Booster clung to her shoulder and caught the attention of two little girls, no older than five years old. They peered up from behind their mother’s skirt—at least she looked like their mother. For all Clio knew, their parents had already died. She tried to smile reassuringly at them, but they shied away.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” she said, trying to calm herself as much as anyone else.
Booster chirped, and the girls giggled.
The younger girl sported red hair and bright, blue eyes. She daringly let go of the woman’s skirt and approached cautiously. The eldest—a skinny blonde girl with freckles—hesitated, like she wanted to pull her younger sister back but was too afraid to move.
Clio knelt, and the little girl stopped in her tracks, evidently second-guessing her decision to leave the security of her guardian.
“Would you like to pet him?” Clio held her arms out and Booster climbed from her shoulder, making his way onto her hand.
The girl didn’t seem too sure, but Booster elicited another giggle with a whining noise, and she tentatively stroked his head. He nuzzled her hands and made a low rumbling noise.
“He really likes you,” Clio said softly, trying not to startle her.
On seeing no harm had come to her sister, the older girl approached and stroked Booster too. The puck was really getting into it when Captain Kobol called out.
“Get ready people.” His voice rang steady. “Remember to move fast. Before you know it, we’ll be inside, safe and sound.”
Booster huffed as Clio lifted him back to her shoulder. “Just do as the Captain says,” Clio whispered to the girls, “and you’ll be okay.”
They nodded and returned to their guardian. The woman smiled at Clio before turning to the girls.
Clio looked back to the breach, and part of her wished she was up there with Swigger, keeping an eye on things.
Nakamura’s private vox channel bleeped in her helmet. “Don’t let your guard down when we get inside, Evans.” His tone was uncharacteristically troubled. “The Sergeant is right. Something about the situation feels off. The scientist on the radio sounded like he was trying to tell us something. Could be my imagination but keep your wits about you.”
“Will do,” she replied.
An intense swoosh, like rushing wind, resounded from beyond the walls.
Two minutes passed, and Swigger signaled that the Chits had cleared a path.
“Let’s go,” Captain Kobol ordered.
The column shifted forward and pressed through the crumbled section of wall, the Marines expertly keeping their protective perimeter tight at all times.
Once past the wall, the group picked up speed, breaking into a half jog. Clio worried about the pace being too fast for the children. She looked around and was relieved to see the two girls being carried by adults. She peered over the Marines ahead and was also glad to find no sign of the Chits.
They reached a broad avenue that cut through the many small buildings spreading out from the base of the domed lab. As they stepped onto the smooth white walkway, the deafening wind noise started to die down.
“Steady,” Captain Kobol called out over the vox. “Almost there.”
Clio looked between the buildings, expecting the Chits to spring out at them, but none came.
To her amazement, they finally reached the large lab doors without incident, and found the shield had indeed been lowered. The doors, however, were still locked. Blood stained the walls and concrete around them, and the place reeked of death. Clio switched to her TEK’s internal environmental system, and she spared a thought for the unsuited civilians who didn’t have that luxury. Wherever the blood had come from, there was a lot of it. What the fuck happened here?
“What the hell are they doing in there!” Sergeant Lynch came across the vox, more angry than scared. “Evans, can you open this thing?”
Clio pressed through the tight-knit chain of Marines and made her way to Captain Kobol, standing by an open access panel. “I’ll take a look.”
“Civilians against the gate,” he ordered the crowd. “Marines, create a barrier.”
People milled about her as she worked at the access controls, but the door wouldn’t accept her commands. Nakamura transferred his access codes to her, but they didn’t make any difference.
“The control circuits are fried, sir,” she said on the command channel. “Whoever did this didn’t want the door to be opened from the outside.”
“Is there a manual override?”
“Not out here. If we had someone on the inside…maybe.”
“What is Boris playing at?” Captain Kobol keyed furiously at his SIG. “What about communications, Lynch?”
“We’ll keep trying but nothing yet, sir.”
“Shit!” He hammered the gate hard, startling nearby civilians. “I was hoping to avoid it, but we’ll have to send someone to look for an alternative entrance.”
Before he could elaborate, the walls reverberated with a familiar fluttering sound. The Chit swarm was on the move again. Civilians began to moan and cry.
Clio joined the line of Marines that had formed before the civilians and drew her rifle. She convinced Booster to stay in his bag and caught a glimpse of Swigger. He grinned at her mockingly. Clio was about to make a rude sign when a cluster of juvenile Chits flew from behind a nearby building. The line opened fire and made short work of them.
Two families broke rank and ran back up the avenue. A Marine called out to them, but the fleeing civilians paid him no heed. He looked over his shoulder for instructions.
“Stick together,” Captain Kobol shouted, shaking his head.
Clio wondered whether they would make it to the wall and one day tell the story of how they had escaped the slaughter outside Xerocorp Labs.
The fluttering slowly grew to a roar.
As the fleeing civilians shrank to dots, a swarm of Chits burst from behind another building. The Marines opened fire, but instead of approaching the fight, the Chits diverted toward the escaping colonists.
“Hold your fire!” Captain Kobol ordered.
It seemed like a cold decision but shooting from such a distance would only waste ammunition.
By the time the Chits had reached the colonists, the screams were barely audible. Within seconds, the swarm doubled back on itself and advanced on the doors again.
Clio sensed everyone tensing, ready to open fire again, and she found her own finger resting heavily on her trigger.
“Hold it!” Captain Kobol ordered. “Hold it.”
The Marines waited silently, but the civilians behind cried, whimpered, and snorted.
“Fire!”
Every available weapon thundered, and a spray of shattered Chits halted the swarm’s advance. Clio finished loading a new magazine when she heard a loud click from behind.
“The door’s opening!” Sergeant Lynch shouted. “It’s opening!”
“Keep them busy!” Captain Kobol ordered.
Clio saw another Chit cloud approach from her right. “Chits at three o’clock.”
The nearest Marines diverted fire into the swirling mass. The creatures moved fast, but Clio’s implants allowed her to track several at a time, helping her make most shots count. However, it barely slowed them.
Another swarm exploded from an alleyway and swelled the second cloud’s numbers. In seconds, they cut into the group
A buzzer crashed into Clio and knocked her to her knees. People cried out around her. She fired from the ground, her shield falling sharply. Another Chit slammed into her rifle and sent it spinning into the throng. She drew her sidearm and blasted anything that came too close.
Something threw her forward and her visor cracked against the ground. She turned around as an elite bore down on her. It carried no weapons but sprang, its claws swiping. Clio grappled with arms much stronger than she expected. Her TEK’s servos shrieked, but she was unable to break free. The elite’s face got closer to her neck, dripping black mandibles snap
ping. She called out for help, but no one answered. Her cracked visor made it difficult to tell what was going on around her.
The Chit’s beady black eyes widened all of a sudden, and it relaxed its grip. Clio shoved it aside as it squirmed, reaching for its back. Booster appeared over the Chit’s shoulder, repeatedly plunging Clio’s knife into its neck. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. Even then…
“Evans.” Nakamura’s voice came through the vox. “The door’s closing.”
She gathered what little strength was left in her limbs and clawed at the muck around her as she climbed to her feet. She snatched Booster from the bubbling elite remains and clutched him tight to her chest as she sprinted for the falling gate.
Chits flapped about her ears as she dived to the ground. Hands reached out from under the door and dragged her through, the heavy metal clicking into place inches from her feet. Clio let go of Booster and removed her broken bucket so she could see.
Nakamura stared down at her.
“We…” She drew a deep breath “…made it.”
“Yisss,” Booster said with a sad smile.
Nakamura hoisted Clio to her feet. “I thought we lost you out there.”
“You would have if it wasn’t for Booster.”
The Aegis watched the puck as it swung onto her arm and climbed into his bag. Clio looked around and noticed that at least a quarter of the people were missing. She spotted the little blonde girl, clutching the leg of a woman evidently in shock. A Marine ushered them along. Clio couldn’t see the younger redhead anywhere, and her heart sank. “What the hell happened?”
“We aren’t sure, yet.” Aegis Nakamura looked concerned. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be as soon as I get my hands on the bastard who didn’t open that door in time.”
“Don’t do anything stupid, Evans.” Nakamura retracted his helmet and ran his hand through his sweat-soaked hair. “We don’t know what’s going on in here yet.”
He put his hand on her shoulder, but Clio shrugged it off. “This whole fucking thing is messed up.” She walked away as something smashed into the heavy security door, causing it to whine and creak.
A nearby Marine swore. “What the hell was that?”
A loud hum rang outside as the shields reactivated. The smashing ceased, and another Marine cheered. “Whatever it was, the sumbitch isn’t getting past that shield.”
Clio stormed to the end of the long corridor, where Captain Kobol waited by a narrow entrance leading to a stairwell.
“Boris said he was holed up on the seventh floor,” he said.
The group formed a narrow file and followed the Captain up the stairs.
As they reached the seventh landing, the Captain signaled for silence.
Gunfire popped somewhere from within the building.
“Lynch, take five men and keep an eye on the civilians. The rest of you are with me. You too, Evans. Your hacking might come in handy.”
The Marines silently slipped through the entrance.
Booster hummed in her backpack. “Quiet,” she hissed. The puck obeyed instantly. She reloaded her sidearm and followed the Marines.
31
Count Your Ammo
Martin and Stone had returned with a favorable report. Despite Captain Kobol’s reservations, the first mile of the subline tunnels remained clear of Chits. Grimshaw knew better than to get his hopes up. Decades ago, war had taught him that the battlefield could change in an instant.
TEK lights activated as they descended deeper into the sublines, Sergeant Wallace and his Marines leading the column and Grimshaw’s team bringing up the rear.
They marched briskly until they arrived at a platform where a blackened four-carriage train awaited.
“Could take us a while to load the injured and get her running.” Wallace came over on the vox. “Probably best if you guys secure the back. We’ll take the front.”
“Sure,” Grimshaw answered. He watched as two Marines up ahead pushed the trolley—holding Eline—toward the train. Given he was on Wallace’s turf, Grimshaw was more than happy for the Sergeant to take the lead. Outside of landmarks and areas of note, Grimshaw knew little about Targos City. Being his home for close to a decade, Sergeant Wallace knew it well. “You heard him, people. Check the tracks to the rear.”
He climbed down a maintenance ladder to the tracks, his team of four following. They walked along the tracks, their lights casting ominous shadows on the uneven, pitted walls and ceiling.
They had travelled a quarter-mile when Grimshaw was about to order for a return to the train. As he opened the vox channel, he heard a click. He signaled for caution and lifted his rifle into firing position.
They slowly continued forward until the tracks disappeared over a ledge.
“What is this?” O’Donovan said, peering into the chasm.
“It could have something to do with all the digging the Chits were doing,” Grimshaw said. “Reading anything Briggs?”
Briggs waved his SIG over the precipitous ledge. “Scanners won’t reach far in these tunnels, sir, but they aren’t picking anything up.”
“Stay alert, everyone,” Grimshaw said, pondering. “It’s a little too quiet for my liking.”
O’Donovan leaned over the edge. “So deep my lights don’t hit the bottom.” A sliver of ground fell away, and O’Donovan waved his arms, trying to regain his balance.
Grimshaw’s hand snapped out and pulled him to safety. Everyone held their breath as the rocks slid into the gaping hole. About half a minute passed before they struck the bottom, the sound echoing loudly through the gloom.
They waited a little longer, peering into the gloom, but nothing moved. “Okay. Back to the train, everyone.” Grimshaw got them moving back along the track and was about to join them when he heard the click again.
He returned to the chasm, peering into the all-consuming shadow. Something touched his shoulder. Grimshaw turned to find Briggs standing by his side.
“Everything okay, sir?”
Grimshaw looked back into the void. “It’s nothing. Let’s get back to the Marines.”
They joined O’Donovan, Marin, and Stone as they moved along the tracks. They were less than a hundred yards away from the train when its lights flared to life.
Tapping issued from behind. Grimshaw looked over his shoulder, and on finding nothing put it down to his mind playing tricks. Being underground reminded him of the catacombs under the mountains of Gorthore.
As they approached, the train’s engines hummed.
Wallace hung out the back door and waved to him.
Grimshaw returned the gesture. “Looks like seismic activity collapsed the tunnels into a cavern back that way. Better take it easy in case the ground shifts up ahead.”
“I’ll let the techs know.”
Grimshaw climbed into the rear coach, and the train crawled to a start. He watched through the back windows as darkness swallowed the tracks behind them. A few minutes passed, and he decided to check on Eline. He entered the next carriage, nodding to Lopez and others as he walked.
Wallace had posted Marines at the doors and windows.
Grimshaw squeezed through a cluster of men at the end of the carriage and found the makeshift cot the medics had fashioned from odd bits of material and debris. The medic he’d attacked at Gate Six was bent over Eline, checking the readings on his medical-grade SIG.
Grimshaw cleared his throat. “How’s she holding up?”
“She’s strong, sir. Everything is still stable. As long as we keep her that way, she might have a chance.”
“Thanks for watching over her.”
“It’s an honor to care for an Aegis, sir.” He looked down at the unconscious Shanti with admiration. “Not many can say they treated one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy.”
Grimshaw clapped his shoulder appreciatively before making his way to the front of the car.
A tech brought a map up on
the train’s holoscreen. Glowing dots and lines showed their progress.
“What’s that?” Wallace pointed at a flashing message.
“It says the track is damaged up ahead,” the tech said. “About three hundred yards from the lab maintenance tunnels, sir.
Wallace sighed. “I guess it could be worse.”
Apart from the chugging tracks, they rode in silence. Eventually, the tech activated the brakes and the train screeched to a halt a safe distance from the damaged track the computer had highlighted.
Wallace ordered his Marines off the train.
Grimshaw and his men followed to check on things up ahead. The metal rails had been twisted back on themselves.
“What the hell did that?” O’Donovan swallowed hard.
“Let’s hope we never find out,” Grimshaw said.
Lopez pointed to a dim light further up the subline tunnels. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“We’re already under the Xerocorp Labs complex,” Briggs shone his rifle’s light in the direction of their destination. “The entry to the primary lab shouldn’t be far.”
Wallace and most of his men marched by the warped track, advancing deeper into the tunnel. Marines carrying and assisting the wounded followed. Grimshaw waited for them to pass and motioned for his team to guard the rear.
He looked back once more. A shadow moved in the lights. Grimshaw cursed his imagination. A click echoed from the direction they had come, quickly followed by another. And as though the floodgates opened, a rattling cloud rolled out of the darkness beyond the train.
“We’ve got Chits to the rear,” he called over the vox. “Move it!”
“How many?” Wallace asked.
“A swarm.” Grimshaw caught up with his men as they ran down the tunnel, eventually arriving at a dimly lit junction. He looked into the darkness. They had outpaced the swarm, but the clicking hum grew louder.
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