Cascade box set 2, p.70
Cascade Box Set 2, page 70
“There is a human level degree of atmosphere, correct.”
“Hey look, there are beings down there,” said Michael studying the floor of the hanger hundreds of feet below.
They all strained their eyes, looking down.
“Hulathen?” said Zach.
“No, they are another alien species. Numerous species work at this facility,” said Klept.
Zach looked up at the alien. “We don’t want to make enemies of anyone else by doing this.”
“Most species fear the Hulathen as much as we all do. There is a class structure to interstellar species, and the Hulathen are at the top. Think of them as a kind of aristocracy.”
Jogron said something to Klept, which he nodded to in reply. He then walked to one side of the cell, and touched it briefly. The entire wall changed from a view of the hanger outside, to a three-dimensional schematic of the facility. Thousands of glowing dots permeated the entire scene.
Zach moved closer to the wall. “The dots I take it are life forms?”
“Yes,” said Klept touching the wall, which then zoomed into one part of the facility. “This is our location. I am going to plot a route to the organic fusion chamber. That is where the raw materials for the Hulathen hosts are brought together.” The image on the wall changed once again, this time zooming in on a large rectangular cuboid.
“That seems pretty far?” said Sean.
“Unfortunately this was as close as we could get without raising suspicions,” said Klept.
The tall alien then stepped back and touched a part of his belt. The apparatus on the lower half of his face started to change shape, increasing in size and grew into a complete helmet. Other inorganic plates grew over his lower arm, culminating in a large bracelet looking device around his right wrist. Jogron did the same.
“Umm… when do we get a space battle suit?” said Sam.
Zach held up his M4 rifle. “We got what we need.”
“The Ultor’s are not usually seen in these parts, so we need to disguise our appearance.”
The cube cell came to an abrupt halt and a jolt ran through the floor, making everyone catch their balance. Klept touched the map screen again and it reverted to its transparent version, but now on the other side was a kind of gantry, which led to a door.
Klept turned to the others. “Are you ready?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Daniel Bass sat up from his bunk. Since he learned that Zach and the others had left he couldn’t sleep, but most around him were motionless. He looked down at the scars on his leg and across his body and sighed, he wasn’t even a bit tired.
When Trow offered him the chance to become an officer, he laughed. He pointed out to her he didn’t have the qualifications, but she pointed out to him that these were extraordinary times and he had shown leadership qualities on more than one occasion and frankly they were short of officers. He wasn’t exactly in prime physical shape, so the idea of hitting the books to train for the exam they had prepared, while he recuperated seemed a good use of his time. He passed and was given the rank of Captain.
He stood up and stretched. It wasn’t long before he was back in his fatigues and walking to main operations.
The large chamber was a pale imitation of its usual hectic self, with only a few soldiers at desks monitoring the various video feeds from around the camp and communications from the bunkers.
He walked next to a portly woman, with her black hair tied back. “Hey Reid, anything happening out there?”
“All quiet, sir.”
“Are both the cube gates where they should be?”
She tapped away at her keyboard and a video feed from the dam appeared on the huge screen at the front of the hall. The two remaining cube gates stood out as intensely black shapes amongst the slightly lighter night sky. “They’re just sitting there sir, as always.”
He nodded and looked at the back of the room, where a long table sat. “Coffee still hot?”
Reid looked at the other soldier who was seated a few rows from her. “Hey Collins, you drunk all the coffee?” The soldier didn’t reply. “Collins? You fallen asleep?”
The other soldier was listening to his headset and watching the screen at his station.
Bass walked towards him. “You can own up to drinking the coffee son, I don’t think you will get demoted for that—” Bass saw what the young private was looking at.
The soldier pulled his headset off and went to get out of his chair, when he realized Bass was right behind him. “Sir, I have multiple contacts of possible alien craft inbound.”
“Put it on the big screen.”
A few seconds later the radar image from the private’s monitor was spread large on the big screen.
“I’m seeing… five…. no… seven… no.”
Bass looked back at Reid. “Put us on general alert and wake the general!”
Even though no sirens or lights were obvious, only a few moments passed before people starting rushing into the room and taking their seats.
Bass turned to Reid. “I want eyes on all the incoming contacts. Put it up on the big screen.”
The soldier tapped away and with each keystroke another image appeared of the night sky, filled with unnatural lights that were skimming across the sky, stopping and then producing a purple light.
“Sir, I think they are—”
“The Hulathen have returned,” said Bass.
One of the double doors swung open behind and the general appeared. “What’s the situation?” She said walking to him.
“Multiple cube gates and they look as if they are dropping off the Hulathen.”
“So it’s starting again.”
“It looks that way.”
She looked around confused. “What time is it?”
“5 am ma’am,” said Reid.
Other people rushed into room, which was now throbbing with busy people.
“Tell all the commanders at the bunkers what’s happening and be ready for possible attack.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Any contact from Kentucky or the C-130?”
“None ma’am.”
Trow sighed, pulling a hair band from her pocket, and using it to tie her hair back. She then cleared her throat. “Listen up everyone.”
All in the room quietened and looked at her.
“This looks like another full scale assault on us. Our objective is to make it difficult for them, and fight back where we can. If they try to infiltrate here or the bunkers we will make them regret it. Now back to work.”
She turned back to Bass. “Are our internal defense perimeters in place?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They both noticed a hush had descended across the room, and looked towards the large screens. The night sky was now awash with purple streaks raining down to the ground, from dark shapes.
“That’s a lot more activity than last time,” said Bass.
“Yes, it is…” Trow turned to the officers nearby. “I want all our forces deployed to the pre-planned defensive positions around the camp.” She then turned back to Bass. “You ready to lead the Cascader squads?”
He nodded.
“You’re a Captain now Daniel, make us proud.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He stood too attention and saluted.
“Release all the E.L.F’s, we’re going all in.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He relayed the order then jogged to the exit.
Reid held her headset closer to her ear, then turned to the general. “Ma’am, the Hulathen had started coming through the cube gates at the dam, Captain Fowlers forces have engaged them.”
*****
“So this is what the future looks like?” said Sam looking at the expansive architecture around him.
They walked along a gantry. One of many that were stacked above each other, and fixed to a column which allowed a view to other such structures, each one half a mile wide and full of intricate walkways and tunnels.
“It’s like looking upon a Grand Canyon made by robots,” said Fiona.
Drones looking like giant metal insects hovered and flittered from tower to tower, while non-Hulathen aliens sometimes appeared momentarily, only to disappear back into corridors and doors.
They had already been walking for twenty minutes and none of the humans had passed one location they would easily recognize again.
Klept stopped, holding his hand up.
Fiona leaned in to Zach. “What’s going on?”
Zach shook his head.
The tall alien went to touch a part of the wall at the end of the gantry, but stopped when he heard noises behind them.
A group of humanoid aliens, each with varied facial features, skin colors and outfits, also walked onto the gantry. The closest one looked angrily at Sean, who slowly backed away until he touched up against Sam.
The thin wall which was the only barrier between those on the gantry and the sheer drop, disappeared, but before fear could form in Zach and the others’ minds, the entire scene in front of them changed. Rather than being up high, looking out at a vista of artificial towers alive with busy movement, they were now at ground level, with the towers looming above them. The other aliens stepped nonchalantly off the gantry and walked away.
“So that was like another gate or something?” said Sam.
Klept stepped off the gantry. “Similar yes. We are getting close to our destination, we must move quickly.”
As they moved across the floor, hurriedly walking past groups of aliens, Zach noticed out the corner of his eye one of the Bee like drones had abruptly stopped and appeared to be watching them. He moved forward until he was closer to Klept.
“One of those drones is following us.”
“I am aware. Keep moving.”
They quickened their pace across the stadium sized area.
Fiona briefly looked back. There were now two drones following them.
Klept seem to be moving towards a far off doorway as the other aliens moved out of the way, realizing this new group were in a rush.
A siren type horn blew, making everyone jump and stop. The two drones suddenly zipped in front of Zach and the others, blocking any further movement towards their destination. Red lights pulsed on the metallic insect frames as they hovered just a few yards away.
“Keep calm…” whispered Klept over his shoulder.
A robotic voice in an unknown language then wafted through the air from the drones to Klept, who responded in a similar tongue, briefly pointing to the others behind him.
Zach and the others noticed there was now a third drone hovering behind them. Their grips tightened on their rifles.
Klept turned and leaned over to talk quieter to Zach. “Be ready to run towards the entrance we were moving towards. Jogron will take you the rest of the way.”
Before Zach could respond a pulse of energy wrapped around the device on Klept’s wrist, which he then pointed at the closest alien drone. A burst of energy spewed forward instantly vaporizing it. As Klept targeted the second, Jogron grabbed held of Zach’s shoulder and pulled him forward. A loud piercing noise throbbed and vibrated throughout the area. Everyone started running towards the entrance, trying to avoid running into the crowds of aliens that were scattering in all directions.
Jogron sprinted towards the door and was only a few yards from it when out of nowhere a Hulathen charged into him knocking him through the air and slamming him into a nearby wall. Zach and the rest opened up with their M4’s on the attacker which knocked it back, more out of surprise than any actual harm being done.
Zach pushed on the open mechanism and the door slid open. He ushered everyone into the corridor, while he continued to fire at the Hulathen that was brushing off the bullet impacts as if they were annoying flies. Just as the towering alien was about to lunge forward for Zach, a bolt of energy swept across the floor hitting the Hulathen directly in the middle of its torso and sent it flying backwards through the air, crashing into the other alien occupants of the facility.
Zach looked back at Jogron but the alien was still on the ground, he waved Zach onwards. Zach hesitated then slipped inside the door and closed it behind. The sound of battle continued on the other side. He quickly turned around to see where he was.
“Where the hell do we go now?” said Sean.
The corridor was one of the smallest they had been in so far, with the walls only a few feet from them on each side, and the ceiling a similar distance from their heads. There didn’t appear to be any further doors, just the corridor receding into the distance.
Zach pushed past everyone taking the lead. “I guess we go this way.”
Abbey held his arm. “We can’t just leave them back there.”
Zach shook his head. “We stick to the plan.”
“We’re so screwed,” said Sam under his breath.
“Let’s pick up the pace,” said Zach starting to jog.
After running for what seemed like hours, a closed door appeared at the end. They slowed to a walk then raised their guns as Zach touched the open button on the wall.
The door slid to one side, revealing a huge open space. Metallic clanking sounds echoed through the air, along with shifting and grinding noises. They were in some kind of manufacturing section of the facility, with large clear pipes pumping liquids into huge vats attended to by drones and robots seemingly made up of just spindly arms.
“What’s that smell,” said Sam putting his fingers to his noise.
“I’m guessing Hulathen smoothie,” said Fiona.
“Great, thanks for the visual,” said Sam.
Michael walked along the gantry. “You guys should come over here.”
As they joined him, the rest of the large chamber came into view. Cube like frames, containing partially constructed Hulathen bodies hung like life-size dolls, spread out for miles. Robotic arms were painstakingly constructing each and every one of the giant aliens, and when finished they would be rolled off into a tunnel for another step in the process.
Zach walked back the other way. “There should be an initial vat of constituent chemical components which gets all of this started. We need to inject the toxin into that. You were all at the briefing, spread out in groups of two and find it. Aggie you’re with me.”
Fiona and Sam headed down the nearby steps to the lower level, Sean and Michael continued right along the gantry into the main room and Zach and Aggie went left, seemingly around the back of most of the machinery that was continuously in motion.
Sam looked at the misty transparent walls of the large liquid filled tanks around him. “Can’t we just inject the stuff into these?”
“Klept said it has to be the right tank, otherwise the toxin just gets filtered out.”
Oil like substances bubbled and frothed through the tanks and pipes around them, while screens displayed alien symbols which flashed onto them.
“I’m getting flashbacks of my time in Thailand,” said Sam as they both walked forward trying to see any sign of the triangular funnel shaped tank, that they had been briefed about.
Fiona stood closer to one of the screens. “I think we humans, when all this is said and done need to learn alien. I can talk seven languages. I don’t like—”
The symbols on the screen in front of her coalesced into one human looking word. “Hey babe.”
Elsewhere Michael looked up at the Hulathen bodies, swinging as they were pulled along to their next construction phase. It was all he could do to not let rip and tear them apart with his rifle.
“I doubt it’s in this direction,” said Sean, eyeing the alien mannequins above them nervously.
“We keep moving forward.”
They slowly continued along the Hulathen assembly line. They were now at the stage where robotic arms sprang from the machines around the dangling aliens and fitted armor to their limbs.
“Let’s turn back and find the others?” said Sean.
Michael ignored his request and continued walking forward.
Fiona blinked at the words on the screen, her mind being knocked from her currently reality.
Sam noticed she hadn’t moved for a few moments. “What is it?”
“It’s me—”
Fiona turned away from the screen before she saw the next word. She walked forward quickly.
Sam jogged after her. “Hey what’s going on? What was on that screen?”
Before she could reply, all the screens around them suddenly changed.
“Fiona? It’s me Cal.”
Fiona shook her head, trying to dislodge what was all around her from her mind.
Sam walked closer to one of the screens. “This has got to be some kind of joke, maybe this sci-fi shit is reading our minds or something.”
Fiona tried to contain the rage inside her, but instead it flowed out through her arms and she smashed the butt of her rifle into the closest screen cracking it.
“Please Fiona, it’s me! I can help you find what you’re looking for!” Appeared behind the broken glass.
“No, no… nope. This is not real.” She looked at Sam, her eyes bloodshot. “We need to keep moving.”
“What if it is him?” said Sam.
“How can it be?” she screamed. “He was blown to bits. It’s not him!”
Sam looked at the screen closest to him. “How do you know what we’re looking for?” he said towards it.
“You’re looking for a way to get your toxin into the Hulathen construction process. And the constituent tank, is the best place for that.” Displayed on the screen. “Look at the screens, I will lead you to it.”
Fiona grabbed Sam’s hand. “This is a trap, just ignore it!”
“Then ask it something only Cal would know!” said Sam pulling away.
The insanity of the situation was not enough to stop the desperate part of her believing the words were coming from the man she loved. She whipped around to face one of the screens. “What did I say to you when we set out on the mission before you died?”
A few seconds passed before a reply appeared.
“You had, had enough, you wanted it to be our last mission, and I agreed.”
Fiona’s rifle fell to the floor and she ran forward, placing her hand on the screen. “I don’t understand…”
