2288: The Skotadian Experiment Read online

  The rest of Mitchell’s engineers turned and ran. Two ran down the corridor to the right of where they were. Three (including Solomon) ran to the left of their position. The Dragon Clone quickly grabbed his knives and ran to where they were, took one knife in each hand, raised his arms up and crossed them in front of him. He looked both ways, took aim, and then threw the knives, killing both Solomon and an engineer. He then repeated the move. One of the engineers on his right was still alive but was trying his best to crawl away. From the moment the Dragon Clone was there till the moment he threw all four knives, no more than three seconds passed.

  The Dragon Clone noticed on his left side that Sulloway (one of Mitchell’s engineers) went down an air duct that was on the wall near the floor. He then ran to her and threw a grenade down the air duct. When Sulloway realized what he had done, she started to scream. When the grenade went off, some of the shrapnel got her in both feet and lower legs. The grenade also caused the air duct to come apart. She fell head first into some darkened room. Her right hand hit the edge of a desk, causing her to break her right wrist and arm. Her left hand missed the table, but her elbow hit it, causing her to dislocate her shoulder and injure her elbow. Her head then hit the floor, knocking her out cold. Luckily for her, she lived. It was several minutes before she was found by Chester.

  The loss of Mitchell and her engineering staff dealt another blow to Galactic Prime. Each member of her staff was the chief engineer in their department. Without them and their experience, repairs to the ship would be slow and laborious. At that point in time, the ship would not stand a chance in a fair fight. They needed to retreat in order to survive, but they couldn’t and they wouldn’t. None of them would abandon Task Force ZH-3C.

  “Captain, we found Sulloway. She’s still alive, but she needs immediate medical attention. She informed us that those transmitters and hacking devices were the source of the explosions,” Chester said over the intercom.

  “Understood,” Mad Dawg said.

  “This is Murphy. I want all available security personnel to get to the engineering sector immediately. It’s time to trap and kill this motherfucker,” Murphy ordered them over the intercom.

  “Murphy . . . I can smell your fear,” the Dragon Clone said over the intercom. Murphy neither said nor did anything in response.

  Chester had two of his Marines take Sulloway to sickbay. Knowing that one floor above them there was another engineer who was wounded, Chester and the rest of his team left to find him. They got there without incidence, stabilized the engineer, and took him to sickbay without incidence.

  “Captain, I’m coming for you,” the Dragon Clone said over the intercom.

  Both Mad Dawg and Murphy had to hear as more of Murphy’s security team encountered the Dragon Clone and lost their lives. After it happened for a third time, they knew that he was serious when he said that he was coming to the bridge. Murphy decided to retreat to the bridge to assist the Marines who were there. Murphy had only one other team who was left.

  There were six security personnel in each of the three teams that engaged the Dragon Clone. One was found in critical condition but died later. Of the remainder only two survived. Sixteen more KIA. The fear was rising for everyone.

  Defense Team B (the security team on the right side of the entrance to the bridge) was the first to spot the Dragon Clone. They saw him jump, almost flying past them twenty feet in front of them. He went in a perpendicular direction in relation to them. A few of the Marines shot at him but missed.

  “This is Defense Team B. We saw him! He’s heading down the corridor to our left!”

  “Bravo team—get over there and kill that fucker!” Murphy ordered his last remaining security team that he could send out. He had only one other security team left—Alpha, the one that was with him.

  “Roger,” they all said together.

  Before Bravo team got to where they thought the Dragon Clone was headed, they heard an explosion. When the Dragon Clone went by Defense Team B, he looked at them so that he could remember where they were at. He then jumped back to where he was standing, but this time he shot the barricade with a six-round grenade launcher. When the barricade was hit, it sent shrapnel everywhere. He then quickly came down the corridor shooting at the Marines (with a handgun that he had) until none of them were left standing. Some of the Marines shot at him, but they missed. His aim was fast and true while their aim was slow and inaccurate. None of them survived.

  The Dragon Clone then went to their position and carefully looked around the corner at Defense Team A. He then smiled and jumped at the wall, both of his feet landing on it. While his feet were still on the wall, he fired the grenade launcher at them. He then jumped back to his original position. When the grenade hit them, it killed three of them and seriously wounded three more. Defense Team A was now out of the picture.

  The Dragon Clone then quickly turned around and saw Bravo team. He fired his grenade launcher at them and then picked up a rifle and started shooting at them. He quickly ran to their position and killed all of them. At that moment, six more Marines were killed. The Dragon Clone then ran down the hallway until he came to the hallway that led to both Murphy and the bridge.

  Murphy and his team saw the Dragon Clone on the corridor to their right. They noticed him because the Dragon Clone jumped to the corridor on their left side. Although they shot at him, they missed. The Dragon Clone then did a back flip to the corridor on the left. He kept on doing that several times over, the Marines shooting and missing him. Because the Dragon Clone did that very quickly, and he did it in the dark, the Marines didn’t know what side he was on when he stopped.

  “What side is he on?” Murphy yelled, looking back and forth very quickly.

  “I don’t know sir!” one of the Marines yelled.

  “Goddamn it!” Murphy yelled, still looking back and forth.

  Knowing that Defense Team A was down and some of them were still alive, a couple of Marines from Defense Team D ran to them to move them from harm’s way. While they were doing that, they heard an explosion and gunfire where Defense Team C was. As they were returning to their positions, they heard their SIN inform them that all six members of Defense Team C had been killed.

  The Dragon Clone then ran down the hallway that led to the bridge and Defense Team A. When he got close enough, he fired the grenade launcher at Defense Team D’s position. It didn’t kill any of them, but it did wound some of them. The Dragon Clone then quickly ran around the corner to where the team was and shot them. Only one Marine was left standing, but he was injured. The Dragon Clone ran to that Marine, picked him up, and threw him at Alpha team.

  While that Marine was still in the air, the Dragon Clone rushed Alpha team, shooting at them. When the Dragon Clone was at Alpha team’s location, they started to fight in hand-to-hand combat. When it was over, five Marines from Alpha team were dead. Murphy was seriously injured. The Marine that the Dragon Clone threw was still alive but seriously injured.

  “Your death will heighten the fear and the demoralization of the crew,” the Dragon Clone said to Murphy before he killed him.

  The Dragon Clone knew that two Marines from Defense Team D were still alive and that three Marines from Defense Team A were still alive, but he did not kill them. Realizing that he wouldn’t kill them, the two Marines from Defense Team D crawled to the other three Marines from Defense Team A, and the five of them tried their best to get to sickbay. They were later found and taken to sickbay.

  While the Marine who the Dragon Clone threw was crawling away, he looked up at him. He then realized that the Dragon Clone was not going to do anything until both he and the other Marine were at a safe distance from the entrance to the bridge. The Marine realized that they were not dealing with a monster, but one who was following orders. He realized that the death of Mitchell and her team was not done in cold-blood, but rather the Dragon Clone was just following orders. The only thing that can be certain is that Lenkov was not the one who gave thos
e orders. Besides, he would never have anyone infiltrate a ship. So who was it that gave the orders?

  “Captain, I am a Dragon Clone, and I can smell the fear within your soul. It’s time for you to scream like a little bitch,” the Dragon Clone said over the intercom.

  The Dragon Clone used his grenade launcher to destroy the door to the bridge. He then threw a dead Marine body on the bridge. It landed a few feet behind the Captain’s chair. Everyone started to shoot at the corpse. The Dragon Clone then threw a flash-bang grenade into the bridge.

  The Dragon Clone then jumped at and landed on the Captain’s chair. While he was still in the air, he quickly looked both ways to remember where everyone was. The Dragon Clone then jumped to his ten o’clock position, where a Marine was squatted down behind his station. The Dragon Clone killed him. He then threw a knife to his left side, killing a Marine who was standing there. The Dragon Clone then turned to face the Captain’s chair. He threw a knife on his right side, killing a Marine who was standing behind his station. The Dragon Clone then used his last remaining grenade in his six-round grenade launcher. He fired the round at the north-by-southeast part of the bridge. The round landed on the right side of a computer station, wounding two Marines standing nearby. After everybody started to come to their senses, they noticed where he was standing. They then shot at him but missed him when he jumped behind the Captain’s chair. He then threw a knife to the northeast part of the bridge, killing a Marine who was standing behind his station. Everyone then rushed the Dragon Clone’s position, including Mad Dawg.

  Mad Dawg, who was standing to the far left of the Captain’s chair, was the first to get near the Dragon Clone. The Dragon Clone spun around and kicked Mad Dawg so hard in the face that it knocked out two of his teeth. Braddick, who was coming from the far northeast corner of the bridge, jumped at the Dragon Clone on his right side. The Dragon Clone then kicked Braddick in the chest while he was still in the air. A Marine coming up from behind the Dragon Clone’s right side took the butt of his rifle and hit him hard in the forehead, which had no effect. The Dragon Clone then did a flying head-butt and killed that Marine instantly. He then did a back kick onto the Marine behind him. The Dragon Clone then spun around and kicked her in the head. At that moment, Braddick came near with a knife. The Dragon Clone kicked the knife out of his hand, kicked him in the head, and then picked him up and threw him at the female Marine. Mad Dawg then gave the Dragon Clone a right and then left punch. When Mad Dawg tried to give him another right punch, the Dragon Clone caught it, and using both of his arms, he broke Mad Dawg’s right arm. The Dragon Clone then made a move using his right and left hands that caused Mad Dawg to fall head over heels onto the Dragon Clone’s left side. The move broke Mad Dawg’s right wrist. He then stomped Mad Dawg hard on his right side, breaking two ribs. Both the female Marine and Braddick stood up. The Dragon Clone then jumped behind them and snapped her neck, killing her. Braddick then turned to face him. Braddick then tried to punch him, but the Dragon Clone moved out of the way, grabbed his arm and threw Braddick to the ground. He then shot Braddick in the back, seriously wounding him. Mad Dawg now realized that he was all alone on the bridge with the Dragon Clone. Braddick and the two other Marines were too wounded to be much help. At that moment, seventy-six Marines were killed, and thirteen Marines, including Braddick, were wounded.

  Mad Dawg quickly got up, went to his chair, and pushed a button that altered the crew that the bridge needed them. The Dragon Clone reached behind his back, grabbed a small axe, and threw it at Mad Dawg, cutting off his left hand. The Dragon Clone went to Mad Dawg, grabbed his throat with his right hand, and picked him up. He started to strangle Mad Dawg.

  “Remember this moment captain,” the Dragon Clone said. He then threw Mad Dawg back several feet.

  While Mad Dawg was still in the air, the Dragon Clone grabbed his gun on his left side and shot Mad Dawg in the left knee. Mad Dawg watched as the Dragon Clone reached behind himself, grabbed an explosive, set it, and put it on the Captain’s chair. He turned and quickly ran out.

  While the Dragon Clone was running as fast as he could to a hanger to acquire a Marine drop-ship, he saw an armed Marine coming from around a corner. He jumped at the Marine with his feet pointed at him. The move broke the Marine’s lower back when he hit him. When the Dragon Clone got to the hanger, he saw a Marine and shot him dead. He then shot to death another Marine.

  “No, no not me!” a third Marine screamed and ran out of the hanger.

  Although the Dragon Clone could have kill the third Marine, he chose not to. Instead, he got on board the dropship, smelled around for explosives, and piloted it out of Galactic Prime. He then headed back to Golden Hyperion. Mad Dawg laid there and tried his best to get up. He must get out of the bridge as fast as he could or he surely would die. He could hear the sounds of the device beeping, and as each moment passed by, the beeping got closer and closer. When he got to the door, he heard it beep no more. He knew that it was all over.

  Nothing But Ghosts

  (1)

  It was uneventful when Task Force ZH-3C landed upon Golden Hyperion. They landed on an island with an abandoned fishing community that was west of their drop-off point. Blue Team (Sanchez, Martinez, Coté, Nguyen, Kaminski, Van Hoven, Hoffneisten, and Sanders) were the first to land. Once on the ground they immediately headed off to secure the fishing community. White Team (Liebowitz, Cole, Bryce, Behlmer, Mendoza, Weng, Lucarelli and Robinson) came next, and they were tasked with preparing the supplies for loading on the transport vehicles. Green Team (Nakada, Chu, Brewster, Kim, Caparzo, Venito, Choy and Anderson) were tasked with loading the supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammo, then moving them as the team moved. Red Team (Hayes, Ellis, Wexler, Trivelli, Guerrero, Blumenthal, Moriarty and Bernstein) were tasked with setting up their base and providing tactical support.

  “What do you got?” Sanchez asked Martinez. He came up to them at a slow run. He was sent up ahead to scout the local community and the surroundings.

  “There’s a boat house that would make a good temporary headquarters. Much further north is a destroyed bridge. It was the only way to get across. On the other side of the waterway, north of the bridge, is a port with a vessel that can ferry us across. There is no other way to get across the river unless someone pilots the vessel. There is a pier with an attached boat house on the other side of the river, but I wasn’t able to check it out or see what was in it,” Martinez responded.

  “Ma’am, I don’t mind going over there and checking it out,” Coté said.

  “Alright go for it,” Sanchez told her.

  Coté then got into her wet suit and swam across the waterway. When Coté came ashore on the other side of the waterway, Martinez noticed that she was walking around and kept on looking down with her flashlight. Martinez noticed that she cared more about what was on the ground than her surroundings.

  “What the hell is she looking at?” Martinez said out loud.

  Martinez then saw her stop, drop her flashlight, turn around, run back to the pier, jump in the water, and quickly swim back. Martinez quickly ran back to the boat house. He got there before Coté got across the river.

  “Ma’am there’s something wrong with Coté!” Martinez yelled out.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Sanchez asked.

  “I don’t know. She was looking down at the ground at something, then she ran and jumped into the water and frantically swam back.”

  “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Everybody then went outside looking for Coté, calling out her name. They didn’t hear any response until they got to the southern part of town. Coté was hunched down, naked, trembling with fear, deeply scared. It was 04:33 hours when they found her.

  “Stay back!” Coté screamed out.

  “Coté what’s wrong with you!? What did you see?” Sanchez asked.

  “Oh god! Oh god!” Coté cried out in fear.

  “Coté, what the hell is wrong with
you?” Sanchez asked. Sanchez started to come near her.

  “Stay away from me!” Coté said, pointing her rifle at Sanchez.

  “Coté, I want you to listen to me and . . .” Sanchez started to say.

  “What did they do to me!?” Coté hysterically said.

  Sanchez started to approach Coté, who once again pointed her gun at Sanchez.

  “Stay back. I’m infected!” Coté hysterically cried out. It had a chilling effect upon everyone.

  “Sanders! Get back to base camp and inform Captain Adnrwal of our situation!” Sanchez ordered him. Sanders left without saying a word.

  “Don’t worry Coté. Everything is going to be fine. We won’t leave you,” Sanchez said in a soothing tone of voice.

  (2)

  “Nakada, front and center!” Ramirez called out to him.

  “Nakada reporting as ordered, sir!”

  “I need three of your people to use the quad-walkers to move our equipment and supplies to the crossroad that leads to that small town where Lieutenant Sanchez is.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Quad-walkers are quadruped robots that assisted a person in carrying cargo over rough terrain. Fully loaded, they moved at roughly three mph (4.8 kilometers) on level ground. Task Force ZH-3C had three of them, and it would take four trips to move all of their equipment and supplies since there was no road that led to the town. Shortly after the quad-walkers left, a powerful thunderstorm struck the region.

  It was nighttime when Green Team was finished loading the quad-walkers and the ground was soaking wet. Brewster, Venito, and Anderson were in the quad-walkers, heading for the crossroad, when the storm struck. Sanders, leading the way for Ellis, Wexler, and Moriarty, had already made it back to the boat house. Although Sanders downloaded the data from his Topographical Creator to the Topographical Interface Network (TIN), it was of little use to anyone given the route that he took.