The Earth Experiment

Part One

Planet 23378

Status: Early Hominid Life


Prologue

She shifted the gun in her hands slightly as she came up behind her squad-mate in a crouch and hissed out, "But why a lab monkey?"

The man in front of her turned to whisper back, "Damn it Peck..."

She shrugged a single shoulder and hunkered down to wait for the rest of their squad to catch up to them, "I'm serious Epstein... what is so special about this woman that the Admiralty council is willing to risk an entire squad of marines?"

In front of her Dov huffed, "I don't know Peck, the rest of us didn't grow up asking Admirals why they were giving orders, we just learned to follow them. And you know more about the mission than me."

Under her breath she muttered, "Kiss ass..."

Behind her McNally and Collins came up to crouch on her six, and McNally's eternally cheerful voice sounded quietly, "Ok so we're waiting on Price, Diaz, and Nash?"

Gail nodded with a scowl, "I don't like this at all. They were ahead of us."

McNally frowned in the dim light of the subterranean tunnel they were currently lurking in, "Gail is right, they should be here by now."

Dov shifted his body before speaking up importantly, "I'm going to call them on comms."

Before he could touch his chest and activate his comm. Gail snarled, "Orders were radio silence."

Dov turned to level a glare at her, "They could be dead Peck, I'm calling them."

Gail reached out and caught his wrist in a vice grip as she hissed, "And if the corporation realizes we're here they will execute the doctor we were sent to rescue."

Dov shot a glance towards McNally and then Collins before trying to yank his hand from Gail's grip, "My friend, my best friend, and my girl might be in trouble Gail."

Gail resisted the urge to shut her eyes as she realized what she was going to have to do, "Stand down marine..." As Dov tensed under her grip she added forcefully, "That is an order."

He stiffened completely before snapping out, "You don't outrank me Gail."

Before McNally or Collins could weigh in Gail's Netband vibrated against her wrist. She pulled up the information, sending it directly to her helmet display and inhaled sharply.

"Her BP just went through the roof, they might be working her over. We need to move."

Her brief moment of distraction was all Dov needed to wrench his arm free and tap his comm., "Diaz?"

Gail was up and moving before her helmet could alert her to the fact that comm. signal had been detected just as she'd feared. The locator ping on the doctor had her in a room that shared a wall with the tunnel just ahead, but with no access nearby and Dov's moment of idiocy Gail was going to have to work fast. She yanked a charged explosive from her belt and slapped it to the wall before muting her helmet and hoping like hell that her kinetic armor held against the blast because she didn't have time to move as she readied her gun. The charge blew and tore a man sized hole in the tunnel wall, just enough for Gail to storm through. Her gun wasn't loaded with bullets but with an electric charge that would drop an elephant but wouldn't do any permanent damage... unless the elephant or man had an underlying heart condition.

She fired off a shot, nailing the man leveling a gun at the doctor right between the shoulders and dropping him before she turned her weapon to the second man in the room, who was wielding what looked like a gnarly torture tool. On principle she shot him in the face before clearing the room quickly and bee-lining it for the doctor who looked like she'd seen better days.

She punched the release button on the restraint chair the doctor was strapped too and moved to support her as the doctor slumped forward, "Hey hey, I've got you."

The doctor struggled to her feet with Gail's help and Gail had to admire her strength because she looked wrecked. The doctor staggered forward towards a red box, pointing towards it when her legs threatened to fold under her and Gail was forced to hold her up.

Gail stared at the woman, "Really? You risk face planting for a lunchbox?"

The doctor shook her head weakly, "Not a lunchbox..." She swayed in Gail's arms, "It has... samples..." Her head lolled and Gail bit back a curse as she swung the Doctor's limp body around and grabbed the lunchbox off the table. She heard the hiss of the door before it slid open, giving her just enough time to shove the Doctor away from her, aiming roughly for the restraint chair before scrambling to lift her gun as the door slid open and four armed mercs streamed in.

A bullet pelted her armor, the force absorbed by her kinetic shields, but all the same, they were shooting live ammo at her. She rushed them before another shot could be fired off, bashing the butt of her charge rifle into the uncovered face of the nearest merc, grinning sadistically as cartilage and bone crunched in a bloody mess. She didn't have the room to shoot any of the mercs so she charged her gauntlets and hammer fisted another of the mercs, sending a brutal pulse of energy into his chest, launching him off his feet and into the merc behind him. The last of mercs lunged forward, startling her just enough to catch her in the neck where her armor was at its weakest. He capitalized on his momentum and spun her around, wrapping his arm around her neck and applying pressure.

She reared back and then to the side, slamming him into the metal table where the torture instruments were. She tried to stomp on his foot but his grip was relentless. He used his free hand to rip her helmet off before trying to bring his armored fist down on her skull. She threw her hands up to stop him, losing focus on preventing her slow strangulation.

Just as her vision began to blacken around the edges and panic welled in the pit of her stomach, the man trying in earnest to kill her let out a blood curdling scream before his body dropped behind her with a heavy thump. Gail whirled around and stared at the woman breathing heavily in front of her. The Doctor stood, bloody neural probe in hand, staring at her.

Before Gail could speak the Doctor blurted out, "Wow you're gorgeous."

Gail's ears went red before she scowled and bent to pick up her helmet from the floor as she barked, "Can you walk or am I going to have to carry you again Lunchbox?"

The Doctor frowned at her, "I think I can walk... and I told you it isn't a lunchbox."

Gail jammed her helmet back into place before replying, "I haven't seen any samples Lunchbox, just something that looks like there might be a sandwich in it."

The Doctor let out a startled laugh before she grumbled out, "Don't talk about food, I'm starving."

Gail moved to the Doctor's side, despite what she'd said and offered her a shoulder to lean on, "How long have they had you?"

The Doctor cocked her head as she considered the question, "A week maybe? I'm not sure, the days sort of bleed in on each other when they start repeating torture methods."

Gail huffed as she paused to let the Doctor lean against the jagged edge of the blown up wall, "They sound uncreative."

The Doctor shrugged and then winced as the movement jarred one of her many wounds, "Well I'm grateful for that at least, I didn't need a creative torturer."

Gail lifted her gun and poked her head out just as Diaz rushed forward in the tunnel, "Gail!"

She scowled at him even though he couldn't see her face, before taking in the mercs that were downed in the tunnels. That at least explain why her squad hadn't helped her. She shook her head curtly at Diaz before leaning back and offering an arm to the Doctor who took it and let herself be led out of the room and into the dim tunnel.

Dov spoke up softly, "Are you ok Gail?"

Gail pulled the Doctor closer to her before she snarled out, "No thanks to you Epstein."

Traci, who as a junior Lieutenant was technically in charge of the mission groundside, spoke up, "Gail's right Dov, no comms. means no comms."

Before Dov could reply Gail spoke, "Nash..." She nodded towards the Doctor who was drooping against her, clearly already running out of her second wind, "Civilian present. Dress him down when our objective isn't about to faint."

McNally moved to the other side of the Doctor to take some of her weight, "Hi..."

The Doctor's head lolled as she slurred out, "Hi..." Her head swiveled back to Gail, "Your helmet isn't pretty..."

Gail snorted, "McNally, this is Lunchbox... Lunchbox, McNally."

The Doctor sniffed as she tried to rouse herself, "Not Lunchbox... 'm Holly..." She bobbed her head as if agreeing with herself, "Holly Stewart."

The marines in the tunnel froze together as the name registered.

Quietly Chris spoke, "Stewart? Like..."

Lunchbox, or rather Holly breathed out, "Named for my granddad... Holland Stewart..." She sagged in Gail and McNally's grip a little more, "He figured out the Worm Drive you know?" She tried to bring a hand up to wave, "He's like super important... or he was." She turned to look at Gail as she whispered sadly, "He's dead now." She continued muttering to herself, "An he never got to go home... he was always saying..."

As Gail held Holly up she spoke, "I guess that answers my earlier question..." She wasn't just a lab monkey, she was a lab monkey with a universe changing legacy behind her.


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