Uniform Alpha
October 1, 2558
The rising tide began to pour deeper into the ship's unoccupied confines and Aegis would have drowned if it weren't for his MJOLNIR armor's own air supply.
His muscles felt like they had been tied with weights via ropes as the water continued to splash over the armor. Fortunately, this was nothing for the pressure levels it could handle. He groped blindly with his left hand, finding the edge of the crate that had smashed him downwards and pulled him upright.
For a second he thought he was home free, but then he found his own freedom of movement halted. Looking down, he saw that the armor's right leg had been caught between two fallen containers who were pushing on the armor to grind against one another.
Working as fast as he could while maintaining awareness of the growing waterline, Aegis' left hand found the seals just below the knee of the trapped armor, if he could free his armored section, then it may have been enough for him to escape. His fingers slipped into the safeties and it forced him to stretch over yet another fallen crate in his lap. He heard an audible clicking noise and felt the armor parts loosen in the calf section.
Timing it right, he pushed on the crate in front of him, which in turn had moved the one pinning his leg aside. He quickly thrust the newly freed leg clear and released his grip, muscles burning from the effort. As he moved away, he felt the other crate slam against the black suit, once again preventing his escape.
This was the harder part. There were three things that Aegis always carried with him. One of them was a foldable knife. This wasn't the combat grade ones that would look like a machete size in a normal human's hands, this razor was compact and one tool he had learned over years of toughened experience to never be without. While it was primarily a survival tool, it did double as a weapon, although he only used it when there was no other option.
The edge was just as sharp as any surgical scalpel and it sliced through the protective black suit with ease. The water had passed where he was cutting and air bubbles popped out, temporarily preventing water from gushing in. Inevitably, it began to fill the cavity. Trip shivered at the water's lukewarm temperature before continuing. The best he could do was lie in almost a fetal position and hang his life dependably on a little razor. He worked faster, now aware that his time was limited. The water forced him into an awkward position as he tried to keep his face out.
Aegis knew he had only one more chance to free himself. The suit was tearing, but stubbornly remained attached to the rest of his body. He took a deep breath and fit the blade at the thickest part of the suit. The water now rose above his forehead and his lungs began protesting for air. Aegis was a strong swimmer, yet yanking himself free was not fruitful at all. His helmet wouldn't drain strangely when he moved upright.
He was going to have to risk it, his own lungs convulsed, having bubbles escape from his lips and a painful chest reminder that his brain was deprived of oxygen. With savageness and the instinct for survival, he put the knife away and pulled ferociously at the trapped part of the suit. The first try ripped a part of it, but the remainder was firmly stuck.
Aegis moved upwards, allowing a tiny amount of air into his body, just enough to push back the dark tides that were on the edges of his vision. With every ounce of his strength, he pulled again.
Without warning, he suddenly tumbled back, unclear if he had completely cut the stuck portion off or it had torn on its own. Landing flat on his back, he quickly got up, easing his way out of the tide while working on some tape from the shoulder armor to cover up the exposed parts. Once all the water had been drained in his suit, he wound at least two layers before his HUD gave him the satisfaction of a positive air pressure.
There was a watertight door nearby the coolant units and his heart soared once he had found his way out. Only there was no mechanism to operate it at least from the outside.
As he ran down the lower areas of the deck, he forced himself to breathe normally, despite the encircling arms of fear creeping into his body. At the rate the Sub-Aqua resort was sinking, his hours had just turned into minutes. Seawater suddenly burst into a door just ahead and rushed downwards in his direction as if the ocean was eager to claim its newest victim. The nano-palms on his hand were destroyed so he pushed himself upright using the armor's weight to hopefully anchor him down.
Another object tumbled towards him and he reached out to catch it, not wanting a repeat of what had happened last time.
A dive tank. Used by those who wanted to scuba dive when the resort was in shallower waters to explore the moon's watery reefs below the waves. He still had his handgun.
Two minutes and three more scuba air tanks later, he was running back to the engine room. It was going to be one hell of a ride.
Sofia helped Haley as she slid her slender legs inside the bright yellow hazmat suit and pulled it over her shoulders. Vasili told her to hold her breath so that she could fit the helmet over her shoulders. While she put as much of the pure oxygen in her lungs, Vasili quickly slid the helmet over and tucked what hair strayed out inside. He then took off her mask and finished sealing the seams at the chest and neck area.
"The way upstairs is blocked by debris from the detonation." He explained, "Haley is there a separate way that we can access the main deck from here?"
"No." She tried her best not to look at the doctor's corpse at the lobby of the medical bay, "But I know to the right over there." She said pointing, "Is a door that only maintenance crew use for storage."
"Excellent." He gave a reassuring smile, "Must be an auxiliary route."
Sofia took Haley's hand and led her following Suvorov. It amazed her that their survivor must have been in shock, witnessing an unimaginable horror, but much to her credit, Liston stayed with them the whole way.
Vasili toggled with the door handle then brought it down easily with a well placed kick when it didn't open. He peered down where a small ledge had a ladder open to an enormous warehouse like design.
"Do you recognize where we are?" He asked as Sofia helped Haley down the ladder.
"No. Much of the ship is off limits to anyone except maintenance and officers."
"I understand." He reassured her. Her frustration was evident that she wasn't being helpful.
Suddenly another blast rocked the city and caused all three to look behind them.
"Shit." The curse was barely out of his mouth when a wall of frothy seawater slammed into them, sending the trio tumbling downwards as the place suddenly slanted, sinking bow first.
Vasili was first to react and slammed his active nano-palms onto the floor. He suddenly whipped back as it bone-jarring halted his descent immediately. As they fell down, Sofia caught Haley, who had just been above her and kept her steady, her arm found Vasili's ankle and she lay on top of the girl with only the foot of her fellow Spartan keeping them from falling into the pitch black chasm below.
"Everyone okay?" He asked as the water flow moved away from the floor and poured in like the Angel Falls.
"We're good." Sofia responded, activating the sticky palms installed in her own armor.
"I see another door to our left. I'm going to head that way."
"Take Haley with you."
He detached a palm and grabbed Haley's arm, lifting her up until she could cling to his back. Her arms circled his neck and the bottom of his helmet prevented her from choking him accidentally. He moved slowly, making sure that his passenger's grip didn't loosen. When he finally reached the doorside, he lifted his hand up and pulled it open, half-throwing Haley inside. She landed hard on the other end of the threshold, but she made it.
Vasili made it inside himself and they waited for Sofia before moving on. They were now back inside the main areas of the ship with a large area to his left and a bay of some sort where I-beams kept storage for something. He shined his light on a label at the desk in front. "Aha!" It read: Jet Ski rental.
"What did you find?" Sofia asked.
"This is our ticket out." He shined past, revealing a crystallizing gleam of white and blue jetskis. Moving past the vehicles, he found a chain that allowed it to be winched up to the main deck where passengers could rent the fast boats with hourly rates. Giving the chain a quick test, he tapped the steel area at the end. It made a dull thud instead of echoing. "Perfect."
"This part is already underwater." He explained, fishing out a small white block and putting it against the mechanism that welded the doors shut, "When this charge blows, the room is going to flood."
"We'll be able to get out right?" Haley asked.
"Absolutely. We'll be able to swim once it has completely filled."
"Hold on." Sofia said, knowing his plan. She shut the door that they had just come through to prevent water from continuously coming in. Behind Haley, she braced the girl to keep them together.
Vasili wedged the tiny explosive inside the chain and triggered it. It let out nothing more than a loud pop and the door backed up, causing water to gush inside and swirl around their heels.
A loud groaning came from the door as the mechanism suddenly went still. Vasili pushed through the surge and tried to lift even more, but the pressure was too great. His warning shout to Sofia and Haley was lost just as the door was ripped free of its hinges and tossed ruthlessly aside. It stuck Vasili and set him tumbling backwards, his shields completely out and sparking as they furiously attempted to recharge. Had it not been for Inselton's presence, Haley would have fainted from shock and lost in the tidal rush.
It was only when the water had finally settled from the rush before Vasili finally moved over. The armor amazingly stayed afloat despite its half-ton weight.
He saw Haley's suit inflated and herself doing a handstand on a railing that she used to cling to. He swam fluidly over and helped deflate her suit. He touched her arm, edging her to let go and moved to Sofia to do the same. However, as soon as he reached her, he felt resistance. Sofia swung around, pressing the visor of her MJOLNIR Operator helmet to his.
"The sample case is gone!" She almost had to shout over the water's roar, "We need to find it!"
It would take hours to find it and by then, the wreck would be six hundred feet below the surface.
"We don't have time!"
"But we need those tissue samples!" Her tone was desperate.
All he could do was take her hand and tow her towards the opening, where rescue would await.
Sofia and Vasili are on their way out, but she had lost the sample case! And what about Aegis? What does he have in mind?
Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.
