The elevator dropped, it wasn't quite the speed of light but it was fast enough to get the sense of weightlessness about two minutes into the drop. It was better than ark travel but it still sucked.
Reaper wobbled slightly as the elevated platform came to a halt. The six other marines on the platform with him all looked as exhausted as he should have felt. They had been in transit for over eighteen hours, their last real meal was over fifteen hours ago and that was only a MRE which may have well been dumped straight in the toilet. And although there was a dull ache in Reaper's belly he still felt good but he managed to mimic the exhaustion he saw on the other faces.
Reaper looked over the group marines, he knew two of them personally and one or two others by reputation. The two he knew looked relaxed, bantering back and forth like this was old hat to them. He had been part of the team with Mercy and Mayhem about 3 years ago. They were sent in to retrieve hostages out of Ocean 57, the mission went horribly wrong. They were lucky to have made it out of there with their lives and only managed to save about 67% of the hostages. Which was actually a good statistical number but it hadn't mattered when the powers that be reviewed the case.
They had picked up Mercy and Mayhem with a Pvt. Marcy who looked greener than green and none too happy with the Marcy handle about 12 hours ago out of a shit ass post on the moon. From what Reaper could get out of them they screwed up, something about an officer and his daughter Reaper wasn't sure he heard right but they were put on the farthest outpost and forgotten about.
Next to Marcy was Gunnery Sargent Shine. Reaper only knew Shine by reputation and it was and wasn't a very good reputation. He reminded him too much of Sarge Mahonin and he how things ended with the Sarge left a bad tasted in Reaper's mouth.
On Shine's right was Sargent Logan. Logan hadn't said more than 2 words since they picked him up which was a pleasant contrast to Mercy, Mayhem and Marcy's continuous blather, but for some reason it also making him nervous at the same time. Next to Logan was Lance Corporal Dense who along with Mercy were the only women. Reaper hadn't had an opportunity to talk to Dense before they were all arbitrarily striped searched down to their skivvies on a weapons check. A precaution all thought unnecessary and voiced their opinions to the fact, but it hadn't mattered. Protocols and rules were recited over and over.
"Please watch your step as you disembark the car." A disembodied computer voice requested.
"Welcome to the 9th level of hell." Mayhem mocked as they stepped off.
"Gentlemen would you please follow me?" A short squat man in a lab coat stood off to one side of the platform bidding the marines to follow him.
"What the hell is this shit all about?" Shine complained.
"This way please," was the only response he received from the man.
They were lead down a long hall passing closed and sealed security doors. They ended at a medical room at the end of the hall. The room looked like any medical exam room Reaper had been in. There were more computer screens and two full body scanners that Reaper wasn't familiar with. The biggest difference was the shadowed figures in each corner of the room.
"Welcome to Outpost Oublier, gentlemen." A loud voice boomed as a tall black man stepped forward. The group stood to attention. "At ease," he said. They automatically slipped into parade rest.
"Colonel Walsh," Reaper mumbled under his breath.
"Staff Sargent Grimm, it's actually Major now but I'll forgive for the oversight." Walsh walked over to where the marines stood and looked them over. Mercy and Mayhem for the first time since they were picked up were silent. Reaper got the impression their assignment to the moon outpost had something to do with Walsh.
"Sir, are we supposed to guess why we are here?" Shine asked. Walsh walked over to where Shine stood and stared him down, both men were of equal height, somewhere between 6'5" and a 100 story building.
"I hope we don't have a problem Gunny Shine." Walsh growled at him.
"Let me make something clear gentlemen," A new man in a lab coat appeared behind Walsh. "Everyone here, is here because," The man walked over to a table and picked up a computer tablet.
"Gunnery Sargent Mason 'Gunny' Shine, your direction lead to the complete and total annihilation of world 7-1-6. A vile species of creature if there ever was but the genocide of anything even if it is the worst creature we've come across is nothing to be laughed at.
"Lance Corporal Harper Dense," he continued walking down the line. "I do suggest the next time your Lieutenant gives you an order to shoot you don't hesitate. It's going to take earth about 2 years to get a new president and full cabinet again.
"Sgt. Declan Logan."
Logan held up his hand, he had no desire to have his dirty laundry aired in front of everyone. The man in the lab coat sniggered.
"Sgt. Logan, exactly how many men did you 'lose'?"
"We ran into a little trouble." The sergeant mumbled.
"Trouble?!" the man scoffed. "Trouble is what the 3 Stooges here are in. Mercy, Marcy, and Mayhem I suggest your next sexual escapades do not include the Brigadier General's wife and daughter.
"I was an innocent victim of circumstance." Marcy deadpanned.
"Pick your friends better" Walsh said back. "And last but not least we have Staff Sergeant John Grimm 'Reaper'." The man said stopping in front of John. "When do you think you and your sister will give us the whole story that happened on Olduvia?" John twisted his face refusing to meet the man's eyes.
Everyone stood silent. They all had questions for each other, but the reluctance to answer questions about their own shame kept them quiet.
"Yes well, my name is Dr. Black," he said moving on, "My colleague and I will be asking questions and performing some tests on each of you. Most of them are completely painless and non-evasive I assure you."
"I didn't sign up for this shit." Mayhem protested and turned as if to leave.
The unmistakable click of 5 hammers being cocked back on guns sounded around them. The marines looked around, in every corner of the room stood a figure each armed to the teeth and each seemed to be ready to blow their heads off.
"Need I remind each and every one of you grunts that as long as you wear the uniform you are part of the Marines and as long as you are part of the Marines your ass is mine." Walsh walked the line of marines screaming into each of their faces. "You're not here for a vacation, this ain't no pleasure cruise. Your time in service is not complete and will not be complete until we say it is. When we say bend 'em and spread 'em you comply. If Dr. Black here needs a blood, urine, or stool samples you respond without question, without stress and without comment. Each one of you will have an armed escort at all times and we are Santa Clause grunts and can see you when you are sleeping."
"Calm as ever I see,"
Reaper froze, he hadn't heard that voice in a long time. As big as the universe was he didn't think he would ever see her again.
"Dr. Bedlam." Walsh said with contempt, but he stepped back and let the doctor step up.
"Welcome to the Oubliette, people." She said smiling, "Whenever you're ready ladies and gentlemen, I will need to see you all naked." Dr. Bedlam said raising her eyebrows.
"Bedlam!" Mercy and Mayhem exclaimed.
"Mercy, Mayhem," she nodded to each in turn.
John stood still, it had been a long time since he had seen Cora Bedlam. She was one of those exes that had ruined the shit for everyone. Bedlam had broken his heart, twice, he promised himself he would never let anyone do that to him again. Here she was standing before him after God only knows how long it had been since the last time he had seen her.
He tried not to stare but he couldn't help but notice she looked as great as the day she walked out on him. She hadn't even had the decency to get fat or to at least let herself go. No new wrinkles, no bags under her eyes. It didn't seem fair and it felt as if the universe was mocking him. After the clusterfuck at Olduvai you would think it would have cut him some slack.
He tried to look without looking, the lab coat covered enough but it still cinched at the small waist and stopped just above her bare smooth legs. Her hair was up but his mind still managed to find a picture of her with it cascading around her shoulders. It also managed to find the memory of her smell. It dropped these things in front of his eyes along with the memory of her breasts which although small, still managed to cause a familiar ache in his stomach.
"Cor-," John caught himself and corrected. "Dr. Bedlam."
"John, it's good to see you."
"Dr. Bedlam, why don't you take Mercy, Dense and Logan, I'll take Reaper, Shine, Marcy, and Mayhem, to your right gentlemen."
The men followed Black out of the room into a locker room.
"You can store your gear, after it's been stowed it's asked that you shit, shower and shine yesterday. I expect you back in exam room one within 20." Black explained. He then made a deliberate show of turning towards the uniformed figures that flanked the door. The message was clear, they were under constant observation. Put up and shut up.
Reaper was going to keep quiet. He managed to keep the full story of Olduvai to himself. Sam's broken body was taken directly to hospital where she was touch and go for a while, but when John was able to talk to her they both agreed the injection of Chromosome 24 was best kept under wraps if not forever at least for now. But it had been 12 months since he last spoke to her, he wasn't even exactly sure where she was. Of course she wasn't the only concerning woman in his life now was she? He hadn't counted on Cora being a problem for him ever again. He was going to have to stay alert to make sure she didn't become one now. But the bitch could have at least had the decency to get fat.
#
"What are you doing with the blood?" Shine asked Bedlam as she filled the last vile and pulled the needle from his arm. They were back in the exam room, each out of the clothes they came in and into a maroon jumper.
"I drink it." She said smiling. There was general laughter at this. Shine frowned at her not sure if she was serious or joking and not appreciating the fact he was thrown into this pit so the company could do whatever they wanted to him.
"Drug tests." She said in a more serious tone. "We need your blood clean for our tests."
"We haven't used for 3 or 4 hours Bedlam so we should be safe," Mercy said pointing to himself and Mayhem.
"We have stress tests we'd like to perform so I pray that is not true." Dr. Black said from behind them.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Grimm asked Bedlam when she got to him.
"Just clear confirmation of any and all drugs, it messes with our tests. We don't get the proper results."
"What are the tests?" he asked with a little more force in his voice than he wanted. She smiled just the same. A grin that he had forgotten him missed until it was there in front of him. Dammit this would have been easier to take if she had gone bald.
"We do thank you for volunteering." Was all the reply she would give.
That was the joke, they never volunteered for this. They were put here to be forgotten about, they were discarded like so much trash.
"We'd like to know what we are volunteering for," he said putting his hand out on her arm and gripping it tightly. A black clad soldier was by his side with the gun cocked and at his temple with a speed that surprised him.
John turned slowly and stared down the barrel of the gun. The room held its breath, Mercy and Mayhem had no snappy comments, Shine watched out of the corner of his eye. He watched the reaction of the gunners. They had an odd look and smell to them, he couldn't quiet put his finger on it but he didn't like it.
"I don't think that's necessary," Bedlam said putting her hand on the gun and pressing it down way from them. "Sargent Grimm understands the need for his cooperation. Don't you John."
He didn't but wasn't going to test it, at least not right now.
"Yeah, sorry, I've been up for a while I'm a little, testy," he said.
The figured lowered the weapon and resumed his posted against the wall. Reaper watched, it disappeared as if it melted into the shadows around the walls. Reaper frowned, he had never seen anything like it.
Bedlam mouthed 'creepy' and nodded in agreement at John's silent assessment.
"I had forgotten how the trip to the Oubliette was like." she said stepping away from him. "Dusty will show you to your quarters. We'll start the tests at 0600." The short man who walked them off of the elevated platform appeared and bowed slightly to Bedlam.
"This way gentlemen."
They emptied single file into the hallway.
"Where exactly are we?" Logan asked when they were on their way.
"Hell baby." Mayhem announced elbowing Reaper and leaning into him. "Bedlam eh?"
"Leave it alone, Mayhem."
"Stirring up any of the old feelings Reaper?" his friend piped up.
"Leave it Mercy."
"What, were you and the doc and item?" Marcy put in his two cents.
"Leave it!" he screamed, his voice echoing throughout the hall. Everyone stopped and looked back at Reaper. A smile spread across Mercy and Mayhem's face. They may be locked away and forgotten but they now how something to focus their attention on.
Shine raised an eyebrow at Reaper. It was an action reminiscent of Sarge. Reaper looked down at his hands which were balled into fists. He forced himself to relax. He took a breath and pushed past everyone to catch up with their chaperone.
Shine noted this entire interaction and filed it away for future use.