A few of the 120mm rounds lobbed into the water as the Kaiju thundered toward the dock, landing in the tempestuous surf with a splash. Other rounds hit the creature and dug into its plated scales.
The direct hits had little impact on the beast.
Hira ordered another volley, and the tank crews hustled to reload. His own crew below were hard at work. A spent shell casing clanged on the deck. He gave the order and the tanks erupted with another salvo of cannon fire. The barrage of 120mm rounds found purchase in the creature’s hide.
A few of them sunk through the protective armor, and the beast turned to the firing line and wailed in pain.
The shrill cry was followed by an intense, angry roar.
Then, the creature advanced on the dock. Giant claws scraped the wood decking, splintering parts of the pier to bits. People stumbled into the water and the Kaiju scooped them up, chomping them down by the mouthful.
Hira watched in awe as the creature grabbed hold of the tanker’s hull and shook it madly. The Kaiju bit into the control center above the ship’s deck. Glass shattered and metal crumpled in the beast’s huge teeth. It slipped a claw beneath the stern and tipped the nose of the vessel toward the harbor.
Oil spilled into the water and meandered over the surface in rough waves.
“Tank commanders,” Major Hira called into the communications link, “prepare to fire again.”
Everyone responded in unison, affirming the order.
“Missiles, prepare to fire.”
Hira waited a moment for the creature to steady itself. Then, he gave the order to fire all cannons and missiles at once. A fusillade of ordnance exploded from the hillside. Missiles flew through the air, whistling along toward target, as rain and wind offered feeble resistance.
The missiles exploded in the side of the creature and flames billowed from the impact.
Hira couldn’t discern whether the weapons had any effect. The Kaiju roared, but this time, the horrific sound appeared as though it was driven by fury alone.
Another volley of rounds drilled into the creature’s hide. This time, the Kaiju shrieked in pain. Hira surmised that some of the rounds hit home, where prior hits had dug holes into the armor-plating, weakening the protective cover. The smaller rounds were more surgical, but still didn’t deter the creature.
The beast continued lifting the ship’s stern, pile-driving the bow toward the ocean floor. Flames from the missiles cascaded down the Kaiju’s scales, fluttering into the oil slick below. Metal creaked and bent like a girder giving way under tremendous pressure.
Then, the oil tanker snapped in half, and its cargo holds spilled into the harbor, gushing black petroleum over the raging sea.
All the oil caught fire and the conflagration lit up the overcast haze.
Fire spread to the dock and set it ablaze. Hira shook his head in dismay, then he ordered the crews to reload and ready for another assault.
Hira belayed the order when F-2 fighters ripped through the sky. General Yoshi must have gotten through to the Air Self-Defense Force. The planes fought the heavy wind as they buzzed through the air.
Fighter jets whizzed by the beast and distracted it from the destruction at hand. The creature dropped the tanker, and it sunk to the bottom in two pieces, as flames whirled around the Kaiju.
The beast turned to face the oncoming planes. Its tail smacked into the dock, snapping a piling. An inferno blazed along the surface of the water, and the pier burned as wood and oil fueled the fire.
Jets closed in on the creature and released their missiles simultaneously.
As the fighters soared upward, Hira gave an order to issue another volley of rounds and missiles from the ground.
Ordnance homed in on the monster all at once.
This final attack and the fire erupting on the water would certainly bring about the demise of any known living creature.
Seven
Captain Kate Able returned to her dilapidated barracks after an early release due to the storm. She’d already gone to the gym to lift weights and run on a treadmill, and then headed to the chow hall. When she got back to her room, she went into the head to take a quick shower.
Warm water poured over her lithe body. Her life in the Marine Corps as a Harrier pilot offered little comfort. She learned to appreciate the small things in life. Kate wore her brunette hair at shoulder-length and pulled it back while on duty. She’d always had her share of boyfriends in high school and college, but her stellar career in the Marines hadn’t allowed much opportunity for relationships, despite her lean figure and muscularity.
As the water cascaded over her chest, both nipples on her perky breasts turned hard. She lathered up and permitted herself a slight tease, gently caressing herself as she washed off.
The open shower bay didn’t afford an opportunity to do anything more than brief contact. A moment later, a lieutenant her age stepped into the showers.
Kate nodded to her, and then rinsed off and headed to a sink.
She looked into the mirror and noticed slight bags around her crystal-blue eyes. The tour of duty on the rocky island was beginning to take its toll. Toweling off quickly, she freshened up and headed back to her room.
Her flight suit lay on the top bunk. A metal rack housed bunk beds with thin mattresses, white sheets, and olive-drab wool blankets. Each bed had one pillow. Rough canvas with blue ticking stripes, the pillows were stuffed with down feathers, and the course fabric and pointed quills scratched her face at night.
She grabbed the flight suit and hung it in the storage locker, which held all her possessions for the six-month swing through Okinawa. She pulled on a green T-shirt, and then slid on the cargo pants to her utilities, tightening the web-belt around her thin waist.
Then, she plopped on the rack and started reading a science fiction magazine on her Kindle. Someone gently knocked on her door.
“Who is it?” she said, wondering if it were the duty sergeant.
A slight pause before the person answered. She looked at the beer cans on her windowsill and contemplated hopping off the rack to toss them into the trash. But the duty sergeant wouldn’t hesitate to announce himself.
Another light knock on the door.
“Come in,” she said.
The door swung open and First Lieutenant Tim Baker stepped into the room. A wiry pilot, he stood in the threshold still wearing his flight suit. He looked at her meekly.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Just wanted to see if you’ve been to chow…”
“Already went to lunch and the gym.”
“That’s right,” Baker said, nodding. “Forgot you cut out early.”
“Rank has its privileges.” Kate smirked.
“Maybe I’ll catch you in a few hours for dinner, then.”
“Sure,” she said. “Probably will be a tenacious downpour tonight.”
“Already doing it now,” Baker responded. He looked at the beer cans on her shelf in awe. “You drink all of those yourself?”
Kate laughed and nodded. “Yup.”
“The six-month tour is supposed to be a blast for the first few months. And hit you hard the last three.”
She shrugged.
“Seems like it starts taking its toll a lot sooner.”
“We’ll manage just fine. Ninety days and a wake up, and this place will be behind us. An important tour of duty to have under your belt, though.”
“Yeah, and if you’re lucky… you won’t have to come back here again.”
“Everyone has to come here at least once in their career,” she said, finally sitting up on the bunk. “And if you plan full retirement, you should expect to come back.”
“Not sure how anyone can do thirty years,” said Baker.
Kate canted her head at him, confused.
“Sorry,” he said. “Forgot your family lives for this shit.”
“Dad and Uncle are career Navy men. Grandpa, too.”
“I know,” Baker replied. “Ever
yone knows… which makes it more embarrassing that I forgot.”
“No big deal.” She laughed. “The military is a way of life for us.”
“Why did you select the Marines, when you had the advantage of such a prominent Navy family?”
“Wanted to make it on my own,” Kate said. “But I guess something kept me from venturing too far astray.”
They both laughed at the comment. Baker turned to leave.
Kate glanced at the beer cans on the windowsill. “Guess, I’d better clean that up. Should be setting the example.”
“That’s a fine example,” Baker said.
Wind and rain battered the windows. Kate shrugged in dismay. “Quite a mess out there for a tropical storm.”
Baker shook his head.
“What?”
“Storm’s been upgraded to a severe hurricane. We’ll be locked in the barracks for hours, with only emergency power before this thing is over.”
“Our birds are tied to the flight deck—”
A hurried knock rapped on the partly open door, breaking off her thought. Kate peeked out the hatch. A young lance corporal stood in the hallway with a dire look on his face.
Kate understood immediately that she had to go with him.
****
Penton waited in the van for the driver to return. He sat back and watched rain cascade over the windshield, and thought about the discussion with his daughter. She’d clearly given him the go ahead to move on. Caitlin had actually suggested that he start dating again.
He shook his head, unsettled by the prospect. Penton would rather hang out the side of a helicopter taking fire than go on a blind date.
The van had stopped outside of the dilapidated barracks the air base used for Marines rotating through while training and deployed. Penton glanced at the building and wondered who they were picking up.
“Be back in a minute,” the driver had said, climbing out of the van.
“Take your time,” Penton replied, but he really didn’t want to wait long.
“Plan on making this quick.” The driver had bolted through the rain and entered the front door of the barracks. A moment later, he spoke with a Marine, who stood behind a podium wearing a duty-belt, green webbing with a brass buckle, like drill instructors wear. The duty Marine seemed to question the driver, sent to fetch someone on short notice without papers.
The duty Marine glanced through the plate-glass doors at the staff van. He eye-balled Penton, and then nodded to the driver, giving the go-ahead. Then, the driver headed down a hallway and slipped out of sight.
Wind shook the van hard, reminding Penton of the storm. Despite the dismal thought of retirement, having nothing to do, and no troops to command, he welcomed the prospect of putting the pressure and politics behind him. Thoughts of damaged Harriers weighed heavy on him. Everyone had let him make the decisions, knowing there wasn’t enough room in the hangars for all the aircraft. And they knew full well that he was retiring soon and would make a good scapegoat if anything went wrong.
Penton wondered if a mishap could affect his pension. He doubted it.
Then, the side door whipped open, and rain gusted into the van. A young captain motioned for him to slide over. She hopped inside and shut the door with authority. Turning, she looked over at Penton and smiled, almost flirtatiously. He seemed to attract the attention of young female Marines. Penton wore his sandy blond hair at a maximum regulation length, and he’d stayed lean and muscular with a square jaw.
A fit, crusty Marine standing slightly over six feet tall, he tended to garner interest. Yet, the Marines had a strict fraternization policy. Another reason why he kept to his duties and avoided romantic interests.
“Captain Kate Able,” she said after a moment.
“Master Gunnery Sergeant Penton.” He shook her hand.
She smiled again, and he couldn’t understand why.
Captain Able had a firm handshake and a confident aura about her. He’d seen her in the gym a few times. The driver slammed his door and shifted the van into drive. The windshield fogged over from body heat. He put on the defogger; it hummed so loud the noise should have dissuaded further conversation.
“You seem familiar,” she said over the blaring fan.
“Well, maybe I’ve seen you at the gym.”
“That’s it…” She smiled coolly, as though knowing it all along.
“So, you’re here TAD?” Penton said.
“Yes, I’m with VMM-214.”
“The Black Sheep Squadron.”
“You know your stuff.”
“I’m the ordnance chief. So, I’ve got to know everything.”
She nodded and smiled again.
Penton wasn’t comfortable with the interaction. She was very fit and highly attractive, intelligent, and confident. Not the sort of combination that made for good boundaries. He looked out the window and tried to let the trip take its course.
More palm trees were down. A few trunks lay across the road, so the driver had to maneuver into the oncoming lane. Traffic was light, so Penton didn’t fear a collision, but vision was obscured by the heavy rain. He grew concerned the young driver might crash the van.
“Where do you think we’re headed?” Kate said after a moment.
“Beats the hell out of me,” Penton responded without taking his eyes away from the window.
“So, you have no idea?” She didn’t sound convinced.
“The command center,” Penton finally said. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”
The driver chuckled up front, and Penton allowed himself a smile.
“An inside joke?” Kate said.
Penton turned to her and nodded. Her blue eyes sparkled, and he gulped, taken aback by the dynamic young woman.
Kate smiled again, revealing perfect teeth. She suddenly seemed very familiar, a resemblance to someone from the past. “You’re not Tom Able’s daughter?”
She chuckled and nodded an affirmative. “Get that all the time.”
“Well, I knew your father years ago. He was a hell of a pilot.”
“That’s what everyone always says.”
“What is he up to now?”
“Just took mandatory retirement. Before that, he was commander of a flight training squadron at NAS Fallon.”
Penton nodded, understanding the significance of her comment. After the Marine Corps took control over Miramar, the Navy moved Topgun out to Fallon, Nevada. The girl sitting next to him had surpassed all her peers and was the first one in her class to make captain. Her name had been kicked around about becoming a Blue Angel.
“You act like something just jarred a memory,” Kate said.
“Well, I have to say that you’re very observant.” Penton shrugged. “I was just thinking that I’d heard about you before.”
“Really?” She canted her head. “How so?”
Penton didn’t think she sounded insincere. The young captain was so proper, maybe even a little naïve. She probably hadn’t realized that her family name would cause her to be the talk of the rather small Navy and Marine Corps Aviation community. “Hear that you were being considered for the Blue Angels,” Penton finally said.
Kate pressed back in the seat. “How could you’ve heard that?”
Penton grinned and lifted his eyebrows. “People talk.”
“But I haven’t even heard that yet. Not even sure it’s true.”
“That’s not surprising.” Penton laughed.
“You can’t put a lot of stock in rumors. I’m just glad for all that’s happened so far.”
“They aren’t rumors.” Penton shrugged and patted his chevrons. “You’re under consideration.”
She looked at him wide-eyed, obviously registering from his tone and demeanor that the comment was truthful. A stellar career and Penton figured she’d earned every bit of it. He liked the fact she had the spunk to go with the Marines rather than the Navy. “You didn’t hear it from me, though.”
Kate grinned and glanced ou
t the window.
He could tell she was ecstatic about the news, a challenge. But the look on her face reflected maturity, understanding the pressure of stepping up to take on a highly visible role. She demonstrated wisdom far beyond her years.
****
Later, the van rolled through the heavy storm and pulled up to a squat brick building. Penton noticed several cars in the parking lot. Rain cascaded on the pavement and the brick steps leading to a set of double doors. A haze of wind and deluge made the building shimmer ominously in the night.
“This is it,” the driver said, opening his door.
“Guess we’ve got to run,” Penton said to Kate and grinned.
She nodded and slid the door open.
They hopped down to the macadam and rain danced around their boots. Kate slammed the door shut, and then they dashed toward the building. Kate pulled ahead of Penton. Wind gusted into him, impeding progress. He plied his way through the stormy conditions and heard the driver stomping after him.
Entering the building, Kate smiled at Penton. She didn’t seem to gloat about making it inside first, likely expected it. Rather, she seemed impressed that he’d beaten the younger Marine to the door.
Turning, he found a Marine on duty behind a podium. A young corporal wore utilities and had a sidearm strapped to his side. The driver nodded to the corporal and walked right past him. Penton figure they both worked for the commanding officer of the base.
They know more about what’s going on than me, he thought.
The driver moved at a brisk pace, leading them down the hallway. Kate hurried after him and Penton followed a few steps behind her. He couldn’t help but notice how well her muscular build filled out her uniform.
Rounding a corner, the driver stepped to a metal door and opened it. Kate caught hold of the door as the driver rushed down a flight of stairs. Penton followed them to a lower level and soon entered a conference room.
A large table encompassed most of the room. Every squadron commanding officer sat circled around the table. The base Commanding Officer, Colonel Tomkins, sat at the head of the table with a notepad in front of him.
The three new arrivals stood idly in the doorway, waiting for Colonel Tomkins to pause and take notice of them.
Pacific Rising Page 5