Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2)
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Authors: Michael Atamanov
Beyond Death
by Michael Atamanov
Perimeter Defense
Book#1
Magic Dome Books
Perimeter Defense
Book # 1: Beyond Death
Copyright © Michael Atamanov 2016
Cover Art © Vladimir Manyukhin 2016
English translation copyright © Andrew Schmitt 2016
Published by Magic Dome Books, 2016
All Rights Reserved
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is entirely a work of fiction. Any correlation with real people or events is coincidental.
Other LitRPG books and series by this and other authors:
The Way of the Shaman Books 1 and 2
by Vasily Mahanenko
Start the Game (Galactogon Book #1)
by Vasily Mahanenko
Phantom Server Books 1, 2 and 3
by Andrei Livadny
Perimeter Defense Books 1 and 2
by Michael Atamanov
by Alexey Osadchuk
The Lag (The Game Master Book #1)
by A. Bobl and A. Levitsky
More LitRPG books are coming out soon!
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NEW!
Attention LitRPG fans and Fantasy genre lovers from Germany!
The German version of
Way of the Shaman, Book #1
will be released 10th September 2016!
Read the opening chapters on Goodreads!
Pre-order the German version on Amazon!
Table of Contents:
Stopping the Invasion
W
hat have I done?! In my attempt to delay an untimely call to the Emperor's court, I ended up inviting an honest-to-God Alien invasion to my own system! It's like burning your own house down to keep your strict parents from noticing that you broke a vase. Tearing my gaze with great difficulty from the scattering of red markers on the tactical map, I tried to gather myself and spoke into the microphone in the confident voice of a commander:
"Extinguish the beacon! I need information on the enemy!"
"Distance to target: six hundred miles. There are multiple targets! I have nineteen marks on the radar. Identification by radar signature: Five
Sledgehammer
cruisers, four
Ascetic
destroyers, four
Hermit
destroyers, five
Meteor
frigates, and a big guy..."
I laughed with marked happiness into the microphone:
"That 'big guy' is an Alien battleship. Humanity has yet to come across one. I suggest, as its discoverer, that it be called ‘Behemoth.’ It's a big fat mythical creature that supposedly lived on humanity's far-off homeworld."
Admiral Kheraisss Vej intervened in the conversation and clarified:
"My Princcce, the Swarm already see thisss shiip. But not one remainsss who that could inform you of the tactical and technical characterisssticsss of such a big
Behemoth."
"So then, the Iseyek do not object to the name. And as for the battleship's capabilities, we can figure that out during the battle."
I was trying to hide my worry behind stirring speeches and showy enthusiasm. For the first time since I entered the game, I wasn't at all sure I would win. In fact, if I were playing for the Alien team, I would say quite the opposite: I'd consider this a done deal. Five
Sledgehammers
working together could make themselves into a real "ball of death," destroying any ship that gets too close to them. Even my battleship wouldn't survive two of their combined volleys. The many Alien destroyers and frigates would make absolutely sure that none of my light ships could get close to the
Sledgehammers
. It would have looked like a sticky situation, even if the enemy didn't have the
Behemoth
that we still knew nothing about. But with the enemy having a
Behemoth
, our chances of winning were so slim as to be transparent.
For a second, the cowardly thought to command the fleet to retreat and warp back to Unatari crossed my mind, but I chased it off. First, we haven't been beaten yet! Second, I couldn't throw the eight thousand inhabitants of the Hnelle station to the dogs. As far as I was concerned, their lives were completely dependent on our ability to defend them.
All the same, I couldn't show my apprehension before my subjects. Also, the Aliens had never shown any particular tactical skill in previous battles. Instead, they just stupidly crawl forward and put all their hope in the crushing power of their cannons and their instantly regenerating shields. So, I ended up calming myself down. We'll see yet who will take the day!
"Alright, fun’s over. We’ve got a serious mission ahead of us. Let's get to work.
Pyro-1
: first receiver,
Pyro-2
: second. A squad of frigates will cover each of you. Be especially cautiou
s–
those
Meteors
are significantly faster than any of our ships. If one of them approaches you, do not engage. Retreat back to our heavies."
"The enemy has begun maneuvers!" reported Nicole. "The destroyers and frigates are approaching quickly. The
Sledgehammers
and
Behemoth
are lagging behind."
"All ships, at the ready! For now, we wait and see how they act... The enemy ignored our receivers. That is very good. So, first two frigate squads, your mission is to hold the
Behemoth
under webs. There's no way in hell we want him getting close to us. Nicole, you’re in charge of that operation. The rest of the frigates, we're gonna need your webs. Work on the drones while you're at it. Anti-support, split up into groups of five. Your first mission is to give the
Meteors
a haircut. After that, work on the
Hermits
. Electronic warfare, turn the most dangerous
Ascetics
off. Attention! They're entering the combat zone! Frigates, advance! Release drones!"
A huge swarm of little green dots roared off toward the red ones on the tactical screen. As our heavies delivered a cloud of combat drones, the battle began.
"
Warhawk-4
here, I've got a
Meteor
under web. I've marked it in the overview!”
With a resounding boom, first Alien ship dissolved to atoms after a combined volley from forty destroyers.
"
Tusk-1
here,
Ascetic
under web!”
I heard two more blasts! And if the first of the double explosions was the
Ascetic
getting blown apart, then the second was one of ours.
"
Warhawk-1
here, I need help! These drones are eating me alive!!!"
"Warp out!" I screamed, but it was too late. Another fiery bloom erupted in the cosmos.
"Heavies, the marked
Ascetic
is primary. The secondary is that
Hermit
there. Fire on the targets under double web at will."
Another two Alien ships popped into clouds of tiny fragments after a combined volley from twenty heavy cruisers. After that, another explosion let us know that a
Meteor
had been shot down by my destroyers.
"My Prince! I can die happy!"
This parting scream came from
Pyro-10
, after it was already too late to respond.
"
Warhawk-4
here, I'm holding a
Meteor
with web and disruptor. He's got me too! It looks like this is the end..."
"Anti-support, save
Warhawk-4
!!!"
An explosion was heard. And another! The tactics officer took two
Meteors
from the map.
"
Warhawk-4
here, we escaped by the skin of our teeth! Thanks for the help! I owe you all a beer!" came the familiar voice of the female captain.
"
Warhawk-4
, warp out to the
Tria
. Your luck's just about run out for the day. So, I need webs on the last
Meteor
!
Pyro-11
, don't break off from the others!
Safa-4
, the same goes for you. Get back into formation. You'll be eaten whole if they catch you alone. Heavies, the primary is that
Ascetic
that's crawling away from you under two webs."
Boom! Boom! Boom! Hearing the blasts, I took a look at the tactical screen. The enemy's support ships had been totally wiped out, but the group of five
Sledgehammers
had already come to within one hundred twenty miles of us. The
Behemoth
was still far behind though. I could breathe a bit easier. The enemy had lost all light ships, charitably giving us an advantage in maneuverability on the battlefield. Now, my frigates could get close to the
Sledgehammers
and split them up, which would greatly simplify the situation.
"Third and fourth
Pyro
squads, hold the
Sledgehammer
I've marked on the map! Don't let it get any closer to us!
Tusks
and
Safas
, place webs and take point on that
Sledgehammer
. Let the other three come to us.
Bride of Chaos
, make a short advance! Heavies, stay twenty miles behind the battleship."
The
Sledgehammers
shot first, letting fly a combined volley from three ships.
Bride of Chaos
's energy shield fell by half, but quickly recharged when ten heavy cruisers turned on their remote shield-charging modules.
"Primary is marked. Battleship and all heavies, get ready. Shoot only on my command. On the count of three… One. Two. Three!"
The targeted
Sledgehammer
went out like a candle in the wind. The combined volley from my battleship and twenty-two heavy cruisers pulverized the Alien ship into atoms.
"My good soldiers, you're some real beasts! Excellent. I've targeted a new ship."
The return fire came back at
Joan the Fatty.
The ship shook hard. The light flickered in the room. Some of the devices switched over to emergency power sources.
"Our shield is at just eleven percent. Shall we prepare for evacuation?" asked Captain Oorast Pohl.
"Recharge the
Fatty
!" I ordered on the fleet channel and, after removing my earphones, I answered the captain that there was no reason whatsoever for evacuation.
In fact, this was a critical moment. The enemy had given up shooting at the impenetrable battleship and was now focusing its fire on the cruiser where the fleet was being commanded from. It wasn't clear if the last volley had been intentional, or whether the choice of precisely
Joan the Fatty
from among twenty-two cruisers had just been random. But in any case, the ship wouldn't survive another volley from two
Sledgehammers
all on its own.
"Have you reloaded? On the count of three. One, two, three!"
Another
Sledgehammer
gave way to an orange and white blossom. Only one enemy remained nearby.
"Let's target the last one. Reload. And another thing: one of the cruisers shot before the command last time. If that happens again, whoever does it will be the fleet's next target. How much shield do we have left?"
"Thirty-seven percent. We're recharging slowly!" the captain answered.
"The
Sledgehammer
will get a shot off in nine seconds. We need forty-five percent shield to survive the attack..."
The ship shook again, but everyone around me perceived the strike with clear relief. "The shield held out!" The officers already understood that the ship would escape, as it would be able to restore shield before the next strike.
"We've just got four percent shield left!" Oorast Pohl said in a calm tone, before suddenly smiling. "We'll shoot it first."
"Fire!" I commanded, and the enemy ship was no more.
The two remaining
Sledgehammers
we swept up using the same tactic. But when it came time to deal with the
Behemoth
, complications arose immediately. When the fleet was trying to get within two hundred miles of the huge Alien ship,
Jeanne the Star Traveler
suddenly exploded. The heavy assault cruiser of the newest design was destroyed by just one volley directly through its reinforced front shields! I ordered the remaining ships to immediately warp out to the
Tria
at a safe distance.
"My Prince, two rescue shuttles have been observed from
Jeanne
."
I sighed bitterly. Two shuttles means that at most twenty-four were rescued out of four hundred crew members.
Global fame increase. Current value +11
Global standing increase. Current value -20
The message came in totally unexpectedly, and I got slightly upset, not having understood the reason for the positive changes. But I met with the happy eyes of Katerina ton Mesfelle and immediately guessed what was up. My advisor came closer and explained:
"Georg, we've just made the first emergency broadcast about the Alieninvasion in the Hnelle system. Nineteen ships, a flood of panic and all that. There are scenes with good resolutio
n–
a huge battleship, the terrifying
Sledgehammers
, which already have a ghastly reputation among Imperial soldiers, and the destroyers. Well, and, at the end, a word about how the Sector Eight Fleet is prepared to engage in battle with enemies and a request to wish luck to the defenders of humanity. The only thing is, I was planning to draw out the story with five or seven broadcasts, but the enemy fleet is already gone. What am I supposed to talk about in the next one?"
I pointed to the huge red dot on the tactical screen:
"It's still too soon to talk about victory. I think we'll be able to destroy the
Behemoth
, but only with monstrous losses. That is why we are going to try another way: for the first time in history, we will try to board and capture an Alien ship. So, you will have something to tell the viewers about after all."