STERLING

 

Wednesday January 15 - 0249 MST

Forty one minutes until Turbocharger activates

 

My attention was briefly stolen by the sound of rustling coming from down the tunnel. I wasn't the only one. Every flashlight turned in unison at the sound. All we found was an empty tunnel with only the shadows and echoes of our voices to keep us company. Everyone was jumpy because at any moment something unnatural could leap out of the shadows that lurked in every corner of the Underground.

We were down deep now, near the mouth of C-Watch at the post known as Cerberus. Like its namesake the SFs posted here watched over the gate to hell. It was the only way in or out. If we wanted to retake C-Watch we had to start here.

"It was probably just the structure settling."

I wasn't sure who said it, but it's what we all wanted to believe. The Underground was older than any of us and it wasn't uncommon to hear the walls crackle or moan their displeasure at the geologic bowel movements of the earth around them. They were unnerving at first but you got used to them and tuned them out. Until today.

"That's all it was. Just keep watch until we get this post sorted out." I said aloud before turning my attention back to the airman that had been explaining the situation to me. His name was Roth, or at least that's what was printed on his helmet band. With everyone geared up in flak vests, kevlar helmets, and eye protection the only way I could really tell anyone apart was by what was printed on the band. "Roth, you were saying?"

Roth's eyes darted down the darkened tunnel where we'd heard the rustling a moment ago before focusing back on me. "Yeah, sir. It looks like Cerberus wasn't damaged during the breakout. Those things chewed up wires upstairs but seemed to ignore her. Give us three…four minutes tops and we'll be ready to rock and roll."

Roth patted the side of the big drum that fed the seven barreled cannon it's diet of thirty millimeter tank killing rounds. To say that I was relieved to hear that our last resort was functional would be an understatement. After seeing the damage the escaped creatures had done to the electrical systems in the command section of the Underground I'd feared the worst. But even they had enough sense to avoid the Cerberus.

Once the big cannon was up and running again we would be assured that nothing else would be coming out of C-Watch. Not if it valued its life.

Which still left one very unpleasant task. Someone would have to go in there and shut down the source of our exo leak. "Alright, Roth. You and your team will stay put and man the Cerberus. Relay comms, watch for any escapees, and above all make sure nothing gets out."

Roth nodded. "Nothing gets out."

Joe Morgan looked down the empty tunnel but I doubted he saw anything beyond the fifty feet or so that the lights reached. Then he looked at me with eyes that were doing their damnedest to hide any apprehension he might be feeling. "What about us, sir? What's the plan?"

That's what his mouth said. What his eyes were saying was "Please tell me we're not going in there."

"Joe, we're staying put right here." I pointed down at the gravel under our feet. "We simply don't have the manpower to go on."

As we had pushed deeper into the Underground we shed teams at intersections to not only act as security but as an ad hoc communications network. Our radios simply couldn't penetrate the bedrock that the Underground was built into. So every time we passed a corner we had to leave a team to relay radio traffic back and forth. We'd used up the last of our spare teams getting to Cerberus. The plan was to hold out here until Madarasz and his crew got the radio repeaters up and running again. That would free up all the line of communication teams and give me some much needed backup. Once I had all my security teams back we could move into C-Watch in force. It was the only safe way to do it. The only reason I would risk myself and my team was if there was an immediate risk to my people.

Morgan nodded in agreement, but again his eyes betrayed him. I saw relief. He had a wife and two small children. They needed him. "Thanks, sir."

That was when I heard the crackle of radio traffic in my headset. What I got was mostly static but interspersed in the middle of it all was a handful of words. "—nyone on this frequency? Over."

I looked around and saw a lot of baffled stares looking back at me. Then I clicked onto the net. "Gunsmoke 3-1. Was that you?"

Gunsmoke Three-One was the security team we left at the last checkpoint. Beyond them we wouldn't hear anyone else on the net because of the blocking effect of the walls. Three-One responded a moment later to let us know it wasn't them.

Morgan was looking at me again. "Who was that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

My guess was something in C-Watch heard our transmissions and was now toying with us. But I didn't want to push Morgan any farther towards the brink with my idle suspicions.

The radio crackled again. "Can anyone hear me?"

I held up a hand for everyone to quiet down. Then I clicked the transmit toggle. "We hear you. Who am I talking to?"

A moment later the static came back. It cleared up just long enough for us to hear the following. "…ptain Hamilton and approx…trapped and need help…"

For the first time since we embarked on this hopelessly optimistic crusade I saw everyone lose their dour expressions and replace it with something else.

Hope.

We all thought Hamilton and his rescue team were lost. But now we got confirmation that they were miraculously alive. In our minds it was like bringing them back from the dead. But only if we acted to get them out of C-Watch.

Everyone else knew it too and they were all looking at me, because it was ultimately my decision to make. We could make the bold move to go in there without backup, or we could do the prudent thing and hold tight until reinforcements were available. Either way someone was being put at risk. On one hand was Captain Hamilton and his team, on the other was me and my own. No matter what path I chose someone would be paying the price. There was really only one choice when I put it that way, and it was the one that would let me sleep at night.

I clicked the transmit toggle. "Hamilton, this is Iron Shack Actual. We hear you. Hold tight. We're coming to get you out."

Not everyone was happy with my decision, but they all were professional enough to keep any misgivings to themselves. With a nod towards the yawning darkness of the tunnel I started the trek towards C-Watch.

As soon as I left the light of the Cerberus post a chilly wave washed over my body. My own flashlight's light felt weak and anemic without the others. It really was a different world down here, but it was too late now to chicken out. My people needed help and I wouldn't abandon them to monsters.