Chapter 23: What's the Worst That Could Happen

Chapter 23: What's the Worst That Could Happen

"Relax, it's probably nothing."

"I've done this a hundred times."

"Hold my beer."

"We're sure it's under control."

"The system is perfectly safe."

"Trust me."

"We're prepared for every scenario."

"We can patch it in production."

Famous Last Words — Don't add to them.

— Inscription on the entry of the Luna Institute of Technology

———

In the quieter hours on the base, Vextred mused on why Builder interfaces always looked like carved symbols in stone.

Now he had an inkling why.

If three-dimensional runes were lit up by passive lighting, they looked creepy, and everything he had witnessed on this base was creepy.

If someone asked him for his opinion, the design language of the Builders was Creepy, with a capital C.

He wouldn't have believed it if someone had told him before, but the base looked more creepy with light than without.

This was the first time he could see the Main Control Room in full light. The room was six meters high, with balconies extruding from a gallery halfway up.

The walls were an ugly, almost sick-looking yellow. They weren't flat, but filled with carved runes that crawled like insects, merging into new runes or splitting in two. Whenever Vextred tried to focus on one, his eyes began to hurt.

The blue warning lights of the newly activated base shifted that yellow into a sick green.

And somehow the Builders had managed to make even simple light creepy.

The reason was easy to see.

The light had no origin.

It was as if the air itself was the source. Just that there was no air.

"Why did you do that?" Doctor Hunter wasn't finished scolding Sergeant Yáñez-Liu. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

The Sergeant seemed totally relaxed. "I had orders, and relax, Doctor. What's the worst that can happen?"

Hunter was close to a meltdown. "I have no clue, and that should scare you, because I have an excellent imagination when it comes to worst-case scenarios."

"Hunter, relax. Let's just check the systems." Shanks tried his best, but Hunter didn't want any of it. He pushed away the arm Shanks had put on his shoulder.

"Don't tell me to relax. We don't have an idea what even powers this place, and has one of you smoothbrained Marines thought about what defense measures this base might have?"

This got Gonzales' attention. "Defense measures?"

"As I was just explaining to Sergeant Let's-Press-the-Red-Button before you came in: the base is in sleep mode, and defensive measures were shut down. That's all I could tickle out of the system before Mister 'Hold My Beer' here pressed the button."

He picked up his data slate from the floor in front of the central station. Cables led from the slate to contacts stuck into different parts of the Builder console. Vextred was fascinated. The Human had actually found a way to interface with the base.

"Wonderful. I'm locked out."

A scream from one of Crusader 10's Marines made Vextred turn — and that turn probably saved his life. A blade, impossibly fine and razor-sharp, materialized in the empty space where his head had been a second before.

The blade vanished into dust before Vextred even knew what had happened.

The screaming Marine collapsed with a vanishing blade sticking out of his breastplate. Whatever the blades were, they had pierced his suit from back to front.

"What the hell?" Kim shouted. Vextred noticed Gonzales jumping over to Hunter and Shanks, covering them.

Target acquired. Hades' voice rang out as Vextred shifted position to form a perimeter with Fat Mike and Kim, shielding the scientists.

On his HUD, he saw a red circle marking a spot of shimmering... something moving quickly along the wall.

Both he and Kim opened fire while Fat Mike launched a dozen lurkers.

The more lurkers in the air, the better Hades' field of view.

The bullets had no effect on the enemy. It was as if they were shooting at a cloud. The shimmer accelerated towards Yáñez-Liu.

Vextred couldn't fire anymore without risking the Sergeant. Then he had an idea.

"Jelly beans!"

The enemy was programmable matter. Let's see how he likes EMP rounds.

He aimed for half a heartbeat and fired a three-round burst. Two rounds made contact with something and detonated.

Multiple blades dropped out of thin air, disintegrating mid-fall.

"Report!" Gonzales' command cut through Vextred's adrenaline rush.

"Crusader 7-2, all green," Kim reported.

"Crusader 7-3, all green," Fat Mike followed.

"Crusader 7-4, all green," Vextred finished.

"Doctor Shanks, nothing green. What the hell was that thing?" The doctor was still on their team channel.

Camp Troy reports attacks. Major Pfershy requests that you shut down the base defenses. Hades interjected via the general channel.

"Oh, does he now? Why didn't I think of that?" Hunter typed on his data slate, hunched at the corner of the control station.

"Form a perimeter. Crusader 7, protect the doctors," Gonzales ordered, ignoring Hunter's whining.

Yáñez-Liu and one of his Marines were dragging their fallen comrade closer to the console, while their heavy, a corporal called Jung, launched his lurkers and stalkers.

Vextred saw from his readouts that the stalkers were equipped with jelly bean charges.

'Shouldn't we get the fuck out of here?' IronBallz, in his suit, glanced up from his hiding spot behind the control station.

Hunter just barked at him. "And go where? Do you trust the elevator not to eat you? Or would you prefer running up the causeway for twenty kilometers?"

Shanks had had enough. "Stop arguing and focus. These — whatever those things are — won't be the last surprise the base has for us."

"Shardclouds." Kim didn't look up from the gun station he was assembling.

"Good name," was Fat Mike's only comment.

Camp perimeters are holding with minimal casualties. Major Pfershy asks if he should send an exfil team. Magellan has Sleipnirs standing by to evacuate the base.

Vextred wouldn't mind getting off this cursed moon. Gonzales started to answer before Hunter and Shanks cut him off.

"Negative. Until the defenses are offline, no one can leave," Shanks shouted.

"The programmable matter could spread to Magellan or even further," Hunter added. "We're locked in here. Oh, and tell Pfershy: I told you so."

Noted.

Hades had no sense of sarcasm.

Vextred felt the rush of adrenaline recede. He pushed the combat enhancer button, causing the armor to steadily pump alertness hormones and electrolytes into his body. Getting tired now would be a death sentence.

'Guys, it might sound crazy, but I'm getting constant weird flashbacks...' IronBallz' vitals were indeed off by a lot.

"Vextred, stay with Shanks and the Elder," Gonzales ordered, moving carefully away to check on Crusader 10.

Vextred glanced back at Doctor Shanks. He held the Elder Glider in both hands. Vextred could see the small armored body moving under spasms.

"What's up with him?"

Shanks shrugged, a movement barely visible in full armor. "I don't know. I have no clue."

"Incoming!" Kim's shout made Vextred focus on his surroundings again.

The two teams had linked their Virtual Intelligence Ground Integration Lattice systems — VIGIL, for short.

On his HUD, he saw the section of the room the intelligent system had assigned him to secure. VIGIL was a new system, created with the experiences of the Battle for Burrow in mind.

Three Shardclouds moved into his section. One was marked red, the others yellow. Vextred fired on the red one. The jelly beans' gelatinous rounds made contact with something in the cloud and detonated.

Again, blades appeared mid-air, only to disintegrate before hitting the ground.

The two yellow-marked clouds were each struck by a Stalker drone.

Vextred could see on the report on his HUD's side that the two teams had been attacked by fifteen Shardclouds.

The attack was over in seconds, but Vextred was sure more surprises were waiting.

"Oh, crap!" Hunter sat down, staring at his slate.

"What's up? No luck penetrating the system?" Yáñez-Liu asked, his voice having lost all the arrogance from before.

"I can read the logs, in a way, but I can't shut off the defenses. It needs a valid key."

"Can't you and the VIs crack it?" Gonzales asked while he sent a wheeled drone out, presumably to collect Shardcloud dust.

"That's not it. I don't think we have time for it. The base has changed its threat assessment of us."

Vextred had no time to think about what the Doctor was saying. His HUD began to flare a warning.

Acidic Area Detected.

Looking down at his hands, he saw dust slowly rising from his armor. "By the Great Hunter."

He turned to see the others. The constant, almost unnoticeable fog he had seen all over the base now streamed around him and the rest of the team, slowly eroding their armored suits.

Wild shouting began, and Gonzales set everyone to mute.

"Hunter, what is this?"

"The base is saturated with programmable matter, like nanites. And they've started to eat the armor."

His typing was now almost frantic.

'Fuuuuck, that was a large one,' IronBallz' shout rang out in every Marine's brain. 'Holy fucking mojito bath, my head's gonna explode.'

"Elder?" Gonzales still used the official title Magellan's Gliders had given IronBallz.

'Download. I got a massive dose. The other Gliders you found, they're in stasis, alive but... not fully. I got some of their memories.'

"Very interesting, but that won't help us now. The base has decided to eat us."

'Yes. Sterilization attack, a standard procedure when specimens escape,' IronBallz shouted.

"Whatever. Our suits' joints won't be able to resist more than an hour. We need to shut it off."

'Crayon eater, that's what I'm trying to tell you. I can get the code. One of the sleeping Gliders knows it. They aren't specimens but... something different. We need to wake him up.'

"Back to Frankenstein's cabinet? Are you crazy?" Gonzales snapped back. "Twenty-five kilometers, an upward slope. We can't make it in less than an hour."

Vextred swallowed. Humans can't. But Shraphen?

"Sir, I might be able." He would be exhausted, but the alternative...

"Twenty-five kilometers? Are you sure? You won't have any support," Yáñez-Liu asked, puzzled and slightly concerned.

"Can't stop to fight anyway."

'Then let's stop arguing, before you all die here.'

"You'll die too," Gonzales added.

'Don't see my suit dusting.'

The Glider was right. The base didn't seem to attack him. It seemed the system was intelligent, at some level.

"How do I wake the Gliders up there?" Vextred was sure he could make it back up, but not if he couldn't operate the alien systems.

'You can't, but I can. And the doors won't be safe to pass without me anyway. I'll ride on your back. Doc Hunter and the other grunts hold this station here until we're up.'

Gonzales knelt down to Vextred, who had begun to stretch. This would be the best run of his life, or his last. His heart pounded in his chest.

"You sure you can make it?"

"Have to," Vextred said, focused on his goal.

He grabbed his rifle, then looked at it, and gave it to Gonzales. Four kilograms he wouldn't need to carry. He had no time to fight anyway.

Then Vextred began to unload his spare ammo. Without a rifle, it was worthless. The only weapon he kept was a grenade, in case he didn't make it...

His sidearm... 500 grams... Keep it.

"Serge, can you spare kinetic gel? I need extra cooling."

Gonzales grabbed a refill pouch of gel and attached it to Vextred's suit without a word.

Shraphen don't sweat, so they risk overheating without cooling through kinetic gel.

'If you're finished with your heroic goodbyes, can we move now?' IronBallz had already interlocked with Vextred's armor on his back.

Vextred stepped to the door. He almost expected the wall to stay solid, but it let him pass without issue. Then he was at the base of the ramp and began to run.

Shraphen four-legged running was natural. In light scout armor, a trained Shraphen Hunter could reach forty kilometers per hour. Except, he wasn't in light scout armor, but heavy Marine incursion armor.

This was offset by the low artificial gravity on the base, at around 0.9 Burrow G, or 0.82 Earth G he had grown accustomed to on Earth vessels.

The first five kilometers, everything went fine. He had found a sustainable pace of around 28 kilometers per hour.

'You know, it's actually quite relaxing.' IronBallz had been surprisingly sparing with words. From what Vextred knew, the Glider was usually not shy with them.

Between his breaths, Vextred growled back, "For you maybe. Wanna change places?"

The run was easy enough: swing hind legs in front of forelegs, breathe out, push hind legs back, breathe in. Don't think about it, just run.

As always when running, his mind wandered. Wasn't it funny that Shraphen referred to hands as hands when standing, and as forelegs when on all fours?

Seven kilometers done, more than a third of the incline, then a five-kilometer sprint. Easy. A pup could do it.

A short pain in his back. The suit was injecting drugs into his body.

Keep swinging, keep pushing. The pain in your lungs is just them showing you're alive.

A voice. Ferdinand, Magellan's AI system. Was it watching?

Hunter Vextred, I'm personally monitoring your vitals. I'm going to inject you with electrolytes and bicarbonates. You're now the center of my attention.

Vextred's field of view grew smaller. Just keep swinging.

The injections worked. His muscles didn't feel as fatigued anymore.

"Son, you're doing great. We're sending drones down your way, guarding you. Just keep running. Do you hear me?"

Major Pfershy's voice, distant.

Vextred couldn't speak. He was focused on running. Just keep swinging.

Hunter, your head might get lighter for a second. We're injecting glucose into your system. Ferdinand again.

Another prick. He felt the change immediately.

His mind drifted again. He remembered the story of the great Hunters, when they ran for three days and three nights. He just had to run for an hour. Easy. Just keep swinging.

Dots appeared on his HUD. The promised drones. Too bad they couldn't carry the Glider.

Another dot, in red.

Shardclouds.

No time. Just keep swinging.

'I gotta tell you, you're fast as fuck, boy. We're halfway up.' IronBallz. Vextred didn't feel the Glider on his back anymore. Just his lungs burning, and his legs.

Detonations around him, the drones destroying the Shardclouds.

Everything was without consequence. All he had to do was run. Swing.

The next few minutes passed in a trance. Or was it longer? Hours? Vextred didn't know. Around him was a battlefield. Drones arrived and Shardclouds exploded.

He kept swinging his legs. Easy enough.

As he was almost at the end of the ramp, a sharp pain almost made him pass out.

Hunter, one of your left hind cruciate ligaments has ruptured. I'm administering pain medication. Suit stabilizing measures are enabled. Try to push only with your right leg and use your weaker left to stabilize.

Easy. Just keep swinging, with the right leg.

The ramp ended.

It seemed the camp had prepared a firework. Explosions all around it. Or was it a battle? He didn't care. He had to swing, to run.

A metal taste in his mouth. He had probably bitten himself. It didn't matter. He had to run, and tongues weren't important when running.

"Son, you're making it. The last five kilometers. You can do it. I believe in you." Vextred knew the voice. Major Pfershy.

He almost stumbled. The ground didn't press against him like on the incline.

Then he found his rhythm. Swing hind legs front, contact first with the right one, then the hurting one. Exhale. The pain keeps you awake. Push back, inhale.

Keep swinging.

Last leg, push harder.

His mind drifted. Why the last leg... he still had three... no, not legs, distance.

Language is funny.

The suit was hot now, steaming really.

'Buddy, I'm changing in the last pouch of kinetic gel. OK? You're cooking them away.'

The air grew a bit cooler. Good. Everyone around him was working so he could run. All he had to do was swing his goddamn legs.

He ran. Next to him, a shadow. Morkus, one of the great Hunters. They were all here, running with him.

An alarm. Seals broken. Pain, so much pain. But it was in the bad leg. The good one kept swinging.

Critical Armor Breach. Left hind leg breached.

The pain was immense. But Ferdinand kept him awake with drugs. The leg felt wet. Blood?

It didn't matter. Less than a kilometer now.

He just needed to keep swinging.

The pain was now a friend. It kept him awake, alert. It grew. It was already out of his leg, touching the spine. Swinging got harder.

'We're here. You can stop now, buddy. You can rest.'

Something jumped off his suit.

Vextred collapsed. He panted, lying on his side. Saliva dripping out of his mouth, sticking to his fur. He couldn't see anything anymore. His legs kept moving, unable to rest.

"You made it. You made it, son. I'm so proud of you." The voice came from far away. He made it? What did he do?

Swinging, yes.

The pain went away.

Rest.

He could rest now. No more swinging.