ShipCore

USD: 2 Days Since Comm Failure

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, Hades Interior, Near Alpha Site, Heaven's Fire

Amy jumped down, Yapper following right behind her. The nestling bumped into her leg almost knocking her over as it curled around her protectively and growled at Morrison.

He held up an empty palm and took a step back. “Good doggo.”

“Yapper, no.” Amy chided, tugging on one of the spiny protrusions on the back of the Rexxor’s skull. It turned its head away and ignored him. “Sorry. He didn’t like Wyle’s power armor, either.”

“Are there others?” Morrison asked.

The expression on Amy’s face was partially hidden by her breathing mask, but he could see the pain in her eyes. “No. Yapper and me were the only ones here when Heeler shoved us in the smuggling hold.”

“Do you know what those things are?” Lavigne chimed in, his voice carrying out of Morrison’s suit.

She shook her head. “They just started attacking. Everyone was going crazy. I don’t know what happened after Heeler sealed me inside; the compartment blocks all signals.”

“Aye, sir.”

USD: A short time later

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, Hades Interior, Near Alpha Site, SR Hot Rescue

Lavigne watched as the ship’s sensors continued to blink with red displaying the location of organic signatures several kilometers below. Logan quickly confirmed, “More of them coming up at us.”

Lavigne furrowed his brow. “Keep monitoring their movement. We’ll want to move and light them up at some point.”

He watched Morrison’s camera feed intently, even turning the volume up as he listened as Amy filled them in.

“Things were bad, but they got worse. Security started suspecting each other. Even the Rexxors were affected. There were… some incidents where fights broke out. We lost communications just before the things came out… and started eating people.”

Lavigne grunted, checking the progress of the drone division as it neared the buildings. Squads and platoons were already surrounding the bases of the nearest buildings while the rest of the force reached the corpse of the gigantic blob and picked their way around it to the power station. Another group moved toward the factory that Heeler had set up.

“Any idea what caused the insanity?” Morrison asked.

“Heeler determined it was some kind of EMF radiation…”

Lavigne noticed that the two had stopped. Concern blossomed in his stomach as Morrison turned to look at her; she was looking pale and had a hand on the corridor to keep her balance. Clearly, she needed to get inside the ship’s protective field immediately. And a protective suit of power armor.

“Uhh… The compartment was shielded, but I am feeling it again… we should hurry.”

Yapper whined and nudged the back of her legs, as if he was trying to urge her to move on.

“Morrison.” Lavigne said.

He understood without further discussion. “On it, boss.” The NCO directed his attention and his voice softened considerably. “Amy, if you need, I can carry you.”

“I’m good for now. Let’s keep going.” She moved to continue, and the combat drone escort led the way back toward the shuttle. “Heeler grabbed me and Yapper when things went to shit. He dragged us back into the ship and put us there when it was obvious things… weren’t looking great. He said he was going to manage the factory and counterattack and help the others... did you find any sign of them?”

“No. None.” Morrison said.

Lavigne wondered how the Rexxor NAI would have so much trouble utilizing the resources he’d built up to fight against the blobs. Despite the surprise at encountering them, they’d been dealt with by the ship’s weapons without too much issue.

“He left you in a half melted ship?” Lavigne asked.

“He said it was the only space shielded by heavy enough metals to block the EMF waves.”

“Risky.” Logan muttered.

Amy objected. “He was just doing his best. We all were.”

Lavigne’s attention was drawn away from the narrative as Daniel made a report. “Drones are picking up more and more activity in the buildings.”

Lavigne’s eyes moved to the overall tactical overview screen. The drone division’s progress had halted, and the tactical GAI had reversed their course, clumping the drones back into combat formations while beginning a retreat.

“Daniel, the drones are falling back?” Lavigne asked.

“GAI says situation is complex. It indicates it is attempting to protect the mission. Should I override?” Daniel said as he looked back at Lavigne.

It didn’t seem like there was any reason to retreat. Lavigne shook his head. “Let it do what it wants, it probably—”

Red symbols on the tactical screen lit up, and a pulsing warning tone indicated danger. Some drone units rushed into cover while others sped up their efforts to regroup. The entire force began to actively work together to move toward the Heaven’s Fire and Hot Rescue.

Logan adjusted the optical camera, and the ship’s computer targeted a half dozen new alien types that rushed out of the buildings. Threat indicators went insane with frantic estimations on what they were looking at.

Horrifying abominations—misshapen humans who had once been MilTech crew members—now wielded menacing tentacles and charged at their combat drones.

Some had grotesque faces with multiple eyes and gaping maws filled with razor-sharp teeth. Others possessed elongated limbs twisted into unnatural angles, propelling them forward at unnerving speeds.

Yet another variant of these monstrosities sprouted clusters of writhing tendrils that lashed out with deadly force. Many of them ran on four legs, resembling Rexxor nestlings.

“Drones reporting multiple hostile contacts emerging!” Daniel exclaimed, his voice tense.

Lavigne watched as the drones engaged the nightmarish creatures as they poured out of the buildings in increasing numbers. They leaped from windows several floors above the ground to assail the drone squads that hadn’t pulled back yet, landing in the middle of them and initiating a furious melee.

As the two forces clashed, the ship’s PDC-K and PDC-L warship-sized weapons provided supporting fire from above, targeting a second wave of hostiles escaping buildings further away from the division. Powerful explosions illuminated the battlefield, obliterating clusters of abominations while human-sized drones on the ground engaged in close combat with rifles.

The drones, armed with laser cutter arms and pulse rifles, did their best to avoid and maneuver around their adversaries’ lunges and strikes. With each pull of their triggers, concentrated bursts of energy tore through the abominations, severing limbs and decimating torsos.

Their laser cutters sliced through the monstrous flesh with ease, dismembering the creatures and setting them on fire. The drone’s tactical GAI maintained an inhuman level of coordination, adapting to the unpredictable and deadly nature of their foes.

The situation rapidly escalated as the abominations launched a ferocious counterattack. Like a tidal wave of nightmarish creatures, they surged forward to overwhelm the drones.

The division was suddenly engulfed from all sides by the relentless onslaught.

One grotesque monster lashed out with whip-like tentacles, ensnaring several drones and violently smashing them to pieces against the ground.

Another abomination, its powerful arms covered in razor-sharp claws, sliced through drone armor with ease, leaving a trail of severed limbs and shattered chassis behind it.

Crashing down from above, a more massive creature thudded onto the scene in a crunch of smashed machinery. It reared up on its hind legs, revealing rows of sharp teeth lining its distended maw and let out a challenge. It lunged forward with lightning speed, snapping up drones in its jaws before crushing them with sickening crunches.

The SR Hot Rescue’s targeting computer highlighted it as a priority target as it scythed done drones in droves. Turrets whirred and a heavy barrage of high caliber armor-piercing rounds obliterated it from existence highlighted by streams of yellow-orange tracers.

Despite their losses, the drones fought back with ruthless efficiency. Pulse rifles fired in rapid succession, cutting down swathes of abominations even as they were slaughtered in return. Entire platoons would turn and provide cover fire while another retreated before switching roles. The drone groups closest to the enemy would stop and do their best to hinder and delay, acting as a doomed rearguard.

The battlefield was a cacophony of the high-pitched whine of pulse rifles, highlighted by the rending and crunching of metal and the screams of pain and rage from the abominations. Things reached a fever pitch as both sides fought without mercy.

The struggle between machine and mutated flesh was punctuated by brutal savagery and machine-like determination.

Logan monitored the situation closely, relaying information to Lavigne as it unfolded. “We are holding them off for now, but there are just so many of them,” he said calmly.

Lavigne looked at the young man, surprised by his composure before punching a message through the ship comm. “Morrison, get on that shuttle and back on the ship. Now. There is a situation.”

Casualty counters on the bridge’s main screen continued to skyrocket, showing just how lopsided the combat was in their favor. But the tide of things flooding toward them hadn’t slowed down at all—it had sped up even.

Where the fuck were all the things coming from? There weren’t even that many crew on the expedition. Lavigne felt a chill as he realized that they might have been breeding, multiplying, or whatever since the expedition had been lost.

“We’re already on the way, sir. Almost back to the shuttle.”

The battle escalated rapidly, with both sides sustaining heavy losses. The relentless horde of abominations seemed unfazed by their casualties, even as the drones unleashed thousands of pulse rifle fusillades into their midst. As the mound of corpses grew, the drones continued to retreat, increasing the distance between themselves and the buildings—buying them more time to fire their rifles.

“Combat strength at 45%, sir,” Daniel announced flatly.

Lavigne felt the tension mounting in the room. Everyone was focused on monitoring multiple converging enemies and repairing damage where possible. With a gaping hole in the hull, repairs were essential before they could escape. The ship’s complement included repair drones capable of this task, but it would require time and resources—both in short supply.

Suddenly, a lull in the battlefield occurred as the abominations halted their relentless charge. Pulse rifles fell silent as drone squads lost line of sight on further hostiles. Seizing this momentary reprieve, they sprinted back toward their ships with renewed urgency.

“Prep for extraction,” Lavigne ordered, his voice tense yet controlled.

Crew members hastened to coordinate the drone squads’ retreat while keeping an eye on the still-looming threat.

The situation remained perilous—every second counted as they balanced between the drones' survival and potential catastrophe. As pulse rifles ceased fire and drone squads sprinted back, it became evident that time was both their most valuable asset and their most daunting adversary.

USD: A short time later

Location: Nu Crateris, Outer System, Hades Interior, Near Alpha Site, Heaven's Fire

Amy and Morrison, accompanied by their drone escort, navigated through the Heaven’s Fire. Their hearts raced as they sprinted through darkened corridors littered with debris and dismembered metal.

Upon reaching the roof, the squad of drones took up sniper positions and assisted their allied units in their retreat. The crack of rifle fire hastened Morrison and Amy’s steps. Yapper yapped as he pulled himself up and out of the ship, following closely behind them.

Morrison grunted as he noticed Amy’s faltering speed, even as they neared the shuttle ramp.

“You’re doing great, Amy,” Morrison reassured her as they pressed on. “Stay close to me and we’ll make it out of here.”

She almost tripped on an exposed conduit, but Morrison quickly caught her with a power-armored gauntlet.

“S…sorry… it’s… getting bad.” She scratched at her arms, and Morrison noted with alarm that she was covered in a growing number of red welts.

“We’re almost there,” Morrison encouraged Amy breathlessly over the sound of distant skirmishes. “Hold on just a little longer.”

As soon as they were in the shuttle, he punched the ramp close lever. Drones rushed to follow them inside, while those left behind found handholds on the shuttle or continued their sniper activities.

“Get us out of here, now!” Morrison yelled into his comms, urging the tactical GAI to lift them off immediately.

The shuttle engines roared to life, lifting them into the air. Amy collapsed in a corner of the shuttle, with Yapper screeching beside her as he spun in circles, chasing his tail or perhaps seeking an invisible enemy.

Morrison’s suit clanked as he took a seat in the co-pilot’s seat, immediately finding the shuttle’s D-field setting and inputting an emergency override to crank it up to 250%.

|Warning: D-field emitter degradation detected. System operating outside of normal parameters.|

“Fuck off. Blast those thrusters too; I don’t care if this thing falls apart, as long as it lands in the boat bay. Punch the thrusters too.”

The tactical GAI didn’t argue, and the shuttle red-lined its engines to the absolute limit, smoke trailing behind them as outer components and the paint cooked from the excess heat.

Morrison watched the battlefield from the shuttle’s simulated cockpit display. The ground was a roiling mass of chaos, lit up by continuous heavy weapons fire streaming from the ship.

He punched his comm piece. “We need a medical team and maybe a suit as soon as we land; we are coming in hot, and the girl is sick.”

“Roger. Will have a team waiting,” Daniel answered.

“Don’t put them too close; the bay might get roasted when we come in.”

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