Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Adventure

FIVE- Prologue

The marine biologists found out first. They tried to tell the government, but they wouldn't listen. Yet. They, in fact managed to stay entirely ignorant as the fish, seahorses, and dolphins moved away from the Pacific ocean. The government also didn't notice as the orcas left the Atlantic. They did, however, notice when the annual shark attacks went down. Although they tried to keep it quiet,   it was quickly leaked. Also, fishermen complained about the 'bad season' this year. The human race, as it turns out, found out 4 years too late, however. The starfish were missing.


FIVE- Chapter 1- John Benderson

It was a warm and sunny day when I found out. I saw it on TV. We all did. A biowarfare attack they called it. Enemies that can use their regenerative properties to heal from any wound. If they loose an arm, they grow it back, and another enemy  forms from the arm's remains. It was a call to arms, on all stations and languages. The human race, as one, was asked to come together to achieve a common goal.

Many politely declined, but not pa. I wasn't old enough to fight yet, but I would otherwise.

Everyone at our apartment reacted differently. Joey shrieked. Ma panicked. Ace hid. Pa ran into his room just to emerge in full battle armor, like he was ready for a zombie apocalypse or something.

They were told to meet in 24 hours, so the next day he left, right before lunch. We said our goodbyes, and that was when I was sure I had made my decision. I WOULD play a part in this war. Somehow.


FIVE- Chapter 2- John Benderson


As the day went on, I decided to contact Paul. He had a chance in this. He was the only person I knew who had the brains to build weapons and the guts to use them. He was also significantly older than I was, so it was actually legal.

He didn't let me down. Soon we were both geared up in as much experimental equipment as Pa. That's when I realized. 
"Uh, Paul?" 
"Yeah?"
"You know, there's only one way to get into the front lines."
"What's that?"
"Sneak into the military."

4 years earlier, starfish realized their incredible advantage over the rest of the world. Their regenerative abilities trump any other animal's. That's when they found out that if they wanted to, they could conquer the earth easily. They did want to, and they could run it way better than any of those pesky could too. So, they left. All at once, flying right out of the ocean. As the habitat started screwing up, the humans got some clue, but only a small one. Meanwhile, throughout all 4 years, they prepared, ready to attack. Then, 4 years later, they did.


FIVE- Chapter 3- Paul Hues

"We can't do that!" I said, but John was adamant. I want to fight as much as anyone, and will too, but I'm not helping him break into a place I work for! I'm not treasonous, even if it means turning down my best friend. Besides, the military was my home, and I couldn't betray them.

As he began to lay out a giant blueprint of the building, intended for battle plans, upon the table, I took a step back. 
"John, in all the years I've known you, what has been my one rule?"
"No popcorn in the living room?"
"John!"
"Sorry. Nothing illegal."
"Exactly. And I'm not about to change that now."
"Come on, it'll be good for both of us."
"No, it'll help you. It'll just get me in trouble."
He pondered this for a while, before countering, with:
"Fine. A compromise."
"Which is?”
"I'll go. You just act as a mission control, and bail me out if I need it."
"Deal."
I was almost sure I would regret it, but I was more sure I was tired and wanted him out of my face. With a triumphant shout, he ran outside as the door closed behind him, with a slam.


FIVE- Chapter 4- Carter Clemons

When John came around on Friday, I expected him to have asked me to sky dive, or go paragliding, or ride a go cart, or something like that. He was always trying to get me to go do crazy things, even though he knew very well I was too scared. I didn't mind most things, but thrill rides always bothered me. The action was never my thing, and when I heard of the war, I decided to STAY OUT. When he came up in full armor asking me to participate, though, I couldn't help but accept. Of all the things I haven't done, I decided it was time to make a change and live a little. It was sort of ironic in that way. I go to war, to live.


Five- Chapter 5- John Benderson

As evening came around, I knew there was only one more guy I can trust with this. Eddie would be more than willing to help, for a price. Paul is my best friend, he's just a bit too wise. With Carter, I'm his mentor, he's just a bit too scared. Eddie is different. You can trust him, and he'll be a valuable asset to a team, but you have to make it worth his while. Luckily, he owes me several favors at this point, and so hopefully they'd add up to something this big. They did, and he agreed to help, so long as he owes me nothing more. I said yes before radioing back to Paul to inform him that at 2:00 tomorrow we'd meet at his place to gear up and discuss battle plans. I also asked him to have armor and weaponry ready for 2 more people. When he agreed, I set off into the sunset to head home and eat a nice, tasty, pre-war dinner.


FIVE- Chapter 6- John Benderson

As we laid the map out on the table Saturday afternoon, I plotted a course from here to the base. The blueprints/ battle plans of the base itself were already established, now we were faced with the issue of transportation. Before we even got there we would need to stop at several locations along the way. Gas stations, coffee shops, dark alleyways, you name it.  We were already packed, but needed to decide whether to walk or to try to drive.
"We could catch a bus?" Suggested Carter.
"Too risky. Someone would find us." Said Eddie.
"Who here has a car we could use?" I asked.
"You aren't taking mine!" Paul retorted.
"Well, don't look at me!" Eddie snapped back.
"Then we walk." I stated, bringing them both back to reality.
This sort of bickering happened a lot between our group, and it was almost always my job to bring them back together. That's okay, though, as they were still a great team, when they work together.
"Well, I did find an old, broken down Model T in the junkyard, and even some keys! It won't be discreet, but it'll do." Eddie said.
"Better. We'll head out tomorrow. Meet at the park near the junkyard with all your stuff at 9:00 a.m." I said.


FIVE- Chapter 7- Carter Clemons

When we started our little road trip, Eddie driving, me and Jim in the back, I knew something was off. Our gear, our plan, our luggage, all fine, but when we got half a mile on the road, I knew something would happen. Then the floor fell out from under me. A gaping hole revealed itself in the bottom of our car. It was hard enough to start the thing, so I didn't ask us to pull over, but it did startle me.

The day did not get better. We stopped for the night at a creepy abandoned burger place. When we walked in to find a place to sleep, a guy wearing all black and a fedora with a feather in it jumped out from behind the corner. For some reason, his face reminded me of captain Picard. Immediately, we brought out our lasers, startled. Strangely, he pulled out a gun, which I learned is an ancient technology similar to the modern day lazer. It's the 23rd century, for goodness sakes, it's about time he upgraded.
"Sorry, we weren't expecting anyone to be here. We don't want any trouble." I said.
"I didn't expect anyone either. A bit late for you kids to be up, isn't it? Let's just all calm down and I'll let you use the restaurant for the night." He said, and lowered his weapon.

One by one, we lowered ours, first John, then me, then, after a while, Eddie. As fast as lightning, he bolted out the door, never to be seen again. Or so we thought.


FIVE- Chapter 8- John Benderson

The next day we made good progress. Better, in fact, than expected. We had three stops before we got in for the night, the first of which was nothing special, just a coffee shop. The second of which was a gas station, because this car goes through gas like you wouldn't believe. The third of which was a grocery store, shut down a year ago for its poor service. It still had enough shelter for a short break before hitting the road again. The creepy thing though, was that right after we walked in, the doors slammed shut behind us.

Turning around, we saw "Picard dude" as we decided to call him. "Naughty children... No need to hurry through with your plan... Heed my warning:

The goal you seek
Is behind the peak
See through the lie
Figure out 'who am I?'"

This time, I was sure what I saw. Black and white streaks of lightning ran up the wall, to a mossy, cracked window, broke it, and ran through.

When we reached the alleyway we would be camping out at for the night, we hid the car behind an old billboard. Rolling out our sleeping bags, I thought back to the strange figure in the shop. I could of sworn I saw someone watching us at the junkyard. But how could he possibly know where we were going? And arrive there first? And know our plans... We had been so careful...

And his powers! No human can run like that! Plus the riddle... Something strange is definitely going on here. The only thing that could make me satisfied as I drifted off to sleep was our excellent progress in driving.


FIVE- Chapter 9- Paul Hues

I worry about them. They're insane to go on this mission, and they didn't contact me until Tuesday evening, reporting that Eddie just narrowly talked his way through some thugs. He also told me that some creepy dude keeps showing up and gave them a riddle. It amazes me that they have survived this long. He hung up just after saying how well the suits were working. I worried the rest of the day.

One thing that worries me most though: he described a symbol he saw at both the restaurant and the grocery store. I've been able to construct a rough sketch of it, and it looks like this:

           Ō
        ____
        \ +  /
          \ /

It is incredibly strange. What could it mean? Where did that guy get his powers? What did the riddle mean? So many questions, so few answers.


FIVE- Chapter 10- John Benderson

We arrived at our base of operations late Wednesday afternoon. It was a homey place, a small hotel room with a window overlooking the city. A bit cramped for 3 people, as pointed out by my colleagues,  but they quickly accepted upon my explanation that it was the only place in the area below $8000 a day where we could be sure not to be listened in on and that you could trust not to have dirt in the food.

I called on a meeting in the main... Well, only room. We had to come up with plans for our infiltration of the base.
"What do you even plan to do once we're in?" Carter asked.
"Well, there isn't much we can do. We can't enlist because we're too young. We can, however, follow them to each battle location, and fight along side them. Also, if we figure out the location of some of the starfish's bases, we can lead a frontal assault!" I explained.
" Sounds risky. And dangerous. Cool." Eddie said.
"We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." I said.

Before we turned in for the night, Carter approached me.
"John, something's been bothering me. About that Picard dude. What does his riddle mean? Should we investigate?"
"Maybe," I said " I've been wondering about that too. I think we'll worry about that later." 
"Good night" he said.
"Good night." I replied.


FIVE- Chapter 11- Mixed

John-

Today we left for the military. As we snuck in, we chose to go straight towards the briefing room. It wasn't difficult to get past the gate. We scouted enough to find a weak point in their defences. Once in the room we heard the general talking to a small group of commanders.

"Men, we have found the location of the biggest attack yet. At paronamic beach, coming out of the sea, at least 48,000 of them are coming."

"We have had so many casualties already, we must try to prevent any more."

"This attack is so close to this base, we must send all the troops we can to prevent it."

"It starts today at 4:00. We are loosing this war. Have your squadrons ready to leave in one hour. Dismissed."

And then we ran.



Eddie-

We were there when the fighting broke out. Right there on the front lines. Well, me and John at least. Carter was sniping from a nearby mountain top. Chicken.



Carter-

The starting act of the starfish was to send out the first wave. And no, not a line of troops, but a literal wave. When the wave rose out of the sea, it splashed away all the rows in front of them. They were exposed. Giant tsunamis pelted the troops around them. A nemesis that was capable of telekinesis with water? Insane. Next came the first 1,000 starfish riding a giant wave. I had to zoom all the way in, but I got a few with my suit's built in arm lazer. Most of my hits did nothing though, I learned to kill them you'd need a direct hit towards the center or else they'd just regenerate. I discovered several neat features of the suit during the battle. One wrist had rockets attached, and I had at least 3 things strapped to my back. The first of which was a super sniper blaster, much better and more stable for my current set of work. The second was a bow. The third was a rucksack with a large open compartment just for arrows. Curious, I fired a few. Some were normal, some were special. One exploded on impact, another poisoned so the starfish couldn't regrow. One contained a neat device at the tip that sent lightning in twelve directions, and for each starfish it hit, it added another device just like it, creating a chain, then a web, then electrocuted them all. Another arrow contained a web that trapped, stunned, and electrocuted its contents. More useful still, inside the sack I found a grenade that electrocutes the area around it. I missed, but that didn't matter. I hit the wave. It's made of water. Suddenly, the force of a million lightning bolts struck each of the starfish. Issue: I had very few of those.

Next the second part arrived, with 8,000 starfish riding it. We were all too shocked to do anything. The wave hit the ground and all the fish leaped through the air, surrounding and tackling many of the troops. 

A new jet of water containing 20,000 starfish curved around the mountain on both sides, meeting back up on the other side, heading straight for the base. In panic, I ran in circles before falling into a concealed pit, leading into a dark cave…


FIVE- Chapter 12- Carter Clemons

A torch suddenly came aflame next to me. Grabbing it, I walked slowly down a narrow but long, damp hall, hearing a constant dripping sound from the ceiling. Strange, it sounded somehow... heavier, denser than water.  Reaching the end, I came across a small, dim lit cavern, roughly spherical in shape. Holding my torch up, I saw writing along the ceiling and walls, in a dark red, almost maroon color. It read things such as:

The threat is real!

The starfish exist!

The end is near!

The cake is a lie!

They will all kill us!

Die, Die DIE!

The end!

The fish come!!!

They speak the truth!

Truth

Truth!

Lie!

Lies, lies, lies!

It's all a lie!

Things like that. Out of no where, Picard dude appears from the shadows.

"You saw through it. Good job. The marine biologists have known for years, but no one listened. Except a few, that is. We called ourselves the survivors. We tracked their movements from the start. We fought them before they were strong. All the aquatic species died do to a massive relocation of their prey. To an area not far from here, actually. So we set up camp here. This was large base here until it all collapsed. There were never very much of us to begin with. As you can see," he said, indicating the room around him," most went insane. We all came to a large event, shutting down their main reactor core, sabotage from the inside. Those of us who made it to the room all gathered around. We closed the blast doors, keeping them out. We infected the core, almost ruining the stars forever. But something went wrong. As they pounded to get in, the core glowed yellow, then blue, then green, then red. We had to make a decision, fight those on the outside or risk staying here. Suddenly it exploded, releasing a toxic gas. Those of us who survived escaped through the air vents, just as the door broke down."

"Soon after we learned that was hardly the main base, it was one of many located around here, only third from highest tier. In the weeks that followed, the seven of us that remained were locked up in this cave. But the gas had effected us. One by one, we each either got powers, or went mad. Only two of us got powers. I was one. The other five went insane. The only other sane one here died in the cave collapse, caused by the other's crazy rants. I almost went crazy too, surrounded by them. Slowly, one by one, they died, and I was left alone. Only then did I find a way out of here. Soon I was living on the streets, roaming from one restaurant to another. Not a month later I found you. During the time in between I realized that along with accelerated speed comes accelerated age. So do an old man a favor, and don't let them win."

Then, as quickly as he had arrived, he vanished, leaving only a doorway of bright light behind him.

Slowly, but surely, I made my way, and stepped in.


FIVE- Chapter 13- John Benderson

Half the starfish's current invasion force rode the waves over the mountain towards the base. Quickly I grabbed an anti-tornado grenade and threw it. Usually it creates a strong, circular wind force, going in the opposite direction as a tornado. Ordinarily this would combine with a tornado and they would cancel each other out. Today, however, it created a strong, pushing force, much like the pulling force of a tornado. It landed in front of them and flung the wave back in our direction. Then I pulled out the magical purple button. Included with my suit was a set of buttons for emergency purpose only. The purple one is special. It creates a small, inter-dimentional gateway to a fictional universe. It broke often, took a lot of power, had a long cool down time, and could only be used a few times, but it could be quite useful. Pushing it, I discovered an old fashioned trap used to get anomalies, as showcased on a movie about those who bust this type of anomaly. All the starfish suddenly were sucked in to it. Through a hard fight we were eventually able to wipe out the remaining fish. As we came back together for a regroup before returning to the hotel I noticed something. Carter's missing!


FIVE- Chapter 14- John Benderson

We looked everywhere. I mean everywhere. We didn't find him. Wherever he was he must have been lost. I hope he wasn't captured! Anyways, afterwards  we went towards the military base, sure we would find him tomorrow. As we went through the vents of the mess hall, we heard some of the officers talking.

"...and woosh! A few thousand just disappeared."

".. The real question is where he is, how he is, and who he is. Same with his companions."

"What sort of tech were they using?"

All the talk was about us. We quietly crept along before reaching the captain's quarters. We stopped the second we heard this:

"Yes come in. Yes about them..."

We listened intently.

"Find them. They will need to be taken in."

Wide eyed, we ran, well crawled, out of there as fast as we could. Upon reaching the hotel, we discussed the events at hand.

"We should really go back there. This is our chance to actually join the military." I said.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's too risky. What if it's a trap?"

"We've only helped them. Why would they be enemies?"

"You can't be sure. Everyone is an enemy."

"I guess I'll have to go on my own then."

"No! Don't you get it? Carter's gone. This isn't a game anymore John. They're real people."

"I know that!"

"What if something happened to you too, huh? What if you were captured? What then huh? What'd happen to me?"

"I don't know..."

"I'll tell you what! I'd be back on the streets that's what. No home, no friends. I can't go back to that. I can't do it John! I can't... I can't... I, I..."

"FINE!" I concluded, as we both went to bed, unhappy with the day's events.


FIVE- Chapter 15- Paul Hues

As usual, absolutely no contact back from the guys out in the field. I, however, have done a fair bit of research on the symbol. It is broken down into several parts. There is a triangle within which a plus is located. Above the triangle there is a circle with a line over it. The top part translates into: 'The conquerors who won' and the bottom is: '5 armed saints'. Whoever this guy is he is working with the fish and should be avoided whenever possible. He is very likely to set up a trap.

I have some other issues. I have reason to believe their radios are confiscated. I sent a drone over to get better surveillance. I did this knowing full well it was illegal to fly so close to a military base. At this point though, something very bad probably happened.

I actually sent two drones, however the first of which seemed to have been shot down. Who by is currently unknown. I have some theories, however, and they aren't good. I was almost to the base when it came down. I am worried  it may have been the government. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid when I didn't come!


FIVE- Chapter 16- John Benderson
"They found us. I'm not sure how but they've found us.  Run for it Eddie!" I shout as I hear gunfire. Suddenly the door breaks down, and the window crashes open.

"Secure the area."

"Perimeter established sir."

This time to us: "Drop you weapons."

More gunfire. The radio we use to contact Paul is shot.

"Drop 'em!"

"Serch for weapons!"

" Clear. "

"Go, go, go!"

" Drop them or I'll shoot! I will! "

We put them down. The air vent suddenly crashes open from which more lazers come. At this point I have at least twenty red dots on me.

"So," the leader said. "I heard a little about you."

About an hour and several apologies later, we were discussing how to deal with this and how I could help. I was glad to be officially a part of the team. We decided to let me keep helping out as I have been, and they promised they would call us on a new radio they gave us if they found out anything new. They did make us swear, though, that we couldn't leak any of the information they gave us. It Accepting, we wrapped things up and they left. Just like that. The last out the door frame was their leader. At last second he turned around and said:

"Oh, and John,"

"Yeah?"

"I'll pay the bills."


FIVE- Chapter 17- Carter Clemons

As soon as I'm through the gateway the world goes black. When I come to I find myself chained to a board in what looks like an underwater building. Looking around I seemed to be in a small room. Then I saw him. Picard dude. 

"Well, well well. Look what we have here."

" You lied! You're working with them. "

"Lied? Yes and no. It was mostly the truth. But no one got off without madness. Not even me. But the madness didn't kill me. It just brought me to my true calling. The starfish will win. When the insanity struck I saw this symbol engraved into my head:
    Ō
    __
   \+/

Occasionally it would strike again and I'd carve it into any nearby surface. Oh, and a cave in didn't kill the other one. I did. His power was mind reading, so, I absorbed it."

Suddenly the ceiling opened up and a giant buzz saw popped out.

"Goodbye Carter. I always have been one for the classics."

He removed a remote from his pocket.

"With a twist."

He pressed a button and suddenly a bunch of lasers were revealed, all pointed at me.


FIVE- Chapter 18- Paul Hues

The second drone was shot down too. Almost immediately. And directly afterward the FBI were at my door. At least they didn't know me. Instantly I was surrounded on all sides, and my home and workshop was compromised. I hit my panic button. The floor disappeared from below me and several key objects in the area and we fell below. The floor reappeared and the stuff slid into the back of a van on the lowest level. I flew into the driver seat and hit the orange button, sending the truck down a to let sled and over a ramp as my backyard opened up allowing me to fly through. Suddenly 50,000 pounds of pure C4 activated along my home wiping out anyone in the area, creating a crater, and sending a shock wave boosting me forward. Three seconds later the parachute on my van deployed and I slowly drifted downward looking back upon the smouldering remains of my house.


FIVE- Chapter 19- John Benderson

When we decided to check out the riddle, it was easy to find the secret area of the mountain, including the creepy room and the rectangle of light. Upon stepping through it, we found Carter and saved him from the spinning circular saw of death. Easy. Not easy: getting out. The three of us wandered aimlessly around the facility for a while before a door opened up behind us. Out of which stepped eight starfish. Running now, we took a turn down a long hall, left, then right, then left again, going through four more rooms before eventually reaching a floating rectangle very much like the other one, except this one was a deep black with a purple force field in front of it. Quickly throwing a heavy switch, I told the others to run as the field disappeared. The lever slowly rising again, I ran towards the gate to follow them, but the barrier reappeared and turning around I saw it was too late. The fish stood there before me, forming a ring around Picard dude. 

"Well well well... Look what we have here..."

" Oh, no. "


FIVE- Chapter 20- John Benderson


Day 1

This was my first day as a prisoner. The first thing that happened was that I was knocked out. When I awoke I found myself in one of the prison cells I passed earlier. After a few hours they got a response on the phone (apparently they sent a request to have me transferred) saying they were sending a transport. Upon boarding the small craft, which faintly reminded me of a space ship, we departed through the sea towards a new base, ment just to hold me and my fellow jail birds. According to the radio communication I heard, this was one of their higher level bases. It was huge! Upon docking I was put into a used room for waiting. I was then taken to D-block, one of the most secure in the prison. Going down past sections Alpha and Beta, I eventually arrived at Gamma, which was mine, where I was taken past areas I through VIII and into IX, eventually reaching  sub-section 3, area b, part IV, cell 2. Phew! After being sorted that thoroughly I realized just how many prisoners they had at each base. After all the sorting there was hardly any time left in the day, but there was enough for me to get some back-breaking work done. Turns out most of these prisoners never did anything against against the starfish, they just act as their labor force. The rest are either former 'survivors' members or other marine biologists that knew too much. Oh yeah, and I found this random, rotting journal stuck in the biosphere dome. It was empty so I 'll be writing in here now.


FIVE- Chapter 21- John Benderson


Day 2

Seriously want out. This is getting ridiculous! I'm trying to take advantage of the situation and get some inside info, but it's not working! They hide so much from us. Just this morning I saw some shady looking workers disappear behind a door. I saw an ominous green glow from behind it. The work is also unbearable. Today I had to run around activating switches. Easy? I think not. Each powered a nuclear reactor. The fast moving particles were created by hand. It took a lot of force. There were 60 of them. Also, they were a quarter mile apart, and if each set of ten wasn't activated within 15 minutes of each other... Boom! Then I did a similar task except with buttons and passwords. 59 characters long. Random. Had to be memorized. Now I begin to question my sanity. If I do something wrong, the glass will break, and all the humans there would drown. It drives me mad. They ever offer me water and I refuse. I can't take it much longer.


FIVE- Chapter 22- Paul Hues

Carter called me today. He wanted me to send him the explosives equivalent to 3 nuclear warheads, a tracking device, and a good sandwich down there by drone, stat. It will arrive in a few days, but I wonder... He said he wanted John's co-ordinates programmed into the tracker, which makes me think they've lost him. His signal didn't disappear like it did when Carter was missing, but it is further away from the others than usual. Also, though I have the tools to make them, I'm missing some ingredients, so it have to go stop by a store... Which means I will have to change the appearance of my vehicle as not to get tracked. You can never be too careful when on the run. Currently I'm 500 miles from my house. I may have taken a few short cuts... But anyways, I better find a store and a dark alley to do modifications in.


FIVE- Chapter 23- John Benderson


Day 12

I made it into the green light room today.It was late, after my day's work. It calls me. The light. The machine... So big and complex, with one little red button... It took all my control not to press it. So, I returned to my cell. I looked out the window, before quickly backing away to the opposite wall. Ignore it. The water... I'm safe. It won't come in. It won't kill me. Probably. I shook the bars- 
"Let me out!!!"
"Transfer me!"
"Take me to a windowless cell- without water!"
I got my wish. I cannot let water reach my mind again. The light is all that matters now. I must burn this book! Ha ha ha ha!


FIVE- Chapter 24- John Benderson

It took five straight days away from that light, and any kind of water, for me to return to sanity. I was then transferred to another cell. There I decided the button must be a self destruct for the building, the machine was the core. The reason to team entered earlier was to attempt to seal a leak. Evidently they did a bad job, as I was exposed to some of its gas. The gas is highly toxic, and causes insanity by amplifying the already present paranoia and worry within the organism. I only got a small dose, luckily, and I can't believe what would happen to someone who got more than that. Luckily that was all over, and I could go back to my semi- normal life in prison, totally unaware of what would happen in the day following.


FIVE- Chapter 25- John Benderson

I had no idea Carter was such a lunatic. He attached anti-grav spheres under the base, raising it out of the water. Total starfish notified: 180. He then attached 85 high power explosives around the base and shouted warning through a megaphone to back away. Total starfish notified: 305. He then activated the explosives and flew down in a helicopter picking me up. Total starfish notified: 7008. 

"Thanks Carter and Eddie." I said.
"Thank Paul for the explosives." Carter said.
" But wait, " I started. "Where did you get the anti grav, megaphone and helicopter?"
"That, " the doors to the cockpit opened, "would be me."

I stared blankly at the new figure joining our little rebellion.
"Who in the world are you?"