Emergency Action Message
E-S-D-F Valkyrie
An Urgglatta heavy cruiser is inbound on a direct heading with Earth. It is refusing to answer all hails and has not slowed since coming out of FTL. You are hereby ordered to match speed with the vessel and send over your Force Recon platoon with charges capable of destroying the ship if necessary.
Objectives:
1: Obtain entry into the foreign vessel.
2: Ascertain its state/the state of its occupants and communicate whatever you find aboard to EsDef command.
3: Take control of the vessel, or destroy it.
Mission Priority: Alpha
Extreme Measures Authorized
Classification: Top Secret
Secured Comm Transmissions Only
Dean had read through the EAM twice by the time he reached the bridge. VA Hamilton was on the slightly raised platform in the center of the room. There were officers at every station. Captain Ortega looked up from the navigation plot where he was standing over the officer calculating their trajectory.
"Lieutenant," Ortega said. "With me."
Dean followed Ortega to the platform where Commander Hamilton waited.
"You got the EAM?" Ortega asked.
"Yes, sir," Dean replied.
"You'll have to do an EVA insertion," Hamilton said. "We have no other way to get inside that ship. It was fortuitous that we were returning to Earth when we were. No other ship would be able to match the Urgglatta's speed and trajectory before the ship crashed into Earth. Get inside the ship and set detonation charges as quickly as possible."
"We can do that, but I need Private McCallister."
"She's not available," Hamilton said.
"Drop this bullshit, Commander," Dean said. "We aren't squabbling over colony rights or what you think of Force Recon in EsDef. I need my FA specialist to help me cut my way into that ship. The longer it takes us to get in, the less time we have to stop that ship."
"You will not give me orders, Lieutenant."
"I'm not ordering you, Commander. I'm telling you what I need to get this job done."
"Fine, I'll send the little saboteur to the docking bay. But don't think for one minute that I'm not moving forward with the charges from Newton Six."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Commander."
Dean hurried from the bridge and opened the platoon channel in his TCU.
"Wolf Pack, we have new mission parameters," Dean said. "We'll be boarding a Urgglatta vessel, in transit. Meet me at the docking bay and be prepared for EVA insertion."
A private channel opened on Dean's comm link just as he was passing the zero G point at the center of the connecting corridor between the primary and secondary arms of the double helix ship.
"Lieutenant, I'll be piloting the skiff that will take you across to the Urgglatta cruiser," Captain Esmerelda Dante said.
"That's welcome news," Dean said.
"No, it isn't," Dante said. "The commander is insisting that I return to the Valkyrie as soon as you make your way inside."
"What? Why?"
"She wants her skiff back in her ship," Dante said. "But I think it’s more than that."
"She isn't planning on us making it back," Dean said.
"I don't think so. I've heard rumors. Without getting the record of your mission off your TCU they know they can't tamper with the official mission log."
"I'm glad I thought better than to wipe my files by downloading them to the ship's network."
"Yes, that was a stroke of genius," Esma said with just enough sarcasm that Dean knew she understood his attempt to thank her. "But with you dead, she can say whatever she wants about the mission on Newton Six."
"I don't know what I can do about that," Dean said. "But I did copy some of the footage onto my tablet. I'll leave it with Lieutenant Wilson. She's the only other person on board this ship that I trust."
"Be careful out there, Dean."
"Don't worry, this is what we do," he replied. "Just get us across to the cruiser. My platoon won't let you down."
"I'll be monitoring your comms feed," Captain Dante said. "Let me know if I can help in any way."
When Dean reached the docking bay his platoon was assembled and waiting. He approached them and raised his visor so that they could see his face.
"Platoon, we have an unprecedented opportunity. The Urgglatta have a cruiser that is headed for Earth. They aren't responding to our hails and they aren't slowing down."
"You saying the cows are attacking?" Chavez said. "That don't make no sense, LT."
"No, it doesn't. Our contact with the Urgglatta has always been peaceful, but if that ship isn't stopped, then it will impact Earth and most likely destroy every living thing on our planet."
"No way we're letting that happen!" Green said.
"No, we are not. But we've got to get on board and find out what is going on. This is exactly what we've trained for, platoon. The Valkyrie will be matching speed and trajectory with the inbound vessel. When conditions are right, our platoon will perform an EVA insertion, using the FA lasers to cut our way into the ship. I want your armor checked and rechecked for hard vacuum. We're the only ship in this sector, and it’s just stupid luck that we came out of warp speed in the right place, at the right time, to intercept the Urgglatta vessel."
"Lieutenant, what about Private McCal?" Ipsish said.
"She will be joining us. The Wolf Pack will complete this mission and save our planet. Check your gear, people. We're on the clock."
Ten minutes later McCal arrived. She looked weary, still in her battle armor. There was no time for explanations, though, as the platoon refitted her armor with missing ammunition and AAVs, and refilled her hydration bladder.
"We have two extra handheld FLEWs," Staff Sergeant Mercer said. "I can use one, if you're comfortable with the other."
"I am, Staff Sergeant. Excellent initiative."
"Thank you, sir. The platoon stands ready."
"Roger that," Dean said, opening the command channel of his comm link. "Command, this is Wolf Pack. We are ready to begin insertion, over."
"Wolf Pack, Command. Prepare for EVA launch window in three minutes, over."
"Wolf Pack locked and loaded, Command. Next stop, Urgglatta pleasure cruise, over and out."
Dean turned to his platoon and felt a swell of pride. His team was ready to do something few had ever tried, and never with as much riding on the outcome as the mission they were about to undertake. This was exactly the kind of mission that he had dreamed of as a child, and that had given him the desire to join EsDef in the first place. He would make a difference, and have the privilege of leading a great team in the process. There were dangers, he wasn't oblivious to that fact. And he knew that not everyone wanted the same outcome, but he trusted his platoon. His training had been outstanding, and his heart was in the mission. No matter how he fared individually, he knew that he was doing what he had been born to do.
"Let's mount up, platoon. History is waiting for us."
Chapter 44
Dean had trained for just about any contingency, but nothing prepared him for Extra Vehicular Activity. He was tethered to the skiff, an emergency repair vessel used for carrying maintenance personnel outside the ship for repairs too delicate to be done by the drones. It was infrequently used, and almost exclusively when repairs were needed to a ship's powerful antenna array that sent signals to the drones. The skiff could be piloted using the handheld controls, or by Dean's TCU, but the platoon was under Captain Dante's piloting skills to ensure that they reached the airlock on the Urgglatta cruiser.
"This is amazing!" Bennett shouted as he held onto the skiff with one hand, his body floating out to the side of the craft.
"Shut your piehole, Bennett," Staff Sergeant Mercer said.
"We've got one shot at this op, platoon. Stay focused," Dean warned them.
But the truth was, he had never experienced space the way he did on the EVA and he was in awe just like e
very other member of the platoon. The two ships were close, with only a couple hundred feet between them, but beyond those vessels the vastness of space took Dean's breath away. Outside the ship the stars weren't mere pinpricks of light, they were shimmering, golden orbs, burning fiercely in the darkness. The beauty of outer space was awe inspiring, but the fear was equally powerful. If not for his tether, he could drift off into space and be lost forever. Part of him thought it wouldn't be a bad way to die, surrounded by such vast beauty, but he wasn't ready for that. He held onto the skiff in a death clutch as they glided over to the Urgglatta ship.
"Get ready, Wolf Pack," Captain Dante said, her voice carried through the vacuum of space and projected with perfectly clarity through the platoon's battle helmet audio system. "Magnetic clamps activated."
The skiff had moved smoothly through space between the ships, but the magnetic clamps, which were simple electric magnets controlled by the skiff pilot controls on board the Valkyrie, made the small craft jump forward and bang into the metal hull of the Urgglatta cruiser.
"Check the controls," Dean said.
Fast Attack Specialist Makayla Ipsish stood up on the edge of the skiff, one foot held in place by wedging under a cargo strap loop. She examined the airlock control but couldn't see a way into the ship.
"It's no go, Lieutenant," she said.
"Fire up the lasers," Dean ordered. "Everyone cut your section and work fast, people."
Dean had trained with the Focused Light Energy Weapons. They looked like skinny, handheld ray guns, but instead of shooting laser bullets they produced a steady beam of light that was so focused it could cut through steel in seconds, even in an environment as hostile as outer space.
Cutting through the door was slow, and even through Dean marveled at the power of the laser, the steel outer door of the space cruiser was thick. When they finally cut all around the large door, Dean felt it shift, dropping slightly and sending a vibration through the metal around the door.
"Lift it out," Dean told his gang of HA specialists. They crowded around the door and used magnetic handles to take hold of the smooth metal. Dean frowned as he watched them strain. The skiff shifted under their feet.
"Wait! Wait!" Dean said. "This isn't right."
"Is it stuck?' Cox said. "Maybe the lasers didn't cut all the way through."
"No, it isn't that," Dean said. "The door is too heavy. The ship must have artificial gravity."
Dean had noticed that the Urgglatta ship didn't spin like the Valkyrie. It was a long, cigar-shaped vessel, with no markings on the hull, and very few discernible features.
"Captain Dante, we need to move onto the hull of the Urgglatta ship to pull the door out. Can you swing the skiff up and to the side, over?"
"One minute, Wolf Pack. Let me see what I can do, over."
The skiff had compressed air thrusters for delicate maneuvers and it only took a moment for the craft to rotate and glide upward. To Dean, who was still holding onto the skiff, it seemed as if the giant alien ship slowly rotated over his head. It was difficult to keep his bearings in the vastness of space under zero-G.
"How's that, Wolf Pack, over?"
"Perfect, Captain," Dean said. "Alright HA, show us what all that extra protein is good for."
The hulking HA specialists heaved on the door, pulling it free of the ship, and then letting it go. It banged into the hull as it dropped a few feet and then drifted out into space.
"Command, Wolf Pack, we are in. I repeat, the air lock is open and we are moving into the Urgglatta cruiser."
"Careful, Wolf Pack," came the reply. Dean recognized Captain Dante's voice with the barely noticeable accent. "Let us know when your tethers are free, over."
"Roger that," Dean replied as he pushed off the skiff and landed inside the airlock.
It felt strange for gravity to pull at him again. The Urgglatta were big, bovine creatures with advanced tech that was well beyond anything humanity had managed to invent. But their gravitational force seemed to be almost identical to Earth gravity.
"Get everyone inside,” Dean ordered. "We don't cut the tethers loose until we're all secure."
The HA specialists went first, forming a wall against the inner airlock door, and the rest of platoon crowded in behind them, with the Demo team coming in last and carrying large canisters that looked like old earth fire extinguishers.
"We're secure, LT," Cox said. "Ready to deploy sealing foam."
"Alright platoon, cut tethers," Dean ordered.
They unhooked their Carabiners and tossed the tether lines out of the ship.
"Wolf Pack to Control, we are off tether and proceeding with hull seal, over."
"We read you, Wolf Pack. Good luck, over and out."
"Seal it," Dean said.
Sergeant Drevon Cox and Corporal Troy Lee both began spraying what looked like tan-colored liquid onto the floor of the airlock right where the outer door had been. As soon as the liquid touched the steel it began to expand in a thick, bulky blob. They worked slowly making pass after pass, each line of foam rising up about a foot and sealing the large opening. When the foam reached the top of the airlock they heard a hissing sound and a strange meowling sound that was part cow, part cat.
Then a green light appeared on the inner door of the airlock and it slid open. Dean and his platoon of Force Recon specialists didn't move at first. They waited to see what might be coming for them on the other side of the airlock door, but nothing moved. Beyond the airlock was just a long, wide corridor.
"Let's move forward slowly," Dean said. "Pincer, Chevron, Pistol, Safety!"
The platoon formed the V-shaped line of HA specialists with Corporal Ipsish on one end and private McCallister on the other. Staff Sergeant Mercer was on Dean's right side, while Cox and Lee brought up the rear.
"Check your weapons," Mercer said. "Do not engage unless fired upon."
"We need to find out who's driving this boat," Dean said. "And if we can't stop it, we have to blow it."
"We detonate on this ship, LT," Chavez asked, "will the Valkyrie be there to pick us up?"
"That question has no bearing on the mission, Corporal," Dean said, feeling a burning sensation deep in his gut. "One way or another we have to stop this ship."
A voice suddenly rang out from the ship's audio system and made the entire Force Recon platoon drop into a defensive stance. It wasn't the suddenness of the message that startled them, but the fact that the voice was in English.
"Welcome aboard, human explorers," the voice said in a strange, computerized tone. "I have been expecting you."
Dean didn't know what to do at first. He toggled the comm link to his control channel and made sure that his suit speakers weren't transmitting his voice.
"Control, Wolf Pack, we have contact. Stand by, over."
"Affirmative, Wolf Pack." This time the voice belonged to Vice Admiral Hamilton.
Dean toggled his external speakers back on. "This is Lieutenant Dean Blaze of the Extra Solar Defense Force. Please identify yourself."
"I am Berg 78615, the automated operating system of this vessel."
"Where are you, Berg 78615?" Dean asked.
"I am everywhere on this ship," the voice said. "And my neural systems center is in the control pod at the center of the vessel."
"Where is your crew?" Dean asked.
"Berg 78615 was sent to Earth, the third planet of the Sol system, on fully automatic emergency systems and no crew."
"For what purpose were you sent to Earth?" Dean asked.
"To save humanity."
"To save us from what?"
"From the Kroll Empire. They have seized Urgglatta Primary and are in the process of pilfering the data archives."
"Who are the Kroll?" Dean asked. "Why did they attack Urgglatta?
"The Kroll are an intermediately technological race from the Krom 'au Roal system, 465 light years from the Sol system, and 97 light years from the Urgglatta homeworld. Known for their vicious nature and ev
er expanding domain of planets and systems, the Kroll Empire seeks technological and planetary resources, and the enslavement of native peoples on all worlds in their control. The Kroll attacked Urgglatta Primary to steal the information from our archives. Of all other races, humanity is the most experienced in large-scale warfare and therefore stand a 38 percent chance of defeating the warring Kroll Empire.
"Berg 78615 was sent to Earth to rapidly accelerate your technological advancement in the areas concerning space travel, weaponry, and galactic navigation."
"How are you going to do that if you crash into our home world?" Dean asked.
"I will not crash this vessel. My prime objectives are as follows. One, reach Earth orbit in the Sol system of planets in as little time as possible. Two, transfer the archived data from this vessel's memory banks to the people of Earth as efficiently as possible. Three, assist human engineers and scientists to reverse engineer the technology on this vessel."
"How is it that you won't crash into Earth?" Dean asked. "You're going too fast to slow down."
"That is a false assumption, Lieutenant Dean Blaze of the Extra Solar Defense Force. Gravitational manipulation is just one of many advanced technologies understood by the Urgglatta and shared in this vessel's archive."
"And you plan to use this gravity manipulation to stop the ship?"
"That is correct."
"Man, this is some crazy shit," Green said.
"LT, you don't believe this computerized con game do you?" Chavez said. "We need to find the power plant and do what we came here for."
"You don't know that," McCal said. "What if it's telling the truth?"
"Even if it isn't," Butler said. "Taking control of this ship is by far the most important thing we can do for humanity. The technology alone is worth more than all our tech put together."
"If we can stop it," Adkins said. "I'm with Chavez on this one, LT. We do what we do and get the hell out."
We Are The Wolf (Wolf Pack Book 1) Page 24
