I will suppress
immediately all emotions
of impetuosity and all
affections that might cloud
my mind, even lightly.
HQ - Peligia
~~*~~
Lauren sat in the jeep's front seat, above her the heavy .50 calibre machinegun was trained upon the tree-line as beside her, the heavy Δ07 stood with its turret mounted machineguns also prepared to cut down any offensive attempted by the trio of approaching shadows in the jungle.
She had her DT-09 braced across the bonnet of the jeep, her eye pressed into the optical sight of the Amsus weapon that had become a natural extension of her during her time on the drifting island.
"Ready," she commanded to the armed infantry platoon that were sitting about five hundred meters from the main perimeter of the HQ. Behind her a pair of sentry guns were waiting to provide cover fire should the approaching trio be a part of some kind of attack.
She tensed as they emerged, first an armed scout dressed in Spetsnaz camouflage, his head wrapped in a worn scarf covering his face so that only the optical sight of his tactical goggles poked out. He held one of the deadly Maser rifles tightly in his hand, the folding stock extended and the weapon obviously fully active. He crouched low and held his position, surveying the array of Imperial hardware that was levelled upon him without any sign of fear.
A second, this one carefully using tree leaves tucked into the plates of his body armour emerged slightly to the right, adopting a similar pose as he too kept low, watching the Imperials.
The Republican officer was the last to emerge from the tree-line. His rifle slung at his side, within easy reach of his gloved hand. He was young, handsome, and entirely unexpected from the way Darien had described the Republican Special Forces commander.
His Flektarn cammo jacket was worn tightly buttoned up over a regular duty uniform. A crushed cap sitting low on his brow held in place by a TAC link headset, the mic positioned close to his mouth. No doubt in constant communications with the rest of his men. Her eyes strayed to the brace of grenades he wore attached to his TAC vest, and up to the skull and 13 patch he wore on his arm. Young as he was, he was a veteran warrior.
"That's close enough," Lauren called across the clearing. "What do you want Commander?"
"I'm here to talk to Darien," the Republican Commander called back. "I have found something that will interest the historian in him."
"He's not in the mood to talk," Lauren said tightly. "I suggest, if you want this little truce of ours to continue, that you and your men turn around and head back to whatever hole you've dug for yourselves."
"I think he will change his mind once he hears what I have to say," the Commander called back. "I just want five minutes of his time; do you think you can arrange this?"
Lauren gritted her teeth, "I doubt that is going to happen Commander. Why don't you tell me what ever your message is, and if I think it's worth it, I'll pass it on to the Warlord."
"I didn't come all this way to talk to you, I talk to Taine and Taine alone," He nodded towards the camp. "Go and fetch your master, or I do go back to where I came from."
"Send him in," Darien commanded through the TAC. "Unarmed and alone."
Lauren straightened up, shrugging, "You're the Skipper." She replied into the TAC as she gestured to the Commander. "You can come in, but alone and unarmed."
The Republican Commander un-slung his rifle and unclipped its power pack, handing it to one of his men, his maser pistol joining it, along with the grenades. He extended his arms as he approached, two of Lauren's marines walking forward to search him for any concealed weapons while he looked at her sternly.
"I haven't met you before," he said thoughtfully. "You weren't on the Excalibur…"
"Yeah well I like to travel," Lauren said as she grabbed him by one of his epaulettes, leading him towards the camp, her DT-09 pushed squarely into his ribs, ensuring that he wouldn't attempt anything stupid.
She walked him through the muddy tracks between the expedition tents, towards Darien's command tent. Nodding to the Marine Sergeant on duty outside who parted the flap to let them in.
Darien was leaning over a strategic chart of the island, his glasses on and his shirtsleeves rolled. He didn't look up as he worked. "What do you want Hugo?" he asked tersely.
"I was visited a week ago by a strange old man," Wojciech stated reaching up to loosen the frayed blue scarf he had tied around his throat. "Seems he wanted to direct me to a Temple of Answers."
"Sight seeing?" Darien asked still not looking up as he adjusted the map he was creating using a tablet PC. "Must be nice to have so much free time on your hands."
"I am here as a courtesy," Wojciech answered. "I could have just ignored this information, however when I examined the temple I found something of interest to you." He reached towards his pocket, pausing as Lauren jammed the rifle barrel into something particularly soft and squishy. She reached past his hand and opened the pocket, pulling the data-reader out and tossing it to Darien.
Darien caught it, turning the flat box over in his hand as he plugged it into the tablet, accessing the digital photos taken by a TAC. He noted the Peligian markings on the walls, the purple glowing glyphs set inside mirror like obsidian crystal. Something that was expected on Peligia.
What he didn't expect was the film still of the black crystal statis pod at the foot of the Peligian altar. He recognized it from the reports of old Imperial technology that employed similar devices to house their most dangerous prisoners.
"That…" Darien began.
"There's more," Wojciech reported nodding to the tablet.
Darien flipped to the next image that showed an ancient and lined Kule face sleeping within the crystal. He set it down, sitting down in one of the folding chairs that banked onto the chart table.
"The last time we had dealings with a living Kule it tore an entire platoon of marines to pieces, and butchered non-combatants," Darien shook his head. "If experience has taught me anything, then poking a sleeping bear twice is asking to get eaten."
"I know, which is why I came to you, our records on Geldan spoke of the Kule, but we don't know much about them," Wojciech shrugged his shoulders. "When the offer of 'answers' is extended on this world, then I tend to sit up and pay attention. But without any kind of Intel I don't know what I'm getting into."
"A whole heap of trouble," Lauren answered. "The Kule are powerful beings with an extreme prejudice against anything that has a pulse. Even before the disappearance of their homeworld, they were considered brutal and tyrannical…"
"So not that dissimilar from human beings then," Wojciech commented.
"Look," Lauren bit back her anger at his glib comment. "I was in command of the platoon that got butchered…"
"And somehow you seemed to survive," Wojciech stared at her with a hard expression on his face. "I'm here because my men need food and water; you have all the food and water. So I think a trade is in order. I give you the location of the Kule temple, and you give me enough supplies to feed my men for two weeks."
"The location of a psychopathic alien that will probably kill anyone that tries to communicate with it," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Great."
"How do I know this isn't another of your traps?" Darien asked, leaning forward in his chair and folding his hands on the chart table. His dark eyes stared over the wire-rimmed glasses he was wearing authoritatively. "The last time I trusted you, Hugo, you betrayed me… a common theme these days with people I trust."
Lauren's mouth clenched shut as she seethed, staring murderously at Darien as he stood up.
"You want supplies, then the temple had best be worth it," Darien stood pulling on his ball cap and dragoon coat. "You're going to take me there."
"Skipper?" Lauren stepped up. "You can't be serious, it has to be a trap…"
"You're the last person to give me a lecture on trust," Darien remarked coldly. "I want two of our best marines…"
"Darien," Lauren said evenly through her clenched teeth. "I can't let you do this. I'll go, you are too important for this…"
Darien studied her, sitting back down in his seat again as he steepled his fingers. "All right Commander Theruan, I will have Doctor Murphy and Casey remain on a private TAC channel for you when you get there… send video feeds back to them. Take a pair of Marines with you… match Commander Wojciech's recon scouts." He picked up a notebook and began to flip through it. "You're dismissed Commander, and show our 'guest' to the quartermaster, find out what his men need by way of supplies."
Jungle - Peligia
~~*~~
The woman walking before him looked worn and tired. The slightly dark circles under her eyes told Wojciech that much, but it was the calm, stoic expression that was etched into her face that told him that the woman had seen something far worse than Peligia had to offer.
Wojciech was uncertain about her though on their trek through the jungle. Hiking his pack up on his back he returned his gloved grip to the maser rifle as he walked, taking a moment to watch her a few paces ahead of him, holding her Amsus Drop Trooper Assault Rifle expertly.
"You're Orion trained," he observed.
"You're observant," Lauren quipped back, her lip curling as she looked at him. "Now how about you quit talking and just lead me to this temple."
Wojciech walked a few steps further, picking his way through the underbrush, watching her again. "What did Taine mean about trust?"
Lauren ignored him, increasing her pace as she gestured for her marines to fan left. "Polian's like to leave little presents in the jungle," she said after a moment. "Cloaking mines capable of shredding a person with crystal shrapnel. You might want to concentrate on where you are walking instead of questioning me for Intel I'm not going to give you."
Falling silent, he bounded from an ancient stone to another piece of crumbling road, careful not to slip on the green moss that rendered it hazardous. They wound their way hither and thither among the trees. Around them were strange flowering plants unknown to them. Small alien reptiles on narrow ledges of rocks raising their heads and hissed at the strangers that passed them by with a noise that reminded Wojciech of a child's toy rasping. Bristling fangs that undoubtedly held some noxious poison that would be just as deadly to aliens as it was to other predators.
They passed through a thicket of small trees which grew low along the stonework like brambles, the boughs twisted together, knotting like thatch over their heads, forming a natural arch across the path they were taking. Stretching down a knoll, spreading and growing taller as it went until it reached a crumbling crevasse that rent through the island, spanned by a worn stone worked bridge trembling in the hazy heat of the powerful sun.
All of a sudden they were interrupted by a shrill noise. A horrid, long-drawn out scream, the rocks around them echoed with its pitch, reverberating through the trees, as a flock of birds rose in a sharp whirring as they darkened the whole sky, winging their way from the intruders that had no place in their jungle.
Moving with due caution, his recon scouts advanced across the span, kneeling on the far side, staring at the rocky cliff face that dominated one edge of the muddy pathway ahead of them.
Wojciech moved forward next, instinctively lifting his maser carbine as his eyes flicked to the steep and stony rockface, where small stones had been dislodged and fell rattling and bounding downwards across the path. He lifted the maser, scanning the top of the cliff in time to see a young boy with a Polian staff ducking back amongst the trees.
"What?" Lauren asked tightly as she came to crouch beside him, the DT-09 sweeping across the trees above them.
"A boy," Wojciech stated, "dark and shaggy…"
"Could have been a monkey," Lauren stated, keeping her voice as a low hiss.
"Monkey's don't carry Polian weapons," Wojciech countered sprinting across the bridge and taking a covering position beside his men.
Lauren moved next, signalling for her marines to bring up the rear. But as they stepped out onto the stone bridge, it shivered and exploded, the stones crumbling out from beneath the two soldiers, sending both of them plummeting from the island, free falling to their deaths on the world below.
It was then that the air turned to fire.
The wave of Polian staff blasts echoed down from above, as the Polians capitalized on their ambush, sending mud, rock and debris flying with each volley.
The recon scouts returned fire, the masers spitting out death of their own as they sliced through the tree-line above. The sharp bark of Lauren's DT-09 rattled out a burst of lead that joined them. But to no avail, as a second volley of fire blasted out again, just as powerful as the first, crashing into the recon scouts positions, killing them instantly.
"Back, now!" Wojciech cried, already sliding one of the grenades out of his satchel and twisting the handle, tossing it upwards and diving for cover.
The explosion caved in the rock face as he felt Lauren grabbing him by his epaulettes, screaming at him to run. The pair sprinting into the depths of the forest as fast as their legs could take them.
They'd managed to get about four hundred meters before the ground beneath their feet gave out, and they slid into darkness.
Subterranean tunnel system - Peligia
~~*~~
God only knew how long they'd spent meandering through the underground complex after their assault. Time seemed to have ground to a halt, letting the minutes play on for hours and Wojciech was finding that his companion hadn't done anything to make the journey any more bearable. If anything, she seemed oblivious of Wojciech's existence. But then, there were some upsides. The tunnel they were in had widened out in all directions allowing the pair to walk side by side and neither of them had to crouch low anymore to avoid grazing their heads against the rotting curve of the roof. Wojciech's feared that if he had to walk bent low for any longer, he might not be able to stand up straight ever again. Even now, his back still twanged with cramp.
Light seemed to be filtering in from somewhere as well. It wasn't much but at least Wojciech could now barley make out his surroundings.
"Does a man in a hat mean anything to you?" Wojciech just couldn't help popping the question; it had been gnawing away at the inside of his head for most of the journey, growing steadily from an irritating niggling to full-blown ravenous curiosity.
"I saw him once." Lauren's voice kept that same monotonous tone that echoed dryly of the sodden walls and for a brief moment, Wojciech whished she wouldn't be so melodramatic and revert back to being just plain irritable. At lest then she had some character.
"But do you know him, can he be trusted?"
As the words left Wojciech's mouth, she seemed to slow but just for a second and in that brief space of time, he could see apprehension. Or maybe it was pity.
"We're the last two who have a right to discuss trust. Especially here."
"What is this place? I mean, really, where the hell are we? How come there are no stars at night? And why the hell are they so adamant to kill us?" Wojciech jabbed his finger back over his shoulder in the direction he guessed they'd come from, a look of confusion began to cloud his face. Lauren cocked her head to one side, as she tried to find the words to describe what was so clear in her head.
"I think we're somewhere between heaven and hell." She replied.
Wojciech sighed, "Let me guess, and Darien's the one that gets to sit in judgment over us…"
One of the girl's fingers snapped up in front of Wojciech's face, bringing his sentence to an abrupt close. Lauren stood completely still, not even breathing as se tried to latch onto whatever sound had caught her attention. All Wojciech could hear was the sound of dripping water and the irregular rusty groan of the pipes.
"What is_"
"Shh!" She hushed him angrily through dried lips and as her warning died away, Wojciech heard the low moan. It sounded like a piece of dying machinery on its last legs. The noise made his brain tingle, as if someone had pulled a nail down a chalkboard. The pair of them seemed to have become instantly frozen to the spot, waiting for the sound to come again and confirm itself. They only had to wait about ten seconds for the echoing growl and when it reached their ears, it sounded uncomfortably nearer.
Lauren's finger, which had been hovering in front of her lip all this time, fell away to her side.
"Stay here." She began to walk away and to Wojciech's horror, towards the direction the moaning was coming from.
"Are you completely insane?" He hissed angrily though clenched teeth. The last thing he wanted was for Lauren to go and get herself killed.
A "Maybe…" came floating back up the tunnel.
Wojciech glared at her in frustration as she leaned around the last corner they'd taken, whishing she'd come back. He shifted the Maser Carbine in his hands as he flexed his grip on it, hoping that he'd be able to cover her if something went wrong.
In the dim, almost nonexistent light, Lauren could barely see anything as she peered up the tunnel but…
"What?"
She squinted her eyes as she tried to force them to adjust to the dark. There was something down there, she could just about make out its form, framed in the light but whatever it was so still that it melted into the darkness surrounding it, making its size impossible to judge. Subconsciously, she felt one of her hands fall onto the stock of her DT-09. Maybe going back to Wojciech wasn't such a bad idea…
"Lauren!" Wojciech hissed.
The agitated call came again and the thing in the dark jerked as if it had been waiting for Wojciech to say something, to give away their position.
Because this thing's been hunting us ever since we came down here. Lauren realized to her dismay.
In the silence, she could hear a soft splash as one of its feet came down, closing the distance between them. As if she and the thing in the dark were in some terrible waltz, Lauren took a step back and with horrifying clarity, she knew what it was before them and that they would be severely farked if she and Wojciech didn't run like hell. Now.
She spun around and shot back down the tunnel as the darkness came crashing after her.