Darkest Hour: Liberation War Book 1

by John Walker

  The object loomed ahead, rounded and menacing from its sheer size. He didn’t want to know how much it weighed nor the measurements of its actual size. Massive was enough of a qualifier for him and as he rapidly approached, he knew he didn’t need to be close to score a hit.

  “Firing now,” Micky pulled the trigger, letting his missile fly. He banked left to go around the thing, moving to another firing solution. His ordnance smashed into the shield of the thing, flashing brightly as it exploded. “Phantom Two, did you see any noticeable effect on impact? Did it cause any damage?”

  “Negative, One,” Dino said. “I’m dropping two.”

  Micky went wide, coming around just in time to see the two missiles hammer the shield close to where he’d fired a moment before. A green shimmer rippled over the hull but there was no other evidence they even hit the thing. It kept on moving, not deviating course or attempting to evade their attacks.

  Donna dropped her payload next, firing multiple projectiles and even getting a good spray of guns in before she passed it on the right. Patrick followed closely and he managed to get one off. The hull of the enemy ship brightened, a brilliant light covering the hull the missiles just plowed into.

  “Patrick!” Micky called out. “Hit it! I think we’re making an impact!”

  A tight beam lashed out from the surface, going straight for Patrick’s fighter. He had half a second to respond, banking hard in an attempt to avoid the blow but it was too late. Sparks exploded from the engines as they shut down. The craft began to plunge toward the Earth and the canopy popped off, the seat blasted clear as the parachute deployed.

  Jesus Christ! Micky shook it off. “Phantom Four is down, Control. Repeat, we have lost Phantom Four. Need immediate pick up.”

  “What’s the plan here?” Dino asked. “Because there was no avoiding that beam.”

  “Better question,” Donna piped in, “what prompted it to attack him and not me? Or either of you for that matter?”

  “If they’re remotely controlled, then they might be handling more than one,” Micky suggested. “Regardless, it doesn’t matter. We have to keep our distance and try again. Hit it with everything we’ve got. Dump the rest of your missiles and we’ll get the hell out of here, I guess. We’re clearly not able to handle that thing. Wait … look!”

  The hull brightened again.

  “Fall back!” Micky shouted. “Get out of its range!” He hit his afterburners, throwing in some evasive maneuvers. It lowered his speed but he didn’t want to be in line to be plowed by the thing. Thirty seconds of flight, he risked a glance over his shoulder. He’d put a lot of distance between him and it, plenty to feel safe. “Report in.”

  “Phantom Two here.”

  “Phantom Three … God … Phantom Four …”

  “What is it?” Micky flipped his fighter around, craning his neck to see what she was looking at. “What’s wrong?”

  “They fired again,” Donna replied. “They … got Patrick.”

  “What? Why?” Micky clenched his fist. “Is he …”

  “It …” Donna’s swallow was audible on the line. “He’s gone, sir.”

  “No!” Micky cursed, fighting hard to keep a clear head. He hadn’t lost anyone under his command. Yes, people had been shot down but they hadn’t died. And that young man had only just joined them! He was new to the whole thing and this alien vessel annihilated him, after it had already rendered him combat ineffective.

  “We have to try something.” Micky muttered. “As I said, all weapons … deployed … then we go.”

  “Sir,” Dino spoke up, “with all due respect, that may not be a good idea.”

  “Fire from distance … we won’t get as close as he did.” Micky scowled. “We’re not going back with missiles. Even if we can’t take it down … even if this was just a God damn distraction … I want to do this the way they intended. Now, come back around so we can hit it in the same spot. I can’t imagine we’ll have any luck anywhere else.”

  “Chances are we won’t have any luck anyway,” Dino said. “Forming up on you now, sir.”

  Donna joined him on the left just as Dino arrived on the right. They flew in a tight formation, lining up their shot with the object. It continued to lumber along, heedless of their approach or efforts. This might be insane. Micky hummed. “Guys, follow my lead. Let’s hit the top of it.”

  “What’s the point?” Donna asked.

  “If it hits one of us,” Micky pursed his lips before finishing his thought, “then we can crash our fighter into it after we eject. Buy us some time to get to the ground before … well … what happened to Patrick.”

  “I guess that’s fair,” Dino said. “A little morbid … but it makes some sense.”

  They climbed, gaining some altitude before redirecting and barreling down toward their target. The second he had range, Micky called out for them to fire, deploying the rest of his missiles all at once. Streams burst away from their aircrafts as they climbed, turning their backsides to the thing before witnessing the results of their attacks.

  “Direct hits,” Donna said. “Damn it! No noticeable damage again!”

  “Control, this is Phantom One,” Micky reported in, “we aren’t doing any good out here. This thing is impregnable. We’ve hit it with everything we’ve had.”

  “Withdraw, Phantom,” Control replied. “A Tens hit theirs out on the west coast and didn’t do anything to it either. Russia pounded theirs with more than three dozen fighters. All these reports are coming in. I hope we bought the Agency the distraction they wanted. The cost looks like it was pretty high.”

  Micky thought about Patrick and scowled. “Yes, it really was.”

  “Um … Phantom One?” Dino jumped in. “That thing has changed course. It’s coming our way.”

  Micky glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, it had decided to move. “Control, this is Phantom again. The bogey has altered course and is pursuing us. Repeat, it is in pursuit of us.”

  “We’re seeing that.” Control paused. “Fall out, Phantom One. Get back to base.”

  “The hull!” Dino shouted. “It’s lighting up again!”

  Micky’s heart raced as he hit the afterburners. Dino screamed in the microphone. A light flashed to Micky’s left but he didn’t dare take a look. Donna caught up to him and they flew wing to wing, barely thirty feet apart. They were going full throttle, pushing Mach two but it still didn’t feel safe.

  “Dino?” Micky asked into the microphone. “Can you hear me? Dino?”

  “He went down,” Donna said. “Just like Patrick.”

  “Damn it!” Micky strained to look over his shoulder. They put quite a bit of distance between them and the ship. He throttled back but Donna kept going. Something slammed into his rear, causing the alarm to go off in the cockpit. “Mayday! Mayday! I’ve been hit!” His radio was down. He wasn’t talking to anyone.

  He reached for the ejection handle just as another blast took his ship, a final beam concluding the fight.

  ***

  Dex oversaw the explosives being loaded onto the shuttle and even he started to feel nervous. They went big with five nuclear devices, enough to level half a continent. Each identical, shiny casing occupied a heavy-duty box and required four people to load onto the craft. They were unlocked as soon as they were on board, timers set and ready to activate.

  They also brought some portable cover walls, waist high metal plates they could use to hide behind when the doors opened. Men set them diagonally away from the wall that opened, preparing their positions. They were even able to test the new weapons on them and the beams didn’t go right through.

  The smallest guy on his team proved to be a twenty-year-old kid named Red Jumera but everyone called him Jumie. He ended up with the unenviable job of crawling into the maintenance passage to plug in the remote module at the right time. He’d then have to wiggle out and put his environmental suit back on.

  I still don’t know how the captain and Avania were able
to be so cozy up there. Dex peered into the hole, shaking his head. Not that I’d mind giving that a try. She’s pretty hot for an alien.

  Unlike Warren, Dex gave Avania an immediate pass when she charged the enemy ranks right along with them. When he saw her risk her own life to save a bunch of humans, he knew she was on their side and until she did something to lose it, she had his total respect. Warren will come around when we’ve finished this fight.

  The marines lingered about with their helmets off. A couple of them perched on the bombs, making Dex frown. “You guys mind not using the nuclear weapons as your chill out spot? Just seems … I don’t know … disrespectful. Or at least unsafe. If you wanted to sit on something, you should’ve brought some folding chairs.”

  The guys got down and leaned against the walls. It didn’t take long before they became surly and bored. Dex hoped the aliens would make their move soon and just as he felt compelled to pace, he received the word that the shuttles were on their way. Right about the time I started to wonder if they’d bother to come back.

  “We’re go,” Dex shouted to the men. “Jumie, get your ass up there to plug that module in. We’ll want to do it when the first of those things starts to go up.” He sent a message to control, letting them know they were in position and ready to go. “When this starts to move, everyone put on your helmet. Double check each other’s seals too!”

  Jumie crawled into the hole, disappearing a moment later. “I’m in position!” He shouted down. “Give me the word and I’ll make it happen.”

  Dex forced himself to lean against the wall, waiting for control to update him. He turned to the others. “Be sure to stay near the cover. A good estimate is that it’s going to take about fifteen minutes to get there. That’s how long it took to get back. We were unconscious during the first trip so none of us had a good idea.”

  “Fighters engaged the shuttles,” Control said. “Several of the objects seem to be fleeing back to orbit. Broadsword, you are go. Plug that module in and see what happens.”

  If we just sit here, we know we’re screwed. Dex turned to the hole. “Go for it, Jumie! Plug that thing in and get your little ass down here!”

  “On it, sir!”

  Dex wondered if the Leviathan was already airborne. He wanted to see it go, watch the thing lift off from a distance and witness it dominate the sky before climbing toward orbit. One of the greatest wonders the world would ever know and he had to see it on a rerun after they returned from a mission.

  Work gets in the way of some of the greatest things. Dex sighed, grabbing his helmet and sliding it over his head. He initiated the seals and contacted control to check his com volume. They replied an affirmative and he could easily hear. The others followed suit, each of them checking each other’s gear.

  Jumie came sliding out of the hole and started throwing on his gear again. Dex waited until he was done and checked his seals before letting the kid do the same for him. They all shouldered their weapons and moved behind the cover, waiting for the thing to take off. Will this crazy idea work?

  Dex doubted it until he put their opponents in perspective. They were not soldiers, but workers doing a job. Automated systems were in place to ensure they did not have to worry about things such as piloting shuttles or repairing things. Their sole focus involved processing product.

  The aliens were there to do grunt work, not be technological masterminds.

  Ten minutes passed and Dex started to worry. He inhaled to ask control what was going on when the floor began to vibrate. The ship moved, climbing abruptly as it left the surface and headed back toward the mothership. Oh my God, this actually worked! The other marines hooted but he shushed them.

  “Guys, save your oxygen. If things go south, we might be in zero G for a while. I don’t know about any of you, but I haven’t exactly been trained in how to maneuver in that. Just … be conservative and we’ll be fine.”

  “Um … sir?” Jumie raised his hand. “These oxygen tanks reprocess and scrub. We’ve got six hours of oxygen in these.”

  “We do?” Dex huffed in surprise. “Well … that’s cool. I wondered what all the extra parts were on these things. Thanks for that. Let’s keep it down anyway. We don’t need to waste a bunch of time on celebration. There’ll be plenty of time for that when we get home and that thing’s blown up. I’ll even pick up the tab for the whole night.”

  His offer made them cheer again but they cut it short, making him smirk. Can’t fault their enthusiasm, even if it is a little misplaced. Will adrenaline keep them from being scared when we get on board? I guess we’ll see.

  ***

  The Leviathan rose from its perch, climbing sharply to attain orbit. Powerful thrusters compelled it forward, steadily ascending. Artificial gravity wouldn’t kick in until they attained orbit so until then, they were pressed into their seats at an angle. Safety straps dug into Warren’s shoulders, holding him firmly in place.

  Nicolas tapped his console in a continuous state of motion, as if he were typing a dissertation. He had the most difficult job during takeoff, managing their trajectory to ensure a clean departure. If anything went wrong, Delgado’s people wouldn’t likely be able to correct the problem in time to avert disaster.

  This meant navigating was of utmost importance. If the ship failed to break orbit, Nicolas would be the one to direct their crash to avoid civilian casualties. The thought of failure kept Warren up some nights, thinking about how damaging it would be to the Agency’s reputation if the Leviathan did not work out.

  No matter how many calculations were made or successful tests were performed, Warren knew he would not be satisfied until the ship survived its maiden voyage. As they rushed off to meet the collector ship, he wondered how long they would have up there before losing their flagship.

  Think optimistic thoughts. Warren reminded himself of the EMP shields and tried to take heart in them. He didn’t mean to be negative but it seemed more responsible to consider the problems rather than dismiss him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have solutions for them yet. Soon. I just need some more time.

  The ship shook violently as they reached the upper stratosphere. Wind speeds topped over a hundred kilometers per hour and the turbulence knocked them around. Madeline cried out and he checked to see she was okay. She closed her eyes tightly, holding on to her chair. He understood her worry.

  Briefings didn’t do departure justice. Saying it would be rough didn’t click with people until they were involved. Warren, Nicolas and Victoria all went into space on the smaller vessels. Madeline had not. The Leviathan took the punishment far better than their other ships, that was for sure.

  Warren nearly threw up the first time which said a lot considering his prior profession. He turned his attention to Avania who sat with her arms crossed, wearing a bored expression. I wonder how many times you’ve been into space. He turned back around and settled into his chair. Their advanced ships might not suffer from this type of departure.

  If so, he would’ve sworn such shaking would’ve woken him up on the shuttle as they left Earth before. Maybe that’s how Dex woke up. Warren had been the last person to be caught by the aliens and likely suffered from the effects of their strange beam for a longer period of time.

  It dawned on him he didn’t understand how exactly he’d been brought on board the shuttle. Was it a form of teleportation? Did they simply drag him up there with a tractor beam? The latter was theoretical from the perspective of the Agency but the former had been ruled out almost from the beginning.

  Avania would know and when they had a moment, he’d ask.

  The shaking slowed down, finally stopping and a low hum filled the bridge. Warren checked his monitor for system status, noting that the artificial gravity was online. He looked forward to testing it. The smaller ships didn’t have it installed yet. Each module was much too big to fit but engineers were working on reducing the overall size.

  Nicolas turned, grinning at them. “Welcome to space, everyone. The Leviatha
n has broken Earth’s gravitational pull. All systems are operating in the green and we are free to maneuver.”

  Warren clapped Victoria on the shoulder. “There you go. I told you, didn’t I? You made it up here. It just took a while.”

  “A very long while,” Victoria said. “Longer than any of us anticipated to be sure.” She turned to Nicolas. “Bring the screen online.” It flickered on, revealing the dark of space with the moon to the left. She disengaged her safety belts and stood up, taking a couple tentative steps forward. “This is incredible … every aspect of it.”

  Her wonder made Warren smile and he joined her, placing a hand on the back of Nicolas’s chair. “Turn us about to the port. Get the mothership in our line of sight and let’s take a look at our target.”

  Nicolas engaged the thrusters and as the ship moved, Warren felt it through the deck. A vibration tickled his feet, settling into something so subtle he had to concentrate to know it was happening. He returned to his seat, leaning forward as the view on the screen shifted slowly to the left.

  Twenty seconds later, the mothership filled the screen, the giant orb sitting out there near the moon. Warren narrowed his eyes as he took it in. Our next meeting will be quite different, I assure you. He gestured to Madeline. “Inform control we are in position to engage the enemy.”

  “Yes, sir.” Madeline started speaking quietly.

  Avania joined him, staring at the screen. “Congratulations. I expected this ship to not have gravity. You’re further along than I anticipated.”

  “I’m glad we’ve managed to impress you,” Warren replied. “I’m guessing that’s hard.”

  “I don’t know.” Avania shrugged. “Your people have shown many qualities that make me better understand why the collectors consider you such a high value target. Your spirit alone sets you apart though this ingenuity is also impressive.” She clasped her hands behind her back. “What sort of shields does this thing have?”

  “Environmental,” Warren replied. “We use sonic noise to repel debris. That’s … pretty much it.”