“What the hell was that?” Kingston asked as he looked about through the scope of his weapon.
The blue energy waves returned and moved up and down the bodies of the five quickly. Then over their weapons, very slowly.
“I think we’re the ones being scanned now,” McDowell said.
“Leave.” A mysterious voice groaned from inside of their heads.
Or so Chevallier hoped. If not, she was hearing voices. “Did you hear that?” Chevallier asked.
“What, the wind blowing through the halls?” McDowell said.
“No, someone spoke.”
“All I hear is the wind—”
“Leave!”
“Oh, you mean that voice . . .”
“Yeah, I heard that,” Foster said. “EVE what’s the source of that voice?”
Static. There was nothing but disconcerting static on their comm lines.
Pierce checked his EAD and saw that their connection to the Carl Sagan had been cut, as indicated by a flashing red error message.
“What’s wrong?” McDowell asked Pierce.
“We lost contact with the Carl Sagan.”
Foster activated her communicator. “Carl Sagan this is Captain Foster, what’s your status?”
Silence and static.
“This is Commander McDowell to all UNE navy personnel can you hear me?”
Silence and static.
“I guess there’s some sort of interference in here?” Chevallier said.
“My scans were being uploaded to EVE just fine a second ago—”
“Leave!” The strange intimidating voice yelled into everyone’s heads.
Foster retorted. “OK, fine, geez we’re going!”
The lights in the room shut off, forcing everyone to rely once again on their helmet lights to see ahead of them. And what they saw was something sending back strange readings to Foster and Pierce’s EAD.
The oval-shaped objects along the walls began to shimmer, and in the center of them an image appeared. It looked like the interior of a ship, or perhaps a base. Armored humanoid creatures marched through as if it was a portal. They looked like soldiers straight out of the Bronze Age only their faces were completely covered. Some were armed with handheld shields in one hand, and a spear like object in the other, azure light emitting from the tip. They stood with authority like fearless generals, as another set of armored humanoid creatures moved past them, limping almost like zombies as they aimed large devices mounted on their arms at the five. Chevallier suspected they were weapons, but hoped she was wrong.
McDowell, Chevallier, and Kingston placed themselves in front of Foster and Pierce, seconds before aliens emerging from the portals opened fire with something that Chevallier could only describe as laser fire. They took the first set of blows, officially giving them permission to start firing back as the aliens unveiled themselves as being hostile. She, along with the rest of her team, returned fire and delivered a hail of bullets toward their attackers before taking cover behind the tomb-like container.
Chevallier looked out from her cover and analyzed new tactical data that appeared as holographic projections in her helmet. She saw that the aliens that took point had their laser weapons mounted in their hands as they fanned out, relentlessly hurling additional red beams of light at them. The overlord-looking aliens armed with spears and shields simply stood back behind the laser-wielding grunts and yelled words in their language.
Chevallier jerked her head backward as more lasers shot at her, analyzing their enemy would have to wait for later. Her rifle once again began to scream its battle cry, she hoped it was loud enough to send the message that they were prepared to fight, because as it stood, they were outnumbered as even more alien soldiers stepped out of the oval portal.
The limping laser grunts were fearless, more so than the overlords. They had no shields protecting them judging by the bullet holes Chevallier dug into the chest of one. It kept on limping toward them, shooting, oblivious to the damage done to it, the pain it should be experiencing, and most frightening of all, making no attempt to dive for cover. Scratch that, most terrifying of all, the grunts that did die rose again as their overlords behind slammed the butt of their spears on the floor.
“Where the hell did they come from?” Kingston said.
Pierce pointed to the oval portals. “There look at that; it’s a portal.”
Chevallier noticed two sources of light beam into the darkened room, looking like bright sunlight. She looked and saw there were other oval-shaped portals along the walls. Some were allowing additional alien reinforcements to march in, while one other, that was directly behind them, had nothing coming in or going out of it. A closer look revealed green grass, trees, and a bright sun in clear and cloudless skies.
A way out? She pondered as their battle raged on.
A battle that had no end in sight.
All five of them discharged their weapons’ lethal gifts at their attackers. Hostile targets that fell during the battle, as Chevallier experienced, rose up from the dead and limped closer toward them. Their bullets did nothing but slow them down while an endless supply of the alien soldiers continued to march out of the various opened portals. The path back to the exit of the building was blocked by the first wave of grunts as they limped closer, and they were cut off from the transport outside and any possible backup they might have coming, though Chevallier was quite convinced they were on their own.
McDowell insisted on fighting their way back outside and toward the transport. His argument was that their shields were still holding up against the aliens’ weapons and that backup might be coming to assist. Chevallier, after several looks down into the dark halls they came from, neither saw or heard any such backup. They had a perfect escape right behind them, the portal that lead to the sunny pasture beyond. Fighting their way back outside was suicide, there was no telling what the alien’s weapons could do to their shields once they were out of cover. And where would they go? What if the Carl Sagan was destroyed? It would explain why they had lost contact, an alien vessel could have ambushed them then sent their ground troops to finish their team off.
Chevallier’s way was the only way. To hell with what McDowell thought, he wasn’t even supposed to be in command! “Let’s fall back!” Chevallier yelled.
McDowell retorted. “No, we’re pushing through, back into the halls, now follow my lead!”
“Fuck that.” Chevallier lowered her weapon, grabbed onto the arms of Foster and Pierce, and dragged them to the portal with her.
“What are you doing?” Foster asked Chevallier.
“I’m doing my job, Captain. Keeping you and the egghead safe.”
8 WILLIAMS
ESRS Carl Sagan, Bridge
SB-417 orbit, Sirius B system
May 19, 2050, 10:47 SST (Sol Standard Time)
“Commander, I have lost contact with the team on the surface,” EVE said as her holographic likeness appeared next to Williams.
He grimaced at the news while he sat in the captain’s chair and gazed out at the planet. “What happened?”
“It would appear they are being jammed.”
“I suggest you prepare yourself for battle,” Tolukei said. It was not the news Williams was expecting from their shipboard psionic.
“This isn’t exactly a battleship, Tolukei,” Williams said to him. “I’m sure it’s just a glitch or something; let’s give them time to reconnect.”
“There are four ships on an interception course to us from the moons of the gas giant,” Tolukei said. “As I said, I suggest you prepare yourself for battle. They have weapons ports opened. It is highly unlikely they are here to meet and greet us to the system.”