by Fleet, Ricky
Depth check.
The digital display gave her a reading of over sixteen thousand feet below the surface.
Shit.
That put a seismic cleanse out of the equation. This would need to be a plasma charge placement job. It would take her at least an hour and a half to return to the nearest cache of bombs, then another couple of hours to safely place them and retreat. The joy of knowing the lake of lava that would flow into their nest was well worth the effort though.
Moving with far greater caution, the passage passed through a layer of limestone. The cavern beyond was huge, formed by millions of years of water absorbing hydrogen sulphide discharge and the subsequent acid eating at the walls. Incredible formations lined the floor and ceiling of the space. Stalactites poised overhead like the Sword of Damocles. Stalagmites pointing skyward, their wicked tips like an upturned pike. Flowstone covered the walls from the continuing erosion. The myriad colours were visually stunning, taking her breath away. Crushing the fleeting moment of pleasure was the sheer number of enemies.
Dear God, she thought, almost whispering the shocked exclamation.
Hyde to base. Sending visual feed of the nest.
Receiving. Proceed with extreme caution.
Tens of thousands of the creatures lined every square inch of the underground den. The brood mother was located centrally on a hub of stone. Raised up as if on a pedestal, the sight made Jayne’s skin crawl. Once female, it was now something of a darkest nightmare, bigger by far than any she had encountered before. Aside from the method of birth, it was hard to imagine the thing could be assigned a true gender. Its expansive flesh was translucent. Pulsing within the amorphous blob of its body were massive organs which could only be hearts, pumping black liquid through thick arteries. Reaching a height of twelve feet, its circumference was close to three times that size. Multi legged like a spider, twin heads thrashed this way and that. Stunted arms waved around spastically. Several wombs within the mass churned as the mutants gestated. From her position, Jayne could see three orifices between the hugely muscular legs with more out of sight. It was impossible to tell if the monstrosity was in pain or enjoying the sporadic expulsions. Every few minutes, a white torrent of mucus eased a newly birthed horror into the world. The newest offspring flopped around the base before moving away and settling into a catatonic type state with their vacant, swaying brethren.
The response would need to be altered. If Jayne’s hunch was correct and there was a second nest of a similar size, the plasma explosions would be unable to fully eradicate the threat. Large boreholes snaking downwards from the cavern floor would reduce the effectiveness even further as the molten discharge drained away. All that she would achieve would be to seal the cavern for a short time and rile the whole army no less than aggravating a hornet’s nest. Retreating from the disgusting sight, Jayne knew there were only two options.
Hyde to base. Requesting dispatch of an Annihilator squad with full thermonuclear payload for two targets.
Received. Standby for General Ashdown.
Standing by.
Hyde, this is Ashdown. The Genesis Initiative have requested we attempt to secure the brood mother. In your opinion, what’s the probability of mission success?
Very low, General. The creature’s three miles underground and guarded by a sizeable force. I can scout the second target, but I would imagine if it is a nest then they’ll have taken similar precautions.
Repeat the last. You say it could be a twin nest?
Affirmative.
We’ve not seen that before. Standby.
Jayne was silently jogging back up the shaft, readying herself to start hunting the topside mutants. It would be dangerous, but the A-class operators needed a clear path to bring the devices underground.
Hyde, can you scout and confirm the presence of a second nest? Report in as soon as possible.
Yes, ma’am.
An hour later and she was stood at the mouth of a second cavern which was only slightly smaller than the first. Multitudes of the infected were gathering and that could only mean one thing; they were preparing for an all-out assault on Heldon.
Hyde to base, second nest confirmed. They’re gearing for war.
Received. Move to safe distance and await Vanquisher and armour support.
General, I would advise against that course of action.
Your objections are noted, soldier, but the knowledge we could gain from that size of host is too valuable to pass up. Move to safe distance and await further orders.
Understood. Hyde out.
Well this day just got a whole lot more interesting, she thought sourly.
Chapter 33
“All V-class operators are to assemble in your designated zone. This is not a drill.”
Dropping whatever they were doing, Andy and the rest of his squad quickly donned their combat dress. Checking each other’s suits were secure, they slipped on tactical helmets and raced from the hut.
“This is it then?” Zip asked, jogging alongside him.
“It seems like it.”
“You sure you don’t want to be safely wrapped in a Mech? It could get hairy out there.”
“I hope so. After seeing them up close I want to get some payback. Hand to hand is more satisfying than the detachment a Mech gives.”
“Fair enough. I’ll make you a deal,” said Zip.
“Depends on what it is.”
“Get us both home safely and I’ll take you back to Mrs Lao’s for a meal.”
“Consider it done.”
Mustering on the training ground, Andy and the other Vanquishers formed up. Magjets were skimming in over the walls, the bay doors dropping as they landed to allow access to the troops. Hundreds were already inside from other outposts, secure in the seat harnesses. Bateman and the Mechs were airborne, dangling from the thick clamps.
Hardie was all business as he explained the mission, a grim scowl pinching his features. “One of Smith’s Shadow operators has found a twin nest in an abandoned power station seventy-three miles from here. We’ve got the opportunity to secure a host unlike anything we’ve captured before. The knowledge within that abomination may give us an edge in the coming wars. And if not, we need to kill the bitches anyway.”
“Size of the enemy force, sir?”
“Estimates are around a hundred thousand. We’ll be approaching from the north-east, dropping into the area with Paladin and Mech support on the ground. A Dreadhulk is on standby to transport the brood mother and will hold back at a distance of ten miles. Our job is to survive the initial assault and then go underground to force the queen, or queens, topside. Your visor display will roll film of the first sighting by the operator. Study it, get rid of any fear at how repulsive it is. We need you cocked, locked, and ready to rock, not quivering like a jelly when we get her in our sights. Understood?”
“Aye, Sarge!”
“Good. You’re going to be split into groups of four and join a veteran squad on the Magjets. It’s not that I doubt you, it’s just protocol until you’re blooded in a real fight with the mutants. Listen to the hardasses and you won’t go wrong. If it all turns to shit and we get killed, I’ll see you all at the next spawning.”
With that, he called out names and designated their transport. Andy and Zip were picked, sprinting up the ramp with two more from their platoon. The battle-hardened soldiers gave them a warm greeting with none of the usual hazing reserved for rookies. In the Sovereign Guard, everyone spawned was a warrior from some far-flung corner of the globe. The fact that they were untested against a sizeable force of infected was irrelevant. After stowing their rifles and strapping themselves in, the commander welcomed the new faces.
“Good to have you with us, recruits! I’m Lieutenant Croft.”
The four introduced themselves.
“I know you’re going to be a handful which is good news for us. Anyone coming out of Hardie’s training is an asset. Wait, did one of you say Burton?”
Andy raised his hand.
“Andrew Burton?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Shit, you’re the one who smashed Smith’s record,” said an unknown voice.
“As did Downing, sir.”
“Downing?”
Gillian spoke up. “Zip, sir. My nickname.”
“Well hot damn. Ladies and gents, we have a couple of celebrities. Once we’ve scraped these cockroaches from our boots I’d be honoured if you’d all have a drink with us.”
The other veterans animatedly confirmed their agreement.
“We’d like that. Thank you, sir.”
“Ok, back to mission. Our friends have got aerial recon, so we’re going to strike as one unit. Once the birds are wiped out by the drones, the Paladins are going to drop their deployable pillboxes three quarters of a mile from the tunnel and take up position to our rear. They’ll give us some extra cover when we’re under attack. We disembark twenty seconds later and form up, using the drop bunkers and terrain for cover. Delta and Echo platoons will be setting up to guard the flanks with Mech support. We don’t expect it to be an issue, but the bastards have been getting far too smart for my liking. Any questions?”
None came.
“Good. Check ammo and weapons. Hyde has uploaded a full 3D laser scan of the underground system, so I suggest you become acquainted with the nest layout. ETA to destination, twenty-six minutes.”
Left alone with their thoughts, the four newcomers looked over the neon mapping. Zip muttered something about not relishing the idea of traipsing three miles below ground. Even the veterans grumbled anxiously at the creature they were tasked with retrieving. This was new to all of them, time servers and raw recruits alike.
Thinking back to his family, Andy said a quiet prayer in their memory. His heartrate was steady, with none of the usual pre-battle jitters. Was he that eager for death? Or was it a newfound confidence? He didn’t really know. The crushing pain of their loss had returned ferociously as Zip and the briefing pack said it would. That alone pointed towards a yearning for the peace of the grave; a dead man couldn’t feel his heart tearing apart. No longer would he see the flashing visions of his daughters, their smiling faces as he returned from duty. His wife’s strangling embrace as she smothered him in kisses. On the other hand, he wasn’t a coward. Andy’s friends, nay the whole world, was counting on him to fight. To win.
“Fuck it,” he muttered.
“You ok?” asked Zip.
“Yeah, just old memories coming back.”
“Use them,” offered another stranger’s voice.
“Is that what you do?” asked Andy.
“Revenge is all I have left, brother.”
Following the brief exchange, the lieutenant released his harness and stood up, clutching the support bar above his head.
“We’re a minute out. Time for the fireworks.”
Peering through the panoramic windscreen, a series of drones rocketed past, the yellow incandescence of the fuel lighting the way. Powering upwards to meet the threat, missiles detached from the wings and streaked off into the darkness. The night lit up like the Fourth of July as the eagles were hit, disappearing in huge fireballs, their burned scraps falling to earth.
“We’re cleared for landing!” shouted the commander as the aerial hunters pulled a full one-eighty and sped for home.
Moving as one, the soldiers unbuckled and retrieved their rifles from the upright weapon racks. The pilots dropped suddenly, pulling the stick back just in time to avoid a collision. The bay door dropped, and the Vanquishers moved by the twos and spread out. The Paladins were reversing, the six-foot-wide tracks supporting the five hundred and forty tonnes of killing power crushing anything in their path. Two empty channels behind the huge turret signified the mobile pods had been dropped. The quad barrels of the tank wouldn’t have looked out of place on a twentieth century battleship, battering fortified enemy positions.
“Greenhorns, bunker or topside?”
“Topside, sir,” came the replies.
“That’s what I like to hear. Get in position!”
The twelve steel shelled pods were strategically placed in a slight curve to give a wide field of fire. Gun ports were visible around the whole perimeter, and as the selected veterans opened the rear doors, Andy caught sight of the fixed flame unit within. Bateman had spread the Mechs out evenly along the line, taking up a central position himself to stay close to the action. The painted white skull on the armour reminded Andy of a film he’d seen many lives ago.
“Hab, Jenkins, you’re on the torch!”
The top of the pods was fitted with a shield in the form of a five-foot-high wall. The barrier was lined with barbed spikes, as was the entire circumference of the defensive structures.
“Twelve on the roof! Now! The rest of you, on me!”
Argyle and Kemp joined ten others as they scurried up the retractable ladder. Zip found cover in one of the deep ruts left by the trundling behemoths. Andy took up position to her right, kneeling behind a pile of rubble. Glancing left, he caught sight of Hardie barking orders to his own platoon. As the troops fell silent, the hum of the Magjets receded into the night and only the idling engines of the Paladins and Mech hydraulics could be heard.
“The tanks are going to soften them up for us when they’ve cleared the tunnel. Hold fire until the dust settles.”
Their position put them at the back of the administration building, with the unbroken cooling stacks to the right. The mouth of the nest was facing them, dark and forbidding. Andy held a hand to the ground and felt a growing vibration carry through the dry earth.
“This is it. Remember your training and you’ll be fine.”
The denizens of Hell spewed from the opening, splitting into three individual paths.
“Would you fucking believe it?” growled the lieutenant. “Delta, Echo, looks like you’ll be earning your crust today. You’ve got incoming.”
A series of deep cracks shattered the night. Blazing across the darkness came the heavy shells of the tanks. The explosive rounds impacted, sending pillars of fire, mud, and flesh soaring into the sky. Split by the diverging infected, they were less effective than hoped. A second barrage whined overhead, shrapnel tearing through the ranks of wailing monsters. A rain of bloody confetti started to fall around the soldiers. Most of the debris was, thankfully, unidentifiable, but a solitary eye plopped down two feet in front of Andy. The red orb stared, and he was sure he could feel the malice emanating from the severed optic.
“They’re too spread out. You’re clear to engage!”
The display scope picked out the closest targets and a squeeze of the trigger sent fifty rounds into their midst. Splintering shards of high velocity metal punched through the mutants. Puffs of blood and scraps of flesh exited the wounds in a hundred different directions. All along the line, streams of bullets cut through the three-pronged swarm. Bateman ordered the Mechs to engage, pouring their explosive rounds into the swarming creatures.
“Paladins, can you try and funnel the bastards before they breach our flanks?” shouted Croft.
The whir of rotating mechanisms preceded another round of heavy booms. To the sides, a wall of destruction burst skyward, deflecting some, but not all of the creatures.
“They’re determined little fuckers. Again!”
Dazed by the second blast wave, the infected stood up, shook themselves, and forged on through the deluge of rock and mud.
“Squad leaders, send four from your fire teams to support the flanks. Two to each side. Burton, Downing, you’re up! Captain, can you reposition your forces to help them?”
“Roger that. Will you be able to hold the line?”
“We’ll use the flamers to beat them back, sir. If we can’t hold the flanks we’re lost!”
Leaving cover, the ground troops dodged behind the chattering bunkers while Mechs marched directly through the gunfire unconcerned. The fastest of the infected had reached the effective range of the sputtering w
eapons. Yelling their hatred, the soldiers let loose. Raging, liquid fire licked out from the wider frontal port, searing into the nearing horde.
Hardie caught sight of the reinforcements arriving. “We need two more shooters on the roof. I’ve got a bad feeling in my bones.”
Croft had paused to reload and overheard the exchange. “What’s the problem, Sergeant?”
“There’s not enough of them, sir. There should be more, a lot more.”
“They could be delayed. The vibrations could’ve collapsed one of their passageways.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Keep your eyes on the prize, Sergeant.”
Andy and Zip clambered onto the raised platform, switching out empty magazines. Racking the slide, the mag coils spat the bullets into the monsters. The impact craters of the Paladin shots were working against them, providing cover as the creatures leaped between the depressions.
“Looks like we may be going hand to hand!” yelled Croft.
The central mass of the horde was being chewed up by the solid wall of fire and unceasing barrage of bullets.
“They’re pulling back,” exclaimed Croft in shock.
“That’s impossible,” Hardie growled, turning just in time to see them retreat.
“Sergeant, they’re circling back to join the flankers.”
Once again, the uninjured mutants used the cover of the hollows to avoid being shot. On the left, Andy and Zip were picking off as many as possible but the angle of approach left them wide open. Even the explosive tipped bullets of the Mechs were only chewing dirt. The eager flames were falling short of the snarling pack, restricted in their movement by the gun port.
Twenty or so took a chance, jumping with every ounce of power in their mutated legs. Thankfully, the first wave fell short, slamming into the sides of the structure and impaling themselves. Mortally wounded, torn up arms reached weakly for the soldiers above as blood ran down the steel shell. The second wave was bang on target, a small group crashing down amongst the startled troops. Dozens landed on the Mechs, crawling over the black armour until the deadly lances sprang from the ports to impale them. Moving to help the besieged soldiers, another cluster of infected reached their position and attacked.