Salvage-5 (First Contact)

by Brian K. Larson

  “Easy, Tuck,” Gus said. “Let me tell you that this complex has been here, buried in this asteroid, for hundreds of thousands of years.”

  “What happened, did they crash?”

  “They didn’t crash…this complex was built for this function…you see, this race was dying out. So they sent these spheres all over the galaxy in hopes to spread their life and knowledge among the stars. Contained within this center of the ship are huge caches of some kind of bio-mechanical organic matter. They knew their kind would never survive the long journey to the other solar systems, so they programmed these artificial life units…”

  “…Those were the cyborg clones we played cards with on our way down here,” Tuck smiled.

  “Yes, there are three mechanical ones; they were the caretakers, and the ones who got us.”

  “Got you? Where are they now?”

  “There programming concluded as soon as the first clones were developed, they’re parked in a station right below us. That’s where Savage is, she’s just been plugged in. Less than an hour ago, there’s still time to rescue her.”

  “What did they do to you?”

  “When I was taken, it was by our own clones. But the way I understand it, the CSMO’s close proximity and the harpoon strike alerted the alien computers. It awoke the mechanicals, they have this unlimited power source, kept everything dormant and asleep all those millennia.”

  “So I was right, they did wake up the alien tech.”

  “That’s when the mechanicals came to life and pulled the CSMO into the landing bay.”

  “Doesn’t seem to be a very benevolent act on their part.”

  “These beings, they don’t perceive things the way we do. They offered us a gift of great power.”

  “What’s this thing that’s implanted in your brain?”

  “Tucker, this tech is so far advanced. They start us off with an injection, a chip. In seconds, it takes hold and begins to grow. It actually grows computer technology using a small amount of the bio-mechanical material. Just a small amount is all it takes to grow the chips right into our cerebral cortex. From there, it modifies the human DNA and is able to replicate itself. That’s how it grows and takes over our entire body…they become part of us.”

  “You’ve got cancer,” Rhodes nodded.

  “Tuck, you promised…”

  “Hey, I never said a word…Doc? How’d you know?”

  “It’s easy,” Rhodes explained, “That explains why his body wasn’t completely taken over by the alien tech. It knew his body was defective and stopped.”

  “The doctor is right. That’s why it stopped growing, but now I’m paralyzed. Since it took over part of my spinal cord, and never grew the traces over my arms and legs, I was put in this…chamber.”

  “What are they using you for if your body was of no use to them?”

  “They do value life, Tucker. They valued life so greatly; they wanted to preserve themselves…”

  “…through others.”

  “Like I said, they perceive things differently than we do. They didn’t expect we would fight this. From their point of view, there technology would only benefit our race. In their eyes, they’re only wish was to enhance life.”

  “If they’re so advanced, why didn’t they cure your cancer?”

  “It wasn’t programmed into their systems. I was the first species they had encountered with this disease…the chip that was implanted didn’t contain the programming, now it does…but it was too late for me. Tucker, when these cyborg clones are activated, there’s no chance in hell of you preventing them from taking our ships to Earth.”

  “Why didn’t they just land on Earth in the first place? It’d be a done deal by now.”

  “They have one Achilles Heel.”

  “And that would be?”

  “They didn’t have a way to test our atmosphere for biological contaminates that would be deadly to them. Instead, they would wait for the development of a society to be strong enough that would have built immunity and anti-bodies for them.”

  “But why bury this sphere ship thing so far down? We might never have encountered them.”

  “That was not the plan. It was supposed to be stationary in space, but the asteroid material formed around it. The gravitational properties of the sphere entering this region of space, asteroids were still being formed; they just got caught within this formation, which then prevented our scientists from detecting…that is until the poor souls of the CSMO found it.”

  “Is there any way to remove the implants?”

  “Yes, they can be surgically removed…but Tuck, the control unit you’re going to take; it contains only a piece of the process. You need to bring this to our people. It will be a way to heal our sick people…turn this into a gift and not a curse.”

  “My boy has been in an accident…are you saying that this…chip…can save him? Bring him out of his coma and restore his body?”

  “Bennie? Oh no, Tuck…I’m sorry…I didn’t know.”

  “Will it help him?”

  “Yes, Tuck. We can reverse engineer the chip in Savage’s head and that unit; the others have been converted and are not recoverable.”

  “It can also be used as a weapon.”

  “Tuck, the benefit that this tech can bring our people…sure, with anything, it could be used in bad ways.”

  “Now I understand why the Vatican is so interested in obtaining this tech.”

  “The Vatican?”

  “Yeah, I was initially wrong. I thought they wanted to cash in on drug companies, but it won’t stop there. They want to offer mankind the guarantee of healing by joining their church…just think of the boost in their power in the world they would have…with this chip, they’ll have physical irrefutable proof that people can be healed.”

  “Then you mustn’t let them have it,” Gus said.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that…my friend.”

  “Doctor,” Gus began, “I asked Tucker to keep the cancer part private…I would appreciate you doing the same.”

  “Oh, by all means…doctor-patient confidentiality and all.”

  “Tucker, I think I’m getting closer to gaining access to the main core of this complex. Set your charges and run. I’ll continue to work on breaching their core; I might be able to cause some confusion with the cyborgs…at least at first.”

  “Just buy us enough time to find Savage and get out of here.”

  “Tuck, just know that the more encounters you have with them, the more they’ll learn and adapt.”

  “I think we’ve seen some of that already.”

  “There’s more though.”

  “I’m all ears, Gus.”

  “The chip amplifies our minds, it allow us to develop way beyond our dreams.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as, telekinetic abilities, perceptions, projections…whatever you put your mind to do, you can accomplish.”

  Rhodes looked up at Tucker, “He’s right, Colonel. There is great potential in this tech.”

  “Anything else you want to tell us, Gus?”

  “No, that’s about all I know. God speed, Colonel.”

  “Cass,” Tucker called through his wireless, “How ya coming on setting up?”

  “We’re almost done, Tuck.”

  “Hargrove here, sir. I count ten minutes before the next attack.”

  “Affirmative,” Hargrove heard in his headset.

  “Cass, give me a hand with this last one.”

  “Sure, Lieutenant.”

  Cass kneeled down to assist setting Hargrove’s last charge, “Samuels, how you coming over there?”

  “I’m done and in position.”

  “Cass!” Hargrove exclaimed, pointing at the wall.

  The wall began to turn transparent, “Lock and load everyone!” Cass yelled, “They’re early!”

  Cass and the others took aim at the entrance that had just formed, and then she raised her fist in the air, “Hold your fire!” as C
aptain Rothschild entered the room.

  “Geez everyone one, take it easy,” Sam said, raising the palms of her hands, “I’m a friendly.”

  Tucker gasped as he saw Sam enter the room, “What the hell are you doing down here…Captain?” Tucker yelled through his wireless. “You nearly got yourself killed just now!”

  “Oh Commander, you don’t know the half of it.”

  “I told you to stay behind!”

  “Right, like I was going to subject myself to getting shot in the leg again…at least this way, I have control over my own fate.”

  “If you had of been in the cockpit and not standing there like a fly on manure in the desert, you might not have been shot…Captain.”

  “I brought supplies…”

  “Oh, well in that case, Captain. Please make yourself useful and take position.”

  “Commander, we might not be able to hold them off this time. Cal and I held a dozen or so off, but just barely…he rigged these toners, restored power to the other ships and used their fire power to overcome them. There’s no telling what the next attack would bring…but these toners allow us to open doorways anywhere we need. They will hold the door open, I’ve managed to secure a four tiered opening that connects all our levels.”

  “What else do you have up your little sleeve, Captain?”

  “Before I got here, I came across a computer console. Cal was hacking in and had just enough time to relay a message before the console shut him out. If we can establish a wireless connection to the main core of this complex, Cal is writing a virus to infect these clones…he thinks that will cause a catastrophic core failure…in the meantime, here are some alien rifles I grabbed from my last encounters.”

  Sam tossed the rifles to Cass and Hargrove.”

  “Sweet!” the lieutenant exclaimed.

  “Sam,” Tucker ordered, “We’ll hold them off. I need you and Samuels to go down one more level and get Savage.”

  “Tuck,” Rhodes said, “I should go with them. If she’s connected to anything like Gus…”

  “Go!”

  “Three minutes,” Hargrove counted.

  “Come on, Sarge, Doc,” Sam waved, “Follow me.”

  She ran to the opposite side of the room and placed one of her toners and opened a hole in the floor.

  She placed one of the collapsible ladders down and motioned Samuels down first, then the Doctor. She climbed down partway, reached over and took the toner. After locking it on the ceiling on the new level, she turned it off, closing the opening, but sealing the ladder to the material.

  The room they entered was much different; smaller in size. In the very center of the room were three centurion looking metallic robots. Powered down, and cold looking.

  This floor contained all the members of the Salvage-4 crew, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the room. They were strapped down, similar to Gus’s apparatus, but not as sophisticated. All of them were jacked into cables that lead to the center of the room, just above the metallic cyborgs, and all were unconscious.

  “They must be harvesting their DNA,” Rhodes exclaimed.

  Sam scanned the room and discovered Savage, “There!”

  They ran to her side and noticed that there weren’t any computer traces on her skin as yet, “I think we’re in time,” Rhodes nodded, “I can get her out of this. Once she’s unplugged, I’ll wake her.”

  “You sure it’s safe?”

  “No, I’m not sure of anything right now,” Rhodes said, with sweat dripping down his forehead.

  “Do it,” Sam ordered.

  “Okay…here goes nothing.”

  Rhodes began disconnecting the wire from the back of Savage’s head. With one tug, he pulled the plug from the jack sending Savage into a seizure.

  “Quick!” Rhodes said in a panic, “Hold her down.”

  The two held her still the best they could while Rhodes prepared another concoction. He again held the tip of the nozzle and shot the drugs in Savage’s body, relaxing her a few moments later.

  “Man, that was close,” Rhodes said, “That wasn’t your typical seizure.”

  “How so?” Samuels asked.”

  “When I pulled the jack out, it caused a severe electrical short. If I hadn’t put her out when I did, her brain would have fried.”

  “Can you get her out of this thing?”

  “Yes, but it’s going to take a little longer than expected.”

  Rhodes continued to disconnect the lieutenant from the table and its connections while they heard the noise of weapons firing above them.

  “Doctor, it’s started. We need to help them; they’re going to be seriously outnumbered.”

  “Just another minute and I’ll have it. Then I can wake her…she’ll be a little groggy, but she’ll be able to make it without too much help.”

  “Hurry, Rhodes…”

  “There!” the doctor said. He prepped another shot and quickly administered the drug.

  Savage began to wake up almost immediately, “Wha…what happened? Where am I?”

  “Never mind that now Lieutenant, let’s move.”

  The Sarge and doctor Rhodes helped Melissa off the table and took her to the ladder where Sam had reopened the opening in the ceiling.

  The noise of concussion explosions and rapid fire rail guns, mixed in with alien pulsars, filled the room as they ascended the ladder.

  Tucker stood near the hole where Sam and the others were coming through, not seeing the cyborg descending behind him from the ceiling. The cyborg reached down and injected a substance with a protruding probe into Tucker’s neck. He instantly fell limp in the hands of the cyborg.

  Sam yelled out at the sight of him being pulled through a hole in the ceiling, “Tucker!!”

  * * *

  Chapter 12

  Salvage-5

  Location:

  Kirkwood Gap – Asteroid 15 Eunomia

  Alien Complex

  Earth Date: Sept. 4th, 2064 1935hrs

  Missions Objectives:

  CSMO RECOVERY

  INVESTIGAT ALIEN CRASH SITE

  AQUIRE ALIEN TECH

  FIND & RECOVER SURVIVORS

  DESTROY ALIEN VESSEL

  Cass looked on in horror, seeing Tucker being pulled away right before her eyes. But all she could do was scream in anger and continue firing at the cyborgs that continued to pour into the room.

  Ten, fifteen, and then twenty cyborgs fell at the hands of the Salvage-5’s rail guns. Hargrove stood and fired in one direction, while Cass kneeled under him, firing in another.

  Sam and Samuels picked up their alien weapons and began sending rapid fire pulsar blasts into the crowd of cyborg.

  The doctor picked up Tucker’s alien weapon he had dropped and began firing on more cyborg coming through the rear entrance.

  “They’re surrounding us, we can’t hold them back for long!” Cass shouted.

  “How many rounds you have left, Cass?”

  “I’ve got three clips, you?”

  “Down to my last one now…I’m out,” he said, firing the last round. Then he tossed it aside, “Switching to the alien issue.”

  He pulled the trigger and blasted three cyborgs in one shot.

  “Wish you had of done that sooner, Hargrove,” Cass yelled.

  “I wish I had of done that sooner too.”

  The intensity on his face turning to rage, as he fought to take out the last of the cyborg coming through the entrance. Then he turned and added his pulsing blasts at Cass’s door.

  “I’m out too!” Cass yelled, then picked up her alien weapon that Sam had tossed her earlier and began taking out the last three cyborgs.

  She stood and ran over to Sam, and the others, and finished off the ones Rhodes had begun to battle.

  “We did it!” Hargrove rejoiced.

  “We did nothing!” Cass yelled with anger, “We lost Tucker!”

  “Yes, we did…but we’ll find him…I know we will,” Hargrove said, assuring himself more than t
he others.

  “Gus!” Rhodes shouted, “Is he alright?”

  “As long as we’re not standing in his perimeter field, he’s protected,” Cass said, “Come on; let’s see if he’s still conscious.”

  They arrived at Gus’s side, his eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were furrowed.

  “Gus?” Cass asked.

  “Shhh,” is all she heard in return.

  They waited a few painful moments before Gus opened his eyes, “I know where he is.”

  “You know about Tucker?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Why didn’t you warn us, why did they take Tuck?”

  “I didn’t have access to that file until the plan had been executed…then it was too late.”

  “So, where is he and how much time do we have again?”

  “He’s in the staging area. They thought that if they took your leader, the rest of the hive would become confused and they could overtake you on the next attack.”

  “What they did, was stir up a hornet’s nest…sorry,” Cass said, “I’m only going to get more in their face now.”

  “Yes, a miscalculation on their part. Their next strategy is based on the disruption of the hive.”

  “Time?”

  “Fifteen, at best.”

  “They’re getting quicker at this.”

  “Yes, until we reach zero count and the rest of the ten thousand cyborgs are activated.”

  “You need to get out of here…now…find Tucker and get his ass off this complex. Pull my plug, I’ll try to keep up for as long as I can.”

  “Gus, did anyone ever tell you…”

  “…that I’m a great guy? Yeah…all the time…unlike Tucker,” he smiled. “Now go! Tucker is one level up. Make your wireless connection at one of those ports. You can have Cal send the virus to that point.”

  Cass reached down and kissed Gus on the cheek, “I’ll make it right, Gus…we’ll not fail…I won’t let these alien bastards take Earth…there’s just no way!”

  She gritted her teeth and looked up at Sam, “Okay, let’s get up there and find him.”

  “I’m on it, sister.”

  Cass reached over to the unit. Grabbing the bundle of wires and yanked it out of its socket.