Unity

Chapter 37

They saluted and carefully made their way towards the entrance. I was hoping I wasn't sending them to their deaths as the minutes ticked by without any sound coming from the shaft. The silence was quickly shattered by several explosions. Without going in and checking myself, I could only hope the explosions I heard and felt were the kind that meant my men were successful. I could hear cheers of encouragement down the passageway as our troops finally started to make headway. The platoons of marines were egressing to prevent any friendly fire.

"Mission accomplished Captain," said the nearest marine.

"Is this tunnel safe to use?" I asked.

"There is a bulkhead separating us and the main force," he answered. "We've cleared the hostiles on this side and were able to cut access holes big enough to drop explosives in. There were a few explosives waiting for us on our way in, but we managed to disarm them."

"Good work soldier," I said. "How about we make our way down to the rest of the troops and see what aid we can provide."

I followed the marines down the mineshaft, and at the end there was a large bulkhead door. Several small holes had been cut into it, and I could only assume that these were the portals used to deliver the grenades to the Zrynt. The marines quickly started cutting away the door. I stood back as to not be in the way and watched several large molten slags of metal hit the ground. Finally, we were through. Now that we could use the advantage of overwhelming numbers, the fighting had pushed on rather quickly. I looked around and saw that the ground was littered with Zrynt bodies. I could tell which had taken the brunt of the explosions. I was relieved to see that no human bodies were lying about. I started the hunt for a computer terminal, and if my guess was right, this section of the facility's network would be separate from the fake mining operation.

It took longer to find a working computer terminal on this side of the facility. I followed Sarah's guidance as we searched the room, finally finding a working terminal near the back of the shaft. "This is going to take a while," she said. "You might want to find a more comfortable position."

"Somebody has to keep watch around here," I replied.

Twenty minutes later I heard Sarah yell, "Finally, stupid encryption..."

"Does that mean you're in?" I asked.

"I'm in alright," she answered.

"Good. Transfer everything to the Unity," I commanded. "We'll review the data there."

"Data transfer will take about ten minutes," she said.

"Captain, this is Commander Morozova," I heard his voice on the internal speakers.

"What can I do for you Commander?" I asked.

"Sir, the main Zrynt resistance has been defeated," he answered. "We're still finding pockets of the enemy, but those will soon be eliminated as well."

"Good work Commander," I responded. "Once I'm done here, we'll start pulling the troops back to the Unity."

A couple minutes later Sarah spoke up. "Captain, we may have a problem."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Switch on your thermal sensors and you'll find out," she replied. I switched them on and saw what she was referring to. On the other side of the far wall were three blotches indicating body heat, but the pattern didn't resemble anything human. Looks like I had found one of the pockets.

"How long until the download is complete?" I asked Sarah.

"Two more minutes," she answered. I could only hope we went undetected for those two minutes. I waited to signal for help, hoping to avoid drawing attention to myself, but my hopes were in vain. With a minute and a half to go, they stormed into the room. I dove away from the console, not wanting it to accidentally be destroyed by a stray shot. I activated my distress beacon and pulled out my rifle.

"Increasing the distance from the console has resulted in a weaker signal," Sarah said inside my helmet. "Download will take five minutes at the current rate."

"I've got bigger problems than a slower download rate right now," I said, slightly annoyed. I slowly peered around the support pillar I had taken cover behind. The three Zrynt had taken cover as well. As soon as my face was visible, they opened fire. I narrowly avoided being shot. I was tempted to toss a grenade over, but I couldn't risk damaging the Zrynt computer console. I poked my rifle around the corner and started firing blindly. I didn't have to beat them; I just had to survive long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

I turned on the thermal imaging to get a better idea of where they were. One was trying to advance on my right. I started firing blindly in that direction. I was able to get a better idea of how to aim my shots with the thermal imaging active. I could see where the missed shots were hitting, as the laser heated the metal, so I adjusted the rifle and fired again. I was met with success as the Zrynt crumpled to the floor.

It was at this time that reinforcements decided to finally show up. We exchanged fire with the Zrynt for several minutes. Two of the marines took hits to the chest and were rushed out of the room. We finally took them out about the same time the download completed. I stepped behind my pillar and took stock of the damage luckily, the computer console was relatively intact. My eyes swept over the room and finally fell on a Zrynt on the ground. It had been the one I had shot.

The shot had marred the Zrynt's already grotesque face, and I was forced to turn away as I felt bile rising in my throat. I felt a sudden desperation to get out of the gore covered room as quickly as possible. I stepped out and when I had regained my composure, called up Commander Morozova. "Commander, we got what we came for," I reported. "Spread the word to evac. We're headed back to the Unity."

I wanted nothing more than a nice hot shower. My suit had kept me clean, but I still felt dirty. It was decided. A nice hot shower, then I would go over what we retrieved from the secret facility. Hopefully I could glean some information that would aid in our cause to destroy the Zrynt.