Gravidity… (pg. 11)
“EVAC, whaddaya mean we have to EVAC???” “Pickman?!!”
I knew I was dead when I saw the three drones converge on me but I could still not move. The “new” queen mentaly held my trigger finger tight…so this was it. Funny, all I can think about is how pissed Wilkinson will be when he finds my body, wish I could savor the look on his face.
The living cavern shook with an increased urgency as I was swept off my feet.
“What the…?” Two drone aliens each clutched a wrist, then an ankle and I was held aloft, hanging in the air looking up at the high tapered ceiling as the alien-train left the station. Retina-tabbing the helm-vid, I witnessed the third drone gather my dropped weapons. I swiveled the cam over to the front of our strange party, mote signals bleeped in infrared from one of my trails.
“037, we just found the remains of 2 people, what’s your status!?”, Wilk’s practically screamed over the comm channel.
“meep…Denny, I am in route back to the surface and I suggest you bug-on outta there too…sir!”
“Dammit Al! I give the orders here!!!” Sounding desperate now (good).
“meep…Denny…would a ticking, mini tac-nuke be a good enough reason?…you copy…sir?” I hoped that he was too angry to see through the lie, I knew that if I didn’t get that team out soon they would perish along with the previous team.
“You son-of-a…surface ETA 2 minutes, you better have a good…”
I shut off the comm, happy that he bought the story and then concentrated on my galloping “steeds”. They were pretty gentle creatures for what they are capable of doing, until we arrived at the “main hall” anyway. I was thrust to the ground unceremoniously, the two critters were gone before I could scramble back up. The third arrived in time to pitch the rifle at my helmet before spinning around and vanishing into the dark.
Picking up the guns and dropped ordinance I realized how utterly embarrassing and funny that probably was to see, never thought I would be so happy to be alone.
Team 2’s beacon chirped on the lap screen, they were about 20 meters and closing. I reacquired the mote trail and ran for daylight.
“Wilks, I have reached the surface, prepping the thopter now…will cover you to the Rover.” The rotors began to whine but the shaking ground was louder as I switched the CMG to manual, covering the tunnel opening with red crosshairs.
Team 2 flew out of the opening and ran to the Rover, nothing followed them, but I already knew that nothing would. When the Rover door closed I pulled my bird up hard, Denny had already kicked the LR into turbo and was screaming across the desert flats.
WWHHHHHUUUUMPPP!!!
On my HUD I could see the “monument” disintegrate and blossom into a yellow ball of light. The first shockwave hit and I struggled to stay in the air and watch the rear screen cam…THERE! A mammoth twisting rock formation was rising from the middle of the blast, it glinted in the remaining sunlight as it spun clockwise…the second wave hit and slammed me up and down.
“meep…Jesus Pickman, that wasn’t a tac-nuke…REPORT?” He yelled, I smelled burnt circuits but was still airborne.
“Denny, you wouldn’t have believed me, you would have stayed and would now be…dead, ya copy that sir?”
I could actually hear him swallow, “ahh…affirmative 037, rendezvous point Alpha-Three-Seven…meep” You’re welcome, I thought to myself.
“Copy…and that’s a discom…”
The alien vessel broke atmosphere in silence and continued on…a single seed in an enormous universe, or is it the other way around?
The end, for now.