Behemoth: Rise Of Mankind Book 1 (7 page)

             
I hope those aren’t sentries. God knows we don’t need to deal with octopod robots.

             
“Analyzing the area,” Will said. “Life support levels are stable. All equipment in the hangar is powered off. We are landing the craft and preparing to disembark. Beach head should be established in less than five minutes.”

              “Take it by the numbers, Captain,” Marshall said. “Don’t do anything crazy.”

              “Wouldn’t dream of it, sir. Right now, we’re seeing nothing at all. I wouldn’t exactly call this a hot LZ. When we have the hangar, we’ll clear the door and invite the other ship to come in for a landing.”

             
So far so good
.

              “Let’s get it done.” Marshall didn’t let himself relax, much as he thought he probably could. Anything might still happen. Until they had the data and got off that invading tub, he wouldn’t feel comfortable. At least his men seemed calm. Whether they maintained their confidence through ignorance of the situation or belief in their abilities, he couldn’t say.

              Regardless, he felt like the right people were on the job. Now to finish it up.

             
And this is why I hate field work
. Olly sat amidst a bunch of marines, all armed and armored for an epic battle. They stuffed him in his suit as well but instead of a massive rifle, he carried a combat hardened tablet and a sidearm.
Are these guys genetically modified? How the hell are they so big?

              Ground forces definitely recruited from a place where they grew them big. Olly stood at five-eight and the shortest man who boarded the drop ship with him stood six-one. The armor added bulk to their shoulders, granting them a monstrous visage. Intimidation value went a long way in combat and these men had that in abundance.

              “Hey, geek,” the guy sitting to his right nudged him. “Can you patch us in to the landing crew on your tablet?”

              “Um…yeah but it’s not exactly protocol to tap lines…”

              “You serious?” Another marine said. “Don’t be like that. Just patch us in. We want to know what we’re dealing with down there.”

              “Yeah, okay…” Olly took a deep breath and tapped away at the screen. A moment later, they saw a number of small images, each depicting the camera of one of the soldiers already aboard the ship. “There we go.”

              “They’re a little small…hey! Click on Johnson.”

              “Yeah,” the next marine said. “If anything goes down, he’ll be in front of it.”

              “Sure…uh…this one?” Olly tapped an image.

              “Yep, that’s the one.” They laughed together and the first one spoke again, “looks pretty boring. This is a milk run, man.”

              “God damn it.” His companion shook his head. “They didn’t need all of us for that.”

              “What if it turns out to be something else?” Olly offered. The looks they gave him made him speak quickly. “I mean, you know…it could be pretty crazy down there…we won’t know for a bit…right?”

              “You’d better hope for your sake it isn’t crazy. You ain’t exactly equipped for violence.”

              Olly refused to argue. He didn’t want to be there and knew his sole contribution involved working with the tech crew. Despite being given command over four other people, he didn’t feel any excitement. A wild night for him involved journals and studying. Flying into a potential combat zone vastly exceeded the limits of his nerves.

              “This is Captain Hoffner,” the voice piped through the speakers. “The LZ is clear and you’re authorized to land.”

              “Here we go, geek.” Olly’s marine partner nudged him again. “Won’t be exciting but at least you’re off the bridge.”

              “Yeah, that’s
exactly
what I wanted.” Olly sighed.

              “Just stay in the back with the others. You’ll be fine.” The ship set down gently off to the side of the other. When the door dropped, the marines fell out like they were taking a beach head, leaving Olly and the four technicians behind. They exchanged confused glances before heading out at a normal pace.

              Olly’s team consisted of some of the newest techs onboard, Ensign Maria Anderson, Ensign Gregory Trudeau, Lieutenant JG Lisa Oxton and Ensign Cathleen Brooks. Their aptitude tests were off the charts and they earned their place on the Behemoth. Olly put a lot of faith in their abilities, even if their task involved the most
unknown
tech of his career.

              Captain Hoffner approached and motioned away from the entrance. “The door’s over there. We found a computer panel of some kind. See what you can do.”

              “Yes, sir.” Olly motioned with his head for his companions to follow.

              Behind them, a shimmering green light protected them from the hazards of space, the environmental shield holding back the vacuum. They had to be careful about what they tampered with. Even though they wore environmental suits with magnetic boots, there were other dangers from space beside radiation and a lack of air.

              Debris striking the ship would definitely make their trip quick.

              Two marines guarded the door, flanking it on either side. One moved for Olly and his companions to gain access to the console Hoffner spoke of. It was little more than a flat black display with no access ports or holes of any kind.
This is going to take some dismantling. It has to be connected somehow…and maybe we can access it that way
.

              “Lisa, what’s your opinion?” Olly asked. He’d taken a military command class at the academy. The instructor said one of the best ways to build and maintain morale involved including your subordinates in problem solving. They all have skills and talents, he lectured. Let them show you.

              “We’ll probably need to cut through the wall to gain access to their network,” Lisa said. “I recommend a full scan of the wall here so we don’t screw up and cut through a conduit we need.”

              “Alright, you’re on scans.” Olly turned to Gregory. “I’d like you to take a stroll and look over those devices, see what you can pick up with your tablet. I want to know if they’re receiving power and could come back on and if we should be worried about it.”

              “Got it, sir.”

              “The rest of you hang back.” Olly turned his attention to Lisa’s activities. “I have a feeling we’ll all have plenty to do in a few minutes.”

              Lisa pressed her tablet against the wall but withdrew when the black panel brightened and a squiggly line rushed across from left to right. “Greetings,” an overhead speaker belted the voice. Marines aimed their weapons. Olly rolled his eyes. “Welcome, human beings. I am the Synthetic Intelligence Device for this vessel. Thank you for answering our distress call.”

              “How the hell does it speak English?” A marine asked, nudging Olly.

              The computer responded, “I’ve been scanning your vessel and listening to your speech. It did not take long to assimilate and find a method to easily communicate with you. Please let me know if you wish to speak in a different tongue. I have also learned your Russian.”

              “English will be fine,” Olly said. “So…Synthetic Intelligence Device…are you an AI?”

              “That is correct, sir. I am a highly advanced artificial intelligence capable of over two hundred thousand commands and functions.”

              “Mind if we call you Sid? It’s just a little shorter than…” Olly shrugged. “What you said you are.”

              “You may refer to me in whatever manner best suits your needs. I will respond to Sid.”

              “Perfect! Um…we understand your crew is in suspended animation. We’d like to wake them up.”

              “Many of our systems are offline, including some of the automated repairs. I would be happy to walk your technicians through the necessary repairs if you would be so inclined to assist.”

              “We would.” Olly nodded, then scolded himself for the unnecessary gesture. “What about your database? We’d like to see what happened to your people.”

              “All storage banks are currently offline. Restoration will require manual intervention.”

              “Okay, can you close the hangar door and open this to the hallway?” Olly asked. He looked back at the marines and had an idea. “Also, are there any automated defenses we have to worry about? Any guns you might want to shut down for us?”

              “Negative, our internal security is offline. Restoration will require manual intervention.”

              “Good. Let’s get these doors taken care of and we’ll get started.” Olly looked back at the marines and other technicians. “Sound good to you?”

              Hoffner scowled. “We’ll still be clearing corridors before rushing along. First squad, two by two, men. Cover your partners and stay alert. I don’t want any surprises as we get deeper into this ship. I’ll stay with second squad and maintain security. I want our ass to be protected.”

              A whole lot of loud acknowledgement went on and Olly turned to his people. “Gregory, stick around and finish the survey on this gear. It might come in handy, especially if it’s maintenance related. The rest of you should come with me. I suspect I’m going to need you all in order to bring this place back online.”

              People got into position, preparing to head out of buckle down.

              “Sid, I suspect we’ll need parts to restore services,” Olly said.” Is there a storage area with such equipment?”

              “Of course. When you have examined the damage, I will direct you to the location of our stores. I think you will find we are adequately stocked for all your maintenance needs.”

              “That’s reassuring,” Lisa muttered. “Will you be able to communicate with us all throughout the ship?”

              “My systems still function enough for communication in every department aboard, yes.”

              The hangar door closed behind them. Hoffner’s com went crazy and Olly knew that it must be Lieutenant Colonel Dupont asking what the hell happened. He watched the marine commander step away to answer some questions just as the hallway door opened. Everyone waited for the quick briefing to end before the soldiers started clearing the path.

              The hallway was smooth, silvery metal with no open access chutes or exposed pipes and wiring. They could see their reflections in the walls, floor and arched ceiling and it felt like a funhouse from a crazy carnival. A blue light appeared above them, glowing seemingly beneath the surface. It led off in one direction, heading down a twisting hallway which made it impossible to see to the end.

              “Sid,” Olly said, “can you define the chemical compound of the ship surface? Is it the same as the hull?”

              “Affirmative,” Sid replied. “I’m sending it now.”

              Olly looked over his tablet and his eyes widened.

              “What is it?” Lisa nudged him.

              “The closest thing I can approximate it to is a diamond…but they inject impurities to strengthen it, much like we do with carbon on steel alloy.” Olly shook his head. “Both internal and external are the same. It’s like the ship was made out of one large piece of this substance. Cutting it would’ve been…well, it would’ve required a pulse blast I think.”

              “Amazing…” Maria turned and observed the wall. “And it’s so smooth. They must’ve had specialized equipment to make these tunnels.”

              “That explains why the roof is beveled,” Cathleen added. “Maybe  they just went through here with a boring device or vehicle.”

              “It feels pretty alien,” Olly replied. “We’re used to flat ceilings when they’re this low. The closest naturally occurring thing I can think of is like an insect hive.”

              “Do you think bugs built this ship?” One of the marines threw that out.

              “Doubtful,” Olly said, “but possible, sure. I mean, what isn’t possible?”

              “Follow the blue line on the ceiling to the suspended animation chamber,” Sid announced. “There, you can address many of the problems aboard. Things will have to be handled in stages, I’m afraid. In order to keep those who are sleeping alive.”

              “We’ll map out the steps when we get there,” Olly said. “How long have you been traveling?”

              “Time has a different meaning for the people who built this vessel but studying yours, the equivalent is one year, three months, seventeen days, six hours and nineteen minutes.”

              “Very precise measurement.” Olly looked back at Lisa, pausing as the Marines cleared the next hallway. He addressed Sid again, “why did you leave?”

              “That information is currently locked. I cannot access it at this time.”

              “Did something happen to your planet?”

              “That information is currently locked. I cannot access it at this time.”

              Lisa spoke up. “Can you define the current boundaries of your database access?”

              “Normally, I am able to utilize all the information stored aboard this vessel. However, due to damage, I am cut off.”

              “Is that why the drones became aggressive?” Olly asked.

              “The drone program is designed for defensive measures. When your small ships took position around the larger, their If/Then statement suggested hostile activity. They moved in for violence and I could not stop them. They were entirely automated on a separate subsystem which has been severed from my control.”

              “Makes sense,” Maria said. “But what caused all this damage? We didn’t fire on you.”

              “That information is currently locked. I cannot access it at this time.”

              “So pretty much anything involving this ship leaving its system and how it got here is off limits,” Cathleen said. “I guess we should just be happy it can talk to us about anything at all.”

              They spent the next hour moving through the ship slowly, allowing the marines to ensure safe passage along the way. Lisa and Cathleen had their scanners going constantly, waving them around to gather readings about the ship. Olly refrained from doing the same. He contemplated their situation, trying to anticipate what exactly they’d be expected to do.