This Doom of Ours
Chapter: 10
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HOURS EARLIER ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF CONSTANT: EDEN PRIME
"Good morning Eden Prime! This is the Galactic Forces Network and I'm Penn Ransone bringing you the best, the brightest, and loudest in the galactic music scene, our next song is dedicated to those marines slogging it out in paradise, keep up the hard work you guys and gals of the 2nd Frontier Division!" the heavy hitting beat thundered out of the mako's speakers as the APC trundled down a dusty road, earning a course of groans from most of the vehicles occupants.
"Come on Lt can we at least listing to tunes from this century." grumbled one of the soldiers from somewhere in the back, which only earned him a snort from the veteran officer who was driving stick.
"This is your heritage Corporal Fenning, this is what you're fighting to defend!" shouted the middle aged African American sharply.
"If the alien hoards want to destroy this particular part of my history then I'll gladly hold the door for them at the museum sir." retorted the marine to the bellowing laughter of the rest of the squad.
"That sounds like defeatist talk to me Corporal. Gunny, remind the members of the platoon what happens to those that talk defeatist in front of me!" the none commissioned officer next to him grinned evilly as she turned to allow the lower ranks to see the shit eating smile that had painted itself across her face.
"Yes Sir! Any member of second platoon found being defeatist will be volunteered for advanced CQC training with Gunnery Sergeant Williams until the Lieutenant is satisfied." the remark earned pained twitches from several members of the squad who had run afoul of this rule.
The mako shuddered slightly as it rolled over yet another massive pothole, this far from the main habitation areas of the colony the roads were no better the barely visible tracks, not that it really posed a problem for the APC, but it was certainly murder on the buttocks of the crew.
"How long is this going to take Lieutenant, I've got a hot date back at the barracks at eight." shouted Corporal Woodrow from somewhere in the sea of marines behind the operator's seat. "And I want to get cleaned up first."
"The only way you'd have a hot date Wood's is if you stole that vacuum cleaner from under Malcolm's bed! so until I say otherwise think of this as your hot date." the entered interior of the vehicle erupted into gut wrenching laughter as the marine in question went red in the face.
"We're fifteen minutes out from our ETA Lt." declared Ashley as she tore her gaze way from the readout screen, the Lieutenant nodded grimly in acknowledgment.
"Look alive you apes', I want us ready to go in ten!" there was a roar of confirmations as the soldiers began a final round of equipment checks. "Gunny, take the turret the captain said that this was just a basic perimeter sweep but I'm not taking any chances, better safe than sorry in my book."
The battalion command had been on edge the last few days, no one was saying anything but the powers that be had made it sharply clear that the local defence forces should tighten up security for the foreseeable future around the capital and surrounding areas, so here they were out in the sticks in the middle of a damned heatwave.
"Hey my cousin Zack said that big expansion project over on the western district got delayed for some reason." mentioned another marine from somewhere in the back. "Said the construction crew found something and the administration brought in the egg heads to have a look at it."
"No shit, think they found some alien ruins or something?" inquired Fenning, his love of all things xeno coming to the surface. "I wonder if they'll get us to guard the site, that would be awesome!" the remark earned the younger man a dismissive snort from their grizzled lieutenant.
"Sure corporal and when those long lost aliens want to stuff their melon sized eggs up someone's ass I volunteer you right away" Lieutenant Malcolm was old school, not xenophobic per say, but he'd served through the first contact war so he had a hearty dose of realism when it came to anything xeno, a fact that deeply endeared him to the gunnery chief, her grandfather's legacy still carried weight in many quarters of the armed forces and she'd expected to get a similar treatment on arriving on Eden Prime, what she got instead was the Lt, and he did not take shit from anyone under his command.
Several months earlier:
"Some of you seem to think that that the Gunny's grandfather is the biggest bastard in the galaxy!" the Lieutenant came stomping past the assembled platoon, who were standing at parade ready in the middle of the pouring rain
"I am here to tell you all that you are wrong!?" a vein could be seen throbbing on the side of his head, he hadn't liked being disturbed from his own time to break up a scuffle that had broken out between herself and some of the other marines.
"I am the biggest, nastiest mother fucker that you'll ever meet under god's green earth and by the time I finished with you all your butts will be begging me for burn cream for the fire that I'm about to unleash on all you shit heads, now drop and give me four hundred!?" and the veteran had been true to his word, by the time that the Lt had finished with them the whole platoon was united in their collective hatred for the man and his team building exercises.
Back in the present:
She'd found out later that Lieutenant Malcolm had been part of the liberating forces that had retaken Shanxi towards the end of the war and had nothing but respect for the men and women that had stayed to fight on the doomed planet, not that it did her any favours as the Lt had pointed during one of his infamous team building exercises, which in this case had been running up a mountain in nothing but a pair of boots.
Ashley shuddered at the memory, it had been difficult to look at one another for weeks after that, there had been far too much jiggling of various body parts for that.
"Lieutenant Malcolm, come in Lieutenant Malcolm this is control, over." Captain Takahashi's unwavering tones came echoing out from the vehicles onboard speakers as the Mako cleared a low rise to get a better vantage point.
"This is Lieutenant Malcolm, I read you control. Over." the line crackled ever so slightly, as if there was static on the line, something that should have been impossible given their relative proximity to the communication hub.
"We're getting weird energy fluctuations across the board, admin thinks someone is deliberately fucking around with the power grid, stay alert, it's probably nothing but you can never to be to safe, will contact you if the situation changes, acknowledge. Over.".
"Acknowledged Command, will stay on our patrol route, contact us if you need anything, over and out." the atmosphere inside the mako became tense, the friendly, warm team feeling vanishing as the years of training took hold.
If someone was messing with the main power grid, it was a bad sign, by anyone's standards. If the power went out then not only would the colony go blind but the local naval defence fleet in the cluster wouldn't pick up their automated distress beacon in time to defend the planet from any potential enemy force approaching the system, so rather understandable the marines were on edge.
"I got a bad feeling about this sarge, someone is fucking with the grid just after some egg head finds some alien ruins? Can't be a coincidence." the statement earned her a dismissive snort from the older man.
"Well damn gunny you earn a cookie, just like every other person with half a fucking brain." the sharpness of his tone made it clear the Lieutenant had shifted into his business mode as his subordinates liked to call it, all professional no frills but if it kept them alive the platoon wasn't complaining. "Get in contact with second and third squads, let them know what's going down, I don't want anyone walking into this with their ass hanging out."
"Roger Lt" the other squad leaders quickly picked up the call and rather predictably were not happy either and made their opinions know rather loudly and it took Lieutenant Malcolm bellowing into the comm-link to shut them up.
A few minutes later the APC crested a low rise, allowing its occupants to gaze over the low rambling hills and luscious woodland that made up this quadrant of the colony and just on the horizon, silhouetted on a small hill was the aforementioned dig site, groups of what could presumed to be scientists darting around like so many tiny ants.
"We're going to do our sweep as planned then double back and check on the excavation." declared the Lt as he gunned the engine forward. "If we're going to have shit on our doorstep might as well know what kind of shit it is."
"Won't hear any complaints from me sir." muttered Williams as she checked the long rang scanners for the seconded time.
The next hour or so passed in a blur as the mako trundled along its designated patrol path, making sure that nothing untoward was happening on the city limits. Even on a developed planet such as Eden Prime smuggling and other such illegal activity was not uncommon, a fact that the Alliance brass did not like in the slightest, so here they were, trained soldiers acting as glorified police force for the colonists.
"Sectors A-17 through A-25 is clear, no unusual power signatures or life signs on the scanners" Ashley's bored tone was rather unmistakable to everyone. "Moving onto the next sector of the route."
"Remind me why we can't get out and do this on foot?" questioned Fenning irritably from his seat. "That's what we normally do!" the remark earned him a withering glare from the Lt.
"Because, corporal, if shit does happen I don't want my squad spread across the fucking landscape, now stop your bellyaching!" snarled the officer as he turned his gaze back to the horizon.
Soon enough the rest of their patrol came to an uneventful conclusion and first squad found itself thundering towards the dig site, an almost oppressive atmosphere accompanying them.
"Second Platoon this is perimeter control, what can we do for you Lieutenant Malcolm?" a familiar voice echoed out of the speakers towards them as they drew nearer to the excavation.
"That you Jones? They got first platoon out here babysitting?" there was a soft chuckle from the other side.
"Looks like it Ben, but I still got to ask what you're doing here man, orders you understand." there was a short pause before the Lieutenant responded.
"Just got done doing our patrol and were in the area, wanted to see if you lads and ladies were doing all right, command is on edge." there was an understanding huff over the line.
"Yeah we got that message to." there was a noticeable pause as the other man seemingly thought something over in his mind before responding. "Look Ben, I'm not supposed to allow anyone not approved past the perimeter, orders from the top, but I wouldn't mind having some more eyes on the ground." there was an uneasy silence in the cabin at the request.
"What do you want us to do Ben?" this was going against regulations but good platoon leaders looked out for each other.
The slightly younger Lieutenant's voice took on a relieved tone as the sound of drilling could be heard somewhere in the distance, the yells of archaeologist and other excavators echoing out over the open commlink at the same time.
"I could use someone physically patrolling the perimeter. I got one of my teams on it already but judging from the noise coming from the bigwig right behind me I'll have to pull the rest of the platoon off the line to keep a closer eye on things here, think you can watch our backs?"
A grim look crossed the Lt's features. "Will do, getting into position now, Malcolm out." the line went dead as the Lieutenant gunned the engine and pushed the mako forward. "Look alive people, Fenning, Johnson you two will man the APC, the rest of you with me on foot!" there was a chorus of confirmations from the rest of first squad as they readied themselves.
"Fuck, never thought that all this wilderness would give me the creeps." muttered Wood's uneasily as the patrol stalked along the edge of the security zone, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
"Keep it together marine, I'm not going to die here today because you were scared of the creepy forest." the marine flinched at the sharp words being sent his way.
"Sorry sir, shutting up sir." Williams sent her superior a worried look, the Lieutenant was on edge and that was not normal in the slightest, and the squad could feel that too if the tension shared between them all was any indicator.
The minutes slowly ticked by as the marines picked their way through the landscape, stopping every so often to check back in with both the mako that was shadowing them from a distance, and first platoon, who apparently had their hands full keeping the scientists at the dig site in line; the silence didn't last however as just as the group had stop for a quick brake there came a thundering boom that echoed throughout the immediate area, quickly followed by some kind of energy shockwave that sent everyone flying.
"Squad, sound off and give me a status update!" Roared the Lieutenant as he staggered back to his feet, weapon up and at the ready as he scanned the surrounding treeline, there came a smattering of confirmations over the comms. "Gunny, we good?" Williams shook her head to clear out the low ringing that had come to dominate her ear canals.
"I'm green, what the fuck was that sir?"
"Don't know, but whatever it was it's bad news for the colony, SO EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" the last part was delivered with a thunderous bellow "We're regrouping with first company, everyone double time!" there was not protests from the rest of the squad as they hoofed it back to the mako that was parked lower down the hill.
"Lt I'm getting some real weird shit over the commlinks, don't know if it's static or jamming but it's freaking me the hell out." Fenning voice was notably uneasy that put everyone on edge, there was an undercurrent of uncertainty there that couldn't be missed.
"Hold on corporal we're almost there" shouted the Lieutenant as they crested over the last low ridge that separated them from the APC, just in time to see a barrage of missiles slam into the side of the carrier, ripping through the heavy armour and detonating its dark matter reactor in a cobalt explosion that sent shrapnel flying everywhere.
"Shiiiit!" Wood's terrified cry went up as the remaining marines dived for cover behind whatever was close at hand. "What the fuck!?"
"Stow it marine! Does anyone have eyes on the shooters!?" snarled the older veteran as he peeked out from behind a rocky outcrop. "Gunny, you good?" Ashley winced at the question as she glanced down at her arm where a jagged cut could already be seen bleeding freely.
"I got pinged by some shrapnel, it's nothing. Fernández is already putting gel on it." the woman held the injured limb out to the silent medic as the conversation continued. "Anyone else get hit?"
"Not from the sounds of it." countered the older man, "But we can't stay here." the Lieutenant caught his subordinates attentions with a wave of his hand. "Frankin and Tanaka with me, we're going to lay down covering fire, the rest of you fall back to the dig site." but before they could execute their orders there was the screeching roar of a pair of jet engines as something came crashing down into the burning hulk, smothering the burning wreckage.
"Fall back, everyone fall back!" snarled the Lt as he opened up on the shrouded outline that could just be seen through dust cloud, then whatever it was shrieked, chilling everyone's blood, no natural thing should be able to make that noise and you know what they were right.
A few hours later in the planet's atmosphere:
"Ardent readings are off the charts, with a massive spike right above the colonies main reactor, I think it's starting fail." shouted the captain over the ships intercom. "I'm going to have to set you all down on the city limits, my systems can't handle that amount of ambient radiation."
"Get us as close in as you can, then fall back to wait for my signal." rumbled Doom as he magnetically attached himself to the decking underfoot, the other members of the fire team doing the same, time was an issue here, no messing around with seatbelts or harnesses, the sooner they were planet side the better.
"This is not some small-scale shit show." declared Vasir coldly as they watched footage from the ships external cameras, columns of black smoke rising into the air all around them. "This is a full-on breach." the assembled specialist nodded grimly as the craft swooped in low.
"It doesn't matter, you know the stakes, no screw ups." rumbled the chief operative as he readied his weapon. "Get ready." there was a whine of servos as the cargo bay doors pulled apart to reveal a burning, smoked filled scene, a few badly eaten bodies dotting the ground directly in front of them.
Paramo was the first to leave, stepping out onto the charred earth, slowly sweeping the local area. "All clear!" he stated, the Doom Marine stomping past him as the rest of the strike force hurried to keep pace.
Nihlus glanced around carefully, there were a few of the possessed as the rest of the veterans called them lying on the ground but a few swift stabs from a combat knife or boot stomp quickly silenced them. "There aren't that many non-humans so far." he commented as he pulled a blade out from what had once been a dockworkers right eye socket with a sickening squelching sound.
"Not that surprising." countered Bo as he popped a possessed in the head with a silenced pistol without so much as a flinch. "Eden Prime is one of the most developed Alliance colonies outside of the home system, human to non-human ratios will be noticeably skewed." there a meaty thud as Vasir stomped yet another corpse as the group slowly made its way across what looked like an industrial complex towards the populated centres of the planets capital.
"We're making good progress" muttered Chen as she dispatched yet another straggler, there was a dismissive huff from the asari spectre, who was just standing behind her keep watch.
"And how long is that going to last, this is just the leftovers from the initial Lazarus Wave, the moment we hit a densely inhabited area shits going to hit the fan. Well, more than it already has." and as always as if to prove the matron right there was a sudden deafening screech from nearby as a nearby shelter door burst open, unleashing it's mutated and mutilated occupants onto the street. "So much for the silent approach." declared the asari as she court site of Doom Guy accelerating towards the hoard. "Might as well go loud." as the rest of the group brought their weapons up to bear and as one the air around them ignited as they let fly.
"I'm picking up argent readings from multiple vectors, threat levels are increasing rapidly, I would suggest moving quickly to close the breach before it stabilizes into a viable Hell Portal" V.E.G.A warned. "It is likely that enemy forces will be attempting to fully destabilize the main reactor, so your primary goal should be to prevent this; failure will lead to a more complex undertaking for satisfactory resolution." the operative let out a distracted snort of confirmation as he nonchalantly slammed a fist into the nearest possessed, shattering its head and covering his arm in dark gore as the armored juggernaut pulled out his side arm.
"We need to move, break through!" the order was carried out without issue as the rest of the squad broke through the gap that the operative had carved into the shambling swarm. "Paramo, Kryik you've got the rear, the rest of you keep your head on a swivel, they know we're here now." the next few minutes went by in a daze as the fire team cut a bloody path deeper into the settlement.
Nihlus let out a low hiss as his heavy-duty assault rifle kicked against his shoulder, large calibre rounds thundering into the slowly encroaching hoard that was rapidly amassing behind them as he and his partner advanced.
"Watch your right side!" roared the krogan over the deafening thunder of his chain gun as he brought it around in a steady arc, cutting the monsters down like so much chopped wheat before him. "If you get pushed back we'll have to give ground to early!"
And that would be a bad thing, judging from the sounds of battle that were echoing out from behind them their vanguard had seemly run into slightly more determined opposition. The assessment proved accurate as moments later when a trio of explosions went off.
"Looks like they've started getting wise." Paramo's statement was quickly accompanied by a hail of mass effect rounds as a far more organized group of possessed came storming around a corner towards them, weapons held tightly in their deformed hands.
"By the spirits." the turian couldn't help but grimace as he saw the mangled body armour that clung to monsters ruined bodies, at least they now knew what happened to the local garrison, but whatever sympathy he might have had vanished as shot glanced of his helmet. "Fucking die!" it was going to be a long day.
Somewhere not so far away:
"Master, we are detecting intruders on the city limits." a decrepit looking figure, dressed in filthy robes muttered nervously as he shuffled towards the figure that was outlined against the glowing form of the main argent reactor. "The newly converted have been sent to destroy them." the remark earned him a dismissive snort from the apparent leader, who didn't even bother to glance in the wretches' direction as he fired off a cutting response.
"And that is why, Alexander, our Overlords saw fit to appoint me as their herald, your ignorance is telling, your soldiers are already dead. These so call intruders are more than likely the OSI, which means….." the figure left the sentence hanging.
"That the Doomslayer." finished the cultist in growing fury. "What shall we do master?" the individual turned to reveal his turian features to the lesser being.
"I think it's time to move to the next phase of the plan." he chuckled as he waved a hand towards the giant ritual circle, freshly painted in human blood, that had been placed around the reactor core. "It's time for us welcome our masters home."
Apologies for such a wait real life has been kicking down my door a lot lately...but besides that, as always a massive shout out to Darth Azrael for all their hard work, couldn't do it with out them.
Please review if able READ AND REVIEW, it takes a lot of energy and time to write my stories, so I politely ask that if you are able please leave a comment at the bottom, it really means so much to me when I get reviews, it truly does, SO PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.
Thank you all for reading this I'll see you in the next chapter.
Gods-own.