jael?”“Oh, sorry Captain John. I was lost in thought.”“Thinking about the other swordsmen you lost on Terra Verde?”“Yeah, that and wondering what we are being sent into the dragon’s lair for.”“As Colonel Saunders was always pointing out…”“Yeah, I know. I’m on a need to know basis.”They both laughed.“Was it a private joke, or can anybody be let in on it?”“Oh, hi Johnny boy. We were just reminiscing about Colonel Saunders and the other swordsmen who lost their lives on Terra Verde.”“So what’s the joke?”“It’s just that we haven’t yet been told why we’re going to Turkey, and Colonel Saunders was always saying that I was on a need to know basis,” said Jael to First Mate John Presley, whom they now called Johnny boy to avoid confusion between him and Captain John.“I get it. I never really met Colonel Saunders. I only knew him through Intel given from time to time.”“You would have liked him,” said Jael.“Yes, you would have liked him,” echoed Captain John.“Whom would we have liked,” came Kooky’s voice from behind the three?“We’re talking about Colonel Saunders. He was one of the swordsmen who died on Terra Verde fighting giants. He was also the leader of the Breakaways movement,” said Captain John.“Yes, I remember the ceremony we had replacing him at headquarters.”“Headquarters, did I hear headquarters being mentioned,” boomed Daniel’s voice from behind the four?“Oh boy, here we go again,” said Jael.“We were NOT talking about headquarters,” said Kooky sternly.“I distinctly heard headquarters being mentioned,” retaliated Daniel.“Yes, but we were NOT specifically talking about headquarters,” answered Kooky.“Well then, what were you specifically talking about hmmm?”Jael let out a laugh. Captain John and Johnny boy joined in.“It appears that things are getting back to normal,” said Captain John.“It would appear,” said Johnny boy.“Why, were things getting out of hand,” came Ezekiel’s voice from behind the other five who were looking out over the ocean?“Oh no, not again,” said Jael.Laughter once again erupted.“Things are fine,” said Captain John.“But they WERE getting out of hand, weren’t they,” mocked Ezekiel.Laughter once again erupted as they tried to hold it together.“Look, there is nothing wrong. We were just talking about Colonel Saunders,” said Kooky harshly.“Oh, I love his chicken,” said Ezekiel.That threw the five swordsmen over the edge as they roared in laughter for the next two minutes non-stop.“I don’t understand what’s so funny about liking chicken,” said Ezekiel.It took another few minutes before they were able to stop laughing and explain just who Colonel Saunders was and how he had given his life for Christ’s kingdom.“Oh, now I feel foolish,” said Ezekiel.“It was an honest mistake,” comforted Jael.“Yes, anybody could make it,” reassured Captain John.With that they erupted in laughter one last time.Ezekiel stood there not knowing quite what to say or do.“Since you mentioned chicken, let’s see what I can rustle up for us to eat,” said Captain John.“Now you’re talking,” said Daniel.“Excellent idea,” added Jael.“I was afraid to ask about food,” said Ezekiel.“Well don’t be afraid to ask, you’re one of the family now,” said Johnny boy.“That’s right, even if you did confuse a swordsmen with a plate of chicken,” said Kooky.“Leave him alone,” said Daniel.“Thanks,” said Ezekiel.“No problem, Kooky gets some getting used to is all.”“Oh, so I take some getting used to do I?”“Hey, if you guys want to eat on my ship any time soon, knock it off,” said Captain John sternly.“Blame it on him,” said Daniel.“I was only joking,” retaliated Kooky.“It’s okay; I’m the one to blame for confusing the Colonel with a plate of chicken.”With that they all busted up laughing again as Captain John went to find out how on earth he was going to make a meal big enough to feed five grown men and one petite female.“What’ll we do till dinnertime,” queried Daniel?“We could teach Ezekiel how to handle a sword,” said Daniel.“Now THAT is an excellent idea,” said Johnny boy.“You see Kooky, I do have my moments.”“Yeah, okay Daniel, so you have a good idea once in a blue moon.”“I’d like to learn how to use a sword.”“Then learn you shall,” said Jael.They spent the next hour and a half teaching Ezekiel what they knew about handling a sword. Each one had a different style and a different approach. Ezekiel was getting a little confused as he tried to listen to them all mutter about how best to handle a sword.“So which one of you learned how to use a sword first?”It was then, and only then, that the four stopped and thought about the fact that none of them had actually been trained to use a sword. Ezekiel had put them to shame without even knowing it. Each swordsmen looked at the other and knew exactly what each was thinking. They lowered their heads in shame for their pride.“Well, actually Ezekiel, none of us knew how to handle a sword until we held our individual swords in our hand. Then, something miraculous happened and our swords became like an extension of our own body,” ‘fessed up Jael.Ezekiel had a look of disgust on his face.“Then how did you expect to train me how to use a sword, if none of you had ever been trained?”It took a while for anyone to speak, but finally the silence was broken.“Dinnertime!”“Let’s eat,” said Ezekiel with a smirk on his face to let the others know he was only kidding and wasn’t really disgusted with them.“I’ll second that,” said Daniel.“I’ll third that,” said Kooky.“Looks like things really are getting back to normal,” said Johnny boy.“I’ll second THAT,” said Jael with a smile.Johnny boy held out his arm, and Jael took it. They strolled across the small deck of the Missy May and joined the others in their first official dinner aboard the Missy May. The meal consisted of homemade stew from canned potatoes, tomatoes, beef chunks, celery, and onions.It was topped off with French bread that had been frozen and thawed out just for the occasion. It was a meal fit for a Captain and his misfit configuration of warriors doing God’s work the only way they knew how; one day at a time.“So tell me, how do you like my first attempt at a gourmet meal?”“This rivals anything I had on Shasta Mountain Captain John.”“I’ll take that as a compliment Ezekiel.”“This is delicious Captain John,” said Daniel.“The best,” added Kooky.“Finally, something they could agree on,” quipped Johnny boy.“Maybe it is the start of a new trend,” said Jael.“Do they really argue that much,” asked Ezekiel.“You don’t know the half of it,” said Captain John.“We don’t argue, we disagree,” said Kooky.“Yeah,” said Daniel defending Kooky.“It all started with a new suit that Daniel wanted while we were at headquarters,” said Johnny boy.“Now to be fair, Kooky was only trying to save the Breakaways some money,” said Captain John.“That’s right,” said Kooky.“My brand new suit. It was the first one I ever owned,” said Daniel.“What happened to the suit,” asked Ezekiel?“I spilled spaghetti all over it,” said Daniel sheepishly.“I told them not to get it for him,” said Kooky defiantly.“Yes, but you didn’t explain that you had seen a vision of him spilling his food all over it. You merely told us that he would spill without explaining it in detail,” said Johnny boy.“That’s right,” said Jael.“Well, I didn’t want to let on how I knew because I was new to visions,” said Kooky.“You have visions,” asked Ezekiel quizzically?“I have them occasionally.”“Are they fun?”“Fun?”“Yeah, is it fun knowing what’s going to happen?”The others let out a laugh.“Visions are not for fun Ezekiel, they are for helping you in your walk with the Lord,” explained Captain John.“Sorry, it is just that you all seem to have these gifts from God and I seem to be the only one without a gift from Him.”“Don’t worry Ezekiel, you’ll find your gift when you least expect it,” said Jael.“I hope so.”“Relax, it will show itself when you need it most,” echoed Johnny boy.Chapter Two
War on the Atlantic “Battle stations everyone,” bellowed Captain Randolph over the ship’s intercom system!“Enemy sighted Captain, fifteen degrees off the starboard side,” said the assistant helmsman.“Enemy approaching, fifteen degrees off starboard side,” repeated Captain Randolph into the intercom.“Raise guns,” came the order from the deck.“Guns raised,” came back the reply.“Fire!”The shots from the four sixteen inch rounds made their deafening roar and the projectiles sailed through the air towards their targets. There were at least five ships, one of which was a battleship about the same size as Captain Randolph’s ship. One of the four shells hit one of the smaller vessels causing a fire to erupt aboard her.“Nice shot men,” came Captain Randolph’s voice over the intercom.There was return fire from the enemy’s battleship which just missed Captain Randolph’s ship. The smaller vessels were not yet in range, so they were no real threat at this stage of the battle. However, as a safety precaution, Captain Randolph decided it was time to bring out the drones to cripple if possible the enemy’s forces.“Radio Controller, send up the drones and make sure they’re armed.”“Right Captain,” came back the reply.The drones left the deck of the battleship and soared into the sky at phenomenal speed. They climbed up into the atmosphere fully loaded with small missile projectiles capable of penetrating the hulls of the smaller ships. The missiles had heat seeking capability and since the drones were much smaller than conventional planes, they would be harder to strike down.Another round of sixteen inch shells were released from Captain Randolph’s battleship. One stuck the enemy battleship on her bow. The other shells fell into the water missing their mark. The deafening roar of the shots made it difficult to hear orders that were being shouted from the deck, even with the radio pieces stuck inside the men’s ears. But the battle instructions were getting through as the orders rang out.Those who were on machine guns readied themselves for when the vessels got within firing range of their smaller projectiles. They watched as another round of sixteen inch shells came at them from the enemy ship. One of the shells passed harmlessly over the heads of the men on machine guns. One of their voices rang out.“Thank you Jesus!”The drones had reached their targeted altitude. The radio controller was manually controlling them through live feed video. He maneuvered them with fancy twists and turns to make it more difficult for them to be destroyed before they had dropped their payloads upon the smaller vessels. The first drone fired its first payload.The missile fell on the midsection of its mark. The radio controller repositioned the drone and fired its second missile. It was a direct hit on the stern of the same ship. The vessel lay floating helplessly as the cameras from the drones showed the men scurrying to put out the fires. The second drone fired its first missile upon another of the smaller ships. The guns from the ship intercepted the missile and it exploded midair. Reassigning the drone location, the radio controller fired the second missile towards the same ship. It struck the ship on the side causing a massive hole. The ship was now taking on water, and the men were abandoning ship.Captain Randolph was no fool. He had told his two back up ships to hide themselves very close to the hull of his ship on the opposite side so as not to be seen immediately by the enemy. This maneuver turned out to be a brilliant move on Captain Randolph’s part. He now ordered them to pull out from behind the battleship and go in opposite directions towards the smaller ships that were still at full capacity with the enemy’s battleship.They pulled out full steam ahead going north and south before turning back upon the battle. This forced the battle to be thrown into three different directions and lessened the chance that the main battleship would be damaged as much during the fighting. The smaller vessels were evenly matched as were the battleships now.Wishing to help preserve his smaller vessels, the captain of the enemy battleship ordered his guns trained upon Captain Randolph’s smaller vessels. This was what Captain Randolph had hoped would happen. He knew those ninnies would be concerned about not having to explain the total loss of their smaller ships to anti-Christ. He took advantage of this huge mistake and ordered his battleship to turn full face towards the enemy battleship, but stay towards the bow of it on the sea.“Reposition the drone to take out the large gun towards the bow of the enemy’s battleship.”“Rodger that,” came back the reply from the radio controller of the drones.“Fire when ready.”“Firing now, Captain.”The small missile hit its mark. It destroyed the firing capability of the most frontal gun of the enemy battleship. Captain Randolph took this opportunity to fire his big guns once again. They struck full force upon the bridge of the battleship. The whole ship blew up and began to sink. A few men jumped into the water before the explosion and were swimming around.Being completely concentrated on the enemy battleship, Captain Randolph didn’t see that both of the smaller ships had turned towards his ship. They fired their smaller rounds along with their machine guns causing fires to erupt aboard the battleship, and men to be killed.In so doing, they had sacrificed any possibility of fighting off Captain Randolph’s fast approaching smaller ships. They were overtaken and destroyed by the Breakaway ships. Their armory had done substantial damage however which would take weeks to repair, not to mention the loss of lives.“Pick up the survivors, we may be able to interrogate them later,” came Captain Randolph’s orders over the intercom system which had somehow survived the onslaught.A few of the bullets had even penetrated the helm and narrowly missed hitting Captain Randolph. He was counting his blessings, while at the same time mourning his losses of men. He had to keep concentrating on his command of his ship.“When you’ve picked up all the survivors, take them below and put them in the holding tank. Do not abuse them; we need them to be able to talk!”Captain Randolph put down the microphone. He was a bit shaken, but glad they had not been sunk by the enemy battleship.Thank you Lord Jesus that was a close one.“Call in the drones.”“As per your order sir,” came back the reply from the radio controller.The fires had been doused. They were beginning to pick up the survivors from the enemy ships. It would take another few hours to complete the task. Captain Randolph left his helmsmen in charge of the ship and went below to await those who would be brought in for questioning. He would need information as to how massive this attack was.I wonder lord; did headquarters get attacked?It was another half hour before the first set of survivors was brought below. Captain Randolph had gone to his quarters awaiting a knock on his door. He was in prayer when the knock came.“Yes!”“First survivors ready to be interviewed, Captain.”“I’ll be right there.”“Roger that.”Lord, please give me wisdom on how best to interrogate these men. I need to know the closest battles to be able to go to their aid.Captain Randolph made his way across the deck of his damaged ship. He knew it would take some time to fix, but most of what they needed was aboard the ship and what they didn’t have they could get from the next port they docked. He went below to the holding tank.“Prisoners are inside sir.”“Thank you lieutenant.”Entering into the holding tank, Captain Randolph looked over his prisoners. They were not very old. Most were just over twenty. He grieved that they had been seduced by the empty promises of anti-Christ. He approached his first potential information stoolie.“What’s your name young man?”The innocent looking youngster spat on the Captain’s shoes. One of the Captain’s men struck him on the cheek.“No call for that soldier, you know they are in the gall of bitterness.”“Right, sorry Captain.”“The only bitterness is the bitterness you will feel when anti-Christ gets a hold of you, my fine feathered Captain,” said the young man being interrogated.“It would seem that we have a loyal subject on our hands.”“That’s right, so you can beat me all you want. I’m not giving you any information.”“We don’t have any intention of beating you. We would however appreciate a little cooperation.”“Well you won’t get it from me.”“That’s fine. Maybe one of your fellow prisoners will appreciate a full course meal with a nice bed to sleep in.”“They aren’t going to tell you anything.”“Allow them to speak for themselves.”“He’s right,” came the voice of the next young man in line.“So you also refuse to say anything about where the other attacks are going on?”“In the first place, it would be our heads.”“Right now, it would seem your head, is mine to do with as I please.”“Just the same, we know your code of conduct will not permit you to kill us the same way we would die under anti-Christ.”“Give the man a star; he has done his homework where Christianity is concerned.”The third man in the lineup interrupted.“Just out of curiosity, what was the full offer of anyone who could give you information about other battles going on?”“Shut up you nincompoop,” said the second man in the lineup.“What? It was only a question.”“Keep your questions to yourself.”“Well, since you asked, I was offering a three course meal with meat, mashed potatoes, and fruit. Of course there would be a very nice dessert as well.”“I heard you say something about a warm bed to sleep in.”“SHUT UP,” came the voice of the first man in the lineup!“Yes, a warm bed and some clean clothes. In fact, there would be a whole wardrobe of clean clothes and a week’s worth of three course meals. That, and full access to the deck of the ship with armed guards of course.”“That sounds pretty good to me.”“One more word and I’ll kill you myself,” said the second man in the interrogation lineup.“YOU are in no position to threaten killing anyone,” said Captain Randolph!“Yeah,” said the third man in the lineup.“Lieutenant, take this man and get him some clean clothes. Take another guard with you.”“At your word Captain.”“You’ll be sorry,” said the first soldier who had refused the Captain’s offer.“I think you are the one who is going to be sorry, when I show you what I have planned for you and those who refuse to cooperate.”“Do your worst.”“Anyone else want a week’s worth of free meals and a nice warm bed to sleep in while we escort you to our prison facilities?”Nothing but silence was heard.“Fine. Take these men in their wet clothes and put them to work in place of those who are shoveling the garbage into the bins on conveyer belts to fuel this ship. I don’t think they will have quite the same attitude after a few hours of real manual labor.”The guards escorted the remainder of the twenty men they had rescued from the sea into the fueling room. They were handed a shovel and placed under armed guards who explained to them just what to do. They refused to work at first, so the guards fired a couple of shots into the huge piles of garbage before the men. This prompted them to start shoveling.Their clothes soon dried out due to the extreme heat of the place. The regular workers were extremely happy that they had gotten out of this heavy-duty work and had been replaced by slave labor. After all, these men had been given a choice. They had just chosen badly.The hours passed as the prisoners filled up the bins moving along to fuel the huge battleship. It normally would only take a full load of garbage to keep the ship running for two days, but there were storage containers which could hold much more fuel if they continued to fill the open mouth of the monstrous center bin where the other bins were dumped.After about five hours, some of the prisoners began to faint. They were of course taken back to the holding tank and questioned as to whether they would like to change their attitude. Meanwhile, Captain Randolph had gotten a little information which paid off.“Are you sure of all this information?”“Yes, Captain. I am positive that it is accurate,” said the prisoner who had wisely decided to cooperate.“Take him up to the mess hall and fill his plate with whatever he wants from our menu. Make sure he is given his own room with plenty of stocked beverages.”“Oh man, I haven’t had a beer in over a week.”“Sorry, no beer. Just water and cold juices.”“Yeah, I was afraid of that. I forgot for a moment where I was.”“You’ll get used to it.”“I guess I’ll have to.”The guards escorted him to the mess hall. Captain Randolph, went topside to give the men the bad news. He went straight to the helm and got on the loudspeaker.“Men, we have an emergency. It would seem that most of anti-Christ’s navy has been sent to headquarters to bombard it with firepower in an effort to destroy our movement. They have our frequency due to the capture of the Missy May. I’ve radioed headquarters on our emergency frequency, which is different from our regular frequency. They are preparing for the onslaught now.”The men on deck removed their hats and bowed their heads. Captain Randolph led them in prayer.“Lord, this is indeed a sad day. The enemy has infiltrated our radio waves and has gotten pertinent information, which he intends to use to destroy YOUR work. Please be our shield and our protection as we battle on your behalf.”“AMEN,” came the answer from the men on deck!One of the men without thinking let out a shout.“ALL FOR ONE,”“AND ONE FOR ALL,” came back the answer aboard the whole ship!“FULL STEAM AHEAD TO HEADQUARTERS,” shouted Captain Randolph into the microphone!“Roger that, Captain.”The ship turned towards headquarters and was on its way to aid those who were now in danger.“All available ships in range of this ship, this is Archangel. Headquarters in danger. Repeat, headquarters in danger. Heading there now, suggest you do the same if not engaged in enemy battle.”The extra fuel being shoveled into the bins would keep the ship at maximum speed with no problem. The slave labor could not have come at a more opportune time. The guards smiled as they watched their enemies being forced to help them get back to headquarters where they could assist their fellow Christians who were now in trouble.“Work faster,” said the lead guard as he fired another shot into one of the piles of garbage used to fuel the massive battleship!The slaves picked up their pace even as they felt the pain of their forced labor.Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea to have given them some information, thought the third man Captain Randolph had questioned.Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to spit on the Captain’s shoes, thought the first man Captain Randolph had questioned.“Keep moving,” shouted the main guard with a smile on his face.Chapter Three
Smooth Sailing; Enemy Forces |
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