NanoSwarm: Extermination Day Book Two

by William Turnage

  He laughed out loud at the thought of coming back as someone’s dog. But then he got tired of beating himself up over these issues and climbed out of bed. There was no point in trying to sleep anymore—it just wasn’t going to happen. His best bet was to pace the hallways until launch time in—he pulled up his countdown clock—one hour fourteen minutes.

  He quickly put on fresh clothes and headed out the door. A few lights were still on in this area of the complex, most likely other members of the Intelligence Committee who were having trouble sleeping, pondering their fates or perhaps just spending time with their families.

  He decided his first stop would be the holding center. He needed to speak to Howard Nichols, the man who used time travel to make millions gambling. They were also investigating him for possible ties to the bombing of Chronos One, although Jeff thought it was quite a stretch to go from sending sports scores back in time to yourself to sending a nuclear bomb. Yet people did desperate things for money every day, and if Howard was truly greedy enough, he may have tried to cover his tracks with the bomb. Jeff knew Howard was being interrogated, but he wanted to see for himself if this man truly was capable of such an act.

  It was a short walk to the building that served as a jail. It was heavily guarded, but Jeff had no trouble getting through with his credentials. Inside, a dozen holding cells stretched down a long hallway. All were empty but the one at the end where they were keeping Howard. A single guard stood out front.

  “I wasn’t made aware of this visit, Senator.” The guard grunted as he looked at Jeff’s ID.

  “I just want five minutes, that’s it.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. No unauthorized personnel, including senators.”

  Howard apparently heard or saw someone at the door and approached. He stood behind the glass window. His face was bruised, and it looked like the interrogations had already begun. He pounded his fist on the door and screamed. Jeff could barely make out a muffled cry for help through the thick glass.

  “Get me out of here! They’ve got the wrong man!”

  Howard looked truly desperate.

  Jeff wondered how much of his posturing was a ruse.

  “Do I need to authorize this with the vice president?” Jeff asked the soldier. “You know he doesn’t like to be bothered with trivial details. I just need to ask the prisoner a couple of questions. You can stand right here while I talk to him through the glass. Besides, everything’s being recorded anyway.” Jeff pointed to the camera positioned over the door.

  The young soldier grumbled.

  “Very well, sir. No need to get the vice president involved.”

  The soldier slid open a small panel at eye level so Jeff and Howard could see and hear each other.

  “I understand you’ve come into a small fortune over the last week, Doctor. What, we’re not paying you enough?”

  Howard looked flustered and blubbered out, “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t do any of that. It was only research data that I sent back. I have no idea where that other information came from.”

  Jeff rolled his eyes. Howard was not a very good liar.

  “So the fact that you were able to pick every winning NBA game, NFL game, and horse race over the last week was what, just luck?”

  Howard managed a slight smile.

  “Not luck. I’ve been working on a new predictive algorithm. And it finally worked! That was the secret to my success. Not illegally sending future information back to myself. I would never risk my life and career for such nonsense.”

  Jeff grunted. “The investigators think differently.”

  “Investigations based on faulty data from the Chronos mainframe. Data that could’ve been manipulated. I’ve been set up, Senator. You have to believe me.”

  Jeff frowned again. He found it very unlikely that somebody went to such lengths to implicate Howard.

  “And the bomb?”

  Howard held his hands up, indicating shock and denial, and stepped back.

  “I had absolutely nothing to do with that. I told the same thing to that first man who came in here interrogating me. I was gone from the base before the bomb came through and knew nothing about it before that. You have to believe me. I lost friends and colleagues at the base. I worked there for over twelve years. Jesus Christ, the project was my life!”

  Howard made a convincing case, and Jeff had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not.

  “The investigators will get to the bottom of this, Howard. I just wanted to see for myself what you had to say.”

  Jeff turned to walk away, and Howard reached through the slot and grabbed his arm.

  “Please, I’m begging you, Senator. There’s something coming; I can feel it. I don’t want to be left in here when it arrives.”

  Howard’s eyes were wide and full of terror. Jeff yanked his arm away, and Howard’s fingernails cut into his skin, leaving bloody trails. The guard stepped up and slapped Howard’s hand, which he quickly withdrew back into the cell. The guard slammed the panel shut.

  “Same bullshit he said to the investigator,” the guard mumbled.

  Jeff strode away as Howard pounded on the glass again, pleading for help. Jeff rubbed his forearm where the fingernail cuts were already starting to burn. And he wondered just what the hell Howard could feel coming their way.

  #

  After his disturbing conversation with Howard, Jeff headed over to launch headquarters. Getting there early would give him a front row seat for the jump. He grabbed a late night snack—banana chips—from a vending machine in the hallway. Holly would not have approved.

  God, he missed plain old potato chips. Despite all the health advances, the government’s war on obesity and fatty foods left him feeling like a child whose mother was slapping his hand for eating too many cookies.

  He was almost at the command center, carelessly chewing on a dry banana, when he heard the explosion. It was followed by a series of percussive booms.

  Shit, they were under attack again!

  Jeff pressed against the wall as guards ran past him in a panic, guns in hand, going toward the explosion in another section of the base.

  An alarm sounded.

  He continued moving forward, realizing now that despite the security and remoteness of the base, they weren’t safe here. They weren’t safe anywhere. Not only did they have to contend with alien invaders, but also saboteurs among themselves. But as long as the vortex generator remained in place, they had a chance.

  Eventually he made it to the entrance to the command center building and showed his face to the guard, who quickly scanned it. A two-legged mech unit over twelve-feet tall stood poised behind him, heavy cannons ready to plow down intruders.

  “Any ideas on what the hell that explosion was?” Jeff asked.

  “No, Senator Madison, but we’ve posted extra guards here. No one is getting in without authorization.”

  Jeff entered the building and found a dozen extra security guards waiting on high alert, fingers on the triggers of their guns. They all looked nervous, and Jeff was thankful none mistook him for an intruder. He walked past them to the elevator and pushed the button to go to the third floor. As he waited for the doors to open, he heard yelling from outside the command center.

  He turned just in time to see an explosion rock the building. The entranceway shattered, and shards of glass and metal flew inside like needles, scattering all over the floor.

  Jeff’s heart raced as he shielded his eyes and face from the flying projectiles.

  “Shit, I’m a Senator, not a goddamn soldier,” he said under his breath.

  Smoke billowed out from the guard post, and sparks flew from the side of the mech unit. The soldiers inside struggled to get to their feet and ready to face whatever was coming at them. The mech unit wobbled for a moment and then swiveled toward the building’s entrance before walking forward menacingly.

  The elevator dinged and the doors opened just as the mech unit fired toward the soldiers.
Jeff dove inside as bullets sprayed the lobby. Everyone on the first floor cried out as they were mowed down under the firepower of the rogue mech unit.

  Jeff struggled to his knees and reached up to press the button for the third floor, his fingers shaking as the doors closed, leaving the death and destruction behind. Leaning back with his head against the wall, he tried to catch his breath.

  “Shit, definitely not a soldier.”

  When the elevator doors opened, Jeff found himself in the middle of another scene of chaos. Men were running down the hallway, and several smaller, faster mech units were heading toward the stairwell and down to the first floor to meet the attackers.

  Jeff couldn't believe they were under attack. How could someone get through security? Was it the aliens or an inside job? His stomach turned to think they may have a traitor in their midst, possible the same person that blew up Chronos One. And the rogue mech unit was a devastating weapon to have at their disposal. Jeff wondered what else had been compromised.

  He exited the elevator, dodging a speedy mech, and turned toward the glass-enclosed vortex area in the center of the building.

  Was the vortex already open?

  Running to the window to get a closer look, he pushed his forehead and hands against the cold glass. Sure enough, a black void sat in the middle of the giant doughnut. Surrounding it were rows of trucks and equipment ready to be sent back in time. In the center of it all, moving along a track, were a dozen or so men, heavily armed, dressed in black combat armor, surrounding a truck loaded with gear. More masked men were in the vehicle, firing their weapons in all directions as the truck drove up a ramp and into the vortex.

  The truck disappeared, along with all but one of the men. The last man pulled something from his pocket and tossed it into the room before jumping through the vortex himself.

  The metal object rolled across the floor.

  It all happened so fast.

  Jeff turned and dove away from the window as the grenade exploded, shaking the entire building from the concussive blast. That was the second time he’d dived for cover in the last five minutes, which was more than he’d done in the last twenty years. His elbows and knees were killing him from where they’d hit the hard floor. Slowly he climbed to his feet to assess the damage. Incredibly, the window to the vortex chamber had only cracked instead of shattering.

  Down below it was a different story, a scene of total devastation. The vortex doughnut was smoking, and a big, black chunk, had been blasted out of its side, as if a giant had taken a bite out of it. Other pieces of equipment, vehicles, and supplies had also been destroyed.

  How could this happen? All the security, all the planning, and still terrorists were able to get inside the base and attack it. He pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling like running out into the desert again to escape all the madness.

  Yet he knew running was no answer.

  He was still dazed from the attack but managed to pull himself away from the scene just as a flood of military personnel burst out onto the floor of the vortex room. He headed straight toward the command center, passing more scientists and soldiers, all with frightened looks on their faces. After moving through another security checkpoint, he entered the room. More chaos swirled around him. Through the flurry of people he managed to find Vice President Paulson.

  “Buddy, what the hell happened?”

  “God damned fucking terrorists. We’re still trying to figure that out.” Paulson pounded a fist into the wall, showing rare anger. “They set off an explosion in another part of the base, an obvious diversion, so I strengthened security here, calling up another team. But it looks like the terrorists were embedded with those additional men. They hacked the mech unit and used it against us at the front of the building, then went after the vortex. They were masked so we have no idea who they were or when they jumped to.”

  President Diaz came storming around the corner, red eyed and drowsy.

  “What the fuck, Buddy?”

  Paulson quickly briefed the president.

  "God damn it! All the security around here and this still happens!"

  Diaz was furious.

  "We'll get those mother fuckers," Paulson growled.

  "Can the computer system identify who jumped?" Diaz asked.

  "We can track who is on base and who isn't," Paulson responded. "Let me check now."

  Paulson tapped the back of his ear and spoke to someone, then rolled his eyes.

  "Shit! The computer engineers tell me the tracking feature of the system has been sabotaged and will take some time to piece back together."

  Jeff knew this attack had to be an inside job. It was too well coordinated and struck at too many systems.

  "Well then, how about a quick roll call? We need to find out who is behind this act of treason Buddy, and we need to find out now!"

  Diaz stormed around the room, hands flailing.

  "We can do that, Mr. President, but again it will take some time."

  “Well, let's get on it then. I can’t believe this,” Diaz said, scrutinizing the destruction. “Lock this base down. Lock everything down! I want—”

  At the same time, he and Paulson touched the back of their ears.

  “Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell now?” Paulson said, stomping a few feet away. Moments later he said, “Something’s happening outside. We need to go to the briefing room. Jeff, come on.”

  They left the chaos of the command center behind. Down in the vortex room, thick black smoke was still billowing up from the floor. In the briefing room they found Secretary of Defense Calhoun with a few of his advisors.

  “Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Senator.” Calhoun nodded, then waved his hand to pull up a holo showing a radar sweep of the land above the base.

  “Long-range sensors picked this up just after the vortex was generated and the saboteurs jumped.”

  A purple cloud came into view, moving like a tidal wave over the landscape.

  “A swarm,” Jeff said. “It must’ve detected the time jump.”

  “It’ll be here within the hour,” Calhoun told them. “Then there’s this.”

  The radar view from the holo swiveled, and just behind the massive swarm cloud were a collection of smaller dots moving slower in the same direction.

  “And those?” Diaz asked.

  “They would be the singularity-generating man o’ wars.”

  They solemnly watched the advancing alien forces. There was little they could do to defend themselves.

  “They’ve found us,” Jeff whispered quietly.

  Paulson nodded and said, “And now they’re coming to wipe us out.”

  Chapter 38

  3:00 a.m. Local Time, January 17, 2038

  Flying over Baghdad, Iraq

  The plane shuddered once again as Mattie tried to keep it level. He was amazed they’d made it this far with that horrible thing growing on top. Apparently alien plant tendrils weren’t used to six-hundred-mile-per-hour winds slamming into them, which seemed to slow their growth. Still, the thing had managed to breach the roof in several places and was creeping along the inside of the plane, growing larger.

  Mattie checked on his passengers. Holly and Drs. Chen and Corvin had moved up as close to the front of the plane as they could without actually sitting in the cockpit. Occasionally they cast furtive glances toward the back of the plane at the growing alien tendrils moving above them.

  “Not much farther now,” Mattie called out. “We’re coming up on Baghdad, and Hillah’s just to the south.”

  The plane shook again. This time the oxygen masks fell from the ceiling and the lights flickered. Mattie glanced back again. One of the tendrils touched a light fixture. Suddenly it began to pulse and glow deep red. Then the entire mass started to writhe and twist, growing even faster. Tendrils snaked down from the ceiling onto the walls.

  The plane creaked, and Mattie noticed slight cracks forming along the inside of the cockpit. A quick check of the wings told him th
e alien mass would completely cover those very soon. Then he would have no control over the plane.

  “I’ve got to set her down,” he yelled out. “We haven’t much time. I’m trying to get us as close to the base as I can.”

  He began a slow descent.

  “We are two hundred miles out from the landing strip. I advise holding on the descent,” the AI chimed in.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, you have a tumor growing on your back. I think we need to get down right away.”

  “Agreed. Structural integrity is at eighty-five percent and declining. Emergency landing recommended.”

  “No shit.”

  Clouds rose above them as the plane descended. It was night and there should be lights on the ground below, but all was dark and empty. According to the map there was an interstate highway running south from Baghdad to Hillah. Mattie hoped it was empty, because they’d be coming in hard.

  The plane shook again and a wrenching sound from the roof indicated that pieces of the hull were peeling off. Mattie dove faster as red, glowing tendrils crept into the cockpit and quivered on the front window.

  “Hang on!” he yelled as he pushed the yoke forward, increasing the plane’s descent.

  Radar scans of the ground indicated a few cars and trucks parked, abandoned, alongside the road. He plotted a course for a long stretch of empty highway, trying to adjust their angle. The plane didn’t respond.

  “Rear rudder locked,” the AI said. “Foreign substance preventing movement.”

  “Shit. I guess this is as good as it’s going to get.”

  “Touch down in thirty-five seconds.”

  The seconds ticked away as the road flew up at them faster and faster. Mattie leveled the plane out, slowing their descent, yet was still unable to control the aircraft’s tilt.