Jenny pressed a few buttons on the console before her, then reported back. “The assault force has been reduced to less than one hundred, but we have suffered extensive losses. We cannot hold them back for much longer.”
Ryan pressed a button on the helm and the image of Doctor Chen appeared. “Please tell me you’re ready?”
“Almost, we are finalising the procedure.”
Ryan momentarily lost his cool, “We need it now!”
**********
Marcus Jones paced back and forth as General Sherman Harding’s head hung low over the round table. About the table were four other Generals displaying a single star on their shoulders. Outside the circular glass walled room was a ring of communication workstations and data storage mainframes. This was the top secret Strategic Command Centre near Omaha Airforce Base. The centre was built thirty metres underground and designed to survive a direct hit from a nuclear weapon. Above their heads was a loud speaker tuned in on the AWAC Communication frequency. The voice of the officer aboard the AWAC aircraft that patrolled near San Francisco came through loud and clear. “Big brother two two one to Strategic Command, the bogies were invisible to our radar but the air disturbance created by their wake gave us something to track. They traversed our screens in less than a minute before they disappeared. Sir, they travelling so fast that a hurricane had developed behind them. There was no way we could deploy an offensive in such a short time frame. In my twenty years of experience, I have never seen anything like it in my life.”
“Thanks for that Captain, we will keep you posted.” Harding replied. He looked over at Marcus and indicated to him to come closer. Marcus stopped pacing and lent over so Sherman could whisper in his ear. “It’s now obvious that we fighting an alien force. That guy was telling the truth.”
“Yeah, but where is his super force and why are they letting them through? For all we know they have all been destroyed and we are all that is left to defend Earth.” The other officers looked at each other wondering what they were talking about.
“If that’s so then god help us!” Sherman turned back as Marcus returned to pacing around the table.
The voice of another AWAC officer bellowed over the loud speaker. “This is Big Brother Five Seven over Washington reporting in. Bogies detected south, south east, heading three two. Permission to engage target?”
Harding said reluctantly, “Permission granted.”
“Big Brother to Wolfman, you have bogies on your twelve for two hundred at a heading of three two. Speed......speed of Mach fourteen.”
“Say again Big Brother?” Asked the leader of the forty first squadron.
“I repeat, speed of Mach fourteen.”
“Big Brother, can you send a message to Strategic Command and ask them how we are supposed to shoot down something travelling at five times the maximum speed of our missiles?”
“Copy that Wolfman, will transmit.” There was a pause before the AWAC officer continued. “Big Brother Five Seven to Strategic Command, message from the fray - how are we supposed fight a force travelling at Mach fourteen? Over.”
Marcus stopped again and leaned in towards the Voicepoint speaker in the centre of the table. “Tell them just to their best.”
“Roger that Strategic Command, Big Brother Five Seven out.”
One of the generals opposite Sherman lent in wearing a deep scowl on his face. “General Harding, those are my boys you’re sending in against an unknown force. If there is anything you can tell me about them I want to know now!”
Marcus glared over at the one star general and said, “That is top secret information on only a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know.”
“Who is running this show Sherman, you or that CIA pinhead?”
Sherman stood from his chair so quick that it fell over behind him. “I ashore you that I am running the show General Townes.” Sherman leered at Marcus, “Mr Jones, you will not address my staff again without clearing it with me first, is that clear?!”
“Yes.” He replied with a gasp of exasperation.
“Then can you tell me what the hell my men are going up against?!” Townes shouted in frustration.
“It is as Mr. Jones said, you don’t need to know.” Sherman retorted firmly.
Townes lent back and folded his arms. Sherman could clearly see the anger that he bottled within and he sympathised with him. But it was best to keep quiet, as it would do no good to tell them anyway.
**********
Captain Brooks, call sign Wolfman, and his squadron of Lockheed YF22 Stealth Fighters cruised towards the oncoming force at twice the speed of sound as he addressed his fellow pilots. “Okay, it’s like this. Strategic Command is unable to assist us, so it’s up to us. My plan is to launch our missiles thirty seconds before intercept and climb as fast as we can to fifty thousand feet. That should be high enough to avoid the storm behind the bogies. During the climb we will keep searching for any sign of a specific target. When we get a lock we can guide the missiles in at a safe distance. If you guys have got any better ideas, I would really like to hear it?” He paused for a moment and waited for a reply, but non came. “Okay then let’s do it. On my mark launch missiles. Five .....four ......three ......two .......one ......mark!” With that, thirty AIM120R long range AMRAAM missiles were on their way into the thick cloud bank that developed before them. The air about the fifteen YF22 fighters screamed as they fired their afterburners to climb thirty thousand feet before the storm bank hit.
Beneath the aircraft was a high resolution video camera and a laser to guide the missiles. Linked to the camera was the LANTIRN screen, or Low Altitude Navigation and Target Attack System for Night. Brooks anxiously watched the LANTIRN screen on the control panel as he pressed the buttons about it guiding the camera in search for a sign of something to aim at. The missile’s radar and heat tracking capabilities were useless as the bogies omitted neither. Fifteen seconds passed and nothing developed as a clear target, and then he saw them. From the high angle he could see several small spikes of superheated air jutting out from the front of the storm, finally he had a target.
“I have some targets for us. At the front of the storm there are a number of small protrusions from the cloud bank. Aim your missiles at the front of the protrusions.”
“I see ëem Cap.“ Replied one the pilots who’s call sign was Redneck.
“So do I.” Announced another.
The storm front closed quickly as the range dropped below forty kilometres. The altimeter was climbing past forty five thousand feet when Brooks realised how high the storm front reached. It was well above their altitude, in the vicinity of sixty thousand feet. They were about to impact head on with the worst storm front in human history!
“Cap, we’re not going to make it.” Said one of the pilots over the radio.
“I know, but we can’t climb any faster. We are in for a bumpy ride boys!” Moments before they impacted with thick cloud, Brooks caught a glimpse of the craft that he had targeted. It was like nothing he had ever seen before; small, jet black and very very fast. In his mind it was not made by human hands, but by something alien. A chill ran down his spine as the phenomenal force from the storm front impacted with his YF22 and shot it up to seventy thousand feet in a matter of seconds. The force caused him to black out as the blood from his head was sent rushing into his legs. The gee suit he wore immediately inflated pushing the blood back into the top half of his body as the gee counter registered seventeen gees.
Consciousness soon returned to find several warning lights and alert sounds assaulting his foggy consciousness. His YF22 was in a stall dive as smoke and fuel bellowed out from several stress fractures in the fuselage. He frantically pressed the engine ignition button on the console before him and after a number of attempts, it turned over. With power back he levelled the aircraft off at sixty one thousand feet just above the storm below. He scanned the sky about him for any sign of survivors but found none. He viewed the radar screen and again sa
w nothing. Then a blip appeared from out of the storm, and it climbed to meet him. Brooks was not concerned about the threat of the unidentified aircraft as it travelled to slow for one of the alien ships. “Wolfman to unidentified aircraft do you read me over?”
“Redneck to Wolfman, it’s good to hear your voice.”
“Redneck, what shape are you in?”
“Not too good, I think I’ve a broken leg and my plane is only just in one piece. Where are the others?”
“Sorry Redneck, I’m afraid we’re it.”
There was a moment’s silence as Brooks words sank in. All of their friends were gone! After a while, Redneck asked, “Do you think we downed any?”
“I honestly don’t know. I need to report in.” Brooks changed frequencies to the AWAC communication channel. “Wolfman to Big Brother, the mission has failed, repeat, the mission has failed. No confirmed kills.”
**********
Behind the seven Warbirds were five Starfighters. The windstorm that had developed behind their hypersonic flight snapped at the heels of the Starfighter’s jet wash. Wolfman’s tactics were more successful that he realised. Although the AMRAAM missiles has little chance of hitting one of the Warbirds, it did cause them to react and avoid a direct hit. The defensive manoeuvre gave the Starfighter pilots a probable target point enabling them to down a pair of Warbirds.
Despite their valiant attempts to stop the Warrian ships, time had run out, and their missiles of mass destruction were on their way. Washington was the first to see the thermomolecular ball of superheated energy explode one kilometre above the city centre. At this altitude the blast would have maximum effect on the landscape below. The sunrise in the east was quickly overshadowed by the synthetic counterpart and the ball rapidly expanded to thirty kilometres across. The ball impacted with the Whitehouse below and spread out vaporising everything as it went. The shock wave that preceded the massive fireball lifted most structures from their foundations enabling the trailing wall of annihilation to easily shatter the molecular structure of the buildings.
Soon the epicentre changed colour to a deep red and slowly raised to form a giant smoky mushroom. The ball that was now a white hot ring continued to rub out the landscape as it went leaving a horrible black scar in its wake. In less than fifteen seconds, a one hundred and fifty kilometre expanse from the centre of Washington was obliterated. The destruction did not stop there. Violent winds and toxic gasses further extended the horror to over two hundred and fifty kilometres leaving no trace of the city’s existence.
Moments later, a second burst flared over New York.
Many of the inhabitants of the two cities chose to hide in basements and underground carparks not willing to leave the proximity of their homes. In less than a minute, a death toll was reached that exceed the tally from all the World Wars of the twentieth century put together. A tally of fifty million souls.
**********
Sherman’s head lay firmly planted in his hands, and Marcus had stopped pacing. The weapons that destroyed the cities had also cut down many of the AWAC aircraft. The spy satellites were useless as most of the country was covered in thick cloud banks with wind speeds equivalent to the worst of hurricanes. The last message to come through was to confirm the destruction of Washington D.C. and New York.
General Townes was leaning back in his seat with a stunned expression on his face. The expression slowly changed to a deep scowl and he stood up from his seat. He quickly paced around the table to where Sherman was seated, then dragged him to his feet and slammed him against the glass wall. Townes, at the age of forty two was a good twenty years younger than Harding and little trouble in pinning Sherman down. “What in God’s name is wiping us out?!”
Sherman stared him in the eye and said. “Isn’t it obvious, we are fighting an alien force.”
Townes released him and staggered back against the table. Harding’s words got the immediate attention of the rest of the occupants in the room. One of the Generals on the table announced, “We didn’t stand a chance did we?”
Marcus jumped to their defence, “We had to do something.”
“You should have told us. We could have thought of something better than your failed plan.” Townes added.
Sherman stood before him and said, “Like what? They have ships that are so fast that their wake alone can destroy us. Let’s just hope that he can save us.”
“He? Who is he?” Townes questioned.
Sherman said with conviction, “Our last chance for hope.”
**********
The list of major cities grew and grew as the Intersect Space Force was quickly being wiped out. Projected lives lost so far was well over three and a half billion, with more than sixty cities destroyed. What was a greater concern to Ryan was the faltering mission to save the Megaproton Energy Field generator. If that were to be destroyed, then so would all life on Earth. All Starfighters had been withdrawn from the defence of the cities, and sent to support the force that was in the north Atlantic fighting a battle to save Earth itself. Adam broke all protocol and pushed his ship to the limit and beyond to reach the North Pole before the Warrian Warbirds. At two thousand times the speed of sound he and the remaining members of Blue squadron arched up to the outer atmosphere and back down to intercept the Warbirds below. Their flight took less than a minute to traverse more than half the globe and developed wind storms that would take months to dissipate. But too much was at stake as they had to stop the Warrians.
**********
The projected image of Doctor Chen startled Ryan when it unexpectedly developed before them. “Ryan, we have done it! Data transfer is underway. We should see a result within the minute.”
“Good work Uncle James. I just hope that we are not too late.”
**********
The remains of Blue squadron plummeted towards the Earth’s surface at seemingly impossible speeds. Below, a group of seven Warbirds had managed to break away from the main battle further south, and were almost within range for missile launch. The three locked onto the targets and waited until they were at minimum range for missile launch. Adam, Sabastian and John fired then swooped in behind the group. Most of the missiles missed their targets as Warbirds performed a number of skilful manoeuvres that the missiles could not match. Only one of John’s missiles hit the mark and disabled the Warbird. His quick reflexes sent a barrage of laser fire directly at the damaged fuselage and ruptured the ship scattering it over the permanent ice pack below. The sun was low on the horizon but it was enough to light the frozen landscape. A snow storm front lined the sky in the distance ahead providing a stark transition to the deep blue sky above them.
The six remaining Warbirds broke up with two going on ahead as the rest manoeuvred into an offensive position. Outnumbered two to one, Sabastian was the first to feel the sting of the Warbirds lasers. Two beams impacted with his rear energy shields depleting their effectiveness to only twenty percent. The next beam hit home and tore the Starfighter in two. A great burst of fire signalled the end of Sick and the impending doom of the mission. John drew up near Adam as the two fought off the barrage of laser fire from behind as they refused to give up. Greater manoeuvrability of their Starfighters gave them the edge to survive long enough to fire upon the two Warbirds directly ahead. Once again the Warbirds evaded their attack.
John’s Starfighter shuddered as a beam struck its mark. The onboard computer announced his shields were down to fifty percent. He pushed his skill to the limit to avoid another hit, but with four Warbirds on his tail, it was only a matter of time. Despite the amount of fire from behind, the X3000 coupled with Adam’s skill made them untouchable as the deadly beams missed their mark. Another beam clipped John’s port wing. The shields were able to reduce the potential damage by half, but still a small section of the wing was torn open. With the manoeuvrability of his Starfighter compromised, John knew that he had only moments to live.
Several explosions from behind jolted Johns Starfighter. “This i
s the end of the line for me Superman, do us proud.” John said he accepted his fate.
“That wasn’t your ship ya wally, it was the Warbirds blowing up!” Adam shouted back over the comlink.
John glanced at the rear view monitor to see nothing but fiery particles scattered across the cold landscape. “Yes! The boss’s Uncle came through.”
“Now let’s down these two before it’s too late.”
“Roger that Superman.” They closed in on the Warbird on the left and with the two on one, the odds were in their favour. John fired several shots below and to the right of the enemy vessel to push it into Adam’s sights. The tactic worked. Adam fired two missiles that instantly tore the Warbird apart. As small fragments rattled off the fuselage of the Starfighters, they moved in on the last Warbird.
Betty confirmed the urgency of their mission. “Twelve seconds to predetermined Warrian missile range.”
“Vain, I’ll go in front so it can target me. You stay behind in case it doesn’t work.”
“Roger that Superman.”
Adam pushed the X3000 harder and moved in front of the Warbird. At first he was coy in allowing himself to become a target, however when he had no reaction from the alien ship, he became more bold and presented himself as an easy target. “It’s not working, in must be too close for missile range. Take it out.”
With that, John launched everything he had at the Warbird. Two missiles and several blasts of laser fire were thrown at the Warbird. The astounding performance of the Computer Pilot System enabled the Warbird to manoeuvre around them all, then launched several missiles at the field generator. John’s initial barrage put the Warbird in a predictable manoeuvre and his second burst of laser fire hit home. The Warbird burst into flames as two wings were torn away, then it plummeted to the ice below.
Adam quickly relayed the news back to Mission Control. “Blue Leader to Mission Control, Delta team has failed. The Generator is about to go down. I repeat, The Generator is about to go down. Over.”
The Great Talisman (Intersect Book 2) Page 17
