Stormhaven Rising (Atlas and the Winds Book 1) (55 page)

“That sounds reasonable to me,” Cole said. “Just crank up the power gradually so you don’t smash the plane accidentally."

The viewscreen changed perspective to follow the patrol as it swung around the southeast quadrant. The targeting crosshairs locked on one of the jets and tracked it as it banked into its northbound run over the community.

***

Outside Stormhaven:

Lieutenant Sara “Hotfoot” Crawford had programmed the flight pattern into the autopilot, and had spent the last few hours as nothing more than an overqualified observer. The collision-avoidance software kept her locked twenty-five meters from her wingman, and the two of them had maintained the dance since just after sunrise.

Completing the ninety-degree turn, the computer nudged the throttle up and they gained a little altitude for their next overflight. The acceleration kicked her in the seat, and she felt the usual surge of power as her Lightning started the next leg of their orbit. She glanced out the window and noticed that her wingman was pulling ahead of her.

“Hey Chainsaw,” she said, keying her mic. “No fair speeding up.”

“Watchdog Two, is there something wrong with your autopilot?” he said. “I’m right on the beam. You look like you’re losing power.”

“Yeah, I must be,” she said, glancing at her ground speed indicator and pushing forward on the throttle. The engine roared and she could feel the shudder of thrust building in the airframe, but her speed continued to drop.

“Something’s up,” she said. She started looking at the systems menus but nothing was out of line. Fuel pressure and exhaust velocity were right where they should be for her throttle setting.

“Watchdog One, I’m having some kind of engine problem, I think I need to pull off and scoot back to St. Johns,” she said.

“Copy, Watchdog Two,” he said. “Are you going to make it back?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m still losing speed, and I’m at ninety-five percent throttle. Nothing looks corked. I’ve just got no squirrels.”

“Ok, break formation and bug out. We’ll call in a replacement,” he said.

“Thanks Chainsaw, see you on the ground,” she said, pulling hard-over. A strange humming vibration shook the jet, screeching upward from a rumble until it rang in her ears like a jackhammer.

“What the fuck?” she said, realizing something was coming apart right behind her seat. She reached for the ejection handle a split second after the computer punched her out. She spun upward into the air and caught a glimpse of her Lightning folding up like a ball of tinfoil before it exploded and she blacked out.

The rockets under her seat continued to carry her upward until she was well clear of the strangely shaped debris pattern. When she finally came to, she was drifting down under her parachute, wondering why it felt like her skin was on fire.

***

Stormhaven:

“Oh that’s gonna piss somebody off,” Dave said, blinking in surprise.

“What the hell happened?” Viki asked.

“That’s a good question,” Cole said “I thought we only wanted to slow it down, not smash it.”

“I had managed to achieve the desired fifty-percent drop in inertial energy,” Mica explained. “However when the pilot turned the aircraft at a right angle to the beam, the engine’s rotation caused a charge imbalance and the turbine failed structurally.”

“What does that mean?” Tom asked. “In English, if you don’t mind.”

“May I?” Sophie offered. “The beam uses frequency to determine inertial charge. Sort of like a Doppler-shift. We use this to determine what to let pass through, and what to stop. When an object’s gravito-inertial frequency is above a certain threshold, the beam will reflect one hundred percent of the energy back at the source.

“What must’ve happened is that when the rotational axis turned perpendicular to the beam, the parts that were rotating towards us had more inertial energy reflected back, and the top half of the turbine froze."

“The engine exploded as a result,” Mica finished for her. “It took almost a quarter-second to modulate from its initial frequency to one that would have prevented the failure of the turbine. I anticipated this possibility as the jet banked away and attempted to redirect the beam, but the mounting yoke would not reposition quickly enough.”

“Well, if Marquez wanted to know whether we’re armed or not, I think he’s figured it out by now,” Cole said.

***

Camp Kryptonite:

“Watchdog Two is down,” the voice of com officer said. “I repeat. Watchdog Two is down.” Marquez heard the broadcast a split-second after the hollow thump of the explosion. The announcement echoed throughout the camp and he bolted toward the door just in time to see the ejection seat tumble free from the pilot, and the canopy of her chute open. She was well within the perimeter of the Stormhaven compound.

Grabbing the nearest soldier, he pointed and barked, “I don’t want that pilot to touch ground before we’ve got someone under him."

“Yes sir,” he said, darting toward the nearest Humvee. He dove into the seat and tore out across the open ground toward where the pilot was drifting down in front of the community.

“Did anyone see what happened?” he shouted toward where Shapiro stood staring at the debris raining down. The agent had just left the tent when it happened.

“I’m sure we’ve got it on video,” he said. “The motion cameras track the patrol every time they’re this side of the main buildings.”

“Was it a missile?” Marquez said.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I was looking right at it when it happened. I heard the pilot throttle-up just before the jet exploded, but I didn’t see anything leave the ground. It looked strange, more like it hit a brick wall than that it was shot down.”

“Exactly,” a soldier said, trotting up from the other direction. “I was driving the eastern perimeter about five minutes ago and I’d have sworn I hit a wall. The damn rig lurched sideways and then the engine blew up.”

Marquez stared at him for a second. “What do you mean hit a wall, corporal?” the General asked.

“Just that, sir,” the soldier said, snapping to attention and saluting. “I was driving up the eastern perimeter road for the eighth or ninth time today and it felt like I hit a ridge that ran across the trail. The harder I cut back into it, the harder it pushed us sideways. The Humvee ended up facing completely to the right. Just as it stopped, the engine screamed like shearing metal. That was all that happened,” he said. “Oh yeah, it also felt for a couple seconds like someone had poured acid in my underwear.”

Schimmel came running up to join the conversation as the soldier finished his report. “We lost two groups of repeaters while the weapon was being used. Same as the earlier ones, but the spike was a whole lot higher frequency.”

Marquez looked at Shapiro, hoping for a translation. “So it’s the same type of technology as their propulsion systems,” he said. “I guess that puts the weaponization question to rest General."

“Probably so,” Marquez said. “But can anyone tell me what that means?"

“Not a clue.” Schimmel shrugged. “We don’t have the foggiest idea how their ships operate, let alone how they could have turned it into a weapon."

“We need to get a team down there to pick up the debris,” Marquez said. “Maybe there’s a clue in that wreckage that will help us get something on them."

“I’ll get Abrams on it,” DeMarko said, coming out to see what had happened. Cinders were still raining down out of the sky, looking like the remains of an oddly shaped firework.

“Excuse me sir,” a communications officer stood behind him in the doorway. “Watchdog One wants permission to move out of range, sir. He’s a little nervous about becoming another bug on the windshield.”

“Tell him to pull back to one mile and discontinue the overflights until further notice,” Marquez said. “Let’s double our air coverage while we’re at it. Scramble two more and a replacement for Watchdog Two.” He turned back to the tent, gesturing for Shapiro to follow.

“I want all the imagery on my desk five minutes ago,” he said, “and get me that pilot as soon as medical does its thing.” Schimmel nodded, turning back toward the surveillance tent.

“We need to consider them armed and dangerous,” the General said.

Shapiro clicked into his comlink and started giving orders.

“I’m not sure what we’re fighting here, but I’m starting to like the Alien Superpower theory.”

Shapiro laughed. “I thought I told you that, General.”

***

Determinacy Within the Box

Washington:

Secretary Herman sat watching a live feed from the UN Security Council. They were still debating Japan’s motion asking for UN intervention inside the territory of the US. American soil had been one of the few places in the world where UN Peacekeepers had never been deployed, except for training, so the fact they’d even debate the idea at all was a testament to the incredible respect Kuromori held in the world community.

The Ambassador had not been in New York, or the debate might have gone much differently. As it was, the Japanese Ambassador to the UN was making a strong enough case, the discussion had continued into a second day.

John had been watching the proceedings carefully while he sipped his coffee and made notes for his next meeting with the President.

His intercom beeped. “Sir, Ambassador Kuromori is holding for you. He says it’s a matter of extreme urgency.”

“Thank you, Amanda,” Secretary Herman said. He let the Ambassador wait several seconds while he scanned his notes to see if there was some clue as to what Kuromori might be wanting. Deciding there was nothing that would have specifically elicited a call, he punched into his vidlink.

“Good afternoon, Ambassador,” he said, trying to sound as hopeful as possible. “I assume this is not a social call, so what may I do for you?”

“Good afternoon, Secretary Herman,” the Ambassador said, his tone serious and formal. “I am calling to appeal to you to halt the military assault on Stormhaven. It is my understanding the situation has escalated substantially, and I am wishing to express in the most serious terms that my country is profoundly concerned for the safety of its citizens.”

“Excuse me?” John stammered, surprised at the bluntness of the Ambassador. No preamble, no polite courtesies. Just a nosedive into the heat of the matter. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, Ambassador. I’m sure the situation is fundamentally unchanged out there.”

“Then explain to me why, at this very moment, General Victor Marquez has surrounded the community of Stormhaven with an artillery brigade?” Kuromori challenged.

Secretary Herman held up a finger, asking for a moment, and punched the mute button. He thumbed the switch for his intercom. “Amanda, do we have any reports on a change in the situation at Stormhaven?”

“No sir, not to my knowledge,” his secretary replied.

“Get Shapiro on the phone and ask him what the hell is going on out there,” he said, not waiting for her to reply.

“Ambassador, I’m checking, but I’m sure there’s a misunderstanding somewhere,” he said. If it was heating up then he was about to find himself swimming in another shark-filled pot of boiling water.

The intercom beeped and he cut the mic again. “What did he say?”

“The situation is a fully armed engagement. Camp Kryptonite is at full alert in response to an unprovoked attack by Stormhaven,” Amanda said. “Apparently they shot down one of the F-35s about five minutes ago.”

“Shit!” He paused, taking a breath before switching the microphone back on. “It appears, Ambassador, that you’re correct.” He forced his voice to remain rock steady. “The situation is escalating somewhat, although reports are that it’s the result of aggression by Stormhaven. If you’ll give me a little time, I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you.”

“My information is Stormhaven responded to a threat to use military force issued by General Marquez. In either case, this is unacceptable, Secretary Herman,” Kuromori said, clearly enunciating his words. “If this issue is not cleared up immediately, or results in even a single citizen of ours being harmed, the repercussions will be profound.”

“I understand that Ambassador,” John said, thinking Kuromori was being uncharacteristically belligerent.

“I do not think you do,” Kuromori said, the expression on his face even more determined than his words. “If this insanity does not stop, we will retaliate in the only way we can. Japan currently owns roughly nineteen-percent of all American debt. Consider the impact on your economy should we issue demand on those notes. If you still persist in aggression against Stormhaven, we will additionally shut down all trade with your country. All of it. Without exception.”

“Ambassador,” John said, shocked by the threats. “Surely that’s not something that your government is prepared to do. The cost to your country would be at least as extreme as it would be to the US.”