The smell of cordite and ozone assaulted Aubrey's senses even through the filters in her rebreather as soon as her boots hit the dark grey metal floor of the installation. Captain Tom Beckett pulled her down next to him as Chloe took up a position across the hallway in the well of a doorway. Beckett's team could be seen advancing down the hall, stepping over puddles of dark liquid.
Down at one end of the hallway, where Beckett's team was advancing was a T-Junction. Behind them the hallway stretched out for another fifty meters before angling off. Aubrey turned as Benji and Stacie landed with surprising grace behind her.
Locking eyes with the brown haired Captain, Aubrey hooked her thumb over her shoulder and said, "We'll head off down this passageway." Tom nodded his agreement.
"Check in on the fives," was his reply and with a quick look at Chloe he followed his team towards the junction.
"Rider, on point. Wizard behind me and get a scan going. Angel watch our rear." Stacie winked at Aubrey as she took up the rear position. Aubrey barely resisted rolling her eyes before setting out behind Chloe as the team moved efficiently down the hallway, weapons at the ready.
"Atmo reads breathable and scanner isn't showing any life signs besides ours." Benji reported quietly to Aubrey. "I think there is some sort of interference, we should see Beckett's team and there's nothing."
"Since the air is good, lets save our O2 team." The Marines shut off their rebreathers and opened their visors.
The fireteam was approaching the bend in the hallway when Chloe held up a fist and everyone froze. She signaled the team that she heard movement ahead and rounded the corner quickly, firing off two short bursts as Aubrey closed in on her shoulder watching as two Gaks dropped to the ground. The ridged blue/black armor of the Gaks immediately began dissolving into puddles of dark goo, dissolving whatever was inside them as well. The Gaks were uniform in appearance, or at least the outer shell was. They were about seven feet tall and the trunks of their legs were thick but with three jointed sections. Their arms mirrored the leg structure giving them a slightly hunched appearance and they had four "fingers." The outer shell seemed to serve as armor and was a dark midnight blue bordering on black and shimmered in the light. No one had ever seen what a Gak looked like inside as they had some sort of self-destruct that broke their shells and weapons down into base elements upon being hit with weapons fire.
"Just once I'd like to see what's inside there." The redhead offered looking at the pile of goo on the floor in front of her. A yell from Stacie alerted them that the Gaks had appeared from a hidden door in the hallway behind them. Aubrey was a split second slow in reacting at the Gak laser fire and Chloe launched her lithe frame into the blonde, taking them both of their feet.
Stacie and Benji returned fire crouching down at the edge of the hallway. Aubrey landed with a thud expelling a breath as Chloe landed on top of her. Laser fire impacted where Aubrey's head was a moment before, leaving a dark mark on the wall. Aubrey rolled into a prone position and returned fire.
Several Gaks had fallen in the doorway, the mist rising from their dissolving bodies reflected the flashes of laser fire giving the gun battle a surreal quality. Benji lobbed an energy grenade that bounced into the doorway that the aliens had retreated back into. The Marines averted their eyes as a blinding flash and loud boom obliterated part of the doorway, blowing bits of alien onto the walls. Benji and Stacie advanced cautiously to check the hallway the Gaks had come from as Aubrey got to her feet.
Chloe was slow to move grunting as she got to her knees and paused head bowed in pain. Aubrey crouched down next to her, eyes widening in alarm as she saw the damage to the left shoulder area of the redhead's battle armor.
"Chlo, talk to me." Aubrey kept her voice calm even as her stomach clenched. Their battle armor was designed to take the kinetic energy of the blasts and dissipate it, but it couldn't completely survive a direct hit. Aubrey had been hit once before and it felt like a thousand pinpricks of electricity arcing through her body. The blonde could see Chloe's darkened skin tinged with red through the hole in her armor. After a moment Chloe raised her head grimacing and reached out, allowing Aubrey to help her stand.
"I'm okay, just stings a bit," the redhead huffed. Aubrey pulled her up by grasping the front of her armor and then pulled Chloe in behind her not liking how exposed they were. Aubrey glanced back at Chloe, her worried hazel eyes searching the pained blue of her friend's. Chloe steeled her gaze against the guilt she saw in Aubrey's and said "We need to keep moving."
Chloe pushed past Aubrey to take point again. Aubrey was about to argue, but decided against it as the radio in her helmet crackled to life and she pulled Chloe to a halt.
"Valkyrie this is Recon 2. Minimal resistance. No joy on the guests yet, over." Tom's voice broke through the static.
Aubrey frowned and replied. "Roger Recon 2, No joy on guests here, over."
"Check you in ten mikes Valkyrie, Recon 2 out."
Aubrey checked her weapon and gave the command to move out following close behind the redhead.
The team continued their methodical advance through the installation without major incident for the next twenty minutes. Benji marked off each branch of explored hallway with special luminescent paint. The lack of resistance or notable features set Aubrey's teeth on edge. If the aliens had went to all the trouble of such a large installation she wondered why it was so empty. The team had even searched for hidden doors with no luck. Each hallway looked the same as the last.
After the second check in with Tom's team yielded no new info Aubrey asked Benji to check the scanner again.
"Anything?"
"No." Benji looked almost apologetic, as if it was his fault the scanner wasn't working properly.
The blonde Captain looked ahead where Chloe was leaning against the corner of a hallway junction the stiff set of her shoulders giving away her pain but she was alert and watching, Aubrey could see the sweat dripping down the side of her best friend's face. Stacie was spaced a few yards behind them watching for movement on their six.
Calling out softly to Chloe, "Rider, go right," Aubrey set the team in motion again.
Chloe edged around the corner, snapping her rifle up and continued down the hallway followed by the rest of the team.
A muffled scream rang out and the sound of weapons discharging came from somewhere ahead of them and Chloe was off like a shot. Aubrey cursed and followed hearing the footfalls of Benji and Stacie behind her echoing off the bare walls. After a few minutes of running the team reached another junction sliding up against the wall with precision they could hear the sounds of a scuffle and human voices shouting.
Chloe snapped her head around the end of the wall taking in the situation at a glance before snapping back to look at her team. "Three hostiles, and our people. Watch your fire." With that Chloe rounded the corner causing Aubrey to curse under her breath again and follow.
It was a chaos of movement in front of the Marines. The area was apparently the detention center with small cells arranged on both sides. At the rear of the area it dead ended into another alcove that held a strange looking table that was angled off of the floor with indentations that held restraints. It was liberally coated with dried blood.
The cells were spaced on either side of a large room with the interior blocked from view. In the center of the room two Gaks were wrestling for control of their weapons with a raven haired woman and a brown haired man. Chloe recognized them from the briefing as being First Lieutenants Sophia "Jack" Daniels and Jesse "Rocky" Swanson. The captured pilots were dressed only in their thin dirty white t shirts and underwear, obvious signs of abuse littered their exposed skin.
A third Gak raised its oddly shaped weapon and pointed it into a cell but Chloe dropped that Gak with a well-placed shot before it could fire. The Gak fighting Jesse laid a vicious uppercut on him and a split second later was turning into goo from Aubrey's head shot.
Chloe couldn't get a clear shot on the Gak fighting the woman and launched herself at the alien with a battle cry. Her yell startled both the alien and the woman as the redhead crashed into the Gak's hard shell, firing several point blank shots into it as they crashed to the ground. The Gak started dissolving immediately and Chloe leapt up trying to put some distance between her and the foul smelling chemical reaction.
Stacie and Benji had taken up defensive positions, firing down the adjacent hallway as apparently reinforcements were on the way.
Aubrey had moved up to help Jesse stand. The brunette pilot was dazed from the earlier blow, blood leaking down the side of his face and leaned on her as he regained his balance.
Chloe turned to Sophia who was bent over with her hands on her knees attempting to catch her breath. The raven haired woman rasped out, "I owe you one Red." Chloe reached out a hand but Sophia waved her off. "Help Luke and Beca." Chloe immediately turned to search the remaining cells.
Chloe looked back into the cells behind her and let out a small cry. Blood and gore covered the walls of the two cells she could see. The occupants had been torn apart and what was left of them lay in pools of blood. She moved on to the next cell, a small figure with matted dark brown hair was curled in the corner clad in a torn t shirt caked with dried blood and black boy shorts. Chloe fell to her knees next to the woman gently cupping her head and pulling on her shoulder to turn her over. From behind her she heard Jesse sob out, "Beca? Is she…?"
Shakily Chloe pulled off one of her gloves and pressed shaking fingers to the pulse point in Beca's neck, stifling a cry of relief at feeling the thready pulse. The red head called over her shoulder, "She's alive."
A ripple of relief went through the others. Aubrey led Jesse over to Sophia, assessing them. "Can you two walk?" The two pilots nodded.
Benji had moved further into the detention area finding a man with close cropped blond hair laying on his side in the next cell. He crouched down, realizing it was Luke and breathed out a sigh of relief seeing the blond man's chest rising and falling.
Aubrey broke through the team's silence, "Benji, get the huggy ready. We'll put Beca and Luke on it. Chloe, give Sophia your sidearm." Aubrey handed her sidearm to Jesse. Sophia limped over to Chloe who was still kneeling neck to Beca's prone form, placing a comforting hand on the red head's shoulder before accepting the weapon.
Realizing the team was taking too long to move Aubrey snapped out, "NOW PEOPLE!"
Benji hurried to comply, dropping the pack he had been carrying and rummaged through, pulling out several thin metal rods that were linked by a cord and surrounded by a lightweight webbing. The Hover Gurney or huggy as the Marines called it was a lightweight battlefield stretcher. He pulled gently and they snapped into place, filling out a rectangular frame with the webbing in between. He then keyed a switch that was protruding slightly from one of the metal links causing the contraption to emit a small hum and float a few inches off of the floor.
While Benji was assembling the stretcher Chloe leaned in closer to Beca whispering softly, "Come on Becs, we're here now. Open your eyes for me." The petite pilot gave no indication that she had heard, lying motionless except for the small movements of her chest as she breathed. Chloe ran her ungloved fingers over Beca's brow attempting to reassure herself with the familiar touch.
Benji and Aubrey rolled Luke onto the huggy, being careful not to jostle him too much, then pulled it over next to Chloe and Beca. Chloe helped Aubrey lift Beca onto the stretcher next to Luke. Chloe carefully cradled the brunette's head and shoulders as Aubrey lifted her legs. Once Beca was safely on it, Aubrey hit a switch which raised it to waist level. Once it was there the redhead pulled away, removing her hand from behind Beca's neck. Her hand came away sticky and warm and Chloe froze looking at the darkness that coated her hand. Beca's blood.
"Beca. Oh god. Please be okay." The redhead whispered.
Aubrey hated seeing Chloe upset, but now was not the time for this. The blond Captain looked around, Sophia walked over to the huggy and dropped several sets of bloody dog tags on it. Jesse still seemed dazed where he stood on the other side of the huggy from Sophia. Stacie was darting glances at the group from her position at the hallway junction.
"OKAY!" Aubrey barked out getting everyone to focus on her. "Mind on the mission people. Swanson and Daniels stay close to the huggy. Rider back on point. Wizard, Angel you know the drill. Let's move."
Aubrey placed her hand on Chloe's good shoulder and they started retracing their steps back to the where they came in. The blonde keyed her mic to check in with Beckett's progress, wanting to let them know they could start back.
"Recon 2 this is Valkyrie, guests have arrived, over." Aubrey frowned when her transmission was met with just static.
Chloe spared a worried glance at Aubrey before continuing at a deliberate pace down the hallway. They were passing the section where Benji had blown up the Gaks.
"Recon 2 this is Valkyrie, over." Static is all that comes through until Jessica's voice breaks in.
"Valkyrie, this is Jackal. Recon 1 is reporting contact with Recon 2. Heavy fighting in their location. Over."
"Roger Jackal, we are en route with guests. ETA 10 mikes over." Aubrey glances back at the unmoving figures on the gurney.
Jessica's voice echoed thinly back over the comms, "Might want to make it quick Valkyrie. We have company."
Aubrey called out to her team, "Jackal says they have company. Lock and load Marines." Their steps quickened automatically. Benji helping keep Jesse upright as he padded barefoot down the hallway.
Chloe held up a fist stopping the group and then leaned around the edge of the last span of hallway between their group and the Badger waiting to take them home. Something niggled at the back of her mind. Aubrey placed her hand on her shoulder signaling she was ready to move when Chloe was.
Chloe nodded and Aubrey gave the order for the others to wait, understanding something was bothering the redhead and knowing better than to question Chloe's innate sixth sense. It had saved their asses more than once.
Benji took up the lead position at the corner covering the two Captains who were advancing down the hallway while Stacie continued to watch their six. Sophia was confused and whispered, "What's going on?"
Stacie looked over her shoulder, "They're just making sure."
"Sure about what? Shouldn't we be…" Sophia continued in confusion.
To everyone's surprise it was Benji who spoke up. "Lock it up, they know what they're doing." He turned back to cover his friends.
Halfway down the hallway the hair on the back of Chloe's neck stood and she pulled Aubrey down to the deck with her as laser fire erupted from doorways that appeared from what was a featureless wall 40 feet in front of them seconds before. Chloe and Aubrey were exposed laying prone in the hallway. Benji attempted to provide as much cover as he could but he could hear Stacie's rifle whirring and Sophia and Jesse were firing their pistols at something behind them as well.
Chloe yelped in surprise as an energy bolt hit two inches from her already damaged shoulder but she continued to return fire, grunting in satisfaction as another Gak started dissolving in the doorway.
Aubrey grabbed Chloe's ankle next to her head, "We have to move!" The blonde desperately tried to think of a way to get them both to cover. As she turned back, fully intending to drag Chloe by her ankles if necessary a wild yell echoed through the hallway.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" The yell was followed by two energy grenades rolling into the end of the hallway and toward the Gak's doorway.
"SHIT!" Aubrey was on her feet in a second, pulling Chloe up roughly as she pushed the redhead down the hallway away from the grenades.
The boom took them both off their feet and sent Aubrey crashing into Chloe's back before darkness edged out her vision.
Author's Note: Hey everyone. I feel kind of weird writing a note…I worry that it breaks the wall and takes you out of the story, but I wanted to say thank you for the reviews and follows. It is truly motivating to see them. Oh and I hope you are enjoying this so far. I am pretty far into the next update and struggled with trying to finish or breaking it apart since it was getting a little long for the chapters I have been doing. So decided to get this out and will keep working on the next part. So please let me know what you think and again thanks for your time.
This is un-Beta'd and I suck at editing my own stuff, so all errors are mine.
I think I had more stuff to say here, but um, ADD…and oh look…shiny!