Chapter Fourteen

The people lowered their weapons and led Amelia and Warton into the area.

Inside of glass cases, plants of various kinds grew. Pumpkins, corn, tomatoes, beans, all sorts of fruits and vegetables. While there was a much, much larger Hydroponics area on board the Castle, they also had one down in the colony. The idea had first been used on the USG Ishimura, and the basic idea and plan had since been expanded, and now the colony also had its own, smaller version. It not only produced food, but was also what produced their precious oxygen. While nowhere near as big as that on the orbiting Castle, it was more than enough for the colony, and make sure they had a supply of food and air, should they ever need.

"We're so glad you're here. We had a lot of wounded here, and the one person here from Medical just couldn't cope," said the Asian woman, Rebecca Chu. Amelia looked at her.

"You have someone from Medical here?" she asked, hopeful. Chu nodded and led them to where they had set up a story of infirmary. A long line of makeshift tent had been set up with metal frames and plastic tarps. Tables and carts held people as makeshift stretchers. At the end, a short woman with dark hair was tending people. Amelia smiled as her helmet retracted.

"Judy!" The woman looked up, and her surprise morphed into joy.

"Amelia! Oh, Madre de Dios, I'm so glad you're okay!" she said as she almost ran up and hugged her. "I was so worried. We couldn't reach you, and when we went by, you weren't there! We thought that-" Judy ranted, but Amelia gently stopped her.

"It's all right. I'm here, and with all my limbs intact. What about Russel?" Judy shook her head.

"That estupido idiota went with West and P-Sec, last I saw." Amelia gave a soft sigh. At least she knew where to look. She then looked at the wounded people around them.

"All right, let's see what we can do here," said Amelia, and Judy nodded and led her further into the makeshift triage unit she had set up.

XXX

In the Megavents, people were running and hiding. Yells and screams echoed as Abaddon and his flock of murderers hunted people down, all to "save" them. The preacher grinned like a little boy opening Christmas presents as he shot another man in the head, the body falling to the floor and twitching.

"May the great Black Marker bless you, and keep you. May your flesh be restored, and you reborn upon Convergence," he prayed, grinning as blood spattered his face like ancient warpaint. He looked at his followers and they all shared his joy, as well as gory decoration. Bodies littered the floor. Men and women, some shot, some cut to pieces. The room was heavy with the scent of blood. Among them was Ethan, whose smile was a little less wide than the others, but was just as splattered with gore as the rest, the large butcher's knife clutched in his hand. "Good, good. These people are cleansed, and await the Universal Awakening. I have little doubt the Heralds will be pleased at our aid," said Abaddon. He then looked at Ethan and Raltan, the latter grinning so wide, he looked like his head was ready to split. "Now, you two. Go and spread Salvation to the rest. Mara, please go with them as well." Mara, a woman with shoulder-length dyed blonde hair stepped forward, made the sign of the Marker with her arms, and bowed.

"Come, you two," she said as she led them through a door which closed behind them. He then smiled at the rest, and raised his hands.

"Now, let us return to our divine work, my brothers and sisters. We still have so many souls to save," he proclaimed. With that, they left the scene of carnage to make more.

XXX

"Okay, there we go," said Amelia as she and Judy finished applying Somatic Gel and painkillers to a man's leg before bandaging it. The poor man had nearly lost his leg thanks to one of the Aliens' tail blades.

"Oh, thank you, doctor," the man moaned as the drugs kicked in. She smiled softly at him as he went to sleep.

"I hope I did okay. These kind of injuries are not my kind of thing," said Judy, and Amelia nodded to her. Judy, as a Nurse-Tech, normally took care of things like sprains, minor contusions and the like, not true trauma like this.

"You did fantastic. Don't sell yourself short," Amelia replied.

"I was worried about things like gangrene or something, or he'd lose the limb," Judy said softly as they cleaned themselves.

"I don't think so. As long as he doesn't move around, it should heal. The cut didn't go fully through the bone, so I think he will be fine in time." Amelia didn't want to voice that would only apply if they lived that long.

This time, with a few exceptions, the injuries had been not as bad as what she saw in Engineering. Not as many acid wounds, which Amelia was very thankful for, as they were very difficult to treat if they were anything other than minor surface burns. Amelia was also grateful to learn the casualties had been far less there. Once the wounded were taken care of, she checked her supplies, and went to talk to Chu. "So, fill me in. What happened?" Amelia asked. Chu ran her hands through her medium length black hair and blew out a breath.

"The creatures attacked, and suddenly. It was so out of the blue, it caught everyone by surprise. We heard screaming, and when we saw people running, we had them come in here," she said as she looked at the people sitting around. Amelia noticed not as many there were armed as she had seen in Engineering. "As far as I know, the major attack was on Union Square. We've gotten a few garbled transmissions here and there, but trying to reach anyone is like banging our heads against a wall." Amelia frowned softly at this.

"Have there been any attacks by the creatures here?" she asked. Chu surprised her with a smile.

"Not many. We found out that these things don't like fire," said the woman, making Amelia's eyebrows shoot up.

"Say that again?" Chu grinned as she picked something up.

"Remember those grilled vegetables you said were so good?" she said and hoisted up a tool with a large red tank under the grip. It was a Hydrazine torch, used for melting ice in comets and asteroids and also to melt certain metals. They also were used for large-scale application of welding and soldering, as far as she knew.

"Fire repels them?" Amelia asked, and Chu nodded.

"When one tried to come in through a vent, someone only had this, and blasted the vent. By the screech and the scrabbling, they went running." Amelia's mind raced.

"That could make sense. If these creatures have such acidic blood, maybe it's like when you throw a battery in a fire," she mused aloud. Chu nodded her agreement.

"I've been trying to reach anyone else to tell them, but comms seem to be twitchy, or something's causing interference. And nobody wants to go out there to spread the word. I don't blame them." Amelia nodded.

"Good. But make sure you tell everyone not to use plasma weapons on them unless at very far range," Amelia warned. Chu looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because the plasma turns the acid into a mist, and instead of spilling, it floats, but is still as lethal, if not more so." Amelia glanced at Warton, who sat and drank some water, still looking shaken.

"Right. I'll be sure to pass that on. Any word from anyone else? Operations? P-Sec?" Chu asked.

"I came from Engineering. Sammers and others are holed up there, and there's more at P-Sec headquarters, which is where I'm heading next. Sammers also said he heard about people down in the Megavents. Since bringing people to Medlab is a no-go, I'm going where I'm needed," said Amelia. Chu looked at her for a long moment, before chuckling.

"You got more courage than I do," she mused. Amelia gave a soft smile as she checked her supplies one last time, and closed the bag.

"All right, I'm off to P-Sec," she declared.

"And I'm going with you," said Judy as she walked up. Amelia looked at her, surprised as Judy carried a heavy force gun. It almost looked comical, due to Judy's smaller stature, but the young woman showed no fear.

"Judy, people might need your help here," Amelia replied, but Judy looked her in the eye.

"Amelia, most of the people were stabilized here. They'll be fine. Besides, if everything goes like you say, we'll be moving Sammers and the others here. You're gonna need all the help you can get." Amelia held her gaze for a few moments, then nodded. Judy grinned. "Besides, I want to personally be able to kick Russel's ass for running off to play Soldier Boy on us!" Amelia chuckled.

"All right. I know better than to argue with you." Amelia walked over to Warton, who was still sitting.

"Warton, I'd like you to stay here," she said, and he looked up at her.

"Are you kidding me?! You can't go out there alone!" he protested. Judy walked up to stand next to Amelia.

"She won't be," Judy said evenly. Amelia smiled softly as she placed her hand on Warton's shoulder.

"They need you here more. You're tough, and a good shot. They might need that." Warton looked down, and then nodded. She patted him on the shoulder, and turned to Judy, who nodded.

As they headed for the door, Chu shouted out to them.

"Wait!" She ran up as they turned. She handed Amelia a Hydrazine torch. "You might need this. I don't know if it hurts them, but they sure don't like it. Just make sure you keep that canister screwed in tight. If it comes loose and catches fire, you've got a bomb." Amelia took the tool, sliding her arm into the loops and gripping the handle. She smiled at Chu.

"You sure you can spare it?" she asked, and Chu nodded.

"They run out of fuel quick, so short, controlled bursts are best. And if you're heading back to Engineering soon, they have fuel there." Amelia nodded.

"Thanks. I'm sure we'll be glad of it," said Amelia as she turned to Judy. "Let's go." Judy nodded and hefted up the force gun. Amelia's helmet unfolded and snapped closed as they opened the doors for them, the two women walking out into the dim halls as the door closed behind them and the hologram changed from white to red, the legend changing to "locked".

XXX

Back in the Megavents, Abaddon and his crew of zealots stalked the halls like predators. Like a pack of jackals, they roamed, looking for more "infidels" to "save". A terrified miner hid behind a stack of crates as they approached. He kept his mouth covered, hoping they wouldn't see him. He barely could see them between two crates, just an inch of space. He stayed as silent as he could, trying to stay as small as he could. They walked by, and he felt some of the tension leave him, before someone grabbed his chin, pulled it up, and he felt a sharp blade cut into his neck. He gurgled as he stared up into the eyes of a grinning woman before everything went dark. She let the body slump to the floor, still grinning.

"One mind, one body," she said almost gleefully. Abaddon grinned wide and nodded his approval. They looked up just as a few people ran around the corner. Abaddon raised his plasma cutter and fired. A woman screamed as she fell, but the rest kept running, and were quickly down the hall and through a door. The group of zealous murderers walked past the woman's body like it was nothing.

"Shouldn't we pick up the pace?" asked a man.

"Doesn't matter. This way's a dead end," said the woman with a feral grin, holding up her bloody knife. Abaddon nodded.

"One cannot run from fate, nor God," mused the preacher as they casually walked down the hall as if on the way to a casual meeting. They followed down several halls and through a few doors, but encountered no one, though they did search.

They came at last to a large, circular room. What was strange, though, was it was empty.

"What? Where the heck did they go?" one of them asked.

"They can't have gotten away, this was the only other way to go," said the woman as they looked around. Abaddon sighed softly, but shook his head.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. They can't escape Judgment," he said calmly. The woman nodded.

"Yes. I can hardly believe it! The Heralds are really here! I hope I get to see one!" she said, and Abaddon grinned wider.

"Perhaps you will be blessed to do more, and bring them into this world!" he proclaimed, and they looked at him, a few titling their heads.

"What does that mean?" one of them asked, and Abaddon smiled at him as he tapped his rig, and a blurry, still shot appeared of a man laying across a medical table in Medlab, his chest opened up and a pale, eyeless head peering out.

"For, you see, the Heralds Bless the Righteous, and in turn, we bring them into the world to bring Divine Judgment on us." The people were silent.

"Oh, it's glorious!" said the woman.

"Wait a minute! They . . . grow inside you?" one man asked in a shaky voice. Abaddon grinned at him.

"It is a holy honor, my friend! Only the pure and Righteous are chosen to be the Vessels of the Heralds." His words did not allay their obvious discomfort.

"But . . . isn't the body sacred? Wouldn't such a thing . . . go against what the Church says?" another woman asked.

"And why doesn't the Church tell anyone below Enigma about them?" another man asked. One man shivered as he looked at the image.

"Grow . . . inside? Like . . . a worm?" he cringed, and this provoked an angry response from Abaddon.

"Do not insult the Heralds! They are beyond the comprehension of your feeble minds! Do you think our concerns matter to ones as great as them?!" he yelled. One of the men walked a bit closer and others behind Abaddon tensed up.

"Even so, if they are Judging us all, it won't matter, and by your own logic, they wouldn't give two shits what we think or say!" the man shot back, and Abaddon was momentarily stunned.

"Do not blaspheme to me! You dare insult the Holy Heralds of the Black Marker? Heresy, I say!" Abaddon shouted at him. Several more people banded behind the challenger as the group began to splinter.

"And if they are so beyond mortal understanding, how do you know what they want or wish? Huh? Who are you, but a layman preacher? What's your Church Status? Are you at least Vested?" the man shot back, and Abaddon began to growl, face red.

"You . . . dare to question me, in front of everyone? You dare to doubt my faith?" The man glared back.

"No, I . . ." his words died as he looked behind Abaddon. The man's mouth dropped open, his eyes going wide and his face turning pale. Abaddon noticed this, and glanced over his shoulder, all the breath leaving him.

Three tall, spindly black shapes stood behind them, taller than the tallest of them. Long, dark, eyeless heads perched atop shiny black bodies. Long tails slowly swayed, the tips ending in blades as big as any of their knives. The Unitologists were stunned silent and still. One of the men nearest to them turned, his hand that held a plasma cutter moved. A dark tail lashed out, faster than the eye could follow. The man's whole arm fell to the ground. At this, the two groups shattered. One group began to scream and run, one of the dark beings leaping as if it could fly, landing on a man with a crunch of bone, claws slashing, teeth snapping and tail slashing. Abaddon, though, dropped his weapon and knelt as the Alien approached him. He raised his hands, as if in supplication. The tall being towered over him. Others mirrored his gesture. He looked up into the face of the creature as its long fingers curled around his head.

"I'm ready. Take me," he breathed as it bared its shiny, metallic teeth, revealing the second set behind them.

XXX

Amelia and Judy kept low and quiet. While they had a lot of catching up to do, they could wait until they were in a safe area to do so. Judy peeked around a corner while Amelia did the same on the other one.

"Clear left," Judy said softly.

"Same for right," said Amelia, and they quickly scurried across and down the hall.

Already, they had needed to take a couple detours around debris or barricades people had constructed. It was eerie, to see halls they once walked down, that had been totally normal and clear, now dark, bloody and twisted shadows of their former selves. Yet again, Amelia saw signs of struggle and fights, blood, but no signs of bodies. However, at the next junction, Amelia saw something else. She saw a shadow move, across the ceiling. She froze, staying quiet and still. The shadow didn't move again, but she was wary. She carefully peeked out more, and saw an overhead fluorescent light hanging down by a cord, slowly swaying. As if it had been brushed by something going by. Amelia glanced back down the hall, just to make sure. She then motioned for Judy to follow her and she went the opposite way.

Onward, they wound through halls darkened and broken. Lights flickered here and there, pipes and wires broken, doors wrecked. At last, they came to a small atrium with reinforced glass that gave a view to the outside of the colony, the planet outside dull and dark, but the glass was intact. Bloodstains were everywhere, and it looked to Amelia like some people had jumped from above by the blood splatters. She suppressed a shiver. They warily kept their weapons ready as they passed by open doors, though, thankfully, nothing presented itself. Amelia saw the sign above the door for Union Square, and gave a soft sigh. She looked at Judy. "Be ready," Amelia said as loudly as she dared, and Judy nodded and hefted the heavy force gun. With that, Amelia readied her flamethrower, and opened the door. While they had seen lots of devastation up to this point, they were still stunned.

Amelia had never seen so much blood in person before. Glass was shattered here and there, windows smashed, bullet holes, blasts, acid holes. It looked like a war zone.

"Oh, fuck . . ." Judy softly swore as they warily passed through the doors. Amelia frowned deeply as she glanced around.

"Sammers said they attacked suddenly. He didn't say that they attacked people grouped," she mused. Judy nodded, scowling as she saw a smashed table and booth, covered in blood.

"But I'm still not seeing any bodies," said Judy. Amelia nodded.

"We'll try and figure that out later. Right now, let's get over to P-Sec headquarters," said Amelia as they glanced up at the large building that dominated the north side of the Square.

The glass of the second-story windows was shattered, and they could see panels had been placed to cover them. They also could see acid burns, and even what looked like slashes in the metal. Even from where they stood across the way, the damage was obvious, as was the fact it had been hit far harder than anything they had seen yet. They looked at each other, then back to their destination. It was a long way to go, and without any cover. Amelia didn't like it, and Judy clearly didn't either.

"I'll eat my scrubs if this isn't an ambush," Judy almost snarled. Amelia glanced around as they stayed knelt behind a smashed vending stand. Amelia tapped her RIG.

"West, this is Dr. Kyne. Me and Judy are outside P-Sec Headquarters. If you can hear me, respond. Come in, West," she radioed, but was met with silence. They looked at each other, and Judy glanced up at the windows.

"You don't think they'd shoot us if we approached?" Judy ventured. Amelia sighed softly.

"I hope not," she said as they stood and began to move towards the building. Judy was behind Amelia, force gun raised and ready.

The cracking of broken glass underfoot was their only warning. Judy whirled and saw one of the Aliens leaping at them.

"Pendejos!" Judy screamed as she fired the force gun, sending the creature backwards and into a window that had survived until that moment, glass shattering loudly.

"Run!" Amelia shouted as she saw two more appear from wherever they had been hiding. Amelia blasted the ground with flames, and, to her shock, they screeched and backed away. The two women hurried up to the door as Amelia tapped her RIG again. "West! It's Amelia! We have medical supplies! Let us in!" Amelia radioed as she pounded on the locked door. The Alien Judy had punted came back and looked angrier than ever as it dropped to all fours like an angry cat, tail weaving as it hissed. She could hear commotion from the other side, heard yelling.

"Hurry up!" Judy shouted as she blasted back another creature, sending it back into the one behind it where they landed in a tangle of limbs. Amelia turned and gave a blast of flame, the Aliens screeching and leaping back. The two women faced the horde of dark terrors, and Amelia thought for sure they were as good as dead. Then, the door opened behind them, but only a foot or so.

"Get your asses in here!" Russel shouted.

"'bout time!" Judy yelled as she and Amelia squeeze through and the gathered people hurried to close the doors again. Before they could, a dark arm managed to reach through and grab hold, long fingers curling around the frame and pulling the door slowly open.

"Get on the fucking door!" Russel shouted as no less than five men and women pushed on the doors to try to close them, and were fast losing. Judy and Amelia rushed up and blasted force gun and flamethrower through the opening, the Aliens screeching loudly before they at last slammed the doors closed with a metallic slam, quickly slapping bars back into place and riveting panels. Russel turned to them, panting.

"I thought you guys were dead," said the Nurse with a weak smile. Amelia retracted her helmet and smiled back at him.

"Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated," she quoted and he chuckled.

"Good to see you," he said. Judy sighed and shook her head.

"Good to see you too, cabron," she shot back.

"Where's West?" she asked. Russel tilted his head.

"Upstairs. Trying to keep things together," said Russel. Amelia checked her supply bag.

"Lead the way," she said and they followed Russel and the others back into P-Sec headquarters.

XXX

Back at Hydroponics, they were surprised when they heard pounding on the doors. Chu came with Warton and a few others and checked.

"Hey, we need some help out here!" someone called. Chu nodded and they unlocked the doors. Outside were a tall, bald man, a shorter, younger man with black hair, and a woman.

"Oh, thank god. We've been looking for anybody else!" said the woman. Chu smiled and motioned for them to come in.

"Come in, all of you. Quick!" she said as they ushered them in, never seeing the weapons they had concealed as the doors closed behind them.