Deterrence expedition le.., p.14
Deterrence Expedition : Legacy Earth 3, page 14
“That’s a pretty big force,” the first lieutenant muttered as a knot formed in his stomach at the sheer numbers of Galio ships and soldiers that were marked on the screen.
“This is a fraction of their fleet,” Valdivia said softly as she shook her head. “The Galio have one of the largest standing militaries in all of alcazar space.”
“Then let’s hope the information we’re getting will explain why they aren’t coming at us with everything they’ve got,” Lance said as he stepped toward the monitors. “Not that I’m complaining—our O.R.C.C.s should give us a chance—but it’ll still be bloody if they attack.”
Valdivia opened her multi-tool. She synced it with Marty while Lance continued to investigate the downloading data. He watched her out of the corner of his eye while keeping focus.
“What are you doing?” he asked before glancing at his mini-map; they were still clear.
“The Galio are completely open with why prisoners are incarcerated,” Valdivia replied. “I’m thinking maybe they have notes on that Reeve and where they picked it up. Maybe it’ll lead to answers why it had your brother’s voice.”
Lance paused. He couldn’t help but crack a smile at her thoughtfulness.
“Hrafn two to Hrafn one, what’s your update?” Dexter asked over the radio.
“Hrafn one has started the transfer,” Lance replied. “What are the guards’ positions?”
“They’re searching the surrounding buildings,” Mattias explained. “You’ve got three minutes tops.”
“We’ll be done in sixty,” Valdivia chimed in.
“Were those interface changes you suggested useful?” Michael asked.
“Very smooth; thank you for taking them into consideration,” Valdivia replied before turning off her radio. “I think I’ve gotten the prisoner’s files. I’ll send them to your multi-tool as soon as Marty’s finished.”
“Thank you,” Lance whispered as his mind drifted to thoughts of his brother. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
His eyes stayed locked on the cycling screens while the last memory he had of Lincoln played on a loop. It was the day after he’d won his own boxing championship and left the first lieutenant with his championship coin. Lincoln and his classmates climbed into the ship that was destined for Mars and a pilot program for what would become the S4. A tug at his lower back snapped him back to the room.
Shk-shk.
The familiar sound of a shotgun round being chambered filled the air. Red lights flashed as a siren sounded. Lance’s senses sharpened back to their razor’s edge.
KOOM!
A shotgun blast rang out. Lance spun on his heels. Grabbing his rifle, he lifted it to his shoulder as he dropped to a knee, ready to fire. His heart stopped as his stomach knotted. Standing behind them was the Tardig. He stood on his back four legs, reared up like a grizzly ready to attack.
KOOM!
Valdivia unleashed another round from the shotgun she’d taken off his back. Even being six feet away, half the pellets missed. The other half sent ripples through the alien’s skin before the pellets dropped harmlessly to the ground. The Tardig let out another roar.
“WAIT!” Lance shouted. If the shotgun at that close of range did nothing, it was unlikely his rifle would do anything more than just make the Tardig angry. “How did you get out of your cell?”
“Why did you shoot me,” the wall of muscle and flesh asked in a deep, rumbling voice that nearly shook Lance’s armor.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to shoot you; you just startled us,” Lance said as he lowered his weapon and stood up. Valdivia did the same.
“What did you say, human?” the Tardig asked as he stayed in his defensive stance.
Lance sighed. He shook his head before glancing around the room.
“Stupid translators,” he muttered to himself. “Why would you take one from your prisoners if you’re going to order them around?”
“Uh, guys… something bad is going on out here,” Dexter called out over the radio. “All of the Galio are running away, getting into ships and bugging out.”
Lance looked at the screens. They flashed from a yellowish-orange to danger red. What the translator could decipher from the blinking text was “containment breach.”
“Lance… we’ve got to get out of here now!” Valdivia said softly with a slight tremble in her voice.
“My translators can’t keep up with the strobing. What’s that say?” Lance asked, pointing at the upper right hand corner of the screens.
“I’ve seen it once; it translates to Atomic Split,” Valdivia replied.
“Crap, how long do we have?” Lance asked.
“Five minutes,” Valdivia said while grabbing Marty from the servers.
Lance turned his attention to the Tardig. He pointed at the alien and made a running motion with his fingers while motioning toward the door. The creature’s strong brow wrinkled as his head tilted.
“We don’t have time for this,” Lance muttered as he marched to the screen.
He pointed to the screen, held up five fingers, then made an exploding gesture while he let out a guttural rumble to imitate an explosion. The Tardig whipped his head back and let out a roar. Lance stepped back as a secondary mouth emerged from the alien’s throat like a rotating tube of teeth.
The Tardig turned and sprinted toward the wall. Lowering his shoulder, he slammed into the metal. It bent and cracked upon impact. With another powerful slam of his arms, the walking tank broke a hole big enough for him to squeeze out of.
“What’s going on down ther… What in the name of Grandmamma’s pies was that?!” Dexter shouted.
“This place is about to go nuclear, Justin. Lock on to our signal and come pick us up,” Lance said over his radio.
“I thought this was supposed to be a covert mission,” Justin replied as the distinct whirr of the craft’s engines flared to life.
“What about the Galio? Won’t they see our ship?” Michael asked as Lance dashed toward the prison wing.
“What Galio?” Dexter asked. “They scattered like roaches when the light turns on.”
“Val, grab the unconscious guard and take him outside, and no more shooting!” Lance ordered, opening the prison door.
Every cell door was open. The strange fleshy contents of one cell oozed out and seemed to be reaching for the room the Tardig was in. A warning flashed on his HUD that there were toxic airborne particles and that his filter wouldn’t hold out for long. He dashed toward the Reeve and threw the powered-down mobile platform over his shoulder.
Turning to exit, he paused. A Galio sat in the center of the fleshy room. Silver oozed from the being’s mouth, ears, and nose. It looked at the first lieutenant with bloodshot eyes. A chill ran down Lance’s spine, accompanied by a whole body shiver. He’d seen that look before, back on Earth with the cyborg that accompanied the Reeve attack.
“Huuumma-a-annn,” the Galio said in a guttural tone as it spewed silver blood from its mouth. “Your kin-n-nd’s t-ime has come. A-after ne-arly an epoch, we’ve fou-nd y-ou.”
A knot formed in Lance’s throat. The translator didn’t relay the message, he heard it directly. Like a sputtering puppet being spoken through, what was left of the Galio began to cackle as the flesh on the ground started to ooze toward him like death itself gained sentience.
In a flash, Lance sprinted out of the prison wing, through the control room, and out of the hole in the wall made by their friend. Justin brought the craft to a hover, straddling the building’s edge. Doors on either side opened, revealing magnetic tethers lining them.
As Lance positioned himself under one, he waved Val over next to him. She carried the unconscious Galio to his side. On the roof, Dexter, Michael, and Mattias were all pulled up and into the ship.
“Seal the cabin before bringing me up and conduct a decontamination process as soon as I’m on board,” Lance ordered.
“Copy that,” Justin replied.
Several seconds later, the mag-levs kicked in and pulled all four up to the ship. As the door shut, a white smoke flooded the cabin while the ship turned and Justin punched it. Not being fastened in, Lance, Valdivia, the Galio, and Reeve all slid to the rear of the ship.
Lance’s under armor stiffened as he hit the back wall. He threw his arms up as the unconscious guard and robot landed squarely on him. He hardly felt the impact through his gear, but the clanging impact caused his ears to ring. Valdivia maneuvered herself to land only on his lower body.
“It’s about to get rough!” Justin shouted from the cockpit as the biohazard warning on Lance’s HUD faded.
A deep boom rumbled through the ship. Lance turned on the magnetic network in his suit, now that he wasn’t locked in place. It not only pulled him to the ground, but the metal in the Reeve and Galio’s armor to him as well. He reached down, grabbed Valdivia and pulled her up toward his center mass, pinning her armor against his too.
“HANG ON!” Lance screamed. His heart pounded, nerves tingled, and adrenaline rushed, causing time to slow as the shockwave slammed into the ship.
Nineteen
Hot Water
Lance shook his head as he descended the ship’s ladder. It rang like a bell. His left hand held the rungs as his right gripped the depowered Reeve. He was the last one out of the ship. The Galio regained consciousness but was still feeling the euphoric effects of oxygen toxicity.
“Ooooo, this place is really pretty,” the alien soldier said as the first lieutenant reached the ground.
Lance slung the robot over his shoulder as he approached his team. He turned his attention to an unsteady Valdivia.
“You okay?” he asked as she swayed.
“Just a little dizzy,” she replied.
“I’m going to go ahead and take that from you,” Dexter said as he leaned over and grabbed the shotgun from her.
“How’d Marty do?” Michael asked as the robot sprang to life, jumped off Valdivia’s leg, and scuttled to him.
“A little too well,” Lance said as he motioned toward the Reeve. “It opened the prison cells as well, which triggered a sanitation protocol.”
“So that explains the nuke,” Mattias muttered. “We’ve got company.”
A security team marched toward them, fully armed. Lance handed the Reeve to Dexter before he hooked his arm under the Gallio’s armpit and lifted him to his feet.
“Weeeee,” the soldier exclaimed as he popped to his feet. “You humans are a lot more fun than he made you out to be. He said you’d kill me on sight.”
“Who said that?” Lance asked as curiosity flared within him.
“Your species sounds funny,” the Galio said with a chuckle as he poked at Lance’s visor. “And you look so squishy under all that armor!”
“First Lieutenant Warder, we’re going to need you to turn the Galio over and come with us!” the security team leader ordered.
Lance glanced over to them. Their hands gripped their weapons tightly, ready to use them at a moment’s notice. His stomach dropped and brow furrowed as curiosity gave way to confusion. Two of the security team approached the Galio and took him from Lance.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that he stays with me,” Lance countered. “I’ll go with you, but too many Galio have been murdered on their way to a cell for me to trust any of you with getting him there safely.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Lance,” the security team lead countered.
“What’s your name?” Lance asked as he turned his full attention to the one attempting to give him orders.
“Security Specialist Hal,” the soldier replied.
“Listen here, this guy is high as a kite, likely will be for a while,” Lance explained. “On top of that, he doesn’t have a translator, so he can’t understand us. He’s of no security threat, so I’m bringing him with me until I can guarantee his safety as he is MY prisoner. Do I make myself clear?”
“You both sound like you’re having a fun sing-off,” the Galio butted in with several giggles. “I’d like to join in if that’s okay.”
Without skipping the beat, the prisoner let out a series of howls and screeches that pierced Lance’s ears like a needle. He, along with everyone else, winced as the translator either couldn’t or refused to work.
“Will you shut him up?!” Hal shouted over the fingernails-on a-chalkboard sounding song.
“And THAT is the song of my people,” the Galio exclaimed with pride as he threw a fist up.
“Sir, he still has to come with us,” Hal added after the nightmarish sounds subsided.
“You take him, you put up with his singing,” Dexter chimed in.
Lance nodded and pointed at the giant in agreement.
“Fine,” Hal said after a few seconds’ pause. “But he tries anything, it’s on you.”
“I’ll accept that responsibility,” Lance replied. “Now do you mind telling me why you’re approaching an S4 team with weapons at the ready?”
“You’re to be taken into custody until leadership can debrief you,” Hal explained.
“Like H.E.double hockey sticks I am!” Justin scoffed.
“I’m with the little man!” Dexter chimed in.
“And I’m with the giant,” Mattias added.
“And I’ll give in to peer pressure and say, ‘what they said’,” Michael grumbled.
Lance glanced back at his team. They could easily deny the guards their demand and go to command themselves. Judging from the looks on his team’s faces, it’d end with a lot of unconscious guards and several DD214s. With a sigh, he shook his head and shrugged as an ache settled into his gut accompanied by a hint of shame.
“You’re not taking us to the brig,” Lance commanded.
“We’ll take you where we want,” Hal countered.
“I don’t think you understand,” Lance scoffed, anger flashing within him to hide his shame of surrendering as he turned to Hal, a snarl in his tone. “We’re S4, the best of the best. Even without our armor on, Dexter alone could take you all out and you’re facing an entire squad, in full kit. We’re coming with you because I’m agreeing to it. But you take us to a brig, and we’re going to have a problem…”
Lance stepped toward the security guard. He stood nearly five inches taller than Hal in his armor. His shoulders rolled back to make him appear larger, adding to his intimidation. The first lieutenant raised an eyebrow as he noticed fear overtake Hal’s features.
“…and we don’t have a problem, do we?” Lance asked.
Hal swallowed hard. He took a half step back before shaking his head.
“No… no, we don’t,” he stammered before he nodded toward the other guards. “Take them to briefing room four.”
Lance stepped back and offered a smile of solidarity.
“Much appreciated,” the first lieutenant said as he took a step back.
The guards positioned themselves around the squad as they all made their way toward the elevators.
“That was… impressive,” Valdivia said in a hushed voice.
“You didn’t think you were the only one that could put the fear of God into people, did you?” Dexter asked as they loaded in.
“I’ve never seen your kind make a display like that before,” Val replied. “So power can strike fear into humans.”
“He didn’t scare me,” Hal snarled from the front of the elevator as the doors opened and they made their way out.
“Then why do I see a little wet spot on the crotch of your uniform?” Justin asked as they were escorted from the moving box.
“For shame!” Dexter chimed in with a shake of his head.
Lance bit his lip as he fought back a laugh. He knew intimidating a fellow officer wasn’t the right thing to do, but he wasn’t about to see his men put behind bars for completing a mission that had an explosive complication.
They made their way down the cold corridors. Several officers zipped here and there, pressing themselves against the wall to get out of the group’s way. As they reached briefing room four, the door slid open to reveal a surprisingly blank room with a single long table and chairs spread down either side.
“Get in there and take a seat,” Hal ordered.
“You’ve lost all credibility, Hal,” Michael teased. “It doesn’t inspire anyone to follow orders.”
“Okay, I think the security specialist has had enough. Get in there and take a seat, guys,” Lance said before motioning into the room.
As his team entered, he noticed the other security officers glance at the weapons the S4 still had strapped to them, then to Hal, who shook his head in a failed attempt to be discreet.
“Don’t worry, Hal, I’ll keep my guys in line if you keep yours,” Lance said before stepping into the room with the door sliding shut behind him.
His team all sat on the far side of the table as the security escort remained in the hallway. Dexter had his feet up while Mattias tied the Galio to one of the chairs. Valdivia, Michael, and Justin sat as far away from the high alien as possible. Lance gently placed the Reeve onto table and took a seat next to their prisoner.
“What do we do now?” Mattias asked, taking a seat on the other side of the Galio, who was trying to spin in the stationary chair.
“We wait,” Lance replied. “I imagine they’re going to have quite the earful for us.”
“Scans showed all Galio personnel escaped before the blast,” Justin said with a shrug. “Zero collateral damage.”
“I imagine those scans don’t take into account this was supposed to be a stealth mission,” Mattias countered.
“And having a nuclear device detonate is just about as far away from stealth as one can get,” Lance added before leaning against the table. “Michael, can you run a diagnostic on Marty, see if he tripped anything to set that off?”
“I can,” Michael replied as he lifted a finger into the air. “But I have to wait until all the data is downloaded from him, otherwise I risk corrupting what we retrieved.”
“Very well,” Lance said, looking down to his engineer. “I want a report in my cabin by the end of the day.”
