Chapter 17: Ship of Hell

Ken looked up at the sound of the chimes at his door.

"Enter."

Susan walked in and faced Ken and came to attention.

"At ease, Commander."

"Thank you, Sir," Susan said. Then she continued, "Sir, the NAT's are going in, now."

Ken stood up and hit save on his computer pad, saving the document he was working on, "Thank you, Susan, I will be right out."

Walking to the huge bay window, he looked down on Pluto as Susan walked out of the room. 'What's down there?' he thought then he turned and walked out into the flag bridge, he sat down in his chair, he said "Status report?"

Susan checked the data feed, and said, "Sir, the laser bore has been shut down. NAT team one is moving into the tunnel."

Down on Pluto, Lieutenant Sammy O'Rourke watched the technician adjust the bore to the rock and turn it on. The energy flowed out of the machine and smashed into the stone wall of the tunnel. Steam came up as frozen water is vaporized along with the rock. The rock melts and stated to disintegrate under the power of the device.

Michal White adjusting the power frequency and the beam started making a larger circle in the wall and within ten minutes of the bore, they hit the hull of the ship. Adjusting the power again, he focused the beam into a cutting beam and started cutting into the hull of the ship. A laser light marked a six-foot circle and then it intensified and started circling as it cut.

"Almost through, Ma'am. Twenty seconds more," replied Ensign White.

Sammy watched the beam and said to her unit. "Ready weapons, we go in as soon as it cools."

Suddenly the boring beam shut down, and another beam came on and shot from the device and where the beam touched the red-hot rock, it was instantly cooled.

"All done, Ma'am."

Sammy moved into the tunnel. The light from her shoulder lit up the tunnel as they walked down the dissolved rock. Suddenly the rock stopped and they were looking into a passageway. On the floor of the passageway, a perfect section of the hull was laying on the floor where it had fallen. Water dripped in the distance. Taking a sniff of the air, it was bitter, like almonds. Putting her mask on, she lifted up her plasma rifle and looked left and right.

"I have a passage way running left and right. Its very dark, not much power online in here, air smells bitter."

Looking down the left passageway, she continued, "Ensign Anderson, take four men and go right. I've got the left."

Ensign Kevin Anderson moved up to his boss and said, "Yes, Ma'am. I have the right. Ricker, Morris, Wilson and Terence follow me."

Going to the right, they started moving down the passageway, shining the light as they went.

Sam led her four-squad members to the left, and came to a large room that must have been one time a missile storage room. The missile racks were empty and the only other thing of interest was another door. Walking across the room to the other door Sammy reached out and the door opened. The hiss of the air through their breathers whispered through the air.

"Ensign White, we got some power down here. A door opened for us, were going to check it out. Please let command know," Sam reported to the tech standing on the platform

"Yes, Ma'am. I will notify them. Good luck."

"Thank you. O'Rourke out."

Stepping into the missile launch bay, they saw a set of sixty-foot long missiles sitting on their launch rail. Taking her scanner, she saw that the missiles were badly decayed and a slight radiation leak was coming from one of them.

"The third missile is hot. Let's stay far away from that one," Sam said.

Walking through the room, they saw that the room had no chairs. Going through the other door the come into another passageway, this passageway headed deeper into the ship they heard the water dripping, and passed a broken waterline.

Ensign Kevin Anderson moved deeper in the ship, they pass a section of the ship that had caved in with a lot or rock debris. They glance into the rooms as they went and saw nothing, not any bodies, sleeping room's just weapons rooms and broken machinery. Behind them, they heard a screeching noise and they stopped as they heard some rock falling.

"Rock falling, let's stay sharp."

Corporal Tom Morris looked back behind them and saw nothing, and said, "Ya. Must be lots of damaged rooms in this ship. Our laser boring must have loosened some of it up, and it's just settling."

Kevin looked into another room, and said, "Okay keep your eyes open."

Activating his com unit on his body armor he said, "LT, nothing to report so far."

Static came back through the com and he reached up and tapped his helmet.

"Damn it the com units are out..."

He was interrupted when suddenly he saw movement up ahead, as something ran through the intersection. His plasma rifle snapped to his shoulder.

"What's that?"

Sergeant Sean Wilson turned and looked to see where Kevin was looking. Not seeing anything, he asked, "What was what, Sir?"

"I don't know something about three feet tall, just ran through that passageway up ahead," replied Kevin as he moved closer towards the intersection. Just as his light gets there, something ran through it he saw feet and then it was gone.

He ran to the intersection, shined the light down the corridor, and shouted, "Stop! Come back here!"

Sammy led her troops into another large room and they shined their light around, burned and shattered remains of what she assumed were shuttles sat in the room. They moved into the room and spread out, searching for anything that could give them a clue about the ship. Corporal Antony Montgomery stayed by the door, and kept an eye out. Sammy heard a noise and looked around for it. Looking for the creation of the noise everyone turned and started scanning the darkness.

"What the fuck was that noise?"

Private Cindy Grant looked around her sector, and said, "I don't know, Ma'am."

They watched the humans come into the damaged shuttle bay, from high above. They spread out with one staying near the door to watch for trouble. Tapping one of his troops, he pointed at the human. He watched as the trooper moved silently across the scaffold until he was above the human. They could smell the fear dripping from their bodies as they spread out and got above them. When the last human was covered they dropped down upon them.

Cindy looked around and suddenly something dropped down in front of her. As she looked up, she screamed. Around her, the rest of her companions screamed and one of the plasma rifles discharged. As she was raising her weapon to fire, she felt a sharp pain in her side as something stabbed her, and her weapon was ripped from her hands. Fumbling for her pistol something grabbed her throat and lifted her up into the air. She felt more pain, and then blackness, as death claimed her.

Sammy dropped and rolled when she saw the creature drop in front of her. Raising her plasma rifle, she fried the T'Lari warrior that has attacked her. Behind her, she heard the rest of her troops going down under their attack. Rolling to her feet, she sighted down the barrel and saw one of the T'Lari bite Private Grant's arm off as another advanced on her with a crude spear. Seeing that her troops were dead, she swept the weapon in a flame burst and hit all of the T'Lari that were tearing her men to pieces, and consuming them.

"Flipping her com unit on she shouts, "T'Lari, we have T'Lari red alert, squad one is down. Squad two, cover your ass and retreat." Static came from the com unit and she glanced at it in disgust, and then tried her internal com, 'Ensign Anderson fall back we have T'Lari in the ship, get out of here.'

Kevin led his troops down another passageway and he heard a small noise from one of the doors. Pushing it open, he shined his light around and saw a small naked human child huddled in the corner.

"Oh my God! It's a child," Kevin said in surprise.

Checking the rest of the room, he saw another hiding under a large bed.

Kneeling and setting his rifle down, he said. "Hey, come here. We wont hurt you, we are Federation troops."

Nine-year-old Kayla Summers saw the man standing there, and watched as he knelt at the doorway. Standing up she looked at the man, ran over, buried her dirty face in his shoulder, and started crying.

Holding the child he felt his internal com chime for attention and he turned it on, and heard 'Ensign Anderson fall back we have T'Lari in the ship, get out of here.'

'Ma'am we have another problem.'

As he is talking to the LT, the other child a small boy about seven came up to him and hugged him.

Gently pushing the girl back, he said, "Hey can you stop crying for a second?"

Kayla nodded her head, and wiped her dirty face on her bare skin.

Smiling at the child, he asked her. "Are there many humans here? Do you know how many?"

Kayla thought for a minute and nodded her head and pointed back the way they came. "More than a hundred of us are still alive. Something set us free. I am not sure what it was."

Kevin thought of the odds and silently cursed.

"Oh, boy ... and just five of us. Well, can you take us to them? What's your name?"

Kyla took his hand in hers and said, "My name is Kyla, this is Jimmy my brother. I am afraid. The monsters are going to get us and eat us, like they did to our mommy and daddy."

Kevin looked in the child's eyes and his heart broke as he saw the one thing a child shouldn't have to see at this age, fear.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, as long as I am alive and able to fight. Do you believe me?"

Kayla looked up at the man, and said, "It doesn't matter they will eat us all in the end. Daddy always said they Navy would stop them, but they all died. And then they took us and ate Mommy and Daddy."

Walking with her down the passageway as they talk, "We are back, and I am going to get you out of here. I promise. Then we will find families for all of you."

Kayla stopped and pointed into an alcove with a ladder going deeper into the ship, and said with a quiet voice, "They are down there, we go down three decks."

Releasing Kayla's hand Kevin stepped up to the alcove and saw that the ladder went down several decks through an emergency iris system. Taking his rifle in his right hand, he stepped onto the ladder and started climbing down.

Sammy moved down the passageway. She had left the missile room. The exit should be only about four hundred feet ahead. Stepping through an open blast door, she saw three T'Lari who were looking out the tunnel.

"Damn it!" she said.

Raising her rifle, she fired and hit the first T'Lari and the others dropped and started firing at her. The plasma discharge smashed into the walls around her forcing her back down the way she came.

Pulling a fragmentation grenade, she tossed it down the passageway where it bounced into one of the T'Lari who picked it up and looked at it. Not sure what it was, he started to throw it back thinking it was a weapon, when it exploded. The explosion of the grenade sent the shrapnel in all directions, smashing both T'Lari to the deck. Suddenly a large explosion detonated from the bodies, she heard a rumble, and when she looked, she saw the tunnel collapsing.

"God damn it!"

Private Edward Hollings and Ensign Michal White were working on the laser bore, when they heard plasma fire. Then an explosion detonated and when they looked over at the tunnel it was slowly collapsing.

"This is Ensign White at the tunnel; there's been gunfire and an explosion in the tunnel. It's collapsed, what are my orders?"

"This is Lieutenant Jeffery Myers. Ensign White get that platform up here and get us. We're coming down there and you're going to bore a new entrance."

Ensign White looked at the collapsed tunnel, and said, "On the way, Sir."

Sammy ran down the passageway, and slid to a stop outside the missile room, bringing her weapon up she looked back the way she had come and heard movement coming her way. Suddenly a T'Lari was in the doorway and she fired at it. The burst of plasma hit the creature in the chest and it hurled a makeshift spear at her that buried itself in the wall.

"Fuckin' bastards, ducking into the room while the creature died behind her she saw another T'Lari appear with a battered plasma rifle in its arms and as it raised it she dodged to the side. Its weapons fire smashed into the doorframe and down the hall. Sammy returned fire, and hit the creature in its left leg, blowing it off and collapsing the seven-foot creature to the deck. Its weapon fell from its grasp, and she moved and took it. Tossing it over her shoulder, she fired another burst into the creatures face, burning it off.

Looking at the creature, she noticed a weapons belt around its waist. She checked and found five more power charges for the rifles. Pocketing them, she went towards the door, and looked into the passageway.

Activating her internal com unit, she said, 'Ensign Anderson I couldn't get out. The T'Lari found the tunnel. When I engaged them, I had to throw a grenade to kill them. It detonated something, and the tunnel collapsed. I will try to find you. Where are you?'