The Mission
A Record
By Starath
Chapter 11
"Star? Star?"
"Star? Star?"
Great, now I'm hearing Church in stereo. If I just curl up tighter and tuck my head in... my head bobbed and bumped into my knee. There. The constant tension in my shoulders loosened when I let them droop.
Someone shook me, "Christine, we're moving!"
I inhaled sharply and opened my eyes, it was like lifting the Iron Curtain... that was made of lead and other really heavy things, "Son of a bitch!" I snarled, and yanked my arm away.
Doc snapped his hand back as if I had bitten him. "Hey, it's okay. You must be tired. Do you want one of us to carry you out of here?" A pause, "Star? Can you hear me?" My brain struggled to comprehend what he was saying. Groggy, my hamster stumbled out of its wood shavings as if drunk and struggled to pull itself back onto its running wheel, paw by paw.
"How ya doin there, Missy?" Sarge asked leaning over, "Are you gunna make it?"
"Think…so…" I shook my head and reached up, expecting to run my fingers through my hair and bonking into my helmet. The sharp rap startled me into further wakefulness and the hamster hopped onto its running wheel, jarred by the sound. My vision cleared up and I realized Sarge was crouched right in front of me. I nodded, "I'm here. Physically anyway."
"That's more than Grif manages sometimes."
"Red-One, I'm concerned." Doc spoke up, "She's clearly worn out from everything she's done today, on top of being injured. I'm not sure she should be allowed to move on her own."
The meaning of his words registered with such clarity that I was trying to stand up before I remembered leaving the ground. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Sarge helped me up.
"Donut and I can help you if you need it," said Doc. "You're near absolute exhaustion. You don't need to push yourself."
Church's glowing white hologram suddenly appeared beside me. The light he made hurt my eyes. "Yeah, she is. I'd feel better if you guys helped her."
"Church!" I cried, raising my hand to block his light out.
"What?"
"I'm fine."
"No you're not. I'm IN your freaking head, girl. You could barely put two thoughts together a moment ago."
"That's because I was half asleep."
"More like three-quarters. Or four quarters."
"Whatever, I don't care." I planted both feet and looked Sarge in the eye, or rather, in the visor. "I'm awake now."
"It's not safe for you to keep pushing yourself like this." said Doc, reaching for me. I batted him away.
"Listen to the medic, Star." Church said. I wanted to swat him like a mosquito. In fact... what the hell? I tried to, but my hand went right through him. Stupid hologram.
"I. Don't. Care. I can do this. You guys carried me around when I got here like a dead weight before. Now I'm all suited up in a dead soldier's armor who didn't live long enough to complete a mission you guys had to finish. I know the way out of these caves better than you do. I'm getting you guys out of here. Period. I'm not being carried, or babied, or whatever. I want to go home, with you guys all in one piece, and THEN I'll sleep, okay?"
Sarge grumbled a bit, yet he nodded after a moment. "If you feel that strongly, then I'll take you at your word. I don't like it, but we can't have you sleepin' on the job right now." He pointed into the dark with his shotgun. "Red-Two and Blue-Two have scouted the path. We go forward for whatever awaits us."
That said, we continued on our great journey through the caves. Hope began blossoming in the back of my mind, that maybe the rest of this would be easy. We were traveling on a constant uphill slope now so we should see daylight soon. Wonderful, glorious daylight! Crystal Athena hadn't understood why I wept over sunlight a few hours ago. I sighed, wishing that I could see her again; she had been so nice to me. Now she's deleted.
In the main room of my mind, Church scoffed and flopped down into a giant beanbag chair I'd imagined for him. "Nice, nothing. That A.I. was a real bitch, even if she was just trying to do her job."
I ground my teeth together and told Simmons and Tucker which direction to go via hand gestures. We had to be near the surface by now. They nodded and went ahead while I waited between Grif and Caboose. And I refuse to believe such a motherly A.I. was a bitch. She was near rampancy when we got to her. She couldn't help it.
"Yeah, well…" He shrugged. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but here's a bit of reality: I learned that she killed the ODST we found in her control room."
My startled gasp made Grif jump. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at me.
I forced myself to swallow. "Yeah. It's… my ankle. It just yelled at me."
"Here." He slipped his arm through mine. "Lean on me to take the weight off."
"Thanks." I didn't need to, but that was beside the point. Now, Athena did what?
"You heard me. She might've done the same thing to Simmons if I hadn't been there to jump into the terminal. She wanted to protect her information that badly. And yeah, she was really bad off by the time we arrived but… She killed a soldier, Star."
The urge to cry built up in my throat, swelling into a lump the size of a watermelon; I sucked in air and held my breath until the emotion passed. The truth. The truth always sucks. Still… I had J.J.'s armor to protect me now. I've been moving in it long enough where it didn't feel like such a burden anymore. If he hadn't died, I wouldn't have this protection.
Church chuckled, but the sound had no humor in it. "I suppose that's one way to look at it." For the first time, two red signal lights blinked on and Church jumped up. "Aw crap, NOW what?"
The Blood Gulch crew shifted anxiously around me. Tucker came out first and Simmons arrived moments later, they hunched next to Sarge. "Sit rep?" Sarge asked grimly.
"A group of Grunts and Jackals are in the next cave over." Tucker said. "I counted eight and four. There's probably an Elite, but I didn't see him."
"They appear to be guarding the exit of the room. They're on alert." said Simmons, "It looks like they were attacked by the cave-rat-monster too. I found the… uh, evidence."
Sarge turned to me. "Missy, you're certain we've got to get through there?"
"Yes, Sir. I remember this part. We passed the pool with the goofy-looking fish."
"Hrrm."
"Your orders, Sir?" asked Simmons.
"I'm thinkin' about it. They don't outnumber us badly, but a firefight in close quarters is not ideal right now. How's your shoulder, Blue-Two?"
"It's been better. Sniper rifle might hurt me some, but I can take it." He rolled his bad shoulder and unslung the sniper rifle.
"What's your status, Red-Four?"
"Still in one piece." Donut said, "But participating in a triathlon is out of the question right now."
"Agreed." Doc nodded, "He's got severe abdominal and chest injuries. There might be seven of us, but we shouldn't take chances. I'm running out of medical supplies."
"Seven?" I repeated. "What am I, sliced bread?"
"I'd eat you up anytime." Tucker said, and he must have been smirking. "Bow chicka bow—" Simmons reached over and smacked the back of his helmet the same time Grif did. "Owwww…"
Sarge ignored the three, "Missy, you aren't exactly trained for combat situations."
"So what? I can shoot straight, if Church's presence doesn't jinx me."
"Oh shut up!" He snapped.
I giggled. No one else laughed.
"Right." Sarge sat back on his heels. "If only we had a portable strobe light, turnips and some sandpaper, I could build us a—"
Grif shook his head. "Not again…"
"Perhaps we should be thinking of plausible strategies, Sir?" said Simmons.
"How do you know it wasn't plausible? You didn't let me finish!"
"You forgot the flypaper." said Caboose. "You'd need the REALLY big kind, for catching airplanes."
Church face-palmed in my head, "Oh my God…"
Doc stood up with an aggravated sigh. "I'll be right back. You guys sit tight."
"Hey, wait a minute, what do you think you're doing Blue-Four? Git back here!"
Doc didn't answer the Red leader and disappeared into the dark.
"He's not listening, Sarge." Grif said, he sounded as tired as I felt. "I mean, Red-One."
Caboose, Donut and Grif tucked me behind them. Sarge, Simmons and Tucker arranged themselves on either side of the tunnel entrance. I heard their weapons rattling and ammunition clips sliding into place. My hand moved to my pistol again. We waited.
A loud CRACK! from a pistol made me jump. Had mine gone off? No. It was right here.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
A bolt of green plasma whizzed through the tunnel. It landed several feet away and fizzled out. Four more pistol shots made me cringe. A frag grenade went off. High-pitched shrieks hurt my ears. Somewhere in there, a Jackal made an angry squawk. My eyes squinted shut to block out bright green flashes. Why was it that whenever I saw green today, something bad was happening? Another grenade explosion made my head ring. Muffled over the sounds of gunfire, Doc's voice came through the radio.
"Oh, too stubborn to die, are you? Here, let me help!"
Caboose, Grif and I exchanged glances. "I thought you said O'Malley had moved away from him!" whispered Caboose urgently.
Suddenly, all fighting stopped. Broken rock crunched in the tunnel. Everyone around me tensed and readied their rifles. The little purple lights of Doc's armor appeared out of the gloom. He usually walked with a stoop. When he stood up straight with his shoulders back, he became… intimidating. His pistol spun twice on his finger before he snapped it back into its holster. He rubbed his hands together as if he'd just washed them.
"All clear, guys."
Sarge growled crossing his arms. "Son, would you TELL US before you go an' do that again?"
"O'Malley! You can't move back in here, you didn't pay rent last time!" Caboose cried, hands up in surrender.
Doc shrugged. "Sorry Red-One. And Blue-Three, it's just me. Really."
"You say that, but I know him! He is mean and scary, just like that!"
A shard of blue light behind Doc made me blink. What was it? Its coloration mixed all shades of blue together in a beautiful manner. Something shimmered, almost invisible. The shard became two pointed prongs joined at a curved shape, just like—
"Aw FUCK!" Church's hologram flared on, casting a white glow on us all. His panic mixed with my own emotions and I heard him through the radio and in my mind. "MOVE IT DOC! Head's up, we found the Elite!"
Doc threw himself to the floor just as the Elite leapt through the tunnel and landed where he'd been standing. His energy sword would have sliced our medic in half. The alien soldier roared at us in challenge.
The Blood Gulch crew answered the challenge with a hailstorm of ammunition. The Elite made a sound like laughter and swung at the nearest human. Simmons dodged him but the stalagmite he was standing next to was cut down entirely. Grif and Donut shoved me into the farthest corner of the cave.
"Stay here!" ordered Donut.
Yeah, like I was going to join in? How, exactly? I fumbled for my pistol and managed to get a hold of it. I dropped it and a bullet zinged out of the barrel and hit the Elite in the chest. Yes! I contributed to this fight!
Sort of.
Oh shit, did he see me?
"Keep him pinned, men!" hollered Sarge over the gunfire. "Don't let him get too close!"
The Elite jumped again, and he might have wound up on top of Grif if Caboose hadn't rushed forward. The blue soldier plowed into the Elite, knocking him clean off his feet like a football player. Caboose bounced off the Elite's stomach and barely escaped getting sliced by the sword. I could feel the impact the two of them made in my teeth. Holy crap. The Elite got up, howling, but was slowing down now. How much punishment could that thing take?
"A whole hell of a lot." said Church. His hologram had disappeared when I'd been thrown out of the way. He moved restlessly in my mind before my radio clicked onto a one-on-one channel. "Goddamn it Caboose! That could have gotten you killed!"
"Sorry!" Caboose breathed heavily. "I'll try to save Gruff from getting squished better next time!"
Church's intense frustration waned a bit. "See that you do, smart ass." Caboose laughed and clicked off the private channel.
Awww. So you DO care for him.
"He's one of my men, okay?" Church folded his arms and he was probably scowling under his helmet. "This team has enough undead members."
I returned my attention to the ongoing battle. For every time they pushed the Elite back, they lost more ground than they gained. The staccato bursts of their BR55's drowned out their shouts. My HUD compensated for the blinding flashes the battle rifles made, but it still hurt to see them go off. I shifted nervously and retrieved my pistol from the floor. Surely seven soldiers could take down one Elite easier than this?
"It's that damn sword! We aren't Spartans! He keeps getting too close. If they get pushed back any further, they're going to be right on top of us!"
Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap, oh crap, OH CRAP!
I tried aiming the pistol but the Elite moved around too much and my nerves were a mess. I could hardly stop shaking, let alone aim straight.
"Hey, settle down. Focus. You've fired it before in practice."
This isn't practice! THAT's a real honest-to-God alien, one that's trying to kill my friends, and—
The Elite bellowed and ran at the smallest gap between Blood Gulch soldiers. Doc moved fast enough to escape the swinging, glittering blade. Sarge stepped sideways to fill the gap and took a blow to the side. The blue prongs penetrated his armor and came out through his back. My eyes saw this. My mind would not believe it.
"SARGE!" I screamed.
His pained grunt came through the radio. "Got ya right where I want ya! Shotgun to the face, HIYA!"
The cave reverberated with the loud click-POW of Sarge's shotgun. The Elite slumped, dead, and came down on top of him.
"Sonuvabitch NO!" cried Simmons.
"Like HELL you will!" yelled Grif. He and Simmons grabbed the alien's corpse at the last moment and pulled it back.
I flew out of the dark. "Sarge! Sarge!"
"Hey! Whoa whoa whoa!" Donut caught me and forced me to stay still. "It's okay. He's going to be okay."
"No he's NOT!" I wailed. "The sword went right through!"
"I don't think so. Doc will fix him up. He'll be okay." He tried holding my face in both hands, but I wouldn't let him.
"Who are you trying to convince, me or you?"
"Jesus Christine, calm down!" Church couldn't keep his footing in the room flooded with fear, grief and fury. The emotions washed him off the floor and slammed him into the many doors lining the walls. "It went in-There's no need—Fuck— Are you even LISTENING TO ME?"
No. No no no no. This was not real. I can't deal with this anymore. I just… Sarge is hurt. Maybe dying. Why wouldn't Donut let me see him? Doesn't he realize what's happened? I SAW IT. This… this… I just… I just can't. Do this. Anymore. It's. Too. Much. Oh God. I can't breathe. Gasps surround my ears. Scream. I'm going to die too. I—can't—Where is the air? I can't—it's not—I choke. Wheeze. Nothing comes in. It's all gone. Air is gone. I'm going to die here. So are they. I can't—where is—my body convulses. Starved. On my knees. A simple thing. Air. Air. Air? AIR! It's not—
A burst of white. "Somebody get her helmet off NOW! She's going into shock!"
Rough hands grab me by the head and twist, something hissed and then there cold black nothing before my eyes. The other voice leaves. Still screaming. Colored lights dance in and out of my vision in the dark. Still gasping. Can't. Wait. Cold. Cold and damp. Breathe. Air. Oh, God. Air. Somebody is holding me tightly. Rubbing my back, resting my chin on his shoulder. Gasp. Breathe. In, out. Tears. Scream. Cry. Enough enoughenoughenoughENOUGH!
A voice by my ear. "I got you Star. I got you. Breathe slowly. In and out. That's right. We're all here. We're all okay. You're okay. Keep breathing. There's more than enough air for you here."
I don't know which one he is. I can't tell in this pitch black world. My lungs begin to stop hurting. My head still pounds, but I don't care. It's hard to get my arms around him, but I do, and cry.
To be Continued….
