Breach the Hull

by Lawrence M. Schoen

  “So they follow orders . . . or else.”

  “Exactly. Later we send a pickup vehicle which magnetically latches on to them from several miles out. By using a strong magnetic field they are able to catapult the ships from the surface and back to the ship.”

  “What if something happens and you can’t get them?” the ensign asked.

  “Then they just sit there and wait. If they have to, they can go into an extended hibernation period until we can get to them. As long as their coffins stay sealed from the sunlight, they’re okay.”

  “Must be one hell of a ride.”

  “You bet. The G’s would cause sever damage to the body of a normal man, but the vampire body has amazing recuperative powers, plus the fact that the majority of the organs are no longer used anyway which makes them perfect. So any injury to organs still functioning, mainly the heart, repairs itself by the time they are back on board the main assault craft.”

  “What about surface fire?” “What about it?”

  “It still might hit the pickup vehicle or some of the coffins on the way back.”

  “Yeah—it might. But so what? The pickup vehicle is unmanned and it’s not like the vampires are alive or anything. They are just tools—another weapon, nothing more.”

  The young ensign remained silent as he appeared to contemplate what he had just heard.

  Keefe pointed and said, “The status board is completely green. That means that all the torpedo tubes are loaded. That’s 150 coffins ready to go. Call the bridge and report that we’re ready.”

  The ensign did as instructed. A few moments later the order came to launch the coffins. Lieutenant Keefe pressed one button and the green indicators for each coffin went from green to black, indicating a successful launch.

  “Well that’s all for now,” Keefe said, “nothing left to do but wait for the pickup order.”

  “Is that all of the vampires?”

  “From this ship it is every single one. But don’t forget we have several trans-ports in orbit, all carrying their own contingent of vampires—must be a big mission to send them all at once. Maybe even a complete annihilation of the planet popu-lace.”

  “Can they do that?”

  “The brass can do anything they want.”

  “No, I mean the vampires—can they kill an entire population?”

  “I don’t want to know if they do,” Keefe quipped back. “I don’t want to dirty my hands that much. Whoever’s down there on the planet is the enemy anyway. Be-sides—”

  Lieutenant Keefe was cut off by the communication system as an announcement began.

  “Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking. There has been an . . . event on the United Planet Ship Excalibur. The cargo of vampires they are carrying have somehow managed to break free of their confinement area and have taken over the ship. It appears that either the crew was unable to activate the poison cylinders or there was some form of malfunction. It is our understanding that the majority of the human crew has been killed in the process. Our orders are to destroy the Excalibur before the vampires try and escape. I know that many of you have friends and ship-mates on the Excalibur. I just want to assure you that if they are alive—killing them now will be for the best. I know if I was there, that is what I would want. Stand by all batteries.”

  “Kill the bastards,” Lieutenant Keefe growled as he prepared to fire. “I know many of the officers on the Excalibur.” Keefe switched on a video monitor which displayed the exterior view of space. He played with the controls until the image of the Excalibur filled the screen.

  The Captain’s voice came over the announcing system, “Standby. Standby. FIRE!” Lieutenant Keefe pressed the fire button and held it down as if the additional pressure would result in a more intensive burst of energy. On the screen, the fire from multiple ships came to bear on the Excalibur—in a few moments the vessel was engulfed by the rays and exploded.

  Five Years Later

  “I just want to drop the scum off and be rid of them,” Captain Priestly said to his executive officer. “I don’t like their kind—damn blood suckers—vampires in the military—what’s next!” He paced the bridge nervously as if by doing so his actions could somehow make the vampires go away.

  The XO, Commander Keefe, wholeheartedly agreed with the Captain. He wanted to mention the operation that resulted in the destruction of the Excalibur years earlier, but it had been classified and the story altered, attributing the loss of the ship to enemy fire—It was better for morale.

  Captain Priestly sighed deeply and continued pacing, ensuring that each footstep echoed loudly off of the steel deck plates.

  Keefe recognized the Captain’s mood and knew it was best to stay out of his way. The Captain could be explosive when he was not in complete control—the standard type “A” personality. This was one of those moments when the bridge of the ship, the United Planets Ship Lexington, seemed extremely small.

  Keefe gazed up at the chronometer to check the arrival time at the target; the dis-play indicated less than two hours remained. The information regarding the mission was unknown to both him and the CO. The ship’s computer had received the pre-pro-grammed coordinates from the Joint Chiefs so they were truly flying blind on this one.

  He looked at the Captain and shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows?” he said. “But the fact that we won’t have to send any of our men down to the planet has its benefits. It must be pretty messy if they are sending them in first.”

  “I suppose,” Priestly agreed reluctantly. “But I still don’t like this. I feel like I’m carrying the black plague or something. And what if these creatures should get loose on my ship? I don’t like this—none of this. What the hell are the JCS thinking about this whole concept of starving them for the op?”

  Keefe could understand Priestly’s concern all too well. The memory of these creatures relying on the blood of living beings, and the friends he had on the Excalibur mixed together like oil and water.

  “In theory,” Priestly began, “well . . . in military theory that is, it’s probably a good concept to have them operate at peak performance, but from the rumors I’ve heard, the problem is that their hunger is not specifically predictable or control-lable. If pushed too far, too fast, the creatures will attack anyone, including us.”

  Keefe looked at him curiously. He wondered how much the CO actually knew in regard to these vampires. “What else have you heard?”

  “The scuttlebutt is that this breaking point, controlling their hunger, has some problems. Supposedly, they once managed to escape their captivity and they slaughtered the crew on the ship that was transporting them.”

  “Wonderful,” Keefe muttered and then said to himself, If only you knew it wasn’t a rumor but the truth.

  “After that event, the control over the creatures was made supposedly foolproof,” Priestly continued. “Nevertheless, even with all these risks, the end result of the effectiveness of the vampire units warrants their continuance in service. They have brought a tumultuous peace to the galaxy.”

  “Based upon fear,” Keefe added his voice full of sarcasm.

  “True,” Priestly said, nodding his head. “I say send them all out of the airlock, jettison the whole bunch. If they aren’t human, then they shouldn’t be allowed to live.”

  “As much as I might agree, skipper, I don’t think the Joint Chiefs would,” Keefe said. “I just think I would feel better—safer—if they were somewhere else.” “Me too. But, the platoon is under extremely tight precautions with redundant security measures and perimeters maintained. Their commander assures us he has positive control of them.”

  “I still don’t like it.” Keefe scoffed. “Taking risks with the crew and ship. If something should go wrong . . . it could get messy.”

  “Well, they have been used successfully the past few years,” Priestly said, “and apparently with much success as a fighting force.”

  “Yeah,” Keefe agreed. “What’s the buzz statement? A sel
f-sustaining unit, as long as there is a warm-blooded enemy available. They’re good-to-go under any conditions, minus the few exceptions of daylight, being blown apart, or being staked through the heart.”

  “And positive control,” Priestly added, “the human-vampire hybrid controller. More of an abomination—blending species—such bullshit. You know what they are trying to do—create the ultimate killing machine. Abominations, I say—playing with creationism is a dangerous game.”

  The door to the bridge opened and a Navy Commander wearing black fatigues stepped onto the bridge.

  “Speak of the devil,” Captain Priestly said. “Here’s their esteemed leader.”

  Commander Keefe turned in the direction and saw Commander Reese, the leader of the vampire unit. A hybrid: half human and half vampire, he appeared mostly human with the exception of the red pupils of his eyes and the pale skin. But unlike the men he led, he experienced no detrimental effect from sunlight—the benefit of the mixture of the two species.

  “Commander Reese,” the captain said, “please join us.”

  The commander strode over to where the CO and XO stood.

  “Gentleman,” he said in greeting.

  “Tell me, Commander,” Captain Priestly began, “seeing as how we are so close to the destination which even I was not informed of, where the hell are you taking us?”

  The Commander hesitated, a look of confusion momentarily passing over the features of his face and then he spoke. “According to intelligence, this planet is at a stage of development that may pose a risk to our civilization due to their violent and destructive nature. Our mission is to infiltrate the native population to . . . ” he paused as if he was carefully choosing his words, “to affect a change in their de-velopment.”

  “You mean kill them, don’t you?” the Captain said. “It’s a little late to be mincing words, Commander, isn’t it?”

  Commander Reese showed no emotion as he answered, “If that is what it takes to ensure survival, then yes, Sir. But there are always possibilities.” “Such a diplomat, Commander . . . your careful choice of words. And they call this war. Such bullshit—this is as dark ops as they come.”

  “The preservation and the security of the United Planets is our main concern,” Commander Reese said plainly.

  “That’s a rehearsed answer if I ever heard one,” Commander Keefe chimed in, “even from one of your kind.”

  Commander Reese looked sternly at the XO. “You don’t approve of my kind.”

  “No. No, I don’t, and with good reason,” Keefe said, wanting to blurt out what happened five years ago. Instead he took another approach. “I can understand the creatures you command for they are an alien race which existed on another world. They are what they are and they can’t help that. But I have issues with what you are; when we start altering the ways things are by using them in a way that perhaps they were not intended to be—or when we start playing the game of altering the species, I don’t feel comfortable about that.” His tone softened, “But at least you have some human inside of you, unlike your . . . men. They have no human in them. Hell, by all logic and legal standards, they are not even alive anymore.”

  “Definition is not always the accurate way to approach some situations,” answered Reese.

  Keefe ignored Reese’s comment and continued, “It’s such a wonderful ploy . . . they, these creatures, can’t be held accountable under law because a dead person cannot commit murder. Nor can anyone scream forced servitude because dead peo-ple can’t be slaves or used against their wills because simply stated they have no will to be concerned about. So the military gets off scott-free in terms of any liability. The lawyers have been and will be spinning for years over this one.”

  “But I am one of them,” Reese said, his red pupils glowing strongly in the dim light of the bridge. “I possess characteristics of human and vampire. I accept what I have become because there was no choice.”

  “That’s right,” Priestly began, “you were part of the reconnaissance team that discovered them—they tried to kill you but your body reacted in a different way.” “One in a billion . . . they tell me,” Reese added. “The odds of this type of mutation happening. I have no choice but to accept this living death.” “But you are still alive,” Keefe countered, “not completely dead like the rest.”

  “Perhaps,” Commander Reese said and offered no further explanation on that subject.

  Keefe continued, “I’m curious, Reese, your men—the vampires, they were found on the devastated world on the edge of the system?”

  “Yes,” Reese agreed, his voice tentative sounding, as if he wished to avoid the subject.

  “The chain of command had to be concerned about their destructive nature . . . ” asked Keefe. “I mean after all—look what they had done to their own world.” “From what we were able to ascertain,” Reese began, “after years of coexisting with the human colonists, there was a war of the vampire factions on the planet. Be-cause vampires cannot reproduce in the normal sense, the only way to increase their numbers was to turn more and more of the human population into vampires so that they could fight each other. By this over-multiplication, the vampires destroyed their own food supply, which led them to the point of their own extinction. There was only a few hundred left out of thousands when the world was discovered.” “Perhaps that would have been better,” Keefe said. “Maybe some other lives could have been spared.”

  “The extinction of a race?” asked Reese. “That’s a bit cynical wouldn’t you say?” “Not really,” Keefe snapped the defiance evident in his voice. Reese continued, “Have not our own world and civilizations been on the brink of destruction several times? Have we not almost destroyed our race by war?” “Not the same,” Keefe scoffed.

  “Why?” Reese countered. “Just because you do not agree with the way in which my kind live or survive.”

  “Like you said, Reese,” Keefe retorted, “they destroyed their own food supply, which included the human inhabitants. That’s murder.”

  “Is it that different than what some of the animals on our own world do to survive? Is that not the law of natural selection that the stronger species survives and the weaker perish?”

  “But not at the expense of the human race?” Captain Priestly interjected.

  “Exceptions to the rule, Sir, isn’t that a double standard?” asked Reese, “The picking and choosing of who shall live and who shall die?”

  “So you side with them?” Keefe asked.

  “I side with what I am,” Reese said casually. “Is that not what we all do? My race did not ask to be removed from the home world, as has been done. Maybe they would have perished and maybe not. The rules of evolution are never specific beyond the fact that the fittest part of a race will survive where the weakest shall perish. But by removing them from the planet—everything has changed. Perhaps for the worse. ”

  Keefe thought about what Reese said and could not avoid the fact that there was some logic on his stance.

  A beep emanated from the communications console, followed by the announcement, “Communication for the Captain’s Eyes Only,” the computer voice said, “orders clarification.”

  “It’s about damn time,” Priestly said as he went over to the computer and retrieved the message.

  Commanders Keefe and Reese stood together alone—the silence after the debated conversation seeming to haunt both of them, evident by their restless and fidgety movements.

  Reese broke the silence. “It’s happening all over again.” “What? What’s happening?” Keefe asked.

  Reese looked intently at Keefe and spoke, “An element of society has decided what the proper requirements are for those who shall be first-rate citizens and who shall be the dredges of society, who shall be trusted and who shall be feared, and who shall live and who shall die.”

  “What are you talking about?” Keefe asked. He stared at Reese quizzically as if not sure how to interpret the man’s ramblings.

  “Histor
y, Commander Keefe,” Reese said as he smiled sardonically, “we never learn. We just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over.” “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Wait a minute,” the captain interjected as he stepped back toward Reese and Keefe with a piece of paper in his hands. “I’m to ensure that your landing craft is permanently disabled? This is a one way? You’re not . . . coming back . . . ?”

  “No Captain, we are not coming back,” Reese began. “Unfortunately, the rest of our so-called civilized world agrees with your position. We are a threat and an undesirable element. We are the last of our kind and we are to be deposited on this world and left to our own ends as to whether we live or die.”

  “So what you said earlier . . . that the life on this planet was a threat to our civilization was all just bullshit?”

  “Yes,” Reese agreed. “This planet is some backwater world with very little technical capability. I understand that the culture is still entrenched in myth and legends. We are to be deposited here and left to our own devices.”

  “But you . . . you’re not like the others . . . Why you?” Keefe asked.

  “I still require blood to survive, so I too am considered a risk. I am the only one of my race. And I also am a threat of polluting the human gene pool.” “And what about the other vampires?” asked Keefe.

  “They were all killed with the exception of me and my group. We are the last of our kind. We were spared by the fact that I was able to convince the Joint Chiefs of my argument of survival of the fittest. So we are being left on this planet where there is no chance of space travel for a very long time. The odds suggest that we will not survive that long, but this way the conscience of mankind is not completely blemished by the destruction of another race.”

  “Orbit established,” the computer said. “View screen on,” Priestly said.

  As the screen initialized, a planet loomed in the main viewing screen. They all stared at the blue oceans, the land masses of brown, gold, green, and white which were accentuated by the assorted shapes of clouds that spotted the atmosphere.