Baker reached over and pulled his harness down, securing it with the clasp at his chest. The knot wrapping his intestines tightened. This was another part he hated about space travel; flying. Even back on Earth he had hated traveling by air. He’d rent a self-driving car before he would ever purchase an airplane ticket. Even though there hadn’t been an airline accident in nearly a hundred years, with all flight and controls becoming completely automated, the thought of the possibility still dug deep into him. Even though his wife would tell him time and time again that flying was safer than crossing the street, he still felt the same fear every time. He could feel the sweat beginning to push through his palms and caught his feet turning in towards each other. He readied himself for the part he hated the most.
5
As the ship broke through the outer atmosphere, a low rumble filled the interior of the vessel. In the personnel hold a smile grew across Dom’s face as he stared across to Vuong who held his restraints beneath knuckles blazing white. He loved the turbulence; the more chaotic the better, and he felt an electric charge run through his chest at the fear the others were feeling. He wasn’t an asshole by nature, or a sadist that took pleasure in others discomfort, but there was something about the look on their faces that made him for that moment, feel just a little stronger than the rest, a little more in control. And as he looked over at Vuong, and Wilkes, he felt a little more of his fear slip away.
On the bridge, Baker sat quietly, his hands clasped firmly to the armrests of his seat. He knew that Portofino was one of the best pilots the military had to offer, and that there was no way she would ever allow her bird to go down, but as the vessel began to shake against the pounding air outside, he found himself having to convince himself even more of that fact. He could feel his stomach boiling inside his gut, his greasy, bile filled intestines twisting around each other as the ship lurched back and forth. He pressed his eyes closed, forcing everything to turn black, until all but the deep rumble of the ships engines surrounded him.
The turbulence increased, and the sound of metal being stressed to bend punched through the darkness Baker was hiding in, pounding relentlessly against his eyelids, shaking him violently in an attempt to get him to open them, for him to see the last horrifying seconds before the ship plunged headlong into the ground, killing them all in a scorching ball of twisted metal and flame. But he maintained his silent composure, his hands clasped together in his lap, eyelids pressed tight. Then, as he was sure they were moments away from impact, the shaking calmed and Portofino’s voice filled his ears.
“All clear, we’re green across the board.”
Baker exhaled, a shuddered breath silently escaping his lips, and then he slowly allowed his eyes to open. On the view screen was a vast landscape of orange and red, a blended palate of titian earth as far as the image spanned. He stared at the planet’s surface slipping past beneath and felt the cool sweat of relief dripping down his back beneath his shirt. His fingers were cramped, and he realized that they were still interlocked so tightly in his lap that the thin webs of flesh between them threatened to tear. Slowly he released his grip, pulling them apart and wiping the cold clamminess on his fatigues.
“Switching to thermal.”
Portofino hit a switch on the console and the image in front of them morphed into a 3d texture map of the planet moving past below. A sea of blue, red and green filled the screen as she navigated closer to the surface. Once the shaking stopped she switched back to standard vision and the desolate, red face of the planet fell back into view.
Baker watched as the endless sea of burnt hue continued to move past, admiring how similar it looked up close on the vid screen as it did in the pictures he’d seen back home, when Talmadge spoke up from behind him.
“There she is.” There was a pride in his voice as he spoke, a parent on teacher day as their child receives the outstanding student award. “Sixty billion dollars right there, and the next step in humanity.”
Baker watched as dot on the distant horizon began to grow closer.
“There’s nothing like it in the galaxy. The first of its kind, hands down the greatest thing ever created by man, and the most challenging.”
The speck turned into a mass, and the mass formed into structures, an entire facility growing before his eyes as they approached.
“Guess they should have spent a little more of that budget on communications…”
This time Baker stifled his grin as Wilke’s words drew a stop to Talmadge’s bragging. Hell, he almost wanted to congratulate him for thinking so quickly.
Portofino slowed the ship down, the blur beneath them forming into shapes as individual rocks and hills began to form across the surface. The facility now stood in full view, a massive structure of titanium and steel, contrasting against the earth that surrounded it.
“Approach vector 619. Coming in slow and low.”
Baker stared at the structure. He had seen pictures of the facility, diagrams drawn by computers that showed the station shining brightly against the perfect Mars backdrop, the sun glinting beautifully off the polished surface. But as they approached it, he saw that the outer walls were tarnished from the harsh conditions of the planet, sub-zero temperatures that dropped hundreds of degrees below zero dulling the exterior to a matte finish. There were two main sections branched off of the main facility, and as they drew nearer he could see a large bay with two massive sliding doors shut tightly, a well-worn path leading outwards, disappearing into the desolate wasteland. He scanned for movement, his eyes straining to pick up any signs of activity. But as the ship closed in, the only thing that greeted them was the silent curves of the Attis Station.
“Let’s give it a sweep,” Baker said, continuing to scan the colony as it grew to take up nearly all of the screen.
“Roger that, swinging around for visual.”
Portofino dropped the ship lower and pulled back on the throttle, swinging it in a slow arc.
As they circled Baker was reminded of the research facilities he’d seen once in a magazine about the Antarctic before it had nearly melted away. There were dozens of buildings, all white, rounded at the top, and connected by arched tunnels. The entire facility was compacted, with an oversized landing site in the front and a massive steel and titanium platform at the rear.
“That’s the mining bay,” Talmadge said as they circled around the back.
“How many people did you say were stationed here?” he asked, his gaze scanning the dark windows along the structures.
“We have thirty-five families at this facility; scientists and miners mostly. There’s a medical crew, security detail and a branch of our corporate office just to maintain the administrative detail. We’re planning on having it expanded enough within the next two years to allow for another forty to fifty families. We’re building a school and we have a state of the art hydroponics facility that’s almost complete. By the end of the year they’ll be fully self-sustained.”
Baker stared at the facility moving past as they circled around. The knot tightened. There were no lights, no movement. It seemed derelict; dead. A cold foreboding slowly began to chip into him, the feelings he had felt when watching the woman on the vid screen rekindling in his gut. He continued scanning the building, taking note of the darkened windows and still platforms. “With that many people, and mining operations running, I would have thought we’d arrive to a larger welcoming committee.” There was nothing. “Wilkes, run a biometric scan of the facility. Let’s find out where the hell all the people are at and why we’re not getting a response.”
Wilkes pulled a cable from the console next to him and plugged it into his holowrist. “Initiating scan now.”
Baker continued to watch the structure, looking for obvious signs of breach or struggle. The facility was in perfect condition, not a mark on it. It was just dark; no outside lights, no light coming from the interior, nothing. It was as silent as the space that surrounded them before they arrived.
“T
hat’s strange,” Wilkes said after a moment.
“What is it?” Baker asked, a hollow feeling working into his chest.
“I’m not getting any readings Sarge. It’s dark in there.”
“That’s not possible,” Talmadge said, leaning forward in his chair to get a closer look at the view screen. “We had active transmissions with the colony just three weeks ago.”
“It’s space,” Baker responded flatly. “Anything could have happened, and no one would find out until they came looking.” He paused, turning to look at the rep. “You said this was a prototype right, the first of its kind? Any number of things could have happened that your company didn’t account for until it was attempted in the field.” He struggled to find a polite way to dance semantically around what he was truly feeling. The station was dead, he could feel it. Behind him Talmadge continued to rattle on.
“We ran every diagnostic scan and hypothetical algorithm possible before we started construction. We had the best engineers on Earth design this facility, and the best contractors on the planet overseeing its construction. We ran so many simulations we even had algorithms running algorithms just to create probable disaster.” Baker’s accusation had burrowed deep into the man’s skin. He was assaulting the integrity of the company, and questioning its abilities. This was one of the things that stabbed him the deepest. He loved the company, rallied by everything it stood for, and would die a company man. Xenocorp was the best thing to happen to planet Earth. The sergeant was a stupid grunt and had no place speaking about things he didn’t understand. No place. “There is nothing short of an asteroid impacting directly into this facility that could cause it to go black.”
“Maybe everybody just took a vacation,” Wilkes said from behind.
This time Baker didn’t smile, but he didn’t jump to reprimand him either. The others could sense that something had gone wrong, that the darkness coming from the facility was far beyond what the simulations had prepared for.
“All right Portofino, let’s set her down.”
The front of the facility came into view again, with the landing pad a short distance away. As they approached Baker took notice of the two rovers parked just off to the side. ‘If someone wanted to leave, those’d be the way to go…’ Again, something didn’t sit right with him. “Nice and easy like. And I want full view of the doors before we shut her down.”
“Roger that. Bringing her down nice and easy.”
The ship touched down with a small shudder, the landing gear clanking heavy to the steel platform below. There was a loud hiss as the engine purged the heat from the exhaust. Portofino flicked a row of switches and the dim red lighting inside the ship turned green for a second, then illuminated white again.
“All right marines,” Baker said, bringing the comms up. “We’re going in live. I want a standard dismount with exit by the numbers. Fascio, you two take point. I want that hatch opened ricky-fuckin-tick. Wilkes, give me one more bioscan and Portofino, you stay here and keep her warm. I’d like to be back spaceside before breakfast peaks.”
“Roger that.”
Replies came in single file.
In the personnel hold the rest of the marines began suiting up. They slipped tactical vests over their uniforms, followed by a thick belt that housed their envirosuit. One by one they checked each other’s equipment, and when they were finished, they engaged the small button on their belt pack that pushed a thin protective suit out from the back. With practiced precision each of the soldiers slipped their arms and legs into the nanofiber and sealed it in the front. They did one last check for seal leaks on their face masks and then made their way to the cargo bay. By the time they finished, they looked the part of a tactical marine squad they had been hired to be.
It was moments later that the Sarge, Wilkes and Talmadge entered the bay.
“All right ladies. Let’s keep it quick. I’ve got a lunch date with cryo.”
Wilkes reached up and hit the button above the doorway and there was a loud whoosh of air as the atmosphere outside sucked out the oxygen in a rush. The group stepped onto the platform and made their way towards the facility.
As they stepped closer Corlin clicked in. “Sarge, it doesn’t look like anybody’s home.”
Baker had the same feeling creeping up his spine.
“Just keep it by the books corporal.”
The wind was almost nonexistent; an invisible breeze blocked by their envirosuits. They knew the air around them was freezing, but the thermal regulators in their suits didn’t allow for them to notice; only the temp on their heads up display told them it was negative fifty degrees with oxygen levels almost nonexistent.
Baker pressed forward, his eyes scanning the sprawling facility acutely. Instinctively he checked every corner, every dark space, every nook. As he approached the dual doors leading to the outer airlock he slowed, motioning for the two marines behind him to move forward.
Fascio made his way past him and reached the door, where Vuong immediately began working on the exterior console. Fascio stood alert with his rifle poised at the ground near his feet.
“How’s it coming?” Fascio asked as the others approached.
“Like your mother every time I go home.”
Fascio smiled beneath his helm. “You know, I’m gonna be pretty pissed if we get in there and find out we came all this way because some dumbass colonist hit the mute button…”
“Well,” Vuong replied, glancing with a smile. “We’ll find out soon enough won’t we?”
He pressed two wires together and the doors moved to the side with a loud groan.
“On the ready,” Baker said as he approached with the rest. “Last thing we want is a firefight because we spooked their security team.”
As they entered the main airlock an uneasiness worked through the unit. There was no personnel to greet them, no lights, nothing. It seemed as if the facility had been completely abandoned.
“Patch in Vuong,” Baker said as he stepped into the outer hatch. “I want a full report before we go in. Let me know what we’re walking into.”
The other nodded, moving quickly to the inner door and using a small tool to open a panel just beside it. A moment later he turned his head to look at him. “Sarge,” Vuong said as the door sealed behind them. “Environmental regulators are offline.”
“That’s impossible,” Talmadge barked across the comm before the soldier could finish telling them what it meant. “Our environmental system is completely automated. It’s designed to run for the next thousand years. There’s no way it could fail. We have failsafe’s to guard the failsafe’s. They have to be turned off manually, and the only person with authorization codes to do that is the director.”
“Well by all means,” Vuong replied, shooting an exasperated look to the company man, “Feel free to take off your mask if you don’t believe me.”
“That’s enough Vuong,” Baker interjected flatly. “Just get that inner door open and then we’ll figure out what the hell’s going on once we’re inside.”
“Roger that Sarge.”
Baker looked at the others as Vuong moved to the next door panel. The cold around him seemed to seep into his suit, his skin clamping tightly against muscle and bone. He tapped his holowrist and opened a private comm channel. “What do you think Wilkes? What the hell’s happened here?”
“I don’t know Sarge, but if I had to guess, this place went ass over tits, and I have a feeling that the suit is here as damage control. One thing I do know, is that with environmental offline, unless they had a rather large supply of breathing units on hand, I don’t think we’re gonna find anything good in there.”
“We’re in,” Vuong said, cracking across the comms.
“All right. Then let’s see what we got waiting for us.”
Baker signaled Corlin and Fascio to the doors. They slung their rifles to the back and grabbed the doors at the center, pulling them back as fast as the frozen steel would allow.
“Hol
y shit!!!”
Fascio jumped back, his rifle flinging into his hands as he pulled off three rounds into the lifeless corpses that fell outwards as the door parted. Corlin stepped backwards as well, his hand quickly bringing his pistol to bare.
“Cease fire goddamnit!” Baker yelled. “Cease fire!”
The entire unit acted as one, every rifle leveling at the half-opened doors and the two bodies that had fallen through the cracked entrance.
“Jesus Christ…” Fascio spat.
“Stay sharp marines,” Baker said, his own hand moving to his sidearm. “Get those doors the rest of the way open and let’s get some light in there. And Fascio, you pull that shit again, you’ll be walking back to Earth.”
Fascio shot a worried glance at Corlin and they moved back into place, pushing the doors the rest of the way open.
Baker stared down at the bodies. No blood. Fascio had just fired three rounds into the corpses and there wasn’t so much as a splatter. Tiny shards of frozen, cloth covered flesh had exploded outwards, shimmering on the floor against the invading sunlight. He realized at that moment that their systems had been offline long enough for the outside temperature to press its way inside, freezing steel and flesh alike.
“What the fuck...?”
Corlin’s light came up and splashed across the scene before them. Just inside the corridor was a handful of bodies. There was crimson shimmering across the walls and the floor was a massive puddle of crystal burgundy; blood frozen into a sheet of ice.
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