39: The Other Side
Of the few remaining ships in Earth's overall space fleet, the Odyssey was the oldest and most sophisticated in terms of on-board modifications. It had long since been the one the other BC-304 model cruisers had been built from, although later variants had become somewhat sleeker in appearance. The Odyssey still retained the boxy, grey utilitarian look of the prototype Prometheus vessel, and that was unlikely to change anytime soon. As it stood, new ships were being hurriedly built at the behest of Homeworld Command in response to the loss of roughly two-thirds of Earth's fleet last year. The alien vessel that had destroyed them had been obliterated in turn, but the damage had been done.
The commanding officer's ready room was a short way from the command deck. The room was of a modest size, little more than a simple office in which the commander could focus on the minutiae of running a space cruiser. Amongst the overall, blue-toned panelling on the walls, there was a small circular window not too dissimilar to those one might find on an old cruise ship. Through it, the view offered was of the familiar black of space, scattered with stars. Some personal effects were situated on the shelves by the window, among them a few framed photographs in which a younger commander smiled alongside friends, some of whom had grown older as he had whilst others were long dead.
Brigadier General Cameron Mitchell had spent the better part of half an hour in the ready room, seated at his desk and poring over paperwork. The term 'paperwork', in this case, was somewhat of a misnomer as he was not actually using paper. All of it was filled out on the small touch-screen computer set on the desk before him. Cameron wore a set of simple spectacles, a recent addition to his overall appearance and a necessary one: as a man of fifty-four years, his eyesight was not quite to the high standard it had once been. Such was the rigors of age, and this was part of the reason he had ended up behind a desk. Not a future he had envisioned for himself, but a necessary one if he were to keep up this line of work.
His features were appropriately lined for a man of his age. His grey uniform was adorned with the General's stars and the logo of Homeworld Command, adjoined with the emblem of the ship itself. For the past three weeks the crew of the Odyssey had been on special assignment, sent to chart a section of space little of which was known. That is, what the Nomads had called the 'valley of darkness', a stretch of the galaxy where the stargates had either been rendered inert or even destroyed. A means to contain an ancient enemy, or so Cameron had been briefed. And in those three weeks, they had found little of note save for some barren worlds that carried the signs of devastation upon them. No actual life, however, and the overall lack of intriguing finds had seen Cameron less enthused with the whole exercise. After the loss of Anchorpoint station and so much of the fleet, he had wanted to enact some payback on those responsible. That hope was yet to be properly fulfilled.
There sounded a quiet buzz at the door. Someone wanted in. Cameron looked up from his work and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms.
"Come in," he called. The door slid open and one of the bridge officers, a communications tech and Lieutenant by the name of Gordon Rakes, stepped inside. The Lieutenant was young and fresh-faced, a new addition to the crew. This was more down to the fact that a large portion of the ship's crew had died during the attack on Anchorpoint last year. A lot of cadets still in training had seen themselves sent to their posts far sooner than expected, with commanding officers such as Cameron Mitchell being given instructions as to how to best provide 'on the job' training. Getting experience was one thing, but being thrown into the deep end was another.
"Sir." Rakes saluted. He held a touchscreen pad in his other hand. "We just received a new subspace communique from command." He held the small data pad out to Cameron, who took it from him and set his spectacled gaze upon the information displayed. He had to enter his own personal passcode to access the message, as it was addressed to him specifically. As for the message itself, it carried all the appropriate clearances, confirming that it was indeed from the office it claimed to have been sent from. More specifically, a certain General Floyd Janssen had signed off on it.
"We're being redirected," Cameron said, as he read through the new orders. "To Langara. There's a team there who haven't been in contact for a few days now. We're to remain in orbit and to listen in to all detectable frequencies, see if we can't locate them." This assignment might prove a little more interesting than what they had been doing so far.
"Should I inform the navigator to set a course, sir?" Rakes looked on expectantly, no doubt eager to impress. Cameron, after a brief pause in which he mulled over this latest change in orders, gave the Lieutenant a nod.
"Go on, Lieutenant. We're to get there as soon as possible." He put the data pad down. SG-1 was on Langara. Of course, the only member of the team as it was now that had been there when Cameron had been in charge was Daniel Jackson. Still, he had met the other members before and he knew John Sheppard well enough to consider him a friend. If they were in trouble, then he would gladly go on over to assist.
Rakes turned and left the room then, leaving Cameron alone once more. The familiar quiet, backgrounded by the gentle hum of the ship's engines, set in immediately. Cameron leaned back in his chair and scratched at his chin, feeling some stubble there that he figured needed a shave. While preparations were made in the command centre to send the ship into hyperspace for its new destination, Cameron could not help but get the feeling that they were headed into something far more dangerous.
There were indeed tunnels underneath the research facility. They were carved out of the rock and walled with concrete, a veritable maze that had no doubt been intended for use in the event of a major disaster or war. The lights were on, at least for part of the way, still running on whatever was left in the batteries of the main facility. There was not likely much of it left, and Jonas readied himself for the impending darkness that was to come. Sure, they had flashlights and flares, but neither of those things would offer the comfortable illumination brought on by the overhead fluorescents.
The tunnel ahead of them went on for some distance, comprised of the familiar drab grey one would expect from a glorified bunker. There was some signage spaced along its length, indicating what section of the greater network they were inside. And a map on one wall offered a better idea of where they should go next, as an underground rail tunnel was further along.
Jonas led the way, with Daniel and Kav'rak keeping close behind. They had left the destroyed facility behind and had spent the better part of ten minutes following these tunnels. From what they could discern, they were deep underneath the mountain, surrounded by solid rock. Their communication earpieces were useless down here, and so they remained cut off from the soldiers at the outer facility or even from the shuttle that was supposed to be on standby outside.
The tunnel ahead was taking them to the rail tunnel, that much they were sure of. And yet, a growing sense of unease lingered over their progress. It was Kav'rak who spoke then, as they traversed the tunnel, his voice laced with something ominous:
"I can smell something." His nostrils flared, his makalvari physiology having provided him a more acute sense of smell. Daniel and Jonas paused, turning to face him. "It's somewhere up ahead."
"What is it?" Daniel asked him.
"I'm not sure yet. But…" He trailed off, audibly sniffing a few times as to better take in the scent. "It's nothing pleasant."
Daniel and Jonas exchanged glances. So far, all three of them had got the feeling that they were being led on, even herded to a particular place. Kavul's message and the bombs he had set had cut them off from the way they had entered the underground facility. The way ahead had opened up for them, as if on cue. And now they followed these tunnels, with little in the way of alternate paths proving accessible. Sure, there were adjoining rooms, most of which were bare or simply glorified storage space. The real way ahead would see them to the underground rail. And yet, there was no denying the sense that this was where they were wanted. Who by, none of them could be sure.
Kavul was not down here, he had made that clear with the pre-recorded message. Unless he waited somewhere ahead, but Jonas knew that man too well. If Kavul was here, he would have showed himself already. And he would have killed them by now, or tried to anyway.
"We keep going," Daniel said, speaking with a confidence he did not quite feel. They did not have much of a choice in the matter, and so the trio pushed on ahead. It was a little further down when the lights started to fail. They flickered sporadically, casting eerie shadows about the walls. Jonas pulled a flashlight from his vest, as did Daniel. Kav'rak retrieved something similar from his own equipment, a makalvari-made portable light that, when switched on, sent forth a brilliant blue beam of light. The human-made flashlights seemed feeble in comparison to this device's sharp brilliance.
"We're getting close," Kav'rak said, and he stepped past Jonas to take the lead.
"To what?" Jonas asked him.
Kav'rak did not reply, he simply glanced at him and narrowed his eyes in a look that suggested that Jonas need not have waited long to find out for himself. The two humans allowed the makalvari Major to take them onwards, in a section of tunnel where the concrete walls gave way to natural rock. A metal gantry was ahead, with stairs leading a short way down through a larger opening. As they neared this, the lights above them finally died. The darkness was held at bay by the portable lights they carried, yet even they could only do so much as the beams cut through the blackness in the chamber ahead.
They were in the rail tunnel. A set of controls was by the gantry, the switches and dials covered with a thick layer of dirt and dust. There were train tracks, running perpendicular to their approach. The rail tunnel itself was several metres in width, with a ceiling that was at least twice as high as what had been in the tunnel. Upon the metal platform, Kav'rak stopped. Now his nostrils flared again, and he raised a closed fist, signalling Jonas and Daniel to halt as well.
"It smells like death," he said. Jonas could sense it himself, albeit not as strongly as Kav'rak could. There was something foul on the air, the scent of decomposing flesh. It wafted down the tunnel, and the sense of foreboding that had settled deep within him since coming down here only intensified. He turned to Daniel, noticing that his companion appeared to be thinking much the same as he was. There was no other choice but to press on ahead and hope to find some way out of here.
"That computer said that the train network goes all across Kelowna," Daniel said. "We can follow it, find another way out. Maybe we could even find a working train?"
"That's if we don't run into anything else first." Kav'rak sounded certain that they would. He started on ahead, looking to the left and then to the right. As Jonas followed, he turned to the left-hand fork and saw that much of the tunnel further ahead, cast in the beam of his flashlight, had fallen in. The right-hand turn, however, remained mostly clear. Some scattering of rock was present along the tracks, but otherwise it was easily passable. Kav'rak remained in the lead, his makalvari-made flashlight beam slicing through the blackness in a stark, blue-tinted glow. The rock faces of the walls and the ageing metal of the train tracks became clear under the light. The tunnel itself began to curve somewhat, and at one point in time the many light fittings spaced along its walls would have provided ample illumination to this underground network. Now, those lights were dead and darkness reigned.
That is, for about one-hundred metres or so. The curving tunnel straightened and, through the beams brought on by the portable lights, uneven dark shapes became apparent further ahead. Kav'rak paused, causing the two humans behind him to do the same. Now the smell had become much more intense, and the air was thick with the putrid stink of decomposing flesh, tinged with the underlying coppery twinge of dried blood. Jonas almost gagged as the scent filled his nostrils. Daniel pulled a rag from his vest and held it over his nose and mouth, an otherwise futile effort to keep the stink from infiltrating his nostrils. Kav'rak visibly winced, yet he pressed on, clenching his raptor-like jaw.
"What the hell is that?" Daniel asked aloud. No one answered, yet the source of the stink only became more apparent as they walked on ahead. Those uneven dark shapes, piled up against the walls either side of the tracks, were not rocks or some other sort of underground debris. They were bodies, mutilated carcasses that had been left to rot, the formerly human remains contorted and twisted with the same kinds of mutations they had seen on the plague victims back at the embassy. There were dozens of them, seemingly tossed aside as if they were little more than rubbish. Scraps of clothing clung to some of them, the mix of blood and various foul-smelling fluids congealing in the dark. The group walked slowly between the piles, overcome with the stench, the horrific sights filling the beams from their portable lights. Few of these people truly resembled human, with limbs twisted and black alien shell-like growths sprouting from their bodies. There was no doubt that these were plague victims. Of course, since that was obviously the case then how had they all ended up down here?
A dim red glow emanated from an opening ahead, off to the left. It came out of an adjoining chamber, whilst the train tracks themselves simply continued on straight ahead, further into the dark. Another metal platform was here, by the opening, suggesting that this was another stop on the labyrinthine underground network. And the red glow, seeping out of the large doorway, wavered and pulsed in a way that appeared unnatural. This was not from some fire or flare; this was something else. Jonas detected a tingling sensation in the air as they neared the doors, formerly some kind of large metal bulkhead that had long since been opened. The hair on his arms and on the back of his neck stood on end. The plume of feathers atop Kav'rak's head was raised, usually a sign of agitation on the part of a makalvari. Or, in some circumstances, a telling sign of anxiety. In this case, it was more from whatever unseen energies swirling through the air around them.
Jonas figured he might get infected with the plague if he lingered amongst these corpses long enough. Then again, if he did get sick then he would know for sure within the next few days. He had time to find out what was going on here, time to unearth the truth and get back to the embassy. Perhaps there was something down here that would help in finding a cure? Overly optimistic to be sure, but Jonas was more than willing to plunge headlong into this nightmare if it brought with it the potential of finding a way to help his people.
The room through the opening was large, formerly a storage space of parts required to maintain the underground rail network. Now, both walls were lined with stark, black columns that seemed to shimmer under the flashlight beams as the interloping trio cast them over this latest discovery. The columns were more like pods, Jonas realised, each one little over eight feet in height and three in width. Snaking black conduits connected them all along the floor, and tell-tale red smears near each of them suggested that some unfortunate souls had been dragged into these pods. There were no windows, no visible controls, nothing that might have suggested the purpose of these objects. Nonetheless, Jonas got the strong impression that this place was some kind of laboratory. A starkly different one to that which they had left behind, one comprised of what could have been some form of organic technology. Of course, it was not like anything he had seen before. The black material of the pods and their connecting conduits visibly rippled, and Jonas saw Daniel approach the nearest one on their left.
"I've seen this before." His spectacles gleamed in the red light. His eyes narrowed; his features scrunched into a grim frown. "That ship that attacked Anchorpoint and Atlantis, it looked much the same." He reached out and put a hand to the pod, doing so too quickly for Jonas to tell him that maybe it was not a good idea. Nothing terrible happened, and Daniel quirked one brow as he took in the solid sensation of the material under his palm.
"Hard, but smooth. Cool, but there's an underlying warmth." He took his hand away from the pod and looked around. Kav'rak, meanwhile, had continued further into the large, concrete space. The red glow was emanating from something against the far wall. Jonas looked his way, squinting as the full force of the red light fell into sight. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted, and he could make out two distinct narrow shapes at the heart of the light. They were simple black posts, each one standing at eight feet in height. Both were a short distance ahead of the far wall, and between them wavered a large, red orb that cast the entire room under its wavering, unnerving glow.
"Those people out there," Daniel said, and he turned to Jonas. "They were brought here. Plague victims."
"What for?" Jonas looked his way, having been suddenly hit with the realisation that they may have found what they had been looking for.
"Experiments?" Daniel was not certain. "Or maybe they were the rejects. The ones that didn't make it."
"What are you saying?"
"You heard what the recording said, the one from Kavul. He's working for the enemy. The Scourge, the Demons. Whatever you want to call them, they're here on Langara. This plague, it was their creation. The Langarans are the test subjects." Daniel's face adopted a cold, grim countenance. The pieces were starting to fall together. Jonas did not at all like the puzzle they were forming.
"Biological material," Daniel muttered. "Genetically augmented for a specific purpose, a specific role. Like that creature living under Sanctuary, the one guarding the Janus computer. That was a technician, engineered by this enemy by without the necessary conditioning to make it a slave to their will. And what we're seeing here is another experiment, another attempt to engineer some other creature for a specific purpose."
"A leadership class?" Jonas swallowed. The thought that these creatures were trying to turn his people into something else filled him with utter revulsion. They had to be stopped, no matter what it took. An obvious conclusion to make and one they had agreed upon some time ago, but here and now? It was the most pertinent drive he had in mind.
"Every army needs its officers," Daniel said, his eyes meeting with Jonas' own. "What better way than to turn your enemies into something useful?"
"Hey, over here." Kav'rak's voice broke through the conversation then, and both men turned to look to where the makalvari Major had stopped. He was a few metres before the glowing red orb, something that Jonas had thought was a power source of some variety. However, the more he looked towards it, the less certain of this he became.
The orb itself was dead in the centre of the two black pillars, both of which were made of the same material as the pods. Kav'rak lowered his gun, keeping back from the unusual source of light, his expression one of curiosity tempered with a healthy layer of caution. Daniel stopped alongside him, peering towards the orb, suspended as it was a foot off of the floor. No visible cables connected to the pair of pillars, suggesting that they themselves were powering the orb. Some recognition crossed Daniel's face as he gave the thing a once over.
"I've seen this before," he said. "Underneath an ancient Nomad outpost. It was a prototype gateway."
"Gateway?" Kav'rak glanced at him, expecting further answers.
"Something different to a stargate. A literal hole in space-time, not a one-way wormhole like the ones we know. This thing doesn't have another of its kind on the other side. At least, not in my experience." Daniel took a step towards it. "This could be another gateway. It's smaller than the one I saw, more refined in its design."
"We should take a look on the other side," Jonas said, suddenly certain of what had to be done. Both Daniel and Kav'rak looked at him with something akin to incredulity on Daniel's face, whereas Kav'rak's stern features were a little harder to read. Jonas stepped forwards, and as he did so his hands searched the pouches on his vest. He needed something, an anchor of some variety.
"Jonas, we have no idea what's on the other side. There may not be an atmosphere."
"How do we know it's even a portal, as you say?" Kav'rak was the one to ask this. Daniel, in response, reached into a pocket and pulled out a partially wrapped and half-eaten nutrient bar. Standard-issue rations for the SGC, and mostly tasteless. As such, it was no big loss for Daniel, who threw it towards the red sphere of light without pause. The underarmed throw was almost casual, and the half-eaten bar disappeared into the light. It did not come out the other side and hit the wall, it simply vanished altogether.
"There's definitely something through there," Daniel said, satisfied. "Aithris said that the enemy tried to use these things in the first war. They would appear out of nowhere, anywhere and at any time."
"How do you beat something like that?" Kav'rak remarked.
"They didn't have many of these things," Daniel replied. "I suspect that this is something they worked on in response to being barred from the stargate network. Ancient technology rejects these creatures entirely. Given their advanced genetic engineering, I would have assumed that they had found a way to circumvent this." He paused, remembering what the Ancient-built artificial intelligence on Sanctuary had told him, nearly two years ago now. It had been a digitised copy of the inventor, Janus, and it was this artificial intelligence that had assisted Visala during the Calsharan's war with the Scourge.
"Unless the method used to bar them from using the stargates was not based on genetics." Daniel was reminded of what McKay had discovered, pertaining to the exotic form of energy he had attempted to harness in the Pegasus galaxy. The same energy, it seemed, was imbued in the Herald they had recovered on Bedrosia.
"Daniel, my people are dying in droves to what these monsters are doing here," Jonas said, and Daniel gave him a worried, if understanding, look. "I need to know what's on the other side of this gateway. If there's even a slim chance the key to a cure to the plague is on the other side of this door, then I have to take that chance."
Daniel did not reply straight away. Kav'rak, meanwhile, turned towards the entrance. He looked worried then, his yellow eyes watching the entrance closely.
"Well, whatever you want to do, we should do it quickly." Kav'rak regarded each of them in turn. "This place must have a caretaker, yes? A laboratory without a scientist is very unusual, after all."
He was right, of course. Whoever was in charge here could be nearby, they may even be on their way back. They could not waste any more time. Jonas would walk through that gateway, but he would do so in a way that would guarantee recovery.
Kav'rak had some rope on him. It was not much, a small bundle of black rope made from a makalvari twine derived from some native plant on his home world. Regardless, it was more than adequate, and Jonas tied it about his waist with the other end firmly clasped in Daniel's hands. Kav'rak went to stand watch at the entrance. Any sign of trouble, be it from outside the room or from wherever Jonas ended up, he would be pulled back.
Jonas was afraid, as anyone would be when faced with the unknown. He had enough experience with putting his life on the line that it was a fear he was able to quell. It would never be gone entirely and would instead linger right at the edge of his thoughts, always ready to surge forth and take hold of him. It was necessary, a means of keeping him from doing anything too stupid, a trait imbued through millennia of human evolution. Fear and self-preservation often went hand-in-hand.
Even so, he could not help but feel he was on the verge of stepping into something awful when he stood before the glowing red sphere. It was neither hot nor cold, it was simply there, a shimmering and pulsing ball of pure energy that gave off no other evidence of its presence. He could feel a tingling in the air around it, but that was about all it offered. No heat, no cold, no sound and no smell; were his eyes even able to comprehend the full extent of whatever 'it' was? This sphere, was it simply the cusp of something beyond the comprehension of human senses?
He was overthinking it. All he had to do was take a few steps forward and he would be there. The secrets of some unknown realm awaited him. At the same time, the threat of discovery overshadowed them all. Whoever had put this strange laboratory in place could be anywhere nearby. Jonas would have to make his adventure brief.
Daniel had hold of the rope. Not wishing to take any chances, he tied his end off to a metal support strut that ran along the nearby wall. Jonas watched him for a moment, and Daniel gave him a satisfied nod once his work was done. It seemed that his opportunity to proceed had come, and so Jonas took a deep breath and stepped into the red light.
A stargate's wormhole brought with it a cold, tingling sensation. There was not much more to be felt than that, and Jonas was expecting something similar. Instead, he felt absolutely nothing, no sense of movement, no unusual cold nor even any increase in temperature. It was as simple as walking through a door, and he was there in the underground bunker one second, no longer there the next.
There did come heat, but it was not from the artificially made rift. It was from the destination on the other side, the barren and ongoing rocky plains that lay ahead. The sky was a deep red in colour, the ground underfoot dry and brittle and warm. Craggy rocks, some as much as twenty feet in height, ran in uneven rows to either side of what was a passage of some sort. There were no clouds in the sky, no sun, not even any stars. Just emptiness that was tinged a deep red. Before him, scattered along the gravel pass were more of the black pods. Some were overturned, lying on their sides as if they had been tossed there with nary a thought for the condition of their contents or the pods themselves. And some, Jonas quickly saw, were open.
Red, bloody smears lined the inside of one of the open containers. The face of the pod was simply missing, as if a hidden hatch had retracted into the frame of the pod itself. The inside was otherwise lacking in any detail, little more than a shadowed, enclosed space that would be enough to incite claustrophobia in just about anyone. A strong wind was buffeting him, ruffling his hair and pushing against him such that every step he took was a struggle. It was like walking into a blast furnace, and he could feel the sweat building on his brow in response to the sweltering heat.
There were figures ahead. Jonas could feel his heart beating rapidly now, the fear truly beginning to take hold. These figures were distant, silhouetted black against the deep red sky and the earthen-toned ground below them. They had to be tall, even if they appeared slightly hunched over. Three of them were prowling along the pass, seemingly searching amongst the discarded containers. One of them turned his way, stark orange eyes falling upon the lone human who had appeared in their realm. The creature let out a low, guttural sound that echoed across the barren landscape. Jonas could see the short horns at its head, the bestial features that contorted into a look of menace, and then he saw the fleshy bat-like wings that extended from its back. This one had seen him, and it was making its two companions aware of this intruder.
Langarans had their folklore, as did any long-lasting civilisation. Although his people had come from Earth initially, brought along as slave labour by a Goa'uld System Lord, that initial subjugation had been short-lived. That System Lord had died, destroying himself through his experiments with naquadria. The slaves had gone free, spreading out across Langara, gradually forming into a handful of different cultures. And along the way, religions had sprung up, some more popular than others. And yet, from what Jonas had found over the years, nearly all of those faiths featured some sort of negative entity in contrast to whatever benevolent one was to be worshipped. So many depictions of such entities were not too far off what he was seeing now, demons at a glance, yet something he knew to be much more complicated than some mythological bogeyman.
They were charging towards him now. The first one that had seen him was well in the lead, bounding across the rocky pass with a shocking agility. It beat its wings, driving itself further forwards with each bound. Jonas raised his gun in one hand, the other tugging hard on the rope that was tied around his wrist. There were more of these things, he realised, and various moving shapes became noticeable along the rocks on both flanks. So many more of them, and they were showing themselves, all flaring wings and guttural tones, orange eyes set firmly upon him. Just what had he walked into here?
"Daniel!" He shouted back at the empty space behind him, the one into which the rope seemed to simply vanish altogether. Could Daniel hear him? It seemed doubtful, but he shouted anyway. There was no harm in trying.
Jonas did not waste any time. He fired a few shots before he turned around and jumped into the empty space at his rear. Suddenly, he was tumbling upon the metal platform on which the sphere of energy had been situated. The pillars at either side of it visibly rippled, and Jonas almost fell flat on his face from the sudden change in terrain underfoot. Daniel ran towards him, readying his carbine.
The hot air was gone, replaced with the chill of the underground tunnels. The sweat that had started forming on Jonas' head only served to amplify the cold he felt. He rolled onto his back, raising the plasma carbine as he did so.
"There's something coming!" He shouted, and Kav'rak came running over. Jonas had no chance to really process what he had seen, with his heart racing and his eyes wide with fear. Without even thinking it through, he started shooting, spraying bolts of energy into the sphere. It visibly wobbled, as if the energy only served to feed it. Daniel and Kav'rak did not even ask what was going on, they simply raised their own weapons and joined the fire.
A hail of yellow-tinted energy bolts cut through the air. This time, they were focussed on the pillars either side of the red orb. Each shot seemed to get swallowed into the black, rippling material. Kav'rak paused, pulled a grenade from his waist and armed it.
"Daniel, get him clear!" He shouted. Something emerged from the orb then, the same creature that Jonas had seen coming after him. It appeared in an instant, as if out of thin air, and right away it beat its powerful wings and lunged for Daniel. Jonas brought up his carbine and hit the trigger, sending forth a volley that struck the creature in the stomach. It let out a pained roar, snarling and twisting its head as to set its malevolent orange eyes on Jonas. He began to scramble away, still on his back, and now the thing was above him, clawed hands slashing. One set of claws sliced through his vest as if the Kevlar plating was made from butter. He pulled away just in time to keep those claws from rending through his flesh, with barely a T-shirt's thickness between him and the talons.
Kav'rak had the grenade in one hand and his gun in the other. He opened fire with the latter, and the shots that struck the creature's chest seemed to visibly burn into its flesh. Despite the pain, it simply charged for him, bowling the makalvari Major aside with alarming ease. The grenade he held went flying from his grasp, and Jonas watched with mounting worry as it clanked onto the platform to his left and started to roll towards the sphere. Jonas, scrambling to his feet, turned and started to run.
The creature was ahead of him, preparing to launch itself after Kav'rak. Instead, Daniel hit it with another volley from his plasma carbine. The shots burned into its side, inviting another angry roar. One clawed hand reached down and plucked up Kav'rak's dropped carbine. Without pause, it took aim and started shooting.
Daniel threw himself to the floor as the bolts of energy cut into the air above him. Sparks flew as bolts struck the wall at his back. Jonas launched himself for the creature, tackling it in the side, sending himself tumbling down with its firm bulk. Behind him, the grenade went off, knocking one of the rippling black pillars over. The other one seemed to break apart, enveloped by the dust that the explosion had kicked up around it. The red orb expanded suddenly, swallowing up part of the metal platform before it retreated back into itself. In a matter of seconds, the orb had become little more than a palm-sized speck of light, a floating, bobbing ember of its previous glory that shone through the haze brought on by the explosion. Energy crackled along the one remaining pillar in a manner reminiscent of lightning, albeit a brilliant red lightning that at first was sporadic, yet as the moments passed it began to become more frequent.
Jonas, left somewhat dazed from the explosion and his fall, came to the sudden realisation that the creature was no longer on the ground next to him. Rather, it was a few paces away, with a very agitated Kav'rak on top of it. The Major had a serrated blade in hand, and he was stabbing away at the creature's chest and neck, soaking himself in sticky, blue-tinged blood that poured from the creature's many knife wounds. It still writhed beneath him, now far weaker than it had been moments before. A low groan escaped its mouth, before its movements ceased altogether and the beast slumped where it lay.
There was no reprieve to be had. The partially destroyed gateway still crackled with bolts of red energy. The red light that had filled the room was now growing in intensity. Jonas turned towards it, getting the distinct impression that the grenade explosion had made things worse. Daniel stood nearby, eyes wide and his breathing heavy. He looked to Jonas and then to Kav'rak, the startled look he wore suggesting that he did not really know how he should react to what had just transpired.
"Jonas, are you okay?" He stepped towards the Langaran, offering him a hand. Jonas took it, allowing Daniel to help him back onto his feet. Nearby, Kav'rak stepped off of the dead creature, his uniform stained with its blood. He was panting, the plume of feathers atop his head ruffling with each breath. His yellow eyes stared at the beast, wide and defiant and steeped in anger.
"Major, we need to go." Daniel was right: they had outstayed their welcome. Whatever was going on with the ruined gateway, it was nothing good. Jonas looked about the room, seeing the black containers along the walls and remembering what he had seen of them on the other side of that rift. Would more of those creatures emerge from them? And were those victims inside of Langaran origin?
"Biological material," Jonas spat, anger surging. Daniel turned to him, eyebrow raised.
"That's all we are to them," Jonas added, meeting Daniel's confused expression. "Biological material. Something that can be manipulated and reshaped." Nearby, Kav'rak stuck his knife back into its sheath. He looked to be about to say something, perhaps ask just what it was he had just killed, only for his head to perk up and turn towards the doorway. He raced towards it then, leaving his two human companions bemused, if worried at what his new discovery might bring. Behind them, the whole platform crackled with a torrent of red energy. Some of it lanced away from the rest in arcs, scattering about the room. The tingling sensation in the air only intensified now.
"We have to leave," Daniel stated, this time sounding much more certain. He started for the exit after Kav'rak, with Jonas in tow. With the adrenaline rush ending, Jonas found himself able to think more carefully on what they had found. The plague, it seemed, was a means to sift the unfit from those who could survive the change. And the prospective candidates, from what it appeared, found their way down here. And even they did not all make it. Those that did ended up on the other side of that gateway, on whatever world Jonas had made a brief visit to. One question that came to mind then was just how these victims were coming down here? Was someone actively going outside and collecting them? And if so, who?
Jonas thought that if they could find who was doing this, then they might get some answers. Before he could ponder this any further, Kav'rak turned to them from the tunnel beyond the opening ahead. His yellow eyes carried something harsh to them, tinged with the expected concern.
"There's a train coming," he said. Jonas suspected he was about to get a few of his questions answered very soon.