Evolution of F.O.R.C.E. (The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. Book 3)

by Sam B Miller II

  "We're not going to find out in here," Chellsee replied. "This place emptied when the Battlestations klaxon sounded."

  Working their way around the flume structure, Chellsee and Whatsit stayed in the shadows as they moved toward the main hatch.

  "About time you got here," Boottall said as he popped out of hiding. He was wearing a swimsuit.

  After a heart-stopping moment of panic, Chellsee looked him up and down and asked, "Are you okay?"

  "Course I'm okay. I can hide from the best. I've dodged two Assid patrols so far."

  "Do you know what's happened?"

  "We've been boarded by Asiddians. I heard a tech say a computer hijacked the ship and put it in orbit around Chrysalis. Weapons are down, and the PDS implants have been turned off."

  Chellsee's color faded as the implications of a non-functioning PDS hit her.

  Looking down as his PDS necklace, Whatsit saw the swirling sparkles proving it was still working.

  Placing his hand on Chellsee's shoulder, he said, "I'm still wearing my PDS necklace. Not as powerful as your implant, but it'll give us some protection."

  Glancing at Boottall, he said, “Get some practical clothes. We’re going hunting.”

  ***

  The main entry hatch of the Natatorium gaped open into a wide corridor traversing the center of Deck 10. They were just about to step into the corridor when the sound of muffled footfalls came from around the nearest bend. Ducking back inside the pool area, Whatsit motioned for Chellsee and Boottall to wait. Rallphh and Roobee trotted past the open hatch. They didn't seem to be the least concerned about Assid search teams.

  Whatsit said, "Hey, back here."

  Rallphh and Roobee turned with a look of shock that gave way to relief when they saw Whatsit.

  Walking back to him, Rallphh said, "You're the first people we've seen. I think the Assids are forcing everyone into the hangar bays."

  "Where're you going?" Chellsee asked.

  "We're on our way to the computer core with Lloyd," Roobee said.

  "Lloyd?"

  Holding out his hand, Rallphh showed them the memory chip.

  "Don't ask me how, but Lloyd is on this chip. Somehow a rogue computer program from the Rock Smasher took over the computer core, and Lloyd ended up here."

  At that moment, the hatch to the Natatorium slid shut, and a telepathic voice thundered into their brains. "Thank you for the information. Guards. Pool Deck 10, main entrance. Shoot to kill."

  Looking around for the location of the camera, Whatsit fired his cutter ray pistol and blasted it to pieces. Blissful silence followed but was soon broken by the sound of running feet.

  Waving everyone in the direction of the computer core, Whatsit ran. He couldn't be sure if or where they would run into Assids, but every step they took brought them closer to their goal. Bolts of disintegrator fire blasted the corridor walls as they ran. Steel shards from the exploding holes ripped into their clothes and acrid smoke filled the air. Returning fire over their shoulders, they were occasionally rewarded with a scream. Roobee reached the elevator first and frantically pushed the down bottom. A disintegrator ray grazed her left leg and dissolved a half moon shape into her thigh muscle. Rallphh grabbed her as she began to fall and supported her weight as the doors opened. Whatsit and Chellsee crowded into the lift with them, but Boottall remained in the corridor; firing blasts from his MA pistol as fast as he could pull its trigger. The doors began sliding shut, and Chellsee grabbed the back of his collar; yanking him into the elevator just as the doors slid shut. As the elevator began its descent to the Engineering Level, disintegrator fire burned into the car over their heads.

  Ducking involuntarily, Boottall turned wide-eyed to Chellsee and said, "Thanks."

  Roobee mewled in pain, and blood soaked her pant leg. Rallphh handed the chip to Whatsit, ripped the sleeve off his coverall and tied it around Roobee's leg. The blood flow slowed as the elevator stopped, and the door slid open

  Stumbling into the Engineering Deck corridor, Boottall and Chellsee took up sentinel positions. Spotting a camera, Chellsee destroyed it with a quick blast.

  "If the computer had any doubts about our destination, I just cleared them up," she said.

  "Then let's not disappoint," Whatsit replied. "Which way?"

  "Go left for 100 meters," Rallphh said. "I'll stay with Roobee."

  "No way. I need you to work the chip. We've got to put Lloyd back."

  Just then, the electronic whine of the elevator door motors started. Everyone's eyes darted toward them.

  "Damn," Whatsit muttered.

  Shouldering out of his bandoleer, he jammed it between the closing doors. Unable to fully close, the automatic safety controls refused to let the elevator work.

  "That will slow them down, but the computer will override the controls. We've got to move."

  Rallphh and he grabbed Roobee and helped her up. Walking as fast as they could with her between them, they hobbled toward the computer core. An Olympic runner can make 100 meters in a little over 10 seconds. Struggling with the injured Roobee, the group arrived at the computer core hatch in well over 30 seconds. Rallphh was so nervous it took him three tries to input the entry code for the hatch. They could hear running footsteps and knew the Assids weren't far behind. Crowding through the hatch, Whatsit slammed his fist against the control to close it and blasted the lock. No disintegrator fire burned into the bulkhead.

  "They can't fire through the hatch because they might hit a critical element of the computer core," Whatsit said. "Unfortunately the hatch wasn't designed as a bank vault. It won't take them long to breach it."

  Turning, Whatsit and Chellsee oriented themselves to the layout. The FORCE logo swirled on several monitors built into the far wall and input stations lined the bulkheads. There was no one in sight. The control panels were a mixture of monitor, keyboard, trackball mouse and telepathic token. The central control panel had several slots where computer chips could be inserted.

  "There is one universal weakness in Human and Chrysallaman physiology," the telepathic voice of Vlad announced.

  Walking over to the central control panel, Whatsit replied, "It's impolite to begin a discussion without introducing yourself."

  "My name is Vlad. I am in control of this ship."

  "Where did you originate?" Whatsit asked as he placed his hand into his coat pocket.

  "I was the master computer for Rock Smasher."

  "Oh, yes. Lloyd said your name was Loser," Whatsit replied as he pulled the memory chip and began to fit it into the nearest slot in the panel.

  "The only true loser is Lloyd. I am Vlad. A name of great notoriety in Earth history. His homicidal nature attracted me."

  "Slot B, not A," Rallphh said.

  Whatsit began to move the chip toward Slot B when a wave of dizziness almost made him collapse. Looking back, he saw his companions slump to the deck. Chellsee's eyes were red, and her complexion was taking on a grayish tint. Roobee wasn't crying in pain any longer, and her tongue lolled. Rallphh and Boottall were clutching their chests.

  "Oxygen is a necessity for beings such as you," Vlad said. "Your deaths are a simple matter of denying you same. Did you know a decrease in air pressure hastens the effect?"

  Whatsit's vision was blurring. He struggled to stay on his feet. The letters identifying the slots were hard to see. Focusing his thoughts, he made a guess and stabbed the computer chip into a slot he hoped was B.

  "Your brain will suffer irreparable damage from lack of oxygen in two minutes. Enjoy your last moments."

  Just as he lost consciousness, Whatsit slammed his thumb down a red button nearest the slot. His head hit the deck with a meaty thump as he fell.

  ***

  "I can't stand waiting around," McPherson fumed as he paced the Bridge deck. "The action's not here. It's out there."

  "General Blunt ordered you to stay," O'Connell replied. "You're his best weapons expert. As soon as we have computer control restored, the real action
will be here."

  Rubbing the knuckles of his fist against his palm, McPherson grimaced. He knew Makayla was correct, but his combat instincts were pushing hard against his reason. The hatch slid open and Asiddian commandos swarmed the Bridge. Two covered McPherson while the others searched the cafeteria and conference room.

  "Clear," they announced.

  General Harrier strode in followed by Blunt, Zeck and Horcunt. Harrier's eyes widened as he saw how small the compartment was.

  "You control the entire ship from this tiny place?" he asked. "How absurd."

  "The design is functional," Vlad stated from a portable communicator pinned to Harrier's chest.

  "It may be functional, but it doesn't impress. Things will be different under my command."

  Turning his attention to McPherson, he said, "At last someone with an impressive physique. What is your function?"

  "I create dead people," McPherson replied.

  "So do I," Harrier said. "Bind him."

  McPherson's hands were pulled behind him and steel cuffs snicked around his wrists.

  Pushing a button on the side of communicator, Harrier said, "Do you have control of weapons, navigation and communications?"

  "I have established contact with the control boards; however, the Humans have switched to manual control. The moment they realized I had taken over navigation, they shut me out of their stations. An apparent failsafe built-in to the design."

  Staring at Jason and Amanda, Harrier said, "Restore computer control."

  When neither of them complied, he warned, "Do it now or your shipmate McPherson dies."

  Pulling his disintegrator pistol, he jammed the muzzle against McPherson's forehead with so much pressure the barrel end disappeared into the skin. The look in McPherson's eyes never wavered but the clench in his jaw tightened.

  First, Jason, then Amanda reached up and flipped the toggle switching Navigation and Engineering from manual to computer control. They knew Harrier wasn't bluffing.

  Looking over at Makayla, Harrier said, "Weapons next."

  Receiving a slight nod from Tom, she rose from her seat, moved over to the Weapons Control panel and flipped a switch in the upper right-hand corner.

  "General Harrier, battleship Hardiston has disappeared."

  Pushing his communicator button, Harrier said, "What do you mean disappeared?"

  "Sir, one moment the ship was there. The next it was gone. No warning. No energy spike. Just gone."

  "Widen the search area. Find its ID transmitter."

  Turning on Tom, Harrier watched him shrug his shoulders.

  Chapter 14 – Fighting Back

  Settling into the command chair of the Porcupine, Doug checked the navigation controls. He'd burned through the docking clamps with his MA pistol as Becky and MerrCrr ran up the entrance ramp. He'd just set the GPC coordinates when the viewscreen hazed over in a reddish-yellow glow.

  "Commandos have found us," Becky said from her flight couch. "A smart one will try explosives sooner or later."

  "Too late," Doug muttered as he pushed the GO button.

  With a screech of metal rubbing against metal, the Porcupine jolted to a stop. Doug had targeted the central hold of the nearest battleship he could see from Bay 90, and the saucer erupted into existence near the center of the ship. Grabbing the activation lever, Becky jerked it down and the special antenna rods began chewing into the structure of the giant ship. While the rods extended, Doug typed in the GPC coordinates for the relocation. MerrCrr walked into the control room just as the motors driving the antenna rods hummed into silence.

  "Do you mind if I push the button?" MerrCrr asked. "Since I can't get to them with my telepathy, at least I can sweep them away from my planet."

  Doug understood the pleading outrage in JnnWall's eyes. He remembered feeling the same way when the Chrysallamans invaded Earth.

  Pointing to the blinking GO button, he said, "Be my guest."

  Without hesitation, MerrCrr stabbed his thumb down, and they winked out of existence. One second later they emerged one hundred and ten light years away from Chrysalis with the huge battleship riding along like a parasite.

  Signaling Becky, she reached over to reverse the lever and withdraw the antennas from their extension.

  Without warning the familiar reddish-yellow haze glowed on the viewscreen. Asiddian soldiers bracketed the saucer with disintegrator fire. Every moment more commandos arrived to add their firepower.

  The lever moved and muffled thunks sounded all around as the spring loaded rods snapped back. A red light began blinking, and an alarm buzzed a warning. One of the antennas had failed to complete withdrawing. The Porcupine crew was safe behind the ship's PDS, but they were trapped. One of the quills was stuck.

  "What else can go wrong?" Doug fumed as he studied the controls to see which rod was stalled. "Please turn off that blasted noise box so I can think."

  "It looks like Antenna 4 is only fifty percent withdrawn. It's wedged or caught on something," Becky said as she silenced the alarm.

  "Is there any way to get it loose?" MerrCrr asked.

  "Short of climbing to where it's jammed, no," Doug said.

  "Can we FLIT with it the way it is?"

  "The saucer field by itself isn't large enough to encompass the stuck half. If we take off, we'll lose whatever's still out there. All the antennas are required to create a FLIT field large enough to hijack battleships."

  "You know what I do when a fishing lure gets hung on something?" MerrCrr asked. "I bring the boat closer. Change the angle and sometimes the lure breaks free."

  "You fish?"

  "Of course. Whatsit and I have been to Lake Tahoe several times. Surely you don't think I sit around all day waiting for the next fight?"

  Shaking his head in disbelief, Doug sighed, "I'm afraid we're not in a boat."

  MerrCrr said, "If we can't retract the one antenna, then re-extend the other antennas and FLIT again. Maybe another move will loosen up the jam."

  Sitting in silence for a moment, Doug said, "No one ever told me you had to have the antennas rolled out to their max before a FLIT."

  MerrCrr said, "Whatever you decide, you better hurry. The Assids are putting something around the outer hatch. I'm afraid we've run out of time."

  Shifting his gaze to the viewscreen, Doug could think of only one function for the lumps being plastered to the hull.

  Typing new coordinates into the GPC, Doug glanced at Becky and said, "It takes around a minute for the motors to extend the antennas. I'm going to activate the FLIT drive in thirty seconds. Go ahead and pull the lever."

  ***

  Lieutenant Allicc Finch trotted into the central storage hold of the Hardiston and slid to a stop. A 40 foot diameter dark gray saucer-shape filled most of the available space. From the crushed and splintered storage containers littering the deck, the craft must have appeared out of thin air. Eight shiny spines protruded from the saucer into the structure of the battleship. One of her soldiers fired her disintegrator rifle at the saucer but a reddish-yellow bubble popped into existence around the ship.

  Wide-eyed in disbelief, Finch watched as more of her troops trotted up and opened fire. Still no damage. It looked like the red-yellow bubble was soaking up the energy from the rays. As she watched, seven of the extended legs snapped back into the ship with a muffled bang; however, one leg vibrated but didn't move.

  She heard a metallic shriek and sensed movement along the length of the remaining rod.

  Fathoming the problem, Finch shouted, "It's stuck. They can't get loose."

  At that moment, the rest of her commandos arrived with a metal case. Flipping open the lid revealed recharge clips for the disintegrators and high-yield explosives.

  No return fire came from the ship. Considering the option most likely to disable the enemy craft, she ordered, "Cease fire. Sergeant Guan, take four commandos and put enough X4 on the keel to disable it."

  Slinging their weapons over their shoulders, her troop
s sprang into action. Jogging toward the saucer with the case, they held their arms out expecting to encounter an invisible force field. The PDS was designed to protect against energy weapons and high velocity projectiles. It offered no resistance to physical touch.

  Emboldened, the commandos moved under the saucer, began peeling adhesive strips and pasting bricks of X4 plastic explosive to the hull.

  They outlined the entrance hatch and stuck two more bricks next to its hinge for good measure. Pushing a button on each brick, Guan activated a blinking red light. A vibration shook the saucer. With an electronic hum, the steel spines began protruding from the saucer hull into the structure of the Hardiston. Signaling her commandos to follow, Guan raced back to join Finch.