Mina had pulled up at the perimeter of the room, at the ready with her pulse laser trained on the pod. Claire flanked her to one side, kneeling to open the armored pod on her back and let Rayne out, while Jill was on the other side, her miniature sun out and primed to go. It only took me a moment to realize why they were on guard because some shape was moving in that translucent capsule.
“If anybody knows what that thing is, give me answers,” I shouted over coms as I skidded to a halt, hammer raised and ready to smash. “Claire? Jill? We need brains on this.”
It wasn’t either of them who answered first. It was Rayne, scrambling free of her protective shell and dripping inertial dampening goop, who spoke up, eyes going wide with wonder as she took in the scene.
“Amazing! An Acburian bio-engineering pod, intact and fully functioning!” She could have squealed with schoolgirl delight, and I wouldn’t have been surprised. “It’s what the Acburians use to tinker with various sub-species to create new ones and new variations on existing species. We have such fragmentary understanding of how they work … the opportunity here is world-shaking!”
The shape in the pod thrashed, and I stepped forward. Mina knelt down next to me, into a marksman’s crouch, and aimed. “Doc, I hate to say this, but I have a bad feeling all you’ll have to study will be debris in a few moments.”
At times, I am a fortune teller. As if on cue, a bit too on cue if you asked me, the pod split open, fluorescent green slime gushing out of the purposeful cut in the membrane, as a twisted, three-armed monstrosity staggered out of it. The horror of what lay before us sunk in before I could fully take in its form, but one thing was certain.
This thing was entirely Acburian but it sure as hell wasn’t human either.
28
The mutant part-man, part-Acburian goliath lurched towards us, exoskeleton melting and sliding like melted wax under pink flesh seemingly at random. Its hairless head was misshapen, covered by a clear shell like a helmet, with one compound and two eerily human eyes, mandibles tearing bloodily through the skin of the cheeks. One skinny human arm flailed helplessly out of the center of its bug-like chest while two scythe arms, the same as any normal Acburian ground trooper, waved crazily about it.
It was no surprise that the nameplate that flashed over its head was simply Unknown Acburian Unit, though a surprising R&D Kill Bonus! of 10,000 credits popped up.
More than any real threat, this … thing looked pathetic, a screaming, wailing affront to God that needed to be put out of its misery. The sheer body horror of the thing left us all gaping for a moment. Part of my mind thought of Billy Langham, and I searched for the briefest of moments for something of him in this twisted mess before us.
I shut down that part of my mind quick, fast, and in a hurry. Billy was dead, and no matter what advances medical science makes, dead is fucking dead. Even if those bastards ripped his body from the sands here to play with, even if part of that body was in this monster, Billy was gone. That body was just an heirloom, something to be kept safe and sacred but not the man himself.
“Put this thing down,” I growled as I let go of my Warhammer and raised my open palm. “Particle blaster, Annabelle, right through its brains.”
I swear there was a hint of disgust in her computerized voice as if even the cold, unfeeling AI knew that this thing before us was wrong. “My pleasure, Lieutenant.”
A surge of charged particles ripped out of the emitter on my palm, just as the whole of Artemis Squad complied with my orders. We were of a like mind, that this was a slap in the face of all humanity. A hail of telekinetic arrows, pulse laser beams, small arms fire, and my own blaster bolts rained down on the pathetic beast as it shrieked, flailed, and mewled in sounds that were all too human for my liking.
Though half-formed and obviously a failure, what the Acburians had created was tough as hell. It took us a good twenty seconds of our full-force barrage to actually kill the thing, one last bolt from my blaster caving in its skull to put it under. If the bugs had managed to perfect this hybrid bug monster, it might have put up a fight equal to any of the elite bugs, things so nasty that even I didn’t want to tangle with them if I could avoid it.
As the smoke started to clear, the air filled with the scents of charred flesh and burning bug bits, Rayne rushed to the side of the corpse, producing a complex, hand-held scanner from her wristband. “Oh, please, please say that the Acburians did not do what I think they did.”
Mina glanced at me as I followed in Rayne’s path. “Mark, that twister is only going to scare them off for so long.”
“Right,” I nodded. “You and the girls secure the area, keep watch. We’ll use their own defenses against them.” I glanced at Claire. “If Rayne needs your medical expertise, I’ll holler.”
Mina nodded while Claire shot me a salute. “Don’t hesitate.”
“I’m going to set the sun up behind the main gates,” Jill reported as she headed out of the room. “Give them a nasty surprise if they take the front entrance.”
“Good idea,” I grunted. “Listen to Mina, as if I need to tell you that, and keep me in the loop.” I turned my glance to the ravaged body as Rayne passed her scanner over it. “We’ll deal with things here.”
Artemis Squad broke off into action, Mina organizing the fortification, as I turned down to Rayne still fussing over the rapidly decaying mutant. “So, is this thing what I think it is, Doc?”
Her big blue eyes closed as she let out a soft sigh. “It is, Mark.” She opened them slowly as she glanced up at me. “I can’t confirm if they used PFC Langham’s body or not, the DNA is too degraded and entangled from their experiments, but this is a hybrid of a human and a standard Acburian soldier.”
I wanted to put a few more blasts into the thing’s chest before slagging the entire suite of equipment here, but I held off. Wrecking the place before Rayne had a look around might screw us from ending the bugs once and for all. There might still be human tissue samples she could plant the virus in, at least that was what I hoped.
“I’m going to guess from that we can’t put the virus into this thing, right?” I asked.
“Correct,” Rayne nodded as she pushed up to her feet. “The catalyst is human DNA, pure to at least 89.3%, alongside the natural biochemical agents on this moon. This … whatever you wish to deem it … falls well under those parameters.”
Of course. “What about their mad scientist kit here?” I gestured with my hammer at the bio-engineering pod. “Any chance they have samples for study in that thing or there are parts of Billy’s body still buried here?”
“It’s worth a look.” Rayne moved to the bizarre techno-organic thing sitting in the middle of the chamber, an array of spindly manipulator arms sprouting from her bracers. “Fascinating. I think this is a first in the scientific field, to actually interface with Acburian bio-computers! If the situation weren’t so dire, I’d be positively giggling with delight.”
As much as I didn’t agree, I couldn’t blame her. My love was killing bugs, hers was playing with their toys. To each his or her own. “Let me know what you find. We aren’t leaving this moon until you’ve done the deed.”
I turned to keep watch as Rayne went to work. Reports from the squad filtered in, Jill watching the main gate, Claire patrolling the perimeter, while Mina took a perch on a sniper’s nest she found at the top of the dome. So far, so good, and no sign of a returning force.
Still, the suns were up now and with daybreak, Queen Anya’s forces would be on the move. Soon, I’d have to decide if we were going to make a stand here or get back on the move.
I started to mull that over when Annabelle spoke up. “Lieutenant Ryder, priority transmission from Commission Reynolds. As per protocols, I am opening channels in three seconds.”
That’s exactly what I needed, some war-profiteering autocrat up my ass, no doubt to try to get us killed. But I didn’t have a choice. Annabelle, no matter how advanced of an AI and how much she was on my side, would ultimately b
end to the will of the Alliance. It was in her programming, after all.
Maybe I could use that rigid adherence to our advantage, but I’d have to figure that out later. For the moment, I had to deal with the voice of authority that was now harping in my ear.
“Lieutenant Ryder, this is Commissioner Reynolds,” that voice barked. “I’m alarmed that you didn’t update me on your mission status at the start of the day cycle there.”
I kept the grumble out of my voice. I had to keep Reynolds strung along for as long as possible, because the last thing we needed was for him to pull the plug on us, not that I think he would unless he was desperate. “My apologies, Commissioner. If you check our suits’ logs, you will note that we started on the move off normal hours to take advantage of enemy movements. I was in the middle of combat at daybreak, and we have just finished securing our position.”
“Ah, I see.” There was a pause, and I could almost feel the wheels behind Reynolds’s weaselly eyes turning. “That is acceptable, Ryder. So, then, what is your current situation? Our sensors show you at the mission objective now.”
“Yes, sir.” I looked around and wondered just how much data they had from our suits. Glancing at the mutated corpse still sizzling on the ground, I decided to see if I could out-fox the weasel. “The area is secure, all Acburians either dead or driven off, but Dr. Garmin has yet to deliver the package.”
I needed to stall him while at the same time giving him no reasonable out to scrub the mission. Any evac he proposed would be a death trap, judging by what happened earlier, but as long as there seemed to be a chance we would succeed, he couldn’t order us to leave, not with so many ears listening in on and recording Alliance transmissions. If there was any evidence he had either ordered the deaths of the two greatest heroes of the Infinity Marines or had us scrub a mission that could have ended the war, Reynolds was done, no matter his political power.
“Is the package a dud?” the Commission pressed. “Has there been a complication?”
“No, sir,” I said quickly, playing the dumb jarhead for his pleasure. “We are prepping for delivery now, at least that’s what the doctor told us. You know I’m no science man, sir, just a simple Marine. If she says things are going fine, they are, sir.”
There was another long pause. I knew what was going on, the calculations of a sleazy bureaucrat deciding if he could get away with something or not.
Finally, Reynolds spoke up. “Keep me appraised then, Lieutenant. We are eagerly watching your progress and praying for your success!”
I’m sure if any grassfed or civilian had heard his voice, they’d have believed every word he just said. Me, I knew he was lying through his teeth. Still, I bought us a little more time, time we’d need as I expected reports that the bugs were moving in any moment now.
“Yes, sir,” I said smartly. “I should have an update for you soon. Ryder out.”
“Channels closed with Alliance Hall, Lieutenant,” Annabelle reported. “Should I set an alarm to remind you to report back to the Commissioner?”
“Sure,” was my off-hand reply as I turned towards Rayne, still hard at work on the Acburian pod. “While you’re at it, do you know if there are any upgrades on the Market that upgrade your autonomous function? You know, your ability to function outside of a connection to the Alliance?”
If an emotionless AI could sound suspicious, that would be how I’d characterize her reply. “Why would I need to do that, Lieutenant Ryder? My new high-priority connection should ensure a 99.7% increase in stability to all functionality.”
“Come on, Annabelle. How many times have we found out what should be absolutely secure isn’t?” I sighed heavily, trying to emphasize frustration. “I’m sure you remember when that bug queen took you over and shut you down like you were nothing? Do you want to take that risk again, now that we are entrusted with such an incredibly important mission? You heard the Commissioner.”
Check and mate. I could hear her algorithms caving in. “You’re absolutely correct, Lieutenant, as you so often are. I will put together a list of suggested upgrades for maximum independence. Do you wish me to forward this list to the rest of your squad?”
I nodded. It was obvious even to a grunt like me that Rayne hadn’t cracked the nut of that computer yet. “Do it. And …” It took me a long moment before I actually said the next bit, as in every way it broke from the principles that had let me survive until that point. “If any of the girls don’t have the coin to buy them, I’ll buy it after we’re covered. No limits. Spend my whole bank if you have to.”
“Are you certain?” Even Annabelle knew that this was out of character for me.”
“Do it.”
Why would I do that, you might ask? That was simple. While my golden rules had kept me alive, they had only kept me alive. That was fine for the most part, but now, with the Alliance itself starting to work against me, Della’s fate unknown, and the first squad I actually cared about on the line, it was time to stop being selfish. It was time to break the bank, poke the powers that be in the eye, and kick every ass on this planet. Whatever it took for us to win and get out of it alive!
29
My orders to that effect couldn’t have come a moment too soon. Rayne’s increasingly frowning lips didn’t fill me with hope that she’d be able to do the job here, at least quickly, even if she didn’t say so aloud. Even as Annabelle worked her magic and my coins washed away like mud in a flood, Mina’s voice echoed over the coms.
“Nap time is over, ladies and gentlemen,” she reported from her lookout. “I’m getting pings on the edge of my sensor range. We’ve really stirred up the nest this time.”
I nodded, even though none of the squad could see me. “I guess we should have expected that. Ladies, synch up sensor feeds and get ready to squash some bugs. The doc is still working away down here, so we need to buy time.”
Claire piped in as Artemis Squad’s feeds overlaid on my own HUD. “I’m not sure about all these upgrades you want us to buy. I mean, sure, you’re buying but why do we need all this crap to fight bugs?”
Of course, she would be the one to question me on this. I could already hear Mina about to slap her subordinate down, but I decided to take the heat on this one. “First, we don’t have time to argue. Second, even though I have Reynolds off our backs for the moment, remember what happened the last time the queen bee showed up. Sure, R & D might be certain they figured out how she could shut us down before, but I’m not going to trust the basic suit protections, are you?”
In the back of my mind, of course, I still had the Commissioner’s narrow eyes in mind. No matter what happened here, we would be going against him next and countermeasures or not, he had the authority to turn us off. These upgrades might let me, and through me, us, keep fighting. Della’s life was almost certainly at stake, and I wasn’t going to risk not being able to save her any more than I’d risk anyone here on this shit hole of a moon.
“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can’t argue,” the medic sighed, almost immediately followed by Jill’s laughter.
“That’d be a first, Claire.”
“Can it, the lot of you,” Mina barked, “and look alive. I’m getting visuals now.”
The erratic blips on our synched sensors turned into coherent dots, even as a small frame in the corner of my faceplate shifted to Mina’s suit cameras. At the top of the same massive dune we made our assault from, a disciplined line of Acburian ground troops was massing. It was a sight that even made me pause, at least fifty elites, the worst of the worst when it came to the standard bug sub-species, heavily armored in Ellebruim plates and wielding a nasty array of spears and swords. The elites almost exclusively used melee weapons as opposed to their own built-in natural ones, giving me hope that we could pick them off as they made their advance.
The only thing that worried me was that there were still plenty more blips on the sensor sweeps that I couldn’t visually account for.
“They are massing on
one side,” I noted. “Mina, keep on the look-out. Claire, Jill, converge on the wall on that side. I’ll meet you there.” As I started to stalk in that direction, I turned to look at Rayne, her brow contorting in concentration and sweat starting to bead on her brow. “I don’t want to sound like I’m rushing you, Rayne, but I am. The biggest bug army I’ve ever seen is massing at the gates, and we’re running out of time.”
She cocked her heads toward me, full lips almost pouting in frustration. “Science cannot be rushed, Mark, but I’ll do my best. I did take samples from the mutant hybrid, and perhaps, if worst comes, I can try to inject the virus into it but …” The way her voice trailed off didn’t make it seem as if she had much faith in that scenario.
I set my jaw. “Then we’ll make you the time. Keep at it, Doc.” Turning back to the gate and moving into a hustle, I said to Annabelle, “Get me my pulse laser. Swap power from shields to the laser for now, but keep a reserve in case Anya shows and tries to hack you again.”
“Right away, Lieutenant Ryder, an excellent choice in our tactical situation,” Annabelle praised in her emotionless way. “If the Acburians attempt to take over my systems again, rest assured with these latest upgrades, I will be more than ready to defend my honor.”
I arched an eyebrow at her peculiar choice of words, but I didn’t bother to press. Honestly, I was more than happy with Annabelle’s quirkiness, especially after her upgrade. Maybe I was rubbing off on her. That was a quaint thought, one that made me chuckle as my pulse laser materialized in my hands, thrumming with power as Annabelle over-charged it.
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