Beyond Death (Perimeter Defense Book #2) Read online

  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

  Mirror World Books 1 and 2

  by Alexey Osadchuk

  The Lag (The Game Master Book #1)

  by A. Bobl and A. Levitsky

  More LitRPG books are coming out soon!

  Check our official web site for updates!

  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

  After the Battle

  Hnelle

  Regent

  Elder Female

  Recognition of Talent

  The Aysar Cluster

  Falling into the Trap

  The Fatty's Last Battle

  Insect Mating Dance

  Insect Bigwig

  Sector Nine

  Breaking the Blockade

  The Queen of Veyerde

  Diplomatic Mail

  The Last Pirate

  Taking Down the Boss

  Stopping the Invasion

  What 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 cautious–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 resolution–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."

  I called General Savasss Jach, who heard out this bizarre mission with surprising tranquility. The huge insect wriggled his antennae for some time, then Bionica translated his answer:

  "Ten thousand Alpha Iseyek assault troops should be enough. But first you'll need to secure a path for them by clearing all the Behemoth's drones and collecting information about the enemy ship. And he'll need around two standard hours to wake the soldiers from a state of suspended animation."

  Katerina heard out the general's answer with me and said with satisfaction:

  "Great! Now I'll have a two-hour gap between my reports. I'll do a series of broadcasts and interviews with various officers and commanders of your fleet. I'll give information in small portions. Let the viewers stay on the edges of their seats under the impression that the space battle is raging on. Then, I'll give a live broadcast from the landing troops' chambers. But Georg, it would be really great if we could have someone taking part in storming the Alien ship other than the praying mantises, like people too. Otherwise, there won't be any viewer involvement, and they won't sympathize with us."

  Admiral Kiro Sabuto also supported the idea.

  "My Prince, your cousin is right. Today we shall write a new page in the history of human resistance against the Aliens. This battle is sure to be included in all tactical textbooks and even school history books, and it is very important that people be the most active participants in the capture of the Alien battleship. All of our ships have a boarding team. We can gather more than two thousand soldiers from the whole fleet."

  Popori de Cacha suddenly forced his way into the conversation and said with a bow:

  "My Prince, I ask that you include two Chameleons from your bodyguard team in the assault force. For my kind, the Ravaash, it is also important to feel that we are taking part in this historic moment."

  "Alright. I order human assault troops and Chameleons to get prepared as well. You have two hours. These divisions will also be commanded by General Savasss Jach, and Bionica will provide coordination and translation."

  I turned to my assistant Nicole and asked about the Behemoth. The girl, without taking off her headphones, frowned in dissat
isfaction:

  "The pilots are getting tired from the long battle, and it’s starting to show. They have begun to make errors: Pyro-22 scratched itself at high speed against a turret tower, and Pyro-25 ran into an enemy drone. Both ships left the battle with broken armor and no shields and have gone for repair. We’re getting the impression that the Behemoth has an infinite supply of drones. We've already taken down a hundred thirty-two, but new flocks of them just keep squirming out. Are they making them in there or something?"

  "Nicole, don't worry. I'll send the pilots out a fresh team. Pick someone to change them out. Your mission is to hold the Behemoth another two hours while the praying mantis assault troops unfreeze. If you get tired, I can take your place."

  "I appreciate your concern, Prince, but I do not need any help. It's the first time I've been entrusted with such an important mission, and that is its own reward."

  * * *

  "The flamethrowers are lighting the way. We have cleared a corridor to the cannon tower, and group Blue-Three is moving out to capture it. There are two hundred Swarm assault troops."

  "White-Eight here. We’ve cleared another path into the third section! We'll take the winding corridor toward the tactical marker. Serious resistance. A vacuum does nothing to stop these shrubs. They still fight, even without atmosphere."

  "Thick fire! We have to get back to the spiral staircase. Only four soldiers remaining of thirty in Yellow-Four. The praying mantises that were covering our exit have already all gone down. We need support immediately. Aaaaaa!"

  Katerina pointed at the screen and shook her head:

  "We'll have to cut that part out."

  "You will do no such thing! The viewers have to see that this isn’t child’s play. Everything is serious. There's a war on, and the soldiers are paying with their blood so the rest of humanity may live.”