“All right, Jack,” Rick said, trying to get used to the new title. “I wanted to tell you that, while everyone was understandably shocked by your resignation of command, we all agreed you should try out your plan to free the Atlanta, and that you can begin as soon as you’re ready.”
“Well, I’m as ready as I can be right now,” Jack said as he got out of his chair. “I might as well go ahead and get out and started.” Jack quickly deposited his picture in a desk draw and closed it, and followed Rick out of the room to the hatch Vade would use to exit the sub.
Five minutes later…
“Are you ready, Jack?” Chief Lexton asked over the communication channel, received silently into his internal transmitters. The docking hatch he stood in was a simple, small room that had the small flooring, wall, and ceiling plating as the other rooms of the ship, and all that the room held inside it was a circular docking port. The room was to be closed off and flooded, and then left open for Jack when he completed his task.
“I’m ready for departure Chief Lexton.”
“Acknowledged, Jack. We will stay in radio contact with you while you’re out there and are standing by to provide whatever assistance we can.” After a short pause, Lexton reported, “Brace yourself, we are flooding the room now.”
Water immediately gushed from the circular docking port in the wall as it was lifted upwards into the ceiling above it. Jack maneuvered away from the geyser, and put his back against the wall. In minutes, the room was completely submerged.
Chief Lexton spoke through the comm, “We’ve unlocked the hatch Jack, and you are clear to depart. Good luck.”
“Acknowledged. I’m opening the hatch now.” Turning the wheel on the hatch, he lifted it upwards, and swam out of the compartment. Once he was in the ocean’s water, he immediately felt the immense weight of all the water pressing down on him, but surprising it, his metallic structure so far seemed to be well withstanding the environment. Adapting to the darkness, his eyes activating a type of enhanced night-vision that allowed him to see in the dark. His scanning equipment also activated, without the use of the blue scanning beams, to provide him a rough visualized map beyond the reach of his eyes.
Swimming high enough to get a good look above the sub, he saw the crumpled and broken remains of the Korean battleship that laid over the Atlanta, but to his surprise, it was still mostly intact. From that realization, he knew that removing it from above the Atlanta would prove to be a more difficult task than he had anticipated.
“Jack, can you see out there? How bad is it?” Captain Rickman talked into the comm.
“It would be easier if I showed it to you, Captain Rickman.” Jack began transmitting the visual and sensor information that he was receiving, so they would better understand what was happening. “It appears that it is worse than we thought, Captain. Though the hull integrity has most definitely been compromised, resulting in the death of everyone on board, most of the debris is still connected with each other, and collected mostly above the Atlanta.”
“How is the sub not being crushed?” Chief Lexton asked. “There’s no way the Atlanta could support that much weight.”
“It appears there are some rock formations around the sub that are acting like pillars to support the weight. It is going to be more difficult to complete this task than we had hoped.”
“So is there no chance to move the wreckage, Jack?” Commander Hayley spoke through the comm. Because Rick had been promoted from commander to the captain of the Atlanta, he had decided to promote Hayley from lieutenant commander to commander, so there wouldn’t be a lapse in the command structure.
“I didn’t say that. But the odds are considerably lower than they were before.”
“Can you think of anything that you could do, no matter how unlikely it sounds? Even the most remote possibility could be the answer for our problem.”
“Give me a moment to think.” Jack was silent for a minute as he used all of his computing power to think of a workable solution to their problem. And then, after considering thousands of scenarios, a memory surfaced from a day before.
“Commander Hayley, yesterday you mentioned during a report that you gave to me that you thought that there might be a ship within the range of our communications, but was unresponsive when you tried to make contact?”
Hayley thought a moment and said, “It is possible there is something out there. But, do you think it’s wise to use the time to confirm it?”
“If there is another ship down here, we need to get in contact with them and convince them to lend us aid. To be honest Captain Rickman, trying to find this ship is likely the best way to remove the wreckage from the Atlanta. There is just too much for me to move by myself.”
After silently weighing his options, Rick replied, “All right. Get over there as quick as you can and see if you can make contact with this vessel. Please hurry, Jack. There is no time to waste.”
“Don’t worry, Captain, Rickman. I’ll get over there in no time.” Positing himself in the direction of the supposed ship, Jack activated another system he had been recently gifted with, a device similar to a jet pack. Two thin, four foot wings deployed from the middle of his back, and straightened out horizontally near his shoulders. In the exposed compartment where the wings had been located, a small, cone shaped engine raised outwards until it was out of his back. Activating it, Jack sped towards his destination, determined to save the crew he formally commanded. If he wasn’t successful in freeing them, it was likely nothing else could save them from their fate.
Chapter 11
Date: July 9, 2132.
Location: Aboard the U.S.S. Ocean-Walker, on the border of the Atlantic Ocean.
“So, what’s the plan, captain? Assuming, of course, that there is one.” Olo said as he looked among the crew they had found. While scavenging the decks, Captain Whitefield and Olo had been able to find thirty crewmen fit to fight the Ribiyar. Whitefield had then ordered the wounded to remain in the mess hall and wait for them to return. The mess hall was a large room, with over a dozen tables occupying most of the space. Along the walls, serving lines and food trays were stationed for when the crew was receiving their meals. Because of all the injured crewman, all the tables in the room where serving as operating tables as field medics attempted to stabilize the wounded crew that lay on the tables, with many other officers laying on blankets scattered around the area.
“I do, but it is going to be difficult to pull off. Do you know if Blitz can reload his ammo by himself?”
“I don’t know for sure, but we need to try anyway, sir. I would guess that he is getting low by now.” While Olo and Captain Whitefield had been searching for other members of the crew, they had encountered roughly a dozen Ribiyar. Though they had defeated all of them, fortunately without taking any further casualties, Blitz had used much of his ammunition to secure their safety. Though the cat could apparently carry a surprisingly large amount of ammo, given how small his size would result in smaller space to store weapons, he knew Blitz was most likely very close to running out of bullets for his machine guns, which could be disastrous during the upcoming fight with the Ribiyar invaders.
“All right. Send him back to the armory with the code for the door. He’ll have to find a way to open it himself. Tell him to load himself with as much ammunition he can carry and instruct him to then head to the main deck and wait for us to start fighting. We need him to provide cover fire for us while we make a break for the shuttles. We can’t let them escape in them, or get in the air to attack us.”
“Understood, Captain.” Olo relayed the commands to Blitz, who immediately sped off into the hallway.
“Sir, couldn’t we use the Ocean-Walker’s Laser Array to take the Ribiyar out?” Lieutenant Commander Luke Fitzburg, a brawn, muscular officer with sandy blond hair, asked.
“I’m afraid we can’t access it. The Ribiyar are blocking my commands, s
o they have either disabled the Array completely, or they have taken control of it. Regardless, the Laser Array can’t target something that is on the decks of the ship, unfortunately.”
“Is there any chance that another ship might come and help us with the Ribiyar?” Olo asked.
“I don’t know. The Ocean-Walker’s records show that a distress message was sent, but I don’t know if anyone was in range to receive it. Hopefully someone might notice we have been radio silent, but considering our mission, other ships might interpret the silence to sneak up on the Ribiyar. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to wait for someone to help us.” Captain Whitefield took a deep breath and continued. “Here’s the plan. We need to travel to the upper deck, and make one final push against the Ribiyar there. The security camera’s show that they are all up there, some of them in what’s left of the bridge.”
“Why would they risk leaving the camera’s functional?” Lieutenant Commander Fitzburg asked. “Or, why would they leave the computer unlocked for us to access the security footage?”
“My guess is that they want us to confront them.” Olo replied. “It would be easier to deal with all of us when were all in one place, out in the open. Or, they could be manipulating the video feed. For all we know, they could be on this deck, ready to pounce on us.”
“We can’t worry about that now.” Captain Whitefield said. “Even if they know we are coming, we can’t let that stop us from prevent their attempt to destroy the Ocean-Walker. When we get there, we need to split into two teams, one attacking the Ribiyar at the bridge, the rest securing the shuttles. If one group fails, the chances of success drop drastically, so coordinating our efforts will be essential to this plan. Are you all ready, officers?”
“Aye, Captain!” They all responded.
“Then let’s, move out!!” Captain Whitefield led the way out of the room to the ladders they would take to deck two, right under the main deck.
Location: At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, aboard the U.S.S. Atlanta.
In the bridge of the Atlanta, Rick and the rest of the officers waited as patiently as they could under the circumstances as Jack made the journey to the unknown contact on their radar. The bridge was shaped ovular, with two doors leading into it, one on each side of the bottom half of the room. Various consoles were stationed around the room for the officers to send their orders to the other sections of the ship, or so the officers could access the ships systems, like radar or engine control, for their use. Two consoles were stationed in the middle of the oval, the helms control was the nearest to the wall, and the ships tactical console was stationed a few feet behind the console. Behind those two consoles lay the captain’s chair, where the commanding officer could sit while he gave orders to his crew. To the left and right of the tactical console lay a stand that held a six-foot tall video screen that could show information from the computer, video footage from the Atlanta’s periscope, and other uses. The screen to the right of the captain’s chair was currently active, displaying the video feed Jack continued to send to them as he traversed the ocean.
Sitting in his command chair as he waited, Rick felt foolish, partaking in what seemed to him like a wild goose chase, and let down after Jack had told him how unlikely it would be for him to move the wreckage off the ship. But all his other options for freeing the Atlanta had been exhausted, and he now had no other option than to hope Jack found some help so deep in the ocean.
After minutes of traveling through the ocean, Jack finally reported, “Captain Rickman, I am getting close to the contact.” On the floor of the ocean, there appeared to be a small canyon of some kind.
“Jack, is that canyon on the screen a natural formation?”
“I don’t believe so. It seems to be more similar to a crash trail of a ship. If so, the vessel would have to be a great size to create this big an impact.” After a minute more of traveling, something large appeared on the screen, something that was clearly not part of the ocean. As Jack got closer, the video revealed sections of a ship hidden under sand and rocks from the ocean floor. Though much of the ship was hidden, Rick could faintly make out several large engines at the rear of the vessel, and a large wing that was slanted upright out of the surface of the ocean floor. It appears that a ship was down here, just like they had hoped.
“Jack, do you have any idea what kind of ship that is? Or what nation it belongs to?”
After a moment of silence, Jack responded, “I don’t have a clue, Captain Rickman. It doesn’t match anything I’ve ever seen before.” As Jack continued closer to the ship, Rick began to see how big it was, at least a few city blocks in length and width, despite how much of the ship was buried under rock and sand.
“Jack, can you tell if the hull is still intact?”
“I’m unable to determine that either. I don’t know the designs of the ship, so I can’t tell if something is damaged, or if it is meant to look that way. But, from what I can see... I believe the ship may be of alien origin.”
“What!?” Captain Rickman exclaimed. “How can you be sure of this?”
“As I said before, this ship does not match anything I have ever seen before, and from what I can see, it does not appear to be created using known methods of ship construction. The engines alone look far too advanced to be a ship of our design. Furthermore, from what I can see of the ship, it was meant to be a space-faring vessel, and it would be immensely difficult for any nation on Earth to create a vessel this size without anyone discovering its presence. And you heard the same reports on the bridge that I did, reporting that alien ships were bombing their cities, and armies hunting down their citizens.” After a pause, Jack said, “Captain, I want to try to board this vessel. If I can find a way to take control of it, I could try to use it to move the wreckage off the Atlanta.”
“Jack, if there are aliens on that ship, it wouldn’t be safe for you to try to get in there. We just have to find another-”
“Respectfully, Captain Rickman,” Jack interrupted, “There isn’t any other way. If there are aliens on that ship, and they fight me, I’ll use every weapon I have to fight back. This is why I resigned my commission, so I could risk my life for my crew, without worrying if I would be able to make it back alive. Please, permit me to board the ship.”
Rick thought for a moment in silence and glanced at Commander Hayley. “Commander, what do you think?”
“Well… based on what Jack said, I agree it may be our only hope to getting out of here. I say you should go for it, sir.” Rick thought a little more, and then made his decision.
“Jack, you have my permission. Do whatever you can to get in that ship.”
“Thank you, Captain Rickman. I will require a moment to find an entry point. Stand by.”
Moving closer towards the ship, Jack activated the scanning equipment on his hands, the blue light beams rapidly moving across the surface of the alien vessel. After traveling around some of the ship, he at last found an entry point on the underside of the ship.
Close enough to the ship to manage without his flight systems, he deactivated them and swam the rest of the way. Arriving within reach of the silver-colored hull of the vessel, he saw what looked like a docking hatch or an entry way of some kind. The housing of the hatch was circularly shaped, containing a similarly-shaped circular door within it. From what he could tell, the door appeared to break into smaller pieces when it opened, though he could not see an exterior control panel on the hull to open the hatch. When he could not find any external manual release mechanisms, Jack attempted to force it open with brute force. He pulled his arm back, rerouted additional power to his arm to increase his strength and punched the door with all his might. A loud clanging sound echoed in the water as the two metal surfaces collided. Though it appeared the port had bent in slightly, the door was otherwise unchanged.
Undaunted, Jack instead attempt to drill through the hatch with one of his new weapons. O
n the bottom of Jack’s left arm, some of the metal folded apart. A black, cylindrical device, with a gun-like nozzle at the end, lowered out of his arm. The device, titled a Laser Cannon, revved up to full power, and activated, firing a continuous deep-red beam at the hatch. Reinforcing the Laser Cannon’s energy cells with his own power core, he continued drilling for several minutes, until he finally made a hole barely big enough for him to squeeze through.
The inside of the hatch had little features in it, though many blacked-out, triangular screens lined the corridor. Fortunately, the alien ship had crashed so that it was tilted to the right. If the ship had landed flatly, water might have flooded the ship when after he broke through the door on the other side of the hatch, which would’ve considerably complicated his mission to take command of this vessel. The corridor was shaped circular, with the floor comprising most of the bottom of the circle. Another circular door was at the end of the hatch, but to Jack’s surprise, and delight, he saw the door was slightly open, perhaps jarred loose during the crash. Like the outer hatch door, this door appeared to pull apart and separate as it was moved into the wall. Griping the small opening between the door plates, he used his all his strength to move them further apart into the wall, saving him the trouble of having to drill through it, as he did the other door.
Inside a hallway of some kind, Jack began walking through the vessel, alert for any of the crew that might ambush him, intent to find the bridge of the ship. The ceiling of the hallway was angling down toward the floor, like an up-side down V, leaving the corridor triangular, and the surface of the corridor was coated silver. Though the ship was completely dark, Jack’s enhanced vision and sensor equipment allowed him to navigate through the vessel unhindered.
“Jack, do you see any of the vessel’s crew?” Captain Rickman asked through the comm channel.
“Not from my current position, but I assure you that I will remain on alert for any of them. The ships power appears to be offline, but it’s possible that the ship’s systems managed to detect my entrance.” Jack turned a corner and tripped over something on the floor. Jack quickly jumped to his feet and looked back to what he tripped on, and realized it was a body. Jack aimed his right V-shaped gun, also referred to as a V-gun, at the form, but it remained still on the floor.
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