Dead Space 2

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Sprawl

Major Helen Bryant

The moment I stepped onto the Sprawl, I was bombarded. After three years on that mouse of a ship, the sheer size of the city was a sight to behold. Brilliant towers glowed in the distant, with Saturn and her rings as the backdrop.

Through the eight inches of glass that made up of the glass of the docking station, I could see a massive dome- an entire fucking planet cracker could fit inside it with room to spare- cradled in arms of glass and metal. Spider-web-like tunnels branched off from every level of the dome; four tram railways extended from each point of the compass. Even now, I could see a least a dozen tram lights zipping along each railway.

"What's that?" I asked. My 'escort' (I didn't know my way around yet) glanced over and replied, "That's the Great Hall. You'll see it shortly, after the supplies are unloaded."

I turned around as the loading ramp descended from the belly of my ship. I strode towards it, with every intention of helping out my crew.

"Major, what are you doing?" Asked the escort.

"Helping my crew." I snapped, slipping into the dim light of the storage bay. On the three-year trip here, I'd done my fair share of work along side the other nineteen members of the crew. I wouldn't stop pulling my weight now.

"But you are a major," the man continued, "you shouldn't and will not be doing the hard labor. It is degrading for someone of your stature. Your crew will handle it." Now I was pissed, but I kept my mouth shut. For now.

He followed me into the ship, continuing to run his mouth, but I stubbornly ignored him.

The sound of his voice carried back into in the ship and several heads popped up. In their eyes was amusement and pity. The knew that when she stopped talking she was thoroughly pissed.

And they were right.

The first box I came upon was an armory bin. The escort (I never learned his name) never saw the armory symbol on the side of the bin and so continued to run his damn mouth. If he had, things might have turned out differently.

I disengaged the lock and slid open the lid. I reached in and grabbed the tool which laid there. It was far to big for a pistol.

The man grabbed my arm and that was the last straw. I could deal with people running their mouths. But touching me? Oh, fuck no.

In a second flat, I removed the tool from the bin, clicked off the safety and leveled it was his face. Panic flashed across his face as three blue targeting beams ran vertical down his face.

"Do you know what a plasma cutter does to human flesh? I assure you, it isn't pretty." I growled. Sweat broke out on his face and beady eyes darted around, searching for a way out in the maze of bins.

"Plas…Plasma…cutters…are restricted on the Sprawl…" He stuttered. "You're smuggling weapons?"

The ship we'd commissioned had once been a small mining vessel and the cutters were a relics of its old life. But I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of explaining myself.

All I said was, "Get the fuck off my ship." Like a rabbit released from a snare, he bolted.

A few snorts of laughter broke out among the crew and I laughed with them.

I turned my attention back to the cutter; the blue lights indicated that it was loaded. For shits and giggles, I pointed at the floor and pulled the trigger. There was a dull click.

The ammo was bad, which wasn't surprising considering it was over 45 years old.

The cutter itself was in fine shape- a little bit of dust and rust was an easy cleanup. The metal of heavy and sure in my hands- it was a hundred times better than the plastic pieces of shit that they issued these days.

I would have to remember to get some ammo for it- might come in handy.

08:00am

"Ah, good morning, Major Bryant!" Brigadier General Carter laughed I as walked into his office. "Come, sit down. We have much to discuss." The General was a small man, mousy almost. He had a baby-face with darting eyes and a goofy blonde moustache. He was a smart and practical man.

I took my place in a massive leather chair and made myself comfortable. "I don't mean to rush, but why did you bring me all the way out here?" I still hadn't gotten a solid answer from anyone.

"That's what I like about you, Major! Straight to the point!" Carter chuckled. "If you would like a drink, I will be more than happy to begin."

"No thank, you, General."

He looked shaken for a second. Then he continued, "Well, Helen, you're going to be promoted a few pay grades. You're going to take my place here on the Sprawl."

I was taken aback and blurted out, "What?"

"Indeed, my friend. You are hereby promoted to Brigadier General and will run all further operations on the Sprawl."

Me? Brigadier General? When I asked why, he replied, "I can think of no better person who can take my position when I retire, than a practical, level-headed and street-smart Major! You've earned your position!"

He extended his hand and still in a daze, I took it. "Welcome, Brigadier General." When I heard him say, that I felt better. It made it less of a dream.

Brigadier General Carter

How could I give the bitch-demon all the power? How? I wanted to keep my city safe and I just gave everything to that power-hungry bitch?

Oh, I could see the evil in her eyes and the deception. She wanted to turn everyone into one of them. The evil ones.

….But everything was gone now. I couldn't take it back.

I thumbed back the hammer of the pistol and put it to my temple. Everything would be better now. And pulled the trigger.

Brigadier General Helen Bryant

01:56pm

I hadn't been in my new office for a full day yet before the first shit-load hit the fan. I dropped a massive packet of papers onto the desk as an orderly burst in. They'd done that for the first two hours, before I'd finally cut them off. Damn it, I wasn't even in the office yet!

"Why are you in here?" I snarled, "I said no visitors until three!"

"Brigadier General Carter is dead!" He shouted, ignored my question altogether.

"What? He's dead?"

"Yes ma'am."

"How'd he die?"

"It was a…suicide…" Shit. "What should we do?" I absentmindly rubbed the bridge of my nose.

At the moment, a second man burst in. This one was different from the business-suit orderly. This one was dressed in a RIG.

I turned my attention to him. An engineering failure on the Sprawl far outweighed one dead man.

"What is it?" I asked.

"General, we detected an incoming, unidentified vessel. All attempts at contact have failed. Requesting possible action." A rogue ship could fuck up the entire city.

One dead man could wait.