“Computer, provide me a status update.” Silence followed. “Damnit. You worthless piece of shit!” he shouted while rubbing his temples gently, each with a single finger.
The sole conscious occupant of the starship Persephone was still clawing his way out of the fog associated with deep-sleep. Mitchell Eaddy was already annoyed, knowing there wouldn’t be much time before he reached Callisto, Jupiter’s moon. The lunar satellite had been partially hollowed out to conceal a space station inside. The crew had been tasked with collecting and then delivering live alien samples to the lunar station’s laboratory for scientists to experiment on.
Mitchell sat there in the captain’s chair, drumming his fingers on the armrest. He had no idea what any of the text output meant scrolling by on the display, nor what to do if something went wrong. A single punch to the screen in front of him failed to leave a single mark or imprint on the space-age polymer glass, although he did feel a dull pain in his hand now.
The man looked out the window and gazed at the planet his ship was leaving as it got progressively smaller by the second. Stunningly bright plant life in varying shades of purple and blue grew in a thick band around the equator. Dull dark brown patches of rocky ground peeked through the frozen swirls of blue and white, breaking the blanket of ice and snow. Its beauty occupied his mind as did the deadly perils it sheltered. Was Earth not the exact same way, he reasoned to himself in a moment of clarity. Just hours prior, the ship’s crew had all been attacked on Hades, the hellish planet Black-Star had sent them to.
The instructions he had been given were clear, and the Black-Star representative had no intention of failing to deliver his end of the deal. The crew had orders to collect samples of an odd lifeform, still in their prebirth egg-like structures. Company notes stated that samples would be valuable either dead or alive, but worth far more still living. Black-Star had determined that it was too much trouble to obtain the creature in its adult form on its home planet, which was why so many missions had been sent. Success in numbers was the game, and they were trying to play it smart financially, learning from their mistakes each time.
Every mission sent to Hades was instructed to land at a different site than their predecessors. It helped keep the nasty secret of human bones and destroyed company equipment from being discovered by the next crew of Rangers. The company felt enough had been learned about Hades that they could selectively provide knowledge using their inside man, Mitchell, to get the job done this time.
“Listen, boss man,” shouted the Ranger into his microphone with a hand cupped over it in an attempt to be heard over the howling winds, “We don’t have anything else left on our list of shit to collect for Black-Star. We were told it’s dangerous out here, and we don’t work for free when it’s overtime,” said Lieutenant Cryder with a stern look that said fuck you.
“Trust me when I tell you that I understand in totality what you’re saying. Now listen when I tell you that the company is offering a 20% bonus. Just grab some additional soil samples from around inside the cave and then disappear. A few small samples mean big money for you and your comrades.”
“20% bonus, huh?” he considered for a moment, “Just to grab some soil samples from around those things? No more collecting pods? Those delver things inside, or whatever you guys call them, are supposed to be real nasty.”
“It’s gone smooth so far. Are you really concerned while wearing your company provided cold-suit to mask your body heat? Your helmets do a lot of the work dissipating the warmth you put off. Not a single injury thus far”
“If I ask them to go back, then there’ll be no more additional requests for pods. We also get 25 instead of 20. I won’t go for less.”
“No more pods,” he lied, “Easy as pie. In and out with a 25% bonus in your pocket.” he lied again and held out his hand in a mock gesture of holding cash. “Let’s also not forget that this sets you up to do further business with the very deep pockets of Black-Star. ”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that. I’ll take a vote to see if everyone agrees. I’m not handing out an ultimatum for them to go back.”
“Hades’ geologic makeup includes heavy metals that don’t even have a place on our periodic table yet. Let that sink in. Don’t forget that there’s an element named Einsteinium, Lieutenant Cryder.” Mitchell held out his hand and they shook on it.
A short conversation later, the Rangers headed back towards the deep cave they had been exploring and grabbed samples from earlier. The trek would only take 15 minutes by foot; the distance purposeful and calculated. It was close enough to reach by foot, but far enough away that a disaster at the site wasn’t a death sentence for anyone else still alive on the planet.
They reached the outer lip of the deep cave and stopped to peer inside just as they had done upon the first approach. Running gloved fingers over the walls near the entrance showed Mitchell they were indeed smooth and cool to the touch. Under a flashlight they appeared as a lifeless dark gray to his eyes. Before entering, he sampled the air and it gave off a smell similar to burned paper or hair. It was unpleasant and almost carried an acrid note to finish it off on his palate. He put his helmet back on.
Sensor readings across decades showed that the planet had an atmosphere that was breathable by humans—another reason for it to be an excellent candidate to visit for exploitation. Before heading inside the first time, the Rangers had checked that the cave showed the same readouts as they detected externally. The last thing they needed was to needlessly die of exposure to toxic gas that had built up inside over time.
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“Grab some samples from out here by the entrance. They love it when employees go above and beyond.” Samples were collected at Mitchell’s cue. He personally labeled each wit ha description of its location, ensuring his handwriting cemented in the labor put forth by himself.
The trailer they towed behind the six-wheeled vehicle was packed nearly full, but there was a little extra room in the large metal chest that lined one side in the back. Everything was finally packed away, a nervous attempt at stalling the inevitable return trip inside the cave.
“Cameras and sensors on.” Each Ranger did so as they passed their Lieutenant, allowing a micro-sensor array that was embedded in the high-tech armor to fire up. It provided additional data regarding their current health status and tracked movement around the soldier. The 3D map it rendered could be downloaded by the ship and viewed, giving personnel a firsthand look at what went on from start to finish for a later review.
“Let’s get moving boys. We have the Orpheus expecting us to drop this off; we don’t want to be rude and keep them waiting,” said Mitchell with a hint of arrogance.
Several Rangers rolled their eyes loudly, except for Lieutenant Cryder, who nodded his head in the direction of the cave. They took off at a jogger’s pace and maintained silence, with the exception of the sound from their gear and boots as they ran. Although they were weary of testing their luck in either situation, the scientists decided against waiting outside by themselves without any kind of weapons or protection. Mitchell engaged the user-assist function of his suit to help him run without expending as much energy.
“The final bend is 50 yards up ahead,” Cryder whispered, as they all slowed their pace to a walk.
Each radio clicked two times in his ear for confirmation. He counted each one and focused his attention solely on the large cavern that lay ahead. Once they came around the cave’s winding tunnel that led from its entrance, it opened up into a much larger room. Mitchell shuddered as the slight glow from the bioluminescent pods ahead was visible and swallowed by the dark vastness extending beyond. The dark and rough-edged lining of the walls maintained its creepy presence throughout the cavern that it opened up into.
With one foot on the cusp of the wide-open room in front of him, the Lieutenant turned his head and winked at the Sergeant. Everyone was nervous, and he hoped he showed confidence, praying it was contagious. They proceeded forward slowly in a single file line, making an attempt at hiding body heat signatures as much as possible.
“The first samples from here, will do,” said Mitchell at a volume level that lacked awareness or caring.
Mitchell watched from the back as the Lieutenant held up an arm and everyone stopped in unison; the tension was palpable. Two privates near the back squatted down and gathered soil samples near the main opening they just came through. One of them had sweat dripping down their face, despite the harsh cold they left outside. Two radio clicks each from two privates, and the group knew what he needed to know.
His arm dropped to his burst rifle with his index finger poised near the trigger, but not on it. There must have been 50 pods still sitting there, silent and waiting patiently. NVG’s were actively illuminating the view and Mitchell thought he saw movement up ahead and off to the side. He watched anxiously, his eyes trained in the general direction it had come from, but after several seconds, he saw nothing skedaddling around.
Silence. Stillness.
The lieutenant’s fist came up again and no one moved a muscle or said anything. They all scanned left to right with their eyes rather than moving heads. Mitchell sighed. The Rangers were following orders to limit movement and also the speed at which they moved.
10 seconds passed...and then 20, and 30 while not a sound or movement came from anyone or anything. The Lieutenant's arm finally dropped, and the two Privates came down, one behind the other, next to the column of men and women. They both stopped and crouched next to the Lieutenant and readied their empty sample containers.
Private Doss and Private Kinane were practically tiptoeing up to the bioluminescent pods and reached the flat area of rock and dirt just in front of them. Each man crouched and grabbed soil samples from where the eggs up front had already been taken, rightfully afraid to step closer to the slumbering aliens still there. Two soil samples were scooped into their respective containers and each one had a small sliding flap that shut and locked in place to secure what had been collected.
Doss rubbed his shoulder against the stubble on his cheek, letting out a near silent exhale with pursed lips, displaying the relief he felt as they backed away. As his warm breath blew forward unseen, it kissed the edges of the closest pod ever so slightly. The pod’s neuroreceptors on the exterior detected the faint foreign breeze signaling to it that there may be movement nearby. The molecular makeup of the exhaled breath was different from that of the surrounding atmosphere of which the alien had grown accustomed to over time. It wondered, did the photoreceptors detect movement or a shift in light? Red flag after red flag signaled that it was likely a good time to come out and find a meal.
It was hard to see from the back, so Mitchell enhanced the view in his visor. He saw a slit on the side peel apart at the crease and small finger-like appendages tapped the sides of the opening. The creature within slowly crawled out with two large black eyes emerging first. Mitchell smiled as it sat there, sensing multiple lifeforms nearby visually, then audibly, and even with its skin. The bug-like alien made a commotion of chittering and clicking sounds as it danced in circles on top, alerting the others that there was something interesting to check out.
“Hey, you guys. Something’s going the fuck on,” said Private Kinane while still backing up to the group.
“We see it. Go slow. Go quiet. Everyone be alert,” whispered the Lieutenant.
At first glance, it almost looked like any standard brown and black insect you’d see in nature back home, but slightly more prehistoric in size. Two large eyes in front, dark as night, were complemented by a large mouth just below it, and it was filled with dagger-like teeth. Eight sturdy legs looked like they were suited for rapid locomotion while an additional front two had tiny hand like appendages, useful for grasping. All ten had little claws at the end that they used to rip, tear, and burrow into their host. It had a similar appearance to a water bug, but one that went to hell, got possessed by a demon, and came back to kill you.
“Oh shit,” said Doss as he dropped the metallic sample container in his hand, reaching for his burst rifle slung around his back. As he grabbed it, the creature extended the two armor plates on either side of its back and wings unfolded. Segmented legs bent in a crouch and pushed off at lightning speed while its wings hummed with rapid movement. It flew right at the exposed soft fleshy part of the Private’s neck and landed feet first with the hypodermic needle-like ends going straight in. The warmth from the exposed flesh in that one small area made an easy target to identify. Razor sharp pincers on the two front arms sliced it open before he could drop his weapon and grab for his neck.
Everyone with an earpiece heard Damien Doss scream in pain for only a second until the alien bit a chunk out of his neck and crawled inside, inadvertently slicing his windpipe as its rear legs disappeared inside his body. His eyes bulged in pain and terror as he pulled out his holstered sidearm and fired rounds at the crowd of pods on the ground with one arm, wheezing and trying to force air into his lungs with no success. Gunfire rang out around the private but at that moment none of it mattered as a cocktail of neurotoxins and hemotoxins flooded his brain. Most of the Rangers and the accompanying scientists had no clue what happened; the gunfire and screaming were the only hints to them that something was going on.
Private Doss felt the pain recede along with his fear and anything else that he was feeling. The delver had bit him inside several times with sharp pincers, injecting venom that also contained a strong paralytic agent. Initial testing showed Black-Star that it was more chemically complex and effective than anything on Earth had ever developed through evolution. It was just one of the many things that the company hoped to gather information on for their mission of improving humanity. Killing a few to save millions should have been their slogan.
The world around the Ranger went black as the young man slumped to the ground, unconscious before knees touched dirt. It may have been freezing cold outside, but the alien creature was plenty warm nestled inside the private’s body. Collecting as many samples of the aliens as possible would be Mitchell Eaddy’s ticket to getting an ear of the big shots to whisper into. He was told to get the samples at any cost which was not a problem for him, if the price was someone else’s life.
The alien was happily feeding on the blood supply that pumped through its host. It latched on to a blood vessel and began slowly sipping the Ranger’s iron-rich blood for sustenance. All around the private, hell had broken loose for the other Rangers while attempting to help each other and then themselves. Watching things go from scary to shit your pants had Mitchell Eaddy backing out of the cave to safety. A few of the scientists had considered making a run for it at first, but any kind of sound or movement seemed to draw the general ire of the demon bugs.
Each shot by a burst rifle was swarmed by five more, drawn to the noise and heat. Each round from the burst rifle that penetrated a carapace sent out splatters of toxic blood, burning anyone and anything nearby except the creatures themselves. Aided by darkness and the advantage of surprise, the delvers made quick work of the Rangers. They only settled down when the screaming and movement had ceased. Several of them seemed to go into some kind of hibernation state on the ground while others looked like they were struggling to walk now.
As all the activity slowed and then stopped, Mitchell inched forward and halted right at the cusp of where the tunnel opened up into the much larger cavern. He toed one of the Rangers laying on the ground without any kind of reaction from the man. The face and shoulders of another had bubbling blisters from the toxic blood that spilled out onto him as one of the aliens had been crushed. Its blood, guts, and hard shell all splattered in a spray pattern which fanned out from the shoe print that ended its existence. Mitchell looked at the name tag and knew the man personally from another mission they had been on together.
“Damnit Karl,” was all Mitchell said as he shook his head at what was formerly his friend, finding convenience in forgetting that this was all his doing.
Mitchell didn’t know if the alien creatures were dying or going to sleep again, but he wanted no part of it. That didn’t stop him from enjoying a strong kick to one of the dying ones, sending it bouncing a few feet away. Starting at the back of the line, he dragged each body to the vehicle waiting outside. It had a loading arm that he used to lift each body off the ground and place it on the trailer. He preferred not to keep them inside the cab with him, given the hitchhikers inside. The muscle-assistance function of his powered suit made easy work of dragging one body after another until the cave was empty.
He considered braving one more trip back inside to grab the soil samples they went back for in the first place. “Blah. What’s the point? I got what they asked for,” he said with a shrug. Originally, he had planned on tossing two flash bangs, one of which would sail far into the cave awakening the slumbering pods and the monsters contained within. The second one would of course disorient the scientists and soldiers to seal their fate. It was all the same to him, but at least he could claim total ignorance of the situation this way.
His newly acquired cargo was a bunch of ticking time bombs now, so it was of great importance that Mitchell get the men back to the ship and in deep-sleep as quickly as possible. The six-wheeled beast with trailer in tow was going full speed to the ship with Mitchell in the headspace of wanting to get off the planet immediately. The possibility that something lived out in the cold and no one knew it existed shifted through his brain. Some giant beast of an alien could just run up and kill him without anyone to save them all.
Mitchell hoisted each crew member inside and manually set the cryo-pods to keep them asleep until personally overridden. They didn’t know that, being unconscious and all, and they didn’t need to know that he reasoned with himself internally to feel better about it. Mitchell was well aware of what their futures held and much more about the creatures than he had told them before landing on Hades. He set his pod to wake him up upon arrival at Callisto in order to avoid any additional questioning ahead of time.
Once the crew were safely stowed away, he went and checked on the samples to avoid any unwanted surprises upon waking up. Everything was in order and looking good, which meant the same for Mitchell Eaddy. He prepared a short report for the company and sent it through the encrypted messaging beacon, utilizing FTL comms. It didn’t matter to him if they thought he was kissing ass because in the end he was delivering what they asked for and more. Bargaining for something extra in return could wait until later, although it occupied his mind for a few minutes regardless. The ship was slowly ascending on autopilot and would take off once all living beings aboard were safely stowed away in deep-sleep, just how he had programmed it with his limited access to the ship’s systems.
With check boxes checked, he went and made himself a nice meal from the finest frozen meat they had aboard the ship. Judicious portions of sides weren’t forgotten, and a fresh batch of lemonade was procured. He took his time eating and enjoyed every last morsel before tossing the dirty dishes in the sink for someone else to deal with later. Mitchell double-checked the programming of the ship’s guidance system and then the computer for his cryo-pod. He climbed in and went to sleep with feelings of satisfaction after his four hard days of work.
