by John Walker
“I’m a good shot,” Dex said. He aimed his weapon, drawing an irritable sigh from Avania.
“Very well. If you’re so determined to go now, just be sure you kill the one working the controls first.” Avania nodded to him. “Please do the honors of starting the fight.”
Dex finally looked back at Warren. “Can I go?”
“Oh, you’re asking permission now?” The comment made the marine glower. “Sorry, just wondering if you remembered who’s in charge. I’m glad you do. We’ll take these alien pricks out and save our people. I’m ready.”
Gary beat them all to the punch, firing his weapon and catching the guy at the controls directly in the chest. The others reacted immediately, diving for cover behind the conveyer belt. This effectively gave them cover behind more humans and they started shooting back. Blue beams filled the air as Warren and his team moved closer to the wall, out of the line of fire.
“They were quick to respond,” Dex muttered.
“And we have to move,” Avania replied. “Or your people will die. I’m not suggesting we charge but haste is of the essence. Shall we?”
“It’s not your fight.” Warren put his hand on her forearm. “We’ve got this.”
Avania yanked away from him. “You don’t get to tell me what my fight is or is not. I’m going with you. Now follow me.” She moved swiftly along the wall, pausing just before a corner. Moving any further put them in the line of sight of their opponents. She cleared her throat and shouted something in another language.
A like response came back, though guttural and seemingly full of rage. It reminded Warren of Japanese. The hard syllables gave it a commanding, frightening edge. Whatever the guy said made Avania smirk. She looked back at Warren and chuckled. “You look quite confused. My apologies for addressing them in our tongue.”
“What the hell did you say?” Gary asked.
“I told them to surrender. That we wouldn’t kill them.”
Dex jumped in, “what did they say?”
“They asked who let me out, called me a not very nice name and stated they would skin us all alive if we didn’t surrender.” Avania shrugged. “They’re calling reinforcements so I think we have to be daring to conclude this standoff. What do you say? Have you any lust for glory in you?”
Gary groaned. “They’re using human shields over there. It’s not like we can just jump out and start shooting.”
“What’s the lives of one for hundreds?” Avania asked. “They can only use two at a time.”
“That’s not okay!” Dex shouted.
Their alien opponents issued another lengthy commentary in their language, carrying on for quite a while this time. Warren used the time to think of another solution. He looked all around but there was nothing they could use. The area was wide open. Avania might be right but he hated that she even suggested it.
“This time,” Avania said, “they are suggesting we’re all criminals and should give up before the reinforcements arrive. They are not going to be as kind as these two. According to our targets, at least. They must be hoping to distract us for a while which means the others are busy elsewhere.”
“You said there aren’t many,” Gary said, “so what’re the numbers we’re looking at?”
“This vessel has many floors but that doesn’t concern us now.” Avania leaned against the wall. “I don’t mean to be harsh, but those are your people out there and the longer we wait, the more the converter kills.”
“Fine, I’ve got this.” Gary dashed out of cover before Warren could even lift his hand. The marine fired his weapon, throwing himself sideways so he hit the ground after four shots. Dex leaned out to cover him, cursing the whole time.
Warren crouched, trying to get a line of fire but a blue beam nearly seared his face off. He leaned back with a wince.
Gary got to his feet and started moving, crying out. If he was hit, he didn’t slow down before he reached the control panel, leaning against it for cover. He couldn’t have been more than ten feet from his opponents. The buzzing vibrations of the guns filled the air as the two aliens laid down continual suppressive fire but Warren didn’t see blue beams anymore.
“Dex!” Warren shouted. “What’re they doing?”
“Focusing on Gary.” Dex took some shots. “This God damn piece of shit is hard to aim!”
“I’ve got it!” Gary yelled back. Warren risked leaning around again, noting the two aliens were blasting away at the control panel. Gary rolled from his cover then leaped over the conveyer belt. A continuous sound of buzzing lasted for ten seconds. Dex charged and Warren followed, weapons at the ready.
By the time they got there, the fight was over. The two aliens were dead, lying in heaps nearby. Gary leaned against the conveyer assembly, holding a nasty black wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t the only damage he suffered. He’d been hit in the stomach and leg. Some of his left hand was missing, burnt off from the middle of his palm down.
“Jesus Christ!” Dex knelt beside him, practically twitching. Warren had seen the helpless look on a man before several times and he knew there was nothing to be done for Gary. The man was on his way out. “You didn’t have to do that! There was another option! We would’ve found it, you impulsive maniac!”
“People were dying …” Gary coughed up blood. Gore made his chin glisten. “Had to act … had to … make something happen … quick.”
“Oh, Gary …” Dex examined his wounds, his head moving frantically between each. “I … I don’t know … this … you’re … God damn it.”
“I know …” Gary winced, closing his eyes tightly. “There’s nothing you can do. I get it. But … Help those people.”
“I’m on it.” Avania was on the control panel, tapping away at the console. The device stopped and silence fell over them. “As they come back out of this thing, I’ll need your help to get them down.”
“I’ll help.” Warren turned away from the two marines, giving them a moment together. The first five people they unstrapped wore uniforms. A couple were already dead. A grand total of nine survived their predicament going into the machine. Avania wouldn’t bring any others out. “We can’t give up on them!”
“Look at their vitals.” Avania gestured to the screen. Warren didn’t know what he was looking at. “They’re already dead … and not likely in any recognizable form.” She sighed. “They killed over ten-thousand in this machine alone.”
“Ten thousand?” Warren felt ill trying to fathom the number. “How do you know?”
Avania pointed to the screen. “I’m looking at their completion rate at this point. But we can’t focus on that right now. We need to save the ones who are okay … wake up those on the conveyer belt and get the hell out of here. That’s the plan, right?”
“Yes.” Warren glared at her. Frustration hit him hard. Having escaped their captors and fighting their way through the ship, they were far from helpless but it didn’t feel that way. There were too many unknowns. Even as they bolstered their ranks, he had too many questions and needed some answers soon to feel any control over the situation.
But ten thousand lost? That was insane. And how many more at other stations? How many people did they take? How could so many be dead already? He felt lucky that Dex didn’t catch on to that. He would’ve lost his mind. Not that he wasn’t already in a bad spot as his friend passed away. These aliens had certainly declared war on the human race.
“No!” Dex shouted. “Oh, Gary. I’m sorry, man … I’m so sorry.”
Warren stepped over to check but he already knew what he’d see. Gary was gone. “Hey.” He put his hand on Dex’s shoulder. “We might have more assholes coming in. Let’s try to wake these people up and get out of here before it’s too late. God knows we don’t want to lose anyone else.”
Dex nodded and climbed to his feet, stepping away from the body of his friend. They turned to the prone people lying on the conveyer belt and began to examine them.
The first two seemed to be in a d
eep sleep though when Warren shook one, he didn’t wake up. He wore military fatigues and had a US Army patch on his shoulder. No rank or insignia decorated the uniform. A youthful face put him at no older than nineteen, twenty at the absolute most.
“What’s wrong with them?” Warren turned to Avania. “What did they do?”
“Before I can answer that, I need to know how you escaped.” Avania looked over one of the victims as well. “You should’ve been unconscious.”
“We weren’t,” Dex said. “Captain Miller was but he woke up en route. When we docked, the vibration in the hull stopped and we jumped the assholes who came for us.”
“They did seem distracted though,” Warren added. “Like they didn’t expect us to be awake. In fact, they weren’t even paying attention when we initially attacked, remember? The third guy we interrogated stumbled back when he saw you guys take his buddies down and he only barely got his weapon ready before I got him.”
“Ah, so something malfunctioned,” Avania replied. “Or they merely made a mistake. Typically, they run the oxygen light in the collection pods. Those creatures who are inside do not have enough to stay awake. They fall asleep so that they can be easily removed and put into the converter. Plus, they tend to cram them full. It seems they may not have had as many in your chamber either. Fortunate.”
“So how do we wake these people up?” Warren gestured to them. “They seem to just be asleep but … do they give them a drug or something?”
“No.” Avania slapped the person closest to her and the person stirred. She did it again and they lifted their arms defensively.
“I’m awake … I’m awake!” The man muttered. “Stop hitting me.”
“And there you have it.” Avania gestured. “A slight bit of force seems to do the trick.”
“Okay, we’d better hurry.” Warren gestured to Dex. “You start at the front of the line over there and I’ll work toward you. Avania, watch our backs … if you can manage that. I’d rather not get shot from reinforcements. Consider that we are on a major time crunch here and any delay could mean our lives. Move it.”
***
Victoria peered at their countdown, which broke the thirty-minute mark. They had twenty-eight minutes before they would take the Leviathan into space for the first time. The monumental event was supposed to have been full of fanfare. Public relations planned a festival for it, inviting prominent members of the world to observe in person.
Necessity did away with all that and instead, they would be rushing out to meet a threat. Victoria didn’t know how to feel about it. She wished they could’ve given the technicians their glory, let them bask in the adoration of the people who barely understood the accomplishment. They deserved a moment in the spotlight, free from the stress of a catastrophe.
However, necessity pushed up the timeline, one they had been dancing around for months. Victoria and Miller had discussed the launch many times. They privately agreed the waiting was ridiculous. The council wanted the perfect moment to make it happen but none of them could agree on when that would be.
The Americans looked to Independence Day. They wanted to coincide the first launch of the battleship on their glorious day. France argued they had such a celebration to consider as well. Others said it should be a neutral time of the year but considering the sheer number of countries involved, it was hard to find one that was also weather friendly.
Alien interaction made it so the day didn’t matter. Attacking cities, killing the power, murdering or abducting citizens … all of it pushed the human race toward a war with an unknown threat. They refused to communicate, acting in an automated manner. It was as if they didn’t feel humans were worth talking to, that they could do whatever they wanted.
“Commander,” Madeline’s voice broke her train of thought, “Chief Delgado’s on the line. He says it’s urgent.”
“Patch him through.”
“We’ve got a problem,” Delgado launched right into it. “We’ve got a fuel balance problem that we’re working out and it’ll likely take longer than twenty minutes.”
Victoria lifted a brow. The news didn’t entirely surprise her but the delay wouldn’t go over well with anyone. News agencies expected the Agency to respond. More importantly, if the smaller objects had been full of abducted people, time was not on their side. Especially not for malfunctions that should’ve been caught during all the tests they’d conducted.
“I see. And what happens if we don’t delay launch?”
“Possible explosion during the ignition process,” Delgado replied. “I’m running a simulation now. It seems that we inadvertently damaged the fuel regulation module during our last test. We have an extra and we’re testing it now. Once that’s finished, we can swap it out, run the fuel test again and we should be ready.”
“How long will all that take?”
“Test is almost done now. Ten minutes to remove the old one, fifteen for the new, five for the quick test and ten to get the fuel regulated.” Halfway through the comment, Delgado started to sound sheepish. “Forty minutes. I’ll … I’ll try to make it thirty.”
“Do,” Victoria said. “Ensure you take whatever precautions are necessary. We can’t afford more damage. Let me know if you run into any more delays. Serling out.” She killed the connection and fought hard not to show her irritation visibly. “Nicolas, make sure there are no other surprises with ground control or other departments.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Nicolas got on his com.
Victoria reached out to Jacks to give him the news. He might use it as a talking point later about how they weren’t ready after all. Everyone knew the complexities of the Leviathan meant risk of some part failing. Stress tests were meant to work out the bugs, to ensure they caught broken parts.
Their diagnostics needed improvement more than anything. The broken regulator should’ve been discovered after the last test, not minutes before launch. Engineers would be debating the problem for weeks. If the aliens left without further incident. Providing the ship could take flight, they may just make such a thing happen.
But just then, Victoria couldn’t help but feel doubtful of their chances.
Madeline brought the video feed up from the traffic cameras and they watched it in silence on the big screen. Shadows fell over the vehicles. People poured out of their cars, fleeing as beams of light blasted them. They watched the attack several times, trying desperately to see whether or not they could tell if the people were killed.
Did the energy leave dust behind? Or were they gone? Was it a form of teleportation? Maybe the technicians were figuring it out. Even with the tools on the Leviathan, they didn’t have what they needed for answers. They knew Captain Miller had been caught up in the chaos but as to his actual fate, no one had a clue.
I hope they figure it out soon, Victoria thought. If they come back, we need an answer for it.
***
Jacks got off the line with Victoria and slapped his desk. Madison jumped when he did so, making the colonel frown. If the ship couldn’t do its job, they needed to do something else in the meantime. There were other ships available but none of them were combat ready. They were meant for research and exploration.
None of them even had any real weapons installed.
However, we might still be able to gather some data that way. Jacks didn’t like the idea. They would be sitting ducks near that object. If it took any aggressive action, they would be dead. Was it worth the risk of men and equipment? They might have no other choice. Earth remained in jeopardy until that thing left.
“We need more data. We have to take action.” Jacks rubbed his eyes. “And I think you know what I mean when I say that. We’re in a sticky position with the Leviathan. It can’t launch until they fix that regulator. I’m thinking we need to put our other ships in play. Get the close up scans we need of the object.”
Madison leaned forward. “Sir, I strongly advise against that. Those ships …”
“I know,” Jacks interru
pted. “They’re not meant to intercept. But if we use them in a research capacity, we might do pretty well.”
“Do you really think so?” Madison shook his head. “The device already shot down two of our ships.”
“It might happen again but we have no choice,” Jacks pointed out. “If we don’t gather data, we can’t find out what happened to those smaller objects. No, we have to step up and show we’re willing to try things, even if they’re dangerous. At this point, we’re floundering. The world needs to see we can handle this.”
“It’s not going to stop the rioters,” Madison said, “or the crazy cults coming to talk about the end of the world.”
“I get it,” Jacks said. “Assurance will be limited. But if we get anything about those shields, we’ll be in a good place. Look, I’m not thrilled about this. We’re in a shitty situation, trying to shovel our way out. Go out there and give the order. I’ll talk to Doctor Meyers about what happened to the Leviathan. Hopefully, his people are already writing better diagnostic programs.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Wait.” Jacks stepped over to the door. “What’s the deal with our investigation into the information leak?”
“Ongoing,” Madison replied. “I’ll check in with the investigators when I’m done here.”
Jacks nodded. “Good. Thank you.”
Jacks turned to his tablet as Madison left him alone again. The news report was going, still showing the same data from earlier in the day. They incorporated some of the strange events happening around the world as many people lost their minds. He understood the worry. After all the violence, attempted military action and the attack, the chaos seemed mild.
Authorities in every city had their hands full and they were all turning to the Agency to respond. That’s why Jacks didn’t have a choice but to send those research vessels to get some data. He needed something to feed the council and the public. Hopefully, a positive message that would calm them down for a while.
