Kaiju Seeds Of Destruction by JE Gurley

Author:JE Gurley [Gurley, JE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2017-11-29T07:00:00+00:00

17

August 16, USS Assegai –

Walker edged his way across the crowded room through the press of bodies, trying not to offend anyone. If not for the zero gravity allowing people to float horizontally above one another, traversing the space would have been nigh impossible. Each person wore their bulky space suit, further eroding any personal space, but with no room for both personnel and their suits, it was the only viable option. They did not wear their helmets. That might come later, as the air ran out and only suit oxygen remained. Walker did not care to think about that eventuality.

Fifteen hours had passed since disembarking the Javelin, just enough time for everyone to grow edgy and cranky. Neither he nor Sakiri could do much to alleviate the tension. It built slowly like ripples in a pond, but when it reached a crescendo, it would become a tidal wave. His own nerves were beginning to fray around the edges, but he could do nothing about that either. Presently, he was more concerned with Gate. They were nearing the time Gate had estimated it would take to intercept the pods. They would have no way of knowing if Gate and Peters had succeeded, or if the ten Kaiju pods had changed course on their way to destroy them or the Assegai. With no long-range detectors, any attack would be sudden and devastating. He tried to avoid that dark thought, as he searched for Costas. The sergeant could at least keep his team occupied to avoid any chances of conflict with the Air Force personnel.

He found Costas hanging onto a strap attached to the wall. “How are you doing?” he asked.

Costas’ face turned bright red. “It’s embarrassing floating around with a diaper load, but I couldn’t hold it any longer.”

“There are a lot of people here in the same situation. It’s better than passing around a bucket.”

Costas grimaced. “Whew! In Zero-G that would be nasty. It’s just that I can’t work up the balls to approach any of the women, not in my delicate condition.”

Walker suppressed a grin and patted Costas on the shoulder. “You’re a real hero, Costas, above and beyond the call of duty.”

“I’ll take my frustration out on the Nazir. When’s our ride coming?”

They had not heard from the Assegai for eight hours. She had increased speed by fifteen percent, the most the engineers at NASA would allow. He had to assume everything was still on schedule. Even then, it was only a best guess. The Assegai’s course was slightly different from the Javelin’s due to the launch time difference. In addition, they had to locate the tiny habitat module in the vastness of space. He gave Costas the only answer he could. “Thirty-five hours or so.”

“Tell them I’m pissed. Maybe that’ll speed them up.”

“Get our guys breaking down and reassembling their weapons. That might kill some time.” Breaking down weapons in Zero-G was a challenge. Small parts tended to drift away unnoticed. The purpose of the exercise was to impress upon them the differences in the environment in which they might be fighting.

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