They spent a short amount of time restocking ammunition and changing into Orcus riot gear. Sergei appreciated the extra protection, especially since they were heading to the Hermes Communication Array, the broadcast centre that allowed Lazarus’ personnel to contact Earth. He suspected that if the Mortes were to become more coordinated, that location would be one of the first places they would secure. Chernov looked over to him after fitting his helmet.
“Do you think getting a message out will change anything about our predicament?”
“Hard to say. I’m not confident it will, but we’ve got to do something right,” said Sergei.
They then joined up with the two Orcus guards assigned to keep a close eye on them. After all, as far as they were concerned, this entire ordeal was what he wanted. If only it were that simple. We were used for someone else’s goals. The question is who and why?
They had to journey past the cells of infected prisoners before reaching the Penitentiary lobby. The desk that a receptionist would normally man was now occupied by another Orcus guard. The desk had also been fitted with surveillance equipment. However, the footage looked grainy from where Sergei stood. Sergeant Becker approached the man. He managed to look relaxed despite the situation.
“How bad is it out there?”
The guard leaned forward putting his feet on the ground. “It’s quiet on our doorstep. Soteria patrols are becoming more infrequent though. Imagine most of them perished when the outbreak happened.”
“What about beyond our territory?”
The man shrugged. “Hard to say, why?”
“We’re heading to Hermes to try to send a message to Earth.”
The man scoffed. “Good luck with that then, and don’t forget to lock the door once you leave.”
Becker grumbled and signalled for the rest of the group to get moving.
----------------------------------------
The route to the access tunnels that would give them a shortcut to the Hermes Comms Array saw them cross a bloodied pair of Soteria security. The man struggled to hold up the woman by having her scratched and bruised arm around his neck. They looked both to be in dire need of medical attention. The Orcus guards already had their weapons up, and Sergei and Chernov kept themselves back in case things got dicey.
“You two, Soteria, right?” asked Becker.
“Yeah, why is Orcus sending you out here?” asked the man.
“We’re heading to Hermes’ Array.”
The man baulked and shook his head. He also coughed up something black. He held up his hand. “I’m not – I swear. But we in Soteria had the same idea. The problem is, it’s under the control of those things. They did quite a number on the place. We’re reporting back to our bosses. Please let us through.”
Sergei looked at Chernov. He could tell his friend would rather kill these two. If they were coughing up Morte stuff, it was probably a sign of things to come.
“No, first, you get checked over at Iaso Medicinal. The last thing Soteria needs is being overrun by someone unaware of how compromised they are,” said Becker.
“It’s just some scratches, man.”
“Still, get yourself checked over,” he ordered.
“Yeah, yeah,” said the man as the Orcus team made room for him to pass by them.
A shot rang out that came from neither Chernov nor Sergei, but from the Orcus guard who had led the questioning. His Luger smoked, and he glared at the others before marching over to where the woman was gasping for air. Her fingertips were now covered in the man’s blood. The guard delivered the finishing shot, then did something unexpected. He stamped first down on her chest, crushing it under his black boots and not long after, did the same to the man he executed. The loud squelching of pulped flesh made Sergei grimace.
The man marched back to the front while saying, “We all know how these things work. Killing them was only doing the symbiote a favour. It needed to be crushed in the place it makes its home.”
“No objection from us,” Sergei said. “I would be more surprised if you didn’t shoot them both.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Right,” the guard said. “The access point is close. It should get us to the comm array in no time at all.”
----------------------------------------
The darkness of the tunnels made them all hesitate to enter. It soon swallowed them and they were forced to use their shoulder-mounted torches to light the way while walking in mostly single file.
“Anyone else feel something on the walls?” asked Chernov.
Sergei reached out and rubbed the wall. Instead of concrete, it felt rough and slimy. Putting his torch on it soon made him feel disgusted. “It’s biomass. It’s begun to establish a hive, I think.”
“Then we best hurry,” said Chernov. “The longer this takes, the more this stuff will spread.”
“Can’t help but notice it’s getting thicker too,” said Corporal Meyer.
“Starting to get why those two had to back off from this place,” added Becker.
They soon reached the exit point and noted that the biomass had begun encroaching on it too. It took some chipping away before the door opened and they entered a long but wide corridor. Once metallic looking, its walls now pulsated due to a rapidly encroaching black bulging biomass.
“Eyes up, everyone,” said Sergeant Becker. “If this is here. So are they.”
Upon reaching the entrance to the array, a towering Deterrent Mortan greeted them in its full monstrous shape. With deep black aether energy wrapping around its hands, it manifested two elongated claws and in one formed a ball of black energy that it not soon after launched at the group. It took the squad a few seconds for them to dodge and avoid the ball of energy as it exploded against the biomass behind them. The creature blinked away and appeared in front of Corporal Meyer. Its large black feet met the man’s chest and he tumbled to the floor. Chaos erupted as they all tried to land a shot. It read them like a book and used its blink to weave back and away from the gunfire.
Imagine a claw. Something that stops it dead in its tracks.
Sergei engaged his blink and travelled the twisted other side before returning to the real. The creature barely had time to reorient itself as Sergei’s aether-generated blue claw penetrated its sternum. Enraged, the creature tried to hit back, but he propelled himself away from its swipe. With a clear opening, the remaining three of them easily made short work of the wound and the monster soon found itself writhing on the floor. The one remaining Orcus guard, Sergeant Becker had the pleasure of wrestling the symbiote from its chest. The black amorphous thing leaked fluid everywhere. He dropped it and stamped on the thing.
“I guess they didn’t expect anyone to try and come here,” said Chernov.
“Most people have no experience fighting these things. It makes sense they’d only station one up here. Anyone else wouldn’t be standing right now,” Becker said before looking at Sergei, whose claw had disappeared. “You imitated it.”
“The aether core did the most of the work. Can help me keep up with them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Hermes Comm Array was a large building with a sleek, Art Deco design. Or it would have had it not been consumed by the Deterrent biomass. They soon found the source of the corruption. A large glowing black bulb sat atop one of the many projectors and from its base stretched bio-wire and biomass that connected to the various consoles in the command area.
“So we just destroy it?” Becker asked.
“I would think so,” said Sergei. “But that might not be as easy as it looks. The bulb looks like it’s made to take a hit or two.”
“Then why don’t you use that claw of yours and tear out its centre.”
Sergei rolled his eyes and reformed the claw, the aether flowing around him made him dizzy but he composed himself long enough to penetrate the bulb. He found the internal core and ripped it out. Whatever it was, put an end to the strange glow coming off of the bulb.
“Now let’s see if we can broadcast a message out,” said Becker.
The group approached the front set of consoles and set to work restoring the biomass-covered computers to working order. With a few correct button presses, they had a live transmission. Becker pressed the mute button. “What should I even say?”
“Mortalis have overrun Lazarus. Send help,” said Chernov.
The man nodded and removed his finger. He spoke into the mic. “This is Sergeant Johann Becker. I represent Orcus Security of the Lazarus lunar city. This message is a warning. The city has fallen to the Mortalis. If anyone down below hears this, we need urgent backup.”
One of the screens above them flickered on, displaying a bald man wearing a grey British army uniform whose insignia on his right breast resembled that of a fob watch with temporal symbols inside. They all recognised the uniform. Grey Watch.
“This is President Edmund Grey of the Grey Watch, Syndrix patched in your transmission. What do you mean Lazarus has fallen to the Mortalis?”
They both looked to Sergei, who sighed and stepped forward. “There was a plan to take over the city. Most of the population was herded into shelters, and then someone flooded them with Deterrent gas. Now the city is rapidly falling to those— things.”
“Russian… Let me guess. The Imperium put you up to this -” A burst of static cut off Grey.
“Another transmission, but it’s not coming from Earth. It's—no, that’s not possible,” said Becker.
“Spit it out, man,” said Grey.
“It’s coming from beyond the Oort cloud and heading straight for us.”
“Can you let it broadcast?”
“Doing so now.” Soon the static screen revealed some kind of bridge and tall grey and silver-looking aliens. They looked surprisingly humanoid. They were speaking in rapid clicks and in a way that was hard for anyone to follow.
“I’ll have Syndrix work on translating–something is -” Both screens went blank and the whole system powered down. The only glow now came from the multiple projectors behind them. And from one of them manifested the blue hue of one Francis Lazarus. He looked a little worse for wear and even a little mad.
“All my hard work ruined by that bastard Vasechkin. Do you not realise what you’ve done? I spent my whole life avoiding the legacy of my people. And yet you insects bring it into my domain. My home! I should have you all killed for this. If I can’t stop it from taking the city from me. Then I shall bring you all to ruin! I offered you salvation, a future beyond petty human squabbles, but that dream is dead. Because of you. Your selfish actions here will be remembered as a monument to all your sins.”