by Jan Domagala
A winged creature came straight at the shuttle, its talons reaching for its intended prey as its mouth gaped wide in a screech of primal fury at the interlopers to its domain. Two fighters formed an honour guard in front of the shuttle and both fired their pulse cannons at the creature. Pulsed plasma bolts raked the brightly coloured plumage staining it with the creature’s own blood. As it lost control of its flight, the creature plummeted to the ground, its blood leaving a trail in the air to trace its path to the ground.
Major Solon could see the city approaching as he turned to look out of the lateral portholes. The speed of the approach was frightening as the pilot flew the shuttle on a main burner to get on the ground as fast as he could. Avoiding several of the winged monsters, the pilot of the shuttle eased off on the main burner then fired the landing thrusters. These slowed the shuttle’s descent dramatically, sufficient for the pilot to bring her in for a landing. Those inside the small craft were bounced around in their harnesses that kept them securely in their seats as the shuttle landed heavily on the extended landing struts which absorbed most of the impact of landing through the integral shock absorbers.
It had been a gamble but one that had paid off.
Major Solon was out of his seat first having pressed the release mechanism so the harness could retract into the seat’s backrest. He steadied himself as the craft settled onto the landing struts.
“Okay men, you know what we have to do so let’s get to it,” he said as he ushered his men out of the shuttle and across towards the city entrance. Time was of the essence here as there could be another attack from the indigenous life on this world at any moment.
The first two Black Knights to exit the shuttle formed an honour guard around the hatchway; their ARX260s scanning the area for hostiles. When they shouted “Clear!” the rest of the Marines filed out and headed for the entrance of the city.
Above them the fighters continued their aerial battle with the creatures whose domain they had the temerity to invade.
Solon glanced up towards the sky to see if any of the other shuttles managed to get down to the surface and saw one of them plucked out of the sky as two winged creatures fought over it. With a creature on either end of the shuttle the troopers inside were tossed around before huge talons ripped through the hull to tear it in half. Bodies fell out screaming as they saw their death approach at a frightening speed. Some were even grabbed by other creatures swooping in on the kill. The remains of the damaged shuttle was tossed aside, discarded as no further use right into the path of the third and final shuttle that had got this far. The other three were destroyed in mid-air by either the creatures or friendly fire from the fighters guarding them. The collision of the last shuttle resulted in a fiery explosion that lit up the sky. For a moment the creatures were startled by the flaming debris that rained down on a few of them and actually pulled away from the fight giving the troopers down on the ground the time they needed to gain access to the city.
Solon cursed when he saw the rest of his men die. He ran towards the city thankful for the respite from the onslaught by the winged creatures. He ran through the entrance and almost into the squad of men who were all that remained of those that had started out on this mission.
He looked around at all the frightened faces of his men. These were battle-hardened Marines, the best the Alliance had to offer, but from their expressions he could tell they were frightened out of their minds. Within a few minutes they had seen their forces depleted down to one fifth of the original crew and they were viewing their own mortality as a very precarious commodity.
Solon said, “Come on people, let’s get this done so our comrades did not die in vain,” and then he led them away and deep into the bowels of the city.
II
Kurt stopped in his tracks, all his senses working now on hyper-drive. “We’ve got company,” he said.
“I know, those creatures, I received the call same as you,” Zara replied a little angrily at his confusion.
“No, there are some others who have just entered the city where we did, probably soldiers,” he explained.
Zara looked at him, her brow furrowed in disbelief then she concentrated her hearing, trying to pick out a specific set of sounds that Kurt had tuned into with ease. A smile crossed her sensual lips as she heard it too.
“Probably Alliance Black Knights from the Cronus,” she said with confidence once she too had latched onto the sound. Now it would be stored in her subconscious mind ready to be called upon whenever she needed it.
“This just keeps getting better and better,” Kurt said with a hint of grit in his voice. The odds were beginning to stack up against them even more now but Zara was not fazed. She looked him in the eye and with a mischievous grin said, “Yea, but if it was easy anyone could do it.”
Kurt couldn’t help but smile, her enthusiasm and energy was contagious and he found his darkening mood lifting. Both of them had been given amazing abilities that at first Kurt had viewed as a curse, yet Zara saw it for what it was, a blessing. They were able to do things normal people only dreamt of and they were now in a position to help more and more people. This mission was not about getting one over on the Alliance but about preventing dangerous technology falling into the hands of a General who had been put under enormous pressure to produce results for a failing society. It was a pressure that pushed him beyond the limits of morality that normally he would stay well behind. This was a pressure that had forced him to do things, put countless lives at risk and possibly plunge the two super powers into a war that neither could, nor would, win. If they failed here today their actions would have dire consequences.
Kurt said, “You’re right, we have to move fast.” He smiled at Zara and said, “I have an idea.”
“What?” Zara asked looking at his handsome face. What is going on inside that head of yours Kurt? she thought as she fell in step behind him.
As they quickly made their way deeper inside the city Kurt kept his attention focused on the two threats, one following and the other approaching from in front of them.
“We’re almost there,” Kurt said as he stopped and looked around him. He looked up at the ceiling.
“There,” he said pointing to a hatch in the ceiling above the corridor. He cradled his hands and bent at the waist as he looked at Zara. “I’ll give you a boost, we need to get that hatch open,” he told her.
Beginning to see what he had in mind she placed her foot in his hands, steadied herself with a hand on his shoulder as he hoisted her up to the hatch in the ceiling.
“I can’t see a lock or anything,” she said, then she added, “Hold on.”
She pulled her right arm back then smashed her fist through the hatch cover.
“There you go, found it,” she said with a giggle. She pushed the hatch cover free then pulled herself up into the crawlspace in the ceiling. When she turned around and looked through the hatch opening Kurt was walking away towards the place where he had heard the soldiers approaching.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she said angrily almost screaming the words at him.
“If this is to work then each side must be incensed enough to come running towards the other blindly, without thinking. I’m just going to make sure the Black Knights get angry enough,” Kurt replied and ran off down the corridor before Zara could say or do anything.
As he turned the first corner in the corridor something alerted him. He stopped in his tracks and listened. All his focus was on the sound he had heard, a sound he could never forget. It was the sound of the arachno-feline creatures he had fought the last time he had been in this city. They were closer than he had thought. His mind did a quick calculation and he realised he had made a mistake.
“Kurt, you’d better get your ass back here now,” Zara said nervously and his enhanced hearing picked it up as if she was standing next to him. From her tone she too knew he had made an error of judgement.
He turned around and sprinted for the hatch.
As he rounded the bend he saw the creatures, they were almost at the hatch and he knew he would not make it in time.
III
The Pulsar’s forward section entered Tartaran’s atmosphere piloted by the AI that controlled everything on board. On the bridge Jake and the rest of the Wildfire Team watched the forward viewscreen intently and all the other monitors that gave an all-round view.
“Artie it may be best to go around that aerial battle just to be safe. We don’t want to be delayed by being drawn into it,” Jake suggested.
“As you wish sir,” replied the AI and he steered the craft away from the battle still being waged in the air between the Alliance fighters and the winged creatures that inhabited the planet.
“Those guys don’t stand much of a chance,” Torres muttered as they all watched the fighter planes get attacked, torn apart and tossed around in the air.
“Neither will we if they see through our stealth shield,” Vance replied. As they watched the aerial battle play out they all remembered the last time they were here and the horrors they had faced before leaving. Now they were about to face those horrors once more with the addition of the Alliance Black Knights thrown into the mix for good measure. To say their day had just got worse would be an understatement.
Being careful not to leave too distinct an energy signature trail the Pulsar diverted around the aerial battle, giving all the combatants a wide berth so they could reach the landing pad in one piece. They landed close to the Alliance shuttle and prepared to leave the craft.
“Artie, keep the Pulsar warmed up ready for a fast exit. When we come back out you can guarantee we’ll be moving fast so we’ll want to leave quickly, understood?” Jake said.
“Understood sir, I’ll continue to monitor all your bio signs along with those of Kurt and Zara,” replied the AI.
“Ok, let’s go,” Jake told the others.
They were all dressed in the combat suits with a Remm M25 assault rifle held across their chests, a Sig P999 strapped to their thighs, a K-Bar knife strapped to a quick release holster on their wrists and an assortment of grenades, battery clips and other sundries they would need on a mission, finished with a Rapier battle helmet over their heads.
“I am dropping the stealth shield now sir, you have five seconds to exit the forward section before I have to raise it once more,” said the AI.
“That’s more than we need Artie,” Jake replied as they exited through the hatch and began to sprint across the landing pad towards the city entrance.
They reached the entrance and ran straight through.
“Artie give us a detailed schematic of this place with an overlay of Kurt and Zara’s position as well as that of the Black Knights and the creatures and relay it all through to our NIs,” Jake said when they came to a stop just inside the entrance.
“Done sir,” Artie said through an encoded comm. channel to their NIs.
“Can you extrapolate where we need to go from the data you’ve acquired Artie and send that also?” Jake asked as an afterthought.
This took a little longer as the AI checked all the schematics from the city and collated that with the data from previous missions, including the original landing parties from over fifty years ago, and came up with a theory.
“I have an idea where what you need might be sir. It could be one of several locations which I have sent to your NIs,” the AI said.
“Appreciated Artie, it now gives us an idea of where to go rather than blindly searching the whole city,” Jake said. He looked at the others’ faces, they were reviewing the data that had been sent them and he could tell they had ideas already.
“Okay team, are we ready?” he asked, a question which needed no reply.
17
I
OMEGA HQ, RH426
Matt had wanted to get back to the C and C and try to sabotage OMEGA’s plans from there, but the place was crawling with Rover5s and there was simply no way he could see of getting there undetected. A rethink of his hastily put together plan was needed and he decided to go instead to the main server room, where the guts of the main computer were stored, and try to do something there.
He found the room he had been searching for in a climate-controlled room close to the sub-basement where the fusion reactor was placed. At the end of a corridor was the door to this room but access to it was guarded by two armed Rover5s. They scanned the corridor that ran laterally from where they stood. It was only the curvature in the corridor that prevented him running straight into them. Seeing them at the very last minute he managed to pull up and stop.
He could not approach them without being seen and they, by that time, knew what he looked like and would be on the lookout for him. He only had one choice left to him, an all-out frontal assault.
He ejected the battery clip from the butt of the Magerov P12 to check its load. A green light indicated it had a full charge and he rammed it back in place then jacked the slide to prime the weapon.
He took a few deep breaths to slow down his pulse and help him stay focused. When he was ready he moved out into their line of sight with the pistol up ready to fire.
He had his targets in sight and fired off two rapid shots for each. The twin double taps struck each Rover5 in the torso, no fancy headshots this time; he couldn’t take the risk of missing or only wounding them. The air around them misted with blood as the pulsed plasma bolts struck the torso of each clone. The kinetic energy transfer from each bolt slammed them against the wall before they slid to the ground, dead.
Matt approached the two clones and a quick examination of the carotid artery of each told him they were dead. He opened the door to the server room and entered dragging each dead body with him, making sure the door was closed behind him. Anyone passing would see two dead bodies and would investigate, whereas if they were not at their post they would just get reported.
The room before him was like most of the rooms in this base, massive. Rock walls lifted up to a low ceiling that had vents carved into them for the air to escape. Along the walls were huge cooling units powered by a small generator that ran independently from the main reactor. The server was at the far end of the room and had a simple keypad to manually access the programs or to input new codes. It was a safety protocol most main servers used to limit where access could be gained. It would be too easy to sabotage a server from a wireless connection via an NI from a safe distance putting the base at risk along with everyone working there.
He had some experience in hacking into secure mainframes and he planned to use this to gain access into this mainframe. To do that though he had to be physically at the terminal. He planned to input either a virus that would wipe out the memory core or at the very least slow down their progress somehow. What exactly he would do was not set in concrete, as always he was flying by the seat of his pants on this one. Making it up as he went along seemed to be his forte, he just hoped he would not come unstuck this time as his superiors had so often warned him.
This time though, he had backup and he was confident that his plan would work given who his backup was.
Accessing the comm. channel he had used earlier he said, “Hacker, are you in place?”
II
“I’m here Matt,” Hacker replied. He was standing by the terminal ready to input commands into the computer controlling the life pods containing the clones.
“Can you access the main server from there, using that computer as a back door somehow?” asked Matt as he stood at the terminal to the main server.
“Give me a few minutes,” Hacker said.
Guardian and the rest of the Red Team by that time had caught up with the young soldier and were standing next to him, rifles up to their shoulders, scanning for a target.
“We don’t have a few minutes Hacker, make this fast,” Guardian said without taking his eyes from the interior of the room.
Hacker nodded to indicate he had heard and would comply then said, “Matt, I’ll be as quick as I can so be ready. I’m
uploading the Hades virus to the clones’ NIs now.”
“Wait, you’re doing what?” Matt asked concerned - no more than just concerned - suddenly he was terrified. The Hades virus had almost caused the extinction of the human race a short time ago, a virus that had been uploaded to a test batch of Marines’ NIs as a shortcut to making a super soldier. It was supposed to boost the output of adrenalin and mask pain but a certain general had wanted aggression boosted as well. The scientist in charge had the bright idea of having the code travel from NI to NI as soon as another came within range. It would also search out other NIs when they came near to quicken the rate that the program could be assimilated within a number of Marines. What followed was a complete debacle, the code acted like a virus and the aggression factor was boosted to the point that anyone infected immediately attacked the nearest person to them. An orgy of violence was initiated and if it hadn’t been for the quick thinking of a young Captain Sinclair in isolating those infected, the virus would have spread throughout the entire human race with no survivors. The Red Team stumbled upon all this recently when a scorched earth policy of the late Jonas Wilde had been initiated. They managed to prevent a disaster of galactic proportions when they again sealed off the initial infection site.
To hear that Hacker was using the same virus made Matt wonder if the young Marine’s sanity had been infected on his last mission.
“Don’t worry Matt, it’s not the same virus but a derivative and I’ve made sure it targets only the Rover5s,” Hacker said in a calm voice.
“What will it do?” Matt wanted to know, still worried by the outcome of this plan.
“I’ve changed the parameters of the code used and made it so they turn their aggression only against other Rover5s. They instinctively recognise each other so this code will only make them turn on themselves. It’ll save us the job of hunting them down, they’ll do it for us,” explained the young Marine with a hint of pride in his voice.
