Phthalo Blues: The Viper

by Will Wallner

  Viper entered another long, dimly lit corridor which led further into the bowels of the ship. He held his gun, tightly, ready to shoot at the blink of an eye. He thought about what sort of fire arms would normally be given to the crew onboard a ship like this. For a standard MAW Corp transport vessel, there would probably be just a few handguns, but knowing General Ryuu and how much value he put into the contents of the cargo, there might have been a whole arsenal of MAW Corp weaponry supplied to the crew. If the crew were armed, there was a high chance that there could be some sort of fire fight before this was over. In such a confined space, it would be extremely dangerous for Viper. Even more aggravating was the electronic sensor in his pocket, pressed firmly against his chest. Viper felt it vibrate as it continually registered a light presence of radiation. As he took each step towards the cargo room, the vibrations intensified. Again, this was also expected, as the weapon was the source of the radiation, but still, the quickening sensation intensified Viper's paranoia that he could encounter a hostile enemy at any time. He was hyper alert.

  As Viper cautiously proceeded towards the cargo room, he stopped in front of another metal door; the storage room. A wrench was jammed into the door shutting mechanism, so the door could not be opened from the inside. He froze, unsure of the best way to proceed. He knew from the Captain Rudolf's log book that crew member 'Stevens' was likely dead inside. Was there any point in opening the cat box just to confirm what he already was certain of? Opening the door might create a noise which would alert anyone else on board to Vipers presence. Considering that crew member Stevens and the contents of the storage room were of no value to Viper and his mission, it would probably be the best decision to carry on towards the cargo. Viper knew this, but still couldn’t resist his curiosity.

  As silent as a mouse, he gently lifted the heavy-duty wrench. Without making a noise, he placed it on the ground next to his feet. When he went to release the door shutting mechanism, he noticed a bloody stain left on his hand. It must have rubbed off from the wrench. He looked down at the floor to confirm the wrench was dripping with blood. It had undoubtedly been used as a weapon. This actually was very good news for Viper. If Captain Rudolf had chosen a weapon as clumsy as a wrench, then it must have meant access to more efficient weaponry wasn't available. Either that, or the captain chose the wrench over a gun for sadistic reasons. Viper much preferred the scenario of being the only person armed with a fire arm inside the ship. Only upon confronting Captain Rudolf would he know for sure what weaponry he possessed. Without wasting anymore time debating what could happen, he opened the door to the storage room. The air tight seal made a hissing sound as air was sucked through the opening. A slight vapor trail could be seen agitating the stale air as if the room was exhaling smoke. As the door slowly swung open, Viper finally saw the contents of the cat box.

  Stevens lay dead, face down, in the center of the small storage room. Viper knelt down to inspect the body. It was clear he had suffocated from the lack of oxygen. He was also clutching something in his hand. A crumpled piece of paper, which Stevens still gripped with his cold, rigid hands. Viper shook it loose to reveal a hastily written note. A final desperate act, to ensure the truth about what had happened aboard Vessel D would be known.

  I've been locked inside the storage room by Captain Rudolf. That bastard! I can already feel from my shortness of breath, that I'm running out of air. Shortly after we departed Sector Thirteen, some of the crew noticed the captain was acting strange, paranoid, argumentative, almost like he was possessed. It started when the communications system went offline, and we lost contact with central command. Then, one by one, crew members went missing. It was a game of sheeps and wolves, and by the time we figured out who was the wolf, it was too late. He kept ranting about following orders from his commander, but he wasn't referring to the General. Someone else had instructed him to kill us…

  This at least confirmed what Viper had read in the captain's log book. There was no doubt, the captain was responsible for killing the crew. Where was Captain Rudolf? Viper knew he might be lurking in shadows, stalking him, waiting to attack. Viper paused to focus on his surroundings. He looked out from the storage into the dimly lit corridor. Was someone there, watching him? He listened for any sound which might indicate the presence of Captain Rudolf. Nothing. There was just dead air and the continual hum coming from the ship's engine. He left Stevens' body in the storage room and cautiously returned to the corridor which led to the cargo room.

  As Viper turned a corner from within the corridor, he saw the entrance to the cargo room. He knew the weapon was inside this room. His anxiety had reached crescendo and all this 'tip toeing' through the bowels of the ship had worn down his patience. He just wanted to get it over with and confront the captain. The entrance hatch to the cargo room was left open, and the metallic frame had more patches of blood, as if numerous bodies and been dragged through the opening. Viper entered the large open cargo space and found everything he'd been searching for. The weapon was in the center of the room, still confined to its stasis tube, and laying all around it, were the dead bodies of the entire crew. The search for Captain Rudolf was over. He was on his knees, looking up at the faint silhouette of the weapon. It was suspended in a misty red liquid which filled the glass tube. Rudolf was a trans-like state, praying to the weapon. He didn't acknowledge Vipers presence.

  "Captain Rudolf, put your hands on your head and stand up slowly." Viper spoke calmly and firmly, but there was no response. "Don't make me shoot you." His gun was pointed directly at the back of the captain's head.

  Captain Rudolf broke from his fixation on the weapon and slowly rose to his feet. As instructed, he put his hands on his head and slowly turned to face Viper.

  "Oh look, another traitor. Have you come to take control of my ship?" The captain spoke like a drone. There was no emotion or cadence to his vice. He looked tired and worn out. His military uniform was stained with blood.

  "What are you talking about?" The unnatural way the captain spoke made Viper feel uneasy. He was ready to shoot the moment Captain Rudolf made a wrong move. "Keep your hands where I can see them!"

  "Your soul will burn in the flames of darkness and he will rise like a pillar of smoke from your ashes." The captain slowly pulled a knife from the inside of his sleeve. His lifeless eyes had murderous intent. Viper knew this look all too well. There would be no reasoning with him. There was no doubt in Viper's mind the captain had been infected. He had completely lost his mind. Captain Rudolf took slow trance-like steps towards Viper, holding the knife high above his head. Viper knew he had to shoot him, but he was concerned about damaging the weapon's stasis tube directly behind. If he missed by just a fraction, it could lead to a much worse situation.

  "Captain Rudolf, you are not yourself. This is your last chance. Drop the knife and don’t come any closer." Viper's finger was on the trigger, ready to shoot. Unfortunately, Captain Rudolf ignored his words. He was like a zombie, acting on impulse. Madness had taken control of his body and mind. All he wanted to do was kill Viper. He didn’t care about the gun pointed directly at him.

  "It's game over for you captain." Viper took an extra second to confirm his aim, then pulled the trigger. With a single shot, the captain fell to the ground with bullet hole in his forehead. "Too bad." Viper approached Captain Rudolf's body and nudged it with his foot to make sure he was really dead. As he stood over the lifeless corpse, he felt vibrations from within is coat pocket. The scanning device showed a slightly higher reading when held over the captain's body. This could be explained by being in such close proximity to the weapon, but Viper suspected the captain had somehow been infected with the weapons radiation. This shouldn’t have been possible as it appeared the weapon was properly secured inside the stasis tube. Could there have been some sort of leak? Viper knelt down over the captain's body and examined his appearance closely. There was nothing unusual in his appearance. The only other thing to check was the weapon itself.

  Vi
per approached the glass tube and peered through the red liquid, surrounding the creature inside. He'd only ever seen one of these weapons on a very rare occasion and had never seen one once released from its chamber. Viper checked the control panel directly next to the stasis tube. It appeared to be functioning as normal. If the captain had actually been infected, then this was extremely confusing. Reports of the radiation infecting people had only been in cases of prolonged exposure to extremely high doses. The stasis tube should have fully protected the ship and its crew. As far as Viper knew, there had never been a case where the radiation had infected someone's mind with such limited exposure. Furthermore, infection was always accompanied with some form of physical abnormality to the victim's body. The captain physically appeared normal. Trying to think about the possible risk this radiation posed to everyone at the docks, as well as himself, made Viper tremble.

  Viper felt to make sure the captain's log book was still in his pocket. He would have to read it thoroughly to make sure he found out exactly what had happened on board. Maybe there was a clue hidden in the pages or maybe they were just the ramblings of a madman. Confident that the ship and the weapon were now secure, he wanted nothing more to leave this steel tomb and get as far away the source of radiation as possible. He would leave it in the hands of MAW Corp research scientists to investigate and figure out what really happened.

  ~

  Back at the docks on the shores of Berlin, Viper instructed MAW Corp to send a recovery vessel for the ship. He ordered the MAW soldiers who had accompanied him to stand guard until it had been removed from the town. He would leave it in their hands to make sure no one from the town boarded the ship. Since Viper had arrived in Berlin, his biggest concern had always been the safety of the citizens of the small seaside town. If the weapon had escaped, and they had been exposed to the radiation, then the entire town could have all been infected. No matter how much money or resources they had, MAW Corp couldn’t have covered up such a disaster. It would have exposed them. Viper once again, double checked the reading on his radiation scanner. Even though it was registering a safe amount of radiation, what he had witnessed on board made him feel extra cautious. He wanted everyone in the town as far away from the ship as possible.

  "Alright everyone, listen up. You're free to go about your normal business. This ship will be removed from your town shortly, and any damages will be compensated by MAW Corp. I ask that you please leave this area immediately to allow MAW Corp to conduct their recovery operation." While Viper addressed the crowd, Oswald stood looking unimpressed. He was even more unimpressed after Viper addressed him personally. "I need you to disperse the crowd as quickly as possible. The town is no longer under lockdown, but I want you and your men to stay here until the recovery has been complete. Help keep the citizens away from the docks but try not to get in our way."

  "Whatever you say mister MAW Corp." Oswald spoke sarcastically and then bowed at Viper in a mocking way. Viper didn't have time to engage, he just chuckled slightly then walked away. Before he could get very far, he happened to walk past Nakita and Taz. He noticed Taz was still looking upset.

  "Sorry about your dog kid. Hopefully he won’t have gone too far. I'm sure you'll find him." Viper felt slight remorse for his initial confrontation with Taz. Taz didn’t respond. He just stood by Nakita.

  "It's a 'she'." Nakita said.

  "I'm sorry, what do you mean?" Viper looked at her confused.

  "The dog is not a 'he', it's a 'she'. But you’re right, we'll find her, right Taz?" Taz just didn't wasn't interested. He'd lost all hope of ever seeing her or Hunter again.

  "Oh I see, well good luck." He walked away then turned to face them again. "By the way, I never learned your name?" Viper asked.

  "My name? It's Nakita." She smiled at him.

  "Nakita, sounds exotic." He returned a smile. "Alright, see you around." Unfortunately, he had another important mission waiting for him and had no time to waste. He walked away from docks and disappeared into the winding stone streets of Berlin.

  "That MAW piece of crap thinks he's so special." Oswald lit up another cigarette and watched Viper leave alongside Taz and Nakita. "I bet there's nothing even that important on board. Probably just a way for MAW Corp and Capitol City to flex their muscles and show that they can exert their authority over Middle Continent."

  "Who knows…" With Viper gone, Nakita was ready to make good on her promise to Hunter. She grabbed Taz's hand and was ready to take action. "Listen Taz, let's make a deal. If you agree to come with me to Valley Village, I'll help you search for Moja. We won’t leave this town until we find her. Deal?"

  Viper walked through the streets of Berlin. It was only noon, but it had already been a very long day. Viper had been awoken early in the morning, around 6am, with a priority order directly from the head of MAW Corp, General Ryuu. It was an emergency. Two very potentially dangerous situations had emerged on Middle Continent. Unfortunately for Viper, he was already on a different assignment in Tiberia, located on the eastern side of Middle Continent. He was the closest, and therefore could be on the scene the quickest. If he took a high-speed land cruiser, he could be in Berlin within 3 hours. Minutes after receiving his orders, Viper left the MAW Corp military facility in Tiberia. Now that his first mission had been completed, it was time to tackle his second objective. Viper checked no one was nearby, then made a call to General Ryuu, to update him on his progress.

  "General, it’s me. The ship in Berlin is secure. The recovery team is already on their way. It should be back in Tiberia by the end of the day." Viper cautiously and continually checked no one could hear his conversation.

  "Good work. What about the cargo?" Ryuu spoke on the other end of phone with a slow deep voice. There was little emotion behind his words.

  "The cargo is secure, but General, the captain was somehow infected. He killed the rest of the crew."

  "That would explain how the ship managed to crash so far off course. What about the bodies?"

  "I've instructed the recovery team to dispose of them." Viper felt a sense of guilt, knowing that the crew's families would never see or know what happened to their loved ones.

  "Good. Let me know what you find in Tech City." Just as General Ryuu was about to end the conversation, Viper interrupted.

  "But General, about the captain, he was infected even though the weapon was properly secured. How is that possible?"

  "That's not for you to worry about." Ryuu paused for a moment. "I'll pass on your report to Professor Arturo. Proceed with your mission in Tech City." There was a clicking sound, signifying Ryuu had terminated the call.

  3. SIMON'S STORY

  Tech City, Middle Continent

  Day 11 Month 4 Year 2037

  The Tech City Piano Bar was surrounded by police and news reporters. Around twenty bodies were scattered on the roof top. This was all that was left of the Overlords. Amongst them were Tech City police detectives taking photos and marking various points of interest. The corpses were zipped up into body bags and removed from the scene of the crime. Directly in front of the building on the street, was an explosive red splatter which was all that was left from Alex, after he fell, or rather, was thrown from the top of the sky scraper. Alex was the leader of the Overlords and ran the gang out of the Tech City Piano Bar, but now, thanks to Hunter, they were all dead. Actually, there was one gang member left alive.

  A large truck pulled into a subterranean garage across the street from the piano bar. The truck was covered in sand and dust. It had a noticeable dent on the front grill. As the truck cleared the garage entrance, a steel shutter lowered automatically, concealing what was inside from the busy street. The truck parked in an assigned position and the loud engine was switched off. The driver fell out of the truck and barely landed on his feet when he reached the concrete floor. It was Simon, the last surviving member of the Overlords. He was covered in sweat, wearing baggy trousers and a greasy white shirt. Simon pulled out a cloth handkerchief and dabbed t
he sweat off his forehead so it wouldn’t drip into his eyes. His overweight physique felt like an anchor as he tried to stand up straight and catch his breath. He knew he didn’t have time to waste, he needed to get out of there and away from the piano bar as quickly as possible. He hobbled across the garage to a rusty doorway, which led into a dark metallic stairwell, clutching the railings as he pulled himself up, step by step, wheezing and panting.