by Tom Chattle
"Should we take it?" Chen wondered aloud.
Bauer grimaced. "I'd rather not take the chance. Best we go back the way we came and try and find the original doorway in the chamber we found Wilde."
Without warning, the opening they had entered the room from slammed shut.
"Damnit!" Bauer shouted. "Gunny, get that door back open."
Haynes directed two Marines to the door, then followed them while pulling a lightweight pry bar from the side of his suit. Examining the doorway, he tried to find a seam to insert the lever but turned and shook his head. "I can't find the damn edge." He curled the fist of his exo-suit tight, and a whine built up momentarily before he slammed it into the door. With no visible impact on the surface, he turned to Bauer and shrugged.
Bauer pursed her lips. "I don't want to blow through it for the same reason we didn't blow the console. We have no idea how much damage these things can take or how stable the surrounding structure is."
"Well," Chen folded her arms, eying the new exit the mountain had opened before them, "I guess the decision is made for us, then."
- 21 -
2208.02.20 // 00:18
Alien mountain, Arcturus b
Winding through unknown passages, they eventually stumbled upon the resting place of Private Tanner. Whether blind luck or something else, they had no explanation for how or why the tunnels had guided them back to their previous path. They somberly added her to the procession and carefully traced their steps back through the cavern filled with alien skeletons.
If entering the mountain had been bad, the apprehension Chen felt leaving it—head filled with Wilde's outlandish descriptions and the strange sights they'd seen inside—was far worse. Every distant howl of the wind, every drip of moisture from overhead put her on edge. Picking up the pace, she caught up with Bauer, whose rifle was up and scanning the darkness, flashlight beam piercing brilliant holes into the gloom. "Any signs of life?"
Bauer glanced sideways briefly, before focusing back ahead. "From the sounds of it, if we'd found anything, everyone would know."
"Right." Chen fell back a few steps. Although she'd been suitably professional since they entered the city, it felt like Alex was still upset at her, and Chen had absolutely no idea how to fix it. She'd been far too cavalier in her attitude when they started out; the reality of the mission—the realities Alex had tried to impress upon her—was setting in hard.
The team slowed as they reached the entrance of the tunnel. The city outside was quiet and still; even the howling wind had died back to just the occasional, mournful gust. What had been eerie when they had come through it the first time in the fading light, was now just plain creepy.
Chen shivered and watched her breath fog in the air before her. The temperature outside was in stark contrast to the cool but stable temperature they'd experienced inside the mountain. She and Moreau had never been dressed for a deep freeze in the first place—probably shortsighted of them—and now the air had a distinct icy quality to it.
She turned to Moreau. "Any data on just how cold it's going to get?"
"It's hard to say," Moreau replied. "The temperature seemed stable enough, but the planet has a very slow rotation for its size, and we hadn't been in orbit long enough to monitor conditions on the night side."
Chen grimaced. Not spending the time to properly understand the planet was partly a side effect of the haste to rescue Wilde's team, partly inexperience on her part. No doubt a more seasoned commander would have ordered the necessary investigation.
She huddled into her lightweight jacket. "Well, let's hope it doesn't get too much colder."
Bauer overheard the conversation and turned back to face them. "Our exo-suits will keep us warm, but we can't have the three of you turning into icicles. If it gets too bad before we get back to the shuttle, we'll have to set up camp for the night."
That option clearly didn't please Wilde, the worried scowl on her face deepening at the suggestion. Chen couldn't blame her. Even she was ready to be out of this place now. Fleet Command could come back with an armada and deal with whatever supposed threats might lurk here; the Valiant was not cut out for this scenario, even in its prime.
The landing team made slow progress, trudging between the desolate spires. It seemed to Chen that it was taking twice as long to leave the city as it had to enter it. Lugging the stretchers that carried the bodies of Wilde's producer and Tanner, along with the ever-increasing cold was slowing them down far too much.
Chen lagged behind the rest of the team, peering at the pillars they passed. Some of them were empty—columns she could have sworn contained statues when they had passed by hours before. Not all of them, just one here and there. Chen passed a hand across her eyes. She must be tired. There had been far too much to take in for one day. She faced forward and almost bumped into Moreau in the dark. The ensign had stopped and was peering up to the sky.
"Look!" she marveled, eyes sparkling with wonder.
Following her gaze, it took Chen a moment to realize what she was talking about. Through the faint, shimmering haze of the city's shield, magnetic storms were twisting across the sky, an aurora of the deepest reds, blues, and purples. Even the Marines took to staring up at the heavens, momentarily bewitched by the sight, their guard lowering.
A piercing screech cut through the night and echoed around the city, chilling Chen to her core. Rifles snapped back up as everyone was torn from their brief moment of safety. Bright, searching beams of light scanned the shadows for the source of the eerie howl.
"What the fuck was that?" Kaufman yelled from ahead, an edge to his voice.
Bauer motioned him to be silent, kneeling with her rifle aimed. "Moreau, do you detect anything?"
Mirroring the Marine's crouch, Moreau peered at her scanner. "There are some strange readings, but I can't make anything out." She paused for a moment, "Wait, there's something..."
"What kind of something?" Bauer asked, eyes darting back and forth across the shadowy cityscape.
"I don't know..." Moreau's head shot up. "But it's heading this way."
A gentle ping emanated from the device, repeating a moment later.
"Which direction?" Bauer snapped, muzzle jerking around, hunting for targets that weren't there.
Moreau pointed back near the direction they had come from as the scanner pinged ever faster, now sounding to Chen like a rapid, ghostly heartbeat.
Chen took direction from the uneasy stances and worried glances of the Marines and slid her sidearm from the holster clamped to her thigh. She primed the compact plasma weapon and held it ready and aimed to the floor, positioning herself between Wilde and the approaching...whatever it was.
With the ranging pings now an almost constant, single tone, Chen held her breath. A faint skittering noise echoed from the spires around them, insect-like; chitinous claws tapping on hard surfaces. Another screech emanated from the dark. Her heart pounded. Then a sudden burst of fire took her off guard, making her jump.
"Cease fire!" Haynes yelled.
There was a long moment of uncertain silence before the pings reversed in intensity, slowly moving away from them. Chen let out a lungful of air which misted in the freezing, then flipped the safety on her weapon and replaced it back in the holster.
"Damn it, Kaufman," Haynes hissed.
"What? It scared them off, right?" the sergeant replied, jutting out his chin. "I'm not waiting for whatever the fuck is out there to present itself nicely."
Shaking his head, Haynes shouldered past him.
Bauer rose from her crouch, eying the darkness warily. "Okay, let's move back out before anything else tries to take a look at us. Moreau, keep an eye out for anything at all, however small."
"Yes, ma'am," Moreau replied through chattering teeth.
His rifle still held rigidly to his shoulder, Kaufman snickered ahead in the dark. "Earther pussies can't handle the cold."
"Can it, Kaufman," Bauer snapped. "Moreau, what's the temperature?"
"Uhh, minus five degrees Celsius and dropping." She paused for a moment. "Now minus six."
No wonder the ends of Chen's fingers were starting to go numb.
Bauer grimaced at the readout. "We better make camp. We aren't even halfway to the shuttle." She eyed Chen, Moreau, and Wilde. The holo-star was shivering in the leather jacket she'd donned after the crash. "You three aren't going to make it if the temperature keeps dropping at this rate. We don't have anything thicker for you to wear, and the thermal generators won't power on if they detect they're moving."
"No!" Wilde rushed forward and grasped Bauer's bulky arm. "We have to get out of here."
Bauer took a patient breath. "Look, Ms. Wilde, we either find a place to make camp, or you freeze to death. Your choice."
Wilde folded her arms and pouted. "This won't end well."
Hoping to forestall any arguments, Chen took Wilde by the arm. "Katrina, we can't make it back to our shuttle if the temperature keeps dropping like it is—it's too far, and we have too much slowing us down. We have a lot of Marines to keep us safe down here." She scanned the darkness. "We'll make camp, ride out the night, and get back safely tomorrow."
"We'll see," Wilde said cryptically, before she stormed away, a frightened scowl fixed on her face.
Chen grimaced at the woman's obvious anxiety, then turned back to Bauer. "So, we're setting up camp here? I wish we could contact the Valiant to let them know."
Bauer surveyed the area quickly. "No, too cramped. With all these tall buildings and twisting streets, I don't want us to be ambushed by whatever those things were. It sounded like they were climbing the damn walls. We need somewhere open—somewhere we can have a comfortable perimeter and clear lines of fire without being surprised."
Moreau checked her scanner. "There's a wide intersection up ahead. It almost seems like a square or something."
Bauer glanced at Moreau's readings, nodding curtly. "Plenty of open space to see things coming. No tall buildings around it. That will do."
The landing party made their way to the designated area with trepidation. Everyone was on edge, but no more of the mysterious creatures showed up on the scanner.
"Okay, Alpha team establish a perimeter and take the first watch, Bravo and Charlie set up camp." Bauer turned to Chen, "Let's get you warm."
- 22 -
2208.02.20 // 01:15
Alien city, Arcturus b
Thirty minutes later, a small camp had been hastily erected with seven compact, two-person hab-tents clustered in the middle of the broad junction. Alpha team patrolled the edges of the camp, weapons at the ready as they scanned the shadowy structures nearby. A small thermal generator sat at the center of the tents and Chen, Moreau, and Wilde clustered around it for warmth, holding canteens full of steaming soup that one of the Marines had handed them.
Chen noticed that Wilde kept glancing nervously into the darkness that surrounded them. The young holo-star was understandably suffering some major elements of post-traumatic stress, but Chen needed to know more about why they had even made the journey to the Arcturus system. She couldn't decide whether asking her now would force Wilde to relive more bad memories or whether it would take her mind off their current situation.
Chen finished a mouthful of soup and wiped her lips with the back of her glove. Clearing her throat, she turned to Wilde. "So, Katrina, can you tell us why you came out here in the first place?"
Wilde directed her gaze back to the fire, pulling her jacket tightly around her. "Well, you know what my show is about, of course?"
Moreau nodded fervently, her eager eyes reflecting the warm glow of the generator. "I watch it all the time. I'm a big fan of yours."
A smile tugged at the corners of Wilde's mouth. "It's always nice to meet a fan, even out here."
The enthusiasm Moreau had for this woman's work was strange to Chen, but she had mentioned that it had been a shared interest between her and her mother, something Chen could hardly relate to. "I'm sorry, I'm not really familiar with it."
Wilde jerked her head back as if Chen had slapped her, the hints of a smile vanishing from her face. "Really?" She looked to Moreau, who shrugged. "Oh, well the general premise for each episode is an investigation into a mysterious tale, rumor, or legend. My research team back on Earth found some interesting scraps of information from a few thousand years ago in ancient Babylonia."
"They're still finding new stuff there?" Chen asked, surprised. "I thought that whole region was heavily damaged during the last war."
Wilde pursed her lips at the interruption. "It's hard to bomb underground tunnels." Composing herself, she angled back toward Moreau, and Chen could see the change in her demeanor as she went back to telling her story. "An archaeological expedition recently discovered a set of ancient stone tablets hinting at contact with a group of 'gods' that descended from the heavens on a fiery chariot."
"Oh, I bet that was a crashing starship!" Moreau exclaimed. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, hanging on every word Wilde spoke.
"It's certainly possible." Wilde nodded. "They spoke of these gods as tall, but colored as the evening sky, claiming they were on the run from terrible demons."
"Wait, so there are definitely two alien races?" Chen asked, scratching her nose. It was what she'd assumed after the remains they'd found in the chamber of death, but hearing Wilde talk about them like they were almost mystical cast them in a different light.
"Maybe. The limited descriptions don't match any of the things that must have made this place." Wilde took another sip of soup, steam rising into the frigid air.
As mysterious as it was, her explanation didn't seem to add up to Chen. "And that was enough to bring you all the way out past the edges of colonized space?"
Holding up her finger, Wilde swallowed and shook her head. "No, that's the most intriguing part. Another tablet had what looked like a star map on it. Running it through the computer, adjusting positions of the constellations for time, it seemed that the target was a very bright star that would match quite well with the Arcturus system, which humanity has known about for millennia." Wilde was now warming to her story, leaning forward conspiratorially. "And the cherry on top of the cake? When we started investigating the Arcturus system, one of my team found something very interesting. There were telltale markers in the fleet archives that the files on the Arcturus system had been modified, scrubbed of information."
Chen frowned. "Wait, are you telling me—"
"That someone knew there was a planet here all along?" Wilde nodded eagerly. "Exactly."
"Now, hold on a minute." Chen was trying to wrap her brain around Wilde's implications. "Why would somebody want to scrub the archives like that?"
"Well," Moreau spoke up, "maybe they knew about the aliens and hid it?"
Wilde pointed at the ensign, eyebrows jumping up. "Exactly! She gets it!"
"But, why?" Chen questioned as Moreau's eyes glistened with pride at Wilde's compliment. "Why would they hide that information?"
Wilde's gaze dropped to the ground, shoulders sagging as she kicked the dusty floor with her boot. "That's what Kit wanted to know. We hoped we might find something out here that gave a good reason. All we know is the data seemed to have been scrubbed sometime during the Third System War."
"I have a hard time believing someone could erase parts of the archive without other people knowing." Chen pinched the bridge of her nose. The fleet archives were the single most powerful data source in the Union. Someone who had the power to discretely remove entire chunks of it...
Moreau frowned. "When I was going through the records back on the Valiant, I did notice some irregularities with the files."
"The date stamps on the files?" Wilde asked, grinning when Moreau nodded. "That's what we saw, too."
The idea of just what such information meant was starting to give Chen a headache. If they had known what was waiting for them in the Arcturus system, they could have been prepared. Someone tampering with the archives an
d taking that chance of knowing what lay in wait for them was a serious allegation.
Staring up at the shadows that loomed around them, Chen frowned. "Whatever the truth, it's not something we can do anything about out here. I don't think we're going to find much more information on what this place is." She sighed. "Nothing we've come across yet has given any hint as to what these aliens were doing here or that anyone back home knew about them." A cold chill crept up her arms. "I think we should get inside." Chen pointed at the heater before them. "The temperature is dropping too quickly for this thing to keep up." She stood, her tired muscles protesting at the movement. "You two take one of the central tents. Try and get some sleep before tomorrow."
Chen watched the pair leave and enter one of the low-slung tents. If Wilde's information was accurate, it was significant. Someone with the power to wipe sections of the Fleet archives...
Whatever the reason, it would have to go far up the chain of command. Why someone would hide this, that was beyond Chen's reasoning, at least for tonight.
- 23 -
2208.02.20 // 01:50
Overnight camp, Arcturus b
Chen was satisfied that Wilde and Moreau were as comfortable in one of the cramped tents as they could be given the environment. She crossed to the neighboring tent, crouched through the low entryway, and sat on one of the narrow, inflatable cots. A wave of exhaustion rolled over her, and she slid off her jacket, crouched, and adjusted the environmental unit to warm up the compact tent further. The outside chill radiated through the thin walls despite the insulation.
Any limited sense of security the tents gave them was probably false, but every little thing helped on this bizarre, hostile planet. Muscles that had been worked heavily on the long, arduous trek through the city began to ache the moment Chen relaxed, and she rolled her neck to try and stretch the hours of tension out.
