Chapter 12: The Horror

On board the Swiftshire, Colonel Harris, and his men were suiting up for the reconnaissance mission, "Okay laddies, here is how we are going to do this. If possible, Captain Clark will lead alpha squad through boat bay one. If not, she will head towards the portside entry port. I will take bravo and enter through the starboard entry port. I want everyone suited up and ready to go in five minutes."

As Harris stood there both squads shouted, "Sir, Yes, Sir."

Five minutes later pinnaces one and two were blasting through the Nebular heading for the H.M.S. Angel. Scanners detected several other pinnaces heading towards the other derelict ships. On board pinnace two, Captain Clark was hailing Angels boat bay number one. Suddenly the bay doors start to opening.

"This is pinnace two. Our hails to bay number one, have triggered the automatic door systems. They are now opening. It looks as her emergency reactor is still working. We are entering the bay now, no sign of any pinnaces or shuttles."

"Okay pinnace two, be careful we are connecting to the starboard hatch now."

"Will do Sir, two out."

"Sir, all ready to enter. I am detecting no atmosphere on the other side. We will need to carry our own oxygen until I can get to the scrubbers and get them and the oxygenic reactor back online."

"Thank you Sergeant Madison. Okay Marines you heard the sergeant everyone grab a spare tank, and lets get going. Private Grange, do the honors."

"Yes, Sir." As the door opened, the Marines get a horrifying shock. Littering the hallway are the bloated bodies of Alderian navel personal. The walls were covered in dried blood and bits of body tissue and bones. One person looked as he was an officer his hands were bound behind him, his head blown off.

As Captain Clark led her men and women through the bay, it seemed to her that some of the electronics have been striped. They stepped into the companionway and followed it going through the enlisted quarters, heading for elevator number one. Suddenly one of the men shouted.

"Captain Clark, Ma'am, you had better see this."

"What do you have private?" Joan said as she turned to the voice.

"Ma'am I found some of the crew its horrible Ma'am," as the private talked this tears streak down her face, and she blurted out, "They are all females, Ma'am."

"Let me look," Captain Clark said as she stepped into the galley. She saw sixteen women bound to the tables all their clothes have been torn off and they have been brutally tortured and probably raped. All have single bullet wounds to their foreheads. Lashed to one table and stood in the corner is a female officer wearing the torn remains of a captain's uniform. A single bullet wound to her forehead, "Oh my God." She said as she activated her com unit, "Colonel Harris come in this is Captain Clark."

"Colonel Harris, come in this is Captain Clark. We are in the galley we found some of the crew, Sir. They are all female. Sir it looks as if they were all raped and murdered."

"Thank you Captain, we found some of the crew too. It looked as the men were herded into the starboard access port and gunned down I estimate thirty to forty bodies. They then bled the air out to leave them here like this. With the sixteen you found and the forty we have here that means ten to twenty are missing."

"Sir, some of these are Marines, but most are Navel personal."

"Lets keep going people," Just as these orders are being issued one of the Marines turned over one of the bodies. Releasing the grenade, which was pinned under the body. As the explosion lifted the shredded body of the Marine and flung him into the wall, it also set of the grenades he was carrying. As multiple explosions detonated in the narrow hallway, several members of the recon platoon go down under deadly shrapnel.

"No one touch anything," Colonel Harris shouted. As his voice shot through the com units, the remaining Marines froze, as he continued, "What are the damages?"

"Sir, three dead and five wounded."

"Okay, get the dead and wounded back to the ship. The rest of us will push on. The captain wants a reconnaissance of the ship. We will give him one, but do not open any drawers or move any bodies. Do you understand me?"

The Marines shouted, "Sir, Yes, Sir."

The Marines continued walking down the corridor, the naval crew of the pinnace carried the wounded and dead Marines back aboard their ship. Traveling for thirty feet the Marines came to a blast door that was sealed. Opening it they have passageways going left and right looking at his holomap Colonel Harris said, "Lieutenant Sadler take six men and scout right, and check the engine room. I will take the remaining six and head left towards the bridge."

"Aye, aye, Sir. Okay, Marines lets go." With those words, Lieutenant Sadler led his men deeper into the stern of the ship. As the radiation count builds up, the men step into the engine room. Sitting in the center of the room was the melted remains of a hyper generator. The walls of the room were decorated with holes from one inch to six inches around. Several doors lead away out of the room. Laying around the room were four skeletal remains wearing engineering uniforms, "Sergeant Madison, the scrubbers are through that door. Let's see if we can get them fixed."

"Aye, aye, Sir. Private Grange lets go." The two men step into the room they both see the reason their is no fresh air. Both sets of scrubbers have been striped from their mounts.

Knelling down by the scrubber's Private Grange looked them over, "Sarge. It looked like the DX-49 condensers and the AV-11 purifiers are missing. With out them I can not fix them."

"Let me tell the LT," activating his com, he said, "Sir, you had better come here."

Walking to the door as his men spray de-radiation foam on the damaged hyper generator, he asked, "What do you have Sergeant Madison?"

"Sir, both sets of scrubbers have been striped from their mounts and parts have been removed."

"Do you think they can be fixed?"

"No, Sir, they took the DX-49 condensers and the AV-11 purifiers."

With a nod of her head, she issues more orders "With the foam on the generator we can now check out the auxiliary engine room and see if the back up scrubbers are still intact."

"Aye, aye, Sir," the party moved out, while the remaining men under Colonel Harris were approaching elevator number two.

Colonel Harris led the men left to him towards the main companionway and the elevators. They pass some of the secondary gun rooms, and one of the doors was open and a trail of broken wires led out of it. The party was able to see that the room had been striped of its computer, weapon and the mount. "Interesting., Corporal Haskes open that door you are standing next to."

Corporal Haskes stepped up to the side of the door and reached for the electronic handle, "Right away, Sir." Corporal Haskes stood to the side and yanked the door open. When no explosion comes out, they soon discover that this weapon is gone. "Sir, this room has been striped too."

"Thank you corporal." Colonel Harris activated his wrist communicator, and spoke into it, "Colonel Harris to Swiftshire come in please."

"Swiftshire here. What do you need, Sir?"

"Get me the captain."

"I can't Sir he's in medical, here's Commander Valick."

"Sir, I am in the gun ally. It looks as all weapons and supporting units have been striped from their mounts."

"Interesting Colonel any idea by who?"

"No, Sir, I will say this Sir, the crew was butchered. We have found two areas where the crew was herded into and slaughtered like animals."

"Just a second Colonel," Commander Valick said as he activated his computer, and said, "Computer bring of a schematic of the Belfast class destroyer escort."

"Working."

Within seconds, the schematics started appearing on a side-mounted screen. Within several more seconds, Valick has located gun ally. "You say you are in the gun ally Colonel?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Okay, auxiliary computer control is two levels up. Get up there and find out what happened."

"Right away, Sir," As Colonel Harris signed off, "Okay, you devil dogs follow me." With those words, the Colonel started double-timing it towards the elevators. As he jogged around a corner he passed the armory and twenty feet father on was the number one elevator. Coming to a stop, he said, "Corporal Haskes open the doors."

"Yes. Sir," Corporal Haskes said as he pulled out his small datapad. Yanking out several wires, he attached them to the device. While Private Armstrong used his boot knife, to pry the access plate off. Within minutes the elevator was working. Powered by the miniature nuclear reactor in the data pad, the doors opened.

Colonel Harris stood there looking at the two skeletons that were reveled when the doors opened. Both were pinned to the wall with knives, and were in Marine uniforms, and written above them in blood were the following words. 'ALL WHO DEFY SCAR SHALL DIE!' Looking at the bodies, he could feel his blood start to boil in anger.

Over on the liner called the Swift. The thirty Marines from the HMS Glory had made it through the shattered boat bay. Once inside they spread out in groups of three to check out the huge ship. While Captain Giovanni and two other Marines headed for the bridge, Corporal Maria Jackson, and Private's First Class White and Gibson headed down one of the companion ways. Clothing and debris litter the long hallway. Here and there, the walls and ceiling were perforated with fletchen rounds. Stateroom doors, have been pulled opened, and in a few several bodies could be seen. Coming around the bend, they entered one of the main dining rooms. The door has been welded shut. Lifting her arm, she activated her com unit, "Corporal Jackson to Captain Giovanni."

"Go ahead Corporal."

"Sir, we are at the level three dining room. The doors have been welded shut. Do you wish us to force them or find another way in? If you want us to find another way, I hope someone finds a map of this ship. It's huge, we must have past ninety suites, all have been trashed some have bodies in them. The corridor is the same, but has some small arms damage."

"We are trying to make our way to the bridge, but its hard going. A lot of doors have been sealed. We have found bodies too." Coming to the bridge doors, he stopped, and continued talking, "I will get back to you on a map." Looking at the closed door, he brought out his crowbar. "Okay, let's get this sucker open," jamming it in between the crack the Marines started prying it open. The door started to open, and he said, "Alright Sergeant, get a wedge in there."

The Marine dropped to the ground and shoved a wedge in and smacked it with his armored fist. Looking up he saw a digital timer and it noticed it was counting down, as he looked it changes from ten to nine and then eight. "BOMB, eight count."

Diving to the side, and rolling against the wall, the other Marines followed suit and prayed they were out of the blast range. A full minute went by before the realized eight seconds have gone by.

As they stand up, Captain Giovanni said, "Sergeant Alvarez see what's going on."

Sergeant Alvarez looked at his Captain and then quickly looked around the doorframe, seeing the digital clock at sixty seconds and county down once more, he said, "Sir, its counting down again. It's back at sixty seconds." Stepping onto the bridge and looking around. The noticed the room has been trashed. Computer screens were smashed, wiring pulled out. Over in the corner were a pile of cloth and bones. Above the bones the walls had been shredded by fletchen rounds. Walking over to the counter he saw it was a crude nuclear bomb, but some how the wiring has been pulled for the detonator. As he stepped around the bomb, he found a dried blood trail leading in to another room. "Sir I have a blood trail from the bomb to this room."

Captain Giovanni lifted his head from where he was examining a computer sensor trying to get it to work. "Okay, let's see what's behind door number one. Same order again." Taking his crowbar out as he walked over, and he was surprised the doors opened. "Hmmm, we have power in this room, maybe it wasn't ransacked," Walking in they saw they were in the Captain's day room. Sitting in the chair behind the desk was the remains of the Captain. His uniform pierced by several holes. Walking over he examined the remains and gently slid the chair out of the way. Pulling a second chair over, he said, "Lets see what he was recording."