Private John Grimm stared at the glass in front of him. It contained two fingers of real whiskey. A rare commodity on Mars. Though not as rare as management liked to believe. Anything was available for the right price. In this case it was in exchange for logging Senior Tech Larkin in before he actually arrived for his shift. It would have been his third tardy that month, costing him a day's pay. Life on Mars sucked enough without having to work a full day for free. UAC was good like that. Always looking to minimize expenses any way they could. Erik Larkin was a good man; he was also a very lucky man. His girlfriend was Laurel Willows, on of the hottest women at the base. Hence why Eric routinely found himself running to get to work on time. It seemed unfair to Grimm to penalize a man for that.
Grimm looked around as he brought the drink to his lips. Wolf's Den was what passed for a bar on the base. A few video games along the wall, a pool table (that he had never gotten a straight answer about how it got there) and an odd assortment of chairs and tables that had outlived their usefulness elsewhere. The dim lighting ensured that no-one ever got a good look at the food that was served.
He closed his eyes as he felt the whiskey burn its way down his throat. For a moment he could almost imagine he was back on Earth, just out for the night screwing around. He wished he could afford another drink like that, today was an anniversary he would prefer to forget.
"Don't look so damn cheerful Grimm." A familiar voice teased.
John opened his eyes to watch fellow private Alexander Greyson drop down into the seat across from him. Greyson was the most stubbornly cheerful person Grimm had ever met. If he hadn't liked him so much he would have given some serious thought to smashing his face in. Greyson was rarely without a big, slightly mocking grin on his face. Like right now.
"Somebody might get the idea you actually liked it here." Alex continued his teasing as he opened his beer, or the nearest thing they had available without having to spend a whole week's salary on it.
"Relax Greyson," Grimm drawled, "Nobody will ever believe I love being here as much as you do."
Alex laughed loudly. Despite having spent over four years stranded at the base he had never succumbed to the darkness and shadows that slowly seemed to seep into everyone. His green eyes were still bright with life and he walked as if everything he did had a real purpose. His uniform was always neat and ready for inspection – which they rarely had – and he filled out his paperwork like someone was actually going to read it. Grimm often wondered how he was able to do it. Almost every Marine there was there because they either couldn't (or wouldn't) fit in anywhere else or they had been labeled a "troublemaker" and the Corps had little use for them. Either way this was the end of the road for most of them. There would be no posting out.
"Damn Greyson, do you ever stop laughing?" a dark haired man sat down to the left of Grimm.
"Adam!" Alex greeted the newcomer with a slap on the shoulder. "What brings you to the Wolf's Den? Slumming for the evening?"
Adam shrugged, "I just thought I ought to check up on you boys. Make sure you weren't getting into trouble."
"In other words your wife is out for the evening?" Grimm translated.
Adam and Alex both laughed.
Adam slumped back in his chair crossing his arms over his chest, "She's out with the girls. They are celebrating Serina's engagement."
Grimm frowned slightly, "I thought Denice didn't like Serina."
"She doesn't." Adam grinned widely, "They're celebrating the fact that she will be leaving at the end of the month."
This time Grimm laughed too. As much as he might envy anyone who was getting out of there, he understood why the women were celebrating the departure. In such close quarters there was no escaping from people who got on your nerves. So when they left there was always a feeling of great relief and a good excuse to put a few drinks down with friends.
"Well what's put all of you in such a great mood?" A tall red-haired man sauntered up to the table.
"Oh no," Adam groaned, "It's the good news fairy."
"Hey Ryan," Alex greeted the newcomer as he sat down. "What have you got for us this time?"
Ryan was the youngest Marine at the base. He was good natured, very intelligent and quick to follow orders. The last kind of guy Grimm expected to find there. Unfortunately for Ryan he couldn't resist a challenge. Particularly involving computer systems. The more someone touted a system as being "un-hackable" the quicker Ryan would set to work proving them wrong. It was a talent that the Marines (and UAC) found useful when spying on enemies and even allies alike. However, they were not amused when he managed to get into the National Repository of Security Management and accessed files regarding members of Congress. Still, he was one of the very few who had a realistic chance of getting posted out of Enyo. His was just a temporary punishment. A reminder about who was really in charge.
Ryan sat down and leaned forward, eager to impart his new information. Ryan prided himself on being among the first to know about anything new or confidential. "Have any of you heard that Counselor Swann is on his way here?"
That immediately got everyone's attention.
After a moment's pause Grimm shook his head slightly and smiled cynically, "You are such a bull-shitter Walshy."
"No," Ryan immediately responded, his face earnest. "Really. Rumor has it that UAC is fed up with Dr. Betruger. He hasn't been filing updates regarding his research and word finally got back to HQ about all of the 'accidents' they've been having in the labs. Did you guys know that they've had over a dozen fatalities in Alpha Lab over the past three months?"
"Over a dozen?" Alex leaned forward too. "That's more than three times the number I heard. What is going on over there and how are they keeping it so quiet?"
Ryan glanced around briefly before continuing in a lower voice, "I don't know all the pieces yet, but apparently there was more to last month's find at the dig site than was officially recorded. I've heard from a couple of different sources that not only did the archeologists find a new alien facility, but that there was even more technology in it than ever seen before. Dr. Betruger had the place sealed off to all but his top people and the archeologists are now confined to the dig with all of their communications being closely monitored."
"So who the hell is dying?" Alex asked impatiently.
Ryan held up his hand to Alex, "Don't worry, I'm just getting to that. Anyway, this new technology may be something similar to the Ark. It may be another form of inter-dimensional travel. Only Dr. Betruger, for some reason, doesn't want anyone else to know about it yet."
"He's a control freak." Grimm stated, as he gestured at the bartender, Vox, to bring a round of beer.
Ryan shot Grimm a quick grin, "He's also insane."
"You'll get no argument from me." Grimm agreed.
"So, Dr. Betruger has complete control over the new technology, only he's not happy just figuring it out. He's trying to make it work." Ryan glanced around the table, "That's part of the reason we keep having those power shortages. Whenever they turn on whatever it is, they are draining massive amounts of power."
"Are you trying to tell us that Dr. Betruger is killing people by using them as guinea pigs to test this transportation thing?" Adam frowned deeply, clearly appalled.
Ryan shifted in his seat and seemed to be searching for the answer. "That's the really weird thing. I can't get a straight answer from anyone about that. I get all these weird, frightened looks when I ask how these people are dying. All I've gotten so far is that in some cases there was barely anything left to send home to the families and, in a couple of cases, the guys I know who caught glimpses of the bodies before they were shipped out, told me these bodies looked like a wild animal had torn into them. They were mangled."
"It's not unusual for there to be bad accidents on these dig sites. Sometimes people get crushed in cave-ins." Adam quickly glancing at Grimm, hoping he had not hit a raw nerve. Although it had been years since his parent's death, Adam knew it still haunted him. Grimm's only reaction was to stare intently at the table. His lips tightly sealed.
"No, this is different." Ryan insisted, shaking his head, "Anyway, if it were just accidents then why are they keeping bodies in the storage freezers with no official report of their death? Heck, a couple of guys are still on the payroll."
Grimm shot Ryan a sharp look just as Vox delivered the drinks. He mumbled a thanks, waiting for Vox to depart before speaking up. "They are keeping men on the payroll even though they are dead? Bullshit. The UAC would never do that. You know how cheap they are."
Ryan nodded in agreement, "Yea, that's why Counselor Swann is on his way here. Something really weird is going on over there."
Grimm relaxed and shook his head, "No, nothing weird is going on. Just a mad scientist playing with technology he doesn't understand. The UAC doesn't mind losing people so long as they are making money. No, if Counselor Swann is coming here it is because the good doctor is over budget and not coughing up the goods to justify it."
Again Ryan shook his head, "It's more than that. The people I've talked to are downright scared. And there are some guys who won't even talk to me anymore. It's bigger than just testing a new technology or cost overruns. Something big is going on over there."
Grimm disagreed, but didn't argue. He had worked on too many UAC assignments not to have a good feel for what the company was all about. And it was all about money. Nothing else mattered.
"Well, I'm sure we will find out soon enough." Alex leaned back in his chair, his smirk firmly back in place. "It's not like anybody can keep secrets from you long."
Ryan broke into a big grin. "Absolutely not. I love a good challenge."
"So what brings you here tonight?" Adam looked over at Grimm.
"What?" He shifted in his seat, reaching for his beer, "A man needs a reason to drink?"
They were all quiet for a moment. Grimm's defensive tone made it clear something was wrong.
"Is it two years today?" Adam finally guessed.
He nodded once. His lips tightly sealed. Two years since he had found out how little all the other years of service and devotion had meant to the Marine Corps.
"Sorry man," Ryan mumbled.
Grimm finally glanced at Adam. He said nothing, but there was sympathy in his eyes.
"You got any leave time coming up?" Adam picked up his beer.
"Two weeks next month." Grimm answered.
"You gonna go home and visit Sam?"
"I don't know." Grimm shrugged, "She just started a new job and she barely has time for Kevin right now."
Alex shook his head, "Man, don't let another ten years slip by. She'll have plenty of time for her fiancée after you are gone."
Grimm was silent. There had been so little time for them after the "incident". What healing of the rift between them that had begun at the Olduvia base was given little chance to flourish. Still, it had felt good to have a family once again. Maybe he would visit.
"So, any of you hear about the new batch HQ sent over?" Ryan changed the subject. "I hear one of them was up on charges of manslaughter, but got off cause his daddy's a senator."
The other men followed his lead and conversation turned back to safer topics for the rest of the night.
