Cascade box set 2, p.69
Cascade Box Set 2, page 69
“If you can, combine your forces with Cruz, and then try and hold your ground. If you can’t, retreat to what defenses you can still find around the outpost. Over.”
Wallace acknowledged.
Hoxted held her radio to her mouth again. “Brad we have lost external communications. What’s the situation in the hanger? Over.”
“We’re snug as a bug in a rug in here—” He looked around the large space at the twenty-seven civilian staff, including some soldiers and some injured, huddled against the concrete walls. “— It seems to be quietening down outside? Over.”
Hoxted took a moment to listen to the noise beyond the room she was in. Brad was right, there was now only the occasional distant clatter of semi-automatic fire. The big guns that were pounding the outpost had stopped.
She clicked on her radio. “I think you’re right. I doubt that means anything good. Over.”
As soon as she had lowered her arm, Wallace’s voice came from her radio. “Sir, we got movement over here. Looks like a Humvee with a white flag coming towards us. Over.”
“Keep a close eye on it. Over.”
“Yup, we are… its… just driven past us, not even sure they know we’re here. It’s joined the road to the gate and is driving up to where they used to… Its stopped just short of the gate. Doors are opening. Few soldiers getting out and a civilian…”
Hoxted’s radio came alive with a male voice she had not properly heard before but instantly knew who it was. “Major Hoxted. I am Erin Santiago. We spoke via Clovis some hours ago before the line of communication was cut short. I presume he was killed?”
“Yes,” said Hoxted.
Erin stood on the asphalt of the country lane which ran to where the outposts main gates used to be. Now them, along with most of the front walls, were either lying in a heap of splinters and concrete on the ground, or were half the size they used to be.
He and his guards stepped over the pieces of wood and steel and walked onto the track which originally weaved its way to the main house. Now only ruins, some burning led towards the once grand house, which itself was only half standing. The right wing had completely been destroyed, while the middle and left parts of the house, had massive holes where windows and bedrooms used to be.
He went to raise his radio again when he sensed a creature to his right. Before he could reach out to it, it stormed across the mud covered ground, bounding over flames and descended upon him and his soldiers. Erin dived to the ground, while desperately trying to get hold of the bear like E.L.F’s mind. One of the soldiers was not so quick and was sliced apart by one swipe of the creature’s huge claw.
The other soldier immediately started firing his semi-automatic rifle and the E.L.F roared in pain, its head whipping around to face him.
“No!” shouted Erin at the soldier, who looked at him with desperate eyes. “Do not kill it!”
As the six-legged beast bore down on the soldier, he started shooting at it again, each successive shot only partially slowing it down.
Erin closed his eyes and felt out with his mind at the creature nearby. He knew it had already been imprinted by Clovis and must have again, to have been used in this fashion. He concentrated harder, and then opened his eyes. The second soldier lay dead, but the E.L.F was standing on its hind legs looking at Erin with an inquisitive look.
A momentary flash of anger at not sensing the E.L.F passed as he walked towards the beast which towered above him and held out his hand, which the creature sniffed, then dropped back down to the ground. “You wouldn’t hurt me would you?” Erin could sense the creature’s pain from the gunshot wounds.
Not going to be much use to me.
He clicked on his radio changing back to his own frequency. “Get some more people over here, the two I had have served their purpose.”
He then changed the radio back to the outpost’s frequency. “Nice try with the bear. Unfortunately it did not work and now he has become part of my family.” He spun around with his arms out. “So your precious outpost has now been destroyed, and for what? Abbey is not even here. You could have just surrendered, and all these new buildings that have been painstakingly constructed, wouldn’t all be lying in bits or burning.” He nodded to himself. “There will have to be some major reconstruction. It would be a shame for this place to go to waste.”
“What do you want?” said Hoxted.
Another vehicle pulled up near the gate and five more soldiers ran through the gap to Erin’s side, each one pointing their guns at the few structures that remained standing.
“We are beyond the point of you asking me anything I’m afraid Major. But I’m not an evil man. I will spare the lives of any Cascaders you still have here.”
*****
Zach, Fiona, Sam and the rest looked up at the three cubes that were hanging in the air, above the powerhouse at the back of the dam.
“That just don’t look right,” said Sam.
“Like they’re going to fall out of the sky at any moment,” said Sean.
“Like a Magritte painting,” said Fiona. The two men looked at her. “Hey I’ve been places.”
Behind them sitting silently in the parking lot was one of the Ultor’s saucer shaped craft, its rim spinning at a high velocity.
The group of humans heard the footsteps behind them and turned. Klept as well as another Ultor emerged from the craft. They were wearing the same one piece silvery suit they always wore, but now it had a form of backpack on their backs as well as a belt with boxes attached to it. Most strikingly though was the device across the lower half of their faces, which looked like a form of breathing apparatus.
Zach walked forward and held out his hand, which Klept briefly shook.
The alien pointed to his face. “This is a device we created with your human scientists. It allows us to communicate.”
“Great,” said Zach.
Klept briefly looked at the Ultor next to him. “This is Jogron. He will assist us on our mission.”
“Thank you for coming with us Jogron.”
Jogron bowed his head slightly.
“Are you ready to ascend?” said Klept.
“Umm you mean go through the gate?” Zach looked at those around him, who all straightened their backs.
“Yes.”
“We’re ready. When will—” Zach felt the weightlessness before his brain registered the scene in front of him had changed.
“What…” said Sam, floating and trying to absorb what was in front of them.
Zach and Fiona recognized the almost perfect symmetry of gray cubes, while the others were mostly feeling disoriented by the lack of reference of up and down.
Fiona grabbed hold of Sam who looked worse than most. “Just concentrate on the furthest point you can.”
Sam nodded then regretted moving his head.
Zach realized Klept wasn’t with them and spun around. The tall alien and his comrade were already tens of feet away, tapping away at the side of one of the cubes. He looked back to those around him. “Everyone listen up. If you don’t already realize it, you’re in space and more importantly we are in enemy territory. So stay alert.”
Michael looked at his rifle. “Will this even work up here?”
“Yeah, but without holding onto something, you will be pushed back by the same velocity as the bullet leaves,” said Sean.
Michael nodded. “Good to know.” The others looked at Sean.
“Hey I’ve been places.”
Sam took a deep breath. “I’m feeling… a little queasy.”
Zach tapped him on the shoulder. “There’s no going back, so you need to get your head straight.”
Sam nodded. “I got this.”
Zach floated over to the silent member of the group. “You okay?” He said to Aggie, she nodded and smiled. “Are you sensing any Hulathen?” He also looked back to Sean who shook his head. Aggie did the same.
“Hey that weird box has disappeared,” said Sam.
They all looked to where the Ultor’s were standing. The cube cell next to them was no longer visible.
Zach floated towards it. “No, it’s still there.”
They all followed using the cells around them to propel forward.
Klept pointed into the center of the cell and they all began to move beyond the invisible wall. As they passed over the threshold gravity took over and they each fell to the ground. Finally Klept and Jogron also moved into the cramped space.
A clanking sound rang out around them and the cube cell shuddered.
“We can see out, but those on the outside cannot see in, so do not be alarmed,” said Klept.
The scene outside the square room they were in then started to move, sliding away as the cube left its lodgings and flew down one of the open channels dividing the huge space.
“Okay this is weird, are we moving or is the outside world,” said Sam. “There’s no G-forces.”
“There is a dampening field around the cube, it cancels out any inertia,” replied Klept.
They all watched as the maze of perfectly aligned boxes flew past until they were beyond the edge of them, into a larger space. A wall, with no ending or boundaries flowed by just a few feet away.
“This is the external shell of this facility,” said Klept.
“How big is this thing?” said Sean.
“Approximately one kilometer cubed.”
Images from one of Fiona’s favorite books as a child jumped into her mind and she smiled, relaxing slightly.
“What are they? Up ahead,” said Sam.
“We are nearing the exit point, where we will enter space.”
“No I mean—” His words stopped in his throat, as columns of twelve foot high Hulathen sat motionless with their eyes closed, all attached by machinery to each other and the facility. “There’s so many of them,” said Sam.
“Do not be alarmed, they are currently in stasis,” said Klept.
Zach turned to the tall alien. “Do not be alarmed? Are these heading to earth?”
Klept looked down briefly. “Yes, I’m afraid they are, but our mission is still of vital importance.”
The cube was still flying alongside the hordes of aliens.
“The camp won’t be able to withstand that many of them!”
“Zach. If we succeed with our mission, all of these might also become infected, and therefore will be easier to defeat.”
Fiona put her hand on Zach’s shoulder. He nodded to her.
“Look!” said Sean.
An even darker space started opening up in the distance, like they were about to be swallowed.
“We are about to enter the domain of space. Prepare for a j—”
The cube whooshed through the opening, out of the facility and they emerged into the silence of space. All the human hearts missed a beat as they marveled at the myriad of points of light all around them.
“The cube will now accelerate to a sub-light speed and travel towards the anti-matter gate.”
“Do what now?” said Sam looking at Klept.
“Do not be alarmed the cube will shield us from any ill effects.”
“Okay…”
“How long until…” Before Zach could finish, he could see for himself the intense blue-white ring that was rapidly approaching them.
They all shifted their view to the direction the cube was heading.
“It’s beautiful,” said Fiona.
Energy shifted and sparked in a circular motion, leaving a starless area inside. It grew in size until they could not see its edges, but only the void they were about to enter.
“Here we go…” said Zach.
There was a slight bump.
Sam went to ask when the travel to the far off star system was going to start, but then realized the stars were once again in front of him.
The view outside then shifted around, to show another star, this one much brighter than the rest.
“From here on, we are in grave danger,” said Klept.
CHAPTER TWENTY
A shot rang out around the outpost, making everyone in the hanger shudder. Another sound soon followed, this one of something falling to the sodden ground. Footsteps sloshed through puddles outside and whimpers and sobs increased around the fifteen people remaining of the Kentucky outpost.
“Last one for now!” shouted Erin through the metal door. “Get some rest and we will continue the fun at first light!”
A woman scrambled forward through the gloom. “I’m a Cascader! Take me out of here!”
The footsteps that were receding into the distance, stopped. “I have all the Cascaders already.” Shouted Erin then continued walking away.
The woman slumped on the ground, against the front wall of the hanger.
Major Hoxted looked at the bruised face of Brad next to her. “How you holding up?”
He nodded. “Had worse beatings than this. I guess he was fond of the psychopath.”
She gently held his hand. “We’ll get through this.” She looked at the door barely visible in the failing light. “Do you think she’s ever coming back?”
“She’ll return.”
Outside in the basement of what remained of the main house, lights flickered in the basement room. Erin sat alone at the head of the long conference table, looking at one of the pieces of paper which lay scattered over it. He signed and dropped it back to the others. The screens around him laid on the ground smashed, he was sure the computers they were attached too were also useless. A parting gift from the previous residences of the room.
A noise came from the stairs and a balding man with glasses walked towards him, sitting heavily in a nearby chair.
“What’s the damage,” said Erin to Bryan Teller.
“We lost around ninety people. Thirty-two are seriously injured and I don’t expect to last till the morning. We also lost three tanks and a number of Humvees. Mitchell won’t be happy.”
“Leave the General to me. Did we get anything useful from the wreckage of the plane?”
“Some medical supplies.”
“Good.”
Bryan swallowed as if building the courage to ask his next question. “Is the plan to execute all of those still here?”
Erin stood. “They had their chance to surrender, multiple times. Instead they chose to fight. They made their choice.”
“Then why not just kill all of them in one go and get it over with?”
Erin walked across the room and started ascending the stairs. “Because I’m waiting for someone. Get some rest. We have big day tomorrow.”
*****
Most in the cube cell were sitting, watching the Epsilon star increase in size and the Hulathen facility became clearer.
“So there’s really not much to do in space is there?” said Sam to Fiona.
She smiled, shaking her head.
Zach looked at Aggie who he was sitting next too. “How you holding up?”
She raised her hand, shaping her fingers into an ‘O’.
“Good. It’s umm pretty wild being in space.”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
Zach smiled. “Oh, no big deal eh?”
She shrugged again.
He looked across to Michael. His friend was sitting apart from the rest of them, seemingly fixated on the infinity of stars outside.
Zach sighed and went to get to his feet when something blurred past them, causing the stars to blank out for a second and the cube to shudder.
“What the hell was that?” said Sean.
“That was a Hulathen craft going to the facility,” said Klept.
“I think they all just zapped themselves around with the gates or something,” said Sam.
“For extremely local, or far travel, gates are used, but for everything else craft are used. You should all get to your feet, we are approaching the facility.”
They all did as asked and watched in trepidation as the alien structure, which they were moving towards at high speed, came into full view.
A myriad of tiny points of light covered an enormous organic looking shape.
“It looks like a giant mollusk shell,” said Sam.
Even though the Hulathen facility now filled the entire region of space in front of them, they were still moving towards it.
“How big is this thing?” said Fiona.
“In earth measurements, it would be approximately sixteen hundred kilometers, from one side to the other,” said Klept.
“So pretty big then,” said Zach.
Klept then turned to all of them. “Once this cube docks and we leave its confines, we need to stay undiscovered for as long as possible, for once we are, we will need to fight.”
“You lead the way and we’ll have your back,” said Zach.
It was obvious that the cube was heading for one of the points of light across the surface of the structure, for it was now growing in size far quicker than the others around it.
Zach turned to those around him. “Game time. Everyone check your weaponry.”
They did as asked but were soon more absorbed by what was approaching them. The point of light was now rectangular in shape and they could see other objects moving in and out of it.
“We are about to enter one of the docking ports,” said Klept.
An intense light emanated from the mile wide opening and the cube cell quickly passed over the threshold. The cavernous space was full of alien craft of different shapes and sizes, as well as similar cube cells all neatly aligned and stacked. Most inside the cube cell looked on open mouthed.
“It’s like I’m in a popular weekly sci-fi TV show,” said Sam.
“Yeah one where you can die,” said Fiona.
Sam quickly pulled out an old smartphone and started taking photos. “Ha, Isaiah’s going to lose his shit when he sees this.” Zach looked at him frowning. He slipped the phone back into his pocket. “Yup, I’m focused.”
“Is there an atmosphere out there?” said Fiona to Klept. “Because I haven’t exactly got a spacesuit handy.”
