Kaiju Seeds Of Destruction

by JE Gurley

  The pilot fought to keep the Blackhawk level, but the laser blast had severed his controls. The chopper began spinning. The skids struck the water and dragged the chopper down. It struck hard nose first, bounced, and hit the slope opposite LaBonner and the others. The loose earth shuddered from the impact. The spinning chopper blades dug into the mud, burying them beneath a shower of mud and dirt. It cart-wheeled over the ridge and landed upside down in the water. The blades broke away and skipped like stones flung across a pond. One 6-foot-long section of blade embedded in the ridge beside LaBonner. Smoke and flame erupted from the fuselage. Seconds later, before any survivors could escape, it exploded. The Blackhawk crew had saved their lives, but at the cost of their own.

  LaBonner stood. He was tired of other people dying for him. “Come on. We still have our rocket launchers. Let’s chase these bastards down and put a stop to them.”

  It was a bold boast, one which he had little hope of fulfilling, but he was not about to give up. The creatures were just a stone’s throw from Louisiana, his home state. He wouldn’t let them in without a fight.

  22

  August 22 Haumea –

  The Assegai slowed as it approached the dazzling speck dead ahead. Five billion miles from the sun, now just a tiny bright speck in the sky, the oblong dwarf planet glowed with an ethereal light. To Walker, it did not seem possible. 136 108 Haumea, one of the larger of the Trans-Neptunian Objects in the Kuiper Belt, ellipsoidal because of its rapid four-hour rotation, looked like a bright, shiny Easter egg spinning in space.

  Although they had entered the area at minimum speed, Walker was certain the Nazir had picked up emanations from their gravity drive. It surprised him that there were no preparations, no spaceships, no Kaiju waiting to pounce. Either the aliens were waiting to spring a trap, which worried him, or they assumed the Assegai posed no serious threat in spite of the destruction of nine of the thirty Kaiju they had dispatched to Earth. The latter worried him more than the former.

  Sakiri sat at the controls on the bridge, guiding the Assegai to Haumea using Hi’iaka, the dwarf planet’s largest of two moons as cover. Namaka, one-tenth as large as its sister moon, was hidden behind the dwarf planet. Four Lances flew Combat Air Patrol for the ship. The CAP provided an early warning of an attack, as well as a defense. Handling the large craft as deftly as he controlled his smaller Lance, Sakiri brought the ship to a stationary position behind the moon. He sat back in his seat; then opened and closed his cramped hands to re-start the circulation from gripping the controls too tightly.

  He turned to Blivens. “Shut down the drive and artificial gravity.” To Walker, who stood behind him sharing his nervousness, he said, “Once we’ve reconnoitered the situation, we’ll drop your two teams on the surface, while we do as much damage as possible and provide cover for you.”

  Walker grasped Sakiri’s shoulder, felt the tension in the bunched muscles beneath his hand. A week had passed since Blaylock’s death, but the colonel still had not brought up the subject. Walker was certain he had not forgotten it. The incident loomed between them like an unspoken curse.

  “From what we’ve seen, the factories must be underground. We’ve spotted two possible entrances. It was a wise decision bringing the Javelin’s aft module with us. Now, I can safely split my team.”

  Gate stood in front of the forward view screen. “We learned in 2017 the Haumea had rings, but I never expected this.”

  600 miles out from the surface, a thin disc of rubble over 50 miles wide circled the dwarf planet. Comprised mostly of dust and ice, some chunks were as large as the Assegai.

  “Chariklo and Charon, both asteroids, have rings, but it is an unusual occurrence for small objects. Haumea must have received quite a wallop eons ago, that heated it and threw off a debris field. While molten, its rapid spin elongated the main mass and the rings formed from leftover material from the twin moon formation. Its mass is lower than we thought. That will affect the gravity. We can’t really classify Haumea as a dwarf planet. It’s just a large asteroid.”

  “I’ll think of it as a planet, if you don’t mind,” Walker said. “It will make me feel better about crawling around on the surface.”

  Walker pressed the screen with his finger to indicate a double line of nearly invisible objects circling the planet and knotted his brow. The sheer number of objects alarmed him. They had seriously underestimated the aliens’ capability. “Those dark masses must be Kaiju pods.”

  “Or spaceships,” Gate offered. “We have no idea what their ships look like.”

  “True, but they haven’t moved, and I’m certain they are aware of our presence. I’m putting my money on the bet that they are Kaiju awaiting final assembly and pose no threat to us. The gaps in the line indicate missing Kaiju, the ones they’ve already sent to Earth.”

  “They are much larger than any previous Kaiju pods. Earth must be sheer hell right now.”

  “You lowered the odds with your bold plan to destroy the first swarm,” Sakiri said.

  Gate blushed at Sakiri’s unexpected accolade. “Twenty-one got through.”

  “It was a good call. Nevertheless,” Sakiri insisted, “if we fail here, there are almost fifty more Kaiju waiting out there to attack Earth.”

  “No matter what happens,” Walker said, “we can’t allow them to launch those Kaiju.”

  Sakiri glanced up at him over his shoulder and blinked once to indicate his agreement. If the mission seemed about to fail, they would destroy the Assegai just as Gate had the Javelin. Fifty-eight lives didn’t matter. Fifty-seven, he reminded himself.

  One thing puzzled him. “Why is the surface of Haumea visible? Out here in eternal darkness, I assumed we would be fighting with night vision gear. Hell, I can see shadows down there.”

  Gate shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  Worthen cleared his throat. “Er, I might have a theory.” When no one interrupted him, he continued. “It is possible that the gravity drive energy can be used for more than artificial gravity or as a means of propulsion. What if the Nazir can fine-tune gravity waves much as we do radio waves?”

  Worthen was taking over his head, but Walker noted from Gate’s expression that Worthen’s comment interested him. “And do what with them?” he asked.

  “We know the ebony material is energy absorbent and channels kinetic and EM energy to the Kaiju power source for storage, a kind of organic battery.”

  Walker nodded. He had seen the massive battery inside Kaiju Nusku.

  “What if it has other capabilities?” he paused. “I believe the orbiting pods are radiating light waves, invisible to us because of the vacuum surrounding the planet, but its effects are evidenced by the shadows.”

  Gate burst out laughing and slapped Worthen on the back, shoving him halfway across the room. “By God, you’re right! It’s simple really, once you think about it. It’s not magic. It’s elementary science.” Gate’s face became animated. “Think about it! With more study, the principals of the gravity drive might be used to power and illuminate entire cities. We could view distant planets and stars in real time. The same drive that powered a colony ship to the stars could tame the planet, we could …” His voice trailed off and a look of stricken horror crossed his suddenly ashen face. “I’m blathering madly.”

  “We need to power down the ship to avoid detection,” Sakiri announced.

  “Powering down life support to minimum,” Worthen said. The lights dimmed, and the ventilator fans shut down.

  “Shutting down artificial gravity,” Blivens announced.

  Walker’s body lifted from the deck. He held onto the wall to prevent drifting away.

  “You will have to get used to this,” Gate told him. “Haumea’s mass is less than 6 percent of Earth’s moon, or 1/1400th of Earth. With an escape velocity of .9 km/s, you could literally take a flying leap and leave the surface. The surface temperature is 50 degrees Kelvin, four degrees below which oxygen becomes a solid. The high albedo indicates amorphous
ice covering much of the rocky surface. Fighting under such adverse conditions will be rough for someone on the ground.”

  “Yeah,” Walker replied with a grin, “but at least we won’t be in the dark.”

  Gate pointed out dark spots mottling the white surface of Haumea. “The darker areas are olivine and pyroxene with a few organics added. Spectral analysis indicates fewer volatiles than previously believed. The impact that deformed Haumea into an oblate shape happened a billion years ago, and the dwarf planet and its attendant moons and rings migrated here over the eons from a less dense part of the Belt.”

  “It worries me that they haven’t attacked yet,” Blivens said.

  Walker stared at him. “Are you in a hurry to die?”

  “They must have ships. They arrived in our system somehow. They can’t mine all the material they need on Haumea; therefore, it stands to reason they mine the Belt.”

  “Let’s hope their ships are a long way off.”

  “My men will provide air cover,” Sakiri promised. “We’ll keep any ships or Kaiju off your backs while you plant your nukes.”

  “It’s not what’s orbiting the planet that bothers me. I’m betting the underground facility is teeming with an interesting assortment of creatures, not to mention the Nazir. It won’t be a cakewalk.”

  “You’ll get the job done,” Gate assured him. “You always do.”

  “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but this is a little different from slipping inside a Kaiju, as difficult as that was. If it looks as if we’ve failed, we’ll set off the nukes. I’ll try to provide ample warning for you to move your Lances and the Assegai to a safe distance, but I don’t know what conditions we’ll encounter. It may not be possible.”

  “Understood,” Sakiri replied. “Do what you have to do.” He rose from his seat and floated across the cabin. He grabbed a handhold and stretched to ease his aching muscles after the grueling task of piloting the Assegai into position.

  “I’m going with you,” Gate said.

  Gate’s announcement caught Walker by surprise. He stared at Gate, wondering if he had misunderstood. “With me? Why?”

  Gate shrugged. “What you just mentioned – intel. We know quite a lot about the Kaiju but nothing about the aliens. Worthen’s analysis of the gravity drive’s capability makes it imperative. Any knowledge we glean, no matter how trivial, could prove useful in case,” he cleared his throat, “in case we fail.”

  “If we fail, intel won’t be much use. You’re more useful guiding the ship. You risked your life once already. Don’t push your luck.”

  “We have two people capable of plotting a course back to Earth.” He glanced at Worthen and Blivens. Worthen beamed at the accolade. Blivens, his face now ashen from Zero-G nausea, did not look up. “I have the opportunity to see an alien, the source of all our ills. I can’t pass that up. I can transmit anything we learn to the Assegai. They can forward it to Earth.”

  Walker gazed at Gate a moment, proud to be his friend. He recognized how much courage it took for Gate to volunteer, especially after his near-death experience in the Lance. He nodded. “Your priority is intel and transmitting it to the Assegai. Mine is destroying the Kaiju factory.”

  Gate’s smile was slightly forced and fleeting. “Thanks.”

  Colonel Sakiri encompassed both Walker and Gate with his gaze. “We’ve been twelve days getting here. I suggest we deploy our forces quickly. If we have caught the Nazir by surprise, I don’t want to waste an opportunity. One Lance should handle each of the drop modules easily enough. The other eighteen will fly cover and do as much damage as possible.”

  “My teams are ready,” Walker replied. He looked at Gate. “Gate, you come with me and my team. Once we breach the surface, we move fast and stop for nothing.”

  Gate nodded. “Understood.”

  Walker hoped the astrophysicist fathomed what he was getting into. This mission would be balls-to-the-wall fast and furious while wearing life support equipment in which the tiniest slash could be as deadly as a Wasp’s stinger. He was certain the aliens would have a few surprises in store for them. In spite of the initial lack of concern, they would not let invaders waltz in unopposed. He had witnessed Gate’s ability with a weapon and had no doubts he could handle himself under fire, but he feared the scientist’s curiosity might place his in danger.

  He applauded Gate’s desire to transmit intel to Earth, but doubted the information would be of any use. If their mission failed, Earth would not have the time or the resources for a second attempt. For that reason, every member of the team was expendable, even Gate.

  “I’ll meet you at the aft airlock in five minutes,” he told Gate. “I have something to attend to.”

  Finding a space to be alone for prayers was almost impossible in the small ship. Walker had solved the problem by utilizing the only spot that offered privacy, the Zero-G toilets. He had been lax in his prayers on the journey. Things got in the way. He was certain Allah would understand. Time had a way of becoming moot in a spaceship. He checked his watch to be sure of the hour of day – 6:05 p.m. GMT. To prepare for his salat, he must perform Taharah or purification. That included wudu, ablutions before prayer. Water for cleansing was limited on the ship. A second option was Tayam mam, or dry purification, except he had no dirt. A happy medium was washing with a moist paper towel as best he could.

  One important ritual was Najas, or the casting away of anything filthy. A toilet used by fifty-eight men and women was the most unclean space he could imagine, but he needed privacy for his own peace of mind. He wiped down everything with his moist paper towel, and then used a second to wash his hands. Flushing the complicated Zero-G toilet took his mind from his prayers. He closed his eyes and meditated a moment before beginning. His prayer rug was a simple folded thin cloth he had brought aboard ship inside his uniform, but it would suffice. He had prayed in worse situations.

  The sunset prayer, Maghrib, seemed out of place in a sunless void, but in his mind, the ritual of five daily prayers was more a means of attaining inner peace than for asking Allah for guidance. With barely room to stand in the tiny toilet, made especially difficult in zero gravity, he laid his makeshift prayer rug on the floor with its niche representing the mihrab, a prayer niche featured in all mosques, facing toward Earth and Mecca. Using one of the handholds, he pulled his body down until his feet pinned the rug to the floor. He could not prostrate himself, so he bent as far as the tiny space would allow.

  He did not have the time to complete the entire ritual, nor an Imam to announce the rak’at verses for him to answer. He spoke directly to Allah. At first, he thought Allah had abandoned him in the vastness of space, but then a feeling of grace, a sense of bliss enveloped him. He clung to the feeling as one would a beloved friend, savoring the aura of peace. He took it into himself and let if suffuse his body, flushing away the days of tension and mantle of responsibility. He knelt for what seemed like hours, basking in Allah’s light, but it could have been only minutes. Then, a heavy pounding struck the door.

  “Hurry it up in there!” someone yelled.

  Walker smiled, picked up his prayer rug, and tucked it into his shirt. As he floated out of the toilet, he said, “All yours.”

  When he reached the aft compartment, Gate, and Fire Team Alpha were waiting. As Walker led his team into the airlock, he stopped to speak with Costas.

  “Sergeant, I’m expecting you back here in six hours with your hide intact. You got that?”

  Costas floated in front of him, twirling his long mustache with his finger. He offered Walker a big grin. “Sure thing. I got a date with one of the weapons specialists. I’ve already got a private corner of a broom closet picked out for our tryst.”

  “If you find a vital target, set your nuke for thirty minutes and get the hell out of there. Both nukes are synced. Activating one will activate the other. I’ll know when you’ve done it. Transmit a signal to Sakiri to pull back his Lances. Don’t wait on me. Just do it.”

&nb
sp; The grin faded from Costas’ face. “Got it,” he replied.

  Walker slapped Costas on the shoulder, sending him floating backward. Costas grabbed onto a handhold. He and the sergeant had survived many missions together by defying the odds. He was afraid their luck was running out.

  His five members of Fire Team Alpha would perform a spacewalk to reach the Javelin’s module attached to the Assegai’s stern. They would go in first and draw any alien defenses away from the second team. Costas and the five remaining team members would remain in Assegai’s aft module and follow them twenty minutes later. Dividing his troops was a dangerous risk, but doubling the area they could cover might make the difference between success and failure. Faced with two possible entrances, either of which might be heavily guarded, it was unwise to simply guess. Both could yield valuable intelligence or offer the solution to destroying the Kaiju factory. The added advantage of his team going in first was that it might pull alien opposition away from Costas’ team, giving him a slight advantage.

  Inside the airlock, he helped Gate attached the armor plates to his suit. Donning the suits in Zero-G required teamwork. After he suited up, he issued Gate a weapon from the weapons locker in the floor. Gate took the strange looking device and frowned.

  “What is this?”

  “That is an H&K L200, basically a mini-RPG. Firing a regular rifle in low gravity could send you sailing backward from the recoil. To reduce inertia, the HK fires low-yield armor-piercing rockets. You hold it under one arm. The flame emerges from the rear of the launcher, so be sure no one’s standing behind you before you fire. A cable from the HK connects with your suit computer. You aim with your suit video camera and fire by pressing the firing stud. It automatically reloads. Each magazine holds six rockets. Just yank the empty one out and slap a fresh one in.”