2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  (3)

  Mad Dawg had just finished talking to Mitchell. Thirty minutes later he got an urgent call from Lieutenant Murphy. The tone of Murphy’s voice and where he was told Mad Dawg that it was extremely urgent. Murphy was at the Weapons Storage area.

  “You better have some good news for me, Murphy,” Mad Dawg said. He was in no mood for hearing any bad news.

  Murphy didn’t saying anything. He only gave Mad Dawg binoculars and then pointed out of the large plasma door. The door led into outer space.

  “What am I supposed to be looking at?” Mad Dawg asked. Murphy didn’t say anything.

  “All I see is . . . space junk,” Mad Dawg said. He then started to notice something, and he didn’t like what he thought he might be seeing.

  “What the fuck? That better not be what I think it is!” Mad Dawg said. He then realized what he was seeing, and it really pissed him off.

  “Is that our fucking weapons drifting out there!?” Mad Dawg yelled at Murphy. Murphy only nodded his head.

  “Fuck!” Mad Dawg screamed. He then threw the binoculars out the plasma door. What really pissed him off was the fact that the weapons (in crates) were going to fall into Golden Hyperion’s atmosphere in about two to three hours. They had no way to recover losing them.

  “Goddamn it to all fucking hell! I want you to find that fucking asshole and kill him!” Mad Dawg yelled at Murphy.

  “Sir, I did an inventory check, and our helmets equipped with night vision are missing. I believe that . . .”

  “Save it Murphy! I don’t care how you do it, but I want that son-of-a-bitch dead! And don’t call me. Don’t come to the bridge. I don’t want to hear anything from you other than that you got the motherfucker. I want him dead as of today. Got it?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “And Murphy,” Mad Dawg said, “I mean it.”

  “I know sir. And it will be done.”

  Thirty minutes later, while he was on the bridge (still fuming), Mad Dawg heard over the intercom that a security team saw the Commando. But he moved too fast for them to get a good look at him.

  “I hope that damn son-of-a-bitch comes here. Then I’ll have the pleasure of killing him myself,” Mad Dawg said. And he really meant it.

  Fifteen minutes later Mad Dawg heard over the intercom that the security team had just lost the Commando.

  “McNair!” Mad Dawg called out.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Get those SOBs on the com right now.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Sergeant Chester here sir.”

  “Find that fucking asshole if you know what’s good for you!”

  “Yes sir,” Chester responded.

  For sixty-five minutes, Mad Dawg was pacing back and forth on the bridge like a caged tiger. He then heard over the intercom one of the security teams mention that the Commando was in one of the maintenance ducts. Mad Dawg then quickly went over to the intercom and barked orders at them. He was determined for someone, anyone, especially himself, to kill their unwelcome guest. He was getting sick and tired of his baby girl dying of a thousand cuts.

  Before Mad Dawg was promoted to captain, his wife was in a car accident and their three-year-old daughter was lost. When he was given command of Galactic Prime, his ship became his little girl. His wife felt the same way. Everything that the Commando was doing to Galactic Prime—to Mad Dawg, it was being done to his daughter.

  Mad Dawg then spent the next forty minutes cursing at the security teams for losing the Commando yet again. And most important of all, they still hadn’t killed the Commando. He spent the rest of that time pacing and waiting patiently for any good news, but none came. Instead, there were only more headaches for him. He then heard the alarms going off, indicating that there was an explosion.

  “What the fuck just happened!?” Mad Dawg yelled. His voice was starting to get a little hoarse from all that yelling.

  “Hold on a sec sir,” McNair said.

  “Boy don’t you dare tell me to ‘hold on a sec.’”

  “Sir! It’s Storage Area E-1!” McNair said after 30 seconds.

  “What!?” Mad Dawg screamed.

  “Get Murphy . . . correction, get Mitchell on the com right now!” Mad Dawg yelled out again.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Mitchell here sir,” she responded after fifteen seconds.

  “Get your ass over to Storage Area E-1 right now! And find out what was destroyed!”

  “Yes sir.”

  Mad Dawg had to wait for fifteen minutes before she finally contacted him. While he was waiting, he was cursing off and on at her for taking too long.

  “Sir, this is Mitchell.”

  “What the fuck took you so long!?”

  “Sir, all of our backup equipment for our critical systems is destroyed.”

  “McNair!” Mad Dawg yelled, causing him to flinch.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Get Murphy on the radio immediately!”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Murphy here,” he said after five minutes.

  “Took your sweet time, Marine,” Mad Dawg said.

  “I’m sorry sir. I was in one of the maintenance ducts and . . .”

  “Put a sock in it boy. Didn’t I order you to kill that asshole?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Then get a move on it!”

  “Yes sir.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Mad Dawg got a call from Vaistll. She had some good news. Although Mad Dawg was happy for her, he was too pissed off to care. He couldn’t wait for his unwelcome guest to stand and fight. Unfortunately for him, he was about to have his wish come true.

  (4)

  The voice came over the intercom loud and clear. It was a slightly distorted, deep, electronic voice. It sent a chill down everyone’s spine who heard it. It was a new type of clone, called a Dragon Clone.

  “I am the one that you have been looking for. For I am your killer. Play time is over. For the real fun begins now,” the Dragon Clone said over the intercom.

  “Why don’t you come to the bridge? Then I can have the pleasure of killing you myself,” Mad Dawg said. And he still meant it.

  “So be it, foolish captain. But know that I won’t kill you. For I want you to see the death of your crew. And then you get to live to see a new horror unleashed upon you.”

  “I haven’t seen how beautiful you are yet. So what horrors are you talking about? It wouldn’t be your looks would it?” Mad Dawg said.

  “Do not worry captain—you will see my face soon enough.”

  “I was just curious about something about you?”

  “And what is that?”

  “If you wanted to commit suicide, then why didn’t you ask us? I’m certain that my crew will be more than happy to comply with your wishes.”

  “Alright then captain. If your crew desires to commit suicide, I will be more than willing to comply with their wishes. I am in the main line of maintenance duct 232 on Deck 27 Area F-2. I’m looking forward to meeting that pussy ass crew of yours,” the Dragon Clone said.

  A few seconds after the Dragon Clone discontinued the call, there were a series of explosions on Galactic Prime. Some of them were small explosions and other were large. Each small explosions caused the lights to flicker. The larger explosions caused the lights to go out and then come back on after a few seconds. When it was all over, the lights were permanently out. The only lights came from either a computer console and/or LED lights. In the maintenance ducts the only lights were the LED lights. The maintenance ducts were almost pitch black.

  “Was it good for you captain, like it was for me?” the Dragon Clone asked Mad Dawg.

  “You fucking coward! Get your fucking ugly ass to the bridge so that I can kill you!” Mad Dawg yelled. This caused the Dragon Clone to guffaw.

  “Bring it on tough boy,” the Dragon Clone said, laughing.

  “Braddick, get us some damn flashlights on the double,” Mad Dawg said when the Dragon Clone discontinued the
call.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Charlie team, one of Debernardo’s teams, was within five minutes of where the Dragon Clone said that it was. But because it was so dark and they had no night vision equipment, it took them twenty minutes to get there. The ship’s sensors told the bridge their fate. When Charlie team got to the location mentioned, they heard a deep sound. It sounded like some type of an engine. They then heard some sort of a release of energy, which sounded like a shock wave. They then heard one of Charlie team cry out, “Oh god . . . I can’t hear!” They then could hear fighting, shooting, and then Charlie team screaming. And then there was dead silence. The only sound that they could hear was coming from the intercom system. It mentioned the rank followed by the last name of each member of Charlie team, and then KIA[11]. Total number killed was six. It had a chilling effect upon the bridge.

  Several minutes later, Debernardo and her two remaining teams, Alpha and Bravo, were in position in front of the only way in or out of the maintenance duct. On either side of the entrance, about twenty feet (six meters) from the entrance, was a hallway that runs diagonally. Bravo team was at the hallway on the right, and Alpha team with Debernardo was at the hallway to the left of the entrance. In effect, they had the Dragon Clone trapped. A few of them were pointing their flashlights at the entrance, and the rest were pointing their guns at the entrance. If the Dragon Clone came out or showed its head, it would be killed.

  “We have that son-of-a-bitch. He ain’t going anywhere,” Debernardo said.

  “Holy shit he’s behind us!” A Marine in Bravo team yelled.

  “What!? How in the fuck did he do that!?” Debernardo yelled.

  “Ma’am, look!” One of the Marines said. He pointed at the ceiling at an opening where the Dragon Clone must have come out without them noticing it.

  “Damn!” Debernardo yelled.

  Debernardo saw the Dragon Clone with Bravo team. She noticed that it stood at 6’7” (200.66 centimeters) and had lightning-quick moves. From its face she could tell that it was not human. From what little light there was, its face made it appear that it was a cross between a werewolf (with a short snout and no hair) and some type of reptile. She also noticed that it was incredibly strong. This thing did not need any cybernetic implants to make it as fast and as strong as a cyborg.

  “I don’t have a shot!” one of the Marines with Debernardo said.

  Debernardo saw a Marine throw a punch, and the Dragon Clone caught it with its left hand. It then hit the Marine so hard in his right shoulder that it dislocated it. Then using both his left and right arms, the Dragon Clone broke the Marine’s right elbow. The Dragon Clone then did a back kick into the Marine that was standing behind him, causing him to drop his rifle. The Dragon Clone then turned to his left and did a right kick to the face of the first Marine. The kick knocked the Marine to the ground, hard. The second Marine reached for his gun on his left side. The Dragon Clone then quickly grabbed the Marine’s left wrist and broke it. He took the Marine’s handgun and shot and killed a Marine standing to his right and then shot and seriously wounded the other. The Dragon Clone then turned toward the Marine from whom he had taken a gun and shot him under the chin, killing him instantly.

  As the Marine’s lifeless body fell to the ground, the Dragon Clone caught him with his left arm in order to use him as a shield. He then shot a Marine, standing at his two o’clock position, in his right arm, his stomach, and then in his head, killing him. The Dragon Clone then quickly jumped to that Marine’s lifeless body, then he jumped at a Marine in his ten o’clock position and did a flying head-butt, killing him instantly. He then turned and saw that the Marine with the broken elbow was trying to crawl away.

  The Dragon Clone then threw a flash-bang grenade over to where Debernardo and Alpha team was. It used its sonic shock wave to intensify the effects of the flash bang grenade. Before Alpha team could react, the Dragon Clone shot them all dead. Debernardo was shot in the chest three times. She dropped to her knees, watching as the Dragon Clone walked away. She fell forward and died before she hit the ground. Only thirty seconds passed from the moment the Marines knew he was there until the moment Debernardo died. Total number of kills, including Debernardo: eleven. Only the Marine with the broken elbow lived.

  Mad Dawg sat deep in his chair with his face in his hands, thinking long and hard about what to do next. That tough, macho guy persona of his, for the first time in his career, took a beating. But this time it was different. He now realized that he had made a mistake. He should have been a lot more cautious instead of rushing into things head on.

  Mad Dawg was in a Catch-22 situation and he knew it. The communications were not secure, but he needed to use them. He needed to give orders to Murphy but didn’t know where Murphy was. He needed to send someone out to deliver messages, but it was too dark. Yes there was some light, but it was not enough. Mad Dawg knew that the only hope was Murphy. Without Murphy, Mad Dawg was the only person who could confront the Commando. And he was no longer certain that he could.

  “Braddick, I need you to round up the security team that is protecting the bridge and move them back into a defensive position outside the door to the bridge.” Mad Dawg ordered him. Mad Dawg was not stupid enough to get into a fist fight with a Commando.

  “Yes sir.”

  “And Braddick, I need you to seal off all air ducts and maintenance ducts near the bridge. I want one, and only one way in or out of the bridge.”

  “Sir, that may take a while since the lights are out.”

  “I don’t care how long it takes; get it done.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Although Braddick did as he was told, he couldn’t help but to think about how Debernardo and her team must have died. He knew that they would have taken up a defensive position at the opening of the maintenance duct. He knew that both teams would have been separated by several feet. But how could that Commando kill them as fast as he did? The Commando was not a cyborg, so how could he move that fast? And most importantly, how was it that he managed to get behind them?

  And then it occurred to him; there was an opening somewhere that Debernardo and her team had missed.

  While Braddick was rounding up the security teams, he had them look for any additional openings (including the ceiling) near the bridge. He had them remove all the doors in any rooms near the bridge. He then used those doors as a barricade for the security teams. He wanted the Commando to enter into the jaws of death. But he knew, and dreaded, that he would not have any search lights to put into the corridors that led to the bridge. If he had some, then the Commando would be blinded by the light. But the security teams that were there were staring into the darkness, not knowing what was there.

  Although Braddick had only four security teams to work with, that was not a problem for him. One team was placed directly in front of the door to the bridge. One team was placed on the left, another on the right, and the third and final team was placed in front of the first team. Each of the security teams were placed at least several feet apart from one another.

  The total length of time that it took Braddick to complete the task was forty-five minutes. Nothing occurred within that time period. When the Marines were finished, they didn’t do much talking. To each one of them it was like being in the combat zone. Too quiet to do too much talking. Braddick then went back to the bridge in case Mad Dawg needed to give him orders directly.

  Fifteen minutes after the lights went out, Elizabeth Mitchell had a thought that might explain how it was done. It was impossible for multiple, let alone one explosion to knock out the lights like that. The Commando would have to know exactly where to place the explosives. Mitchell realized quite quickly that when Skotadi hacked the computer system, that is probably when they learned where to place the explosives. But one thing troubled her. With all the searching that was done by the security teams, how come none of them found those explosives? She then realized the shocking truth. The security teams did find them, but they did no
t realize it.

  “Solomon, I need the exact locations of where all of those transmitters and hacking devices where placed,” Mitchell said.

  “Ma’am, are you joking?”

  “Do I look like I’m joking? Look Luis. I think that those transmitters and those hacking devices were the source of the explosions.”

  “Why not just say that they were?”

  “I’m not doing something like that! That’s not very professional!”

  “Well, it’s a waste of time.”

  “What?” Mitchell said.

  “It’s a waste of time ma’am.”

  “I don’t think that it is. You know that I don’t like ordering you guys around, so don’t make me. Okay?” Mitchell said, trying to be nice.

  “Ma’am, I don’t think that the security team would have put in the locations of those devices.”

  “How do you know? Did you check?” Mitchell asked. She was starting to get annoyed by him.

  “No ma’am.”

  “Then do it.”

  “But ma’am . . .”

  “I said do it!” Mitchell snapped back.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Ten minutes later, Solomon found what Mitchell was looking for. And she was right. Those devices were in part, explosive. She now had to make a critical, life-or-death decision. And it didn’t take her that long to make it. She knew how important it was to let either Murphy and/or Mad Dawg know what she had discovered. The lives of the crew depend upon her and her engineers.

  “We need to get to the bridge to let Captain Burton know what we discovered,” Mitchell informed her engineers. All of them responded with acquiescence. Twelve minutes later, they encountered the Dragon Clone.

  “No please don’t!” Mitchell screamed when she saw the Dragon Clone.

  The Dragon Clone threw a knife with his right hand and killed Mitchell instantly. The knife went into her forehead. With his left hand, he threw a knife to his one o’clock position, killing one of Mitchell’s engineers. With both hands reaching across his stomach, the Dragon Clone grabbed a knife and threw them at the same time, killing two more engineers. In two seconds, Mitchell and three of her engineers were killed.