“You’re really worried, huh?” He gently tossed a bottle up to the valkyrie. “I hate to break it to you, but there’s probably nobody there anymore.”
“How?”
“Spectre attacked that place. She’s not really known for leaving survivors. I doubt there’s going to be much of a base left at all. You saw what she did to Ianisse.”
It was quiet for a moment, its eyes dimming.
Jackal watched it.
“Spectre is sick. Poisoned.” It said.
“I don’t think that applies to her, Fen. She’s...not exactly all flesh and bone these days.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
Solstice was surprisingly near Avant-Garde. The base had been built into an asteroid that flew around the Rosette Nebula, usually near its perimeter. At first glance it was easy to overlook the base. The lack of exterior lights kept its dock and entrance silhouetted against the backdrop of swirling star dust.
Reaper made the call for Jackal to get his team ready. Fenris was already at the bay door, impatiently waiting for the ship to dock.
The asteroid itself made the Syndicate appear small. Their four hundred man ship was no match for the thousands of people that must have lived in the base.
Air thrusters activated, the ship came in slow at the far end of the dock. There was nothing to attach the ship to. Through the autopilot system and skilled piloting, Willis kept the ship steady. The door opened.
Fenris was off, walking down the dock before anyone else could join it.
It had already made it to the entrance of the base by time the others got off the Syndicate. The switch for the door failed. Fenris opted for the brute force method.
"Do we have to worry about anything here?" Jackal asked, reaching back to feel the tubing for his oxygen tank.
"I'm not sure." Reaper looked over his shoulder. Reynolds stuck out like a sore thumb. The rest of them wore black and gray on their suits. Different colors for accents and lights, but Reynolds, being a researcher wore stark white. A deep lime green in bold pieces, and matching lights. Her face was also clearly visible when the sun visor was up.
"Stay in the middle to be safe."
Fenris dug its claws into the door, pulling it open. The two halves split only an inch and the valkyrie recoiled. It hissed, arms tight against its sides.
"What's wrong?" Jackal stepped up to it. "Are you hurt?"
Reaper approached. "Mjolnir, give him a hand!" He grabbed Jackal's shoulder to pull him from the door. "I don't know what to expect. Be ready for a fight."
Mjolnir dug his claws into the opening with Fenris and the two pulled in opposite directions. Fenris snapped its jaws, biting back a cry of pain.
When it was open enough, the others slipped through. Mjolnir and Fenris followed. Pulled the door shut.
A red light lit the airlock. Crates and forklifts were scattered around the room. Blood stained the surfaces. Laborers in fluorescent vests were found dead, barely reacting to the slaughter that befell them.
Ruby reached the door first to pressurize the room.
"Life support systems are still functional." He announced, tapping on the console screen. "No contaminates. The air is safe."
Fenris stood in front of the door, rolling its shoulders.
"He's acting weird," Jackal whispered to Reaper.
"He's probably freaking out." Reaper stated.
"Pressurizing." Ruby said. He stepped from the console.
"Why though?"
"This is his home."
"What?!"
Air rushed in through vents at the ceiling. After a minute, one light lit green. The rest still flashed red.
Ruby hit a button on the console. The door opened.
Fenris rushed through as soon as it could fit.
The base was larger than they thought. The next room appeared like a lobby. Benches, couches, chairs, tables. Plants and decorative rails and pictures. Just about the same size as the airlock. A check in desk at the farthest wall which guarded four separate doors, marked alphabetically.
Everything was flipped over, destroyed. Bodies of civilians laid in pools of blood. Door B was busted open, ripped off its hinges. Crumpled up like paper, it lay in the hall. The other doors required key cards to access.
They took their helmets off, attaching them to their waists. There was no point in wasting oxygen. The air here was safe, but it might not be elsewhere.
Fenris sniffed at the air, pacing in a short circle.
"Why would anyone attack this place? It looks like a lab." Sparrow asked.
No one gave her an answer.
Fenris howled, making them reel back. Its hollow song pierced right through their ears. Shook the plants around them. Chilled their bones. When it finished, it stood in silence.
The others looked at each other for any explanation.
Silence. No one moved for a whole minute.
Something bellowed back. A shrieking bugle sounded off from somewhere deeper in the base, though it ended as soon as it began. Fenris looked to one of the shut doors, a tilt to its head.
"Hey!" Called another voice from far away. "Help!"
Its head turned to the open hall.
They rushed through the doorway with Fenris leading the way.
Several doors down the hall had been kicked open. Ripped in half. Busted from the hinges. People in white coats had been caught running away. Holes had been torn open in their backs, either by knives, or by bullets. They barely had time to examine the corpses. Fenris was on a mission.
"Your girlfriend is fucked." Jackal said as they stepped over two bodies laid out over one another.
"I'm sure she had a good reason to attack."
"Maybe we need an anti-alpha weapon."
"Down here!" The voice called.
Fenris turned into the next open door, stopping abruptly. The floor had caved in, lockers and benches collapsed to the floor below.
"Hey!" The voice called from below. A black and blue metallic hand waved from the debris.
Jackal stood on the edge trying to figure out a way down without hurting the man under all the rubble.
"Mjolnir, think we're gonna need you again."
"Don't have to tell me twice. Let us do all the heavy lifting." Mjolnir grinned.
He and Fenris both jumped down. The others took a safer way, sliding down the rubble.
"Damn." The man coughed. His helmet's visor was shattered, a shard from it lodged in his brow. He was covered in white dust, the blue of his armor barely visible.
"I thought I recognized that howl." He smiled, looking up to Fenris.
The valkyrie sniffed at his face.
"Eight."
"Yeah, you remember me!" He coughed again. "I'd get out on my own, but those fuckers...disabled my armor. I can't move."
Mjolnir was already picking up large chunks of floor off the pile directly over the man.
Fenris helped as well while the others checked around the area.
"Don't worry," Eight called to them. "Those three bastards left a long time ago."
"How long have you been here?" Reaper asked standing over him.
"What day is it?"
Reynolds tapped on her arm for her display. "Monday, the fifteenth."
"Thursday." He groaned. "I don't think anyone else can hear me if they're even still alive."
With enough of the debris removed, Fenris grabbed him by the strap on his shoulder and pulled. The armor and man both must have weighed nearly a ton, yet Fenris pulled him up to his feet with little effort. It sat him down upon the floor. Reynolds knelt down at his side to check his wounds.
"Man, you've grown." Eight laughed, looking up at Fenris. "I remember when you were just a little pip squeak! You look pretty different, too." He didn’t seem concerned at all about the situation at hand.
"Eight is old."
He coughed. "Hey, that's rude! I'm still kicking."
"So, you're an Alpha?" Reaper asked, noticing the large screaming demon skull painted on
the chest of the armor.
"Yeah. I got stationed here about thirty years ago. Just a handful of us to make sure the staff is protected."
“Thirty years? You really must be an old Alpha to be here that long.”
“I guess in Alpha years. Naw, it’s pretty normal. We’ve all been here that long.”
"Awfully calm for nearly dying." Jackal raised a brow.
"No sense in worrying about the inevitable." He smiled. "Had a better life than most of my brothers out there. Got it kind of luxurious right here. Look, I've had an itch the last day I cannot fucking scratch. Can you get this shit open?"
"Did they let you live because you were an Alpha?" Reaper asked.
Jackal stepped around to his back for the lever.
"Fuck no! The floor caved in. I got knocked out. They must have thought I was dead. We weren't ready for that kind of attack. No one even knows this place exists. Thirty years and not even a pen has been stolen. We got complacent." His eyes dropped down. “Dumb mistake. Knew those bastards were targeting any Apex base they could find. Just a matter of fuckin’ time till they showed up.”
Jackal pulled and twisted the lever. Air rushed out of the valves. The suit unfolded, revealing a dark skinned man wearing only a pair of pants and boots. The same screaming demon skull tattooed over a branding on his upper arm.
He pulled himself out, stretching all the while. He appeared he spent most of his free time at the gym.
"Woo!" He cheered. "Man that feels good! Thought that was gonna be my coffin." He scratched his rear.
"Are you injured?" Reynolds asked.
"Naw, pretty lady. Armor took everything." He stretched his arms. "All right, heroes, let's go. I reckon any survivors are still in the nursery."
He looked up to Fenris, giving a loud sigh. "And you probably scared the shit out of everyone."
Fenris scratched at its muzzle, head tilted down. Eight reached up to pat it on the head. Scratched it behind the ear.
"Good to see you strong as ever."
"So, no rampaging monsters?" Reaper asked. They headed down the hall.
"What? No! This is probably one of the safest places in the galaxy!"
"Liar…" Fenris grumbled.
"Okay. Safest for humans. We thought."
"There's other valkyries here?" Jackal asked.
"Should be. Depends if those fuckers killed them all, but I doubt it. Hardy kids. Put up a good fight at this age."
Eight didn't seem to notice any of the damage or bodies. He was cheery as a sunny day. Calm and collected. Cracking jokes.
Eventually, they made it to the end of the hall. A door wide open, half broken. There were voices in the room. One had yelped.
"It's here!" It squeaked. "The Devourer!"
"Quick, hide. Hide, little ones."
"Get in your armor!" Another one said.
When they made it into the room, they only saw a handful of people. This must have been the largest room in the base. It was separated by large aquariums filled with cots, chairs, tables, and other items. Most of the space was destroyed. A few fires freshly put out. Supplies scattered across the floor. Half-eaten plates left sitting around.
People laid across the floor on blankets and pillows, treated for wounds. One man hugged himself in a corner. Rocked back and forth, crying and whimpering.
A woman stood from an injured man and approached the group.
"Eight! You're alive! I thought we lost you!" She said, embracing him.
"Eight!" A man in blue armor ran over. "What happened to you out there?"
"Where the hell were you, man? You couldn’t even bother to search for a body?"
“Well, I thought if they got passed you, you were dead.”
The woman looked up to the valkyrie. She stared for a long time to analyze it.
"Fenris? Oh my God, you got so big! You were just a puppy when I last saw you!" She touched its arm. "Wow...wait, what happened? What are these?" She touched the silky chains embedded in its armor.
"I was wondering the same myself." Eight scratched his chin.
"I have the saw still from when I cut open cell D. I could cut those off." The armored Alpha said.
Fenris sniffed at the woman, putting its nose up against her hair.
"Not Mother." It grumbled.
"You didn't get the message?" She asked. "It's me, Zayla."
"Zayla…" it held a hand up to waist level. "Pup."
"Yeah, I was a kid when we first met." She smiled. "I'm doctor Zayla now." She looked to Reaper.
"And you are, sir?"
"I'm Captain Arturo Phillips. We saw your distress signal and came right away." He shook her hand.
"Whoa, the war hero?" She smiled at him. "You're well known! Are you going to capture those Alphas that attacked us?"
"That's the goal. Is there anything you have we could use to find them." She waved for him to follow.
"Captain, I'm going to see if I can help with the injured." Reynolds said.
"Fenris, come with us. We could use some help." Eight patted the valkyrie on the shoulder.
The group split up with Mjolnir, Jackal and Fenris following the two Alpha Hunters. The others went with Zayla.
"Are you the head here?" Reaper asked. "Yes, I took over after Dr. Schreider passed away. May she rest in peace. She was brilliant!"
"How is that?"
"She's the one that created the valkyrie program. It was going to be marvelous, but nothing turned out the way she dreamed."
They moved to the far end of the room. A door pushed open lead to a small security room, with walls made out of monitors.
"Here, everything is recorded within the facility save for the bathrooms of course. You'll be able to access the security footage from the attack."
"What are the valkyries exactly?" Sparrow asked. "Are they eos?"
"Hybrids, actually!" She smiled. "Beautiful creatures. Absolutely gorgeous. Dr. Schreider discovered the eos could evolve rapidly. She knew that was the key to understanding the universe and possibly as far as finding God. She wanted humans to have that ability. The same ability to ascend to a higher plane of existence."
She hit a few buttons on the console. Having pulled up the footage from last Thursday, she played it from the start of the attack.
Reaper watched. Spectre, Mako, and Phantom docked right where they had placed the Syndicate. They forced the door open.
The screen cut off to switch to the next camera inside the airlock. Zayla looked away from the screen. She did not want to witness the ensuing carnage of all her people murdered in cold blood.
"They thought we were creating Alphas." She said, hugging herself. "The Alphas we have here are for our protection. Valkyries age much quicker than we do and their rebellious stage is more violent. Alphas can usually subdue them when things get out of control."
"Does that happen often?"
They continued to watch the screen. The cameras switched automatically to follow the intruders. They had come into contact with an Alpha Hunter, most likely Eight.
"Rarely. The worst of it was when Fenris was still a pup. I was at school during that time. She had it--er, I mean it. It had it fairly rough being the runt of the litter."
"So, are valkyries anti-alpha soldiers?” Sparrow watched her.
"Oh, don't be silly!" She laughed. "Valkyries are sworn to preserve humanity. They are here to ascend us to a higher plane where we can be free of the laws governing this plane. We'll be safe from the eos." She waved her hand. "You see, we are stuck here. Until we reconnect to the strings of the universe, we will never return to our former glory. We'll never truly be human. Dr. Schreider believed the valkyries were the key. Only they can master the art of evolution and in doing so, they will teach us. Together we will ascend and we will never have to worry about earthly needs and desires. We will be free and rejoin the universe as we were meant to. We will be one with God."
"It sounds more like a cult…" Ruby grumbled.
"All right, bu
ddy, hold still." Five revved up the saw. A titanium, serrated blade whirred around. A small device designed to cut through panels and pipes. Surely it would cut right through the chains.
Goggles on, Eight held one part of the chains around Fenris' arm. The blade spun against the silk like surface. As the sparks flew from the blade, Eight lifted his head up a bit higher to keep the blazing embers from hitting his face. Fenris, sat there upon the floor, held its arm steady and watched without a care about the embers bouncing off its metallic chest.
The saw whined. Crackled. The blade snapped in half, the larger of the pieces stabbing right into Eight’s arm.
The Alpha fell to his rear and grabbed his arm. He gasped, biting down onto his lip. “Fuck! Fuck!”
"Shit! What the fuck? That's a brand new blade!" Five checked the saw and scratched his head.
Jackal and Mjolnir stared wide-eyed. They had hoped that would have done the trick. Instead the chains were left unscathed and the blade was broken. Eight sat there, gripping the blade stuck in the bend of his arm. He hissed sharply. He attempted to pull the blade, but blood spewed a few feet out.
“Shit. Where’s your IFAK?” Five looked around the room.
Jackal snatched his own from his waistband. He knelt down next to Eight. He and Five both dug into the kit with Jackal getting the tourniquet and Five taking the quick clot syrette.
Tourniquet tightened above the injury, Five pulled on Eight’s wrist to keep his arm steady. Jackal held his shoulder and the blade. They looked to one another, silently counting down. One good yank and the blade ripped from the Alpha’s arm. He started to scream from the searing pain. Five shoved the syrette into the open wound and shoved the plunger down. The microsponges filled the opening and expanded, soaking up the blood and clotting the veins to cease the bleeding. Jackal proceeded to wrap his arm in a roll of gauze.
"What's that made of?" Five sat back on the floor.
"It's a new type of alloy." Jackal answered. "Doc said iron, silk, some other properties. She couldn't cut through it either."
"That's interesting." Mjolnir scratched his beard. "I've never heard of such a thing."
"Surtr." Fenris said.
"In English?" Jackal raised a brow.
"Surtr did this to you?" Eight touched its arm.
The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) Page 23