A/N Sorry for short chapter. I wasn't going to submit one at all. (I had too much fun on Capture the Flag) Shame on me. Remember to review on your way out!
Dead Men
As soon as the voice began, it shut off after Esq heard two shots; Battle Rifle shots. Scuttling around the floor like some kind of crab, Esq groped for the backup generator and nearly laughed with hysterical laughter as she found it. However, as soon as the lights had turned on, Esq wished she never turned them on in the first place. Private Dunbar stared back at her. He was hanging upside down from the ceiling as his face was inches away from hers. She breathed in the sickly smell of blood and threw up. Dunbar did not look good. The dead generally didn't. Some kind of electric shock had coursed through his body blackening his skin. He did not have any eyes and his tongue lay down on the floor.
Esq heard somebody curse and fire more shots. She looked up and saw Will firing at an odd contraption with a swinging electrical wire. The electricity was long gone. Esq rolled aside as the wire lunged for her and brought her hoof down on it and that was the end of it. "Esq!" Will said. Urgency in his tone made his voice slur. She could barely tell what he was saying even without the translator… "Somme has transported herself to another source!"
And then, it hit her. Of course Somme had. The translation software the Sergeant had ordered her to run was still running. It was so obvious now that Esq realized she did not have to destroy Somme's memory crystal. Her efforts were all for naught. "Where else could she project herself?"
Will frowned. "Her actual crystal is destroyed. There must be another one nearby enough for radio transmission."
"Perhaps she could be outside the base… The crystal could be anywhere and outside seems safest. All doors are locked and we cannot escape."
"Pelican… We were fixing one… Perhaps it was fixed enough for her to get in? Esq, you have to get outside now. Just go on without me. I'm in no condition to go along."
"I cannot. All exits are sealed. It is beyond my capabilities to outwit your Associated Intelligence. Besides, we are getting out together. I am not going to leave you behind."
"Good luck with that," Will grunted. "Yea, I see there is no way for you to get out… But good luck with any of us surviving then."
"Beyond my capabilities…" Esq's tone was thoughtful. "Yes… It is beyond my capabilities to get us out alive. Your Associated Intelligence's software for translation is still running. I can override that since she is no longer controlling it and send a distress signal."
"Who the Hell is going to answer a distress signal in the middle of nowhere?"
Esq looked quizzically, clicking all three of her mandibles in slight irritation. "I do not understand."
"We're stranded far far away from any marine force. Who is going to answer our distress signal?"
"My Father. Field Master of the Great Covenant Army currently situated on this planet."
A/N Remember to Review!