Beyond the Shroud of the Universe Read online

  “Thank you, lieutenant, that will be all,” Admiral Wright said with a smile. His smile faded into the grin of a predator as he switched to his comm system. “Captain Griffin, you’re up.”

  LCAC 85, Transfer Facility, Lashkar Abad, Anti-Earth, Unknown Date

  “Look who we found,” Staff Sergeant Park ‘Wraith’ Ji-woo said as she prodded her captive forward with the muzzle of her weapon.

  “Yeah, I found him hiding like a sissy under a desk in the admin building,” Corporal Calvin ‘Bossman’ Davis said.

  “Nice,” Night replied, looking into the eyes of the Iranian who had threatened the General Assembly, and who had been responsible for the bombing of Tashkent. He was still wearing the traditional robe and headdress, but now had on a ceremonial orange cloak over the robe, which probably meant he was a politician of some sort. Night hated politicians, maybe even more than terrorists. “I knew we’d meet again.”

  “I am not afraid of you,” the man said.

  “Even though you were hiding under a desk?” asked Bossman. “Yeah, you’re pretty brave, all right.”

  “All of you infidels will die!” the man yelled. He pulled a ceremonial dagger out of his robe and charged Night, but only made it two steps before the lasers of Night, Wraith and Bossman dropped his smoking corpse to the ground.

  “I’m sure I’ll die someday,” Night said, flipping the man over with the toe of his boot. “However, it won’t be today.”

  “Captain Train!” a voice called from the LCAC.

  “Here,” he said. He looked up to find a woman in a flight suit coming down the ramp. The woman carried an M-16, scanning the compound for threats as she crossed the ground between them. Night approved. Not bad for a swabbie.

  “I’m Petty Officer Klemarczyk,” she said as she reached Night. “The craftmaster asked me to come out and tell you we’ve got a problem with the boat.”

  Transfer Facility, Lashkar Abad, Anti-Earth, Unknown Date

  “Three!”

  Shoulders down, Corporal Robert ‘Fury’ Scott and Big Sky crashed through the two doors, tearing them off their hinges and sending them spinning to the side. As they brought their weapons up, the combat robots waiting for them began firing.

  “Ziiiiiip-PEW!” “Ziiiiiip-PEW!” “Ziiiiiip-PEW!”

  Five robots waited in a firing line, along with a large number of Efreet on both sides armed with crew-served flechette throwers.

  The second person through the left door, Master Chief was familiar with the robots. Although he hadn’t fought them personally, the platoon had, and he knew their capabilities. He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the three centimeter laser bolt that passed through where he had been. “Keep moving!” he ordered. “They don’t anticipate movement. We’ve got to get behind them!”

  All the Terrans could see of the Efreeti combat robots were the thick, rounded shields that protected the seven-foot-tall machines behind them. The robots fired through small slits in their shields, while the shields shed the return fire from the Terrans like rain.

  The troopers pouring into the building ran into a firestorm as the robots fired bolt after bolt, and Corporals Donald Drake and Brenton Davis were felled on entry, three-centimeter holes burned through their suits and chests. There was about a two-second lag between shots as the robots’ lasers charged, and the Terrans used it to disperse.

  They looked for cover, but there wasn’t any to be had; the interior of the building was almost entirely open. A large metallic device sat on a six-inch high concrete platform in the center of the building, with nothing between the device and the troops except the robots and Efreet. Overhead, several levels of metal grid work extended throughout the building. The overhead levels appeared to be for storage, but there was very little actually being stored inside the building, and nothing at their end; there was no cover.

  The cyborgs, Fury, Chaos and Big Sky, marched straight ahead at the robots, firing their heaviest weapons. Although able to withstand the majority of the fire with nothing more than melted proto-flesh, the cyborgs were also unable to break through the shields of the robots in return.

  The Efreeti flechette throwers focused on the cyborgs, and all three were hit by numerous slivers of metal. One jammed in Fury’s knee joint, locking it up. The offending flechette crew received a return volley from Fury’s Mrowry autocannon, spreading most of their remains 50 feet behind their weapon.

  As the Terrans continued to pour into the room, the balance of fire changed, especially as the tridents came into play. The Efreet were quickly eliminated, and two of the robots were put out of action by rounds that exploded immediately behind them.

  Seeing the rest of the soldiers sprinting around behind the robots, the cyborgs continued a slow, straight-ahead advance, happy to receive the brunt of their fire while their teammates got into position to take the robots from behind. One of the robots tried to turn to follow the suited figures, but that exposed it to Big Sky’s chain gun, and it was wrecked.

  Within 15 seconds, the Terrans were behind the robots, and the last two were destroyed, although not before one caught Corporal Rus ‘Overkill’ Rogers with a bolt through the head.

  Master Chief surveyed the interior of the building, shaking his head at how quickly the Terrans had lost three men. He promised the dead that the Efreet and the Iranians would pay for this…starting with whoever was on the damn silver spaceship. With a sigh, he shrugged it off; there was nothing he could do about it now.

  “Fire Team Three,” Master Chief commed, “help Lieutenant Bradford position the bombs. The rest of you, get the dead and wounded out of here and back to the boat. Our evac should already be on its way, and you do not want to get left behind!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cockpit, Shuttle 02, Anti-Earth, Unknown Date

  “Mother—” Canuck swore as he pulled the shuttle back into a tight corkscrew turn. The ship shuddered as it flew through the ionized air. “That was close. Can you do something over there about that?”

  “Uh, no,” Jamming replied; “I can decoy a missile, but I can’t trick a laser beam. Just a little further, and they won’t be able to shoot at us without risking hitting their guys on the ground.” He paused. “And...we’re in the clear. If they miss us, they’ll hit their base, so I doubt they’ll shoot anymore.”

  “That’s great and all,” Canuck said, “but how are we going to get back to the Spark again?”

  “I asked that after the brief and was told, ‘don’t worry about it.’ They’ve got something planned, but they didn’t want to say what it was for operational security purposes.”

  “Opsec, huh?” He snorted. “Sure would be nice for the operators to know, now that there’s an enemy destroyer breathing down our necks,” Canuck said as he touched down in front of the gates of the enemy complex. “Hey, weren’t they supposed to destroy that building?”

  “Ramp’s coming down for recovery,” Jamming said as he pushed a button on the console. He looked up and out the window. “Yeah, they must have some other plan for it. They sure did a number on the gates, though.”

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Earth Orbit, October 6, 2021

  “Our mission is to go to the anti-Earth system, take out any enemy ships there and bring our people home,” Captain Lorena Griffin, commanding officer of the Terra, said. “We know the Efreeti ships have been difficult to hit with missiles, so we’re going to have to get in close and take them out with energy weapons. We also know they can fire a torpedo that we do not want to hit us. If they launch one at us, we jump back to our universe pronto, and hope it doesn’t jump with us. Any questions?”

  Heads shook across the bridge. Although there was a significant feeling of trepidation among the crew, based on the capabilities the Efreeti ships had shown in the past, every member of the crew knew his or her job, and they were much better prepared to meet them in battle…this time. The last time, a single Efreeti destroyer had almost destroyed the much-bigger Vella Gulf, and it was only through blind
luck the Gulf had escaped.

  “Terra,” Captain Griffin said to the ship’s artificial intelligence, “if it looks like one of their torpedoes is going to hit us, I want you to jump us back to this universe three seconds prior to impact, and then return us three seconds after the weapon would be clear of us. Can I count on you to do that?”

  “Yes, Captain Griffin,” Terra replied, “I can easily do that.”

  “Thanks,” Captain Griffin said. “We don’t know the turning radius of one of their torpedoes; I’d like to jump back in time to find out its capabilities. If you are in doubt, keep us in our own universe. I don’t want to take even a single hit from one of those torpedoes.”

  “Understood, Captain Griffin,” Terra said; “my priority will be to keep us from being hit.”

  “Outstanding,” Captain Griffin agreed. “Standby to jump. On my mark…Now!”

  With a flash, the Terra disappeared from the Solar System.

  Transfer Facility, Lashkar Abad, Anti-Earth, Unknown Date

  “The bombs are set and we’re on our way back to the boat,” Master Chief commed.

  “Negative, the boat just had an engine failure,” Night replied. “It’s down hard. Meet us at the shuttle. It just landed in front of the gate.”

  Master Chief arrived at the shuttle with First Squad to find Night waiting for them.

  “Everyone else is onboard,” Night said. He turned to Lieutenant Bradford. “Blow the building.”

  Bradford pulled a small transmitter out of a cargo pocket, removed a wire cage and pressed the button underneath. Two small ‘thumps’ were heard, but the building seemed unaffected by the bombs.

  “That’s it?” Master Chief asked. “I thought you had some new super-special bomb.”

  “Wait for it,” Lieutenant Bradford said, his eyes never leaving the building. After a couple of seconds, he pointed to the right side of the building. “There! See that bright spot? That’s it. Just watch.”

  Bright spots appeared all over the building’s roof and walls as the silver thermite ate though the metal. Once the silver reached the exterior of the building, gravity pulled it toward the planet’s surface, and the silver cut through the sides of the building like hundreds of welders’ torches.

  “That’s burning at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit,” Lieutenant Bradford said. “About three times as hot as lava.”

  Within 15 seconds the silver had cut the building from top to bottom in hundreds of places. The warehouse shuddered in the light breeze, and then collapsed like a house of cards. As the metal of the building came in contact with the silver thermite on the ground, it liquefied, and the wreckage continued to crumple in upon itself.

  The larger mass of silver, where the second bomb had gone off next to the transport machine, ate through the transporter in seconds, and continued to dissolve the walls and roof as they collapsed down into the silver puddle.

  Within a minute, all that was left of the massive building was a few metal plates that had fallen outside the thermite’s area of destruction.

  “There’s no ‘bang,’” Lieutenant Bradford said, “but it still took care of the facility pretty well.”

  “No shit,” Master Chief said. “I think it’s safe to say they won’t be using that building again.” He nodded with his head at the LCAC sitting in the compound’s courtyard. “Got another one of those things for that piece of shit?”

  “Here’s where we stand,” Night said. “I suspect Lieutenant Commander Hobbs was taken away on the silver ship, again. It doesn’t appear we are going to get him back today. I would say the transporter is pretty much wrecked, so we at least accomplished that. The other mission was to find the transport rods, which we haven’t done. As much as I would like to have them, I’ll be just as happy if they are destroyed, and we don’t have to fight whatever reinforcements I’m sure are on their way here. Master Chief, set one of the tridents to overload, and let’s get the hell out of this universe.”

  “Overload one of the tridents?” Lieutenant Bradford asked.

  “Yeah,” Master Chief replied. “They’ve each got a gram of antimatter inside, or they did when we started. One gram of antimatter contacting one gram of matter has the same explosive power as twice that of the nuke we dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. That bomb had the equivalent of about 20 kilotons of TNT; a trident will detonate with the equivalent of 42 kilotons. Even though we used a little in our attack, there’s still going to be way more than enough to wipe out this facility.”

  “What about the town nearby? Will that be affected?”

  Night turned to look at Lieutenant Bradford, and his gaze narrowed. “I can sum up my feelings for the town in one word.” He turned and began walking toward the shuttle. “Let’s go, people!” he commed. “The shuttle leaves in one minute. Be on it or get left behind.”

  Lieutenant Bradford ran up behind Night. “Wait, what was the word?” he asked.

  Night looked back over his shoulder. “Tashkent.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bridge, TSS Terra, Anti-Earth Orbit, Unknown Date

  “System entry into the anti-Earth system,” the ensign at the science station said. “Launching probes; looking for any Efreeti ships.”

  “Got one,” the defensive systems officer (DSO) called. “Just coming over the crest of the planet. It looks like a single ship, destroyer-sized.”

  “I’ve got him,” the offensive systems officer (OSO) replied.

  “Missiles free; kill the bastard,” Captain Griffin ordered.

  The OSO looked up from her station.

  “I know the Vella Gulf couldn’t hit the Efreet with its missiles,” Captain Griffin said, “but maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  “Anti-ship missiles launching,” the OSO said. “32 missiles launched; hang fire on tubes three and 18.”

  “Ma’am, the Efreeti ship is turning toward us,” the DSO advised. “It’s accelerating toward us to engage.”

  “Let him,” Captain Griffin said. “We’ve got him outgunned, unless he has a bunch of those torpedoes. The closer he gets, the better it is…for us.”

  “Ma’am, he doesn’t have any shields,” the OSO said. “Missile impact in three…two…one…holy shit! Ma’am, we got at least 30 hits on the destroyer, almost all of them on the forward half of the ship. Those missiles were meant for taking out battleships and dreadnoughts…there isn’t much left.”

  Cargo Bay, Shuttle 02, Anti-Earth Orbit, Unknown Date

  “Sir, I don’t get it,” Master Chief said. “This just doesn’t add up.”

  “What doesn’t add up?” Night asked.

  “All of this. On one hand, you have an Efreeti ship that is nearly untouchable. If we hadn’t gotten lucky, we would all have died aboard the Vella Gulf the first time we fought them.”

  “That’s true,” Night agreed.

  “And yet, we have the base we just hit. It was barely defended, almost as if they expected the walls alone to hold out whoever they thought was going to attack. I don’t know who they were defending against, but it sure as shit wasn’t us.”

  “Yeah. Keep going,” Night urged.

  “Okay, so the Efreet are the most uncoordinated race we’ve ever seen. They have a couple of great weapons, but generally, most of their stuff is crap. Flechette guns and flamethrowers are cool and all, but our weapons can kill them well before they ever get in range of us.”

  “Unless we’re on a ship or in a tunnel.”

  “Okay, granted, their weapons are great for enclosed spaces, but certainly not for defending a fort against modern forces.”

  “True.”

  “And then you have Captain Nightsong, who appears to be a respected member of Aesir society, but I’ll bet my next three paychecks he’s the one who has the CO. What the hell is up with that?”

  “Are you saying the Aesir can’t be trusted, or just Nightsong?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, we really don’t know the Aesir. Maybe their whole race is a bunch of liars. Steropes vouched
for them, though, so I’m guessing it’s just Nightsong. Besides, it’s easier to believe there’s one bad apple than an entire race of liars.”

  “I’d agree with that. The Mrowry seem to trust the Aesir, too, and the Mrowry have been nothing but honorable since we met them.”

  “So what does Nightsong get out of taking the CO?”

  “I don’t know, but I agree with you…it doesn’t make sense.” Night thought for a minute. “Here’s something else that’s odd. When we came down from the Terra, the CO brought his Progenitor’s Rod down with him. I’m sure of that; I remember seeing it. But then, a couple of days later, it was gone, and he had no idea where it went. Before this mission, I went and looked at the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters’ security tapes, and you know what I found?”

  “It walked off on its own?”

  “Close,” Night replied. “Shortly after we arrived, Calvin went into his room, took the rod and left with it. Why would he have done that? Even better, why wouldn’t he remember doing it?”

  “He did get hit on the head a month or two ago, so it’s possible there’s some brain damage. But to not remember taking it out of his room? I doubt it. You’re sure it was him?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay, so how is it possible for him to do something, and yet not have done it? The only answer is that he didn’t. But if he didn’t, who did?”

  “I don’t know,” Night replied. “My mind keeps returning to the Aesir Eco Warrior teams. It’s almost like we had a Life Warrior here…you know, someone who could change their shape to match the CO’s.”

  “But the only Aesir here is Nightsong, and he is fire-based.”

  “Is there any reason he couldn’t be both?”