2170 CE – Mt. Silver, Terra Nova
Miles To Go Before I Sleep
The shuttle shuddered as it slammed against the atmosphere of Terra Nova.
"Let's go through it again."
"Naomi, we've already gone through this twice." Richard said in her earpiece.
He and Emily were to monitor her by satellite and offer support where they could. No non combatant tagalongs allowed on her first actual mission.
"Awesome. Can't wait to hear it a third time." Naomi snapped. She could practically hear Richard roll his eyes.
Before her Louise and Sam sat in full Alliance blues. Unfortunately they wouldn't be joining the fray with her.
Sam met her gaze. He must have seen how terrified she was because he quickly said into his mic "You heard the woman. Emily, from the top."
Naomi heard Emily sigh on the line and it took all over her willpower to not snap at the girl. "Colonists on Terra Nova began a mining operation on Mt. Silver under the funding of the Far Resources Mining Company one month ago. Twenty four hours ago all employees on sight went silent. First responders were dispatched and twelve hours ago we received the following distress signal."
Louise tapped a button on her omni tool and a screen popped up. A bloodied man appeared at the center of the screen frantically trying to say something but the video didn't seem to have any audio. She'd seen it before but still Naomi watched it like it was new; studying the man and the mine shaft he was in. The man seemed to jump and turn behind him as if a sudden noise had scared him. Finding nothing he'd turned back to the camera and frantically started speaking again only to be suddenly and violently dragged off screen by long, grey, clawed arms. At this point Naomi was glad for the lack of the audio as the screen only showed an empty mine shaft. She liked to imagine the miner made it away, but those day dreams were shattered by the beast that lumbered on screen. Tall, thin, grey skin, and sharp teeth. It seemed to roar before it smashed whatever had recorded the video.
As the video ended and Louise's omni tool vanished Emily began to speak again. "Based on several videos and data files of the miners we believe something in the mine changed at least ten of the miners into these beasts. Footage indicates that bullets have limited stopping power on these demons and no ability to kill them. One of the first responders got lucky and managed to kill one of the creatures through decapitation by trapping it and dropping an elevator on it's head. So we know that works at least."
"Yeah but where am I going to find nine more elevators." Naomi said. She forced a laugh.
Emily ignored the joke and continued on. "It's likely that significant trauma to the brain would kill them as well."
"Which is why I've designed a plasma axe for you." Richard said. "Flick the switch when you're off the shuttle and the head will ignite. Between the flames and your strength it'll be perfect for a decapitation spree. We've also given you light armor and shielding; enough to resist an initial attack without slowing you down."
Naomi gripped the long metal rod resting on her knees tighter. Until she turned it on it was a glorified piece of metal and no matter how hard she swung, it wouldn't be enough to stop these monsters from trying to kill her.
Please work when I need you.
"So what's the plan when we land." Naomi said.
As if on queue the jets of the shuttle disengaged and the once airborne body dropped half a meter to land with a crash on the snow topped mountain. Naomi almost jumped out of her skin in response.
I can't do this.
Almost like he could hear her thoughts Sam grabbed her hand, pulled her to her feet and said "Naomi, you were born to do this. Now that we've touched down the plan is simple. Myself and Louise are going to set up a safety zone around the shuttle. Between her biotics and my assault rifle we should be able to keep the demons at bay for any survivors you send our way. The Alliance are worried that whatever created the first of these beasts will produce more and that they'll spill down to the nearby colonies. Your mission is to eliminate all of the hostiles and save any survivors."
She'd dusted a few vampires but this was different. Lives actually depended on her now.
The shuttle door opened and Naomi engaged her shields. Even with no helmet a bubble of warm air wrapped around her to the point that she couldn't even feel the cold of the snow that softly fell on the hillside.
"I wish you guys could come with me."
"We'd only slow you down." Louise said before grabbing both of Naomi's shoulders and looking her dead in the eyes. "You are brilliant, you've come so far in the few weeks of our training together. You can do this."
Naomi broke away from the older woman's arms and nodded. "Call me if you need me." She said before turning and walking towards the treeline. The woods were dark and deep; it reminded Naomi of a poem from her old English classes. She turned to look behind her one last time; her heart as much a flurry as the snow that fell around her. Louise's hands were glowing blue as she erected a biotic barrier around the shuttle, Sam took point with his assault rifle and guarded her as she worked.
In the distance something screeched an awful, high pitched, inhuman wail. Naomi had thought such a noise would make her cower but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The noise awoke something primal within her instead. A ferocious hunter that longed for battle.
Armed with her plasma axe she marched into the woods to face the night.
It wasn't long until she encountered one of the beasts. The hunt caused a chill to run through her but also gave her a strange sort of thrill.
"Naomi, satellite imagery is showing that there's one following you." Emily said through her earpiece.
"I know."
Short and succinct answers were all she could afford at a moment like this. Naomi shuffled onward towards a clearing.
"What the hell are you doing. Turn and face it." Emily said.
Naomi didn't bother to respond. She could hear the beast behind her as it leapt from tree to tree. She wasn't sure if it could understand English but she didn't want to risk ruining her plan.
Naomi continued to march on, breaking into a clearing in the woods. She'd need a clearing if she was going to take on something as tall as it.
The beast followed with a hunters caution right up until Naomi fell to her knees in the deep snow. She must have looked exhausted and weak for the creature gave up on it's caution and shrieked in delight as it leapt for her.
Naomi felt the air rush behind her. She jumped back to her feet and span on her heel flicking the switch on her axe as she turned. The metal of the end collided with demon's head causing the grey skinned beast to be thrown across the clearing and to smash head first into a nearby tree.
"Richard! I flipped the switch but it didn't ignite. You've sent me out here with a glorified baseball bat!"
The beast groaned as it pulled itself to its feet. That disorientation wouldn't last long.
"Shit. I must have left the child-lock on." Came the answer through her earpiece.
The beast jumped to its feet and leapt from tree to tree around her. Naomi turned as quickly as she could to try and always ensure the beast was in front of her.
"Why does an axe have a child-lock?"
"Axes are bad for children?"
Naomi spun as the beast leaped faster, always keeping it in front of her. Her glorified baseball bat raised high.
"How do I take it off?" Naomi said. She did not fancy having to improvise a decapitation.
"Twist the base counter clockwise and then flip the switch."
Snarling the demonic beast leapt from the treeline towards Naomi, she swung hard but missed the snarling demon and was taken off of her feet. She crashed to the ground with the demon on her chest. Her shields flashed yellow and then evaporated out of existence as the force of the assault depleted them. The demon let out a roar of triumph before bending down to try and maul Naomi's face. She raised her baseball bat and caught the end in the beasts mouth. She twisted, flicked the switch and an arc of blue fire in the shape of an axe head tore through the creatures mouth severing the head from the body.
"One down." Naomi said throwing the remains of the demon from her body and pulling herself to her feet.
Howls surrounded her as if they had sensed the death of their brother.
"Three more incoming." Emily said.
Naomi readied her flaming axe and smiled.
I could do this all night.
By the time Naomi made it to the entrance of the mine she had killed seven of the demons. Including the one the first responder had decapitated that left only two more outstanding.
"I've made it to the entrance of the mountain. No signs of activity up here. Any sight on demons wandering the mountains?"
"None that I can see." Emily said. "Your last two must be inside."
"Naomi, you'll likely lose contact with us while you're in the mines." Louise said to her through her earpiece.
"Copy that. See you on the other side." Naomi said as she strolled into the mine using the flames of her plasma axe to light her way.
The mines were dark and narrow, the perfect hunting ground for any predator. At certain points Naomi had to extinguish her axe and hold it at her feet in order to proceed through the smallest of cracks. Even before the demons this mine must have been hell.
The silence was unnerving. With two of the demons left she should have heard their shrieks echoing through the mines. But there was nothing.
Every droplet of water caused her to jump, certain that a fanged clawed beast was lunging towards her. After a time Naomi realised she was holding her breath.
This is ridiculous.
After finding her way into a larger cavern decorated with abandoned machinery that looked identical to every other cavern she'd come across in the mine Naomi ignited her axe once more and roared at the top of the lungs "HEY BEASTIES! I'M RIGHT HERE! COME AND PLAY!"
No response. It was a foolish idea, and then-
"Help..." A whimpering wisp of a voice carried by the echoes of the mines.
A survivor?
After a night of demons Naomi had assumed there to be no survivors. Slowly and cautiously she headed deeper into the belly of the mountain in search of the cry for help. Her journey felt an age in the dark, cramped, silent tunnels but eventually Naomi thought she saw a red glow before her coming from around a corner. She extinguished her axe and the red ominous glow seemed to get brighter as it reached around the corner towards her. She felt at the earth below her and scooped up a rock before hurling it around the corner. It clacked across the ground causing loud screeches and scuttling as something leapt upon it.
Moving quietly Naomi crept around the corner. In the red gloom she could see human faces pressed against the wooden bars of a makeshift prison. She couldn't be certain but she thought they were alive. Before them two of the demons loomed in their tall unnatural forms. One clawed at the rock she had thrown and the other dragged a body towards the source of the glowing.
The red glow seemed to emanate from a strange glyph carved into a stone tablet. If Naomi didn't know better she'd have thought it alien as opposed to demon.
The body in the beasts hands squirmed. "No, no, no. You won't make me one."
She had no time for smart plans and so she charged ahead igniting the axe as she ran. The first beast was too slow to recognise the threat and she took off its head in her stride.
The second beast saw her coming. It dropped its captive and snarled.
Come on beastie.
The beast charged and she swung. It caught her arms holding the axe away from its head.
These demons are so strong.
The beast twisted hard and Naomi cried out as she dropped her axe.
Disarmed it would have been Naomi's end but she was determined not to go down this close to the finish line. She stomped on the demon's foot and twisted free as the demon howled. She turned and delivered two punches of her own to the demon's twisted maw. She was going for a third when the beast clawed across her chest. Her recovered shields took the brunt of the hit again and snapped out of existence but the force of the blow threw her from her feet across the cavern.
Naomi scrambled back to her feet and the beast shrieked as it readied for the next round, the glowing red of the glyph causing it to take on a blood red silhouette.
Her axe was the other side of the room and she couldn't keep going toe to toe with this monster. Eventually it would overwhelm her.
I need to figure out some other way of killing it.
"Destroy the glyph. It makes them." One of the captives called to her.
Worth a try.
The demon howled in defiance as it stood between her and the glowing glyph in the center of the room.
She launched herself at the beast and the beast charged towards her. It stretched out its arms to attack. The beast slashed outwards and found nothing but air as Naomi jumped across it's arms. She tumbled behind it and was back on her feet in an instance without losing momentum. She reached the glyph before the beast had even turned.
The glyph was etched right into the ground, no bigger than a dinner plate.
Without turning back to the demon she punched downwards and felt the earth crack beneath her fist.
There was a horrific shriek, then darkness and silence.
"You saved us? How?" A voice called from the darkness.
Oh this is going to be fun.
"I'm the Slayer. It's what I do." Naomi said as she reached in the darkness for her axe.
There it is.
Twist, flick, blue flames, and enough light to see by. Twelve faces looked at her, she had saved twelve of them!
Her heart swelled with pride. She couldn't wait for shore leave to tell her family.
"Now, does anyone know the way out of here because I was not paying attention as I wandered in." Naomi said.
Sam's heart had swelled when Naomi had returned with survivors. Her beaming face made talking to her harder than it should have been. But he knew his duty and he knew what he would have wanted had the roles been reversed.
"Naomi, do mind if I take you aside to examine you for wounds. Louise can load up the survivors."
"Oh I'm fine. Barely a scratch on me. You can do a full check back at The Hub."
"It's protocol after contact with an unknown hostile." Sam lied as he led his young Slayer through the snow and away from the survivors.
"I wish you were there. The beasts were all claws and roaring and I was all 'feel the wrath of my child locked axe' and they were all 'oh no we're dying' except they couldn't talk but they like said it with their eyes."
"Naomi."
"You're making a serious face. Why aren't you smiling. Did I do something wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong you magnificent girl. It's just..."
"Sam, you're freaking me out. What's wrong?"
"We've received some bad news about your family."
He told her all that they had learned while she had been in the mines and watched as she howled at the moon in anguish while her heart fell apart.