Part 06: City of Dead Dreams
The helicopters flew forth, bringing with them the troops that remained loyal to General Reynolds after the rebellion at Second Base in Greenland. She'd known there were alien spies hiding there, but she hadn't anticipated just how many there would be. But it didn't matter; even a dirty stinking sneak attack by the women she thought were her best friends wouldn't bring her to her knees. Earth would never fall to these bastards.
"General, we're within ten miles of our destination." One of her Lieutenants informed her from the cockpit.
"Good." Pam called back. The helicopters passed rapidly over the largely abandoned lands of the former Soviet Union, on their way to one of the most infamous sites of the entire war against the Imperium. Dwarfed in size and scope only by the nuclear strikes in North America, and the death of the Reverend himself.
Moscow had become both a graveyard and a holy site. The bodies of those slain in the last massacre of the war still littered the hallowed streets. The lucky ones were those whose brains had hemorrhaged from the sheer force of the sound waves. The unlucky ones survived to be hunted and slain like dogs, often cut apart by Imperial blades or shot many times before they finally stopped moving.
No sane person dared approach this place. Yet it was a holy site to those zealots who, despite everything, still believed in the teachings of the Imperium. The Reverend hadn't been stupid. He'd controlled through both fear and faith, and it was those faithful who gathered here to honor what they considered to be the holiest site on Earth.
Where God had given the faithful the power to cleanse the Earth of sinners.
As they passed overhead, she could see them below. Most of them were praying, though others took time off to eat or attend to other daily chores. They stepped right over the bodies of the dead like they weren't even there. They were a disgrace to humanity. If they even were human.
"Contact all units to land here." Pam called up to the cabin.
"Roger!" The pilot called back as he brought the helicopter to a stop. The other copters lowered beside it, while the crowd below began to gather to see what was going on. When Pam opened the door of her copter and stepped out one of the larger men stepped forward. He had a crucifix tattooed onto its forehead, with the bottom ending right above his nose.
"What are you doing intruding on the cleansed lands of our Lord?" The man demanded threateningly.
"Finishing the cleansing..." Pam retorted slyly. The man let out a barking laugh, followed soon by the rest of the group gathered around him.
"I believe that sounds like a threat." The mammoth man smirked.
"A promise, actually." Pam replied. The man puffed himself up as much as he could, sticking out his barrel chest. Obviously he didn't believe his Lord was strong enough to fight his own battles, because it looked like he was pumping a lot of iron in His service.
"You can't hurt us, sinner. We're protected by the might of God." He told her confidently.
"Are you now?" Pam asked. Within a second she had her revolver up in front of her, and just a millisecond later light flashed from the muzzle with a thunderous bang. The crowd jumped back in shock as the massive man's head was thrown back. He remained on his feet for a moment as blood ran down his face from the center of the Crucifix on his forehead.
Finally he collapsed to his back on the street limply. The rest of the gathered crowd eyed her fearfully, clutching at each other and whispering prayers under their breath. Pam looked at them pitilessly. They were scared now... but that didn't make them any less monsters.
"Unit 1, round up these whackos and bring them with me. Units 2, 3, and 4, get your earplugs on and start taking care of the civilian bodies in the area. I want each and every one of them given proper burials." Pam ordered. The Sensible Soundproof Earplugs were an old WOOHP gadget, one that they had an overabundance of these days. They weren't much for combat though, so they were almost useless.
"Yes sir!" Every soldier gave her a swift salute before turning to tend to their duties. Most of the soldiers set about carefully gathering up the bodies of the deceased, while some rounded up the gathered zealots and turned to follow Pam as she made her way to the edge of the city. Just outside the city walls was a relic of the war that had gone untouched.
The Ear Bleeder had barely been touched since the massacre. Sam had allowed them to study it to create the miniaturized, less dangerous versions. But she strictly prohibited anybody from touching or moving the machine itself. Sam feared it, despite the Sensible Soundproof Earplugs they could have used with it. But Pam knew that it could be used to fight the alien menace, it could disable their technology.
"You'll never destroy the will of God!" One of the remaining zealots shouted. She was met with a chorus of cheers from the other captives. Pam smirked and gestured for the other soldiers to put their earmuffs on.
"You'd follow your God to Hell and back. Would you like to see His power in action?" She asked.
"We will when he smites you!" The same woman shouted. Pam slipped her own earplugs on, reaching for the lever to activate the Ear Bleeder.
"Feel your God's power... and join Him in Hell." She threw the switch, turning on the devastating machine. It roared to life, unheard by Pam or her crew, but the effect on the zealots was immediate. Their faces contorted in pained screams and they fell to their knees, clutching at their ears in agony and desperation. Pam watched them writhe on the grass, desperately trying to escape the sound waves that pierced the brain like a million daggers.
Pam nodded to the gathered troops, who pulled their weapons and took aim at those desperately crawling zealots that remained alive. Soon none of them moved, as their blood stained the grass in front of the most dreadful weapon yet to grace the surface of the Earth. One soldier in particular seemed to hit each and every one of them in the head, whether they were moving or not. Pam reached over to turn off the machine, then pulled off her earplugs.
She watched as her soldiers followed suit. She pointed to one. "You go tell the other units they can remove their earplugs." The soldier saluted and turned to accomplish his assigned task. Pam gestured to a smaller group. "You bring the Ear Bleeder into the city. The rest of you, begin construction on a command center on this side of the city." Most of the others turned to leave, but Pam called out again. "You, with the purple hair. I want a word with you."
The purple-haired woman walked up in front of her and stood at attention, putting her hand up in a stiff salute. "Yes, sir." Her strangely purple hair hung down to her lower back, and strangely she had deep violet eyes that matched it very well. From the look of her, she was probably in her early twenties, with the smoothness of her skin and the fire that lay deep in her eyes.
"What's your name?" Pam asked.
"Alison First, sir." The woman replied simply.
"You showed a lot of spirit when I gave the order to execute them." Pam told her.
"I've been waiting to get back at these bastards for a long time." Alison replied less formally.
"As have we all, I suspect." Pam nodded sympathetically. Alison didn't respond, staring straight ahead as any good soldier was supposed to do. "How long have you been fighting? You seem a lot more hardened than most of the crew we have here."
"Since I was fourteen." Alison replied. "Seven years now. Against the Imperium of Christ."
"Do you want to kill some Zardexians now?"
"Oh yes." Alison replied, her eyes hardening into a bloodlust Pam hadn't seen on anyone but the criminally insane. "And frankly sir, I don't care who or what gets in my way. I'll kill every last one of them if it means going through every human on Earth." Pam stared into her eyes, searching for a hint of doubt. She found none whatsoever.
"Follow me." Pam turned to walk into the city, leaving the dead zealots rotting on the dirt where they belonged. Alison paced her obediently, walking right behind her. "I'm through watching the alien scum slowly whittle us down to nothing. I'm done looking over my shoulder for someone with a knife. I need someone I can trust for a second in command."
"I'll follow you straight to the Zardexian home world if I have to." Alison told her as they walked past the other soldiers, carefully carrying the bodies of the dead outside the city where they could be buried properly. "As long as there aren't any left at the end."
"That's not what I asked." Pam said softly. "I asked if I could trust you to help protect me."
"If you'll help me reach my goal, I'll give my life for you." Alison told her seriously. Pam looked back at her, studying her eyes for a moment before nodding.
"I believe you." Pam stopped to watch the three units set up her command center in what was once a library. Alison stood beside her, watching them ferry equipment in and out of the building. "Look at this Alison. The site of the Imperium's last victory will be the site of the beginning of the Zardexian downfall. I love poetic justice."
"I like poetry as much as the next person, but do you have a plan to fight the Zardexians themselves? The Ear Bleeder can deal with their technology, but what about THEM?" Alison asked curiously.
"There are no beings in existence that don't have a weakness. We just haven't been using the right weapons." Pam told her with a slight smile. "I have an idea or two we can work on, but for now we need a base of operations, and our troops need a rest once that's done." Alison nodded in agreement and they both settled back to watch the troops work.
Progress was swift. They were well rested, charged with energy, and motivated to begin this new offensive instead of sitting around waiting for more bad news to trickle their way. Pam and Alison watched the troops work idly, occasionally making a round to make sure there were no slackers or traitors. The graveyard was growing steadily, but Pam wasn't about to leave all of these people lying about her new base. They deserved at least the honor of a burial.
"Sir." Pam and Alison turned in unison when they heard a soldier walking up behind them. He gave them a sharp salute before speaking again. "We've readied one of the homes in the area for you to use. It's down the street on the left if you're tired."
"I don't remember giving that order." Pam told him.
"No... but we were finished with the burials in our quadrant, and wanted to show our appreciation of your leadership." He told her. Pam walked up to him, looking him up and down.
"That's sweet... but do not disobey my orders again. Next time, come to me for further orders. Is that understood?" Pam told him.
"Yes sir." The soldier looked a bit put off that his gift wasn't being accepted with open arms, but he didn't complain.
"Now go tell Unit 3 to get busy converting the local school into a barracks for the troops. I'm not the only one who needs a roof over my head around here."
"Yes sir!" The officer saluted again before turning to walk away from her, heading back the way he came. Pam turned back to Alison, who'd watched the exchange with a smirk on her face.
"Come on, I want to survey my new quarters." Pam turned to walk down the street, with her second in command following right behind. The sun was fading down behind the horizon, but she wasn't about to go to sleep so early while her men were still busy working. She wouldn't be much of a leader if she did that... that didn't mean it wasn't tempting though.
She walked inside the small hovel. It was literally just another house in a million, but she supposed that was a good thing. In the event of a sneak attack, either human or alien, they wouldn't have an easy time finding her. "Someone had some good sense on this one." She looked back at Alison to find her standing at the door. "Come in already."
Alison nodded and stepped inside, looking around silently. "At ease, soldier. Relax for a few minutes. Our efforts here aren't going to collapse just because you crack a smile."
"I don't have anything to smile about." Alison replied coolly.
"Fair enough I suppose..." Pam sighed and moved to the kitchen, which she found stocked with rotten food and flat soda. There was still some water though, and there were even some bottles of wine underneath the sink. She pulled out the wine and set it on the counter, scouring the kitchen until she found a pair of glasses to pour it in.
She poured the two glasses of wine and turned to walk back into the living room. She found Alison kneeling beside the television on the far side of the room, flipping through channels at random. Most of it was static. There was no point to keeping them running while the Earth was being ransacked by alien tentacle monsters, but she stopped when she found a channel showing old Warner Brothers cartoons.
Alison left the cartoons on and stood up, turning to see Pam standing behind her. "Drink?" Pam asked. Alison nodded and silently took the drink from her. "You know, I used to watch those way back when I was a little girl."
"I never had much use for them. I preferred... smarter shows." Alison replied. They both moved to sit down on the couch, watching the ancient shows and sipping the wine from their glasses absently. The silence was welcome after the events of the last few days. The battle in the Greenland base followed by the almost nonstop flight here. Sleep seemed like a memory.
"General." Pam was startled out of a light doze to find her wine spilled on her lap and Alison standing over her.
"Oh..." Pam yawned. "I really shouldn't have sat down." She shook her head and stood up, trying to wipe the liquid off of her pants.
"Get some rest, you're no good to us like this." Alison told her. "I'll take care of everything until morning."
"What kind of leader would I be if I slept while my troops were still hard at work?" Pam asked.
"A well-rested one." Alison put her hands on her back and pushed her toward the bedroom. Pam struggled lightly, but Alison was surprisingly strong for her fairly small frame. She pushed the general onto the bed and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to her chin.
"Will you protect me while I sleep...?" Pam yawned again, looking up at Alison. She felt like a little girl... but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. She was far older than Alison, but for some reason she felt like the younger of them. It was a sign of the times she supposed. She didn't even remember most of the war against the Imperium of Christ, being controlled by the collar.
"With my life, general." Alison told her. Pam didn't know why. This woman was as much a stranger to her as any of the troops on the base, but something about those deep violet eyes set her mind at ease. She trusted her, and it was that trust that let her slip off into dreamland. She dreamt of being with Alice and Crimson, their old spy days... only to have them turn into those hideous alien scum. They would pay for what they made her to do her best friends... they would all pay for what they'd done to the world.
TO BE CONTINUED
The helicopters flew forth, bringing with them the troops that remained loyal to General Reynolds after the rebellion at Second Base in Greenland. She'd known there were alien spies hiding there, but she hadn't anticipated just how many there would be. But it didn't matter; even a dirty stinking sneak attack by the women she thought were her best friends wouldn't bring her to her knees. Earth would never fall to these bastards.
"General, we're within ten miles of our destination." One of her Lieutenants informed her from the cockpit.
"Good." Pam called back. The helicopters passed rapidly over the largely abandoned lands of the former Soviet Union, on their way to one of the most infamous sites of the entire war against the Imperium. Dwarfed in size and scope only by the nuclear strikes in North America, and the death of the Reverend himself.
Moscow had become both a graveyard and a holy site. The bodies of those slain in the last massacre of the war still littered the hallowed streets. The lucky ones were those whose brains had hemorrhaged from the sheer force of the sound waves. The unlucky ones survived to be hunted and slain like dogs, often cut apart by Imperial blades or shot many times before they finally stopped moving.
No sane person dared approach this place. Yet it was a holy site to those zealots who, despite everything, still believed in the teachings of the Imperium. The Reverend hadn't been stupid. He'd controlled through both fear and faith, and it was those faithful who gathered here to honor what they considered to be the holiest site on Earth.
Where God had given the faithful the power to cleanse the Earth of sinners.
As they passed overhead, she could see them below. Most of them were praying, though others took time off to eat or attend to other daily chores. They stepped right over the bodies of the dead like they weren't even there. They were a disgrace to humanity. If they even were human.
"Contact all units to land here." Pam called up to the cabin.
"Roger!" The pilot called back as he brought the helicopter to a stop. The other copters lowered beside it, while the crowd below began to gather to see what was going on. When Pam opened the door of her copter and stepped out one of the larger men stepped forward. He had a crucifix tattooed onto its forehead, with the bottom ending right above his nose.
"What are you doing intruding on the cleansed lands of our Lord?" The man demanded threateningly.
"Finishing the cleansing..." Pam retorted slyly. The man let out a barking laugh, followed soon by the rest of the group gathered around him.
"I believe that sounds like a threat." The mammoth man smirked.
"A promise, actually." Pam replied. The man puffed himself up as much as he could, sticking out his barrel chest. Obviously he didn't believe his Lord was strong enough to fight his own battles, because it looked like he was pumping a lot of iron in His service.
"You can't hurt us, sinner. We're protected by the might of God." He told her confidently.
"Are you now?" Pam asked. Within a second she had her revolver up in front of her, and just a millisecond later light flashed from the muzzle with a thunderous bang. The crowd jumped back in shock as the massive man's head was thrown back. He remained on his feet for a moment as blood ran down his face from the center of the Crucifix on his forehead.
Finally he collapsed to his back on the street limply. The rest of the gathered crowd eyed her fearfully, clutching at each other and whispering prayers under their breath. Pam looked at them pitilessly. They were scared now... but that didn't make them any less monsters.
"Unit 1, round up these whackos and bring them with me. Units 2, 3, and 4, get your earplugs on and start taking care of the civilian bodies in the area. I want each and every one of them given proper burials." Pam ordered. The Sensible Soundproof Earplugs were an old WOOHP gadget, one that they had an overabundance of these days. They weren't much for combat though, so they were almost useless.
"Yes sir!" Every soldier gave her a swift salute before turning to tend to their duties. Most of the soldiers set about carefully gathering up the bodies of the deceased, while some rounded up the gathered zealots and turned to follow Pam as she made her way to the edge of the city. Just outside the city walls was a relic of the war that had gone untouched.
The Ear Bleeder had barely been touched since the massacre. Sam had allowed them to study it to create the miniaturized, less dangerous versions. But she strictly prohibited anybody from touching or moving the machine itself. Sam feared it, despite the Sensible Soundproof Earplugs they could have used with it. But Pam knew that it could be used to fight the alien menace, it could disable their technology.
"You'll never destroy the will of God!" One of the remaining zealots shouted. She was met with a chorus of cheers from the other captives. Pam smirked and gestured for the other soldiers to put their earmuffs on.
"You'd follow your God to Hell and back. Would you like to see His power in action?" She asked.
"We will when he smites you!" The same woman shouted. Pam slipped her own earplugs on, reaching for the lever to activate the Ear Bleeder.
"Feel your God's power... and join Him in Hell." She threw the switch, turning on the devastating machine. It roared to life, unheard by Pam or her crew, but the effect on the zealots was immediate. Their faces contorted in pained screams and they fell to their knees, clutching at their ears in agony and desperation. Pam watched them writhe on the grass, desperately trying to escape the sound waves that pierced the brain like a million daggers.
Pam nodded to the gathered troops, who pulled their weapons and took aim at those desperately crawling zealots that remained alive. Soon none of them moved, as their blood stained the grass in front of the most dreadful weapon yet to grace the surface of the Earth. One soldier in particular seemed to hit each and every one of them in the head, whether they were moving or not. Pam reached over to turn off the machine, then pulled off her earplugs.
She watched as her soldiers followed suit. She pointed to one. "You go tell the other units they can remove their earplugs." The soldier saluted and turned to accomplish his assigned task. Pam gestured to a smaller group. "You bring the Ear Bleeder into the city. The rest of you, begin construction on a command center on this side of the city." Most of the others turned to leave, but Pam called out again. "You, with the purple hair. I want a word with you."
The purple-haired woman walked up in front of her and stood at attention, putting her hand up in a stiff salute. "Yes, sir." Her strangely purple hair hung down to her lower back, and strangely she had deep violet eyes that matched it very well. From the look of her, she was probably in her early twenties, with the smoothness of her skin and the fire that lay deep in her eyes.
"What's your name?" Pam asked.
"Alison First, sir." The woman replied simply.
"You showed a lot of spirit when I gave the order to execute them." Pam told her.
"I've been waiting to get back at these bastards for a long time." Alison replied less formally.
"As have we all, I suspect." Pam nodded sympathetically. Alison didn't respond, staring straight ahead as any good soldier was supposed to do. "How long have you been fighting? You seem a lot more hardened than most of the crew we have here."
"Since I was fourteen." Alison replied. "Seven years now. Against the Imperium of Christ."
"Do you want to kill some Zardexians now?"
"Oh yes." Alison replied, her eyes hardening into a bloodlust Pam hadn't seen on anyone but the criminally insane. "And frankly sir, I don't care who or what gets in my way. I'll kill every last one of them if it means going through every human on Earth." Pam stared into her eyes, searching for a hint of doubt. She found none whatsoever.
"Follow me." Pam turned to walk into the city, leaving the dead zealots rotting on the dirt where they belonged. Alison paced her obediently, walking right behind her. "I'm through watching the alien scum slowly whittle us down to nothing. I'm done looking over my shoulder for someone with a knife. I need someone I can trust for a second in command."
"I'll follow you straight to the Zardexian home world if I have to." Alison told her as they walked past the other soldiers, carefully carrying the bodies of the dead outside the city where they could be buried properly. "As long as there aren't any left at the end."
"That's not what I asked." Pam said softly. "I asked if I could trust you to help protect me."
"If you'll help me reach my goal, I'll give my life for you." Alison told her seriously. Pam looked back at her, studying her eyes for a moment before nodding.
"I believe you." Pam stopped to watch the three units set up her command center in what was once a library. Alison stood beside her, watching them ferry equipment in and out of the building. "Look at this Alison. The site of the Imperium's last victory will be the site of the beginning of the Zardexian downfall. I love poetic justice."
"I like poetry as much as the next person, but do you have a plan to fight the Zardexians themselves? The Ear Bleeder can deal with their technology, but what about THEM?" Alison asked curiously.
"There are no beings in existence that don't have a weakness. We just haven't been using the right weapons." Pam told her with a slight smile. "I have an idea or two we can work on, but for now we need a base of operations, and our troops need a rest once that's done." Alison nodded in agreement and they both settled back to watch the troops work.
Progress was swift. They were well rested, charged with energy, and motivated to begin this new offensive instead of sitting around waiting for more bad news to trickle their way. Pam and Alison watched the troops work idly, occasionally making a round to make sure there were no slackers or traitors. The graveyard was growing steadily, but Pam wasn't about to leave all of these people lying about her new base. They deserved at least the honor of a burial.
"Sir." Pam and Alison turned in unison when they heard a soldier walking up behind them. He gave them a sharp salute before speaking again. "We've readied one of the homes in the area for you to use. It's down the street on the left if you're tired."
"I don't remember giving that order." Pam told him.
"No... but we were finished with the burials in our quadrant, and wanted to show our appreciation of your leadership." He told her. Pam walked up to him, looking him up and down.
"That's sweet... but do not disobey my orders again. Next time, come to me for further orders. Is that understood?" Pam told him.
"Yes sir." The soldier looked a bit put off that his gift wasn't being accepted with open arms, but he didn't complain.
"Now go tell Unit 3 to get busy converting the local school into a barracks for the troops. I'm not the only one who needs a roof over my head around here."
"Yes sir!" The officer saluted again before turning to walk away from her, heading back the way he came. Pam turned back to Alison, who'd watched the exchange with a smirk on her face.
"Come on, I want to survey my new quarters." Pam turned to walk down the street, with her second in command following right behind. The sun was fading down behind the horizon, but she wasn't about to go to sleep so early while her men were still busy working. She wouldn't be much of a leader if she did that... that didn't mean it wasn't tempting though.
She walked inside the small hovel. It was literally just another house in a million, but she supposed that was a good thing. In the event of a sneak attack, either human or alien, they wouldn't have an easy time finding her. "Someone had some good sense on this one." She looked back at Alison to find her standing at the door. "Come in already."
Alison nodded and stepped inside, looking around silently. "At ease, soldier. Relax for a few minutes. Our efforts here aren't going to collapse just because you crack a smile."
"I don't have anything to smile about." Alison replied coolly.
"Fair enough I suppose..." Pam sighed and moved to the kitchen, which she found stocked with rotten food and flat soda. There was still some water though, and there were even some bottles of wine underneath the sink. She pulled out the wine and set it on the counter, scouring the kitchen until she found a pair of glasses to pour it in.
She poured the two glasses of wine and turned to walk back into the living room. She found Alison kneeling beside the television on the far side of the room, flipping through channels at random. Most of it was static. There was no point to keeping them running while the Earth was being ransacked by alien tentacle monsters, but she stopped when she found a channel showing old Warner Brothers cartoons.
Alison left the cartoons on and stood up, turning to see Pam standing behind her. "Drink?" Pam asked. Alison nodded and silently took the drink from her. "You know, I used to watch those way back when I was a little girl."
"I never had much use for them. I preferred... smarter shows." Alison replied. They both moved to sit down on the couch, watching the ancient shows and sipping the wine from their glasses absently. The silence was welcome after the events of the last few days. The battle in the Greenland base followed by the almost nonstop flight here. Sleep seemed like a memory.
"General." Pam was startled out of a light doze to find her wine spilled on her lap and Alison standing over her.
"Oh..." Pam yawned. "I really shouldn't have sat down." She shook her head and stood up, trying to wipe the liquid off of her pants.
"Get some rest, you're no good to us like this." Alison told her. "I'll take care of everything until morning."
"What kind of leader would I be if I slept while my troops were still hard at work?" Pam asked.
"A well-rested one." Alison put her hands on her back and pushed her toward the bedroom. Pam struggled lightly, but Alison was surprisingly strong for her fairly small frame. She pushed the general onto the bed and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up to her chin.
"Will you protect me while I sleep...?" Pam yawned again, looking up at Alison. She felt like a little girl... but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. She was far older than Alison, but for some reason she felt like the younger of them. It was a sign of the times she supposed. She didn't even remember most of the war against the Imperium of Christ, being controlled by the collar.
"With my life, general." Alison told her. Pam didn't know why. This woman was as much a stranger to her as any of the troops on the base, but something about those deep violet eyes set her mind at ease. She trusted her, and it was that trust that let her slip off into dreamland. She dreamt of being with Alice and Crimson, their old spy days... only to have them turn into those hideous alien scum. They would pay for what they made her to do her best friends... they would all pay for what they'd done to the world.
TO BE CONTINUED