Fire in The Hold
Larry Mann
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"X-COM: UFO Defense" and "X-COM: Terror From The Deep"
Copyright (c) 1994 MicroProse and Mythos Software
"X-Com Saga" Copyright (c) 1994 Russ Brown
"X-Com Saga II: Tales From The Deep" Copyright (c) 1996-97 Larry Mann
ASPECT FIVE:: Fire in the Hold
- - -
ONE MONTH LATER
X-COM AQUATIC BASE "ATLANTIA"
NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
Lyudmila eased herself down into the chair in front of the array of
computers and other devices which made up the nerve center of Atlantia
Base. Her recovery from the perforating she'd taken a month before had
been nothing short of spectacular, although she was still on a mostly liquid
diet and was under orders not to move around any more than was
necessary. The doctors would have preferred she not move around at all,
but that wasn't going to happen: she still had a base to command, and she
could not run it from a bed.
She took in the view in front of her, the far more sophisticated
computers of the current year providing her with a much more
comprehensive situation report than she'd ever had access to in the First
Alien War. The two-dimensional global map she'd seen and used so often
had been replaced with a three-dimensional hologram of the planet, the new
network of satellites, radar, and sonar emplacements providing up-to-the-
second information on all activity across the globe. And with the
construction of new bases in the South Pacific and South China Sea -- in
response to flareups of Alien activity in those areas -- the network was
becoming more efficient with each passing day. The average USO would
have to be real sneaky to dodge this security net.
Clicks of an optical mouse provided Lyudmila with detailed data from
the laboratories and workshops at Atlantia. Research had been coming
along very well since the successful capture and interrogation of the
Lobsterman Commander more than a month ago. They now had a
rudimentary understanding of the Aliens' new communication network, and
transmission resolvers were being built here and at Tsunami to help gather
intelligence on the enemy's submarine activities. They also had deciphered
the nature of most of the Alien weapons, and the technicians in the
workshops were working their tails off churning out new weapons and
ammunition -- and better armor -- for the troopers to take into battle. There
were rumors of a new submarine being constructed in one of the pens at
Tsunami, but Lyudmila hadn't been able to get in touch with Deborah to
verify that. She hoped it was true; the Barracudas were woefully
underequipped to face down the larger USOs they'd been encountering.
Just like the First Alien War.
She knew already they were controlling the symptoms, but not the
disease itself. They had to find the source of the Alien war machine's power
and neutralize it. Question was, where *was* the source?
The question burned in her head far more strongly than it ever had in
the first war, far more than she would consider healthy. She reached down
and pulled an object from one of her pockets: Stefanie's Elerium pendant. It
sparkled, as she held it in one hand and looked at it quietly, almost as if it
were trying to tell her something.
Or as if Stefanie were trying to tell her something.
Despite the less than optimistic opinions of everyone around her,
Lyudmila remained certain that Steffie was still out there somewhere,
perhaps trapped in some Alien base they had yet to discover. All the leads
on Stefanie Dreyfus had dried up more than a month ago, since unlike
previous abductees there was no returning of the victim. In fact, *all* reports
of abduction this time had yielded no return of the victims, which was
distressing to say the least. Lyudmila had hoped she would turn up again
after a week or so and then perhaps an interrogation could take place, but
this was not possible. The pendant was her only real lead now, and lately
she'd felt uncomfortable if it wasn't on her person, another thing that
bothered her a little. Why was this becoming so important? She sighed
loudly and rubbed her eyes with her free hand, worrying that perhaps she
was becoming a bit obsessive on this subject. That simply would not do if
she was to remain an effective commander.
What the hell is happening to me?
An alarm tone snapped her out of her introspection. Sonar had
picked up something which merited attention. Instantly her eyes were on the
geoscape, searching. The new problem was not hard to find: a small purple
cross had appeared several nautical miles off the east coast of the United
States. A terror site. Damn, a USO had managed to slip past the sonars.
Now the question became what kind of terrorism it was. She flagged the new
cross with a mouse click, and the computer immediately brought up a large
screen of data: the vessel under attack was the _Black Betty_, a U.S.-flagged
cargo freighter. Great, just great; the bastards had launched another attack
on United States commerce. Funding from the Americans was already on
shaky ground because of persistent attacks by Alien marauders, both on sea
and land, and this one could cause the States to pull out of the X-Com project
altogether.
Unless, of course, something was done about it right now.
* * *
Although it was nighttime the crew of Triton Zero-Four had no trouble
at all locating their quarry as they burst out of the water: the _Black Betty_
still had power and her deck lights were gleaming like a miniature airstrip for
her rescuers. Himiko quickly located a small heliport pad at the ship's stern
which was sufficiently large for the Triton to land on, and circled the Triton
over the ship in hopes of spying any bugs which might be traipsing around
in plain view on the upper decks. At first she saw only one or two civilian
crew, apparently wandering around in a daze, but then more rapid movement
caught her eye, and she saw another sailor running from what appeared to
be another human in an old-style diving suit. Himiko knew the latter was
anything but human. "Zen, Calcinite on top deck."
"I see it," Zander replied, looking through the forward viewport at the
chase below. "Get us down fast. Okay people, party time!" he called back to
the rest of the troopers, who were all ready for action. Himiko swung the
Triton around and let it fall as fast as safely possible toward the helipad.
With a thump and a shudder, the Triton hit the deck.
"I've got Far Squad. Marcelle, you're with me," Zander organized the
group in seconds. "Himiko, you and Dujardin take Near Squad."
"Got it," Himiko answered as she got up from the pilot's seat and
grabbed her Blasta rifle. Zander and Marcelle took up positions in front of
the hatch. It felt a little less secure, not having a Coelecanth to provide
initial cover fire for the squad, but experience had proven that Coelecanths
just weren't cut out to navigate the corridors of ships. Fortunately this
allowed four additional troopers to come along, so there was no shortage of
firepower by any means.
"Ready?" Zander asked Marcelle.
"Willing," Marcelle replied with a grin.
Zander slammed the release pad with his free fist and the hatch
snapped open. "Go!"
Marcelle was out and running in an instant, racing toward the back of
the Triton. A shot snarled out from an upper deck but missed him, striking
the bulkhead behind the sub instead. Zander leaped out of the hatchway and
fired off his Sonic Cannon, catching the offending Tasoth in the chest and
spraying purplish blood. It squeaked loudly and disappeared from view.
"Far Squad out!" Zander snapped to his charges. "Head for the
hatchways! Near Squad, secure the platform then take the upper decks! Far
Squad will take the hold!"
"Sir!" Himiko and Dujardin stereoed as the Far Squad troopers
leaped out of the Triton and raced for the hatchways in front of them. The
Near Squad troopers fanned out and quickly checked around the numerous
crates and barrels dotting the platform. Nothing was waiting to surprise
anyone except Dujardin, who came face to face with a Calcinite as he was
checking a small room to starboard, but a quick zap from his tazer solved
that problem. "Got a live one, Himiko!" he called triumphantly. "Calcinite!"
"Excellent!" Himiko grinned. "The Tsunami spooks've been wanting
to get one of those things live. Nice job! Okay people, head for the decks!"
The troopers of Near Squad split into two groups and ran for the stairwells,
their morale already on the upswing.
* * *
Marcelle peered cautiously around a corner, finding himself looking
down a narrow, ill-lighted corridor that reminded him too much of the
passageways from the _Alien_ films. The thought brought up nasty
memories of Chryssalids and troopers who had died at their claws, and he
shook his head to clear it. Zander and the rest of Far Squad needed to know
this area was clear before they could proceed. Carefully he edged forward.
There were several doors on the forward wall, each with a porthole next to it.
He peered carefully through each porthole, finding a small crew cabin
beyond, then quickly darted through each door to make sure the cabin was
really empty. He repeated this process until he was at the end of the
hallway, where the corridor branched off into a larger alcove which in turn
would lead toward the ship's primary cargo lift. He glanced behind him and
gestured to Zander that the area was clear, and the sound of approaching
footsteps came to his ears as he turned his attention back toward his next
target. His rear was covered. So far, so good--
The snarl of a Blasta rifle rang out, and something exploded not far
from Marcelle's head. "The *hell*?!" he shouted as he rolled away. That
shot had come from behind him! In a heartbeat he was crouched in a
defensive position and facing toward the source of the shot, ready to gun
down the alien he'd somehow managed to miss. But all he saw was
Tonida... with a blank look in her eyes, walking toward him like an automaton
and raising her Blasta to fire again. Marcelle weighed his options, realized
he couldn't dodge out of the way and was too far away to try subduing her,
and sadly raised his heavy cannon. But then she froze and collapsed, and
Marcelle saw Zander lowering his tazer.
He wanted to sigh in relief but there was too much of an immediate
threat to allow any relaxation time. He spun around quickly, checking all the
surrounding space for any sign of an Aquatoid or Tasoth, but he saw nothing.
"I didn't see a damn thing, Zen," he grated as Zander ran up behind
him. "Those rooms were *clear*, and there's nothing over here."
"Yeah, well they can see us," Zen grumbled in reply. "There's gotta
be one hiding around--nngh!" He stopped, and winced noticeably,
reflexively dropping the weapons he carried in his hands. "Oh shit this is a
strong one!"
"Well where the hell is it?!" Marcelle looked around frantically,
above and below them. He also began moving away from Zen. Just in case.
"How the hell are they seeing us?!" There was nothing there, not even
civilian crew.
"Maybe..." Zen managed to say in the midst of the battle for control
of his own mind. "Maybe they... don't... need to..." He'd had mental battles
with his fair share of Sectoids and a few Ethereals in the first war, and now
Aquatoids and Tasoths in this war. He knew what those things sounded and
felt like when they invaded someone's mind, and he'd found himself able to
repel most of the Aquatoids and Tasoths he'd encountered so far with
surprising ease. But this was totally new, and yet amazingly familiar,
somehow. He felt his thoughts rapidly turning against Marcelle and the
others...
Then, abruptly, it was gone. Zen sagged to the floor, leaning against
the closest wall, then shook his head violently to clear the cotton out of his
thoughts. "Shit, that was too close."
"You all right, Zen?" Marcelle asked.
"Yeah. What the hell *was* that?" He immediately regretted saying
that out loud, but it was too late now. He keyed his headset. "Everybody!
Fan out, be *extremely* careful. They've got at least one nasty psi on their
team. Himiko, what's your status?"
"Just cleared a sniper off the top deck," Himiko's voice rattled
through the comm channel. "Didn't get a good look at it but it might be your
psi, Zen. Dujardin got zapped, but he woke back up after I nailed the sniper.
Top decks should be secured in another minute or two."
"Roger that."
The door at the far end of the alcove snapped open as Marcelle
jumped through and quickly swept the area beyond for hostiles. The fact that
he didn't immediately leap back through the door told Zen that the area was
clear, and it was confirmed by voice a moment later. "Zen, I have the main
lift in sight. All clear."
"Right. Okay, Far Squad, move out!"
Himiko clambered up the stairwell and immediately crouched as she
saw movement in the shadows at the opposite end of the deck, not far from a
small ladder which led to the topmost level. She couldn't be sure if the
bogey was a bug or some poor civvie who was stranded up here. Then it
was gone, disappearing behind the far wall. Himiko pressed herself up
against the wall and motioned for her troopers to follow.
"Dujardin," she said quietly. "Take Andianov and Rausch and go
around the starboard side. Ramirez, Smillie, you're with me on this side."
A small chorus of assent followed her orders and the troopers fanned
out, moving cautiously along the walls, Himiko and her charges carefully
watching the area ahead which was only partly illuminated by the arc lamps
lighting the upper decks, while Dujardin and his charges took the opposite
path, trying to corner whatever was back there. Himiko listened to the
sounds coming from the main communication channel. Zen and his squad
had descended to the bottom level of the ship's cargo hold and were slowly
working their way back to the main deck, clearing out the bugs as they went.
It was apparently anything but easy, if the transmissions -- and the
occasional gunshots and explosions -- she was hearing were any indication.
Evidently this ship had a lot of volatile material in its hold; sounded like
there was a whole section devoted to fuel drums. She tried not to think about
the inherent danger in that sort of arrangement.
"Himiko..." Dujardin's voice whispered quietly through the channel.
"Got one Aquatoid in the control room. Can't see anything up above from
here; we're coming around."
"Right--"
Something clattered on the decking up ahead. The troopers froze for
a moment, then Smillie, the farthest ahead, continued edging forward, and
cautiously peeked around the corner. No sooner had she done this than she
threw herself backward, and a moment later the reason for her action
became obvious as an explosion shredded the fore decking and the stairwell
there. Smillie frantically moved to get back upright when something landed
on the decking nearby, and she found herself staring up at the angry
reptilian visage of a Tasoth, directly in front of her and bringing its weapon to
bear. Dodging was impossible. Frantically she grabbed for her sonic pistol,
her right hand finding it in half a second and bringing it around as all her
fast-draw skills were channeled into this all-important instant.
The high-pitched snap of a sonic pistol discharging was eclipsed by
the much louder, longer snarl of a sonic cannon.
"NO!!" Himiko roared, leaping up and firing off her heavy cannon,
catching the Tasoth in the chest and finishing the job Linda's shot had
started. The alien toppled over the railing in a spray of purple and yellow
gore, making a sickening splatter as it hit the deck below. Himiko kept
running ahead and around the corner, red speckles dotting her vision,
forcing herself not to look at Linda's sightless eyes looking up at the stars,
ignoring the shouts of protest she heard. She smashed through the door at
full speed. There was a sound of a sonic blast and something slammed into
her right shoulder, but she ignored it. All she saw was the blue-green, red-
eyed bug in the center of the room. Swinging her rifle around, she smashed
it in the jaw, knocking its weapon away and sending it sprawling. It
remained against the far wall, half-curled into a ball, fidgeting, orange-red
blood oozing from the corner of its mouth. Himiko stalked toward it slowly,
deliberately, her intentions unmistakable.
The Aquatoid looked up at her, and saw the glow in her eyes. And
suddenly, for the first time in its life, it was truly afraid.
Himiko raised her cannon and pulled the trigger.
"Lieutenant?"
"What is it, Dujardin?"
"Sir, you better get up here. I think you should see this."
Zander shrugged, left Marcelle to oversee the removal of the rest of
the corpses and weapons from the somewhat damaged hold of the ship, and
headed for the location of Dujardin's marker, up near the conning tower. On
the way he was met by several crew members who offered profuse thank
yous and asked the usual slew of questions. Zander offered polite stock
responses to all of them and continued on his path up the stairwells toward
his destination. On the way he passed by the body of one of the rookie
troopers, one Linda Smillie. There wasn't much left of her chest, and she
stared sightlessly up at the stars, which continued to sparkle indifferently,
as if nothing of consequence had happened. Zen bent down and pushed her
eyelids closed, and shook his head sadly. This was the worst part of the
wars. Always had been. But now *he* was the Lieutenant. Now *he* was
the one writing the damned next of kin letters.
It occurred to him then that she had been one of Himiko's charges,
and also that Dujardin had contacted him, rather than Himiko. Not a good
sign; if Himiko had gone berserk again... this loose cannon shit was going to
get her in serious trouble one of these days, especially now that she was an
Ensign, the equivalent of a Sergeant. Ensigns needed to keep their heads
on straight. Himiko might already have blown it...
He shrugged the bad feelings off. He had a job to do. The last
stairwell he had to climb was a little banged up, since a Pulser had
obviously gone off in the area, but it was still negotiable, and he made his
way to the topmost deck in very short order. Dujardin gave a quick salute as
Zen arrived.
"What's up, soldier?" Zen asked.
"It's over here, sir," Dujardin said, and gestured toward one corner of
the decking, where an alien corpse was visible. It looked like an Aquatoid at
first, but Zen began to doubt that assessment almost immediately. It was
the right color for an Aquatoid, but... it was too large. Perhaps it was a Deep
One... but they'd seen dozens of those things now; that wouldn't merit his
personal attention. What was going on here? The two troopers stepped
closer, and Dujardin reached down and turned the body over, so Zen could
get a better look at its front side.
There was a long silence.
"Jesus......" Zen finally whispered.
END FIVE
END