Kaiju Rampage

by Eric S. Brown

  Two Kawasaki OH-1 Ninjas accompanying a Chinook had appeared on the Lee’s radar not long after Commander Hiroto’s DESRON had settled in running alongside Task force Gamma Red.

  “Admiral,” Hall’s XO, Dodson, approached him. “We have an incoming transmission from the Chinook that just showed up on our screens. It’s requesting permission to land aboard the Lee.”

  Hall gave his XO a questioning look.

  “It claims to have General Akio of the Japanese Defense Force aboard it.”

  “Permission granted,” Hall told Dodson. “Perhaps this General Akio will be willing to tell us what in the devil is going on out here.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it, sir.” Dodson smiled.

  “Allow me my hopes.” Hall shot his XO a smile. “Bring the general to my ready room as soon as he’s aboard.”

  ****

  General Akio was much younger than Admiral Hall had imagined he would be. Akio moved with a cat-like grace as he entered Hall’s ready room. Hall watched him glance around, taking in his surrounding with a keen eye.

  Admiral Hall rose and gave him a polite bow. “Welcome aboard, General.”

  Hall gestured at the seat in front of his desk. General Akio accepted the offer as Hall returned to his own seat.

  “To what do I owe this honor, General?”

  “There is a situation growing in these waters, Admiral. One that I fear will soon spiral beyond our control,” Akio told him bluntly.

  “I gathered as much,” Hall commented. “We’ve been monitoring civilian radio traffic in the area.”

  “Then you already know of the attacks?” General Akio asked.

  Hall nodded. “Yes, we do, though we are clueless to why they are happening or who is behind them. I have extended an offer of aid to the commander of your DESRON.” Hall titled his head westward to where the mentioned DESRON was running along beside his task force. “It was refused without reason.”

  “Commander Hiroto was only acting out of a sense of caution, Admiral. In his place, you would have surely done the same. His orders forbid him from accepting American aid until I arrived to, um, discuss the current situation occurring in these waters with you directly.”

  “I understand that, General, and I sympathize; however, if this situation you speak of is a possible threat to the ships under my command, I expect to be fully informed of its nature now that you are here.” Hall made sure his tone was professional despite the growing frustration he was feeling.

  “The truth, Admiral,” Akio frowned, “the truth is that we aren’t entirely surely what is happening out here ourselves, though we do have our suspicions as to what is behind the attacks on our ships.”

  Hall stared at the general waiting on him to continue.

  “Admiral Hall, have you ever heard the word Kaiju before?” General Akio asked.

  Hall couldn’t stop himself. He burst into laughter before he even realized he had. It took a great deal of effort to stop. When he did, he composed himself hurriedly.

  “Forgive me, General,” Hall apologized.

  “I see you have heard the word before, Admiral,” Akio said coldly.

  “Yes, General, I have,” Hall admitted. “I believe it refers to a kind of strange, giant monster.”

  “You would be correct in that assumption,” Akio confirmed.

  “Surely you aren’t suggesting that a real Kaiju is the cause of these attacks?”

  When the general didn’t answer straight away, Hall blinked in surprise. Akio’s expression was that of a man who believed he knew the truth and was being mocked for it.

  “And if I was?” Akio said at last.

  Admiral Hall thought over his answer before he spoke it. “I would want proof.”

  Akio nodded slowly and then gave a soft chuckle of his own. “I am afraid any proof I could offer you, Admiral Hall, is classified too highly to be shared with even an ally such as yourself. I can, however, assure that Kaiju are very real, as real as you and I. Japan has dealt with them before and will likely continue to do so until a means can be found to eliminate the entirety of their kind from the Earth.”

  Though he could see Akio was serious, and his every instinct assured him of that fact, Admiral Hall still wondered if the general was playing some sort of game with him.

  “General, if I understand you correctly, you’re actually saying these attacks are the result of an active, real life Kaiju in Japanese waters,” Admiral Hall said.

  “Yes, Admiral, that is exactly what I am saying, except that I never said it was merely one Kaiju.” Akio frowned. “I believe we are dealing with much more than a single monster.”

  Admiral Hall rocked himself back in his chair, his mind reeling from Akio’s admission.

  “Now that you know what we are up against, if your offer of assistance still stands, Admiral, I would like to accept it officially on behalf of the government of my nation,” Akio said with a straight face.

  Hall didn’t know what to say to so he stalled for time. “I’ll have to check with my superiors, General Akio. I’ll be in touch when I have done so. At this point, I can’t commit to anything more.”

  Akio gave him a sharp nod and rose from his chair. “I understand, Admiral. Just keep in mind that time is likely something we don’t have much of. The hour is late, and the Kaiju may come for you, unless you leave these waters, just as they have in my nation.”

  Pausing at the door of Hall’s ready room before he exited, General Akio turned back to say, “Keep your crews alert, Admiral. If you’ve been monitoring the attacks as you claim, then you know just how and unexpectedly the Kaiju strike.”

  And with that, the general was gone, leaving Admiral Hall sitting alone and stunned behind his desk.

  ****

  General Akio’s security escort rejoined him as he walked across the main flight deck of the USS Lee to climb inside the Chinook he had come aboard on. He took his seat, strapping himself in, as the pilot fired up the copter. It rose smoothly from the carrier’s deck, heading back towards Tokyo. The two Ninjas swung into a protective formation around it. Akio had taken a seat that gave him a clear view of the ocean, and he sat staring out at the waves, lost in his thoughts. He had done all he could to enlist the aid of the American carrier group. Asking the Americans for help wasn’t the ideal thing to do, but he would take whatever aid he could get. The largest kaiju attack of the past century had wiped out wiped out Task Group 81.12 a decade ago. The military working with the government and press had managed to keep the incident from the public and the world at large, but the attack had still cost Japan four submarines with no confirmed Kaiju kill to show for it. His gut told him this was going to get much, much worse when the kaiju opted to truly show themselves.

  The data on the current attacks on civilian vessels thus far pointed to there being far more than one kaiju in play. Akio wasn’t a scientist or crypto-biologist, but he knew the lore of the kaiju. His grandfather had told him stories about the giant monsters throughout his youth long before Akio reached his current rank to discover that such monsters were indeed much more than mere folklore. It chilled him to his core that his homeland was quite possibly facing a full out attack by a group of such monsters. If one kaiju could take out four submarines and survive, what could a group of them do if they made landfall on Japan? Akio did not want to find out. As thus, his plan was to engage and stop them long before they reached Japan’s coast, and with the current disposition of Japanese forces, he was forced to admit that he needed the Americans’ help.

  Another question that tore at his mind was what kind of kaiju he was dealing with. He knew from both the classified reports he had been given access to as well as folklore that no two kaiju tended to be alike. Each creature was usually unique with different powers, for lack of a better word, and tendencies. There was just no way of knowing what was heading for Tokyo until either he was able to directly engage the kaiju head on or the monsters opted to expose themselves of their own accord.

 
The powers that be had given him carte blanche in terms of assembling Tokyo’s defense. He had placed all the fighter craft in the area on alert and, in addition to sending Commander Hiroto’s DESRON to join up with the American Task force, had positioned DESRONs 83 and 89 in the path of the approaching Kaiju just off the coast. In his heart, General Akio didn’t believe it would be enough, but with so little time, it was the best he could manage.

  He hadn’t written off the Daisuke Corporation yet, though. Director Daisuke might claim that Project Kaiju had been discontinued when he had taken over for his father a few years back, but Akio didn’t believe him. He couldn’t press the issue as of yet, but if the kaiju made it through the defenses he was arranging, it would be interesting to see how Director Daisuke reacted to the kaiju showing up in his city. His corporation had too great of a vested interest in Tokyo to allow the city to burn. Whatever Daisuke was hiding, Akio would almost bet his life that Daisuke would use whatever he had at his disposal.

  “General!” the Chinook’s pilot called to him. “We’ve got incoming!”

  It took Akio a moment to process the words. He looked up from his thoughts and saw the thing approaching the trio of helicopters that the Chinook he was aboard was in the center of. Akio had never seen anything like it in his life. It appeared to be part bird and part lizard. The creature’s wingspan was easily 50 feet across. Akio’s heart nearly froze in his chest as he saw the creature wasn’t alone.

  The Chinook broke hard out of the formation as the two Ninjas veered to engage the inbound monsters. Their forward cannons opened up, bright tracer rounds streaking through the air. The barrage of high-velocity rounds ripped towards the monsters, but they were too fast. They rolled in the air, dodging the hailstorm of lead.

  The monsters came in fast, shrieking cries that sounded like high-pitched whistles. One of them plowed directly into the closer of the two Ninjas. The copter and the monster vanished in a blossoming ball of flame and flying debris.

  “Gods help us!” Akio heard his pilot cry as the man continued to try to pour on speed and get the Chinook out of the combat zone.

  Akio twisted in his seat to try to look back at the remaining Ninja as missiles flew from its wings towards one of the monsters. The bird-like beast tried to dodge again, but this time was too slow. The missiles struck it dead on. The creature exploded in a mass of charred bone and tissue that spun away from the center of the blast.

  “Get me a line to the Americans!” Akio shouted. “They’re the only ones closer enough to help.”

  ****

  Admiral Hall emerged from his ready room, scowling. His XO, Dodson, was waiting for him.

  “I take it things did not go well, sir.” Dodson grinned.

  “I just told the powers that be back home that the Japanese military sent a general aboard this ship to ask for our assistance in fighting giant monsters. To say it didn’t go well might be the understatement of the eon.”

  Admiral Hall eased into his command chair.

  “Well, the suspense is killing me, sir?” Dodson urged. “What are our orders?”

  “Believe it or not,” Hall said, “they want us to render any assistance we can. I don’t think they believe General Akio’s story any more than we do, but the Japanese are our allies.”

  Dodson shrugged. “Could be worse I suppose.”

  Hall frowned. “Maybe.”

  “Sir, incoming transmission from General Akio!” Hall’s Comm. Officer, Williamson, shouted.

  It didn’t take a genius to see that the call was urgent.

  “Put it through,” Hall ordered.

  “This is General Akio aboard the Behemoth,” Akio voice was panicked. “We are under attack and are in need of emergency assistance.”

  “I’ve got the Japanese birds on radar, Admiral,” Dixon informed him before Hall could ask.

  “The three copters appear to be engaged with a large, unidentified contact,” Dixon continued.

  “Launch all Ready Five fighters,” Hall ordered. “I want them in the air now.”

  “Yes, sir,” Dodson replied and moved to get the fighters rolling.

  Three Super Hornets screamed their way into flight leaving the deck of USS Lee. Admiral Hall watched them go.

  Admiral Hall left his command chair and moved to stand beside Williamson at the radar station.

  “This is Jackal. ETA in two,” Captain Clarkson’s voice came over the comm.

  Hall’s eyes were focused on the radar screen. “What the Hell is the contact?”

  Williamson had real no answer. “I don’t know, sir, but it’s big, and it’s fast.”

  Admiral Hall and Williamson listened in on the comm. chatter of the Jackal squadron as the Super Hornets neared the scene of the battle.

  “Did you see that?” Jackal Two cried.

  “Sweet mother!” Jackal Three chimed in. “What in the devil are those things?”

  “Focus!” Jackal One snapped. “Prepare to engage!”

  “One of them just overtook that Ninja like it was standing still and knocked it out of the sky!” Jackal Three reported.

  “I got tone!” Jackal Two said. “Firing!”

  “Watch the Chinook! Watch the Chinook!” Jackal One was yelling.

  “Somebody tell that idiot to get out of there!” Jackal Two spat.

  “The big one is on my tail!” Jackal Three screamed. “Get it off! Get it off!”

  There was the sound of crunching metal over the comm. followed by a scream that was cut suddenly short. Jackal Three vanished from the radar screen in a flash.

  “That thing got Jake!” Jackal Two shouted.

  “Focus! Blast it!” Jackal One ordered.

  Admiral Hall watched another of the unknown contacts disappear from the radar screen. That only left two more. At least the odds were even now, he thought.

  “Coming around!” Jackal One called.

  “Watch it! Watch it!” Jackal Two was screaming.

  Jackal One and another unknown contact vanished together.

  Another minute later, the battle was over.

  “This is Jackal Two to the Lee,” the pilot, Bridger, transmitted.

  “This is the Lee,” Admiral Hall responded. “Report Status.”

  “Jackals One and Three have been lost as well as the two birds that were flying escort for the Chinook. The enemy has been eliminated, though, sir. Should I accompany the general’s bird on to Tokyo?”

  “No,” Admiral Hall ordered. “You’ve done your job. Get back here at full burn.”

  “Yes, sir,” Bridger answered. “Jackal Two, heading home.”

  ****

  Admiral Hall had Bridger report his ready room as soon as the pilot was back aboard. Hall left Dodson in command of the Lee with the ship on full alert as he met Bridger there. The pilot was clearly rattled. Sweat slicked his skin and matted his dark, black hair to his head.

  “You wanted to see me, Admiral?” Bridger asked.

  “Have a seat, son,” Hall told him, handing him a glass of iced water.

  Bridger chugged at it madly, consuming two-thirds of it before sitting it on the edge of Hall’s desk.

  “Thank you, sir,” the pilot said.

  “What the heck happened out there?” Hall asked. “No BS. Just the facts.”

  “Yes, sir,” Bridger nodded. “We were inbound towards the position of the Japanese forces. That’s when we saw them.”

  Bridger’s expression was a mixture of fear, disgust, and disbelief as he spoke. “They were like giant birds, sir. Er, well, more like giant flying lizards.”

  “Have your flight crew send me the video from your flight,” Hall ordered and then took a second to study Bridger closer before continuing. “So, you’re saying Jackal One and Jackal Two were taken out by monsters.”

  “Yes, sir, I am,” Bridger answered firmly. “Whatever those things were well… They shouldn’t be real, sir, but they are.”

  “How did they take out the other members of your squadron lieut
enant?”

  “The Ninja we saw destroyed on our approach and Jackal One were both taken out by the bird things slamming into them. The monsters didn’t seem to care or understand they would die in the process.”

  “And Jackal Two?”

  Bridger shook his head. “One of those things flew up on Jackal Two from its rear. It overtook Jordon’s Hornet and came in above it, matching its speed…”

  Hall could see that Bridger was utterly terrified of the memory of what he had seen.

  “And then?” Hall pressed, unable to afford the pilot any compassion due to the danger of the situation they were all in now. It appeared the kaiju General Akio had told him about were apparently truly real.

  “That thing grabbed ahold of Jordon’s plane from above it. The huge talons of its feet sunk into and through the metal of the Hornet …” Bridger looked him in the eye. “It just ripped the Hornet apart, sir.”

  “I see,” Hall said, feeling far more sympathy for the pilot than he was allowing himself to show. “You’re dismissed, Bridger. Go get some rest and clear your head.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” Bridger said and hurried from the room.

  Hall watched the pilot go. It was hard to believe that kaiju were real, but there was unquestionable evidence of the fact now. The Lee and all the other ships of Task force Gamma Red were running on high alert, but Hall was at a loss as to what else to do. There were no set protocols for dealing with monsters, and though he could radio those above him, in the end, he was the CO on the scene, and the hard calls were going to be his.

  His hand reached for the drawer of his desk where he kept a bottle of Vodka tucked away but stopped. A hit might take the edge off the stress he was under, but he needed to stay sharp, sharper than ever. He was used to fighting other men, not mythological creatures. Only God knew where the things might strike next or how they would do it when they did.