Chapter 3: The Last Outpost Part 2

Fengge watched as the shuttle he was in was nearing the surface of Zalri’Eko Gamma. The asteroid itself was not that large. Its diameter was no larger than 10 kilometers, with it being the smallest of the two moons orbiting Outpost-1078. The grayish sands were dark. The distant red dwarf star was barely enough to illuminate its surface. Tiny crater marks dotted the scenery. In the distance was the UHN Drake. Its profile was easy to tell. It remained on standby, ready to offer whatever assistance was needed. The massive asteroid and destroyed shipyard of Zalri’Eko dominated one section of the visual spectrum. It wasn’t easy to see the UHN Lifen and the Menshe’tat that were busy rescanning areas for anything that may have been possibly missed.

“Alright...,” Gavrill said. “Finally, get boots on the ground.”

“Probably going to find a bunch of broken-down shit,” Enlai replied.

“You think that the Aksren clan may have anything there?” Isandro asked.

“The Vice Admiral already told us that there wasn’t,” Dariea replied.

“Always be prepared,” Ihan told the new marines. “Keep one eye on your squad mates and one eye ahead of you, and you’ll do just fine.” He pointed at Stone. “This man knows his shit. Listen to our orders and we will be in and out in no time. Is that understood!?”

“Hoorah!” the new marines said in unison.

“Same goes with our civy,” Zalika said, looking at Fengge. “Whatever may be waiting for us, don’t veer away or touch anything that can kill us all.”

“You got it,” Fengge replied with a smile. The paleontologist was well aware of the safety procedures that were being applied. But, if anything, he felt more comfortable with the fact that the warriors were prepping themselves for potential combat.

Inside the cabin, gravity was finally starting to come into play. Even if the tiny moon was small, it still produced a small amount of gravity to keep everyone from floating around. For a moment, the paleontologist could feel a wake of anxiety go through his system. He didn’t regret that he went on such a mission, but by now, there was the trepidation that he was heading into a potentially hazardous situation.

Then he saw it. The damaged observation base was coming into full view. The internal vectoring thrusters were slowing down the shuttle’s descent quickly. With the light gravity, making a safe trajectory to the destination point was easy.

The small base was an impressive sight to behold, although it was nothing enormous to the massive shipyard on the adjacent rock. There were a couple of domed structures, three in total, that connected to a central landing pad. Two of these domes had been impacted by a nuclear detonation followed by multiple railgun strikes. The pad looked like it joined to an internal hangar facility. However, it appeared heavily damaged. There was enough room, however, to put the shuttle down.

“Attention, marines,” the pilot addressed the cabin. “We’ll be landing this crate in fifty seconds. Prepare for departure.”

“LISTEN UP!” Stone yelled, standing up. “The moment this shuttle lands, we get off and put our boots to the ground. We will head into the intact dome and try to make entry there. Check your suits one last time, because we will be in open space. I’m not carrying your carcasses back to the Lifen, you hear me!”

“Aye, Master Sergeant!” Many of the marines replied in unison.

“And Doctor Fengge ... I know you’re not a marine, but don’t you dare fucking endanger the lives of my men. I don’t care how many assurances you make and even if the Captain allows it. You jeopardize us, and I can decide to end you. You have one last chance if you want to stay on this shuttle or not.”

“I’m ready,” Fengge said without much hesitation.

The shuttle’s lights were aiming all over the pad. It slowly descended and hovered two meters from the ground. Its landing gear was deployed, but there was careful attention to avoid landing. The paleontologist could see from his wrist computer that he had over six hours of air, more than enough for him to survive whatever lack of atmosphere there may be. The new marines were composing themselves. The wrap armor that protected the Itreans fully activated to enclose the reptilian women in their own protective environment. It was the first time that the paleontologist had seen such a thing. They almost appeared to be mechanized reptilian robots. Their helmeted eye slits even glowed green and red. The final checks had been completed, and before Fengge knew it, the internal cabin was being emptied of air. The cockpit door had already been sealed. The paleontologist’s suit was fully active, along with everyone else’s power armor atmospheres.

“Lifen marines...,” Stone said to everyone. “Let’s do this! Redder than Blood!”

“Blood for Life!” all the marines replied with a determined spirit.

The port door opened, and Stone walked over to it. With one hand holding his gun, he used his other hand to wave at the others. All the marines, the doctor, and the two Itreans stepped in line. They began to hop off to the gray and white pad below.

“Move it! Move it! MOVE!” Stone exclaimed. One by one, the eleven individuals hopped off the shuttle and into open space. The light gravity easily carried them to the surface with a soft thud. However, with the lack of air, the sound generated was extremely faint that only registered inside the suits.

“Gavrill landing party!” Gavrill exclaimed with glee. He triumphantly impacted the ground and quickly aimed his grenade launcher at anything that might have been partially dangerous.

Fengge was the second to last to get off. Bekra and Zalika looked up and saw the paleontologist leap off. Fengge was perhaps too good with the leap. He used a little bit of strength to jump almost causing him to overshoot and land upon Zalika. However, Zalika stepped out of the way and used her arm to grapple the man bringing him to a slow stop.

“Oh ... oh dear,” Fengge remarked. “Thank you, Zalika. Not used to being in open space.”

“You alright?” Zalika asked him.

“Yes, everything is ok.”

“Damn, Fengge, trying to become a moon tourist or something?”

Fengge turned to see Stone hop out of the shuttle. He was the last to get off. The moment his boots landed on the pad, the shuttle’s door closed. Its vectoring thrusters pushed the entire vessel slowly upward.

“Everyone get into a column formation of rows of four,” Stone ordered through the comms of his suit. “Maintain full positive coverage. This area is not secure! All weapons on Condition 1. Fengge, I want you in the center with Zalika and Bekra to protect you.”

“Got it,” Fengge said.

“Aye, Master Sergeant,” many of the marines said. By now, Fengge had a full view of all of it. Besides the walking marines and Itreans, the environment was hauntingly serene. The destroyed ruins of the base were easy to remark upon. The building structures had to be over three stories tall with a diameter of about a kilometer long each. The nuclear explosion that hit the area was registering radiation that was impacting Fengge’s suit. Despite the protective properties of his suit, he knew that he would have to be checked up by a medic after the mission was over.

The one dome that did survive the attack long ago had been peppered by debris and small rocks. There were scar marks of an explosion but nothing else. A single large door lay with a dirty solid road connected to the pad.

“Marines, standby,” Stone said as he tapped his wrist computer. He opened up a channel to the nearby ships. “UHN Lifen or Drake, this is Lifen Team Lead. Respond.”

There was a pause. Fengge continued to remark upon the scenery. Past the base was a plethora of lifeless rocks and grayish sand. His suit had to attune to the low level of lighting.

“Master Sergeant Stone,” Shira’s calm voice came over his comms. “The Lifen is heading near your location. I have established comms with your suit and will be monitoring everything that you’re tracking.”

“Very well,” Stone remarked.

“Be warned, however, that the base will most likely have an underground facility. Depending on how deep and the type of rock strata involved, it may weaken the signal. Ensure that your lasers are tuned to the correct frequencies needed to kill any Emphra that may come your way.”

“I tuned them myself and checked them twice as per your orders, Captain.”

“I will be monitoring the sensors closely. While I don’t see any signs of life, any living Emphra will most likely be underground, where we can’t pick them up as easily. Your sensors will register a mixed solution of silicon and mercury.”

“Any signs of Aksren clan traps?” Stone asked.

“We are not picking anything up on the surface, but the Drake and Lifen will continue scanning. The Aksren clan would place little value over guarding this region. I do, however, question the bombardment layout that was made over this base.”

“What do you mean?”

“While this base is somewhat intact, it is only because there was an inadequate amount of effort to properly scuttle it. This was either done unintentionally or deliberately.”

“Should my team go ahead and enter it?”

“Yes. I will need further data to analyze and come up with my conclusions as to why the base was left in this particular fashion. However, this will work in our favor, as expected. As per orders, proceed with caution, Stone.”

“Alright!” Stone yelled, waving his hand in the air. “Isandro, Bekra, I want you two to start scanning the entrance. I want to know how we can get in. Captain, I might need the Lifen’s railguns prepped in case we need to bust down the front entrance.”

“The Lifen will be in firing position over the base in three minutes. However, I will be pulling up the specifications of the blast door that you are looking at.”

This time, Fengge used the opportunity to grab the small device on his right hip. He looked down and began to tap a few buttons on the lower section of the device.

“What are you doing?” Zalika asked.

“Meet ‘Monica.’” Fengge said. “She’s my little camera bot drone. She’s been with me since I first got started with my shows.”

With a simple tap, the white baton device opened up. Four tiny thrusters protruded and activated, making liftoff. The object hovered over Fengge’s head. There were a pair of yellow lenses that extracted outward once it took off. A single large camera device shaped like a mouth was underneath the lenses. It would almost make the object look like it had a face that floated over Fengge.

“You brought a camera drone with you?” Zalika asked.

“Don’t worry,” Fengge assured her. “Monica knows what she’s doing. She won’t get in your faces unless I tell her to.” Fengge looked at his wrist computer and could tell that the device was recording him and transmitting to his suit’s computer. “I got about an hour of battery life with her. I’ll have to make the appropriate edits in the final cut of this expedition.”

“Heh...,” Gavrill laughed. “Gavrill, finally get to be a UWAN star.”

“Please...,” Dariea joked with him. “Your star time will be you pissing your armor the moment something spooks ya.”

“Hey, Dad,” Isandro exclaimed near the camera. The marine was busy fiddling with the controls of his wrist computer.

“Hmph...,” Stone remarked with some annoyance. “Enough. Marines, make way to the blast doors.”

“Aye,” many of the new marines replied almost in unison. Other marines responded by saying, “moving.”

Fengge watched as the whole group moved. The march was slow in the low-gravity environment. While it was outside, the fact that the separation of the cold vacuum of space and breathable air being only a few inches from the marines’ faces could have anybody on edge. The paleontologist, instead, focused on Monica, gazing upon the lens. Instinctively, the drone hovered down near the man’s face. A recorded audio was transmitted to the hovering object from Fengge’s helmet.

“Today, on Trekking with Fengge,” the paleontologist happily explained. “I bring us to the dreaded outpost of Zalri’Eko, the long lost and final outpost of the Alara’jal clan. Me and my trepid team of explorers dare to venture into its depths. Who knows what untold horrors await us...”

Zalika was giving an odd look towards Fengge. It was obvious what she was thinking.

“Our mission,” Fengge continued as he tried to gesture with his gloved hands. “Is to explore the great ruins of what the Alara’jal had left behind. I’m excited for all of the viewers to have you a part of my journey to hopefully find any trace of possible survivors. Somewhere ... we hope to find some beacon ... some ... message that the people might have left behind that tells us if any of their people fled to another area of space. Are the Alara’jal truly extinct? My gut tells me that they’re alive. With them, we would have further evidence that the Allosaurus ... possibly the T-Rex, had indeed survived and became the Itreans. We stand on this rock, their testament to their engineering at their finest.”

“Fengge, quiet down,” Stone said, halting the man’s narrative. “Bekra, Isandro, anything to get us in there?”

“I ... don’t have anything, Master Sarge,” Isandro said. “It’s coming out as some organic metal resin weave. It’s over a meter thick.”

“My expertise on Alara’jal equipment is lacking,” Bekra added with a click in her voice. “Our weapons wouldn’t be able to penetrate it. It might be easier if we try to destroy the dome wall’s to force entry rather than go through the door itself.”

“Can you try to access the doors?” Stone asked.

“I’m ... trying...,” Isandro commented as he tapped a few more buttons on his wrist computer. “The system is either completely incompatible or offline.”

“There might be an emergency access lever that we can use to get in,” Bekra added.

“Stone,” Shira called out on the comms.

“Everyone, halt,” Stone said. “Go ahead, Captain.” Everyone adhered to the man’s words and came to a quick halt. They all stood almost forty meters from the massive blast door. The entire dome was beginning to look more extensive than ever before. The bulbous structure was like a forgotten temple ready to be plundered.

“The door used is a common Alara’jal military blast door,” Shira explained. “If the base is unoccupied and is struck by weapons fire, preferably from a nuclear warhead, it would cause the doors to seal and lock into place. It could only be unlocked from the operators inside and with the computers online.”

“Hacking it would be impossible then?” Stone asked.

“We blow it then ... heh ... heh,” Gavrill said.

“We can try to blow through the side walls where it is the weakest.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Shira explained. “Our weapons operator is currently establishing a firing solution on the blast door. We will use the Lifen’s railguns to surgically cut into it. Remain as you are.”

“Everyone take a knee and get down!” Stone yelled out to his team.

“Yes...,” Gavrill reacted in glee.

“Fuck yeah,” Enlai replied. The marines and the Itreans crouched down. While they were still far from the door, the risk of shrapnel generated from striking a door with weapons fire was a possibility. It appeared that Shira and Stone were in a hurry to push this mission forward as quickly as possible. There was no effort made to back everyone away because it would only add more seconds lost that wasn’t coming back. Time was of the essence.

Fengge got on his knees. He remained behind the armored wall of marines ahead of him. Zalika even used her arm and hand to help push the paleontologist to his stomach. It would further lower his profile.

“No offense, Doc,” Zalika told him. “But you got no armor compared to us. Lay low as possible.”

“You won’t have any argument from me,” Fengge said. He used his peripheral to look up at the empty void of space above him. The small profile of the Lifen lay in perfect position above him. It was difficult to track the port bow-mounted dual light railgun turret, but it was pointed relatively close to his position.

“Standby for firing,” Shira said.

“STANDBY!” Stone exclaimed. “Brace for bombardment!”

The marines cowered down and practically buried their hands in the dirt. Fengge could see the Lifen’s guns emit a bright dual flash. Small blue and purple particles radiated into space. The sound would have been deafening if it weren’t for the fact that there was no air to carry it. The paleontologist, however, wouldn’t be able to see the near instantaneous arrival of two sub-hypervelocity tungsten shells that ripped into the blast doors. The red-hot metal glowed. Tiny metal fragments plumed into multiple directions. Fengge felt the ground shake a little bit from the impact.

The Lifen fired again. Two more shells split near the same spot with perfect precision. Four holes could be seen. These holes were forming a shape, particularly a square. Metal fragments blew in multiple directions. One of these pieces, no bigger than a human finger, struck Stone’s power armor. It bounced off it and into space doing no harm to him. One more time, the Lifen fired. The shells cut into the door. Metal flew through multiple directions. Fengge swore that one of the pieces, the size of a fist, had landed next to him. It was lobbed upward from one of the previous shells and landed right next to him. However, the light gravity ensured that the piece of metal landed with a gentle thump, knocking sand into his visor.

The weapon fire had ceased. The debris had finished being flung around. Finally, Shira resumed on the comms.

“Stone, you are free to proceed into the base,” Shira said.

“Aye,” Stone said, giving a brief look at his team. “Let’s go!”

Fengge felt Zalika help hoist him up. By now, the paleontologist had an excellent view of the dome’s door. Everyone was moving at a quick but gentle pace. The blast door had been cut thoroughly. The giant circles planted into the surface cut and weakened it to the point that a section had been sheered away. It formed a lovely square big enough for two marines to walk in at a time. Upon reaching it, Stone could note the effectiveness of the shots made. It was set at the perfect low-powered setting to ensure that the shells wouldn’t pierce whatever lower sublevels might be located below.

“Absolutely incredible,” Fengge said to his camera drone. “The jaws of the treasures that lie within couldn’t compare to how this structure looks like from the outside. In we go to venture and find our prize.”

“Doc ... let’s hope that’s the only thing that’s in there,” Zalika said.

“I’m starting to get a little bit of data on this place, Master Sarge,” Isandro said. “There is something underneath us when it comes to a structure. The sensors are having a hard time penetrating it, but I’m picking what looks like a facility that connects the three domes together.”

“Understood,” Stone replied.

It didn’t take long before the marine team reached the door. Stone raised his hand to halt everyone. The cutaway section of the door was jagged but passable. It was difficult to see inside the interior.

“Isandro, Ioren,” Stone directed. “Use your drones.”

“Aye, Master Sarge,” Isandro said. Ioren was unable to respond verbally. However, both of them reached down to unhook a small device that connected to their armor. Isandro had a white cylindrical device. He tapped a few buttons, and it opened up. Inside was a series of small cameras and a thruster assembly. With the low gravity and lack of atmosphere, the device would have to hover. However, six thrusters kept it facing upright as it floated freely. Unlike, Fengge’s Monica, this drone would help serve as a forward mobile observation platform.

Ioren’s device was even smaller. It was the size of her hand and looked like a box. She tapped a button, and the entire object stretched out a pair of wings. In the center of the frame was a pair of yellow optical eyes. Four legs extended and made the thing stand up to balance on her hand. She tossed it ahead of her, and the device’s six little thrusters erupted to stabilize it and keep it hovering. The entire thing looked like a flying bug. Both of the devices flew into the interior of the structure. Isandro looked at his wrist computer and then hooked up the feed link to everyone’s visor. It would help as another eye for the team.

“Anything?” Stone asked.

“Nothing, Master Sarge,” Isandro replied.

Stone looked at Ioren, and she shook her head no.

“Alright, let’s move in!” Stone told the team.

In sets of pairs, the team began to filter into the base. Upon entering, Fengge could note the interior. Obviously, there was no atmosphere. Anything that might have been there, having been long vented when the base was destroyed. A curved hallway slowly wrapped both sides of the dome structure. The corridor was absolutely massive, extending up to 8 meters to the ceiling. The width was easily just as large. The Itreans and marines fanned out and covered both directions with their guns.

“Holy shit, this place is huge,” Zalika commented.

“It has to be,” Bekra explained. “The Alara’jal need big structures to accommodate their larger bodies.”

“I got that, Bek,” Zalika mocked her. “I’m not that stupid.”

“Not picking up anything,” Isandro said.

“Captain,” Stone said. “We’re in. Proceeding further.”

“Hmmm,” Shira replied. “The observation post is similar to a Type 63H Base commonly used in the late Alara’jal periods. Isandro’s readings are correct. Half of the base has been decompressed. However, it seems that over 500,000 cubic meters are still traversable. The schematics of the base layout have been uploaded to your visors. If this is true, proceed to the lower levels where the main computer core should be located.”

“Understood. Head left! Maintain forward and rear coverage. We have a long way to go if we are to reach the central elevator.”

Fengge walked as the marines seemed naturally on edge. The vast interior was spacious and dark. However, the visors continued to paint a clear picture of where to proceed. There seemed to be little on the bulkheads that were worth noting. Isandro’s sensor scanner was pinging in every direction.

“We are inside the Alara’jal ruins,” Fengge quietly explained to Monica. His drone continued to remain close to him. “So far, there appears to be no life that we can find, and it may indicate that the base is uninhabited. However, the sheer size of these hallways is big enough to push buses through them.”

“Doc,” Zalika said to him. “Mind easing up on the nature show?”

“Ah ... allow me to do my show, Sergeant Zalika. Besides, I can have you a part of this when I start editing this.”

“Don’t know,” Gavrill replied. “Gavrill would like being a superstar.”

“Stone,” Bekra explained as her helmeted crested head shifted to the side. “There should be an emergency backup unit somewhere on this base. If the main elevator is offline, then we use that, or we can access a hatch to take us down to the lower levels.”

“Understood,” Stone noted.

The team continued their walk around. They spotted a large enclosed rack on the right.

“Looks like a clothing rack of some sort,” Ihan said, lifting his gun up to inspect it. “It’s huge.”

There was a slow down in the walk as everyone briefly looked at it. Their heads appeared to gesture to the sheer size of the hanging objects.

“They are emergency space suits,” Bekra explained with a couple of clicks in her voice. “This entire area is a pressurization chamber that leads into the heart of the dome.”

“I wonder why they would build it like a ring around the dome?” Ihan asked. “It’s a lot of wasted space.”

“I don’t know. I’ve seen some Itrean bases that will build their structures like this. The idea is to help serve as a secondary layer of armor. However, it doesn’t always work.”

“Didn’t look like it saved the inhabitants of the base.”

“Remember, the Alara’jal would have been long dead before the Emphra arrived.” The Aksren woman shook her head and put one hand to her eye lens. “Hmm ... I might have something on my sensors.”

“What do you see?” Stone asked with some grit in his voice.

“It’s coming from inside, past this wall. It was brief.”

“Ioren?” Stone turned to look at her. She also nodded as well to confirm something.

“I just picked up something,” Isandro said. “It appeared, but it wasn’t moving. There isn’t enough to identify its composition. We are approaching the door that will lead us in.”

“Continue to maintain coverage,” Stone said.

The marines were breathing a little harder than expected. The drones continued to fly ahead of the team to help provide additional cover. By now, Ioren’s drone had landed and crawled on the side wall to help conserve its power. The lack of atmosphere prevented much in sounds, with the exception of the stomping boots that clattered against the deck plating. Enlai and Dariea both walked almost backward, keeping their large hip-mounted guns pointed to provide rear coverage. It was simply too quiet and eerie for any newcomer to see. Even Fengge could feel the tension.

“We may be the first travelers to come and see this area in hundreds of years,” Fengge whispered to his camera. “I have to be quiet, so I don’t alarm our courageous soldiers. Among one of the things we have spotted are the space suits used by the Alara’jal. They had to measure to three times my height. We feel like insects going through the caves of a giant.”

The team reached an enclosed entrance. The massive door stretched over 5 meters in height. It was coated in a brown sheen. If it weren’t for the different colors, it would have been possible to walk past it.

“Captain,” Stone said. “We’ve found the entry door leading into the central room of the dome. How do you want us to proceed?”

“Without power, the door won’t open automatically,” Shira replied on the comms. “However, there is a set of two manual override levers ... what the Alara’jal would call ‘talfa’ or ‘foot -switches’ are located to your bottom right, by the deck near the door.”

“Gavrill, come here!” Stone immediately saw the imprint by the door frame when he turned. His augmented vision allowed him to mark the areas underneath it. He stepped next to it and lifted his gun up. He kneeled down a little bit as Gavrill hopped up and got to him.

“Yes, Master Sarge,” Gavrill said.

“Grab the panel here.”

Both of the marines were larger than anyone else. Gavrill lifted his grenade launcher up and bent down. With each hand, the armored fingers dug into the indent. There was just enough room for it to slip in.

“Now pull!” Stone yelled.

“Argh!” Gavrill gritted his teeth. Both men had to tear a slab of metal that had been embedded into the door frame. Many of the team members watched as the two were using all their strength to yank on the hinges. The thick metal sheet was buckling.

“Harder, Gavrill!” the master sergeant told him.

“Come on, Gavrill, give it all you got!” Isandro tried to cheer him on.

“Gavrill trying!” Gavrill grunted.

“Fucking pull, Goddamn it!” Stone said.

“Argh!” Finally, the metal slab snapped open. It broke from its hinges and practically went flying, sending it crashing into Ihan’s boots, doing no harm to him.

Inside the large compartment were two levers. They were brown and shaped like two pads bigger than a human arm.

“Both must be depressed at the same time,” Shira said.

“Gavrill, grab one, and when I count to three, pull it down to the floor,” Stone said. Both men reached forward, and each grabbed one of the levers. “One! Two! Three!”

Fengge noted that the levers flipped down almost in tandem. Instantly, a series of gears and springs activated. The main door snapped and unlocked immediately. It slid open as some of the marines trained their guns toward the open entrance. Stone and Gavrill quickly stood up and readied themselves.

“Your drone, Ioren,” Stone gestured to her. Ioren tapped her helmet a little bit, and the crawling drone detached and flew to her. It didn’t take long before it flew directly into the entrance.

“Incredible,” Fengge said.

“You can say that again, Doc,” Zalika said.

The drone flew in as the marines remained in formation. Everyone could see deep into the center of the massive room. It was circular, much like the dome was. Dozens of enormous displays were all offline. The chairs parked by the consoles were enough to easily swallow a human.

All in all, it had to be over a football field in diameter. Three great columns lined near the mid-point of the room. They would stretch from the floor and reach all the way to the ceiling. The giant bars had various components and gadgets that lined their sides. In the very center was a massive circular elevator platform.

However ... there was something else in the room as well.

“Umm ... Master Sarge,” Isandro said. “I’m picking up organic residue.”

“I am too,” Bekra added. “Registering mercury and silicon deposits along with blood.”

Stone was looking at a smeared stain on the deck within seven meters from him. It had a color of red and gray on it as if something was dripping. He then looked up, but his eyes saw nothing except a circular dome ceiling. The trail led to the central elevator.