Chapter 10: The Silver Rain Part 2

Seven marines were all that was left of the team. Kole had his hands to the console as the weight of the pressure sat on him. This was a mission of escape rather than anything else. A seemingly simple rescue or recon mission had turned into the worst horrors that anyone could witness.

Chuang could see the Staff Sergeant was doing his best to handle it as he looked over to Bekra for some sense of security. The fact was that the events rattled even her. Her tail would twitch and turn a little bit. She had one hand on her crested head as she had her eyes closed.

Chuang’s arm twitched as he could see Carlos and Zalika walk into the bridge. He quickly let go of the rifle as he could see that it was friendlies that had joined them on the ventral bridge.

“Staff Sergeant,” Carlos addressed him as he kept his hand on Zalika’s shoulder. “We have the batteries fixed. We are ready to commence the transfer.”

“Understood...” Kole replied.

Zalika seemed to grip her arm as she kept a hold of her M18. Bekra walked up to join her and remain close to her. She used her free hand to take Carlo’s place as he stepped aside.

“Too many...” Zalika said. “Just happening too soon.”

“I know Karine was your best friend before I ever came here,” Bekra said.

“Isn’t just that. They had to put all of us into this sort of shit. Entrap us in this shit stain of a place ... Wei didn’t even hesitate in putting him into this...”

Zalika gestured over to Chuang as he nodded.

“Just amazes me that he decided to do that,” Zalika said. “If I get out of this, I am punching Major Marshall in the head before they submit me into the hospital.”

“Why is that?” Kole asked.

“For allowing it to happen. Marshall could have protested, and he didn’t. Fucking officer just orders us to our deaths and not consider what happens to us. The man will just sit in his chair and keep working on Eutera like nothing happened. I can’t forgive that. I can’t forgive him for killing my friend. I can’t forgive for putting a rookie into this death trap, either.”

“And Wei?”

“The Master Sergeant is dead. The tragedy is the others that went with him,” she paused. “Harper ... Cassidy ... Penn ... Felix ... Uluwehi... , “ she stopped then and there as she shook her head.

“Then it is up to us to get the hell off this ship,” Kole commented. “Cruz ... let’s hope that we can transfer power and get the computer running.”

“There is no guarantee that it will work,” Cruz replied on the comms. “We might lose any remaining power once we transfer it.”

“There is another problem as well,” Carlos said. “If we transfer power, the Emphra might track it.”

“He is right,” Bekra said. “The Emphra went towards the sounds and vibrations where it was strongest. That came from Karine and her team when they were closing the doors. Right now, the Emphra might know where we are at, but then again, they might not. We were right in the line of their movements, and they completely passed our door leading to us.”

“Yeah ... in fact, one blast and the Emphra would have reached the shaft and gotten all of us.”

“So, what does this all mean?” Cruz asked.

“It means that if we stay low, then the Emphra won’t pursue us. If it weren’t for Karine, you and Adrian would be dead now or made a part of them. The moment you closed your door to the power room, it made a sound or ... vibration. If Karine hadn’t closed the doors, then it would have gone straight to you.”

“Good for me then, right? So this is the part where you tell me it is going to go to shit even more then?”

“If we activate the power transfer, then the Emphra will pick it up. The problem is that the power transfer will create a sound or whatever it is doing to track us. It will be the loudest from the power room when the transfer is done.”

There was a long pause in the conversation. To give the order to transfer power might as well been a death sentence.

“Dammit...” Cruz said. “Fucking dammit.”

“Is there any way that we can escape from this ship?” Kole asked.

“This warship is a dead ship,” Carlos explained. “We have a few ways we can try to escape from. The primary way we can do it is through the way we came from, and that is the shuttle access hatch.”

Carlos pressed a few buttons on his wrist computer as the blueprint of the ship appeared. A flashing red dot appeared near the forward stern section of the vessel.

“This is our primary means that we can escape and get out. Hell, we don’t even need the shuttle. We can vent the area into space and use our suits to survive until we get picked up by the shuttle.”

“That seems like the best idea,” Zalika said as she was regaining her composure.

“There is one problem, though, and it is an obvious problem. The Emphra are most likely all in that section right now. If we go out into the main passageway, they will grab us. We would have to blow past them just to reach the door. The other problem is that we need power to open up the hatchway.”

“What about contacting the shuttle and having them do it?” Cruz asked.

“No,” Bekra answered. “As I said before, the Emphra will simply go to the shuttle and spread itself if we try that.”

“The main way we have is to transfer the remaining power to here and hope that it is enough to power up the computers and access the hatchway controls. Then we open up the hatch and someway try to make our escape.”

“What about the shuttles ... the Columbus shuttles?” Cruz asked.

“That is another way, but that problem is one that we already know,” Kole said.

“The Emphra set up nests in expected places. Most likely, there would be a nest up there, and we would go right into it much like what happened to Cassidy,” Bekra answered.

“Not to mention that whole area would be a death trap for us,” Kole added. “We have no idea how bad the infestation has spread through the decks above the main deck.”

“Escape pods?” Zalika asked.

“Also in the shuttle bay,” Carlos replied. “It is one of the reasons why the ship has the shuttle hangar in the center, so everyone goes to it to get out. Another way we can escape since we have our suits is...” He paused as he pressed a button to show a red dot near the ship’s forward top and bottom. A series of red tubes became highlighted. “We could try to reach the missile tubes and fire ourselves out. The tubes would be large enough to accommodate us as we jettison ourselves out into space.”

“What about that?”

“There would be the same problem as before. The deck to get to that is above the main deck. It would lead us right in the path near the shuttle bay. Down here, the deck above us leads to the munitions of the bottom and side AIO turrets, above us leads to the deck where you can access the top AIO turret and work your way to the missile tubes forward. I wouldn’t be surprised that is how the Emphra had access to the munitions to blow open the blast doors to begin with.”

“Ugh...” Zalika replied as she shook her head.

“There is no other way?” Cruz asked.

“Those are the only ways off this ship,” Carlos answered. “Sorry to say that, but the UHN tries its best to make the ship blast-proof against nuclear warheads. They want to limit access to it, and that limits the ways that people can enter or leave a ship. The shuttles, tubes, or hatchway is the only way to leave, short of creating a massive hull breach to leap out into space.”

“All of it means us walking out straight into the path of the Emphra...” Kole commented.

“Yeah...” Carlos sighed. “But ... we still have the laser option. We might be able to construct some sort of weapon that can harm the Emphra, but we need more power than what Zalika’s augmented power cells can deliver.”

“But we could also use it to power up the computers and access the hatch controls...” Kole said.

“Damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” Carlos said as he shrugged his arms. “Even if we open the hatch, without anything to defend ourselves, we are as good as dead. The Emphra will have us for lunch.”

“What about the other lights of the ship?” Chuang asked.

“Those are emergency micro LED lights that you see,” Zalika told him. “They run on tiny little power cells. The amount of power in them is even less than what we would ever have in the ship’s batteries alone. They wouldn’t even power up a computer, let alone going and fetching all of them to even try. No.”

“That is out of the question,” Kole explained. “I won’t have marines scouring to squeeze any additional juice from some corner of the ship just to have the Emphra bearing down on them.”

“There is one other way as well...” Carlos paused as they heard a loud clunking sound above them. The noise was startling to hear. The Emphra were somewhere in the decks above them, moving around in masse. A small amount of fear hovered over Kole’s team as they knew the Emphra were prowling around the main deck.

“What is it?” Kole asked.

“Our suits,” Carlos answered. “The cells inside our suits can also be channeled into the computer, but I wouldn’t really recommend it.”

“Why?” Chuang asked.

“The power needed to use a computer is pretty heavy. The quantum computers for the ships use a lot of energy to work. Why else have a fusion generator to power the damn things? Normally batteries can keep the things going, but we are talking about one battery cell out of hundreds where one of them has a 1% charge. Even in emergencies, the computers are only powered up and used to get the ship to safety. The computer is going to run for less than...” he paused as he thought about it.

“Like four maybe three minutes of the computer, tops,” Cruz replied as he began to think more about it. “Yeah, the cells of the armor would be like twenty seconds before the power armor goes dead. We are still talking if the power transfer will be successful or not.”

“If we can get the computers running,” Chuang said as he thought about it. “I wonder, could we use Minerva?”

“What do you mean?” Kole asked.

“Is it possible to get the computers running, transfer her to here, and then try to get the ship running to repel the Emphra.”

“What would that solve?”

“Well ... she is some advanced AI. Maybe she could come up with solutions and ways we can fight the Emphra.”

“No,” Bekra said as she waved her hand. “The Emphra can subvert anything it gets a hold of. When they attacked warships, it could convert the bio circuitry for its own use. If it can gain control of a computer, it will learn how to manipulate it. Minerva could be turned against us.”

“I wouldn’t even want to try it,” Carlos said. “Even if we could transfer her to here, there wouldn’t be enough power to maintain it. Her matrix would be lost when the computers go offline.”

“The idea is out of the question,” Kole said.

“Then, we have two main options. It is the decision that we have to go with no matter what.”

“A decision needs to be made, and I have to make it...” Kole said with a sigh.

“No matter what, Staff Sergeant, any decision is a death trap. The decision is yours, and what to do.”

Zalika could see Kole look away a little bit. The weight of seven people was on his shoulders. He seemed to think about it and finally decided. “Cruz, transfer the power...”

“Uh...” Cruz replied. “I ... no, I won’t.”

“Cruz ... do it,” Kole ordered him again.

“No. Hell, no, I won’t. What are you stupid? I do that, and the Emphra can come to us. Adrian and I would be dead.”

“I will...” Adrian replied.

“What are you fucking insane? The Emphra will kill us both,” Cruz told him. “Why do you decide just to throw us to the wolves and be happy with it?”

“Because no matter what, we are dead,” Zalika told him. “We can’t just sit here and play cat and mouse with this thing.”

“We would run out of air too,” Carlos said. “We are breathing air that isn’t getting recycled by the ship, and our suits only have so much air. Even Adrian knows this, and so should you. Faizan is not going to send help. He knows some of the events that are happening. Anything he does would only risk more lives going against the Emphra. I am sorry, Cruz. If we don’t do it, the Emphra may still come barreling down on us anyway. Would you prefer to die slowly or right now?”

“God ... fucking dammit,” Cruz replied.

“Think about the others,” Chuang explained. “I saw much bravery today than I ever saw in the past couple of months. Karine probably died the most honorable way to make any marine proud. It makes me proud to be a marine.”

“Yeah,” Zalika said as she gave a proud nod. “All of here are ready to give our lives for the cause. Emphra or not, if I am going to go down fighting, then I would.”

“I ... can’t,” Cruz said. “I just can’t do it. I am sorry.”

“Here...” Adrian replied on the comms as there was a pause. “Let me.”

“Son of a bitch...” Cruz paused. “You realized that you signed our death warrant Staff Sarge?”

“I am sorry,” Kole said.

“It might come after us, too,” Carlos said. “There is only one way to find out.”

“Adrian is accessing the panel...” Cruz explained.

“The moment that we get the power transferred,” Carlos explained. “Staff Sergeant, you will access the main computer terminal ... the command console terminal in the center of the bridge. Use your suit to interface the power and activate the computer. Transfer all available data and logs to our suits from the Columbus and blow open the access hatches. Are you ready?”

Chuang watched as Kole walked to the center of the room. The command console consisted of the chair and terminal, where the captain would sit and strap him or herself in. He lifted up and looked at his wrist computer.

“I am ready,” Kole said.

“Adrian ... now,” Carlos said.

They could watch on their feeds as Adrian pressed a button on his wrist computer. There was a small thump sound that could be heard as the power was submitted. The thump sound itself was not really loud as it made more of a low hum to it. It was brief and lasted less than a second. The transfer was instant.

“Done...” Adrian said.

“Now,” Kole said as he pressed the button.

The command console suddenly lit up. A blue screen depicted a powering up process. Kole was fast as he began to press a series of buttons on his suit. Even as the computer was starting up, the downloading process had already started.

“Logs are coming in,” Kole explained. “Data transfer commencing. Trying to get access to the hatch, but the system is still warming up.”

The quantum computer was working as fast as its processor was. Even with a faster warm-up process than the past’s ancient computers, the system had to be functional enough to commence with a simple interface.

“I got a problem here,” Cruz said. “Power transfer was only partial. Not all of it reached you.”

“Trying again,” Adrian said.

“No, no, that won’t work. It looks like there is damage to the cables. The last battery is completely dead now. You got what you got. There is nothing left.”

“Trying...” Kole said as he was still pressing buttons. “The computer is downloading the logs to me. Still can’t get access to the other portions of the ship.”

The screen on the console was working overtime, as Kole was working with it. Within at least six seconds of powering it up, a small download bar appeared as the display menu popped up. The screen was at 89% completion of uploading the logs.

“I got access,” Kole informed. “I am accessing the hat...”

Instantly, the console crashed and shut off. His suit that was receiving the data and controls reported an error. The computer was offline.

“That is it,” Carlos said. “It was amazing we got that from a nearly dead battery.”

“I wasn’t able to access the hatches...” Kole remarked as he smacked his hand to the console.

“You were able to get the logs, though?” Bekra asked.

“Yes, I did. I got... 96% of it.”

“We might be able to make use of it.”

“She is right,” Carlos commented. “There may be something in the data or logs from the prior crew that we can use to get ourselves off the ship or fight the Emphra.”

There was a crash from above Kole’s team. It was almost the sound of movement.

“Tracking...” Carlos said as he was looking at the data on his computer. “Sentry turret still doesn’t see anything up the emergency access of the elevator.”

“I can hear it...” Bekra said as she turned her head. “It is moving away.”

“Cruz, Adrian,” Kole informed them. “It is heading towards you. Try to find another place to hide.”

“Shit...” Cruz said. “No, no, no. Adrian, get ready. Carlos, is the door to the power generator a blast door?”

“No,” Carlos answered.

Zalika could watch on her helmet feed as Cruz and Adrian got into firing stances. They got near the door and readied their weapons.

“I don’t want to die like this...” Cruz said.

There was a thumping on the door. It was all too apparent that the Emphra had reached them and were outside the door. They began to watch the entrance to observe if the same events that had transpired with Karine’s teams would happen to them. So far, they didn’t see the door melting or sizzling.

“Is there any way they can escape?” Zalika asked Carlos.

Carlos shook his head. His face explained it all. Trapped like rats, Cruz and Adrian’s fate had long been sealed.

They could hear the breathing increase as the two men knew they were doomed. Much like what had happened with Karine, a similar fate had befallen them. The sounds of screeching metal against the door and sides began to occur.

“It isn’t melting the door...” Carlos commented.

“It isn’t...” Adrian confirmed.

“Well ... I am not going down like this,” Cruz said. “If that ... that thing starts to melt it. I will go ahead and do it. I am not going down like this.”

Zalika could continue to watch as Cruz was fidgeting. His rifle was aimed directly at the door. He and Adrian stood a couple of meters apart and only about four meters from the door.

Still nothing. Even Zalika could tell the difference when compared to last time. The Emphra was quick as it would start to melt the door to get in, but this time it was different. The metal screeching was still happening as before, but it was way more apparent than before. The creature seemed to be doing something different.

“Well ... what is it waiting for?” Cruz continued. “Is it just trying to scare us?”

“Kole...” Adrian addressed him.

“Yeah, man, what is it?” Kole asked him.

“Take care.”

“I understand. God speed marines,” Kole said.

“We aren’t dead yet,” Cruz said. “We aren’t dead.”

The screeching on the door was getting louder and louder. It almost sounded like drilling of some sort. The sound was almost deafening.

Chuang closed his eyes for a moment. He almost pressed the mute button on his communications to get rid of the awful sound. Just before he hit the button, it happened.

“What is it doing?” Cruz asked. “Why is i... ?”

There was a loud explosion in the room. It happened so quickly that it took a second to realize what had happened. The door to the power room had suddenly exploded. A large hole was depicted as flames, and a concussive explosion rattled the interior chamber. Cruz’s feed had cut out as shrapnel blew into the room. The blast was directed as it hit Cruz and Adrian.

For Cruz, the explosion riddled his body with shrapnel and pieces of debris. His suit was no match against the flechettes as it penetrated his armor. Fragments of metal went into his vital organs and into his head. The helmet was shattered and destroyed. For him, death was instant.