Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 (8 page)

              “You are arriving at your destination,” Sid announced. “I am opening the door.”

              The marines stood back, aiming their weapons at a wall which seemed to melt away. Beyond, a number of long cylinders lined the walls, each hooked up to a glowing globe roughly the size of a beach ball. Each was covered in the same silvery metal that made up the ship, with no view port to see inside.

              “Whoa…” Olly paced in a circle, taking it all in. “This is…simply incredible.”

              “You have arrived at the destination. If you will approach the flashing console, we can begin prioritizing the repairs.”

              “There must be hundreds of them,” one of the marines said. “Jesus Christ, is this their whole race?”

              “I hope not,” Lisa said. “Or they qualify for being extremely endangered.”

              Olly headed over to the computer. “Lisa, Cathleen, grab some readings off those…globe things. Maria, you’re with me.”

              They spread out and approached the flashing console, which was little more than a bump in the wall with another black screen breaking up the silver. When Olly stood in front of it, the squiggly lines representing Sid appeared. “Simply tap the screen and we can begin.”

              Olly reached out a tentative hand, exchanging glances with Maria before touching it. A series of characters displayed, building a list of some sort. Half a second later, red lights flashed overhead and Sid shouted ‘Alert! Alert!’

              “What the hell did you do?” One of the marines asked Olly.

              “Nothing! I just touched the screen! It was working then…this!”

              “Well what’s happening?”

              Maria checked her tablet. “It’s responding to something it found on a long range scan.”

              Olly looked over her shoulder. “Oh no…”

              “What is it?” The marine asked. “What do you see?”

              “Alert,” Sid said. “Hostile vessels incoming. Hostile vessels incoming. Initiate Protocol Seven immediately.”

              “What is protocol seven?” Olly asked.

              “The chance these people lost their homes to protect. A weapon against the enemy.”

              “Excellent! How do we initiate protocol seven?”

              “That information is currently locked. I cannot access it at this time.”

              “God damn it!” Olly sighed and paced away. “Can we get access if we fix this stuff?”

              “Affirmative.” Sid sounded all too cheery. “Prioritization almost complete.”

              “Establish a channel with the Behemoth bridge,” Olly said. “Get me Commander Everly right away. They’re back…and what might be our one chance to stop them is hidden in a databank on this ship.”

              “What’s that mean?” Maria asked.

              “It means we might be the only thing that can save Earth from another attack,” Olly said. “Providing the Behemoth can beat them back long enough for us to do it.”

              “Line established,” Cathleen said, handing him her tablet. “Direct com to the bridge.”

              “Commander, Captain, this is Lieutenant Darnell. As I’m sure you’ve seen from our early warning, we have another set of visitors but this time, I don’t think they plan to be as nice. This time, I think we’ll have a fight on our hands and I’ve got a good news/bad news situation here. I hope you’re ready for it.”

             
Cause I sure as hell am not, but here we go
.

              “Commander,” Agatha summoned Everly. “I’ve got Olly on the com.”

              “I think I know what he’s calling about,” Ensign Paul Bailey sat at Olly’s post, filling in while the Lieutenant was gone. “I’m picking something up on the early warning system. Two large objects, moving fast. They seem to be ships…just shy the size of the Behemoth.”

              Clea turned to Gray, brows raised. “The plot thickens.”

              “Put Olly on,” Everly said.

              “Patched in, sir,” Agatha replied.

              “Go ahead, Olly. What’s going on?”

              “I’ll make it really quick, sir.” Olly took a deep breath and went. “We’re aboard the ship and proven that they are friendly but the vessel has experienced some pretty major damage to internal systems. We’re working on getting these back online but it’s going to take some time. Sid is helping to the best of its ability but it can’t access everything we need until we perform progressive repairs.”

              “Who is Sid?” Everly jumped in.

              “The Artificial Intelligence, sir,” Olly replied. “It’s…well, a long story.”

              “One we don’t have time for.” Gray added. “Is that all you’ve got?”

              “No, sir. This ship as well as my tablet picked up the intruders coming in hot. I assume Paul’s got them up already?”

              “I do, Olly,” Paul called out. “They’re really hauling.”

              Everly cleared his throat and asked, “do you know who they are already?”

              “This ship identified them as the enemy.”

              Clea watched as the humans in the room stiffened. Even knowing the possibility didn’t prepare them for the news. Their mettle was about to be tested and whether or not this civilization survived rested entirely on their shoulders. How many of them knew that, she didn’t know but even if they didn’t have that specific information, the gravity of an attack was plenty to garner serious attention.

              “How does it know?” Gray asked.

              “Apparently, they already wiped out their home,” Olly explained. “But there’s a silver lining…of sorts.”

              “Don’t mince words.” Gray leaned forward. “Just tell us what you’ve got.”

              “Something called
Protocol Seven
. Sid called it a weapon against the enemy but…”

              “Go on,” Everly prompted.

              “When I asked it to initiate this weapon, it said it couldn’t access it without repairs.”

              Redding sighed.

              “What’s it going to take to get that thing operational?” Everly tapped his arm rest. “How long will you need?”

              “I can’t say yet, sir. We were just cataloging the damage when the alert went off and those ships arrived.”

              “We’ll buy you the time you need,” Gray said. “You’ll have to get propulsion online though. I can’t promise we can stay in this one spot.”

              “Hold on, let me find out. It moved here so I’m pretty sure we can just fire up the engines again.” Olly put them on mute for a moment.

              Clea turned to the others. “You know their typical tactic. Like the Blitzkrieg from your World War Two. They’re going to come in fast and hard.”

              “I know.” Gray nodded. He stood and put a hand on Reddings chair. “Stephanie, I need you to initiate thrusters and start us drifting to the side. Full weapons ready to fire on my command.”

              “Without a lock, sir?”

              “A lock will tip our hand. Eye ball it. A full spread can do some damage or at least, slow their forward momentum. Then, we’ll really let them have it.”

              “Aye, sir.” Redding tapped away at the console and began to move the ship.

              “Paul, full scan on those ships,” Gray said. “I need to know what their shields are like. Everly, have the fighters ready to do harassment maneuvers. Bombers should prepare for a full pulse run on those things.”

              Everly got on the com. “Revente, get your fighters into position for attack. Bomber squadrons on standby for orders.”

              “They’re running combat shields, sir,” Paul said. “Far more dense than the…the Silver Star.”

              “Alright, good to know.” Gray turned to Clea. “Check my facts. We have to weaken the shields for pulse bombs to cause any real damage, correct?”

              Clea nodded. “Yes, but powerful as pulse bombs are, they may not be able to destroy their vessels even with weakened shields. We can, as you’ve said before, give them a bloody nose, however.”

              “Might be all we need to accomplish to give Olly the time he needs.” Gray sat back down. “Agatha, send a message to Earth Defense and brief them on the situation. Hostile craft incoming and we are engaging. Inform them of our progress with the Silver Star and what we’re planning.”

              “I’m on it, sir,” Agatha replied.

              Everly turned to Gray. “The fighters are in position. Bombers are standing by.”

              “I need an ETA.” Gray looked at Paul. “Can you give us a count down?”

              “Less than ten minutes.”

              “What the hell?” Everly shook his head. “How’d they get here so fast?”

              “I’m reading signs of a hyperjump,” Paul explained. “Any closer and we would’ve been caught up in it.”

              “Shall we raise the shields?” Everly asked Gray.

              “Not yet. Get them ready. I want to lure them in.”

              “They won’t fire until they are close enough to destroy us with a single shot,” Clea explained. “This makes the Captain’s plan a distinct possibility. We may well be able to take them out if we’re lucky.”

              “What a victory that would be,” Gray said, “but I’m not holding my breath.”

              “Seven minutes,” Paul said.”

              “Are they picking up speed?” Everly sounded incredulous.

              Paul nodded. “Aye, sir. Their weapons are powering up.”

              “Are we in position yet?” Gray asked Redding.

              “Thirty seconds at current speed. Shall I increase?”

              “Enough to get us there in ten seconds.” Gray leaned forward, squinting at the view screen. “Get your finger on the trigger.”

              “I’m ready to fire on your mark, sir.” Redding took a deep breath and scrutinized her screens. She made several adjustments, nodding when she seemed satisfied with what she saw. “Aim adjusted. We should be clear for a good shot.”

              “Targets are now within maximum range,” Paul said. “Closing fast.”

              “Give them another few moments.”

              “Whites of their eyes?” Clea said.

              Gray smirked. “Something like that.”

              They could easily see the vessels now, their shields glowing as they plunged through space at a wildly high velocity. According to the report, they would pass over the Behemoth rather than ram into them. This remained consistent with the first attack. Their weapons seemed to be on the bottoms of their ships. Gray hummed softly as a thought occurred to him.

              “Redding, roll us five degrees, port side moving up. I want to tear at their bellies.”

              “Aye, sir but I’ll have to recalculate for my aim.”

              “Shouldn’t be too off. Make it happen.”

              The ship rumbled for a brief moment as the thrusters engaged, rolling the ship as Gray instructed.”

              “They’ll be on us in less than two minutes,” Paul said. “They are weapons hot and…yes, I’m reading a surge of power. They’re about to fire.”

              Gray nodded. “Fire at will, Redding.”

              Space lit up as their weapons blasted away. The enemy ships didn’t get their chance to fire before the pulse shots hammered at their shields. Even without lock, many of the weapons connected with their targets. Redding’s aim turned out to be far better than Clea would’ve given her credit for.

              Light compensators kicked in, dimming the view screen as blasts flashed against the enemies shields. In the soundless void of space, a litany of chaos raged in silence. The enemy ships attempted evasive maneuvers and threw off their own shots. One cleanly missed and the other grazed the Behemoth’s shields, giving it a good shake.

              “Glancing hit,” Paul announced. “No damage, shields holding.”

              “And on them?” Gray asked.

              “Several direct hits, sir,” Paul scanned his console for a quiet moment. “Other ships are showing signs of medium and light damage. Their shields are holding but definitely weakened on the bottoms. They’ve slowed down as well and their weapons are redirecting.”

              “Send in the fighters to cover the bombers,” Gray said. “Give those bastards some pulse bombs.”

              “Revente, you’re clear to attack,” Everly said, the tension in his voice giving it a harsh edge. “Fighters covering bombers. Give them a serious kick in the ass before they can regroup.”

              Clea leaned toward Gray. “Those fighters better be wily. They’re big enough to lock on to.”

              “They’ve got good shields,” Gray replied. “They can take at least one direct hit.”

              “I hope you’re right.”

              “They’re firing!” Paul shouted. “Incoming!”

              “Evasive,” Gray said to Redding, too late. The ship rattled as three direct hits splashed against the shields. The motion stopped almost as fast as it began. “Report! Damage?”

              “Pulse shields holding,” Paul said. “Slight concussion damage on decks seven and eight. No casualties reported as of yet.”

              “Return fire as the fighters get into position,” Gray said. “Full lock and burn.”

              “Weapons locked and firing,” Redding replied, slamming her hand down on the console. Their ship shook again, this time with the force of their cannons firing back at the enemy. Another flash erupted in space as shields and pulse blasts met in a fiery explosion. “Direct hit.”

              “More medium damage,” Paul said. “The fighters have engaged.”

              “On screen.”

              Clea stood up and watched as the fighters began harassing maneuvers around the larger vessels. Their smaller weapons caused tiny flashes all over the surface of the enemy shields, like fireworks on the American Fourth of July. Missiles flared and detonated and the bombers lumbered forward, carrying what might be a deadly payload.

              “Captain, this is Olly,” they heard his voice over the speaker. “Sid has the engines up and running. We can now move.”

              “Get your ass in gear, Olly,” Everly shouted. “Set course for zero-three-alpha seven. Best possible speed. We’ll be right behind you.”

              “Aye, sir.”

              The Silver Star engines burst to life and the ship pulled away. It turned, heading away from Earth. “Why that direction?” Clea asked. “What’re you planning, Commander?”

              “To lure the enemy away from Earth,” Everly said. “And give us some more room to fight.”

              More blasts erupted around them, near misses and glances. The ship rattled but held, no real damage occurred. Casualties came in, mostly from being jostled about. Fighters gave the enemy a lot of hell, keeping them mostly busy and unable to direct their focus on the Behemoth.

              “Bombers are nearly in range,” Paul announced, then gasped. “Shit! One of our fighters is down!”

              Everly stood. “Ejection?”

              Paul paused. “No…no, sir. I’m afraid not.”

              “Damn it!”

              Gray looked grim. “Casualties, Commander. Their sacrifice won’t be in vain. Distance for bombers?”

              “They’re practically down their throats.”

              “Have them deploy and issue an RTB for all ships.” Gray said. “Once they’re clear of our blast, hit them with everything we’ve got.”

              “Weapons are locked,” Redding said.

              “Set a rendezvous course with the Silver Star, Tim.” Gray looked at his tablet before continuing, “as soon as the ships are all on board, gun it. I want to put some distance between us immediately. We’ll enter a rolling gun battle if we have to.”

              “Bombers on speaker, Captain.” Everly tapped something on his tablet and they heard Rudy Hale speaking to his wing.

              “Alright, folks, it’s time to see if these things can crack.” Rudy lacked any concern at all. No tension, no worry, no stress. He sounded like he carried on a conversation at a party with all the bluster of a man wholly unconcerned. “Fire away!”