CHAPTER VI: THE SKY OF IO
The first colony on the Moon was an impressive achievement for a species that could hardly stop fighting amongst each other.
The space station was cramped and dirty, yet Kyle preferred it to the alternative – UAC Mars City 1. The memories from that place were strong, and there were quite a few people there that he did not want to see again. His previous transport had not stopped there, and Kyle could only see the huge metal structure floating through the emptiness of space. "A piece of metal" – that is how the Gatekeeper had described it. The description was completely accurate.
Space station "Apollo" was the first to be built far away from Earth orbit – between the moon and Mars. Named after an ancient spacecraft that was the first to land humans on Earth's natural satellite, it was always considered to be the last stop before the conquering of the red planet. Possessing the largest share of it, the UAC did not waste time improving safety systems that could save the lives of astronauts, instead hastily designing and assembling landing craft, praying that there would not be fatal accident in space. It did land on Mars and return successfully, after a few attempts.
The station consisted of sixteen modules, assembled in four levels – each module able to be sealed off from the others in case of incidents. Each of these compartments had a specific purpose: hangar, crew quarters, storage cells, laboratories, workshop, and others. The crew was kept at the constant (and optimal) number of twenty. The training for a position there was hard and demanding, payment was low. Still, working on "Apollo" had several long-term benefits that everyone knew about, though they were supposed to be secret. Fortunately, there had not been any accidents within the station, and the UAC, having become the sole owner of the place, thought of expanding it, as the traffic to Mars and Io was ever increasing.
Kyle spent his time looking through the files he was given. He noticed that the Io base had implemented PDAs, which were obligatory for each colonist. These little devices supported communications, personal data collection and storage, as well as uploading of access authentications. Kyle already had one such device – an older model but perfectly usable. Another thing he read was that Io Base Alpha had requested additional marine and science personnel, yet the UAC had replied that the restoration of Earth engaged all of what was left of their resources. Harlan considered this for a moment – the personnel request could only mean that the situation at the base had changed significantly due to something unexpected. Perhaps they had discovered something – ancient crypts that contained a demonic outpost, or something even worse... He then looked at the info about Dr. Stalker's equipment requests. There were many things that made no sense. He asked for a lot of clothes – simple maintenance worker suits without anything special on them. He also asked for reagent tanks – special devices used for long and slow chemical reactions, as well as fermentation and fungi cultivation. What else – Stalker had also requested a number of chemicals that were used to exterminate bacteria... or induce mutations in them. The final thing was a weird request for steroids and synthetic adrenaline. Kyle sighed – that scientist was doing something fishy, though no one had any idea what it was.
The doctor had not sent any reports of what he had done, yet that was a minor problem compared to some recent events. Five marines had disappeared in the last few months. This confirmed Kyle's suspicions that something extraordinary could have been discovered. If they had stumbled upon that demonic outpost... The reports mentioned tension among the colonists, as well as cases of missing supplies, though it was noted that the reason for this may be wrong records on initial delivery. Harlan could only assume that Dr. Stalker could potentially be involved in all the things that happened there. And if he really was, the marine would take care of him.
"No one threatens the lives of marines and goes away unpunished!"
The shuttle departed after half an hour of maneuvering, in order to avoid damaging the station's crude structure. Through the reinforced windows, Kyle could see Mars and Phobos in the distance. He glanced at the emptiness where Deimos used to be and the memories returned again, together with the nightmares of what he had encountered within the corrupted Deimos base. The marine preferred to stay awake, after yet another vision of the Tower of Babel and the horror that dwelled there. The cool steel walls calmed him, even though he knew that they were the only thing to separate him from the infinite void behind them. That thought reminded him of the Void Sphere that still rested quietly in his backpack. Whatever he tried, it remained dark and inert. He wanted to keep it as a reminder of the threats that still hung over humanity. He had to do everything possible to neutralize those threats.
Mars was far behind, and the colossal shape of Jupiter was ahead. Because of the planet's powerful gravity, spaceships had to perform complex maneuvers and fly along specially calculated trajectories in order to land safely and not be sucked by the planet itself. Io was already visible, together with several of the other moons – Ganymede, Calisto, and Adrastea. The pilot's voice informed the passengers that the ship would land within one hour. Everyone looked at the giant planet and the furious storm that raged within its atmosphere ever since it was observed by humanity. The view from Io was going to be glorious as the sky was filled with the monstrous planet.
The landing was successful. When the obligatory procedures were over, the new marines and Kyle were greeted by a man whose eyes had the color of arctic ice, though his hair was completely black. His face bore the scar of a blade, as well as strong determination and worries. His assistants went to the other marines, while he approached Kyle without hesitation.
"Corporal Kyle Harlan, I am Major Nicholas Boyd, commander of the space marines stationed at Io Base Alpha. I am pleased to meet you, as I was told that you had played a big role in defeating the demons at the Earth star port. You are sent here with special recommendations, and statements of your great experience and knowledge of the invaders that we recently defeated. I have also been requested to provide you with access to classified information and brief you on the recent events here. All this will happen tomorrow. My assistants will show you your room."
Kyle wanted to ask a question, yet the Major was quicker:
"All will be made clear to you tomorrow, Corporal. I am very busy at the moment because of the new marines who need to be prepared and briefed for their duties. Please be patient. You will receive a message on your PDA with the details on the strategic briefing tomorrow. You will also receive a file that you will upload on your device, in order to update your access credentials. Oh... one last thing, when I say tomorrow, you should have in mind that there are no days and nights on Io; not in the traditional sense. Our time measurement is Earth-like 24 hours for convenience, based on the local time at the star port you came from. Right now, the time is 18:24. Your PDA will adjust its clock automatically from the main server. Dismissed!"
The Major saluted and went away together with two Lieutenants. The assistants came and showed Kyle his room – a bit better than his tent, providing everything necessary for a soldier. There was even a laptop on the table – a bit outdated, but useful. Above the table was a small and very thick window... through it the raging atmosphere of Jupiter could be seen, filling Io's sky, looking as if it would fall down, and crush the tiny human colony beneath its monstrous mass.
"The sky of Io. I have heard so much about its beauty... and also about people who went insane just by watching it. What a beast! And some day, perhaps, there would be a colony where Saturn will be seen in the sky. For now, the restoration of Earth is the main priority."
After everything was arranged, and the PDA was updated with all necessary data, he decided to take a look around. He examined the map of the base. The colony was divided into four main sectors – a scientific compound, a military base and storage, main colony (the place where he currently was), and an abandoned high security experimental facility where the UAC intended to perform dimensional Gateway research. Fortunately, it was decommissioned... Io had no breathable atmosphere, as well as no dangerous radiation emissions or any natural phenomena that could threaten a human in an appropriate protective suit.
Kyle was thirsty and decided to look for the canteen and see what it offered. As he approached the large hall, he heard a quarrel somewhere ahead. As he entered, he saw the small colonial cafeteria and a man, a scientist as the clothes suggested, who yelled viciously at the scared young woman who tended the place.
"You pitiful, mindless excuse for a human! What is this? WHAT IS THIS?! I specifically asked for strong dark tea without any sugar – as bitter as possible! And what is this slime you give me? Are you so stupid or just extraordinarily lazy?"
The girl was too shocked to move or speak as the man kept shouting.
"Worthless wretch! I will recommend that you be replaced with someone who is not so useless!"
He threw the cup of tea on the floor and turned around. It was then that Kyle recognized him. Doctor Simon Stalker himself, his gaze as insane as it appeared in the photographs, with pens and small flasks of reagents in his pockets.
"What the Hell are you gawking at? Don't you have to march back and forth senselessly, soldier boy? Get back to work before I report on you."
Kyle realized that Dr. Stalker was talking to him. The scientist turned around once again, and went away trough the rear exit of the hall. The girl remained there, too confused to react. Kyle decided to go away, the scientist's words still echoing in his mind. He did not like this man from the very beginning, and now he was starting to despise him.
He completely forgot about eating and drinking. Some sleep would help him, as he had not closed his eyes for a moment in the last week. Harlan went back to his room and locked the door. With people like Stalker around, it seemed prudent.