CHAPTER III: NEXT ASSIGNMENT: IO BASE ALPHA

Poor humans – they immediately believed me when they saw someone who introduced himself as "Major Boyd."

The pit was filled with human bones. He tried to crawl out of it, desperate to reach his shotgun. The rhythmic footsteps told him that the Hell Knight was very close. Just a few more seconds and the demon would get him. He jumped out of the pit, scraping his knee on one of its edges. He grabbed the gun and turned around quickly... only to find out that the Hell Knight was no longer there. Before he could react, a dark shadow fell on him, and he heard the creature's heavy breathing right behind his back! He jumped up and...

...fell out of his bed. Kyle sat on the floor and stared into the darkness. Another nightmare, just as the other three that he had during the night. Just a few weeks before the Gatekeeper invaded, he thought he had been able to overcome these gruesome dreams. The dying demon's vivid tale had brought his terrible memories back to life, as if the demons he had killed wished to torment him in his dreams. He knew only one way of stopping them: forgetting what happened and getting back to his usual work. These haunting nightmares were another reason for his wish to move on and carry out his duties like before. He stood up and went to the other side of the tent. There, he took the half-empty bottle of water and sat down at the table, which was covered with reports, photographs, and various recordings – sources of information about the demonic invasion and its sudden end. He studied the materials as it was apparent that sleep was not an option for the moment. The camp was absolutely quiet – the feeling that he was alone helped Kyle concentrate better on his current contemplations. He was thinking about Io and the evil that awaited there. As far as he remembered, there was one very powerful creature that he had to be afraid of – the Ice Revenant. A former Disciple... the marine was not even sure he believed in all this. He also knew that he had to look for crypts of some kind that could most probably be discovered, if he could scan the moon for energy sources under the surface. And then? He had not decided whether he would go there alone, or together with a solid escort of space marines. It was also questionable whether the UAC colonists had not discovered that site already.

Kyle's wandering look fell on his old trusty helmet that rested in one corner. He liked that piece of plastic and metal – he received it personally from his best friend – the one who supported him after the incident with the commanding officer.

"The bastard wanted me to shoot at civilians! He had it coming!"

The helmet reminded him that his best friend was killed during the demonic invasion – he defended a marine encampment, exactly like the one he was currently in. There was a long scratch on the helmet – it was left by the sharp claws of one of the Barons of Hell that ambushed him in the Phobos Anomaly. It was also stained by the blood of the Cyberdemon that he fought with in the Tower of Babel. He did not intend to wash it – he liked to retain it as a kind of trophy. Then he saw the small pouch that used to be attached to his belt. The small piece of leather had accompanied him through Hell itself. He opened it – inside it was the small badge that he had grown to hate during his months of exile – a small metal thing that had the UAC logo and the words "Mars City 1 – Security Office" inscribed on it. These were, undoubtedly, the worst months of his life. Kyle did not want to forget them – he wanted to remember and always know how he was treated for disobeying that monster's sadistic orders... Immersed in his memories, the marine did not notice that the dawn had come and there was movement in several other tents. He stood up and looked at his PDA's calendar – that was the twenty-fifth night during which he could not sleep. He did not count the time he had spent fighting evil.

A cup of coffee and a cold shower was all a marine needed to start the day. Kyle planned to help the marines that worked to rebuild a medical center near the camp, but there was an unexpected interruption that appeared in the form of a message from Colonel Simmons. The officer wanted Corporal Harlan to report to his office as soon as possible. It was apparent that something important had happened – the marine had the bad feeling that his fate would be decided within minutes.

"This man works really fast. It is a wonder that he has not been promoted to the rank of General by now – he is much more decent than the ones I have dealt with."

The previous day Kyle was too distracted to notice any details of the office he was in. Now he stepped inside confidently and examined the room more carefully. Portraits of different people, special achievement plaques, trophy guns and a weird painting that, supposedly, depicted a sunset over a forest. It looked more like the junk that was called "food" on Mars. He noticed a few awards for sharp shooting – that explained the numerous weapons that the Colonel had collected. The desk had nothing on it, except for a small laptop and a few folders. He wanted to take a closer look at them, but the Colonel came in at that moment. Kyle saluted, yet the officer did not notice – he was excited about something. Perhaps finally there was good news?

"Corporal Harlan, good morning. Did you sleep well during the night?"

"I did not sleep at all, sir."

"I see, after everything you went through... You should get some sleep; take it as a friend's advice. I see that you are anxious, so I will delay it no more – I have good news for you."

"I appreciate that, sir." Harlan sighed.

"You wanted an assignment – somewhere far away, right. I think I just found something easy and somewhat routinely, your transport is already arranged for. Striving to send you to the "far away" that you crave so much, I have reassigned you to UAC Base Alpha. That is on one of the moons of Jupiter – Io."

For a second Kyle thought that he would jump up and shout in triumph. He did not do it – he managed to restrain himself. He could not believe how easily he had just achieved his goal. Destiny? He could not know...

"The order for your mission is already approved; the secret code name for the assignment is H4LF-DUD-3-14-2465. Memorize it. You will depart four days from now. In this folder (he handed one to Kyle) are all the orders and authorizations that you will need."

"Sir, how did you manage to convince the High Command to send me there so quickly?"

"Simplе – I gave them a false name for the marine that was to be transferred. I have also sent a report that Corporal Kyle L. Harlan has been sent to Europe, to help in the restoration of cities and infrastructure throughout the continent."

"Colonel, have you ever been told that you are brilliant?"

"Nice joke, Harlan. I did that only because you happened to save the planet. Twice. Otherwise, I would, normally, not even consider breaking the rules like this. I have faith in you, and I believe that you will not fail me. In such a case, we would both be in trouble."

"I understand, Colonel. I will be careful."

"Good. Now, I will give you some information about that base. Unlike other UAC facilities that are used for production and colonization, Io Base Alpha is strictly a scientific research installation. As you probably guess, originally, the UAC intended to perform their research on dimensional Gates there, safely far from the Earth. Prior to the Plutonia Project accident there was a decision that such research be forbidden for an indefinite period of time or at least until the quantum accelerators are set up on the Earth and all colonies – prepared to prevent any invasions that the alien forces might attempt. The facility was then repurposed to house UAC's research into chemistry, biology, and genetics. With that change, the scientific staff was changed too – and that is what your mission is all about..."

The Colonel made a short pause and looked through one of the folders in front of him.

"There is one specific scientist in that base that has been worrying high command and UAC management for quite some time (he showed Kyle some man's personnel file). Doctor Simon Stalker... indeed, what a name! This Stalker guy has always been known for his strange habits and ideas. He has also been known for his disregard of professional ethics and the scientific concepts of what is morally acceptable in genetic research. He almost lost his academic credentials several times because of severe rule violations."

"In other words, an arrogant geek. And I guess I will have to watch him."

"A little more than that. You will watch him with exceptional caution. There has been much suspicious activity about him during the last two months. First of all, he has been performing major research and experiments in his laboratories, yet he has not sent a single report to UAC headquarters. Naturally, the UAC are very worried about whatever he does that is kept secret for undisclosed reasons. Even though he does not send any reports or information in any form, they have continued to supply him with whatever he wants. There comes the second reason for suspicion – for these two months he has requested supplies that have puzzled even the best of our analysts – they cannot make any sense of the stuff that he wants. I do not know exactly what he demanded, but I know that it somehow does not fit in with the UAC research program that Dr. Stalker apparently neglects. Third, there have been numerous dark rumors that something highly irregular is going on up there. The people on Io are afraid, and that is why we did not ask them to watch him. We ask you – you must go there, make sure the professor does not learn that you are new there (it will be easy – he does not know any of the marines) and find out what it is that he is working on. When you find out, report immediately, and await further instructions."

"I see. It's a mission I gladly accept, Colonel. Thank you for the understanding and the efforts you put into getting me there. I will not forget it."

"I know you won't, Harlan. One last thing before you leave – I just remembered one other suspicious thing about Dr. Stalker that I learned recently. I was informed that he specifically requested that he be sent to Io – he almost created a grand scandal, quarreling with his colleagues and superiors about it. Eventually, the UAC decided to send him to Io just to shut him up. I can only speculate that he wanted to be as far away as possible from the Earth – one more bit of information in support of the theory that he is involved in something illegal."

"Indeed – it sounds like that. I am curious to meet the man and check him personally. Are the other inhabitants of Io Base Alpha aware of my mission?"

"No. The only person on Io that knows who you actually are, and what your goals there are, is the marine commander of the colony – Major Nicholas Boyd..."

"Major Boyd! He actually exists?"

"What do you mean, Harlan? What is wrong? You look pale..."

"No, it's nothing, Colonel. For a second I thought that was the name of someone I knew. I have been mistaken. Please excuse me," the marine mumbled.

"Fine. Anyway, I do not have more time now. You must now move to the marine encampment at your home city, where the demonic portal was. In four days, you will depart from the star port. Once on Io, Major Boyd will give you any additional information you need."

"I see. Once again thank you, Colonel. It is time for me to leave."

"Farewell, Corporal Harlan. And good luck..."

Once back in his tent, Kyle could contemplate what he just heard. Major Boyd – there was a real person with that name. That was exactly the same name that the Gatekeeper used in one of his illusions, in order to lure a group of marines into a trap. A strange coincidence? Or perhaps the demon used another name, but specifically used "Major Boyd" in his tale so that he could draw Kyle's attention to Io. If that was true, the question remained why the Gatekeeper would want to direct the marine to that particular moon. Because of the hidden demonic outpost? Or probably it had something to do with Simon Stalker and his covert activities?

"The Gatekeeper's invisible hand guides me. He tries to tell me something... but what?"