Peacekeeper- God Complex

by Doug Farren

  “Passing 4,000 kilometers,” Tactical quietly announced.

  Two minutes later, an alarm sounded and a red triangular-shaped icon appeared on the main tactical display.

  “There’s a ship rising through the atmosphere from the planet’s other side,” Tactical reported. “It’s configuration matches that of the ship that attacked the Paranuth.”

  “Lock all weapons and standby to hit it with everything we have,” Scarboro ordered. “Tom, we’ve got incoming.”

  “Lifting off and heading for the camp,” Tom replied.

  “Comms, alert the shuttles,” Scarboro ordered.

  “Target is locked,” Tactical reported. “Picking up a massive energy surge from the enemy vessel.”

  Scarboro glanced at the tactical display, noting the range and the position of the enemy vessel. It had cleared the atmosphere and was rapidly approaching.

  “Fire!”

  Every offensive weapon available to the Komodo Dragon opened fire on the Proprietor’s combat drone. Two Kyrra-built matter/antimatter particle beam cannons hit the ship’s shield. These two weapons had been provided to the Dragon by the Hess, an AI built by the ancient Kyrra that had been stranded in Alliance space. The gift of the weapons, along with an advanced stardrive, had allowed the Dragon to navigate through Chroniech-controlled space to return four Kyrra who had been found in stasis to their people.

  The particle beams slammed into the combat drone’s shield. Packets of matter and antimatter collided and instantly annihilated each other releasing an incredible torrent of raw energy. The shield resisted, producing a pyrotechnic display of plasma.

  The Kyrra weapons were joined by four lasers that were being operated at 120% of their maximum rated output. The combat drone’s shield, stressed as it was by the indescribable amount of energy being directed against it, held, but only for an instant.

  The moment the order to fire had been given, four fully charged sledgehammers were launched. The official name of this weapon is a particle pumped soliton energy vortex. It is a compact electromagnetic field that is pumped with counter-rotating streams of matter and antimatter. When fully charged, the weapon looks like a glowing, sparkling ball of actinic energy. The soliton is propelled from the throat of the weapon by a powerful magnetic field that pushes it to 8% the speed of light. The Dragon’s four sledgehammers were the Alliance’s most advanced SLV-60’s.

  The sledgehammers hit the combat drone’s shield 0.16 milliseconds after being launched. The staggering amount of energy finally overwhelmed the combat drone’s shield causing it to leak. A small percentage of the energy it was attempting to deflect passed through and made contact with the ultra-resilient armor.

  The armor didn’t have time to glow, it was almost instantaneously vaporized. A small hole appeared. In less than a second, the hole became a breach allowing the beam to chew through the relatively soft interior of the ship. Support beams, pumps, piping, electrical conduit, and everything else that got in the way of the Dragon’s beam weapons were almost instantly converted from solid matter into superheated plasma.

  One of the beams reached a critical component feeding power to the ship’s shield generator. An instant, an almost immeasurable moment of time, before the shield collapsed, the combat drone released the weapon it had been charging. Traveling at 28% light speed, a powerful magnetic field hit the Kyrra-built shield protecting the Komodo Dragon.

  Most of the weapon’s energy was absorbed and re-emitted back into space. Some of it passed through the shield, hit the Dragon’s hull, and collapsed. Anyone familiar with how a moving magnetic field interacts with a stationary conductor will know that the end result is an electrical current. Several megawatts of power flowed through the Komodo Dragon’s hull as if the ship had been struck by lightning. Sensitive electronics and external sensors were burned out and a surge of current managed to find its way into a secondary communications transceiver causing it to start on fire.

  A warning tone sounded on the bridge as four red icons appeared on the damage control board. At first, nobody seemed to notice because every eye was fixed on the combat drone. The plasma jets generated by the battle between the weapons and the ship’s shield looked like a miniature sun hanging above the planet. The instant the shield collapsed, that tiny sun brightened and expanded into a glowing cloud of debris.

  “Target destroyed!” Tactical announced, as the Dragon’s weapons automatically ceased fire.

  “Fire in communications bay four,” the engineering station announced. “We’ve lost several external sensors. Minor damage being reported to several internal systems.”

  “Tom,” Scarboro said, “The Proprietor’s ship has been destroyed. Comms, get those shuttles moving! Tactical, launch HKs and probes.”

  “Congratulations Captain!” Tom replied. “Lashpa and I will be at the camp in less than a minute.”

  “Shuttles are heading in at maximum acceleration,” Comms announced, looking over his shoulder at the Captain.

  The muted sound of multiple launches could heard and felt as the Komodo Dragon deployed hunter-killers and reconnaissance probes.

  Scarboro nodded to the communications officer. “Make sure they know to come in from the east and to stay as low as possible.” Turning to his left, he added, “Tactical, I want an analysis of that combat drone as soon as possible.”

  “All hunter-killers and probes have been launched,” Tactical replied. “They are following their preprogrammed trajectories. Standby one for the analysis.”

  Scarboro watched his tactical screen. Ten blue icons representing the military shuttles were rapidly approaching the planet as were the four hunter-killer missiles and eight probes.

  “Analysis complete,” Tactical announced. “Its shield was holding up until the sledgehammers hit. The computer predicts it would have continued to hold if the sledgehammers had been more than 3% less powerful.”

  Captain Scarboro leaned back in his chair and slowly shook his head. “In other words, we barely won against a ship not more than a tenth our size. Helm, make sure you keep us out of line-of-sight of the Proprietor’s base. I’ll bet we wouldn’t stand a chance against the weapons he has surrounding it.”

  The Tactical officer swung his chair around to face the Captain. “Let’s just hope we are correct in assuming those weapons cannot target anything on the ground. If we’re wrong, everyone down there is dead.”

  Chapter 20

  “Ready!” Tom said, the moment his combat armor showed all green.

  “Krish,” Lashpa ordered. “Drop the ramp and prepare for rapid ground deployment. Set us down as close to the western side of the camp as possible. As soon as we’re on the ground, hover at 30 meters and keep an eye out for hostiles.”

  “Acknowledged,” the ship replied. “Deployment in 32 seconds.”

  Tom joined Lashpa at the top of the ship’s ramp just as it began lowering. It stopped short of full deployment, allowing the two peacekeepers to walk to the end. The Krish’s AI held the ship at a slight angle keeping the ramp level with the rapidly approaching ground.

  The camouflage covering had been removed from Lashpa’s combat suit and she was carrying a massive rifle. Tom recognized it as a Rouldian railgun—Lashpa’s favorite weapon. Tom’s less impressive-looking standard Alliance issue plasma pulse rifle was magnetically locked to his back, ready for instant use if needed.

  The Krish stopped and hovered three meters above the ground. Tom and Lashpa jumped, allowing their combat suits to automatically cushion the impact. As soon as they were clear, the ship took up a position above them. A second later, it vanished behind its reflective shield.

  “I’ll take that shed,” Tom announced, pointing out one of the sheds at the edge of the camp.

  “I’ll set up next to the one eight meters to the south,” Lashpa replied.

  It only took a few seconds for the two peacekeepers to move to their selected positions.

  “Stealth mode,” Tom ordered.

  The
normally space-black exterior of his suit shifted, blending in with the surrounding grass. The suit also adjusted its thermal signature, transferring all excess heat into a block of heat absorbing phase change material. He was now thermally and electromagnetically invisible.

  Looking over at Lashpa, his suit’s HUD identified her with a green icon even though he could not see her.

  “Krish,” Lashpa said, “Get me the commander of the shuttle fleet.”

  Three seconds later, a voice answered, “This is Commander Groonth.”

  “Tom and I are in position. No sign of anything in the air or on the ground. What is your status?”

  “We’re pushing our drives beyond tolerance,” the Commander replied. “We’ll be hitting the atmosphere in about three minutes.”

  “Stay as low as possible,” Lashpa reminded him.

  “Understood. We’ll be approaching the pickup point at just below supersonic speed and low enough to scrape the paint off the bottom of our hulls. We should be there in less than seven minutes.”

  “If you detect a target lock from the base, you are to abort. Is that clear Commander?”

  “Understood. Groonth out.”

  Tom and Lashpa crouched in the tall grass near the edge of the sheds. Their suits continually scanned the area looking for threats.

  Tom’s HUD alerted him of an incoming transmission from the Komodo Dragon. As soon as he accepted the call, Captain Scarboro said, “Our probes are now in line of sight of the base. A shield has been erected. So far, the probes have not been fired upon.”

  “Keep them at a safe distance and as low as possible,” Tom replied. “What about the HKs?”

  “They weren’t designed for this type of operation,” Captain Scarboro replied. “We’re having to manually guide them towards the target. They should all be on station in about ten or fifteen minutes.”

  “Roger that. I’ll be keeping this channel open. Let us know if you detect any activity from the Proprietor.”

  “Will do, Dragon out.”

  “I wonder how the Proprietor is going to react?” Lashpa asked.

  “We know he has drones,” Tom replied. “But we don’t know their capabilities. We’ve also seen at least one type of robot. He could attack using any or all of those.”

  “It’s also possible he has missiles that could be employed.

  “I hope not,” Tom replied.

  A minute passed. A gentle, evening breeze caused the grass to move in a pattern that looked very much like waves traveling across a green body of water. A flying insect the size of a hummingbird arrived and landed on the tip of Tom’s pulse rifle which had changed color to blend in with the surrounding grass. It folded its four black wings against its long body as if it wanted to rest.

  “I’ll bet he didn’t count on the Alliance having a ship anything like the Komodo Dragon,” Tom replied, as he admired the bug.

  “You were wise in ordering it here.”

  “Let’s hope the Proprietor wasn’t lying about that being his only combat drone.”

  The insect suddenly flew off. A second later, Tom caught sight of it in hot pursuit of a smaller bug.

  “Tom,” Captain Scarboro said through the open channel. “One of our probes has detected a large number of drones exiting the Proprietor’s base. They came out of an entrance on the east side of the mountain below the level of the shield and are heading your way.”

  “Confirmed,” Krish replied. “They will be in range in 1.4 minutes. Commander Groonth, we have incoming.”

  “Copy that,” Commander Groonth and Tom simultaneously replied.

  “We’re hugging the ground and heading your way. ETA is about one minute. Weapons are active,” the Commander added.

  “There are 48 drones each carrying a single large robot,” Krish reported.

  “The robot we encountered at the base didn’t look very impressive,” Tom said. “If that’s all he’s got, this is going to be a quick fight.”

  “These appear to be combat robots,” Krish replied. “The drones are now surrounded by shields. Engaging.”

  Two bright beams of light flashed through the sky.

  “My beam weapons are ineffective,” Krish reported as the beams continued to fire. A second later, Krish’s shield lit up in multiple locations as the Proprietor’s forces returned fire.

  “I am taking fire,” Krish reported. “Their weapons are surprisingly powerful. Shield loading is at 80%. Firing missiles.”

  Two missiles appeared, accelerating so fast as to be almost invisible. A sonic boom thumped through the air followed by two powerful explosions that caused the treetops to sway. A dozen birds rose from the canopy and quickly flew to safety as two more missiles streaked through the air.

  “Two drones destroyed. The rest are rapidly descending. Prepare for ground assault.”

  “Commander Groonth,” Lashpa said. “The Proprietor is deploying a large number of combat robots on the ground. Get the crew aboard as fast as possible. Tom and I will try to hold them off.”

  A tremendous explosion lit up the edge of the forest as one of Krish’s missiles detonated on the ground. Another one exploded just above the treetops setting some of them on fire. Tom felt the concussion of both blasts through his suit.

  “The robots have been deployed,” Krish reported, as another explosion filled the sky. “They are intercepting my missiles. Shield loading is at 91% and rising.”

  Tom looked up and noticed that Krish’s shield was heavily loaded. Dozens of energy beams were clawing at the reflective surface creating an impressive display of plasma. More beams joined them.

  “Shield is failing,” Krish calmly reported.

  “Five shuttles are on the ground,” Commander Groonth reported. “The crew is approaching from the woods. The other shuttles are serving as aerial support.”

  “Krish, cut drive!” Lashpa ordered. “Drop and crush.”

  The perfectly spherical shield surrounding the Krish suddenly plummeted to the ground. It plowed into the woods crushing everything in its path including trees, robots, and drones. The impact was so violent it sent shock waves through the ground strong enough for Tom and Lashpa to feel them.

  “Drive system is damaged,” Krish reported. “Main power is offline and I am running on emergency power.”

  “Play dead,” Lashpa ordered.

  “Acknowledged. Powering down all nonessential systems.”

  Chapter 21

  Tom’s tactical display flashed a warning and highlighted a target to his right. Turning his head, he saw the naked steel of one of the Proprietor’s robots rapidly making its way towards the abandoned camp. Increasing the magnification of his eyes, he could see that this robot was nothing like the one that had escorted him through the Proprietor’s base. This one had six, powerful legs carrying a heavily armored gun turret.

  “That’s a combat robot if I ever saw one,” Tom said.

  “There’s one directly in front of me as well,” Lashpa reported. “They’re moving towards the shuttles.”

  “Railgun auto-fire,” Tom calmly said. “Target and destroy.”

  Interpreting his command, the suit’s computer took control of Tom’s combat armor. His right arm straightened and locked into position, aligning the acceleration tube of the mini-railgun that ran from his shoulder all the way to his wrist. His arm swung a bit to the left and fired a burst of three rounds. Each time one of the explosive slugs was launched, a small chemical thruster mounted in the top of his shoulder fired, counteracting the railgun’s enormous kick.

  The slugs hit the robot and exploded causing it to stagger as it fought to maintain its balance. The turret swung around and pointed in Tom’s general direction. The suit’s tactical computer analyzed the results of its first attack and quickly adapted. Before the robot had a chance to identify a target, Tom fired another burst of 10 rounds.

  The stream of projectiles struck the robot near the base of the turret, exploding in a rapid-fire sequence that chewed through th
e armor until one of them penetrated and detonated in the robot’s power core. The deadly machine exploded, sending the heavy turret high into the air.

  The distinctive whine of an ultra-capacitor being charged filled the air. A moment later, Lashpa let loose with a blast from her more powerful hand-held railgun. A large tree at the edge of the forest exploded as one of the slugs blew the half-meter trunk into splinters. The others pummeled the robot sending it crashing into another tree before it too exploded.

  An alert caused Tom’s entire body to twist as the suit’s computer targeted another robot. A red icon appeared as a laser grazed the side of his head.

  “Damage to left cranial sensor pack,” the suit reported as a second bolt narrowly missed his right arm.

  He fired a second time turning the robot into a pile of scrap. A large explosion lit up the woods to Tom’s right as Lashpa destroyed another one. A cloud of debris flew into the air and the trees swayed from the force of the blast.

  “First shuttle is loaded and departing,” Commander Groonth reported. “A large number of drones are approaching. We will engage as they come into range.”

  Several more red icons appeared on Tom’s threat-assessment display. A large number of them were rapidly approaching from above.

  “Head for the shuttles!” Lashpa said.

  Tom unlocked his right arm and began running, changing his course in an unpredictable pattern. The ground to his left exploded as one of the drones opened fire. A second later, his tactical system took over, pointing both his railgun and the pulse rifle at the drone. His suit’s computer maintained his balance even though he was now running with both his arms pointed in the air.

  The tactical computer of Tom’s suit was tightly linked with Lashpa’s. Both were linked to Krish’s more powerful system and it was, in turn, linked to the military shuttles. Having previously identified that Krish’s two secondary lasers were insufficient to penetrate the drone’s shield, the interlinked tactical computers decided to direct additional firepower against the drone currently trying to kill Tom.