Frontline

“There are those Imperial citizens who scoff at the idea of something as simple as a base creature like the Amalgabeast is able to overpower entire battalions of Imperial soldiers. While Imperial troops are indeed fearsome, the fact is that there are bound to many forces in the galaxy that will challenge our troops in ways we ant even imagine. Only by working together can the citizen’s of the Empire ensure their safety and prosperity.”

-Excerpt from The Newcomer’s Guide to the Empire

Gorman ordered the remaining troops to see to the repair of the base while he, Kiryu, Ansaria and her squad assembled in the courtyard by the main gate.

“What we are about to embark on will decide the fate of these people, this world, and possibly others. Because of our current situation, I have decided that the strike team shall consist of myself, Sergeant Ansaria, and her squad. Kiryu, I am hereby putting you in charge until we return.”

While her demeanor did not change, the shock and anger was clear in Kiryu’s face.

“Lieutenant Gorman, forgive me, but you can’t be serious. You honestly expect to storm an island teeming with Emperor-knows how many hostiles, and you want me to remain here? If there’s anyone on this base who should be accompanying you, it’s me.”

“I understand your feelings, Kiryu, but we simply do not have the troops to spare. I need someone I trust holding down the fort while we’re gone; and if the worst should happen and I don’t return, I want you in charge.”

It was clear that Kiryu wanted to continue arguing, but she bit back whatever retort she had and swallowed her feelings.

“Very well, sir. Any other orders?”

Gorman shook his head and saluted.

“Not at this time. Now get back to your soldiers…lieutenant.”

Surprise filtered across the new LT’s face, but her unhappiness with the situation still showed on her face. She saluted her former superior and briskly walked back towards the base. Gorman addressed Ansaria and the others.

“I know that what we are about to undertake is undermining your own mission, and for that I’d like to apologize. I know that realistically this is the only way to ensure you are able to get off world, but I just wanted all of you to know how much I appreciate your help, and wanted to know if there was anything I could to help you in your task.”

Ansaria mulled over the lieutenants offer. She disliked the idea of trusting the data drive to anyone outside her own squad; after all, they still weren’t sure just how deep the conspiracy against the Emperor actually went. On the other hand, Gorman was right: this was essentially a suicide mission, albeit a necessary one. There was a very real chance none of them would be coming back, and if they all died and the information was lost, than the whole of the Empire would suffer.

“If I may, sergeant, I have an idea,” said Solemn. “While I realize that I am in the same situation as everyone else on this planet, now that I have the component I need to complete my experiment I believe it would be better for me to remain here with the others. I could hold on to your intel until your return, and if you don’t, well…then it won’t be doing anyone any good regardless.”

Ansaria considered this proposal. While Solemn wasn’t a member of her squad, he had ingratiated himself with them throughout this whole ordeal (despite their less than ideal meeting). She made up her mind and pulled out the data drive.

“The fate of the Empire rests with this information, Solemn. I’m trusting you with everything I hold dear, besides the lives of my troops.”

Solemn took the drive and protectively held it to his chest.

“Keep it secret, keep it safe.” Said Ansaria.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of…” said Gorman. “Sergeant, you and your troops pull the jeep around while I grab something from the armory. After that, we’ll make a pollenus-line for the shore.”

“Forgive me for raining on the formation, sir,” said Slog. “But how’s a jeep gonna get us to an island?”

“On the remote chance we’d be storming the island, I had all the hover-jeeps outfitted with aquatic stabilizers so that they could make the trip over open water. We just have to hope we don’t get brought down by any of the crustaceans we’ve seen swarming the waterfront.”

With that the squad got to work prepping the jeep while Solemn headed in the same direction Kiryu had while Gorman went to the armory. He returned after the squad had piled in the jeep by the front gate, his weapon slung across his back and a heavy case in his arms.

“What’s in the box, sir?” asked Ansaria.

Gorman gently set the box down in the back of the jeep and opened the top. Inside was a metallic oval with three yellow stripes around the middle. A digital interface was the only other feature on the object. Slog gave a low, impressed whistle.

“That’s a Nova bomb,” he said.

“A class-three Nova bomb,” said Tread. “capable of annihilating everything within twenty square miles.”

“Good eyes, soldiers,” said Gorman. “I’ve been holding on to this to use on the facility once we got there. This baby ought to have enough force to put a stop to what ever we find on the island.”

With that, the troops all settled into the jeep with Slog at the wheel and made their way out of the ruined gate into the battle scared, but still fog-covered cityscape beyond. They drove through the silent town at a brisk pace, everyone aboard wary of another attack, but anxious to make it to the island.

They heard the sound of lapping waves and smelled the salt air before they actual caught sight of the harbor. When they finally got close enough to the water to see it through the fog, they came to a stop. The waterfront had been just as decimated as the rest of the city, with ruined structures and vehicles dotting the shore. Two of the crustacean creatures they had seen in the lab patrolled the beach while a third emerged from the water, its long, thin antenna twitching in the air.

“Orders, sir?” asked Slog, who looked back at Gorman and Ansaria in the gunner’s position. Gorman was silent for a few moments before answering.

“Floor it.”

The jeep took off at full speed toward the water. The creatures’ reacted to the whine of the engines, but Ansaria, Gorman and Alvara each took down one of the beasts before they could do so much as shriek at them.

There was a single, nauseating moment where Ansaria’s stomach dropped as they hit the water and it seemed like the jeep would suddenly plunge into the cold liquid. However, the stabilizers kicked on and the craft leveled out as they continued to rocket towards their destination.

The trip over the water was more nerve-racking to Ansaria than the trip through the silent city had been. It was one thing to be gunned down from above or ambushed by a creature from the fog, but quite another to be attacked at sea; dragged down into the cold depths by one of the crustaceans, or some other, unknown horror. She shuddered at the thought, and hoped the others would think it was caused by the crisp wind of their speed.

Before long the island loomed out of the fog before them, its steep cliffs and shore line covered with sharp rocks. The only accessible part of the land mass was on the north side, so the craft veered around to find a landing point. Shrieks, roars and hisses filled the air along with the rush of wind and slap of waves on rock.

They made it ashore and saw a simple dirt and rock path winding along the ground leading to the still lab still hidden by fog. They slowed down from the breakneck speed they had used to get here to a more sensible one to navigate the shrouded landscape, all the while weary of an ambush.

As they slowly made their way toward the lab, they encountered their first hostiles on the island. A tall reptilian creature, with strong legs, a long, thick tail and stubby arms darted out of the fog and head butted the side of the jeep. If they’d been going faster, the impact might have sent them spinning away, but their slow speed meant they’d just been nudged a bit. Gorman grabbed the jeeps turret and unloaded on the creature, killing it in moments. An ape and a spider rushed at them out of the mist, but Tread hit the ape with his Plasma Cannon and Ansaria dropped the spider with a volley of her own. They paused for a few moments, but when no additional attacks were forthcoming they continued on their way.

It wasn’t until they reached the lab that they encountered more of the creatures. The facility was larger than the Psionics lab, with the entry way being half the size of the rest of the building that dominated the eastern cliffs. The doors were wide open and fog billowed out of the opening, pouring over the cliffs into the sea and drifting up into the air, the source of the mysterious mist. The most striking sight, though, was the assembly of monsters.

Apes, arachnids, insects, crustaceans and reptiles milled about the opening, all of them staring directly at the soldiers. Mantis creatures crawled along the walls and roof, making it seem like the whole building shifted and moved. Reptilian flyers flew in circles overhead, searching for any threats. There were new creatures as well; a pair of scaly, green beasts with hooks for hands and a single, red eye stood directly in front of the open doors, while above them, perched on the roof were a trio of golden, dragon-like monsters, with wings in place of arms, long serpentine necks and twin tails studded with spikes.

The appearance of the troops sent the assembled beasts into a frenzy. The island shook as the ground creatures madly charged the jeep while the flyers dived from the air, shrieking all the way. Gorman unloaded on the flyers with the turret, taking out scores of them while the others flung themselves out of the vehicle and into battle positions. Slog and Tread concentrated on the creatures in the front while Ansaria, Alvara and Critter’s drone attacked those in the rear.

One of the hook-handed beasts appeared behind a primate as it dropped dead from a shot by Slog and raced towards the shotgun-wielding soldier. Ansaria reacted in an instant, drawing her blade and blocking the strike from the creature’s natural weapon. The electrified blade caused the beast to flinch with a snarl, and Ansaria quickly followed up by removing the creatures head. Slog’s weapon roared twice and a pair of reptilian burrowers that had been about to pounce on the sergeant were blown to pieces.

“Guess we’re even, Sarge!” said Slog, before opening fire again.

The second creature rushed the group, though this time Tread moved to intercept. Quickly swapping out his cannon for his ‘Zapper’, he quickly side stepped a swipe from the creature’s hook and fired a high-voltage shot at the beast. The creature shrieked in pain from the electrical attack, which quickly arced into a nearby mantis and stumpy-armed reptile. The beast fell on its back, smoke drifting from the charred corpse.

When the last hook creature fell, the trio of golden beasts lifted off from the roof with cry like a cruel cackle. They opened their maws and lightning poured out, striking the ground around the jeep and forcing the squad to scatter. Gorman left from the vehicle before another volley of lightning struck, frying the vehicle and causing it to explode. The blast knocked Gorman onto his stomach but he quickly turned the fall into a roll, un-slinging his heavy blaster and switching to rapid fire mode. Countless beams streaked though the air, hitting one of the golden beasts in the chest and wings. It dropped from the air with a shriek and landed on the spiky back of a burrower, ensuring the death of both creatures.

Another of the creatures dived out of the air towards Gorman, striking him in the chest with its sturdy legs and landing on top of him. The lieutenant could barely cry out in pain as the heavy beast threatened to crush his chest. A moment latter, the creatures head was replaced with a smoking stump as Alvara killed it with a precision shot.

As Ansaria and Tread rushed to the fallen CO, the final beast came in for its attack. Lightning leapt from its mouth, striking Critter’s drone and destroying the small machine. It swooped low, aiming at Gorman and his rescuers before being knocked out of the air by a blast from Slog. The shotgun ripped through one of its wings and caused it to collide with the ground and skid toward them. It came to a stop in front of Slog and tried to pick itself up, roaring and thrashing in pain. Before Slog could stop him, Critter jumped of his squad mate’s shoulder and landed on the beasts head.

Grabbing hold of one of the head spikes to steady himself, Critter unloaded his small Stingers into the beast’s eye. This sent the beast into a new series of thrashing spasms, its spiked tail knocking aside some of the remaining creatures as Critter held on for dear life. With a final barrage from the tiny weapon into its already damaged eye, the creature was finally brought down.

The remaining creatures were quickly dispatched until finally the area was silent, aside from the crackling flames of the wrecked jeep. Gorman was alive, but something in his chest had been snapped and he was having trouble breathing. After they provided what aid they could, he demanded that they help him up.

“Are you sure, sir? Maybe you should remain here while we….”

“I did not watch my world be swallowed by monsters only to be stopped right outside their lair!” shouted Gorman. His face was contorted with pain but he stared defiantly into Ansaria’s eyes. “Get me on my feet, soldier!”

Ansaria and Tread helped him up, being as gentle as they could. Gorman couldn’t walk on his own, so Tread offered to help him along, slinging one of the lieutenant’s arms over his shoulder.

“I’m going to see this through,” he said through gritted teeth. “I have to.”

Before pressing on, they dug through the wreckage of the battle to find the Nova bomb. Thankfully, the device was harmless unless activated and the sturdy case had protected the ordinance.

The squad slowly made their way into the building past the corpse strewn battlefield. The entryway was dark and thick with fog, but seemed to be devoid of life. It wasn’t until they reached the larger building that they found the lights were still on.

“If this place still has power…” pondered Ansaria. “Tread, give the LT to Slog for a minute and find a computer. Let’s see just what the hell is going on here.”

Tread complied and searched the room they were in, quickly locating a terminal. A few moments later, he found what they were looking for.

“This facility was conducting research into inter-dimensional travel, apparently trying to find a means of interplanetary travel that doesn’t require venturing into space.”

“So, they were looking for a new form of Z-space?” asked Alvara.

“Correct. They created a portal that was able to breach dimensions, but all their investigations into it came up empty handed; none of their probes ever came back and they were hesitant to send anyone in without further data.”

“So how do the monsters and the fog tie into this?”

“The fog is apparently a natural occurrence of the breached dimension. They never kept the portal active for long, so the fog quickly dissipated once it was closed, though they were also beginning to study it as well. The only mention of the creatures comes from a Doctor Serizawa. Apparently, Serizawa was convinced the dimension was home to native life, though his colleagues disagreed as none had been detected. Serizawa’s claims eventually became so forceful that he was removed from the project on the grounds of being mentally unfit to continue working. Three days later, Serizawa override the system so he could access the portal again,” He paused, before saying, “I have located audiologs from after the activation.”

Static filled the room before a panicked broke through.

“Serizawa’s gone mad!” It was a female voice. “We’ve tried to call the mainland, but the griza fog is blocking our comms.! The security director told us all to go to our rooms…I can here the fighting downstairs. I don’t know what that madman let through, but I can here shrieking, horrible shrieking! Whatever it is, it--” The voice suddenly cut out.

Tread played another. This time a man’s voice came through.

“All the security agents are dead,” the voice sounded sad and resigned; the faint sound of banging could be heard in the background. “Those of us left have taken shelter on the top floor. Trizer and some of the others tried to reach the motor pool, but I don’t think they made it. We aren’t either,” The banging sound grew louder, and the shriek of metal tearing could be heard. “Please, if anyone gets this, tell my sons I’m sorry, and that I love them.” A final loud shriek was heard, this time from one of the monsters and the file ended.

“Tread,” said Ansaria. “Do you have a spare drive we could put these files on? Make sure they get back to the right people?”

“I’ll have the files copied in just a few moments, sergeant,” said Tread.

When that was done, they pressed on deeper into the facility. The fog continued to permeate the building, but they continued to not encounter any monsters. Eventually, they came to a wide staircase that rose up to another level. The fog flowed down it like gaseous river, and at the top, a lit doorway could be seen through the thick mist. The group readied themselves and ascended the staircase.

When they reached the top, they were momentarily blinded by the bright light coming from the room. When their eyes adjusted, they found they were standing in the entrance way of a massive room that looked as though it made up the bulk of the buildings central interior. Equipment lined the walls; computer terminal were scattered throughout, while analyzers sat dark and silent. A long cat walk stretched out before them, at the end of which was a massive ring, easily three meters tall. The interior of the ring was awash with swirling light, and the ever-present fog flowed from it like blood from a mortal wound. The fog flowed along the length of the walkway and spilled over the side, filling the space beneath the ring with a sea of mist. To the left of the ring was a control console, and the room’s single occupant.

He had his back to them when they entered, but, whether because he heard or sensed their arrival, he turned to face them. He was wearing a lab coat that, while once pristine and white, was now dirty and ragged, with patches that looked as though they had been burned or rubbed with dirt. Beneath his coat he wore a full body hazmat suit that clung to his thin frame. His face was concealed beneath a one-way reflective helmet that covered his entire head, except for a piece that had been broken off, revealing the grayish skin, and a single, wild, black eye of Dr. Sarizawa.

As soon as he registered their presence, Sarizawa pressed a button on the console. The device beeped twice before falling silent.

“You’re too late, Imperial worms!” he said, his voice high pitched and frantic, the voice of a man who has lost all grip on his sanity. “I’ve locked the controls and the king of the Jukai is on his way! Once he arrives, he will lead his children into this world and purge it of all the non-believers! And once we have purged this world, we shall use the portal to move on to the next, until your precious Empire is nothing but a smoldering memory! Nothing in creation can stop it!” He began to laugh madly.

Gorman snarled in rage and lunged forward, bringing his massive blaster to bear. A half dozen flashes of energy lanced out and struck the mad doctor in the center mass. His laugh turned to strangled gurgles as he collapsed against the console, his wounds smoking. He slowly slid to the floor before falling to his side, his exposed eye going dark and blank.

After a few moments, Gorman turned to the others.

“We need to set the bomb and get of this damn island, now,” he said. Ansaria nodded and knelt down to begin unpacking the device, when a massive roar reverberated through out the room.

They all turned toward the portal. From within the swirling light, a black mass was forming, getting larger with each passing second. They began to hear thunderous footsteps as the mass nearly filled the interior of the ring. A pair of clawed hands reached out and grabbed either side of the portal, before a massive, scaly, gray head emerged from the dimensional breach. The snarling visage of the king of the Jukai fully emerged, it’s eyes small, and full with what could only be described as genocidal hate.

Gorman pulled himself to his feet.

“Get that bomb set now!” he said, before he began lurching towards the monster, opening up with his cannon. The energy blasts struck the massive beast in the face, and made it roar in pain, though they seemed to be nothing more than pinpricks to it. Ansaria frantically used her TIG to program the bomb as Gorman continued to advance on the beast, his weapon firing on full auto.

The creatures eyes began to glow with energy which than began to fill its maw, it opened its mighty jaws wide, as Gorman, seemingly intent on continuing his futile attack, marched forward.

Ansaria’s squad scattered to either side as the beast unleashed a torrent of burning, blinding energy from its mouth. Goreman’s cry was cut short, his weapon flying from his hands has he disintegrated into nothingness. The blast ripped through the doorway and out through the rest of the building, unhampered buy anything in it’s path.

While shocked by Goreman’s near instantaneous death, she glanced at her TIG and saw the bomb was synced. Summoning her telekinetic abilities, she lifted the Nova bomb and sent it flying towards the portal, straight as an arrow. The bomb passed through the energy membrane that separated the two worlds without a sound. The King Jukai regarded the soldiers with its malicious eyes and began summoning its energy for another attack.

“Tread, the console!” said Ansaria.

In the blink of an eye, Tread swapped his Zapper for his ion blaster. He lined up his shot and fired, the blast striking the controls just above Serizawa’s lifeless corpse. The console sparked briefly before going completely dark. A warning siren filled the room as the portal began to contract. The beast’s claws were torn from the side of the portal. It roared in rage and opened it’s mouth to incinerate them as the portal collapsed around it.

Ansaria triggered the bomb. From the rapidly closing portal there was the sound of a million thunderbolts and the creature’s reptilian visage became awash in white hot light. The monsters jaws snapped shut and they saw a look of surprise and pain in its beady eyes as the portal swirled shot, the only remnants of the megaton bomb a small disgorge of energy, and then the room was silent.

Ansaria collapsed backwards onto the floor, suddenly exhausted. She lay there for a few moments before she summoned the will to sit up and regard her squad. They were all looking at her with looks of relief, disbelief and uncertainty. After another moment to compose herself, she got to her feet.

“Come on,” she said, her voice unusually flat. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Before they left, Ansaria used her powers to collect Goreman’s weapon. She was sure somebody would want it. They snagged copy of the building’s layout from the system and made their way to the garage.

Alvara led the way, Ansaria lagging behind as she lugged Goreman’s weapon with her. When they reached the motor pool, she remained by the entrance as the rest fanned out to find something to get them off the island.

“Over here!” called Slog. They all converged on his location to view his discovery.

“Thank the Emperor for small favors,” he said, as they regarded the craft before them. It was a fully intact Starhopper, likely used by one of the facilities head honchos or investors for conducting off world visits. Tread entered the system to open the launch doors as the rest piled in. With that, the Starhopper shot out into the fog covered seascape and back towards the base.