The Writer in Black

The Writer in Black

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Big Blue Snippet Eight

Story starts here

"I do not believe this," Lieutenant Junior Grade Steve Pomerantz brought the Seahawk around for another pass at the giant, dinosaur creature. He loved reading about dinosaurs as a kid but this thing? This thing was ten times the size of a T Rex. It walked mostly upright, like the kids' books had shown and not with the stretched out posture scientists later decided T Rex and similar theropods used.

"You've said that," his copilot, Ensign Charlie Rodriguez, said.

The creature ignored them as it continued to stride through the Canadian countryside. Every few steps it would stop, turn one way, then another, almost as if it were searching for something.

So far, the creature ignored them.

"That's a big sucker." Pomerantz turned the helicopter sideways, giving Geoffrey Torgersen, the sensor operator, a good look with the extra cameras installed on the bird.

"That, too, you have said." Rodriguez laughed.

"Getting a good look, Geoff?"

"Good enough that we should be collecting a check from Toho."

"Toho?" Pomerantz asked.

"Make all those giant monster movies," Torgersen said. "Although we really need to be in Tokyo for this."

Pomerantz laughed again. "All right. I'm going to see if I can get in closer for the next one."

"Recommend you maintain distance," came in over the radio from the Gonzalez.

"I think we're good," Pomerantz replied. "That creature isn't fast. Can't be at that size, I expect. I'll stay well out of reach."

"Understood. Be careful."

Pomerantz turned sideways to the creature then, with deft motions of cyclic and collective stick, edged closer to the creature.

"Damn, that thing is huge!" Torgersen said as the helicopter approached to within two hundred meters of the creature.

Pomerantz made another adjustment to the controls, bringing the helicopter to a stop relative to the creature. He hovered in front of it, just edging away as it stepped forward.

"It's looking at us," Torgersen said.

The creature lumbered toward them, picking up speed. Pomerantz danced the helicopter away, keeping a steady distance.

"Um, Lieutenant?" Torgersen said. "I've got a bad feeling about this. Think we've got enough pictures maybe? I've got a gig's worth of video back here."

"Charlie?" Pomerantz said.

"I agree, Steve. Time to boogie."

The creature opened its mouth, emitting a roar that, from that distance struck like a wall of sound. Then, from the creature’s mouth streamed a jet of glowing vapor. The jet passed just in front of the helicopter.

Pomerantz felt a wash of heat as the jet passed. A shockwave caught the helicopter and tossed it up and back. the instrument panel lit up with warning lights and alarms.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" Torgersen cried.

"Charlie!" Pomerantz cried as he fought to regain control of the helicopter. Oil pressure was all over the place just before the display winked out Sensor, or...? Rotor speed? No way. They'd be falling like a rock. He glanced up. The rotor seemed to be spinning at a normal pace. The sound seemed to be right. Sensors then.

Other displays started to shut down.

"Gonzalez," Pomerantz shouted into the radio, "That thing shot, or spat, or something at us. Electrical systems..." He glanced at the radio. No lights. No indicators. Nothing. Turned off? He punched the switch. Still nothing. "Fuck."

"Charlie? He shouted.

"I'm good," Rodriguez responded, his voice muffled despite his shouting over the noise of the damaged helicopter. No intercom. "Fire suppression system out. Geoff got it with the handheld."

"Right," Pomerantz shouted back. "We are so out of here."

What had just happened? Pomerantz wanted to believe it was not real, was a hallucination. But a crippled Seahawk told a different story.

Next Installment

***

Coming soon in Paperback and Kindle.

In the meantime, you might take a look at my recently released fantasy novel, The Hordes of Chanakra:


3 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Well, it looks like the briefing where name is assigned happens in Chapter Eight and I'm not going to snippet that far so here's the scene:

      "Admiral on deck!"

      "At ease," Cunningham said as he walked to the podium at the front of the briefing room. He took his position behind it and looked over the room. Representatives from every ship in the battle group, and the other ships he'd attached since he'd started the search for the stolen Boise. In the front row, at Cunningham's special request, stood Lieutenant Pomerantz and his flight crew. "Be seated."

      He waited a moment for the men and women to sit down.

      "It is my good fortune to report," Cunningham said, "that Washington has decided to, provisionally, believe us but we remain a minor sideshow at the moment." He shook his head. "I never thought that chasing a nuclear, and nuclear armed, submarine would become a minor issue. And when we encounter a giant monster, that, too would become a minor issue. You've seen the reports of what's happening in the pacific. There will be no additional assets coming. What we've got is what we've got." He paused. "Commander Mays, what is the status on the Gonzalez?"

      "We're down one turbine but we've got both screws. Five inch is back up. Bow VLS is down, with no prospect short of port to get it back up. Rear VLS is about sixty percent functional. The girl can still fight, Admiral."

      "What I wanted to hear," Cunningham said. He gestured and an image of the creature appeared on the screen behind him. "This is what we're hunting. Code name, per Washington, is Big Blue."

      "Big Blue?" One of the officers in the middle of the room said. "That's fucking Godz...."

      Cunningham stabbed out his finger in the direction of the speaker. "Belay that. You will not say that word. You will not use that word. You will not think that word. Big Blue."

      "Aye aye, sir. Big Blue it is."

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    2. Yep, the real navy would not want to say "that word" and "that word" is the property of a certain Japanese film maker. :wink:

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