Data File Three: Requiem Test
Gannon woke suddenly and abruptly as the door to the small complex was opened and a mixture of light and freezing cold entered and shook him awake.
He brushed the covers of the bed off and swung his legs to the left side. He felt his chin it had a slight layer of facial hair, but he was too cold to shave. He heaved himself off the bed and ambled over to the side of the door. He pushed his feet down in his boots and threw the door open. Biting cold and bright light hit him. He stepped out into the snow which was still knee deep and then realized he had no clue where he was supposed to go. He saw the building he first came to, way up on the concrete supports. He climbed the flights of stairs and shoved it open. It was empty, but littered with the remains of last night's party. He heard something stirring further down the hall passed the room with the confetti and streamers.
Gannon forced himself to walk down and see what it was. It was Zachary Kraid fixing himself sandwich in what appeared to be a kitchen area.
"Hey Zachary."
Zachary turned around like someone had just shot a hole in his hand. He had both a look of wrath, fear, and indignity.
"Oh God Kent, you scared me."
Gannon's eyes were directed to the corner pockets of his lab coat one of which was obviously bulged by a heavy metal object.
"So is this where we eat breakfast?"
Zachary nodded quickly and moved his sandwich making materials to where he could fix the sandwich and still see Gannon.
Gannon kept his distance, last thing he needed was for Zachary to freak and blow him away with a .380 caliper Beretta.
"Hey Zachary, was there a commander before me?"
Zachary hastened his sandwich making.
"Course there was."
"What happened to him?"
Zachary stopped what he was doing and looked up at Gannon. He looked like a deer in headlights.
"He froze." Was all he could say. He took his incomplete sandwich and bustled out of the kitchen.
'Kris may have been right... Either that or both Kris and Zachary are nuts. Hah what are the chances? Pretty damn good.'
Gannon took what Zachary left and ate it. He also downed it with some of his 'medicine' he had pulled out of his coat pocket.
'I haft to find someone who knows remotely what I'm suppose to be doing.'
He pulled out of the kitchen only to meet up with Jason.
"Hey Kent, just who I was probably looking for. I want to show you something. It's down in my little playpen so you might want to zip up your coat."
"Alright what is it Yonts?"
Yonts slapped his bald head.
"Yonts? Yonts? What have we gone formal? First name basis please."
Yonts started back down the hall and Gannon was tagging behind once again feigning interest, but for whole different reason.
Gannon laughed, which was undoubtedly Yonts' intention.
"Alright, Jason. Please what is it?"
Yonts hurried his pace and they popped out the door into the freezing cold.
"We had been doing some seismic mapping and satellite pictures of the area when we first got here, which was like eleven years ago. About fifty kilometers out from the base in..." Jason spun in a circle and then stopped and pointed. "In that direction. We found what most people would call interesting. I had been trying for the last eleven years to get someone to authorize a haul. There and back, probably two or so hours. But the last commander was basket case and the doc said it was too dangerous. So you're my third times charm kinda guy."
'Damn! basket case he says.'
"Let me see the mapping."
Jason nodded.
"Fair enough. This way."
He was heading dead straight for small snow-covered shack.
"Cozy looking, huh? They give Genetics, Biology; hell even Archaeology gets a bigger budget than I do. I got to ask, what the hell is an archaeologist doing in Antarctica? That's like sending a historian into space and say 'write up history'."
'He never really shuts up, does he?'
"This is it, Kent."
Jason swung the door open and held it open for Gannon. Gannon was immediately welcomed by a blast of warm heat.
'this is nice'
"Like the heat? Heh, the company doesn't know it, but twenty percent of their Geology budget went to heating. Antarctica is wonderful you just got to know how to adjust it to you."
'And he was complaining about budget shorts'
Yonts went off to his desk, which was against the far wall from the door. He shuffled a few papers and motioned Gannon over. He held to the desk a simple map.
"Okay here's the base and here's the area I want to visit. You can see by the scale its exactly fifty kilometers south."
"No flipping way. Deal off."
Yonts riled up for a speech that had obviously been practiced.
"Now you see! Why would you say that?"
"Fifty kilometers, south! You may be one hell of geologist, but you didn't pick up any meteorology. That far south in Antarctica might be a hundred or so below. You'd need masks and suits and balls bigger than church bells."
"Me an Bart got that and more. Please Kent I need this. This will be the one and only contribution the Geology department will have made. It'll prove Geology is worth a bigger budget. I'm begging you."
"Final word on the matter, ready for it? Here it is. No. White outs, Hypothermia lots of lovely things can go wrong and if that happens not only will you not get your budget, but the entire Geology department has to be reworked. You can go over my head and write the main branch and if they say okay... go for it, but if not we'll leave whatever wonderful prize is out there, to the fool who'll risk his life for it."
"But Kent!"
"Let it go, Jason. The word was no."
'begs like a kid.'
"Fine. I'll write the KY branch."
Gannon shrugged and left Jason to his devices.
Dr. Landis was waiting for him outside. He had admiring look on his face.
"I keep changing my mind about you, Kent. I thought you'd go in for it."
Gannon's PR smile flashed on.
"I have more will power than you might think. When my superiors sent me over here, they said to keep safety in priority."
"Good man. Uh. Kris wanted to see you."
Gannon winced.
'Now to psycho number 3'
"Dr. Landis can I ask you something?"
Landis nodded.
"Sure, but lets do it in the infirmary where it's warm."
Gannon and Landis walked a few paces from the Yonts' shack and into the infirmary.
"So what's up?"
Gannon scratched his head.
He was kinda of embarrassed to ask, but asked anyway.
"Was the last commander murdered?"
Dr. Landis had a shocked look on his face.
"No. Who told you that!?"
"What did happen?"
The Doc waved his hands.
"The stupid git walked south until he died. I examined the body."
Gannon nodded to himself.
'That makes Kris a liar or a mental case. So it basically doesn't change much.'
"Okay, Doctor, thank you."
"Hey wait a sec. Who told you that line about him being murdered?"
Gannon smiled.
"Oh, Just a big rumor going through the company."
Landis nodded, satisfied.
Gannon exited the infirmary.
If he had to guess the Genetics lab was the one in the far corner of the base. He could go bug Zachary past the breaking point for fun. Or he could try and find Kris. One was about as fun as the other. He had choice between the .380 caliper or whatever nasty piece Kris was wielding last night.
He chose Kris. He entered the nearest building, which said Archaeology on the door.
Kris was bent over a desk studying what looked like to be runes.
"Hey Kris you wanted to see me?"
She turned around and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. She was pointing to him and with her hand over her mouth. ...Pointing to him?
'behind me'
Gannon dropped and rolled to the side. There it was. Perfectly described by Kris.
It was at least eight feet tall. It had dark black fur with long fleshy ears and a fleshy face that was dripping with teeth.
'oh dear'
It lunged for him, but Gannon dove to the side. Kris threw him a gun.
"Kill it Kent, its from the company! Its a company agent!"
Kent Gannon made the worst decision he could've possibly made. ...He listened to the psycho bitch. He squeezed and resqueezed the trigger as many times as it would fire. He unloaded the whole magazine and it fell to the floor dead.
"I killed it. I killed it! Kris did you see-" He was interrupted by a flash of light and then another. He looked over and Kris was taking pictures of him and the gun and the now quickly disintegrating body.
"You just made the worst decision possible, Gannon. And you flunked your little loyalty test."
Gannon about choked.
"You're company!!?"
Kris had a evil grin.
"Damn straight I'm company. You just killed Ramothith. He had been hiding in the base before you came for this test."
"But I don't understand! Why? I've always been loyal to the company!"
"Oh no, this was requested. By one Richard Nichols of the KY branch. He didn't think you were fit for the company and filled a form requesting this test. You didn't even report me like you should have done. Your twice time loser Gannon. This means your death."
'oh dear'
"Guyver!"
After Gannon had heard those cursed words uttered by Kris, a blast thundered through the room. When the glare had cleared he saw a creature in Kris' place. It was red with what seemed like armored plates, it had one sharp antennae that curved backward and various metal and shiny orbs attached to it. Its eyes were cut up evilly at Gannon. A blast of air vented from its face. And then it spoke with an almost mechanical voice.
"I knew you were going to fail from the first, Kent! You were just too susceptible to those little moral itches."
It held out its arm and blade issued from it's forearm. Gannon could hear it hum and vibrate at a high frequency.
Gannon threw the gun at the things head and bolted out the door. Light was failing and he ran.
'Where the hell can I run from that thing?! The Helipad!!'
He ran from the Helipad. But thought had no more initiated from his nerve pathways than the Archaeology building exploded and something raced out of it, headed dead for Gannon. He could hear it taunting him from behind.
"You're gone Gannon no matter what you do!"
He made it to the Helipad and slammed the gate behind him. He took out his bottle Marnier and chucked it behind him and it found it's mark right in the face of the creature.
He started the engine and the blades began turning. He didn't know how to fly but he had the motivation to learn right here and now. He pulled up on the stick and flipped a few switches and it lifted off. The thing wasn't following even though Gannon was sure it could. In fact it was laughing.
He check what must have been the gas gauge. Gannon got the joke now. It had about a half tank of gas. It probably couldn't even make it out of Antarctica... But how about fifty kilometers from the base? Looks like he was going to Jason's geographical anomaly.
'To the fool who'll risk his life for it. Its amazing how doable risks are when don't have any other choice.'
Gannon had no clue where he was, he couldn't even tell which way was up or weather he was going anywhere at all. He had been flying north for the past hour at least. The sun had gone down and his source of comparison was gone. He was low on gas, in fact empty. He pushed the controls forward and waited for tremendous crash.
Gannon woke suddenly and abruptly as the door to the small complex was opened and a mixture of light and freezing cold entered and shook him awake.
He brushed the covers of the bed off and swung his legs to the left side. He felt his chin it had a slight layer of facial hair, but he was too cold to shave. He heaved himself off the bed and ambled over to the side of the door. He pushed his feet down in his boots and threw the door open. Biting cold and bright light hit him. He stepped out into the snow which was still knee deep and then realized he had no clue where he was supposed to go. He saw the building he first came to, way up on the concrete supports. He climbed the flights of stairs and shoved it open. It was empty, but littered with the remains of last night's party. He heard something stirring further down the hall passed the room with the confetti and streamers.
Gannon forced himself to walk down and see what it was. It was Zachary Kraid fixing himself sandwich in what appeared to be a kitchen area.
"Hey Zachary."
Zachary turned around like someone had just shot a hole in his hand. He had both a look of wrath, fear, and indignity.
"Oh God Kent, you scared me."
Gannon's eyes were directed to the corner pockets of his lab coat one of which was obviously bulged by a heavy metal object.
"So is this where we eat breakfast?"
Zachary nodded quickly and moved his sandwich making materials to where he could fix the sandwich and still see Gannon.
Gannon kept his distance, last thing he needed was for Zachary to freak and blow him away with a .380 caliper Beretta.
"Hey Zachary, was there a commander before me?"
Zachary hastened his sandwich making.
"Course there was."
"What happened to him?"
Zachary stopped what he was doing and looked up at Gannon. He looked like a deer in headlights.
"He froze." Was all he could say. He took his incomplete sandwich and bustled out of the kitchen.
'Kris may have been right... Either that or both Kris and Zachary are nuts. Hah what are the chances? Pretty damn good.'
Gannon took what Zachary left and ate it. He also downed it with some of his 'medicine' he had pulled out of his coat pocket.
'I haft to find someone who knows remotely what I'm suppose to be doing.'
He pulled out of the kitchen only to meet up with Jason.
"Hey Kent, just who I was probably looking for. I want to show you something. It's down in my little playpen so you might want to zip up your coat."
"Alright what is it Yonts?"
Yonts slapped his bald head.
"Yonts? Yonts? What have we gone formal? First name basis please."
Yonts started back down the hall and Gannon was tagging behind once again feigning interest, but for whole different reason.
Gannon laughed, which was undoubtedly Yonts' intention.
"Alright, Jason. Please what is it?"
Yonts hurried his pace and they popped out the door into the freezing cold.
"We had been doing some seismic mapping and satellite pictures of the area when we first got here, which was like eleven years ago. About fifty kilometers out from the base in..." Jason spun in a circle and then stopped and pointed. "In that direction. We found what most people would call interesting. I had been trying for the last eleven years to get someone to authorize a haul. There and back, probably two or so hours. But the last commander was basket case and the doc said it was too dangerous. So you're my third times charm kinda guy."
'Damn! basket case he says.'
"Let me see the mapping."
Jason nodded.
"Fair enough. This way."
He was heading dead straight for small snow-covered shack.
"Cozy looking, huh? They give Genetics, Biology; hell even Archaeology gets a bigger budget than I do. I got to ask, what the hell is an archaeologist doing in Antarctica? That's like sending a historian into space and say 'write up history'."
'He never really shuts up, does he?'
"This is it, Kent."
Jason swung the door open and held it open for Gannon. Gannon was immediately welcomed by a blast of warm heat.
'this is nice'
"Like the heat? Heh, the company doesn't know it, but twenty percent of their Geology budget went to heating. Antarctica is wonderful you just got to know how to adjust it to you."
'And he was complaining about budget shorts'
Yonts went off to his desk, which was against the far wall from the door. He shuffled a few papers and motioned Gannon over. He held to the desk a simple map.
"Okay here's the base and here's the area I want to visit. You can see by the scale its exactly fifty kilometers south."
"No flipping way. Deal off."
Yonts riled up for a speech that had obviously been practiced.
"Now you see! Why would you say that?"
"Fifty kilometers, south! You may be one hell of geologist, but you didn't pick up any meteorology. That far south in Antarctica might be a hundred or so below. You'd need masks and suits and balls bigger than church bells."
"Me an Bart got that and more. Please Kent I need this. This will be the one and only contribution the Geology department will have made. It'll prove Geology is worth a bigger budget. I'm begging you."
"Final word on the matter, ready for it? Here it is. No. White outs, Hypothermia lots of lovely things can go wrong and if that happens not only will you not get your budget, but the entire Geology department has to be reworked. You can go over my head and write the main branch and if they say okay... go for it, but if not we'll leave whatever wonderful prize is out there, to the fool who'll risk his life for it."
"But Kent!"
"Let it go, Jason. The word was no."
'begs like a kid.'
"Fine. I'll write the KY branch."
Gannon shrugged and left Jason to his devices.
Dr. Landis was waiting for him outside. He had admiring look on his face.
"I keep changing my mind about you, Kent. I thought you'd go in for it."
Gannon's PR smile flashed on.
"I have more will power than you might think. When my superiors sent me over here, they said to keep safety in priority."
"Good man. Uh. Kris wanted to see you."
Gannon winced.
'Now to psycho number 3'
"Dr. Landis can I ask you something?"
Landis nodded.
"Sure, but lets do it in the infirmary where it's warm."
Gannon and Landis walked a few paces from the Yonts' shack and into the infirmary.
"So what's up?"
Gannon scratched his head.
He was kinda of embarrassed to ask, but asked anyway.
"Was the last commander murdered?"
Dr. Landis had a shocked look on his face.
"No. Who told you that!?"
"What did happen?"
The Doc waved his hands.
"The stupid git walked south until he died. I examined the body."
Gannon nodded to himself.
'That makes Kris a liar or a mental case. So it basically doesn't change much.'
"Okay, Doctor, thank you."
"Hey wait a sec. Who told you that line about him being murdered?"
Gannon smiled.
"Oh, Just a big rumor going through the company."
Landis nodded, satisfied.
Gannon exited the infirmary.
If he had to guess the Genetics lab was the one in the far corner of the base. He could go bug Zachary past the breaking point for fun. Or he could try and find Kris. One was about as fun as the other. He had choice between the .380 caliper or whatever nasty piece Kris was wielding last night.
He chose Kris. He entered the nearest building, which said Archaeology on the door.
Kris was bent over a desk studying what looked like to be runes.
"Hey Kris you wanted to see me?"
She turned around and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. She was pointing to him and with her hand over her mouth. ...Pointing to him?
'behind me'
Gannon dropped and rolled to the side. There it was. Perfectly described by Kris.
It was at least eight feet tall. It had dark black fur with long fleshy ears and a fleshy face that was dripping with teeth.
'oh dear'
It lunged for him, but Gannon dove to the side. Kris threw him a gun.
"Kill it Kent, its from the company! Its a company agent!"
Kent Gannon made the worst decision he could've possibly made. ...He listened to the psycho bitch. He squeezed and resqueezed the trigger as many times as it would fire. He unloaded the whole magazine and it fell to the floor dead.
"I killed it. I killed it! Kris did you see-" He was interrupted by a flash of light and then another. He looked over and Kris was taking pictures of him and the gun and the now quickly disintegrating body.
"You just made the worst decision possible, Gannon. And you flunked your little loyalty test."
Gannon about choked.
"You're company!!?"
Kris had a evil grin.
"Damn straight I'm company. You just killed Ramothith. He had been hiding in the base before you came for this test."
"But I don't understand! Why? I've always been loyal to the company!"
"Oh no, this was requested. By one Richard Nichols of the KY branch. He didn't think you were fit for the company and filled a form requesting this test. You didn't even report me like you should have done. Your twice time loser Gannon. This means your death."
'oh dear'
"Guyver!"
After Gannon had heard those cursed words uttered by Kris, a blast thundered through the room. When the glare had cleared he saw a creature in Kris' place. It was red with what seemed like armored plates, it had one sharp antennae that curved backward and various metal and shiny orbs attached to it. Its eyes were cut up evilly at Gannon. A blast of air vented from its face. And then it spoke with an almost mechanical voice.
"I knew you were going to fail from the first, Kent! You were just too susceptible to those little moral itches."
It held out its arm and blade issued from it's forearm. Gannon could hear it hum and vibrate at a high frequency.
Gannon threw the gun at the things head and bolted out the door. Light was failing and he ran.
'Where the hell can I run from that thing?! The Helipad!!'
He ran from the Helipad. But thought had no more initiated from his nerve pathways than the Archaeology building exploded and something raced out of it, headed dead for Gannon. He could hear it taunting him from behind.
"You're gone Gannon no matter what you do!"
He made it to the Helipad and slammed the gate behind him. He took out his bottle Marnier and chucked it behind him and it found it's mark right in the face of the creature.
He started the engine and the blades began turning. He didn't know how to fly but he had the motivation to learn right here and now. He pulled up on the stick and flipped a few switches and it lifted off. The thing wasn't following even though Gannon was sure it could. In fact it was laughing.
He check what must have been the gas gauge. Gannon got the joke now. It had about a half tank of gas. It probably couldn't even make it out of Antarctica... But how about fifty kilometers from the base? Looks like he was going to Jason's geographical anomaly.
'To the fool who'll risk his life for it. Its amazing how doable risks are when don't have any other choice.'
Gannon had no clue where he was, he couldn't even tell which way was up or weather he was going anywhere at all. He had been flying north for the past hour at least. The sun had gone down and his source of comparison was gone. He was low on gas, in fact empty. He pushed the controls forward and waited for tremendous crash.