Chapter 123: Out of Character
"No surprise there. They've figured out I have space-based weapons. It would be strange if they didn't try to stop me." Zack wasn't surprised in the least. He released his grip, activated his thrusters, and detached from the rocket. The rocket was still climbing slowly, so he could catch up at any time. "Where's the interceptor missile?" Zack asked.
"Coordinates uploaded, sir." Ego responded.
Every missile launched was immediately shown on the Apex's HUD. "Let's go. Time to intercept the interceptors!" Zack grinned. With that, he pushed his suit's thrusters to full power, rocketing off at Mach 8 toward the incoming missiles.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The sharp sound of missile locks filled Zack's helmet. Anticipating trouble, he had Ego modify the Apex suit a few days earlier to carry a payload of supersonic micro-interceptor missiles. "Fire!" Zack commanded. Several tiny missiles shot out from the suit, accelerating to Mach 5 in seconds as they honed in on the targets. Moments later, explosions lit up the sky above the clouds.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The enemy interceptor missiles were obliterated. "That's all they've got?" Zack chuckled, shaking his head. With his thrusters still at full power, he turned back toward the rocket, which hadn't yet reached its full speed. Soon, he reattached himself to the vehicle.
"First stage rocket separating!" "Fairing separation complete!" "Second-stage engine shutting down—approaching designated orbit!"
The automated announcements marked each critical step as the multi-stage rocket pushed past the first cosmic velocity. Zack had officially reached a geostationary orbit, 35,000 kilometers above Earth. This orbit, perfectly synchronized with the planet's rotation, allowed satellites to hover over a fixed point. From here, one satellite could cover over 40% of the planet—a single hemisphere.