by Ben Hammott
Mikhail glanced between the console and the ship's floor plan diagrams and nodded. “It's logical the alien crew would need some way of manually controlling and distributing power around the ship.” He pointed at the larger symbol beside a lever on one of the many raised sections that covered the long console, separating them from each other. “I assume the levers cut the power to the marked level, and the switches in the same section control the power to each room on that level.”
Brusilov was eager to move on. “I'm sure it's all very interesting, but if it doesn't help us find what we're searching for, it's of no use. We can't risk remaining in one place for too long.”
“It may not help us find the armory, Captain,” said Nikolay, “But it could delay our competition, the British and Americans.”
He had caught the captain's attention. “How?”
“If we can kill the power to the levels they are on, it could slow them down and buy us some time.” Nikolay glanced at Mikhail. “Can you work out the power controls for the upper three or four levels?”
After Mikhail had scanned the controls and the floor plans again, he nodded. “I think so. All we have to do is match up the symbols and flick the switch.”
Brusilov liked the idea and smiled. They needed every advantage they could get. “Do it.” He turned to the rest of the men. “While he's doing that, the rest of you set up a defensive position in case of attack.”
Mikhail moved across the control panel while shooting glances at the deck plans on the wall before he stopped and glanced at Nikolay. “I think I've found the controls for the top levels. Shall I kill the power?”
Nikolay nodded.
Mikhail pushed one of the power levers from down to its up position. The lights on the raised panel beside it turned from green to red, an indication something had changed. He did the same with the next three upper level levers he had picked out and stepped away from the console.
“All done,” stated Mikhail. “The Americans should now be stumbling around in the dark.”
“I'm sure even the Americans aren't stupid enough not to bring some kind of light with them,” said Brusilov, “but the darkness should slow them down and perhaps any closed doors they come to won't be opened so easily. Now let's move. We have a lot to do and little time to do it.”
Map Room
RICHARD POINTED AT the open door a short distance along the corridor and, with some relief, stated, “That's the room you're looking for.”
Colbert called the SEALs to a halt and scrutinized the opening ahead. It had taken them longer to reach than he had expected. Their damn fool of a guide had led them in the wrong direction twice before realizing his mistake. He looked at Richard. “Are you certain this time?”
Richard nodded vaguely. “I think so. It's not my fault all the corridors and doors look the same in this part of the ship.”
Colbert picked out two men. “Sullivan, Cleveland, check it out.”
The two men moved to the doorway and peered inside before entering. Their eyes and weapons swept the room as they walked to the balcony and peered into the lower level. They assumed the strange table below was the one they searched for. Ignoring it for the moment, they descended the ramp and searched the room.
“All clear,” called out Cleveland.
The others entered and joined them on the circular platform with the map table at its center.
Richard pointed at the control panel Jane had used to operate the map table. The screen was lit, indicating it still had power. “That's what we used to operate the 3D blueprint of the ship.”
Ramirez, the team's computer wizard, moved to the controls and studied the screen. He shifted through a few menus and selected the option to show the complete spaceship. Fingers of the gel-like substance rose into the air, stretched horizontally and morphed into a detailed model of the ship's interior.
Though the men had been told about the map table, they were still stunned by the amazing technology. Even Richard, who had only seen part of the ship before, was shocked by the ship's immense size and the amount of floor levels and rooms it contained, some of which were far larger than those he and the team had encountered previously.
Back in the control room, Admiral Thomson, a few others and NASA scientists and technicians, stared in awe at the large screen filled with the different viewpoints from the SEALs head cams of the 3D model.
The SEALs stared at the model for a few moments, but there was too much detail crammed in such a small area for them to get a clear idea of the purpose or layout of the hundreds of rooms laid out before them.
Colbert looked at Ramirez. “Can you zoom in or something so we're not looking at such a large area?”
“He can,” stated Richard. “When we operated the map before it didn't show the whole ship, only the sections we needed to escape through. I think the computer set it up for us.”
After a few moments Ramirez found the menu he wanted and the map changed to represent a smaller area of the ship centered on their position.
Richard pointed out the areas the scientists and he had explored. “There was no armory in these parts, not that we went into every room.”
Ramirez scrolled the map to nearby unexplored areas and levels.
While the men examined the constantly changing map, Richard stepped away from the group. He didn't like staying in one place for too long. “It's time I was leaving. I've filled my part of the bargain.”
Colbert was about to reply when Ramirez interrupted.
“Sir, I think I've found what we're looking for.”
Colbert redirected his gaze at Ramirez. “The armory?”
“Not exactly. A list of the spaceship's rooms. Though there seems to be no direct translation for everything, thank God most are in English.” Ramirez scrolled down the list.
Colbert moved to get a better view of the screen. “Does it tell us where the weapons are located?”
“I'm looking, sir. It's a damn long list.” Ramirez stopped scrolling and pointed at one word. “There you are, sir, the weapon store.”
When Ramirez selected the room, the map changed, scrolling and zooming out until it settled into stillness again. The weapon store was longer than it was wide with a door at each end and contained racks filled with weapons of different types and sizes.
Richard moved in for a closer look and pointed at a rack on the wall filled with weapons he recognized. “Those look the same as the light-beam rifle Haax had.”
“There are a lot more weapons than I visualized,” said Colbert. He moved his mouth towards his mic. “Control, I assume you are seeing this. There's no way we can collect them all.”
In the control room, Admiral Thomson stared excitedly at the store of alien weapons. Colbert was right. It would take more men and a lot more time than they had to salvage them all. The feed was also being watched by the President, so he would need to confer with him before making a decision. He pressed a button to speak to Colbert. “Make your way to the armory. By the time you arrive I'll have new instructions for you, but if we lose comms grab what merchandise you can and instigate operation Phoenix.”
“Yes, sir, orders acknowledged.” Colbert glanced at Ramirez. “We need a route planned from here to the weapon store.”
Ramirez was scrolling through different options. “I'm already on it.” He found what was required and chose the destination they wanted to travel to.
The map reformed and depicted a route to the armory, but as the men examined the route, the lights flickered. The map collapsed and reformed.
Colbert glanced at Ramirez. “Did you do something?”
The man held his hands away from the controls and shook his head.
The map collapsed and the lights went dark. The men switched on their flashlights and swept them around the room.
“Maybe the ship's losing power,” Ramirez suggested.
“From here on in it's all in the dark,” said Stedman, a little too cheerily for Richard's liking. He was glad he wasn't
going with them.
“Has anyone got a spare flashlight?” asked Richard.
“No Richard, they haven't,” replied Colbert.
“Just smile and let those shiny white teeth of yours light up the way,” said Crowe.
A couple of the men sniggered.
Richard sighed. “I want to leave. I did what was asked of me and you don't need me tagging along and getting in your way.”
Colbert couldn't get rid of the man quick enough and glanced at his escorts. “You can take him back now. The rest of you, follow me.”
After the SEALs had gone, Talbot, Jenkins, and Richard moved up the ramp, out through the door and headed along the corridor towards the back of the ship and the hangar. None of them envied the SEAL team heading in the opposite direction.
Smoke and EV1L
LUCY STOPPED WITH the flashlight and her gaze aimed at the turning in the vent ahead. Movement she thought she had heard from around the corner had caused her imagination to picture some horror waiting in the darkness for her. She strained her senses to the limit in an attempt to pick out anything above the continuous creaks and groans of the large vessel that might signal danger was nearby. Though she thought she detected something breathing, she wasn't sure if her imagination was to blame.
Lucy took a few deep breaths to calm her anxiousness and aimed the light behind. Perhaps it would be safer to go back and seek out different route. After a few moments thought she decided to continue forward; there were nightmare creatures in any direction she took. With the spear ready to counter any attack, Lucy cautiously edged nearer the turning.
One of her worst fears―the list far longer now since her time aboard the spaceship―confronted her; the flashlight's beam faded to a dim yellow glow. When a few slaps on the casing failed to revive the light, Lucy stared at the pale glow dimming before her eyes until the dark engulfed her in its lightless embrace. She stifled the sob that threatened panic in its wake and moved forward before she became rooted in terror. Her heart rate increased as fear screamed for her to turn back. She pressed her body against the cold side of the vent when she judged she was almost at the corner and slid closer, expecting some foul monster to appear at any moment. When her fingers felt the edge of the passage, she prodded the spear around the corner. When it failed to pierce flesh or invoke a reaction from anything that might be lying in wait for her, she leaned forward and peered around the corner into the never-ending darkness and cocked an ear. Her heartbeat, amplified in the pitch-black that shrouded her, was all she heard. Forcing her body to keep moving, she scrambled around the corner and continued along the passage.
She hadn't travelled more than a few yards when an ominous slithering froze her. Something was in here with her and moving closer. Though the vent's acoustics made it difficult to determine from which direction it came, Lucy thought it sounded slightly louder behind her. Because she doubted the parasites could have climbed the vertical vent, it had to be another monster that stalked her. She spurted away from the sound, haste now more important than caution.
A surprised scream flew from her throat when her hand fell into nothingness and ended with a pained groan when her shoulder slammed into the floor. She quickly recovered and ignored her aching shoulder whilst she searched the darkness with her hands and discovered a crossroads of passages. One of which dropped to a lower level. It was this she had stumbled into. The slithering grew louder and now came from more than one direction. Slowing her rapid fear-induced breathing, Lucy glanced at something she noticed in one of the passages―a faint glow of light. It gave her hope. She rushed towards it and the slithering coming from the same direction. She was almost at the light when something entered its glow and stopped, as if proudly presenting its vile form to its prey. Arms or tentacles with net-like webbing stretched between them, reached out from its body to grip the vent walls and propel it along. The mouth, a circular orifice ringed with needle-sharp teeth, was surrounded by a ring of black, golf-ball eyes that stared at Lucy.
Lucy shot a glance behind. Though she saw nothing, she heard the slithering approach. She slipped the useless flashlight she had been reluctant to part with before, from her wrist and threw it back along the vent. Something screeched before the flashlight clattered loudly to the floor, evidence something had been struck. Hoping she had held it at bay temporarily, Lucy sped along the vent towards the light and the monster in her way that now rushed towards her. When it was within reach, Lucy held the spear at arm's length and jabbed it at the creature's flesh, aiming for its eyes, but missed and instead stabbed it between two of them. It screeched and lashed out a tentacle that grabbed her leg. Pulled off balance, she fell onto her back. Lucy sat up and thrust the weapon at the creature reeling her in. Conscious of the second creature coming up behind her, she stabbed frantically at this one's flesh in the hope of hitting a vital organ. Lucy yanked the spear up when it entered flesh and tore a long gash in the monster's skin. The monster's piercing screech was deafening in the vent's confines. It pulled away and writhed, its tentacles thumping the metal sides loudly. Lucy shot her shoulders to the floor and thrust the spear over her head. The screech that followed indicated her target had been hit. She repeatedly stabbed at the creature she couldn't see until it moved out of the weapon's reach. Lucy rolled onto her stomach. The wounded creature's eyes reflecting the dim light behind her was all she could see of the Lovecraftian monstrosity that seemed wary to approach too close again. A glance behind revealed the withering creature collapse to the floor and lay still. Keeping one eye on the wounded monster, Lucy backed towards the light. She almost slipped on the warm blood that had pooled around the dead creature when she climbed over its hideous corpse that squelched beneath her. When she reached the light she glanced at the weak glow highlighting the slats of the grill from below. It was a way out of the rathole she was trapped in.
As she kicked out the grill and watched it drop to the floor below, the wounded monster used the distraction to try a second attack. With surprising speed it shot along the vent. Lucy raised the spear at the sound. The monster's speed impaled it on the tip and knocked Lucy to the ground. She jerked the weapon from side to side, smacking the monster hard against the walls as its tentacles grabbed at her. She pushed it away and forced it through the opening. Its tentacles unwrapped from her arms with a moist slithering as it fell. The spear, pulled from her tired grasp by the monster's weight, journeyed with the Lovecraftian horror to the floor of the room below. The slap of flesh on the hard ground echoed through the room.
Lucy poked her head through the hole. The monster, though wounded, still lived and left a trail of green blood when it slithered away and sought refuge in the shadows. Her gaze around the gloom-ridden room revealed metal bars sectioned off a large alcove at one end and at the opposite end faint blue light shone through an open door from the corridor outside. The drop to the floor fifteen feet away would be a one way trip, but whatever lay below had to be preferable to remaining in the vent lacking an escape route if she was attacked by more of the monsters. She would stand no chance without the weapon she would have to retrieve. She hung from the opening and dropped softly to the floor of the room dimly lit by a single ceiling light.
Wondering if the barred area contained anything she could make use of―alien weaponry would be a godsend―Lucy took a wide berth around the tentacle monster's position, given away by its ragged breathing, and approached the bars, but stopped a short distance away when she noticed something strange. Though the bars appeared to be metal that had a dull copper sheen, they intermittently shivered a rich, rusty orange. Believing it best she refrain from touching them, Lucy peered through the bars. A faint whirring came from inside a transparent container barely visible in the middle of the barred room. After she had moved around the edge of the bars she got a better look at what was contained within the glass prison. A fan at the top of the container swirled thick grey smoke around its inner sides. A four-inch tube connected to the side of the container led to a machine f
ixed to the wall with a smaller eighteen-high by twelve-inch-wide transparent container that had the appearance of a vacuum cleaner. Wondering what it was, Lucy stared at the trapped smoke. Though she thought she glimpsed eyes and a screaming mouth form briefly amidst the dirty grey fog before it was ripped apart by the turbulent wind, she assigned this to her present anxiety and nothing more than identifying shapes in natural cloud formations. When she turned away she noticed a door in the bars and a tiny green blinking light on the lock that secured it closed. An indication it might be a prison cell. But for what?
She glanced back at the swirling mist that had to be the reason for the excessive means of imprisonment. Whatever it was, if the spaceship's crew thought it was dangerous enough to keep confined, she was glad it hadn't gotten free. Lucy studied the sign fixed to the barred door. Though in alien text, Lucy's mind tried to make sense of the strange symbols and formed images of an E, a V, a 1 and an L.
“Evil,” Lucy spoke aloud, shivering at the coincidence between the strange alien letters and the English word and hoped it wasn't a forewarning of something worse to come.
Her gaze surveyed the rest of the room, but saw no more than she had seen from above. It was time to retrieve her weapon. With extreme caution, she approached the dark area that concealed the wounded creature, hoping to yank the spear out of its body and be gone. As she drew near she noticed it looked at her, its many eyes reflecting the room's dim light. It moved. Something shot out of the darkness. Lucy glanced at the spear that slid loudly across the floor. It was a distraction. The monster sprung at her with its tentacles spread wide like a gruesome, living net to entrap its prey.
Lucy reacted quickly. She dropped to the floor and rolled beneath the creature. It flew over her and landed on the cell bars. Though the bars reacted with an increased brighter color shift where the monster's flesh touched, the Tentacle Monster showed no indication it was affected by the change. Its vicious mouth and evil eyes melted through its body to face her. Momentarily stunned by the creature's macabre and unexpected peculiarity, Lucy missed the chance to flee across the room and grab the spear before the room plunged into darkness.
