7Seven Secret Space Guppies
The second last mission of the ETS, if everything goes as planned...
Chapter 15: The red storm
The group made their way to hangar 3. The transport ship was ready. A lobster officer was present and approached the squad.
"Greetings ETS. This ship here is the newest technological jewel of the WPP. With its powerful engine, the way to Mars will only last a couple of hours. The ideal trajectory has been programmed into the autopilot, but you can always switch to manual command." He explained.
"Okay, great. Anything else?" Molly asked. The officer looked on his clipboard.
"All your equipment is stored in the back. Corporal Gil's spacecraft can be found there too. It's a large ship you know. There is a briefing area in the middle, and the cockpit of course. This ship is a mobile command centre. But most importantly, this perfection can't be detected by OD radars. You'll have a very easy time landing on Mars. That was all I had to say. Good luck ETS." And the officer evacuated the hangar.
Our group entered the transport ship. Everyone installed themselves into chairs. Gil and Molly sat in the cockpit.
"Looks familiar to my ENB. Here, and this... We're ready to leave. Open the gates." Gil said to the cockpit radio. The hangar opened up and the transport ship left.
"I hope you all are attached well. When you will activate the turbo engines, the shock can be a bit violent..." Valen said back. Gil searched for the button, and pressed it. The engines heated up, and propelled the ship in deep space. Everyone got pushed back in their seats, and only after a couple of minutes, the pressure lowered.
"Oh, bloody Hell." Gil said, sighing.
"We lost communication already. This ship is going very fast. Let's check the trajectory on the monitor in the briefing area." Molly added. The 2 stood up. Their teammates sat there when taking-off.
"That was epic!" Deema told.
"I didn't feel anything, really." Zooli added.
"Okay everyone," Molly approached the monitor of the briefing area. Everyone sat around the table. "In just 2 hours we will arrive. Here's the plan: We will carry out a manual landing near their base."
Molly showed satellite photos of the base. "This base is still under construction and is lacking personnel and resources. With the panel hiding in it, it will probably get reinforced very quickly. But luckily we discovered it on time. A bit towards the west of where we'll land is one of their Mars mine entrance. The road leads to an abandoned part of the outpost. An explosion occurred there, depressurizing the sector. Via there, we can infiltrate the base."
"World plan!" Gil added.
"Deema and Nonny will stay at the transport ship to guide us. Nonny, have you already entered their systems and located the panel?"
"Not yet, but it will be done before the arrival." He replied. Molly nodded.
"Any questions... No? Good, now it's just waiting." Everyone stood up and went to their positions.
Almost 2 hours later, Mars was in sight.
"It's beautiful really." Gil commented. Molly nodded.
"Start the landing procedure, I'll go inform the rest." And Molly left. Deema and Nonny sat in the briefing area.
"Ah Molly, I've infiltrated their systems. The maps are being downloaded." Nonny said.
"Good job. Be ready, Mars is in sight." The 2 nodded and sat on the space seats. Molly continued to the storage part. Goby, Oona and Zooli checked their equipment.
"They gave us a lot of medical aid, I hope we won't need it..." Oona commented, opening a box.
"The mission won't be long really." Zooli replied. She checked the cockpit of her and Gil's spaceship.
"We're almost there, go back to the seats." Molly ordered. The 3 nodded. "Zooli, you're coming?"
"Oh no. What is this?" Zooli said.
"What."
"I'm stuck. The cockpit is locked." Zooli looked at the command monitor in front of her. "Locked due to outside space conditions. Emergency unlocking only possible via the pilot's monitor? What is this bs? Molly! Go get Gil!" Molly hesitated.
"Impossible! He must... Woah." The ship got shook a little. "... Land this thing! I'm gonna try and help!"
Molly approached the pilot seat, but it was locked too. "Argh, I don't want to destroy the cockpit. We won't be able to use the ship then." Zooli explained.
"The landing trajectory has been locked! Entering the atmosphere in 5 minutes!" Gil announced through the loudspeaker.
"We have 5 minutes. What can you do from there, Zooli?" Molly asked. She climbed on the ship.
"Oh I know! If the system bugs, we can identify ourselves and receive a reset code. Let's see..." On her monitor appeared a hand-scanner. Zooli put her hand against it.
"Did it work?" Molly asked.
"4 minutes." The loudspeaker said.
"Yes okay, now the reset code... Oh fuck! It gets send to the pilot's monitor. Molly, go look and shout it to me!" Molly turned around.
"Zooli! This glass is too dark to read it from!"
"3 minutes."
"Think Zooli, think!" Zooli closed her eyes. "Night-vision might see through it!" Molly jumped off the plane.
"Do you know what box they are stored in?"
"Left of us is a storage shelf, and I saw our personal equipment boxes. They might be in there! Hurry!"
"Where are Molly and Zooli?" Gil asked.
"In the storage room still. They're probably fine." Goby responded.
"2 minutes."
"2 minutes Molly, quick!" Zooli shouted. Molly opened her box and found the goggles.
"Gotcha!" She ran back and activated them. "Ehm, okay what does this say... F6!"
"F6..."
"Then, XH!"
"XH..."
"1 and a half minute."
"Hurry Molly!"
"I'm doing my best! U7!"
"U7..."
"And, 54!"
54... Incorrect, try again!"
"And shit! It wasn't a 5, but a 6."
"1 minute."
"Repeat it quick!"
"F6, XH, U7 and 64. A 6!"
"30 seconds."
"...64, reset done! Yes, it worked!" Molly opened the cockpit and helped Zooli to climb out. The 2 wanted to jump of the wing, but a shock hit the whole transport ship, making the 2 girls fall.
"20 seconds."
"And merde! Molly!" Zooli pulled her up.
"You insult in Italian now?"
"10 seconds."
"That was French, but we must move, quickly!" The 2 girls sprinted out the storage area, and laid down on the empty chairs left.
"Where have you 2 been?" Gil asked.
"Just... Nothing." The 2 said and laid down.
"You see Molly, she is, kind..." Molly thought.
"There is still hope..." Zooli thought. Everyone got nailed to the seats. The descent in the atmosphere was pretty violent.
10 minutes later, Molly opened her eyes and slowly looked around.
"We landed, at least..." She thought.
"Oof, that hurts!" Deema added. Everyone woke up progressively.
"Okay, let's get this done quickly." Molly said, standing up.
"1 more minute..." Gil said. But Molly pulled him out of the seat.
A couple of moments later, everyone reunited next to the airlock of the ship. The squad was ready to go.
"We'll be back quickly, guide and alert us at any moment. Normally you shouldn't get spotted. We landed in between Mars dunes." Molly told Deema and Nonny.
"No problemo Molly. We're trained for it." Deema replied.
"Good... It's time to go then." Molly left first, and the rest followed her. Their spacesuits worked on Mars too.
Our group climbed over a red dune towards the east. A couple of mountains were noticeable on their left. And at the feet of one mountain was the OD mine.
"Like planned. Let's get to it and the road will lead us to our next objective." The 5 jumped off the dune, towards the mine.
"Four targets on the radar." Deema mentioned. The Guppies hid behind some rocks.
"I see one there, just underneath us." Goby whispered. "Do we shoot?"
"No, we can't possibly execute all 4 at one time. We must distract them, but how..." Molly said. Gil was thinking too, and put his hand on a rock, but it slipped.
"Oops..." But the rock fell on the OD guard, knocking him out. Everyone looked at Gil. He just smiled awkwardly.
"Ssjt, look..." Molly pointed at the other guards who ran to their fallen friend. Gil was thinking again, and now he had an idea. With his right arm, he punched against a rock. It broke and all the parts fell on the 3 other guards.
"Here you go, all eliminated." Gil said. Molly facepalmed.
"That was pretty risky, let's continue. Sigh."
"Hey guys, the outpost is still a couple of kilometres away. But we discovered a buggy in the mine entrance. Go look for it."
"Understood Deema. Zooli, open the entrance." Zooli pressed some buttons on the control panel, and the gate opened. The buggy was there and the squad climbed in it. It had a mounted double machinegun on its roof.
"Great, this one has a jumping mechanism too, like at Sinus Iridum." Gil commented.
"Oh don't you dare!" Goby replied. Gil stayed silent and started driving. The metallic road continued to go east, and after 20 minutes, the highest tower of the outpost was noticeable.
"Something tells me that the panel is up there..." Molly announced. The rest of the outpost perceptible too now. The main base consisted of large and flat cylinders put on a higher rocky soil. Next to that part of the complex was a massive man-dug hole. The whole structure was then surrounded with a concrete wall.
"A small outpost they said..." Oona complained.
"That's small for the OD..." Gil replied.
"Nonny? Where is the abandoned part?" Molly asked her radio.
"You will have to drive around the hole, and to its north-east, there is your entryway." Nonny replied. Gil got off the road to not get sighted and drove all around the area. A moment later, they arrived.
"The airlock is closed. We need to find a way in." Molly said. Goby took his explosives. "That will make too much noise, forget it..."
"Ooh let me try!" Gil said. He punched the airlock door out. "This is truly amazing! After you." Everyone were speechless, and entered.
"This really looks abandoned. No lights, Martian sand inside it, no normal pressure..." The room was a small rectangle, and the ceiling was low.
"Proceed via the door in front of you. Security cameras deactivated." Nonny said. The next room was a working airlock.
"Oof, finally I can retract this thing. They are really warm." Oona said. The other entrance of the airlock opened, showing a glass tunnel bridge that led to the main base across the hole.
"Look at the vie, hey!" Molly pulled Oona back in the airlock.
"We are exposed around there, and I saw guards at the end of it. Nonny, any other way we can use?"
"My map here says that there is an airlock going underneath the bridge. The trapdoor should be at your feet."
"Found it." Molly gave her rifle to Zooli and opened the trapdoor. "Go first Gilly. I'll go last."
"Airlocks, our greatest allies!" Gil expressed.
"You guys feel the wind blowing from the outisde too? It shakes the bridge a bit." Oona whispered.
"Quiet, we're almost at the other side." Molly whispered back. Just above them were the 2 guards Molly saw earlier.
"Hey Marc, do you know when the reinforcment squad 6 will arrive?"
"No idea really. They should be here already. Maybe something happened to them?"
"Let's hope not. But something doesn't feel right. I feel like the WPP will attack soon..."
"Stop being paranoid, Sophia! They don't even know it is here."
"Oh you think that? And now with the liberation of that blue-haired guy. And the prototype gone with it..."
"The shift is over, let's go to the cafeteria." One guard left inside the main complex, while the other stayed. Our group continued.
"It ends here, we must climb out." Gil explained. He opened the hatch and looked around the wide hallway.
"Do you see something useful?" Molly whispered. Gil looked behind him and had an idea.
"I see a hallway going to the storage dome. What if we disguise ourselves as OD personnel, again?"
"Out of the question, too risky. They know how we look!"
"Do you have another plan?" Molly stayed silent and sighed.
"Okay then, let's hope for the best..." Gil climbed out first and ran through the hallway. The rest followed.
"I've checked the place, no enemies around."
"Good, find the clothes now." Molly ordered. Everyone started searching.
"Found the grey and red suits!" Goby said.
"This box is full of their helmets." Oona whispered.
"And here is the armour." Gil added. Everyone switched equipments.
"Store your weapons in a box and keep your pistols hidden. They will certainly recognize the WPP models and colours. We'll come later to pick our stuff up." Molly explained.
"Perfect guys. Take the other entrance from the room. The elevator to the main tower is to the right." Deema communicated.
The squad went through a new hallway, but at some point it split in 2 directions.
"Deema, Nonny, this door is locked. Can you fix it?" Molly asked, while the rest looked around. In the middle of the walls of the hall was a long window.
"Do you, prefer the Moon, or Mars?" Gil asked.
"The Moon, obviously. It's more relaxing!" Oona replied.
"With all OD activities... Give me Mars." Goby added.
"The door is under maintenance, you will have to take a detour via the other way." Nonny explained.
"Understood." Molly took the lead and the rest followed her. Without quickly realising, the next circular room they had entered, was the cafeteria. And it was noon.
"Low profile guys, we're just walking by." Molly whispered. The 5 looked down and walked passed the tables of OD personnel. They almost reached the exit door.
"Reinforcment squad 6?" A voice said. The whole room became silent. Molly turned around. An OD officer asked it to them.
"Y,yes?"
"Ah, you finally arrived. We were getting worried. The first OD Guppy squad to be on Mars. The Commander want's to speak with you at your arrival. Follow me please." The officer said.
"You see Sophia, nothing to worry." The guard from earlier whispered.
"A, bit, weird..."
"He is bringing you to the main tower." Deema whispered.
"You don't need to whisper, only Molly can hear you." Nonny pointed out.
"Give me a second." Molly slowed down and walked behind the group. "They are leading us into a trap, or is my feeling wrong."
"I wasn't a big fan of the hiding-in-OD-clothes stuff, but this is getting a bit suspicious." Deema explained.
"I've found another route, via the emergency ladders. I located another airlock hatch all the way up. It goes to the roof of the Commander's desk. You could go via there..." Nonny proposed.
"Too late. Tell everyone to be wary, we'll still go up with that officer." Molly ordered.
"But the airlocks..." Nonny insisted. Molly sighed.
"Zooli will go via there if the situation gets bad for us. Tell her to vanish subtly. The officer won't see the difference between 5 and 4, right?"
Zooli got the message, and stopped behind the corner. Molly winked.
"Get in the elevator. " The officer said. The doors closed and the group went up. Zooli who stayed on the ground floor approached the elevator doors and forced them.
"Ah jeez, that's a whole way up. I could use my propulsors..." Zooli whispered.
"That would make too much noise. Just climb and get in the airlocks just above the Commander's desk to help the rest." Nonny explained. Zooli nodded and climbed up in a record time. She then crawled through the airlock and was just above the desk. There was an emergency hatch that she could use to enter it.
"I see 2 guards at the desk. I'm just above the Commander. Tell the rest." Zooli whispered.
"Where's Zooli?" Gil whispered to Molly.
"Helping us if the situation gets bad. Don't mention her again, the OD can't know we were 5." Gil nodded. The elevator stopped and its doors opened. The officer made a sign that they had to walk out.
Our protagonists walked over to the desk. The 2 guards pointed there weapons at them.
"Woah what's this all about?" Molly said.
"Very clever, but risky infiltration. I didn't know you would all come this quickly... But you got caught! I overestimated your team." The Commander started.
"Ah shit, they're in danger. I gotta do something." Zooli thought. She approached the hatch and slowly opened it.
"Hmm, 3, 4... 4? Where is the rest of your team? Oh no..."
"You look scared Commander, but you overestimated us?" Molly said.
"Shut up! Tell me where the rest is, or you four get shot!" The Commander shouted.
"Now!" Zooli jumped down the roof, on the Commander, knocking him out. The 2 guards and the officer were confused. Zooli shot one. Molly pulled her pistol and killed the second guard. The officer stood behind her and wanted to shoot.
"No!" Gil shouted, and he dived on the officer. He still shot Molly's shoulder. Gil gave him a fatal hit on the head.
"This went partially well..." Goby said.
"Molly, are you okay? Oona, come!" Gil said worryingly.
"It's okay. No time to lose. Search for that panel instead!" Molly ordered. The Guppies spread across the room. "You too Oona! Stop admiring the view!"
Goby was searching in the high-tech desk. A letter caught his attention on it.
"Per Goby." Goby read what's on it, and opened the letter. "That's my name..."
If you read this, congratulazioni, Goby! I'm sure you will find this letter, I can imagine that the WPP knows where the 3rd panel was. You tried the infiltration right? Your extraordinary adaptation skills played the biggest role in the accomplishments of today. Don't be surprised if I know all of this, you guys are good, but I am too.
"Found it here. Get the hacking module on it." Gil said. Goby looked up, but focussed on his letter.
And now you guys found the 3rd panel. You know what that means, Goby. Ci rivedremo presto, we will meet again soon. Or at least if you can escape Mars, that would upset me, if you all died. But I'm sure you won't.
Buona fortuna. -Cesario
"How does he, this guy..." Goby was confused by the letter.
"Soon, you will see, what the real WPP is, what their real intentions are..." Goby thought again.
"3rd panel down! Let's go finish this!" Gil said. Goby put the letter away and entered the elevator with his other teammates.
And a chapter extra finished. Hopefully you enjoyed it, because it's far from over...