Conflict: Rise Of Mankind Book 4

by John Walker

  Rudy’s shields flared up as he approached the chunks of ship, debris burning up before touching his hull. He checked his scanners, still finding nothing. The whole venture made him sick to his stomach. Heading out there should’ve made him feel better that he was trying something rather than sitting on the hangar deck of the Behemoth.

  Instead, he just realized how futile the gesture was. He wasn’t helping Harlon or anyone else. Maybe a little time away from others would help him come to terms with the loss. But what a stupid situation! Locked linkage? Why? How? Such a malfunction was certainly possible but not entirely probable.

  I wish we could get the ship back to find out how it happened. I don’t want repeat.

  Rudy continued to drift among the debris, ever hopeful his scanners might pick something up. He figured he had some time to kill before the Behemoth came back to get him and the others. He’d spend it wisely, looking for his friend and conjuring up any stories he might be able to tell about him to his comrades.

  You’ll never be forgotten, Harlon. I promise.

  ***

  Gray gripped the arms of his chair tightly, staring intently at the screen. They were closing on the enemy, coming up on them fast. The other might be able to jump out at any moment so they needed to hit them hard. Knocking out their ability to escape meant keeping their country ignorant of what happened in that system.

  Everyone on the bridge kept their heads down, focusing on their work. Olly fed reports back to Gray, different factors of their surroundings and the course the enemy was taking. He also continued to show that their jamming worked. That’s a relief. If they were able to communicate back to their home base, any attack would be pointless other than removing one more threat from the galaxy.

  Even if they can replace these quickly, taking them out is just one more blow to their armada. Each ship we destroy is another one they can’t attack us with.

  The screen showed the Behemoth veer to port, putting the enemy to their starboard. Gray looked at Redding but before he could ask, she shook her head.

  “Acquiring a firing solution on critical systems,” Redding said. “Olly, lock in their engine room to the targeting computer.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Olly went to work and the two coordinated their assault.

  Cannons fired, hammering the enemy vessel half way back toward the stern. Their shields held but Redding didn’t unleash every weapon at once. She hit them gradually, firing one volley at a time to maximize their firepower through the recharge cycle. Every blast hit the same location with exquisite accuracy.

  Okay, she probably deserves a commendation for all she’s done in this fight. That was some fantastic shooting.

  Gray considered the ordinance their bombers carried and wondered how they could best put them to use. They didn’t traditionally rely on shipboard missile firing but the smaller fighters couldn’t keep up with what they were doing. Frankly, the bombs might not be able to either. They’d likely fall short of their target because their thrusters wouldn’t provide enough speed.

  Unless we get out in front of them and let them run into them.

  “Redding, what’re the chances you can outrun these guys and get out in front of them?”

  “I can probably do it,” Redding said. “I thought we wanted to prevent them from jumping. We don’t want to become an obstacle, do we?”

  “Not us, but a bunch of bombs…”

  Redding nodded. “Understood, sir. I’m on it.”

  Gray patched into the hangar. “Hangar Control, I need you to take some bomb ordinance and prepare a few payloads. I’m thinking five warheads each. Get them ready so we can remote arm them. Let us know the moment you’re done.”

  “Yes, sir. We’re on it.”

  “You intend to make mines,” Clea said. “Good idea.”

  “Thank you. If it works, this may well be how we wrap this up.”

  “The idea came from what the pilot did, am I correct?”

  Gray nodded. “To some extent, yes. His entire payload plus the pulse drive took the shields down from the other one. I’m hoping we see the same results with this plan.”

  “Your hopes tend to come true.” Clea turned to her computer. “I’ll calculate the number we’ll need to bring them down and coordinate with Hangar Control.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Gray turned his attention to an incoming message from Adam. Conspirators have been identified. We are moving in to arrest them now.

  Gray felt his spine stiffen as he wrote back, who are they and do you know why they did it?

  Lieutenant Theresa Conway, Ensign Amos Roper and Lieutenant JG Timothy Collins. They wanted to stir up trouble between the alliance and Earth. Collins claimed it was Admiral Jameson’s idea.

  “God damn it,” Gray muttered, shaking his head. He’d heard the admiral’s anti-alliance rhetoric before and tried to win allies all the time. It didn’t even make sense. They saved humanity but he still didn’t trust them. Now, he intentionally sabotaged the Behemoth for his cause? That man was going to prison.

  How did they intend to make this look like alliance problems?

  Adam took a moment to write back but when he did, the words made Gray even angrier. They intended to frame Clea.

  A woman who sacrificed much to live among humans during one of the most xenophobic times in Earth’s history. These people had a lot of nerve and none of it was positive. Gray scowled and looked forward to having a conversation with the three saboteurs, especially Tim. That young man broke his heart.

  You threw away a bright future for another man’s political schemes. What a waste.

  Gray turned to look at Clea. He’d come to think of her as a friend and confidante. They’d worked together since before the refit of the Behemoth. They taught each other much about their respective cultures. She was utterly devastated by her sister’s betrayal. No one who knew her would believe her capable of sabotage.

  Jameson needed to spend time with the alliance representatives to see how similar they were. His selfish, misguided notions made humanity look like fools. Ignorance such as prejudice might always exist but in this case, it was detrimental to the entire species and the planet. Without alliance support, the Earth would be done.

  If he doesn’t know that, he doesn’t deserve to wear his uniform.

  “Sir,” Clea interrupted his thinking. “I’ve done the math and Olly just checked it. I’m afraid we’re going to need a lot of bombs to do what we’re hoping to achieve. Mostly because, correct me if I’m wrong, we want to get this done in one pass.”

  “Yes, that would be best.”

  Clea nodded. “Very well. I’ve had them tether together fifty bombs and they’re ready to jettison them on Lieutenant Commander Redding’s mark. I can remotely arm them so they’ll detonate at the right time. Ultimately, our goal is to disable their defenses. However, secondarily I would like to see their engines taken offline or at least their jump capability.”

  “Very good.” Gray let out a breath and whistled. “Fifty. That’s quite the payload. Redding, are we going to be able to get away from that shockwave?”

  “It might singe our backside a little,” Redding replied. “But I don’t see why not. I’ll hammer them with the pulse cannons as well.”

  The Behemoth shook from an attack by the enemy. Gray noted on the view screen that they were pulling ahead. At least we’re faster than them. Never raced one of these guys before. Good to know. “Looks like they’re not happy with being overtaken. Think they know what we’re up to?”

  “It’s not an alliance tactic,” Clea said. “We tend to have to wear one another down.”

  “It’s all in your hands, Redding.”

  Another blast shook the ship and a light flashed brightly enough on Olly’s console that it grabbed Gray’s attention. He waited for the young man to report on it but figured he knew what he’d hear: shield power reduced. The fact they were pushing the engines to outrun the enemy and being hit would take its to
ll.

  Olly confirmed his suspicion, adding, “ we’re only going to have one or two blasts with the cannons before they need to be recharged at this rate of speed. We’re taxing the power reserves as it is.”

  “Are they ready to get those bombs out there?” Gray asked Clea.

  “Yes, sir.” Clea checked her readings. “If my calculations are correct, we’re going to see quite a show when they go off. Far more destructive than a fighter’s pulse core to be sure. I’d say this is overkill but I decided to err on the side of too much.”

  Olly raised his hand, “I’d just like to say if that payload doesn’t obliterate them in one go, they will at least be temporarily crippled. That’s a lot of destructive power.”

  “If only we could time delay them, then the shields would absorb the first blow and the second would knock them out.” Gray hummed. “Any chance?”

  Clea shook her head. “No, because anything we jettison will be annihilated. If the bombs aren’t armed or don’t go off at the same time, they’ll be destroyed before they can. Literally vaporized.”

  “Well, the turrets can do the rest then.” Gray checked their relative position. They’d pulled ahead but only just. He wanted a little more space if at all possible. “Are we at full power?”

  “And then some,” Redding said. “Our engines are approaching redline. We might have to settle for the bombs being detonated near them. If we want the ship to run the payload over, it might not happen. I won’t be able to maintain this for long.”

  “So we’ll drop it, veer off and detonate.” Gray leaned forward. “We’re going to need some specific timing to pull this off. They’ll race right by the ordinance otherwise.”

  “I’ll arm them before they leave the ship,” Clea said. “I calculate we’ll have less than two seconds to detonate to catch them. We are moving very fast.”

  “Wait!” Olly tapped his screen for a moment. “I’ve got an idea. I can set the bombs to react to their shield frequency! Protocol Seven won’t take them down but I still was able to analyze the way they randomize. Because they change theirs differently than we do, it won’t blow up next to us but only them.”

  “How long?” Gray asked.

  “Already done. The detonators are programmed into our console per Clea’s instructions.”

  “Sounds good.” Gray took a deep breath and leaned back. “I’m pretty sure we’re up ahead as much as we can be. Redding, can you buy us any more distance?”

  An audible alarm began to sound. Another blow from the enemy shook the ship, this time harder. This brought yet a different alert to the bridge. They were running out of time and needed to take action soon. The next few moments would decide the outcome of the fight for good or ill.

  “The first sound you heard was the engines complaining about redlining,” Redding said. “I think I’ve got us out as far as possible from the enemy, sir.”

  “The second was our shields weakening,” Olly added. “Minor damage to crew quarters on decks seventeen and nineteen. We can’t take another shot there until the shields charge up.”

  “And no maneuvering,” Gray said. “Okay, Clea, you’re up. Get those bombs out there and see what happens. Redding, fire our one blast of turrets on them as you veer off. Once we’re at the safe minimum distance, get the engines back to a safe zone and get our guns back up. If we’re lucky, the bombs will do all the work but if not…we’ll have quite the fight on our hands.”

  Chapter 11

  Clea surprised herself. Her hands trembled as she prepared herself to handle the bombs. Nerves got to her and she didn’t exactly know why. She’d been under pressure before but this time was different. If she made an error, she could very well be responsible for the enemy ship’s escape.

  The calculations were all sound, she triple checked them. She simply needed to hit the button at the right time. Automation might delay even more than an organic hand. This meant she was responsible and it would be fast. The moment she ordered them to release the bombs, she would count one second and detonate.

  A split second is really all we have.

  Willing her heart beat to slow down did not help. Sweat formed on her brow, tickling the back of her neck. Any moment, Redding would announce that they were prepared and then…

  “Go!” Redding shouted. “We’re in position but I don’t know how long we can hold this!”

  Panic threatened to grip Clea’s neck and she breathed through it. Clearing her throat, she tried to speak with confidence into her microphone. “Hangar one, this is the bridge. Deploy mine and report the moment it has cleared the ship.”

  “Mine deploying!” The voice crackling in her ear bud sounded just as nervous as she felt. “Standby!”

  The moment of truth. Clea tapped the button to arm the devices. If the soldiers moving the bombs were nervous before, they might well be terrified now. They would be at ground zero for any sort of mishap. Of course, they wouldn’t even know what hit them. It would be over in an instant.

  The ship shook again as the enemy hammered them with another shot of their turrets. This time, they struck a different shield section so did not cause the amount of damage they could’ve. Everyone around her performed their jobs without looking even remotely tense. Did they not realize just how dangerous this would be?

  At least they have confidence in you. That’s something.

  “The bomb is clear!”

  Clea realized, in less than half a second, her calculations did not take into account the time delay between the bomb’s deployment and when they reported it was gone. She hit the button, detonating them without the count. A quiet prayer danced through her mind, something from her childhood she hadn’t given a second thought for many years.

  “Detonating!” Redding veered away but when the explosion didn’t go off instantly, Clea feared the remote failed.

  Please don’t say…

  When it hit, Clea clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress a yelp. The shockwave slapped them from behind so suddenly the artificial gravity could not keep up. They listed, tilting to what they perceived to be the right. Gray shouted a command to Redding but Clea couldn’t hear what he said.

  Someone else shouted as the lights went out. Sparks erupted around them from different panels shorting out. As the ship seemed to right itself, Gray shouted over to Olly, demanding a damage report. The young man told him he needed a moment to catch up. The main view screen was off.

  We’re still alive…that’s saying something.

  “Engines are using auxiliary power only!” Olly called out. “Weapons are rebooting. We can maneuver but there’s no shooting!”

  “Shields?” Gray demanded. “How are our defenses?”

  “Sections thirty through forty-five are severely damaged, our rear basically!” Olly paused. “We need to get turned!”

  “Redding, do you have control?”

  “Sluggish, but I’m maneuvering.”

  “What’s the enemy doing?” Gray asked. “Did we take them out?”

  “No…but they’re not moving either.”

  “That’s why we listed,” Clea found her voice. “We lost propulsion and the compensation kicked in to slow us down. They probably have a similar failsafe. If you hadn’t veered off, they probably would’ve run into us.”

  “Good to know.” Gray turned to Olly again. “If you don’t get those weapons up before they do, they’re going to really cause some devastation.”

  “I’m on it, sir! They can only recharge so quickly! I’m diverting power while engineering works on the generators.”

  Clea turned to Gray. “I can get down there and help them out. Permission to leave the bridge.”

  “Hurry, Clea. We don’t have time for mistakes right now.”

  “Aye, sir. Talk to you in a moment.”

  Clea hurried to the elevator and slammed the button, bouncing on her feet as it began to descend. Her sense of urgency overwhelmed her earlier nerves. Adrenaline consumed her. This race against time gave he
r all the thrill she needed for an entire year. When they finished, she fully intended to take a twelve hour rest period and do nothing at all.

  I think we’ve all earned the time off. Now to make sure we get it.

  ***

  Before the Bomb Detonated

  Hoffner grabbed Corporal Bobby Jenks, Corporal Dylan Walsh and Sergeant Clint Marsten to arrest the prisoners. The three men were typically reserved for ground missions so sitting out the shipboard action. When he told them they needed to arrest some people, they actually got pumped up at the idea.

  Not exactly the reaction I need but not surprising either. These guys hate sitting out in the middle of action.

  “You sure they’re criminals?” Jenks asked. “I mean, how do we know?”

  “We don’t,” Marsten replied. “Else we’d just put ‘em down, right Captain?”

  “They’ve been accused of a crime,” Hoffner replied. “Which means they get arrested and tried. But that doesn’t mean you don’t go in armed. If they did what they’ve been accused of, then they might be capable of shooting at you.”

  Walsh laughed. “To what end? Like they could escape the ship? And where would they go? We’re not exactly near a friendly base.”

  “You’re counting on rationality,” Hoffner said. “Just be professional, bring them in and call it good, you got it?”

  “Yes, sir!” The three men shouted.

  “Okay, Jenks, you’re with me. We’ll get Conway.” Hoffner gestured to the others. “You two get Roper. He’s at his post in Tech Lab Six.”

  “We’ll get him,” Marsten said. “See you back at the brig, sir.”

  Hoffner led the way down to the crew quarters, drawing his weapon once the elevator opened. Jenks followed suit, losing some of his swagger as soon as they faced the actual assignment. That’s why he was picked for the duty. The man knew when to shut up and get down to business.