Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 (2 page)

              “Thanks Adam,” Gray replied. “Clea and I will meet you in the briefing room. Have Olly bring his findings.”

              “Sure thing. See you there.” The connection cleared.

              “I guess our game’s on pause.” Gray pulled on his uniform jacket, black with gold piping on the shoulders and seams. He fastened the silver buttons up the front and straightened his collar. “Shall we?”

              “Indeed.” Clea donned her own coat, a mirror of the captain’s with fewer bars on the shoulder. As a liaison, she enjoyed the rank of Lieutenant Commander but tended to exert her authority only when absolutely necessary. “It may not be what you think.”

              “Then again,” Gray headed into the hall before continuing, “it very well might be. Do you know any Latin?”

              “I’m afraid not.”

              “
Si vis pacem, para bellum
,” Gray said. “It’s something my military history professor spouted off like a prayer. I always thought he was just being pretentious but when the attack came, his words came back to haunt me and I agree with them more than ever before. If we’d followed them then, we might’ve stood more of a chance.”

              “So what does it mean?”

              “
If you want peace, prepare for war
,” Gray replied. He looked around as they walked, admiring the solid design all around him. Thick metal coated the walls, screens here and there displayed readings from various departments throughout the vessel. He felt it hum beneath his feet like a sailing ship of old succumbing to the waves. “I think the Behemoth fits the saying, don’t you?”

              “If anything could embody the concept of preparing for war, this machine would be it,” Clea agreed. “My human history is nothing compared to yours but there is one thing I picked up in my reading.”

              “Oh?” Gray summoned the elevator. “Do tell.”

              “Humans have many talents. You are all infinitely creative and cunning, capable of amazing feats when your backs are pressed to the wall. And in those days when your enemies gather around you and threaten what you hold dear, you fight with a ferocity my kind has only seen in the very threat we all face now.”

              “Oh, I don’t know, Clea. Every living thing wants to live. Self-preservation compels us all.”

              “Not to the same extent as humanity exhibits.” They boarded the elevator. “At least, that’s if your history books are to be believed and are not merely fiction. After all, the battle of Thermopylae suggests some pretty outlandish behavior. How much of that do you feel is mere boasting?”

              “I don’t know but I will tell you this. The Greeks of that era knew what was at stake when the Persians came to their doorstep. The total annihilation of their way of life. If those three hundred Spartans would not have given the rest of Greece time to rally, Western thinking may never have come to be. I can relate to the generals of that time right now…facing an overwhelming foe with so few but like them, we have an advantage.”

              “Which is?”

              “We want it more, Clea. We want to win…to hold on to our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy and no one, not a foreign fleet of zealots or any other unknown horror out of space will take it away from us.”

              “Desire alone does not win a battle, Captain.”

              “No…but without it, you’re guaranteed to lose a war.”

             
Everything always happens on third or fourth shift
. Adam pinged the various department leads, hastily putting together a briefing.
I can’t remember the last eventful midday shift
. Indeed, the crew of the Behemoth spent most of its time training with the new equipment. They weren’t even part of the police patrol roster. Day after day, they maintained lunar orbit and prepared for a day which may never come.

             
Better safe than sorry I guess
. Adam believed they spent their time wisely but quietly, he itched to be
doing
something. Earth admins played cautiously, praying humanity might drum up enough rare minerals to finish the construction of a second Behemoth but they were years away from a functional vessel.

             
We should hook up with the Alliance and take the fight to the enemy
. Adam smiled to himself as he considered what his professors at the academy would’ve said about his opinion. They considered him a brilliant but impulsive battlefield commander. He excelled in desperate situations, the kind he tended to get himself into. While he generally won his mock engagements, the few he lost tended to be…well…bad.

              Besides, even though he wanted to contribute to whatever fight raged beyond the borders of their solar system, he recognized the importance of staying put. After all, nothing could defend the Earth like the Behemoth and nothing would for the foreseeable future. The duty might feel boring but sometimes the least exciting task proved to be the most important.

              The briefing room represented one of the major advancements to come from the Alliance. A shiny, metallic table occupied the center of the room with fiber cushioned chairs flanking it on either side. Each station boasted a detachable tablet which controlled the nanofilament screens which made up the walls. Whoever made their presentation could display their information wherever it was most convenient.

              Gathering department heads tended to be easier said than done. The Behemoth proved to be the largest military asset ever built. Even before the repairs and upgrade, she represented the pinnacle of human ingenuity and creative design. The name came honestly and, much like her cousins the naval aircraft carriers, she represented a small city worth of personnel, activity and problems.

              Many of the support staff on board were raw and untested but their leadership was drawn from some of the most experienced veterans the Earth could muster. Many junior officers appreciated the opportunity this afforded them, to learn and train alongside the best military minds of the current age. Adam felt no small relief about his team, especially if they were expected to fend off a potentially overwhelming foe.

              They’d need all the help they could get.             

              The Behemoth housed nine squadrons of fighter crafts of various types. Interceptors, bombers and reconnaissance craft made up the bulk of their contingency. Repair facilities were spread between four distinct hangars. If an attack damaged one, they would still be seventy-five percent combat effective.

              One hundred-twenty pilots supported daily operations from patrols to combat maneuvers. Each trained with the advanced technology prevalent in their respective ships and they cross trained in basic repairs and maintenance. On downtime, these men and women would be able to get their own ships back into space in the event of a serious engagement.

              Everyone aboard followed this same protocol. They mastered their own job then learned another. Deficits due to illness, injury or death could be handled by a backup. The large crew made this possible, even practical considering the varied nature of assignments and requirements to keep the ship going.

              Group Commander Estaban Revente oversaw the contingency of fighter pilots aboard. He flew hundreds of sorties during some of the worst national conflicts, making him a man of extensive experience. A brash flyer at the beginning of his career, a solid record gave his subordinates something to look up to.

              Even though some of his antics came back to haunt him from time to time. It was hard to discipline a junior when they were trying something he came up with a decade before. Still, coming from a place of
been there, survived it
gave him credibility a less seasoned soldier would lack.

              Lieutenant Colonel Marshall Dupont commanded the marine security forces aboard. His unit consisted of a full contingent of security personnel for ship side order, two special forces platoons and a large ground force capable of heavy operations. As a field soldier, he tended to be fairly reserved in regards to day to day events but when they called upon him, he made it clear he expected to have operational command of any ground based mission.

              Adam believed in the guy. They hadn’t served together but Marshall’s record spoke for itself. He’d chewed a lot of dirt in his day and provided leadership in some of the most intense environments known to man. During a terrorist hostage situation in an orbiting research facility, he restored order to an impossible situation in four days. When he joined the Behemoth crew, a lot of minds were put at ease to have such extensive experience.

              Lieutenant Commander Maury Higgins acted as chief engineer for the Behemoth and had been on board even before the attack. He knew the ship better than anyone alive, including the designers. As the man in charge of all mechanical operations, he tended to be a strict task master but his men considered him fair. If he had an opportunity for improvement, it would be his high, bordering on unfair expectations.

              People had a lot to live up to under Maury’s command and as a result, some of the best and brightest young technicians kept the Behemoth running.

              Lieutenant Commander Laura Brand filled the chief medical officer role. Two separate hospitals occupied the vessel, another redundancy in the event of catastrophic damage. Each high capacity area provided plenty of space for a lot of casualties. Both fell under Brand’s supervision.

              The Behemoth was Laura’s first ship assignment. Prior to that, she operated the Lunar space station’s medical wing and taught at the academy. When the opportunity arose to join the ship’s crew, she did so grudgingly but considering many of the people under her command came from the ranks of her students, she felt a need to be involved. Few supervisors would know their people as well as she did and as their manager, she could play to their strengths.

              Lieutenant Commander Redding and Lieutenant Darnell arrived before the others, the latter carrying a tablet, looking nervous. Adam waved them over and lowered his voice, glancing at the door to ensure they were alone.

              “Olly, just deliver the facts during this briefing,” Adam patted the younger man’s shoulder. “No speculation unless you’re asked to, got it?”

              “Sir, I fully understand,” Olly replied, “but I’m not sure—”

              “I’m talking about your uncanny ability to guess. Sometimes, you’re spot on but in this case, stick to what we know. There’ll be a lot of experience in this room. Let them throw out the theories and you can help us build them up or tear them down.”

              Olly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

              “Redding,” Adam turned his attention to the pilot, “I trust you’ve had navigation plot an intercept course for timing.”

              Redding nodded. “Yes, sir. Tim worked with Olly and we could be there in five hours at full speed. Less if we engaged the hyperjump.”

              “Wow, it’s really hauling.” Adam wanted to ask more questions but people began to fill the room, taking their seats. The captain had yet to arrive but when he did, they’d be expected to dive right away. “Party’s about to start. Take your seats.”

              Adam sat down and observed the others. Their expressions spoke of worry, fear, excitement and curiosity. No one had any illusions.
Something
would’ve come around eventually. If not the enemy or the Alliance, they knew other cultures, other beings existed out there in the galaxy. Eventually, Earth would no longer be some distant place ignored by universal civilizations.

              Surviving an attack from an overwhelming enemy counted for something.

              Captain Atwell and Clea entered the room at a brisk pace and everyone stood at attention. Adam watched them take their positions beside their chairs before Gray nodded at his leadership team. “At ease and please be seated.”

              After they settled, Gray turned to Adam. “Go ahead.”

              “At twenty-two sixteen, Lieutenant Darnell picked up a blip on the edge of the solar system while monitoring long range scans and early warning systems.” Adam tapped at his tablet for a moment and brought up a map of the solar system. It appeared near Pluto. “This is where it was when we discovered it. As you can see, it’s traveling at point five light speed.”

              Maury spoke up, “which means it can reach earth in roughly ten hours…unless it accelerates.”

              “Readings show it has not increased speed since entering our solar system,” Olly said.

              Gray stared at the screen for a moment before speaking. “Give us a break down on your data. What do we know about this thing?”

              Olly stood and used his tablet to display information on all the screens. “It’s definitely a ship measuring at fifteen-hundred, twenty-four meters. The signature matches no known ships in the Alliance database and I haven’t been able to determine hull material or density.”

              “Fifteen-hundred meters…” Maury shook his head, eyes wide. “It’s got us beat by over a hundred and fifty meters! How’re you not able to gather data on the material makeup?”

              “Like us, they utilize an operating shield but theirs goes beyond protecting them from casual debris.” Olly brought up a series of figures and math. “Somehow, it deflects deep scans. I’ve used every trick I can think of but can’t get through. If we got closer, I might be able to penetrate it but for now, anything within the shield is a mystery.”

              “Any guesses at offensive capabilities?” Estaban asked. “Obvious weapons or even radioactive leakage?”

              “No, sir,” Olly said. “Here’s the signature of the vessel.” An almond shaped object appeared. Four holes in the back provided forward propulsion. The perfectly smooth surface lacked any noticeable windows or bulges which might be weapons. The pointed front end looked sharp. It reminded Adam of a sword fish.

              “So we have no idea who it is,” Gray said, “or what they want. Only that they’re on a course for Earth and moving pretty damn fast. How long before we could intercept?”

              “At their current speed, roughly five hours,” Adam replied. “Less if we enter a hyperjump.”

              Gray shook his head. “I’m not keen on testing our hyperdrive just on the verge of first contact. Assuming they’re currently operating at full speed, it means we’re evenly matched in the propulsion department. Opinions anyone?”

              “I’d recommend we initiate Ready Thirty for all crews,” Estaban said. “If this thing turns hostile, we’ll want our people out there fast. When it gets closer, I’d increase to Ready Five.”

              Gray nodded. “Agreed. Anyone else?”

              “What’re the chances of this being a diplomatic vessel?” Laura asked. “Signs of aggression might be taken poorly.”

              “They’re not making any intentions clear,” Adam replied. “Good, bad or indifferent. For all we know, it might be a ghost ship.”

              “Or a fire ship,” Maury muttered.

              “What’s that, Maury?” Gray turned to him.

              “Like in the wooden ship days,” Maury continued. “They’d catch one of their fast moving crafts on fire and set it on a collision course with a blockade or port. It caused plenty of chaos back then and this thing, flying straight for Earth? If it doesn’t slow down…”

              “It would be like a super meteor,” Olly finished the sentence.

              The thought brought some unrest to the room but Gray lifted a hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions about light speed super missiles. Marshall, what if we have to board the thing? How long would it take to clear?”

              “Without knowing their defensive capabilities,” Marshall said, “and going on sheer size alone, it could take a while. Days without good intel, maybe more. It’s the size of a small city when it comes to the decks and all the crannies we’d have to search and that’s assuming our opponents would fight directly. We might be stuck in a guerrilla battle on someone else’s home turf.”

              “Understood.” Gray nodded. “Are your men prepared for such a…well, nightmare?”

              “As much as they can be,” Marshall replied. “I’d insist on gathering more intelligence. Anything would help and nothing…well, if we come away with a total unknown, then we’re risking a lot of lives.”

              “Got it.” Gray turned to Clea. “What do you think? You’ve been pretty quiet over there.”