Chapter 2
Erik breathed in deeply. Water rushed up his throat and he heaved it from his lungs. He blinked repeatedly to banish the black patches invading his vision. Slowly the world came back into focus.
"That was a close one." A man's voice whispered nearby.
Erik sat up suddenly and turned to find the man. He was greeted by a jolly face smiling warmly. Erik crawled away suddenly and reached for his sidearm. Panic flared in Erik as he realised the currents had taken that as well.
The man was crouched down but stood up and walked to a nearby door. Erik followed his every movement, watching carefully for any sign of attack.
The man gazed through a window in the thick iron door. His expression was now verging on a scowl. Erik began to wonder where he was.
"Gather yourself together and then either get out of here or help me." The man's voice was calm and held no hostility.
"I'm wet." Erik replied flatly.
The man smirked and looked over at Erik.
"You'd be a lot worse than wet if I didn't pull you out." The man said gesturing towards the water and the system designed to destroy contaminating rubbish in the water.
Erik noticed the water first and how it swirled and twisted as if angry he had escaped its clutches. His eyes then drifted along to the slashing and crushing blades.
Garbage was whisked inside the brutal teeth of the machine and obliterated mercilessly. The machine was required to ensure rubbish didn't pass through the purifier and contaminate the water again. Erik would have been destroyed in the contraption.
"Who are you?" Erik whispered to the man.
"I thought I would probably get a thank you first but I see it won't be that way. I'm Jolf Resuditch, and I'm on an important mission." The man replied with a touch of humour creeping into his tone.
Erik was still adjusting to his predicament but shakily raised himself to his feet. Water still ran from him and to the concrete floor. Erik took a few steps to test his balance then headed for Resuditch.
"So who are you then if we're trading names?" Resuditch queried as the silence stretched out.
"Erik Wilkins." Erik mumbled blinking to dispel the darkness clouding his vision.
Erik took a few deep breaths and then a few shaky steps. He was aching everywhere and was freezing cold. The silence in the conversation began to stretch again as Erik glanced over to Resuditch to see what he was doing.
He was still gazing through the window into wherever the door led to. Erik scratched his head and sighed as he examined his clothes. He had a light armoured chest plate with tight cloth clinging to his skin everywhere else saturated with water. The chest plate was a little bit bent and dented but was mostly unharmed.
"I'd love to help, you realise, but I have to get back to my squad." Erik claimed trying not to sound disrespectful.
Resuditch turned to regard Erik with a small frown as if deep in thought.
"Sorry lad but that is no longer an option." He calmly replied before diving backwards.
The thick iron door designed to survive intense pressure exploded into the room. It flew over Erik's head as he ducked and bounced off the machine into the water. A few men ran into the room shrieking with guns firing wildly.
Erik remained on the floor watching in awe. The guns bucked and kicked but spat sparkling beams that burnt the steel ceiling and caused metal to drip in liquid form from the roof.
Resuditch raised his own weapon, a strangely shaped pistol. The first man's head exploded spraying gore across the room and onto his companions. The first death suddenly shocked them into inaction but the peace was broken as the second round fired by Resuditch punched into the next man's chest.
The shells were extremely potent with a minute explosive that tore apart Resuditch's victims. Blood sprayed the walls and bright lances of energy whizzed wildly back and forth hitting walls and scorching them black.
Resuditch rolled behind cover and the remaining men dashed to their own meagre shielding. Resuditch was behind the machine that was smashing the garbage in the water apart. It was busy with the door, screaming and raging at it as it met its match.
He risked a look over the top and was greeted with five sizzling blasts of the men's guns. There were three men left.
Erik realised he had a great advantage. In the confusion he had been forgotten and now he was behind the men, concealed in the shadows.
Erik slowly moved forwards towards the closest man who was fumbling with a new clip of ammo for his gun. Erik leapt towards him as he slammed the charge pack in and was about to rise from cover.
The man went back down and Erik swung his fists into the man's face over and over again, each blow rewarded with a grunt of pain. The man raised his gun and smashed the butt into Erik's face. Erik rolled away but his blows had slowed the soldier.
Erik leapt back into the brawl and knocked the man out with a strong uppercut that connected well. Erik picked up the lethal las rifle. Erik carefully aimed at the next man in line and squeezed the trigger. The beam sliced easily through the man cauterising the wound instantly. The man fell on his face.
The last man spun to face Erik who was still in awe of the amazing power. The man raised his las rifle and a look of fear came over Erik's face. The world seemed to slow. This would be infinitely worse than the grinding blades as Erik could see death facing him.
The man's face erupted in a shower of brain tissue and skin as the bolter round blasted through the back of the man's skull.
Resuditch stood behind the machine that was now whining pathetically after its victory over the door. He lowered his gun and smiled heartily at Erik who was still in shock.
"Sorry about that." He gently said. "I was hoping you wouldn't get too involved but thank you all the same."
"You were clearly stunned by the power of a las rifle and my bolter pistol." He continued. "Would you like to see things far greater?"
Erik could only nod dumbly. Resuditch smiled and beckoned Erik closer.
"These corridors are narrow and have little cover but then again there are very few soldiers guarding the complex. Our only protection will be the machines in larger rooms and our attack strategy every else." Resuditch explained.
"Put that las rifle down. It won't give us a tactical advantage. Here, this will." He elaborated while offering a small las pistol.
"You'll need speed and quick reactions. The las pistol is compact and light. You can use this as a back up weapon." As Resuditch said this he handed over a combat shotgun.
"Close quarters only for that." He explained quickly before turning to the open doorway.
Resuditch put his bolt pistol back in its holster and pulled a confusing twisted contraption from his back. It was quite heavy and he grunted with the sudden weight but soon adjusted.
"Modified heavy stubber." Resuditch answered Erik's quizzical look. "For the barricades. Good luck."
With those final words, Resuditch charged forwards quickly but quietly through the doorway into the corridor, heading towards his mysterious target.
Erik ran after him trying his best to remain silent, but his feet still created echoing thumps down the corridors. Erik could move faster than Resuditch thanks to his much lighter weapon and as he tested twisting around with the weapon, he could see the benefit in these tight corridors.
The corridors were dark but some still had dimly flickering lights that provided temporary vision. The corridors were straight and had almost no markings except where time had worn them away. There were very little connecting corridors so there weren't many chances for an ambush. They would meet the enemy head on.
Resuditch rushed into a larger corridor that had cylindrical machines humming and buzzing all the way along the corridor. There was a small barricade in the door way on the far side and a few men positioned behind some of the machines closer to the barricade.
Las fire spat from their guns erratically on fully automatic, spraying the walls and floor in big black patches. Erik dived behind a machine on the left hand side of the corridor while Resuditch dived to the right.
The soldiers refused to cease fire and the beams bounced harmlessly against the heavy machines. Erik looked along the machine to a small ladder leading underneath the corridor for maintenance. He moved quickly and descended into the darkness.
Resuditch watched Erik go down and then waited patiently, listening to the las fire. Soon a gap in the barrage presented itself. He spun around the side of the machine and opened fire with his heavy stubber.
Some of the power had been taken out of the stubber and a complicated mechanism secured it to Resuditch to allow him to use the gun without mounting it. It still packed a powerful punch despite the modifications.
The heavy stubber jumped in Resuditch's hands as he desperately attempted to keep it on target. He fired in short bursts that tore apart the barricade of wood and thin metal sheets.
Soldiers let out screams of pain as the bullets travelled through their cover and hit them. A few tried to get behind thicker cover but others fired their las rifles defiantly but with even less accuracy. Splinters floated in the air as bullets ripped apart the barricade and the defenders.
Erik carefully raised himself up the ladder and quietly appeared behind the soldiers taking cover behind one of the buzzing machines, the noise easily masking the sound of Erik's boots.
Erik pulled the trigger on his las pistol three times, one for each soldier. He was prepared for the power now and quickly switched his aim to other targets. He whipped his arm back and forth rapidly, snapping off one or two accurate shots per target.
Resuditch walked along the corridor firing relentlessly and only stopped when Erik shot the last man. Resuditch turned his head to look at Erik and nodded once before continuing into the complex.
"This is only the start." He called to Erik without looking back.
Erik sighed and pushed himself to keep going. Resuditch was quite far ahead now and Erik had to jog to catch up with the man. The lights were much dimmer and it was almost pitch black in the corridors.
"Where are we?" Erik suddenly called out.
"We're in a water recycling plant. Down in the lab area, there are experiments that threaten the population of many worlds. It is my job, and now yours, to protect these planets." Resuditch explained.
"Wait. Other worlds? How many are there?" Erik asked confused.
"There are five worlds in this solar system I'm sure you know but what you don't know is that two others are populated. The ones you haven't been able to reach due to your inferior transport. There are also many more outside your solar system. Their not infinite, but there's a vast amount out there." Resuditch calmly answered.
A long pause interrupted the conversation and the only noise was their feet pounding the concrete floor. Erik stared into the distance digesting this bewildering information.
"So what sort of experiments are going on down here and how are we going to find them?" Erik finally broke the silence.
"We're following the pipes to the lab." Resuditch replied. "They take water to them to experiment and test for any bacteria. Now this place is abandoned and no one should be using it. But the labs have all the equipment our enemy needs."
Another long pause punctured the air.
"But what experiments are they doing?" Erik pressed.
Resuditch picked up the pace a little more and appeared to have not heard the question. Erik sighed and looked up to the pipes attached to the ceiling. Water dribbled between the joints and dripped to the floor.
Captain Lew was worried. The mercenaries in his charge were not trained soldiers. Their ranks had been decimated and now the man who had started the carnage was rushing towards them murderously through the network of corridors.
Communication with all the scout parties and barricades had gone down and they were all that was left. Captain Lew hadn't told the men the rest were dead. Their morale was too low for them to handle it.
All the captain could do was to keep reminding them to check every inch of the approach and remain alert. Although no matter how hard he tried, their attention wondered and they would soon be caught off guard.
Captain Lew looked around at his men. They were stationed behind a few sandbags on a staircase with one mounted machine gun. The room was basically a wider taller corridor that was brightly lit.
Every soldier held a las rifle provided by their employers. They had promised that they could keep them as payment and they'd barely face any attack. They had been right for most of the time. But now their contract was coming to an end, one man shows up and massacres the mercenary company.
Captain Lew sighed as he watched a group of bored soldiers pull out a deck of cards and one began to deal. The captain walked over slowly and slapped the dealer on the back of his shaven head.
"Give me those." The captain demanded quietly. His voice was calm but anger and rage burned in his eyes.
The soldier handed them over quickly realising the trouble he was in.
"The rest of the men are dead." Captain Lew hissed through clenched teeth. "There is no one else. We are the last line of defence. Get your gun pointing down that corridor before it's pointing at your face!"
The captain turned and strode away. A month ago he wouldn't have even asked for the cards but just shot the man on the spot. But he couldn't afford to lose another man and risk scaring the others more.
Captain Lew watched the ripple of quiet conversation die out as the news of the deaths spread between each group. Pale faces stared into the dark abyss of the corridor. They believed a daemon was coming for them.
The captain realised his mistake and was determined to correct it. He climbed up onto a sandbag so he towered above the soldiers.
"This is the only route to the labs boys. Yes, we are the last alive, but no daemon comes to torture our souls. A single man charges forth to fight. He killed the others as they underestimated him. Now don't believe he is powerful enough to take this barricade because he isn't. Don't throw away hope and pray for an easy death. This will be the final showdown and we will win!"
Captain Lew's voice was loud and demanded attention and each word roused the soldier's spirits and hope flared within them.
"Our victory will be glorious!" The captain screamed and was answered by a loud cheer. "For our dead comrades." Another cheer. "And our families at home." A louder cheer. "We will prevail!" The final words were a roar designed to ignite enthusiasm and hope in the soldiers. A cheer of equal magnitude would roar back if the words were a success. But the final cheer stuck in the throats of the soldiers as Captain Lew flew from the sandbag.
Bullets pelted the sandbags and the unprepared soldiers. Blood flew in great arcs painting the drab walls with colour. Resuditch panned the heavy stubber across the barricade punching holes through men and barricade alike.
The hope and strength constructed by Captain Lew crumbled and fell apart as soon as he fell and the soldiers panicked. Most remained stunned until they were cut down but a few dived to the floor to escape the blizzard of bullets.
One man came to his senses quickly and shouted defiantly. More men took up the shout and returned fire. Another soldier grabbed the mounted gun and began to fire wildly.
The large calibre rounds pounded the floor and threw dust and small pieces of shrapnel into the air. Every man who attempted to stand against Resuditch blindly fired into the smoke, but the heavy stubber just kept sweeping back and forth cutting more soldiers down.
The soldier manning the mounted gun took a las round to his forehead and fell away, instantly dead. The dust began to clear without the high calibre shots shattering the ancient floor.
As the last of the smoke cleared, the gun slowed to a stop in Resuditch's hands and the soldiers who had flung themselves to the ground opened their eyes and removed their hands from the back of their heads.
Suddenly, Erik leaped over the barricade and fired down on the helpless soldiers with his las pistol. The attack was well co-ordinated and shattered any hope of defence. The massacre was over within a couple of minutes.
Resuditch and Erik ascended the staircase to the final stretch of corridor before the laboratories. Neither needed to comment on the effectiveness of their assault.
The new corridors were bright thanks to long unprotected neon bulbs. Erik and Resuditch stalked cautiously towards the glass door at the end of the corridor.
As they approached, a voice emitted from a pair of speakers. It was triggered by a motion sensor.
"Please insert your verification card into the lock device or enter the correct code. Thank you." The voice sounded calming and gentle but still retained the cold emotionless effect of a machine.
"Do you know the code?" Erik asked as they reached the door, also noticing it was not glass but a shimmering barrier.
"Yes." Resuditch replied nodding slowly.
With one fluid movement, Resuditch flung a small device that stuck to the void field. It crackled for a moment then fell to the floor. Both the void field and the lock device shut down with a faint buzz. Resuditch smiled and walked onwards with Erik following closely behind.
Erik still felt overwhelmed by the whole adventure. Earlier that day he had been joking and laughing with his comrades but now he didn't know if they were still alive.
He had received a full briefing on the mission and the enemy but now he was storming a completely different terrain with unfamiliar equipment and commander.
He had started the day full of energy but he had been through the start of the invasion, nearly drowned and also destroyed numerous barricades. He felt drained.
New and exciting ideas for his future had appeared to him replacing his world with legends. Erik's world was decades from advanced technology but here it all was, some even in his hand.
But the biggest change he had to adjust to was a single man. Resuditch was taller than Erik and was also wider. He had a muscular frame yet moved quickly and nimbly. He knew far more than Erik that was for sure.
Even now Erik realised he knew nothing of Resuditch yet followed him like a lost sheep. Erik thought of asking him but caught himself. This wasn't the place to lose his only hope of survival.
They were close now Resuditch had told him. Close to this mysterious experiment. To this shadowy enemy. Erik wondered if Resuditch hadn't told him about the experiment because he was worried.
As soon as the thought came Erik banished it to the back of his mind. If Resuditch was scared, Erik was scared more. He had begun to think of Resuditch as a figure that was constantly calm and in control. Since Erik had met him, Resuditch had done nothing to contradict this portrayal.
Erik admired him for his power but also hated him for his secrecy and greater knowledge that he clearly held tantalisingly close for Erik to see but never understand.
Erik thought of the way they had worked together. A smile slowly spread across his face as he realised they worked better together than the squad who learnt each other so well they could predict each others actions. He hardly knew Resuditch yet was instantly comfortable working with him, neither of them having to utter a word to effectively execute a strategy they hadn't discussed.
The smile began to fade as Erik thought that was perhaps part of Resuditch's power. He inspired and comforted men. He could turn against Erik and he would be completely off guard because he trusted him with his life easily.
The smile vanished entirely and was replaced with the start of a frown. Erik knew Resuditch had saved his life but he was powerless to resist if he turned against him. He could even be leading him to his death. Erik hoped his trust had been well placed.
Resuditch knew his joy shone in his eyes. His body felt lighter and he sped up to a few grumbled complaints from the Erik.
He was getting closer to his goal. After much searching he was finally going to stop the last of a particularly stubborn rebel cell. They had been damaging the worlds only slightly but this one big job would be their undoing.
Resuditch didn't even consider failure, but kept in always kept in mind the damage that would be done if the experiment was completed. That was why he must never fail.
"Open the hatch." The scientist's voice was cold and demanding.
Another scientist adjusted a few dials and pressed a large button. All three raised their heads to look through the glass into the testing area. The hatch in the wall creaked open and a small blast of air could be vaguely heard.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then a thin discoloured arm came out of the hatch. A few seconds passed and another followed it out. Then a third. The creature swung itself into the test chamber with the three arms revealing itself fully to the scientists.
The monster was extremely tall but it was very thin. It had four arms that dragged along the floor and two legs that weakly propelled it across the floor. A heavy collar hung around its neck with a couple of wires entering its jaw through the bottom. It opened its mouth revealing ridiculously sharp teeth and roared feebly.
The scientist who opened the hatch reversed the sequence of dial turns and button presses and the hatch slammed shut. The noise scared the creature and it shuffled away from the hatch.
"Final experiment." The head scientist whispered into a voice recorder. "The collar."
The third scientist moved from his position at a desk to the computer the second scientist was using and gave a clipboard with documents attached to the head scientist. He picked them up and read the first line. Subject A: Genestealer.
"First test." The head scientist said and motioned for the third scientist to continue.
The scientist flicked a few switches and the power could be heard gathering within the computer. The scientist grasped a joystick and move towards him.
The genestealer moaned and moved closer towards the window. All three scientists smiled and the head scientist wrote something on the second page of the document and returned his gaze maliciously to the creature.
The third scientist moved the joystick back and forth and watched as the genestealer was forced to follow the movements. The head scientist kept ticking boxes and writing comments on the documents.
The room was dark and the scientists were preoccupied with their work so none of them noticed the door behind them open.
Erik's shot hit the third scientist in the back of the head instantly dropping him. Resuditch's shot hit the second scientist in the back but the explosive shot blew his spine apart. The head scientist spun around.
Erik knew Resuditch wanted this kill and let him take the shot. The round hit the scientist in the stomach and knocked him backwards. He convulsed once then twice before his arm flew out and hit a few buttons as he swung wildly. His body finally died after a few seconds but the damage had been done.
The scientist had hit the joystick multiple times, flinging the genestealer around the test chamber. It climbed to its feet enraged and reached for the collar. With no one capable of activating the sedation safety feature, the monster ripped the collar from its throat.
The genestealer turned to find its oppressors. It saw only Erik and Resuditch and hate filled it entirely. The genestealer leapt towards them and smashed into the glass. Cracks appeared everywhere obscuring the view into the test chamber almost entirely.
Erik raised his las pistol as the genestealer jumped a second time. This time, the glass smashed. The genestealer reached for Resuditch and caught his chest with its sharp claws.
Erik fired and the genestealer squealed. Resuditch was catapulted across the room by the creature and hit the wall dazed. The genestealer then leaped towards a nearby air vent and crawled away.
Echoes rang down from the air vent while Erik crouched to check Resuditch. He was bleeding slightly where the claws had struck but he was mainly harmed by the ferocity and strength behind the blow. The impact with the claw and then the wall had broken his bones.
"Go find the thing..." Resuditch rasped. "It mustn't escape."
Erik nodded and stood. He turned and headed for the door.
"Wait!" Resuditch called almost inaudibly. "Take this."
Erik reached down and took the micro-vox before pulling out his pistol and reloading. Resuditch managed a smile as Erik turned and walked out the door in search of the monster. Resuditch pulled himself up into a sitting position and attached his micro-vox to his face, waiting patiently.
Erik faintly heard the air vent rumbling in the distance and started to run after it. The micro-vox sprang into life and Erik just about heard Resuditch whisper the genestealer was heading for the ICT department.
Resuditch lowered the auspex and breathed deeply. He had done all he could as far as tracking could go as the pair had moved out of tracking range. He still had connection with the micro-vox but it was all up to Erik now.