Never Dead: Beyond Nightmares

XXIV

Terrick put me in charge of assembling the crew, so I did quickly. I knew speed was necessary; a shuttle had escaped the Jericho, and one of the jettisoned escape pods had contained a single person. They had all reached the surface. Beyond that – whether they had survived, whether more people were on the surface already, whether the Captain had remained on the Jericho – we had no idea. There could be resistance, defending the Monolith at all costs, not knowing what it actually does to dead people. So I assembled the baddest men we had aboard; those who had fought in many battles, hardened with years of experience, former spec ops agents, anybody we had who wouldn't be shaken by the Lurkers below.

"Alright, men. Forget anything you think you know about combat when we hit the surface. Those things down below aren't living. They aren't human. Fact is, we don't know what the hell they are. But I do know this from experience: They will not die if you shoot them in the heart. They will not die if you shoot them in the head. They will not die if you shoot them in the gut. The only way to kill them is to remove their limbs. To put them through such trauma that even the dead are reminded that they don't belong in this world. This being said, you'd all better get acquainted really quickly to some different weapons than you're used to. As dismemberment is the game, regular bullets just won't do. We need severing tools. Mining tools. So let me introduce you to your new arsenal." I stepped to the side and indicated several tools on the table behind me. "First up is the plasma gun." I lifted the indicated weapon, sliding a plasma chip into it and locking it in. "This baby is fully upgraded with everything we can give it; fire rate, reload speed, capacity, intensity – everything we can throw at it, it's got it." I quickly took aim at one of the targets I had set up earlier for demonstration and fired. "As you can see, the plasma bolt cut clean through the target. This is one of the most versatile, useful, and god damn deadly tools you will have on that surface. This baby is all you need to survive down there. As long as you have this and some ammo, you're good to go." I set the gun down and moved on to the plasma saw, then the ripper, and on through all of the standard mining tools. I finished with the plasma saw. "Useful for many things. First off, just cutting through almost anything you want to cut through. Secondly, it can be used to weld things that need to be welded. And, in a pinch, you can use it as a backup melee weapon – a surprisingly effective one at that." Finished, I set the saw down and looked at the assembled group. "Questions?" There were none.

The shuttle left at midnight planet time. It was to have no running lights and to be as stealthy as possible. It was to land, drop us and our equipment off, and then leave without touching the ground.

"Ten minutes until drop," the pilot said over the intercom. We were all going over our weapons like soldiers do before battle to calm our nerves. The men knew some serious shit was going on down there, and Terrick, Gunner and I knew exactly what was in store.

Our plan was to set up a perimeter as soon as we landed, and then secure it. Then we move on to our chosen BOO, a small, tough building with an unnamed purpose. It's very strong, can withstand high-level weapons fire, and can be easily fortified too. It would be perfect. It even has a reactor on the roof to power it until we leave. As soon as we get done with that, we'll send out a group to set up a larger surveillance perimeter with scanners, cameras, radar, and all the other stuff we need to get eyes around us. Then, we'll start making moves toward getting those mining ships under our control and launching them to free up the Monolith so we can nuke it.

"Five minutes until drop," said the pilot. We waited silently until, finally, the light turned green and the doors opened. We jumped out, one after another, save me and another marine who pitched out our equipment containers. We were a mile above the ground at this point, and our PDTs all had fall-breakers strapped to them. As we and our equipment fell, we all were on the same comm channel, coordinating our movements so that we wouldn't miss our relatively small target. Then the time came, and we all activated our fall-breakers – small packs strapped to our backs that blasted out the same energy used for magnetic modules; controlled gravity alteration stuff. It slowed us down, but, being combat-regulated, didn't do too much in the way of a comfortable landing. Inexperienced users often still broke legs upon landing. The equipment boxes had similar devices attached, only more powerful, so that nothing got rattled up inside. When we all hit the ground, I sent out the order to activate our night vision stuff. Combination of infrared and light amplification, but very advanced; if a bright light appeared, it would filter it in only that spot so that vision wouldn't be impaired in the slightest. Then I gave the order to start setting up the perimeter. The men moved like pros, which they were, working efficiently and quickly. The job was done in a matter of minutes; about fifteen or so. The deployable barricades had been set up, and about five of our twenty men were now stationed on watch in good defensible positions.

"Good," I said over the comlink. "Nice work, men. In we go."

First up was Terrick, being the experienced hacker of the group. He ran straight up to the building we had chosen to fortify and pulled up his holographic computer. In about a minute, the front door ground open slowly.

"Damn," he said. "Power is extremely low. Barely had enough juice to open the door. The reactor's been off for weeks."

"What do we do about it?" I asked. Terrick pulled up his computer again. A holographic rendition of the reactor showed up, flashing red in a few points to indicate damage.

"The thing's broken. Gunner'll have to fix it," Terrick replied.

"On it. Somebody scan the building. I want full blueprints and technological details, now," said Gunner, seeming to enjoy being in charge. Two men grabbed a piece of equipment from one of the nearby storage containers and hefted it into the building. They activated it; a pulse of blue light emanated from it. One of the computers, the main terminal for the building, flickered on briefly and seemed to be sending information to the equipment the two men were holding.

"Got it, sir. Sending to your PDT now," said one of the men.

"Got it. Let's see... There! Engineering hatch. Off I go. See you in a little bit," said Gunner, vanishing into the darkness of the building.

"Alright, everyone. Get inside and bring the equipment with you. Then set up a command center and a quarters. Basic stuff only – sleeping and eating for now. Move move!" I turned to the men on watch. "Anything?"

"No, sir. Nothing but sand and wind," one of the five replied.

"Good. Hopefully it stays that way." Taking one last look around me, I walked inside to join the others.