MARS: 2 - Strike - TITAN Contractors
22 Feb 2022Aurora Adair (Radiumio)
NOTE: This story contains themes of violence and strong language.
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DATE: 22nd of February, 3308 [04:00 UGT]
LOCATION: T.O.C. Solaris Q4V-40N, Misir"Alright! Listen up!"
A man clad in a silver Dominator suit paced around a holographic table, the blue light piercing through the darkness of the briefing room. Nine silhouettes crowded around the table, observing the rotating blueprint of an artificial surface structure. Brushing smooth brown hair back, Captain Faust scratched his stubble as he looked around at his subordinates around the table, soon fixating on Sgt. Locke at the other side for a moment as he stopped his pacing.
"We dispatch in an hour, so I hope you all have your gear ready. We're going to go through the plan one more time to make sure everyone is on the same page. Now is the time to ask any questions if you have them."
"On the 18th of February, Mantis intel analysts uncovered network data from cargo bay Delta-One, with the help of Commanders. Their findings revealed a message, the contents of which have confirmed that the squadron is once again being targeted. Simply put, we cannot allow any more attacks to happen. This is why we must strike first. The data was received by a signal which still remains constant. Network specialists have severed the signal to prevent any more network intrusions, but we were able to identify that the signal bounced through a listening post, which then bounced to an unknown installation on our target planet."
"Our objective for today is to raid an installation located in the system HIP 71938, planet 2 C. The conditions on the planet are fairly typical. Low gravity, carbon-dioxide atmosphere, and temperatures are at around minus 80 degrees. Thanks to this, we cannot risk exposure in suits that are not rated for the environment. The operation is also likely to be undertaken at night, and your AR night-vision should assist with that."
"The blueprint in front of you is a scan performed by our recon team which scouted out the aboveground portion of the facility half an hour ago. GPR scans indicate that the majority of the facility is underground, with the entrances guarded by automated sentry skimmers marked illegal by local system authority."
"No signs of any human presence was observed at the site. However, our contacts with system authority have confirmed that the installation was once an old abandoned mining outpost overtaken by scavengers. Therefore, do not expect a welcome response. Each team has their own set of objectives."
Looking up at Locke, the Captain continued, his voice echoing throughout the silent room.
"Sergeant Locke. You are in charge of this operation, leading your element, Sabre, into the compound. Two Scorpions will be deployed alongside your dropship, codenamed 'Rhino 1' and 'Rhino 2'. Your dropship, Oracle, will deploy you 800 metres out from the target position. Rhino will clear the outer perimeter and neutralize any sentry skimmers while Oracle assumes a holding pattern around the area of operations. Your element will mobilise forward using Rhino's assault as an opportunity, and make entry to the compound."
"Any presence at the location is to be considered hostile. Once you have made entry into the structure, your primary objective is to clear the area of all enemy forces. Secondly, you are to locate any databases, communication arrays or any facility uplink and gain access. Locate any record of the signal and its origin and report back immediately. As usual, you will answer to our CC which will be stationed aboard Oracle. Typical protocols apply. Nothing special for this op."
"Any questions?"
The room fell silent, as the Captain glanced around. Without another word, he clapped his hands together and nodded.
"Good. Let's get to it."
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DATE: 22nd of February, 3308 [05:21 UGT]
LOCATION: Unknown Installation, HIP 71938 2 CIDENT: {Oracle} "[Approaching drop-zone!]"
The ship shuddered and groaned as the aerodynamic shape of the Crusader pierced through the light atmosphere. Red lights flickered to life inside the drop-bay, barely illuminating the cold interior, three black visors catching the light as unmoving armoured figures shook in the drop harnesses. Locke took a breath in, looking down at his feet as he held his rifle close to his chest, the cargo hatch doors beneath his feet. Feeling the ship pitch up and begin to slow its rapid descent, Locke looked up, calling out.
"Get ready!"
As if suddenly coming to life, the rest of Sabre readied and loaded their weapons, sounds of the actions chambering echoing throughout the small drop bay. Booting up his suit HUD and looking down once again, the doors parted with a loud hiss, separating aside as the abyss below became visible. The drop harnesses lowered slightly, sliding forward into the bay and spinning around as the ship's thrusters roared, the hull shaking as the ship slowed. The drop bay light flicked to green.
IDENT: {Oracle} "[Go, go, go!]"
The harnesses released and dropped the four of them into the deep abyss, the ground only visible a few metres below thanks to the dim light from the ship. Landing with both feet and taking a knee, Locke's HUD fully initialised and began to provide the critical information he needed from this point onwards. Bringing his rifle forward into his hands and stocking it into his shoulder, Locke broke away into a combat jog, seeking cover at a rock nearby. The white light of the facility ahead burst through the darkness, the orange ambience of the atmosphere visible on the horizon.
Seeking cover as he did, the rest of his element took up position nearby, weapons at the ready. Activating his night-vision, Locke's visibility of the surrounding environment drastically improved, and with a nod, he stepped out of his cover, starting his advance.
The dropship still hovering above, two thuds behind shook the ground nearby, powerful engines roaring to life as CSF-marked Scorpions took off, following their external drop from the outer hull of the Crusader. Speeding off, both SRVs took a separate flank, approaching the facility rapidly as Sabre continued their advance. And, as if by sheer luck, the facility lit up, red lights activating as a loud klaxon was just barely audible from this distance. They'd raised the alarm.
"Let's double-time it! We've triggered the alarms! Oracle, move to the holding pattern!"
IDENT: {Oracle} "[Roger, moving now.]"
Breaking into a sprint, Sabre charged across the open, rocky terrain, the Crusader's thrusters firing as it passed above, disappearing into the distance. Rhino's Scorpions had just reached the compound, bursts of plasma and laser fire flashing in the distance. Sparks and fire lit up the surrounding compound as sentry skimmers combusted into a brilliant array of scorched debris and melted electronics. So far, it seems like the combat vehicles had the attention of the automated defences.
His breathing echoing within the confined space of his helmet, Locke came to a skidding halt near the outer wall of one of the structures. His element followed suit, forming a line behind him as they slowly advanced, rounding the corner of the facility as they got closer. Sentry skimmers duked it out with the combat SRVs just outside the perimeter, but the automated defences were no match for the superior manned vehicles. The surrounding area was now covered with broken sentry pieces and shrapnel from the fighting, fragmentation pinging off the surrounding structures.
"Shields on!"
SUVAS: "Shield Activated."
Activating his shields, the blue field formed around him and the rest of his team as they followed the order. Advancing into the compound, using the wreckages as cover, Locke spotted a bulkhead door on one of the secondary structures. Both were interconnected underground, and since this door was the most obvious, he decided to take it. Getting to his feet, Locke picked up the pace and began to jog across the compound, rifle raised at a nearby skimmer. Detecting their nearby presence, the skimmer vectored its thrusters to spin around, its turret facing him. Locke was just about to pull the trigger before a missile slammed into the skimmer from behind, the fragmentation perforating it as it catastrophically detonated, coating the surrounding area with shrapnel.
Covering his head, the resultant debris covered the ground below, fragments bouncing off the ground nearby as the element charged forward, coming to a skidding halt near the door. Stacking up to the flanks of the door with his team, Locke pressed the console a few times. Seeing the door not budge at all, he gestured to it, placing his hand back on his rifle.
"Specialist, get this door open!"
"Yes sir." With a nod, Spc. Adeline approached the door, pulling out a device of sorts that she plugged directly into the console. With a beep, it seemed to get to work as she stepped back, retrieving her carbine from her back again. Within seconds, the door console light flickered green and the bulkhead slid open, allowing access. Stepping inside with his rifle raised, Locke cleared the airlock as the rest of his element followed, stepping through the blue forcefield. They were now inside a dark, metal hallway, no one in sight. No further automated defences either.
"Clear!"
Advancing slowly, Locke raised his hand to his helmet, activating his communications.
"Command, we're making entrance to the facility now. No hostile presence encountered. Over."
IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Copy that, Sabre. Rhino and Oracle will hold their positions. Clear the compound and obtain any intel, then report back. Out.]"
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DATE: 22nd of February, 3308 [05:58 UGT]
LOCATION: Underground Facility [-72m], HIP 71938 2 C"Nothing. Goddamnit." Helvet got to his feet as he released the server rack, looking around the cold, ventilated room. Sabre had swept the facility for a little over 30 minutes and still found nothing. Locke figured they were fairly deep by now, having descended into the underground part of the facility extensively. Any databases or server racks they found were wiped, inaccessible or powered off. He marked the inaccessible ones for later, but so far they were no closer to cracking any of this mystery.
"Right. Nothing here either. Helvet and Adeline, take the elevator down to the next level. Lionel and I will sweep the remaining bit of the floor and see if we find anything. Make sure you don't get cut off. This place is a ghost town, but who knows what's lurking?"
With a nod, Helvet tapped the shoulder of Specialist Adeline, who was examining a rack nearby, and both swiftly departed the room, walking between towers of server racks as they advanced back out into the hallway. Turning to a tall, heavily-armed figure near him, Locke gave him a nod, going to turn before he was interrupted.
"Sergeant, with all due respect, we're wasting our time with this data retrieval. All the servers are locked. What's the point?" The man's thick, gruff Federal accent echoed throughout the confines of the server room. Locke turned back around and looked up at him, narrowing his eyes slightly - even if Lionel wouldn't see it through the visor. He wasn't sure whether to be offended or in agreement, but remembering all that had been going on, he picked the former.
"You remember the statement our SC released? The protests aboard the Solaris? You really think it's worth backing down now when the squadron could be threatened again? When whoever our enemies are want to go after her and everything we stand for again? Show some respect, Lionel. We're here to do a job and we're doing it. End of."
Lionel's black, reflective visor stared back at Locke, as both traded a long stare. Seeing as the conversation wasn't going anywhere else, Locke turned yet again and began to walk out the room, pulling his AR-50 rifle from his back. Lionel followed suit, drawing a plasma rifle almost as big as the man himself as they exited the labyrinth of server racks, stepping out into a long, dark hallway. The lights were on but dim, and the cold, rusted metal that predominantly made up the hallway made the place even more eerie despite the power being on. Glancing back where Helvet and Adeline had gone, Locke proceeded forward, walking down the hallway cautiously as he kept his rifle ready. The place was quiet, save for the ventilation systems and occasional, distant alarms that they had triggered earlier.
IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Sabre 1-1, SITREP. You've been in there for 40 minutes. What's going on?]"
Pausing his advance, Locke looked around the dilapidated hallway, sighing as he looked back at Lionel.
"We've found nothing, Command. Still no obvious way to uplink to the facility, and the underground section is too big for my team to clear alone. We're still clearing it, but the place is empty, sir. Recommend we wrap it up and have an intel team crack the locked server banks we've already found."
IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[Negative, Sabre. Clear the entire facility before we send in a tech team. You know the remainder of our force is tied up with securing the Solaris. This is all we can spare, and we cannot afford any mistakes. Out.]"
Huffing, Locke slung his rifle onto his back and pulled his PDA from his belt, switching it on. Opening up the facility blueprint, he began to swipe through with his thumb, finding their current position. According to the blueprint, there were six small rooms ahead, a t-junction connecting them to the main hallway.
"Right. Let's take this junction up ahead. We'll clear the left first and then do the right. Guessing it's some kind of barracks or storage based off the size of the rooms."
With no reply from Lionel, Locke slid the PDA back into the pouch on his belt, grabbing his rifle as he advanced. The junction was just up ahead, but it seemed the deeper they advanced into the facility, the more run-down it looked. Crates were strewn across the floors of hallway, wall panels were hanging off, and lights were flickering. It was enough of an annoyance for Locke to enable his night-vision again, highlighting the exact shape of the hallway as they proceeded into the flickering unknown. Quickly clearing the right, he swivelled left as he trained his rifle on the hallway. The lights were off, except for one or two near the end of the hallway. And what they highlighted didn't make sense.
"... What is that?"
SUVAS: "Shield Activated."
Activating his shields and advancing forward into the darkness, Lionel followed, the walls of the hallway lighting up a brilliant blue for a moment as their shields formed. As Locke continued closer, and closer, what he was seeing became more clear. It was just like the Amalgamation. An unidentifiable, fleshy mass covered the entire hallway of the floor underneath the light, panels covered in blood as even the ceiling dripped red. The sight was horrific but something Locke could never tear his eyes away from. He approached closer, Lionel stopping and staring at him as he continued forward, his boots squelching as they stepped in pools of blood beneath. His breathing picked up as he got closer and closer to the sight. Who would do this? Why would they do this to people?
"Locke. What are you doing?"
Looking back at Lionel, who was standing a few metres behind, Locke snapped back towards the sight - only to find that it wasn't there anymore. Only a relatively clean, empty hallway remained, the dim lights flickering above.
"... What? What just happened? There..."
"Sir. Are you alright? This is a dead-end. We just passed three doors."
"No. No, there was... people here. Like the... mashed, squished remains of people just... laying here, and the hallway... everything was covered in blood. Just like in that fucking canister."
Lionel just stared at Locke, not sure what to say. Realizing it sounded ridiculous, Locke lowered his rifle, staring ahead at the dead end of the hallway. He had no clue what to make of anything that happened, and so he simply turned back, staring at the floor. Without another word, he began his march back down the hallway, soon reaching one of the nearby doors. According to the console, the door was unlocked, and with a simple gesture, the both of them stacked up to the side of the door, Locke pressing the console. Stepping forward swiftly beyond the threshold of the door, he slammed on the brakes and froze, staring into the room.
A bloodied body hung from the ceiling via a metal chain, dangling above an open cargo canister. A blue wall light shone on the male figure, illuminating their disfigured face.
He'd recognize that uniform from anywhere. A Solaris crew member. His attention immediately shifted to the two silhouettes standing nearby, blood red capes hanging behind them from their waist as they turned to look at the door, white skulls etched onto black visors. Clad in dark red Dominator suits that looked heavily modified beyond their stock configuration, the figures turned their bodies to face Locke, drawing sidearms from their hips. An exclamation from Lionel confirmed this wasn't a hallucination.
"Shit!"
Locke's eyes widened as the one figure rapidly raised his weapon, pulling the trigger. With a flash of purple light, a plasma bolt connected with Locke's chest, his shield collapsing as it sent him stumbling backwards behind cover, pressing up against the doorway once he caught his footing.
SUVAS: "Shield Offline."
Fumbling for control over his firearm, Locke shouldered his rifle and flicked the safety off, backing away from the doorway. A second plasma bolt shot past as Lionel crossed the 'fatal funnel' in front of the door, sprinting over to Locke's side. The both of them backed up, quickly crouching down behind crates in the hallway as cover. As the figures stepped out of the room, now armed with plasma rifles, they began to besiege the two CSF soldiers, applying pressure as plasma bolts chipped away at their cover.
"Fuck! Who are these people?! Lionel, get us out of here!"
Ducking down further, Locke yelled out into his communicator as Lionel threw a shield projector slightly behind them, the cylindrical grenade rolling on the floor.
"All callsigns, this is Sabre! We are engaged with unknown hostiles in Sector 3! I need backup, NOW!"
SUVAS: "Shield Online."
With a little beep, the projector grenade behind them shot upright as its levelling legs deployed, righting the grenade as an energy shield beamed out from the top, forming a perfect sphere of cover. Now with Locke's suit shields back, he jumped to his feet and made a break for the projector shield, Lionel in close pursuit. Plasma rounds connected with them and the forcefield as they dashed for the junction exit, their shields absorbing the rounds. Now in the main hallway, the both of them transitioned into a bounding sprint, crossing the distance between the hallway and the elevator rapidly.
"Rhino, this is Sabre! Disembark now and enter the facility, we need reinforcement down here!"
There was a long pause before any response came. Shots began to follow Locke and Lionel down the hallway, forcing them to seek cover before they continued their sprint for the exit elevator. Locke quickly slid behind a low-lying crate, ducking as he tried to blind-fire over the crate, buying time for Lionel.
"Fuck! Get down!"
Diving behind cover, Lionel settled down behind cover with his plasma rifle in his hands, shifting onto his side as he fired a precise shot down the hallway, ceasing the enemy's suppressive fire for a short moment. There was no reprieve, however, as the next transmission over the radio made Locke's blood run cold.
IDENT: {Rhino 1} "[Sabre, we're taking fire! Rhino 2 lost their SRV, and we've sustained critical damage! We cannot hold out any longer!]"
"Shit..."
IDENT: {CENTCOM} "[All units, be advised. Reinforcements are en-route, but hostile vessels are vectoring to our position. Oracle cannot maintain the holding pattern. Stand your ground. Out.]"
"Stand your ground?! Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Reaching down to his belt, Locke pulled a Disruptor grenade from a pouch, readying it in his hands as he twisted the top, preparing the grenade. Lobbing it over his cover, the grenade bounced further down the hallway, the first impact priming it until its fuse expired, the grenade discharging a massive amount of focused electromagnetic energy. The two figures down at the end of the hallway flinched, their shields collapsing as the Disruptor interfered with their suits, seeking cover. Locke took the opportunity to peek out of cover, discharging a burst from his kinetic rifle as the rounds just barely missed one of the figures running for cover.
Suppressing their positions, Locke and Lionel continued to fire. The firefight continued until running footsteps were audible behind Locke. He sighed in relief - finally the rest of his element had arrived.
"Finally! You guys sure took your ti-..."
A boot came towards Lionel, kicking him forward into the crate he was using for cover. His head connected with it and he crumpled immediately. Shields were not stopping that one. Locke jumped to his feet and turned around, raising his rifle at the red armored figure behind him. Swiftly, his attempt was countered as the individual swatted his rifle aside, punching him in the throat. Despite the neck guard, Locke released his weapon out of shock and stumbled backwards into the crate. Using the momentum from the punch, he rolled backwards over the crate, jumping to his feet as he raised his fists.
He didn't have time to reach for his other weapon, before the figure stepped in, executing a jab. Swiping the hand aside, Locke delivered his own punch to the helmet of the figure, a pain immediately shooting through his hand. The punch did seem to disorient them for a split second, but it wasn't enough. Trying to quickly reach back for his tactical knife, the figure slammed into him before he could grab it. Stumbling back, Locke's feet were kicked out from under him as he collapsed back onto the ground, yelling out in pain as his suit pack caused him to land very uncomfortably, partially on his side.
"Fuck you, you piece of sh-..."
With the figure delivering a kick to Locke's helmet, his visor cracked slightly as his head collided with the floor beneath him, prompting a groan of pain. He tried to get to his feet, but was kicked over, rolling onto his front as the figure put their boot into his back, pinning him down. They almost seemed to show pity as they reached back to a pouch on their hip, pulling out a PDA of their own. It didn't seem anything special, but the figure simply dropped it next to Locke on the floor. With a shake of their head, they removed their foot, and without another word, delivered another kick to the side of his helmet. He saw it coming, and tried to dodge it to no avail.
All Locke saw next was darkness.
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