by Alan Spencer
Olsen dimmed the lights.
Dr. Singer began the power point presentation. Everybody stared at the image projected on the wall. The first image was a computerized sketch of the ocean floor.
"Over the past two decades, scientists have been eying the odd shifting of plate tectonics along the Pacific Ocean. There's been strange activity beneath the ocean floor. We've developed a special camera to take pictures and investigate what's beneath the ocean floor itself, and what we found was quite...alarming."
Dr. Singer changed images.
The next part of the presentation showed a large mass, the color of dark purple muscle tissue. The picture was very dark, and the details were blurry.
"This is the best shot we've been able to get of her."
"Her, who?" Anchor asked.
"Gargantuan."
Anchor would've dismissed the idea of monster attacks as a scientific fabrication, but he remembered the news footage Captain Mendel showed him of the California Coast and the monsters in action. Everybody else was of the same mind.
Sea monsters do exist.
Move on.
Dr. Singer continued his presentation.
"Gargantuan is a mega mass of tissue, muscle, bone, and reproductive organs. She dates back to Paleozoic Era. Think Cambrian Period. During this period, there was an explosion of life forms. At that time in history, deep in the ocean, Gargantuan was birthing deep-sea predators of many varieties. Every creature that's birthed from her body is pure evil. The spawn consume, terrorize, and seek to depopulate any local life to gain dominion.
"All we know, is that Gargantuan was somehow buried beneath the ocean floor at some point. She's been hibernating all this time, waiting for her chance to return. The last earthquake in California seemed to open up the ocean floor just enough for her to escape.
"The thing is, Gargantuan likes to study existing life forms and create hyper forms of those species. Yesterday, we witnessed a blown up version of a stingray, a jellyfish, a squid, and turtle, and so on. Gargantuan's main goal is to create life, consume, and destroy.
"Her offspring collect flesh, blood, and meat, and bring it back to her. Gargantuan turns this matter into digestible proteins for itself, and for her children. If we destroy Gargantuan, her offspring starve. Currently, she's situated deep in the Pacific Ocean. We've pinpointed her exact location. We're headed there as we speak. So that's the quick history of our enemy."
Kipper, even cockier than pretty boy Olsen, spoke up. "So, okay, that's all good and interesting, but how do we destroy this bitch? I really don't need to hear her life story. All I have to do is point and shoot, right?"
Dr. Singer smiled. "I was just about to get to that matter."
So How Do We Destroy This Bitch?
Anchor refilled his coffee, opened up four packets of sugar, and sucked down a hot concoction of sweet caffeine, as Dr. Singer changed gears in his power point presentation.
"How do we stop this bitch? Indeed. It's a tall order, but one that's not impossible. I've been coached on the game plan, and it's a good plan. That's if it's executed properly. No mistakes. This isn't a field test."
"Come on, buddy," Wolfe said, "I volunteered for this mission. My entire family was killed in San Francisco. Let me at her. I'll take Gargantuan down a peg. I'll shove a nuke up that bitch's ass."
"Yeah, I lost my family too," Topper said. "I was laying out on the beach one moment, the next, my fiancée's in the mouth of that mega huge shark. She didn't stand a chance, and neither will Gargantuan when I'm done with her."
"The Annihilator will do its job if we're the ones in the driver's seat," Kipper boasted. "Lock on target and fire. All that will be left of her will be fodder for a cheap seafood buffet."
Only Anchor heard Bright whisper to herself. "You're forgetting how many millions of people have been killed. This isn't a joke. This isn't a revenge party. It's a job. There's nothing fun about this mission."
Anchor looked about the room. These officers were scared out of their minds. He could see right through their false bravado. If he was going to risk his life, he had to level them out. Anchor agreed with Bright's quiet assessment.
"I'm sure if all it took was jamming a nuke up Gargantuan's asshole, we would've done it already," Anchor said, making everybody go silent with his commanding voice. "There's a catch. Let Dr. Singer give his presentation. Get your heads out of your asses. I'm not dying because of somebody else's fuck up. I've already sacrificed my life for Olsen's fuck up. It'll never happen again. Try me, and you'll be sorry."
Olsen gave Anchor a hard look, but the pretty boy didn't say anything.
Dr. Singer cleared his throat.
"Anchor is right. We can't shoot a nuke at her. Where Gargantuan dwells in the ocean, she's got a force field surrounding her. It'll turn any explosion, any source of heat or energy, into fuel. If anything touches that force field, an electrical surge will turn a submarine and its cadets inside into a deep fat fryer. The attack can't be from the outside. It has to be from within."
"Whoa, wait up, Dr. Singer," Topper said, crunching on a mouthful of chips. "We're going inside of Gargantuan?"
"What about that force field?" Olsen asked, trying to subdue everybody's overreaction. "There's a way to get past it, right?"
Dr. Singer rubbed at his tired eyes. Anchor could tell the scientist had been up for days trying to help map out an attack plan. Beneath the fatigue, Anchor could tell Singer was still hungry for the destruction of Gargantuan.
"Hear him out, no more interruptions or shitting your pants," Anchor said. "We're the best of the best, got that? Quit acting like a bunch of spoiled children. I'm not wiping anybody's ass, and nobody's wiping mine. We have the capability of killing this thing, and we will. Stay focused. Go ahead, Dr. Singer."
"Thank you, Anchor. As I was saying, the real battle will be within Gargantuan. She's a complex mega organism. Imagine her as a giant hive full of complicated organs, processes, and abilities. She can give birth to anything her mind conceives. She's a reproductive machine. It takes other organisms to work that machine, and Gargantuan is full of them.
"So, Gargantuan is filled with other creatures that are working behind the scenes to make everything possible. The Annihilator will have to get inside as close to Gargantuan's core as possible. Once inside, we set up several explosive charges scattered about her networks of tissue, then we escape using The Annihilator. We'll set off those nuclear charges by remote."
Kipper was frustrated. "This is a suicide mission. This is bullshit. Go inside Gargantuan? I mean, damn. We're not getting out if we're going in."
Dr. Singer disagreed. "It's not bullshit. I'm going in with you. Did you care to think I've thought through every possible contingency to allow us to survive? You bet. Your life will be in your own hands. The risk is high, but we're all dead anyway if Gargantuan isn't stopped. We might not even make it through that force field. We could die on the way to Gargantuan's core. We could be attacked by God knows what while placing those charges once we leave the sub. A myriad of possibilities of death could occur, and I don't care, because we have to give this our best shot. I'm willing to die if it means saving the world, and I'm just a scientist. If I'm not afraid, why are you?"
Anchor sensed the tension in the room. People who served their country could claim they would do anything for that piece of land, but they were still people, and people feared death. It's what else a soldier had inside them to cope with death that made them who they were. This was a question of guts and balls. Who had them, and who didn't?
The only person Anchor sensed wasn't afraid to die, besides Dr. Singer, was Bright. She was a student taking notes, paying attention, and eager to get to work. Even Topper had stopped mowing down on the snacks once the truth set in. They would most likely die carrying out this mission.
Dr. Singer had one other thing to say.
"Remember the force field I mentioned? We've learned whenever missiles are shot at it, small holes in the force fi
eld form. We'll have to find a hole in that force field, move past it, and then enter Gargantuan. A fleet of submarines will back us up. Call them a distraction to help us complete our mission by any means necessary, people. I'm sorry I can't be more hopeful. I'm willing to put my life on the line for the cause. I sure hope you are too."
Another long silence filled the room.
Dr. Singer dismissed everybody, except for Anchor.
"Can I have a word, Anchor. I just have a few things to go over with you."
Leadership
Dr. Singer didn't waste a second sharing what was on his mind. "A lot's on the line, Anchor, and I'm glad you're here. I've been trained on the details of The Annihilator's killing abilities. It's quite the submarine. It's like nothing I've ever encountered before. Another one's being made as we speak, but it takes a lot of time. It'll be too late before a second is functional to help us now. A machine of that caliber can't exactly be thrown together like a sandwich."
Anchor wasn't sure where the scientist was going with this talk. Dr. Singer sensed his patience dwindling and jumped to the point.
"You're going to be the first in command. It's up to you to make sure we get past that force field, sneak inside Gargantuan, and set those explosions. You understand our survival comes second to completing this mission, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Very good. I knew you would understand. I'll be your wingman. I've been schooled on every weapon and ability The Annihilator possesses. I can pilot the vessel as well. You keep your crew focused, I'll keep you in the know. I think we're of one mind on this. I will do anything and everything possible to complete the mission and keep everybody alive. I need your full cooperation. Deal?"
Anchor shook the scientist's hand. "Deal."
"The Annihilator's being controlled by a temporary crew. We've got a short period of time before we have to take our stations. I want you to talk to our crew and make sure they’ve got their heads screwed on right. I saw the looks on their faces. They weren't exactly thrilled."
"I got it," Anchor said, "no worries."
"I've seen a lot over the years. Alien life forms from below the ocean and from up in the skies. If we fail, Gargantuan could possibly kill every person in the entire universe. Much is at stake. Everything, actually."
Anchor didn't care about the big picture.
Now mattered.
Tomorrow, he would deal with later.
"Things are going to get hairy once we get inside the beast and take it on foot. We've got weapons and suits none of you are used to wearing. This mission has been thrown together in a great hurry. The real problem, our government never thought Gargantuan would break through the ocean floor. No matter what I told them, they were only willing to throw a limited amount of funds to counter the problem. Looks like innocent people have to pay the price."
"It's always up to people like us to fix other people's mistakes. I'm as good as dead, Dr. Singer. I have nothing to fear. I can learn in a hurry. So can the rest of the crew."
"Good to hear. Oh, and one other thing," Dr. Singer said, "you keep smiling. Are you enjoying this?"
"I've been locked up in isolation for over a year, Dr. Singer. So right now, I feel like I'm on a fucking playground. So yeah, this is all shits and giggles."
Sexual Harassment
"Come on, Bright? One last goodbye to the world fuck. How about it? The world's on the brink of destruction. Imagine the adrenaline rush. My cock. Your pussy. Boom."
Anchor walked in on the crew standing crowded together outside the conference room door. Kipper was in Bright's face, trying to sweet talk her in that special douche bag way. Anchor thought about intervening, and so did the other crew, but Anchor recognized something in Bright's face. She was strategizing and not backing down. Anchor motioned for the crew to back off, because he knew Bright wanted to take care of the creep herself.
"You're so quiet and serious all the time," Kipper continued. "You act like you have something lodged up your ass. Or do you need something up your ass? Maybe that's your problem. Either way, I've got what you need. You haven't changed since special training. Stiff as a pole. Let me loosen you up. You got those torpedo tits. We could fire those at Gargantuan and take her out right now."
Bright was giving him the steely eyes of death.
Kipper kept pulling items from his dirt bag of tricks.
"Hey, I'm not a jerk. I'm only trying to go out with a bang. Don't you want to go out with a bang?"
Bright shook her head. "Only a real son-of-a-bitch would use this situation to take advantage of a lady. Back off, dick face. I'm not interested. Get that through your thick skull before I crush it."
"Whoa, wait! You haven't given me a chance to win you over."
Kipper grabbed her arm to bring her in close.
Bright jerked her arm back, slipping free of his hold. Her hands were fists and her body was posed to counter anything. If Kipper came in close proximity, there would be a fight.
"Fuck off. The answer's no."
"Listen, there hasn't been a pussy I couldn't conquer," Kipper insisted. "Black pussy. White pussy. Yellow pussy. Hot sushi oriental pussy. Pussy of all flavors, colors, and sizes, I've fucking rocked them all. I don't care if I sound like a pervert. I love fucking. I want one last ride, and you've got the body of every man's dreams. Give me a shot. This is it. We're all probably dead. So why not fuck me? I'm not going to get you pregnant, and STD's, no sweat. We're goners. I'm the only guy with the balls to put it out there. Let's fuck. I know you want me too, so why not go for it?"
"Go jerk off in a waste basket, or better yet," Bright smiled, "stick your twig in a pencil sharpener until the tip is as pointy as your head."
Kipper wasn't a man who was used to being told no. He came from a rich family. Kipper had good looks, privilege, and he could sling the English to drop even the most reserved panties and score. Kipper had pulled the same excessive flirtations during their original training courses for The Annihilator two years ago. Kipper didn't compute rejection.
"Come on, baby. Playing hard to get is only fun for so long. It's time to give in."
Bright's face was hard. Anchor could see it in her eyes that she was secretly happy. Push me, those eyes said, and I get a warrant to kick your ass. "Still not getting the message, huh?"
"Persistence pays off, honey," Kipper insisted. "I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll fight off the rest of these bozos to win your honor. Come on. Let me have a taste of that sweet action. I'll bend you over like—"
Bright delivered a solid throat punch, then a fist to his solar plexus. Kipper's sexual come-ons degraded to the coughing up of blood. Bright thought that would've been enough. Anchor didn't even see it coming.
"You cock-teasing bitch, you can't do this to me!"
Kipper cold cocked her in the face. Bright lost her bearings and she was thrown backwards. She wasn't getting up from the floor anytime soon. Wolfe and Topper were tending to her.
That's good, Anchor thought, because this guy's getting the whole can of whoop-ass.
Kipper was standing there frozen. One reason, he couldn't believe he had decked Bright. Then Kipper met eyes with Anchor. He knew the beast was coming, and Kipper's lower lip trembled. The officer started to cower back in fear.
Anchor's voice was a hungry wolf's. "Where you going to hide? Going to jump out a window? We're in a submarine deep down in the ocean. There's nowhere for you to hide. Best take me on where you stand. You run, you're only going to piss me off even more, you wretched boar. I'll bash your face until your brains are pulp. Your dick will never work again, and the world will be a better place for it."
Kipper's face was locked in horror. "Look, I didn't mean to, Jesus, Anchor, don't do what I think you're about to do. I'll leave her alone. Hey, I'm sorry Bright. I had no right. I don't know what came over me, I—"
Anchor was taken aback by what happened.
Everybody else, including Bright, gasped in shock.
Nobody
saw it coming.
Dr. Singer had crept up behind Kipper. The doctor's long and lanky arms worked with deadly precision. One hand snuck under Kipper's neck, and the other had him by the head. Then, SNAP! Lights out for Kipper. He collapsed as dead weight.
Anchor's body went from red hot with fury to icy cold with dread. Dr. Singer was a lunatic. The doctor regarded his act as necessary, almost clinical. This mission took on an entire new angle, and Anchor didn't like the smell of it.
"It's my fault for not emphasizing the importance of our work," Dr. Singer said calmly. "We are to conduct ourselves with valor. None of this indiscretion will be tolerated. I will replace Kipper and take on his duties. I can do his job just fine. It's a shame. That's more work on my plate. Oh well. It is what it is."
Topper, Olsen, and Wolfe, helped Bright up to her feet. They shielded her from Dr. Singer's path and from having full view of Kipper's corpse. Dr. Singer ordered a passing cadet to arrange for Kipper's body to be relocated.
Everybody stood rigid in place, including Anchor. Everybody was afraid to do the wrong thing, or else suffer the harsh consequences. Dr. Singer went from nerdy scholar to a calculating killer in seconds. There was a lot to the doctor that Anchor had yet to understand.
"I take it everybody understands they are to do their job, get along, and stay focused? The mission is all there is now. No goodbye last fucks, no time for anything else but doing your jobs."
Everybody said they understood.
"Very good. We shouldn't have anymore problems among each other now that the problem child has been punished." Dr. Singer checked his watch. "Looks like we better take to our battle stations. Follow me."
Battle Stations
The rest of the eighty person crew were hard at work in different sectioned off chambers of the submarine keeping things functioning. The team avoided the crew, walked a short flight of stairs on the double decker submarine, and arrived at the front-most section of the submarine. During training, the cadets joked that the bridge looked like something out of Star Trek. The Annihilator was straight out of science fiction. There was a chair hanging in the center of the bridge, where the main pilot sat in front of a large screen that gave a panoramic view of the ocean ahead of them. Co-pilots obeyed the main pilot's instructions. Their stations were at the right and left of the main pilot. They operated weapons, monitored possible attacks, and ensured the vessel could withstand the intensity of battle. Glowing computer screens and blinking buttons busied the bridge. Everybody stood behind the doctor. The dark red room was intimidating to the crew who waited in anticipation for Dr. Singer to say what was on his mind.