Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 (10 page)

              “We’ve found at least one supply area. This technology…the way the doors open and the crates work…it’s pretty extraordinary.”

              “That’s what we’re finding,” Olly replied. “Luckily, the internal systems aren’t as strange. We’re able to make effective changes.”

              “Do you want us to start bringing this stuff to you?”

              “Just catalog it if you can,” Olly said. “If it’s close to the engineering section, we might need it down there. Once you’ve got a good reading on all the parts, send it to my tablet and keep looking for another room.”

              “We’re on it.” Hoffner turned to his men. “Okay, men. Let’s get these open and figure out what’s in them. God knows what we’ll need and when so don’t miss any boxes. You saw how I opened it. Get to it. We’re on a tight schedule here.”

              Hoffner was happy they had something to do. Standing around in the hangar gave men time to think. A little busy work would keep them occupied. The last thing they needed was idle chatter and worry. Morale suffered from that kind of thing and he couldn’t afford it. Not on an alien vessel in the middle of a battle zone with other alien vessels bent on their destruction.

             
Just another day in the corps, I guess. Let’s just hope it’s not our last
.

              The Behemoth followed the Silver Star for nearly fifteen minutes, heading into the empty space between Mars and Earth. Their pursuers maintained a sizable distance but did not falter. Gray wondered what exactly they were waiting for and why they hadn’t engaged again. Maybe they needed a minute to evaluate their enemy.

             
I doubt those jerks are surprised often
. Gray watched his tablet and observed various reports across the ship. Fighters were refueled and ready for launch. He had a few ideas of how to prolong the fight, to give his men aboard the Silver Star the time they needed. How many tricks he could employ remained to be seen.

              “Sir, the enemies are picking up speed,” Paul’s voice brought Gray out of his thoughts. “They seem to be ready for another bout.”

              Gray tapped the com and hooked up with Revente. “I need you to launch the fighters and have them slow those bastards down.”

              “How do you mean? Our weapons can’t penetrate their shields.”

              “Nor have they launched any of their own fighters yet,” Gray replied. “I’m sure they’ve got them and they’ll come out soon. If they have any regard for their people, they’ll have to provide support. That will give us what we need to keep out of their reach. We’re buying time here, Estaban and I need your help.”

              “We could try the bombers again,” Revente offered.

              Gray shook his head. “No, they’ve already proven they can knock the projectiles out before they get close. We’d be putting a lot of pilots at risk for nothing. What we need is fast and agile. Get those jockeys out there and let them do what they do best. Nip at the heels.”

              “Okay, we’ll do what we can.”

              “Keep sending your report feeds to the bridge.” Gray killed the connection. “Are they trying for weapon lock, Paul?”

              “Negative, sir. I’m not reading any locks.”

              “Redding, do we have range?”

              “Extreme,” Redding replied. “I
might
be able to take a pot shot but at this distance, evasive wouldn’t be hard. Turn a direct hit into a graze…and that’s all they have to do.”

              “Understood. If they close within medium range, something we can guarantee a direct hit with, tell me right away. I want to keep stabbing at them.”

              “Perhaps we need to turn to the offensive,” Clea said. “It would not be expected.”

              “Nor are we entirely ready,” Gray replied. “Two against one…no. We need an advantage in that fight and right now, the Silver Star isn’t providing it.”

              “Sir, I’m reading a debris net coming up starboard,” Tim said. “Looks like civilian crews marked it for clean up next week.”

              “What kind of debris?” Gray asked. “Natural?”

              “Seems to be the fall out of some kind of mining operation. A fair sized asteroid was here and they broke it up.” Tim took a moment to finish reading. “I’m reading rocks and spent supplies from the operation. It’s just waiting for a recycling run.”

              “How big is it?” Everly asked.

              “One point five kilometers around,” Paul replied. “They really gathered a lot of crap. Wow, I bet
that
job’s boring.”

              Gray smiled.

              “What’re you considering?” Clea said.

              “Something like a mine field,” Gray replied, clicking over to Revente. “We’ve got some debris up ahead. Can you see it on your scans?”

              “Yes, I’ve got it.”

              “Do you think your pilots can take care of that net?”

              “For what purpose?”

              “I’d like to give our friends a gift,” Gray said. “If we can spread it behind us, I’m pretty sure it’ll provide some decent camouflage.”

              “Won’t their shields deflect it?”

              “Yes, but I’m not done. We’ll jettison a few pulse bombs into the mess but not too many. I don’t want them picking up the weapon signature in their scans. When they get close, we’ll remote detonate and see if that doesn’t give them the bloody nose we’re hoping for.”

              Revente hesitated for several moments but finally replied. “Okay, I like it. We’re on it.”

              “Be sure they open the net then spread the stuff but not too thin or it won’t cover up the bombs.”

              “You think it’ll work?” Clea asked.

              “Depends on what result you’re after,” Gray turned to her. “If you’re asking do I think it’ll blow one of them up, no, I don’t. But I do believe it’ll make them be cautious and again, buy us some time.”

              “Clever.”

              “I go easy on you when we play chess.” Gray turned to Redding. “Make sure you get us closer to the Silver Star. Keep your distance from the net. This is one of those things where you only have one shot to get it right and those pilots will definitely need us out of the way.”

***

              Meagan and Panther wing raced away from the Behemoth, preparing for a guerrilla battle. They’d practiced harassment techniques plenty of times before in war games with the Behemoth. She remembered grueling hours spent dodging weapon lock and blasting away with quarter power shots at the delicate parts of their targets.

             
This will be no different
. It’s a phrase she used on her pilots just before they launched again but she barely believed it herself. Live fire always made things different. The Behemoth wanted them to learn a lesson, not obliterate them from the sky. Anyone who didn’t take it seriously needed to do so now.

              “Panther One, this is Giant Control, come in.” Revente’s voice filled her helmet.

              “Panther One here. What’s going on?”

              “I need Panthers One through Four to disengage your current mission and high tail it back toward the Behemoth.”

              “With all due respect, sir, why? I don’t want to leave half my wing out here without me.”

              “Don’t worry, you’re just carrying out a quick task before returning to the fray. We need as many fighters distracting the enemy as we can.” Revente paused a moment. “I think you’ll like what they have in mind anyway.”

              “I’d better because taking off doesn’t feel right.” Meagan switched the channel to the other ships in her wing. “Looks like we’ve got a side game, guys. I need two, three and four to form up on me. The rest of you engage as we discussed. Work with Tiger Wing to really give them hell.”

              Meagan pulled up and spun around with the other three ships in tow. She patched back in with Giant Control “Okay, we’re on our way back. What’s so damn important?”

              “There’s a net full of debris near the ship. Roughly a kilometer in radius so plenty of garbage. We’re going to jettison a couple pulse bombs. You’re going to spread out the rubbish and plant the ordinance in the middle.”

              Meagan nodded. “I see. So why does it take four of us?”

              “The net’s secure with a magnetic clamp with a coded lock. We don’t have time to decrypt it. Two of you will attach tow cables to the net. One will blow the lock. You’ll then open the contents and drag it across the flight path of the enemies. A couple extra shots should get it moving and you can contain it to a tight spread with the net.”

              “And the Pulse Bombs?”

              “Panther Four will drop them amongst the trash, leaving them to float around. As soon as you’re finished, I want you to get the hell out of the way. Back toward the Behemoth. I’m warning all wings about what we’re planning because when the enemy ships reach a threshold, they have to disengage and take the long way around to get back us.”

              “Okay, we’re on it.” Meagan briefed her wing on their objective and how they’d take care of it. Mick, Panther Two, spoke up.

              “That clamp they’re talking about is pretty small and if we blast it, that might cause the whole net to fly off. It’s going to be pretty damn heavy.”

              “Good,” Meagan replied. “We’ll get into position so when the clamp goes, we’ll use the momentum from the shot to drag the contents to where we need them. Panther Four, keep those pulse bombs as far away from shooting as you can.”

              “I don’t fancy being turned into molten slag,” Shelly, Panther Four, replied. “Don’t worry. I’ll treat them with more respect than the bomber guys do.”

              “Hey,” David, Panther Three said, “they drop them on valuable targets. I’d call that pretty respectful.”

              Meagan grinned but didn’t fuel their fun. “Let’s focus on the task, people. Panther Two and I will attach our cables. Three, you’re on shooting detail.”

              The net loomed ahead, a massive blob of junk both natural and manmade. Without environmental shields, such debris could obliterate a ship, tearing through the hull and causing no end of damage. Cleanup crews from Earth cataloged sites with excessive rock or garbage left from mining operations and sent people to take care of them.

              Gathering them up allowed ships to note their locations and avoid running into them. Once there was enough, a recycling ship would make the rounds, gathering it all up and returning to Earth to repurpose the stuff. Agile ships needed to collect the pieces, larger ones carted it away.

              Mick was right about it being heavy. Two wasps might have a hard time pulling it all. Luckily, they’d be leaving some behind, essentially just pulling the net aside and allowing momentum to carry it all. Without the shot giving it a jolt, they’d probably need all four ships to pull it anywhere.

              And even then, they’d be flying slow.

              “Panther Two, I’ll be on top.” Meagan paused. “Don’t you
dare
make a joke about that.”

              “Wouldn’t dream of it, Panther One,” Mick chuckled, dropping below her vessel and angling his own to line up the tow cable with the net. “In position.”

              Meagan followed suit on the opposite side. They fired their tow cables, catching the net well above and below the clamps, far enough away that any damage incurred wouldn’t destroy their connection. She throttled her wench and felt the tug on her ship. A tiny jostle indicated Mick made his shot as well.

              Panther Three settled in between them and took aim. “Get ready, guys,” David called out. “I’m going to take three shots total to get the stuff moving.”

              Three flashes lit up the world behind Meagan and a moment later she felt the tension in her line go slack as the net opened wide. “Here we go,” she called to Mick. “Throttle up and under.”

              “On it.”

              They pulled away, opening the throttles as they tore the net free and dragged what little debris along which clung to the surface. Meagan turned to look at their pursuers, still a long distance off but menacingly close in reality. They needed to establish the trap quickly so they’d be nowhere near the blast but more importantly, they didn’t want to tip off their enemy to the plan.

              Panther Four approached carrying the bombs and deposited them amongst the trash while One and Two continued to pull. “Get ready to detach,” Meagan said, checking her scanner to ensure they’d covered as much of the area as possible. “On my mark. Three…two…one…now!”

              She hit the button and her cable came free. Mick followed suit and the two of them regrouped with Three and Four. “Make your way back toward the Behemoth, full speed. Panther wing, give yourself another twenty seconds of action then get moving. Rendezvous with the Behemoth ASAP.”

              A series of acknowledgements came through the com. Meagan checked her rear camera and wondered if the ploy would work. Did the trap have a chance to work? Would it leave the enemy reeling? She had faith in Captain Atwell. His tactic, unorthodox as it may’ve seemed, sure sounded like a good idea.

              Even if it didn’t cripple an enemy vessel, it might make them cautious and so far, they knew caution was not the strength of these invaders. They liked to drive in, punching and swinging with everything they had. Overwhelming their opposition with deadly, brutal force. Subtlety seemed totally alien to them but they were about to learn a really hard lesson.

              One Meagan was more than happy to help teach.