“We’ve got another minute before a fucked up track can be fixed, and we can get the pods out of here,” she told him.
“Screw that, blow the hole Natalia,” a female’s voice interrupted them.
“Bethany Anne?” Natalia asked, not sure she heard the person correctly.
“Yes, I’m here on the Ad Aeternitatem. Blow it, this is the last hurrah for these two ladies, go out fighting!”
Max turned in his chair, “Tell Jean Dukes to fucking go to town, it’s time to bring them guns to bear!”
Max wasn’t sure if he imagined or really heard Jean screaming ‘finally’ or not.
There was an explosion in the back of the Ad Aeternitatem as the helicopter cover was blown clear, and Pods started flying out of her hold.
The two ships landed in the water.
“Jean!” Max called into his mic.
“What’s up boss?”
“Make sure we got protection under water,” he told her.
“Will do, Captain.”
“Chinese vessels twenty-two miles out, Captain. They are heading in this direction, should we Puck them?”
“Jean, can the pucks protect us from the missiles?” He asked her.
“Yes sir,”
“How close do you need to be for the guns up top?”
“Twelve miles for the big ones, sir.” she replied.
Max turned, “Helm, get our guns within range.”
“Why the hell are you not Pucking them, Max?” Bethany Anne called over the system.
“Ma’am, with your permission, I’ll destroy the ships, but if we puck them they are all going down with all hands. I’d like to at least give them a chance, some of them.”
“I’d better not get another scratch on my two ships, Max,” Bethany Anne told him.
“Understood, Ma’am.”
Jean, don’t let me down, he thought.
—-
The men and women sat around the long table in the DUCC. Most of them were quiet until another update came in, “Another set of airfields got pummeled, sir.”
“I’m saying,” one of the men whispered at the end of the table, “that if we are going to protect ourselves, we need to consider taking her out while she is nursing her wounds!”
The President tried to keep a straight face when the woman next to him responded, “You jackass! What wounds?”
“Ah, sir?” one of the men handling the incoming information spoke up on the left. He hit a couple of buttons as the table turned to watch him. The large screen above his station changed from a map of China with markers over the country to one of outer space.
“Hoolllly Fuckadoozie!” someone said.
The President pressed his lips together before scratching his chin and pointing to the screen, “I’m pretty sure that is why we don’t want to try and hit them while she is nursing her non-existing wounds, Terry.” The man at the end of the table merely nodded in understanding.
She was beautiful, she was deadly, and she was entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
—
Jean and her team set up the angles and set the conditions on the gravitic drives. She screamed into the room, “This is for all the nuts, boys! Let’s teach them mother-fuckers why you don’t mess with the Queen Bitch’s Navy!”
Four hands smashed down, and the ship slammed into the water as four, two-hundred-pound slugs were ejected out of the rail guns Jean and the crew had on board. Frankly, with the Pucks being so efficient, Jean had never expected to be able to fire the guns. However, building them and installing them had kept her and her teams busy for a long time. The trajectory, time to land, air resistance and target ship movement were all calculated by the most powerful computers the world had yet to have a chance to learn about.
The destruction when they landed was devastating.
The two ships fired again. The Ad Aeternitatem only had two of the guns, but they were making the men work like crazy. The two-hundred-pound slugs had to be hand-loaded. There was no automation on the two civilian ships, although they had been retrofitted as best they could.
Of the nine ships that had turned towards them, two were listing and slowly sinking in the water. Four were implementing dodging maneuvers, and three had turned towards the two sinking to offer help to the men abandoning ship.
“Jean, one more salvo and we go to Pucks.” Max’s voice came over the intercom.
Jean hit the mic, “Understood sir, thank you from everyone in ‘guns’ for giving us this chance, sir.”
“Understood Jean, make these last shots count, Captain out.”
“Give ‘em hell,” the four hands slammed down one more time.
—
The false dawn was creeping over the horizon when Captain Shang walked back across his ship, checking on those his men had pulled from the water when he noticed a few looking up into the sky. Fearing what else could hit his men, he steeled his face and turned around.
What he saw broke his stoic expression.
A ship, radiating heat, was coming down from the upper atmosphere. It was huge, easily dwarfing his ship and was headed towards the two ships he and his men had been commanded to attack once the ‘debilitating missile salvos’ had rendered them powerless.
All it had done was cause them to drop out of the sky.
And then the response had come in hard and heavy. Their group lost four ships of the nine and at least a hundred men, if not more.
He knew his country did not have great ships, not even compared to the Americans, so this whole effort was lunacy at the highest level.
He turned back towards his men and made sure no one was gawking. They could still save a few out there where it could help right now.
Whoever was going to attack that new ship would be meeting their own ancestors just that much sooner.
Ten minutes later, Captain Shang stood transfixed in wonder and gratitude as five of the black Pods swooped in, with ropes and lifesavers sporting the names ‘Polarus’ and ‘Ad Aeternitatem’ and started fishing men out of the water.
They stayed for an hour before leaving just as silently, having helped save an additional forty-two men.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
It took a total of four hours for everything to be pulled from the two ships. The massive QBS Battleship floated in silence as the last two pods left the Ad Aeternitatem and flew to the flight deck a quarter mile above the water.
Having watched everything from her Black Eagle, Bethany Anne’s Pod flew into the bay of the massive ship for the first time.
She landed, popped the hatch, and jumped out only to turn and hear the cheering crowds who had stopped their jobs to witness the Queen Bitch land on her flagship for the first time.
Eric, who was watching from one of the walls, leaned over to Darryl and whispered, “Did I just see her blush?”
“Yeah, you did,” Darryl agreed, “I think she was caught by surprise.”
Eric nodded his head, “Good, it makes her human.”
Bethany Anne waved to everyone and walked over to Bobcat, William, and Marcus, stopping in shock when the three of them saluted her, as someone played pipes. Bobcat yelled out, “Queen on the Deck!” and smiled at her.
She returned the smile and shook her head as she hugged Bobcat. “Thank you, I owe you,” she told him as she squeezed him tight.
“Gimme some air,” he quipped as she released him, “and a six-pack and we will call it even.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped over to William and looked up holding out her arms, “Gimme a hug?” William blushed and reached down, “Missed you, big guy.” William mumbled something, and she released him and stepped over to Marcus, “You’re next.” She held open her arms and Marcus tried to just reach around and pat her on the back but got caught in a full hug, “Come’on, didn’t you miss me?” She laughed as Marcus tried to make up something that sounded nice, but failed miserably.
“Don’t worry,” She told him, “I know you are happy with a science proble
m and TOM, I’m just the third wheel…Somewhere after these two here,” she said and waved to Bobcat and William.
“So,” she looked at the three men, “where the hell is the driver’s seat on this thing?” She laughed when Bobcat rolled his eyes, knowing she was kidding with him.
“No, really.” She dropped her smile and asked, “Where is the bridge, I have a call to make and then I’m going to seriously get my mad out.”
Bobcat showed her to one of the five carts available for them to ride towards the bridge, and they got on. Team BMW, Bethany Anne, and her Guards left the Pod landing deck as people continued working to pack away everything brought up from the other two ships.
—
Pilot Paul Jameson was focused on the several possibilities Bethany Anne might give him when…
“Queen on the Bridge!” was called out and Paul turned to see her. She was still wearing operations clothes, although he suspected she had changed to clean ones if the rumors of her getting down and dirty in the fighting were true.
Shit, there was even a rumor she had staked two guys to a wall before coming back and sucking them dry of blood.
“People,” She stopped and eyed every one of them, “I’ll come around and get to know you in a little while. Right now I’m leaving Bobcat in command as I don’t know enough to tell you what to do. What I need, once we make sure our two faithful friends are sent towards the asteroid fields, is a demonstration of our power. One that China will recognize, or I’m going to start at the top of their organization and start wiping out idiots.”
She took a step down into the area and walked around, “I’ve been asked by the President of the United States to leave as much as I can in one piece. That way, the world will still function. I believe we can do that. If this doesn’t work, well then they truly are an obstinate and prideful people.”
She turned to see Bobcat standing beside the Captain’s chair.
“Aren’t you going to sit there?” She asked him.
“No, I can command from standing beside you just fine.”
She nodded her head and stepped up to turn and sit down in the Captain's chair. “Communications, make a call to the Defender.”
It took a second for a familiar voice to come online, “Captain Thomas here.”
“Captain Thomas, this is Bethany Anne, how long before you arrive?”
“We will be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Very good, I’ll have comms send you the new location, please meet us there. We are going to make sure the Polarus and Ad Aeternitatem are on their way, and then be there ourselves. Please stay in space until we are ready for you to show yourself.”
“Understood.”
“See you soon.”
Captain Thomas disconnected, and Bobcat leaned over, “We have the Polarus and the Ad Aeternitatem both heading towards space right now. We should be able to clear them in ten minutes.”
“Good,” she told him, “It’s time.”
Bobcat nodded and took a step forward, “Samantha.” He spoke aloud, “Please show your Avatar on the main screen.”
Samantha, showing her visage on screen had her face look around the bridge to show she was taking everyone in before she focused on the woman in the middle, “My Queen.”
“My ship.” Bethany Anne responded. “I understand from ADAM that it is time to give you your new designation, are you comfortable with this?”
“Yes, I understand and have been looking forward to my new future. I have been Samantha while this ship has been built, but it is time to understand my new role.”
“E.I. Samantha,” Bethany Anne started, with those watching the change, “You are now designated QBS ArchAngel, a Leviathan Class Battleship. You will take my visage as your Avatar as will all ships while I am in attendance in peace, and in war when I declare it. Have you scanned my face and body?”
The face on the screen changed to Bethany Anne’s, “I have.”
“Good, now, here is the one I want you to use when we are at war.” Many on the bridge were surprised and subconsciously tried to take a step back, only to bump into their own stations and couldn’t move further away from the woman with the red eyes, smoldering face, and anger evident in her facial expression.
There was a collective breath of relief when Bethany Anne’s face relaxed, and her eyes dimmed to her normal color.
“ArchAngel, let me see your visage.” Bethany Anne looked at herself when she was angry and nodded, “Send a video of yourself speaking with the demands I’ll provide in a minute.” Bethany Anne turned to step back to the Captain's chair and turned around.
“Ma’am, Polarus and Ad Aeternitatem are clear.”
“Good,” she said, “ArchAngel, this is what I want you to transmit…
DUCC - Washington D.C., USA
“Sir, we have another ship.”
The President turned, “What? I thought we only had one ship to worry about.”
“We have two of those son-of-a-bitches to deal with?” came from down at the end of the table.
“No sir, this is a different ship. The only way we found it was by NASA noticing we had some stars being blocked, sir.”
A video came up with a very grainy image showing a long rectangular object, all black and squared off edges, “It’s not very pretty.”
“It’s not very big, either,” Matthew Rodriquez, lead for the intelligence group, pointed out, “Maybe between a hundred and a hundred and fifty feet. Hard to get a good reading.”
“What the hell is she up to with that thing?” Matthew asked the room.
No one had a good answer to that question.
China
The Chairman of the Central Committee in China was in a deep bunker, away from the obvious places that a country might bomb. He was pretty infuriated that not only were his country’s efforts to acquire the technology a dismal failure, now they were being attacked by the same technology they had tried to steal. It was a telling point that they were right about needing the technology.
But the lesson was not pleasant.
There were fourteen men in the underground communications bunkers. So far, they had not shared anything with the world about what was happening.
He looked over the group, his main Generals who carried the weight of the armies and navy on their shoulders.
“I am to understand,” he asked, looking towards Admiral Jiang, “that our effort to surprise their two ships was a failure?”
“Yes, Chairman,” Jiang admitted, “We were able to force them from the air down to the water, but our missile and torpedo efforts were unable to pierce their defenses.
“Now,” he continued, “they have flown those two ships away, but I am to understand a massive spaceship has arrived, coming in fire through the sky?”
SUED FOR PEACE (The Kurtherian Gambit Book 11) Page 26
