“We need to get out of here, now!!”
“What?” Shepherd turned around just as Davídrius sped up to the truck
and dumped Siyuakén unceremoniously in the truck bed.
“Did you not hear me? We need to go!” the Introtechnic insisted.
“Hold it!” the Captain barked, “We aren’t going anywhere until you tell
me what the problem is!”
“We killed the creature,” Siyuakén explained, “But, it – …its carcass
split open and a horde of metal bugs rushed us!”
“I was able to outrun them, of course, but it’s only a matter of time
before they catch up!” Davídrius pressed, “That’s why we need to go!”
“…A horde of metal bugs?” Shepherd responded slowly, “The hell are you
talking about? They just popped out of that dragon’s dead body?”
“Every second you spend doubting us is a second we’ve lost in getting
away from those things!” Davídrius countered irately, “Those damn bugs are
twice the size of my hand, each! We sure as hell aren’t equipped to fight ‘em
off here!”
The Captain paused for a moment before turning back toward the truck
and reaching through the driver’s side window to grab the vehicle’s
communicator. “Captain Shepherd reporting! Repeat, this is Captain Shepherd.
We’ve got a… Code Blue here–“
Mid-sentence the nearby rock wall cracked before giving way to several
sharp, knife-sized projectiles. Davídrius snatched one out of the air before
using it to deflect the others and then launched it at the cave entrance,
impaling one of the metallic bugs just as it emerged from the darkness.
“You were right!” Shepherd exclaimed as he yanked the truck door open
and jumped in.
“No shit!” the Introtechnic growled in response, “I’ll hold them off –
or at least, I’ll try!”
“What?” Siyuakén cut in as she moved to climb out of the truck bed, “On
your own? You’re insane! I’m helping!”
“No you’re not!” Davídrius shoved her back, “Are you fast enough to run
away if you get swarmed? No! You’re not! It’d be one thing if your swinging
gear still worked but I saw those lines snap. So sit tight and help the Earthians
– I’ll be fine on my own!” He then turned to the Captain. “You get back to the
base as soon as possible and raise the alarm, or something–“
“Already on it!” Shepherd shouted as he slammed the truck into reverse,
backing away from the cave before spinning it around and flooring it across the
rocky ground until he reached a gravel path. He then glanced at the rear-view
mirror just in time to see Davídrius disappear behind a rock face.
“Are the kids fine?”
“Huh? Oh,” the Captain glanced behind himself to the small back-seat
area. Earthian military vehicles, by virtue of being military vehicles, didn’t
come equipped with baby-seats, so the Captain had been left to secure the
children as safely as he could with seat-belts alone. “…They look fine. But
they’re still unconscious.”
“Mmm…” Siyuakén responded quietly.
Several moments of driving passed before Shepherd spoke up again. “I
don’t know what happened back there,” he frowned, “…but can he actually hold
off those things?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Would you have been able to hold them off?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are they really that damn invincible?”
“I don’t know…”
The Captain glanced back at Siyuakén. “Will we be able to protect
Sunova from them?”
The Electrotechnic looked down at her arm wound before sighing warily.
“…I don’t know…”
*
* *
3 Hours Later
“Well, I can’t say I ever expected to have to deal with a Code Blue
after a year of uninterrupted Green.”
“Sorry, Colonel,” Captain Shepherd responded uneasily.
“It’s not your fault, Shepherd,” the Colonel glanced over at him,
“Given that everything you’ve told me is true, this whole colony was messed up
to start with.”
“There’s no reason to not believe us,” Siyuakén frowned.
“I know,” she replied, “But it doesn’t mean that I’ll send the entire
garrison charging in, either. Code Blue protocol simply calls for a quarantine,
which I hope we can accomplish with UAVs. I’ve already called down your
Nimalian friends on the Battlecruiser in case things go south; with any luck,
the four of you should be able to help us repel this threat.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Siyuakén questioned, “I’ve never seen
these bugs before.“
“If they’re native, then that would make perfect sense.”
“But… they can’t be,” the Electrotechnic countered, “They’re made
of metal! I think they might be what’s behind the galactic metallic rash
epidemic.”
“And that means?…”
“…I don’t know.”
“I appreciate your concern,” the Colonel responded, “But we can handle
this. Worst comes to worst, the Interstellar Gate is only two levels
underground, and there’s two Frigates in system in case even the ‘Gate isn’t an
option. But I would rather save Sunova if I can – and I’m sure we’ll need your
help to do so.”
“Colonel, this whole situation is in part the fault of the Nimalians–“
“Shepherd, stop right there,” the Colonel interrupted,
approaching the Captain and glaring up into his eyes, “You’re a good man – for
the most part. But you need to get over this discriminatory mindset of yours.
SERRCom has managed to bypass many of Earth’s old biases – now let’s try to do
the same on the galactic stage. Don’t replace the old, ignorant ‘America First’
attitude with ‘Earth First’ – it’s just as bad.”
Shepherd scowled slightly but nodded nonetheless. “Yes… Colonel
Yamamoto. I’ll keep that in mind…”
“Good.” The Colonel turned to look at Siyuakén, “that said, I am concerned
that you’re the only present witness, so far as killing the cave dragon and
seeing these metal bugs spill out of it.” She then turned back to the screens
behind her. “Though that is why I ordered UAVs to the caves
and surrounding areas. Unfortunately the sun is setting, so we’ll only be able
to see so much. Perhaps we’ll see what happened to the other Nimalian.”
“Davídrius should be back…” Siyuakén replied quietly, “…he – Superspeed
Introtechnics aren’t endurance fighters.”
“And I’d have to wonder just how effective they are against metal bugs
the size of a basketball,” Yamamoto responded, “…regardless, we should find out
in about fifteen minutes–“
“Wait, Colonel,” Shepherd suddenly pointed at one of the screens,
“There – movement. And a glitter. Is that?...”
“It’s the bugs… a whole lot of them,” Siyuakén affirmed.
“…They’re this far? Already?” the Colonel frowned, “Even for foot-long
metal bugs… they’ve come remarkably close to the base, especially assuming that
they’re feral–“
The screen suddenly jerked, causing the three observers to jump in
surprise. The camera then seemed to fly backwards and down until suddenly
stopping on a tree – and then turning to reveal Davídrius’s face as his mouth
began moving.
“He snatched the UAV out of the air?” Yamamoto observed in surprise.
“And he’s trying to tell us something. Do the UAVs transmit audio?”
Siyuakén questioned.
The Colonel flipped a switch next to the screen; a second later, they could
hear Davídrius’s voice over the connection.
“–ot feral. You can’t treat them like bugs. You can’t even treat them
like robots – you can’t treat them as either! They’re– ahk!” He suddenly ducked
and dropped out of view of the camera – shortly after which the UAV stopped
transmitting.
“He must’ve dropped it,” Shepherd pointed out.
“He looked surprisingly fine,” Siyuakén commented.
“I’m more worried about that location,” Yamamoto scowled, “In three
hours they’ve cleared a hundred and twenty kilometers. They’re disconcertingly
fast… and to come this far in a group must mean they’re at least somewhat
focused…”
“We should launch the gunships, Ma’am,” Shepherd suggested.
“Against targets that small? I have to wonder about their
effectiveness. All we’d be doing is throwing up debris clouds and obscuring the
bugs.”
“Besides, they were able to burrow through rocks,” Siyuakén added,
“They could just go underground.”
“Which is even more disconcerting,” Yamamoto
responded, “We’ll at least know they’re coming when the seismic sensors begin
going off. But, given this – we’ll need to seal off the less-easily protected
areas of the base, and station personnel and sentry guns along the hallways.
Especially the ‘Gate room and all paths to it – those must remain open. And if we lose those, we need to make sure we
have enough time and room to fall back to the Frigate clearings, and to do that
we’ll need to keep the generators running in order to keep the lights on… Lead
already went left with the children, correct?”
“He did,” Shepherd nodded.
“Call him back and put him in charge of the armored vehicle squads. He
needs to make sure the path to the Frigate clearings stays lit and open. Also,
see if you can rush the reinforcements – we’ll only have so much time to get
vehicles above-ground. We need more sentry guns, too. Anyways, once you’ve done
that, take command of the gunships and get the whole squadron airborne –
intercept the bugs and expend as much ammo as you deem necessary, but don’t
fire within two kilos of the base. We need to be able to see the enemy.”
“Yes Ma’am!” the Captain exclaimed, stiffening long enough to offer a
salute before turning toward the door and rushing out of the room.
The Colonel glanced over at Siyuakén, and then down at her left arm.
“You should get that checked out.”
“I’m fine,” the Electrotechnic insisted, “I can get it looked at once
this situation is taken care of…”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll need you at your best in order to
take care of this situation,” Yamamoto declared, “Until the Battlecruiser team
returns in an hour, you and your friend are the only Chaotics planet-side – and
right now you’re the only Chaotic on this base. I’m not saying
we’re relying on you – we have plenty of our own defenses – but I’m sure your
help would be invaluable. Can you still give your all with an injury like
that?”
“It was just a cut. I’ll be fine. But I do have another concern.”
The Colonel crossed her arms. “What is it?”
“The Master Ayas…” Siyuakén frowned, “…is it still on the base?”
“Master Ayas?” Yamamoto echoed cluelessly, “…oh, you mean that silver stone
Shepherd found in the caves? It should still be in MacTavish’s lab.”
“We can’t leave it behind,” the Electrotechnic declared, “It’s too
valuable.”
“Hmm… given what I’ve heard from MacTavish, I agree,” the Colonel
nodded, “…can you go retrieve it? Bring it down to the ‘Gate room and we’ll
move it to Earth. In the meantime I’ll continue organizing the defenses. I
wonder if I should bump us up to Code Red… heh, here’s to hoping we’re
over-reacting.”
“Yeah…” Siyuakén replied as she quickly left the room, “…hopefully…”
*
* *
Kzztk!
Siyuakén burst into the dark lab, having overridden the lock with a
quick shock. She held her hands close together and began arcing electricity
across them, generating enough light for her to find and flip the light switch.
She then quickly set to searching the drawers, cabinets, and chests in an
effort to find the Master Ayas. She couldn’t quite explain why, but she
possessed an overwhelming uncomfortable feeling about the Ayas’s safety – were
the bugs to claim it, who knew what could happen. Is there a connection
between Chaos Energy and the bugs?... Siyuakén thought to herself, Is
there a connection between those bugs and the metallic rash? Or was this all
just coincidence? She glanced down at her arm wound warily before shaking
her head. Even if there is a connection, I shouldn’t worry. I’m sure I
burned anything that could’ve been injected… as well as most of what was
already there. Maybe I really should get this looked at. I’m sure my nerves
would’ve been fried if I weren’t an Electrotechnic…
She paused as she opened a drawer and laid eyes on a silver sphere.
“Aha!” she smiled before reaching for the Master Ayas – only to jerk her arm
back when it offered her a small shock. “What–?” she scowled, “It shocked me?
What for? …I found a shock painful?”
Her thoughts were cut short as the door to the lab burst open and
Davídrius dashed in. “...The Master Ayas!” he exclaimed as he grabbed it, “Damn
good thing it’s still here.” He glanced over at the Electrotechnic. “We need to
get out of here, now.”
“Uh, sure,” Siyuakén frowned, “I mean, I know we’re in a rush, but we
should still have at least an hour before the bugs show up, right?”
“No– they’re fast. Too fast–!” Davídrius responded just as some of the
cement in the corner cracked and several metallic bugs emerged, “They’re
already here!”
* * * * *
==================== End of Chapter 12 ====================
* * * * *
Data Entry: Emergency Codes
Given the variability and unknowns of living in extraterrestrial locations, the CSA created a color-based emergency code system for quickly and easily communicating the emergency situation of any military base. Given the convenience of the system, the CSA’s allies – the Syraus Protectorate, Nimalian Territories, and SERRCom – have all adopted the code system. Even the Black Suns, a Private Military Contractor and Technology R&D Corporation, have taken to using the system.
Every military installation is always broadcasting a code; when a code changes, nearby forces are alerted and often diverted to the installation to investigate and/or help. However, as most militaries do not want the status of their military installations to be completely public, most installations will often be sending several different codes at once – a broadcast code that anyone can pick up, a directed signal that only allies can pick up, and a directed signal that only the top brass of the respective military can access.
The default status is Code Green – no emergency. This code is only ever explicitly stated when the head of the respective military requests a summary of the situation at every military installation in a given region. This has led to the Earthian phrase “green across the board” adapting its meaning to emergency codes and spreading across the galaxy.
Code Black is the opposite of Code Green – it is never explicitly broadcasted from a military installation. Instead, it is the code for when a receiver loses contact with an installation – for if the installation is cut off from all lines of communication. This is a rare occurrence and militaries usually exercise extreme caution when investigating Code Black situations. Due to the nature of Code Black, it is not a selective code; if an installation goes Black, everyone knows.
Code White is the evacuation code. An installation set at Code White is undergoing or will be undergoing a complete vacation of the installation as quickly as possible, often as a result of a situation indicated by another code color. Furthermore, the actual use of Code White indicates that the installation wishes for all nearby ships to assist in evacuating the personnel and equipment. White is usually saved for instances in which the installation’s immediate response is to flee rather than try to fight back or otherwise solve the situation.
Code Brown means the installation is dangerously low on supplies and will likely fail if not tended to within a week. Given the convenience of Interstellar Gates, few colonies ever need to actually employ Code Brown – and the ones that do are often secret bases, and thus do not transmit Code Brown on public frequencies. The last public Code Brown call was several centuries ago.
Code Yellow represents wariness of a possible attack. It is essentially meant to warn other installations about approaching threats before the targeted installation falls under attack or is otherwise disabled. Code Yellow is usually accompanied by a description of the perceived threat.
Code Blue signals that the installation is under attack from hostile non-sentient lifeforms. This usually means that the local fauna have been agitated in some way and have engaged the installation’s personnel; Code Blue situations are usually handled easily by the installation itself and with minimal casualties. There have few been situations in which Code Blue situations became markedly dangerous, at which point the installation was wiped out before they could get help or they escalated their emergency situation to Code Red.
Code Orange signals that the installation is under attack from hostile sentient lifeforms. Code Orange situations are much more dangerous than Code Blue, but Orange situations are usually tame enough that the target installation can handle it with minimal outside assistance. Nearby ships will usually swing by to investigate and offer help if necessary, but Code Orange situations rarely receive any real priority.
Code Red, aside from Code Black, is the worst possible situation: an organized or otherwise very dangerous hostile attack, either by sentient or non-sentient life (though mostly the former). Code Red situations are immediately responded to with full force as they represent a significant risk to the targeted installation and, possibly, nearby installations. Code Red is often used as an escalation for Codes Blue and Orange, but it is mostly used during wartime to signal to the top brass that the enemy is attacking. And, given the enemies of modern times (the Drakkar Factions and Riaxen Federation), Code Red situations are given high and immediate priority.
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