Kaiju Seeds Of Destruction (Kaiju Deadfall Book 3)

by JE Gurley

  Walker felt the balcony quiver. A second tremor brought a shower of rock from the cavern ceiling. As he looked up, the entire ceiling slid aside, grinding as it retreated into recesses in the pit walls. Seconds later, the air in the cavern began rushing outward through the opening. Two missiles shot through the opening and exploded on the cavern floor, causing even more chaos among the aliens. The cyclone of air swept down the corridor, trying to push Walker and the others off the balcony. He clung to a metal post.

  Struggling to be heard over the radio in the din of noise, Walker warned, “Hang on to something!”

  One soldier rolled by Walker and hung halfway off the balcony, gripping the ground with his gloves. Walker reached down and grasped the back of his suit, pulling him back. After two minutes, the blast of escaping air diminished, as the aliens activated more of the atmosphere barriers. Glancing over the side, he saw dozens of aliens lying dead on the ground. Others had escaped.

  His suit com buzzed. “This is Colonel Sakiri. I boosted my signal to cut through the dampening field. Do you read me?”

  Walker hurriedly hit the send switch. “Walker here. Glad to see you, Colonel. Now, clear the area. You’ve got eight minutes before our nukes explode.”

  “Plenty of time. I’m here to give you a lift.”

  At first, Sakiri’s comment confused Walker. The Lances had room for two people, no more. They couldn’t possibly ferry everyone to safety in eight minutes. Then, he saw the aft airlock module that had delivered them dangling from cables suspended beneath the Lance. The airlock door was open. The colonel was trying to save their ass by risking his own.

  “If you insist.” Walker guided him down. “We’re on the third balcony below you to your right.”

  Free of the dampening field, Walker’s radio picked up chatter from the other pilots fighting the Kaiju pods. Normal nuclear missiles were ineffective against the dense, energy absorbing alien armor. Instead, Driller missiles coated with Kaiju armor latched onto pods exteriors and drilled through the armor before their nuclear warheads exploded. The pilots played cat and mouse with the pods as the pods tried to ram them. Some of Lances lost the game. One in three missiles failed to destroy the pods. The numbers were on the aliens’ side. Then, the game suddenly changed.

  “They’ve stopped,” one pilot said.

  Walker heard Sakiri ask, “What do you mean?”

  “They’ve stopped moving. They’re just dead in space, doing nothing.”

  “Disengage,” Sakiri ordered. “I repeat, disengage. Reform around the Assegai in case it’s a trap.”

  Walker didn’t know if it was an alien ruse, as Sakiri suspected, but he was glad for the respite.

  Whatever had stopped the pods, it did not affect the Nazir. Below, more aliens appeared wearing opaque bubbles over their heads against the vacuum, firing lasers at the Lance. Several blasts struck the module, but none struck the aircraft. Sakiri dropped into the cavern until the module swung near the balcony. It would take too long to steady it. They would have to take their chances.

  “Jump for it,” he told the others.

  Waiting until the module’s pendulum swing brought it closer to the balcony, he leaped. Two others leapt with him. A laser bolt caught one of the men in the middle of his leap. He exploded in a bright flash as his oxygen tank combusted. Walker hit the deck and rolled inside. Sakiri edged the module closer until it banged against the balcony, bending one of the metal posts. Costas and the remaining men raced aboard. Before they could find something to hang on to, Sakiri lifted. They braced each other as the module rose swiftly up the cavern. Laser blasts struck the bottom and sides. One blast punched a hole in the floor. Another holed the open air-lock door. If they didn’t hurry, the module would look like Swiss cheese.

  Finally, they were out. As they flew across the landscape, rising higher in the Haumean sky, Walker checked his watch – two minutes. The Lance was twenty clicks above the surface when the two bombs exploded. The nukes were too small to shatter Haumea, but the detonation of two, 340-kiloton bombs in a confined space was still a spectacular sight. The surface rippled from the epicenter of the blast. Frozen patches of frost heated instantly to gas from the heat. Loose rock bounced on the surface. A plume of flame and smoke shot from the mouth of the launch cavern. Seconds later, twin columns erupted from the two pits through which they had entered the underground facility. Walker was confident the two bombs had scoured the entire facility clean of any life forms and destroyed any alien machinery. Any Kaiju that survived now lay buried beneath thousands of tons of rubble.

  “Did you pick up Doctor Rutherford or any others?” he asked Sakiri.

  Sakiri paused before replying, “No. No contact with Doctor Rutherford or anyone else.”

  Walker offered up a silent prayer for Gate. He had tried to give them a head start. Instead, he had escaped. They had stopped the aliens and destroyed their base, but the price had been a steep one.

  * * * *

  When Walker and the other survivors arrived at the Assegai, they transferred to the Assegai’s main habitat module. Seeing it almost empty was a shock. The pilots and weapons specialists were in their Lances, leaving only the five technicians aboard. Walker unsuited and went directly to the bridge.

  “How bad is it?” he asked Worthen.

  Worthen’s face betrayed his concern. “Eleven Lances are gone, but they destroyed sixteen pods.”

  The math wasn’t in their favor. There were many more pods than Lances. “Is there any further activity from the pods or on the surface?”

  “No. They’re just sitting there. We’ve picked up no signals from the surface.”

  “Scan Haumea’s surface. Doctor Rutherford and the rest of my team might have escaped.” Worthen hesitated. “Do it!” Walker yelled.

  “Major,” Blivens said, his voice surprisingly calm. “The surface is covered in dust and smoke, and a cloud of material ejected by the explosions is shielding the surface. Until it settles, our scanners won’t be able to pick up anything.”

  Walker tried to control his anger. Taking his frustration out on the hapless technicians was not going to help find Gate. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Inform me as soon as it becomes possible. I won’t give up on them.”

  Back in the ready room, Costas was stowing his spacesuit. He glanced at Walker when he entered the room. “He’s hard to kill.”

  Walker sat on a bench. It felt good to be at near Earth normal gravity after hours on Haumea. His muscles ached from the jostling during their escape. He rubbed his right leg calf muscle to ease a cramp. “If he didn’t make it out …”

  “If anyone could do it, Gate could. He’s got the luck. Besides, he had Cantrell with him. She’s as hard-assed as they come.”

  Walker wished he had the sergeant’s confidence. Luck only went so far, and Gate had used up all his.

  The intercom buzzed. “I’ve got Colonel Sakiri here.”

  “Put him through to me. Walker here, Colonel.”

  “I’m having my men manually attach Driller missiles to the pods. They remain inactive, but for how long, I don’t know.”

  “While you’re at it, lob a couple more nukes down into the alien facility. We can’t take any chances.”

  “Good call. I’ll see to it.”

  “Have you heard anything?”

  “From your missing team members? No. We can’t do a visual search of the surface yet, but I promise you I will before we launch missiles.”

  “No. Begin the attack as soon as you’re ready. Waiting is too risky.”

  Costas looked at Walker with pleading eyes, but Walker shook his head. His heart tightened in his chest. If Gate and the others were alive, he had just doomed them. The mission came first if Earth were to survive. The odds of Gate having survived were small, but experience had taught Walker that odds sometimes lied. Even so, he believed Gate would understand what he was doing. At least, he hoped he would.

  Something about the whole Haumea set up troubled him. T
hey had come expecting an alien military base with a Kaiju factory. They had found the factory, but nothing they encountered had seemed military. Even the lasers the aliens carried looked too bulky for weapons, as if they were tools hastily utilized as a weapon. They had met no organized resistance even when the aliens knew they were there. They acted more like technicians, workers, and supervisors thrust into a dangerous situation defending themselves. Had the Nazir depended on their distance from Earth to protect them? Even so, they should have been better prepared.

  He let the thought slip from his mind, as he leaned forward the crack his spine. He was exhausted and too concerned for Gate’s safety to think any more about the aliens.

  “I’ll be in the galley,” he said to Costas.

  * * * *

  “I’ve located them,” Worthen shouted down the corridor fifteen minutes later.

  Walker sat drinking coffee waiting for Sakiri to blast Haumea. He pushed the cup aside and bounced down the corridor to the bridge so quickly he banged his head on the ceiling.

  “Where?”

  Worthen pointed to a screen. “There, about ten kilometers above the surface. It’s a light flashing SOS.”

  Walker slapped Worthen on the back. “Good job! Can we get to them?”

  “No. There’s too much debris in the way. Besides, the colonel ordered us to maintain position.”

  “Contact him. Let him know we have survivors.” Walker did not know if the signal originated from Gate or one of the others, but the fact that someone was still alive gave him hope. “They don’t have much oxygen left.”

  As Worthen contacted Sakiri, Walker listened in.

  “I can’t spare any Lances. We don’t know how many are required. Our priority is preparing the pods for destruction. We don’t know if they might reactivate at any moment.”

  Walker cursed under his breath at the delay, but Sakiri was right. Completing the mission came first. However, Sakiri was not finished.

  “I can send one Lance to breakaway and pick up the second air-lock compartment. If anyone is still alive, we’ll find them.”

  Walker sighed in relief. “Thank you, Colonel.”

  “According to you, Doctor Rutherford carries vital intel about the Nazir. We need every scrap of knowledge we can get. Once they are aboard the Assegai, move her away from the planet. When we detonate our nukes, we will follow and rendezvous outside the Kuiper Belt.”

  Walker didn’t know if Sakiri was attempting the rescue solely for the possible intel, or if he was simply using it as an excuse. He didn’t care as long as Gate and the others were safe.

  The next thirty minutes were nerve-racking, as Walker waited on word from Sakiri. Finally, “I located someone,” the Lance pilot announced. “They’re not moving.” Walker held his breath. “Their faceplate is broken. I’m afraid they’re dead, Major Walker. My weapons specialist is going outside to bring the body on board the compartment.”

  Not knowing the identity of the dead person was the worst part. It could have been any one of his four missing team members. Ten minutes later, the pilot reported, “Two more. One of them is flashing suit lights.” He held his breath until the pilot announced, “They’re both alive. Delbertson is helping them aboard.” A few minutes later, he said, “The survivors are Corporal Cantrell and Private Ramirez. The dead man is Private Wilson.”

  Walker fought back the bitter disappointment that none of the survivors was Gate. “Good job. Bring them home.”

  “Will do, Major.”

  “Are we just leaving Doctor Rutherford out there?” Worthen asked.

  “We don’t know that he’s there, or if he survived the blast.”

  “The others did,” Worthen pointed out.

  “Two did, but we’re running out of time. We have to move the Assegai.”

  Worthen looked as if he wanted to argue, but he held his tongue. Walker knew how he felt. Gate was his friend, but the safety of the ship and crew was too important to risk.

  “I’ve got something, Major, farther out than the others.”

  Gate reached for the microphone and took it from Worthen’s hand. “What?”

  “Another body. I’ll move closer. Three minutes. There’s a lot of debris here.” Three minutes later, the pilot announced, “No movement.” Gate sagged as disappointment washed over him; then, “No. Wait. He’s alive.”

  Walker wanted to shout into the microphone. “Pick him up and get back here ASAP.” He smiled at Worthen. “They got him. Gate’s coming home.”

  28

  August 23, Haumea –

  When Gate saw the aft module from the Assegai moving slowly toward him through the dust and rubble, he almost cried out in joy. He had thirty minutes of air remaining and did not want a repeat of his earlier adventure after destroying the Kaiju pods with the Javelin. Cantrell and two others stood in the open airlock pointing at him. He was glad to see them. The pilot of the Lance transporting the module maneuvered it deftly and scooped him up like dipping goldfish from a pond with a net. Cantrell and one of the others grabbed him and reeled him in until he grabbed a handhold on the wall. Like his, her radio antenna had sheared away from the blast. She leaned forward and placed her helmet to his to speak.

  “I was beginning to worry about you, Doc.”

  “I’m glad you decided to come after me.” He pointed to the body floating at the rear of the module. “Who’s that?”

  “Wilson. He didn’t make it. Just me and Ramirez.”

  “Did anyone …?”

  Cantrell grinned. “Major Walker and Sergeant Costas are on board the Assegai. As soon as we dock, the Assegai is moving off to let Colonel Sakiri blow the rest of these Nazir bastards to hell.”

  Gate panicked. “I couldn’t send my data to the ship. They need it.”

  “Relax, Doc. Whatever you did, you stopped the pods. They’re just sitting there now like lumps of coal. We’ll reach the ship in ten minutes.”

  Gate stared out at Haumea, now merely a dark shape in the distance. He could not see the pods or the other Lances. Destroying the communications equipment had neutralized the pods in orbit, but he worried they had a failsafe system that overrode the signal from Haumea. They could reactivate at any moment.

  “We don’t have much time.”

  “I’ll tell the weapons specialist to inform the pilot. Maybe she can speed things up.”

  As she pressed her helmet against the Lance’s weapons specialist, Gate remembered his low air supply. He detached the hose from his nearly depleted tank, removed the tank, and replaced it with a full one from one of the lockers. His first breath of fresh air tasted sweet. No matter how efficient the suit’s air scrubbers, after six hours, the air became stale.

  When he caught his first sight of the Assegai, his heart nearly burst through his chest protector. As small and confining as the ship was, it was a piece of home, the nearest piece of Earth for 5 billion miles. The pilot deposited the module off the Assegai’s port side. The second module held a position on the starboard side.

  “We’ll just attach a safety cable to the ship to hold the module in place,” Cantrell told him, “and then transfer across. We can properly secure them later. The major wants us out of here double time.” She glanced over at Wilson’s body. “We’ll leave Wilson’s body inside and give it a proper spacing later,” she added.

  After floating in space around Haumea, the prospect of a spacewalk from the module to the ship seemed less daunting. He surprised himself by making the leap across to the airlock without hesitation and expertly grabbing the handhold. He entered the Assegai through the smaller forward airlock.

  Walker was waiting for him. “Welcome aboard!” he yelled, grinning as he slapped Gate on the back.

  “Thanks. I need to transmit this data to Earth,” Gate replied.

  Walker nodded. “Do it. We’re leaving as soon as the module is secured.”

  Walker followed Gate to the bridge. Gate’s warm reception surprised him. Even Blivens seemed genuinely pleas
ed to see him.

  “Colonel Sakiri said we have to leave now,” Worthen said. “He’s moving his ships away from the planet. He’ll stay behind to launch missiles at Haumea.”

  “Get us underway as soon as possible,” Walker said.

  Gate began stripping his suit. When he saw its condition, he was thankful to be alive. The crack in his faceplate ran almost its full width. Rips in several places in the outer layer of insulation material exposed the fine network of fluid tubing operating the heat exchange system. Dents in the air tank and scrubber revealed the extent of the damage by flying debris. The bag carrying the alien artifacts contained numerous holes. He hoped the contents were still in good enough condition to study. He handed the bag to Walker.

  “Here. This might shed a little light on the Nazir.”

  Walker looked at the contents. “Looks like a good haul. You’ve been busy.”

  Gate shrugged. “Just a few things I picked up along the way.”

  His muscles ached from the pummeling his body had taken from the blast, and he longed for sleep. He looked longingly at his hammock, but he had no time for rest. The next few hours were going to be crucial. If the Nazir had any offensive capabilities remaining, they would attack. If not, the crew of the Assegai had the opportunity to end the war.

  Walker picked up Gate’s helmet and examined it. “I hope you won’t need this. It’s scrap.”

  “Don’t knock it. It kept me alive. Any word from Earth?” Gate was eager to learn if destroying the communications equipment had affected the Kaiju on Earth.

  “Last report was a few hours ago. Twenty pods landed. Four hit the U.S.”

  “Where?”

  “Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas.”

  Gate’s heart jumped. “Texas?”

  “Yeah, Texas City. They’re threatening Houston.”

  Too close to home. Galveston, too, where former Director Caruthers now lived. The war with the Nazir became more personal each day that passed.