“Perhaps the most remarkable artifact found alongside the Doom Marine was a suit of combat armor identified as the ‘Praetor Suit.’ The Suit has been dated as many thousand years old, yet it contains systems unimaginably more advanced than any other known technology, man-made or otherwise. Powerful and dangerous curses prevent its extraction from the altar in which it was found, but tests performed on its exposed components have proven it is impervious to almost any type of damage. The only attacks that can penetrate its plating are those of extreme energies or supernatural nature, such as from demons or possessed humans. After taking any harm, however, the Suit will immediately and remarkably repair its structure. Despite its clearly technological nature, the Suit contains no force amplification mechanisms or life support systems, and no method of activating it has been found. It appears as nothing more than a hollow shell, requiring the presence of, and serving only to complement, the Doom Marine.”

- Lazarus Lab Report DM1-6

E1M2: Knee-Deep in the Dead

Ruby cautiously opened the elevator door, pistol at the ready. It had been a while since the screams and roars died down, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

The corridor was dark, illuminated only by flashing sirens and the occasional sparking. Ruby moved out quietly, taking care not to step on some piece of glass or other debris.

She was in the Mars Base Hospital, medical equipment and the corpses of hospital workers strewn across the floor.

What the hell happened here, she thought to herself as she walked past the ravaged bodies.

Probably just that. Hell.

After a few moments of pure silence, Ruby put her weapon down and breathed deeply, temporarily assured she was alone.

She needed to get to a VEGA terminal. She needed to establish contact with Command and figure out what was going on.

Tightening her grip on her pistol, Ruby set off with a brisk pace for the hospital’s administrative deck. She stepped into a staircase, as the elevators would be too loud, and climbed up towards the terminal.

Ruby reached the floor at the very top of the staircase, the one that housed the hospital’s administrative services, but entry was blocked by a locked gate that required identity verification.

Glancing backwards to make sure she was alone, Ruby pressed the glowing pad and spoke.

“This is UAC Elite Guard Ruby Taylor, requesting access.”

The gate’s light turned green as the automated voice system replied.

“Credentials accepted. Hello, Agent Taylor.”

* * *

As the airlock cycled, the Marine felt the gravity field inside the chamber grow stronger as the facility’s acclimation mechanisms kicked in.

An incoming voice comm transmitted into the Praetor Suit’s systems.

It was a new voice, robotic but more audibly pleasant than that of Doctor Hayden. The Marine might have even described it as warm. The UAC had finally built talking computers.

Two counters appeared on his HUD’s upper corners, labeled “Calibrator” and “Tracker.” The Marine shrugged. He’d figure out how they worked later. At least the computer wasn’t going to be a hindrance.

The gate opened and the Marine boldly entered the facility, immediately noticing the Earth-like gravity and lack of illumination. The Base’s power must have been cut off.

He recalled an old trick he used to wield, a simple but effective skill to navigate even the most distracting or obscure of environments. He closed his eyes and filtered out the blaring sirens, focusing on building a clear mental image of his surroundings. The shadowy outline of the corridor seemed to come into view, but after a few moments it dissipated like smoke. The Marine made a greater effort to build the image, but he couldn’t sustain it. His strength had not returned yet.

Opening his eyes, he brought up his Suit’s automap feature onto his display to see if he could navigate through it, but no such luck. The Base’s walls were too thick and his scanning system had limited range. He could spy a group of red dots in the room just around the corner, meaning his scanner’s demonic module was operational, but he couldn’t see any further than that. He closed the automap in frustration.

spoke the computer.

Sure enough, in an open toolbox not far from a dead worker, was a heavy metallic flashlight. Very heavy, in fact. He turned it on. Just as he contemplated how narrow the beam of light was, not to mention dim, the flashlight sputtered out and died.

In the fraction of a second the Marine was racing down the corridor at full speed, his blood burning with ravenous rage. He was going to splatter somebody’s brains, and he didn’t care whose.

He turned the corner into the intersection of a mining deck, the red dots turning out to be a few zombies slowly ambling in the dark. Without hesitation, the Marine grabbed the head of the flashlight and brought the handle down on one, feeling instant satisfaction as its skull cracked open like an egg. He swinged the flashlight at another’s head, sending it flying clean off its shoulders. Dropkicking another, he mercilessly beat it into a bloody pulp. With cold and expeditious fury he slaughtered them all, holding a dented flashlight dripping with blood and brain matter. He dropped it while breathing heavily.

He hated using flashlights.

His anger subsided, the Marine turned to the signs printed on the corridor walls, searching for the one that led to a system terminal. Finding it, the Marine headed in that direction.

The hallway was dim but barely navigable from the flashing sirens and lights that shone through the grated floor.

The Marine climbed a stairway up to the system terminal. It stood in front of exterior windows whose blast shields had been activated by the lockdown. He pressed a screen that read RESTORE POWER.

…REROUTING POWER…POWER RESTORED

The blast shields lifted as the fluorescent lighting flickered back on, and the Marine could see the faulty satellite dish through the windows.

A screen beside him switched on.

“I believe in honesty. Especially now, in what will be your final moments in this world.”

A puzzled Marine turned to the screen. It was a thin elderly woman speaking. She wore a mechanical bodysuit and her complexion was cold yet perverse. The Marine recognized her: she was the same figure whose hologram he’d seen as he exited Site 03.

“All the rumors…the human sacrifices, the Hell portal, the demons…it’s all true.”

Her demeanor was very matter-of-fact and detached, considering the subject matter, and her stiff arrogance aggravated the Marine. Had the screen not displayed PREVIOUSLY RECORDED below the woman’s transmission, he would have thought she was speaking to him. Regardless, he did not like her.

“My sisters and brothers be thankful. You will be the first. You will have a seat alongside them-”

A point-blank shotgun blast promptly silenced the woman’s rambling.

She was one of those then, the Marine thought. Perfect.

commented the computer,Lazarus Project. That didn’t sound good. The Marine made a mental note to investigate the Lazarus Project as he prepared to leave.

The Marine turned to the screen beside him, which read FACILITY MAP READY. He pressed the DOWNLOAD button on the screen and noted the AUTOMAP UPDATED message appear on his HUD.

Bringing up his automap once more, he marveled at the real-time 3D diagram displayed in his visor. It was an extensive compound, built into the Martian landscape for mining and…plasma extraction.

Plasma extraction? On Mars? The Marine frowned as he continued to study the map.

Linked directly to the facility’s systems, his boosted scanner marked the exact positions and identities of all usable items and demonic invaders in the installation, which appeared as miniature models in the diagram. But that didn’t matter, the Marine needed to reach the satellite array to realign the faulty dish. Studying the map, he calculated the shortest route to the array and switched off the automap. He noted an icon resembling a map station had appeared under the “Tracker” component in his HUD. So it was some kind of utility tracker, the Marine concluded.

Cocking his shotgun, the Marine headed for the satellite array.

The Res Ops facility was certainly more visually impressive when fully illuminated. This particular sector was a sprawl of grey and yellow-painted metal, with slender walkways and railings crisscrossing a wide cavern beside the exposed Martian surface. Steam and smoke lazily drifted from lower levels as machinery rumbled deep below.

The Marine contemplated this arrangement as he climbed the walkways. Martian soil was supposed to be toxic to normal humans, and the atmosphere pumped within the facility was very much breathable. Did this company have its employees breathing toxic Martian dust, or were they augmented in some way to be resistant to this environment?

The Marine got his answer as he approached a pair of corpses outside a sealed door, blood trails streaking across the ground: it didn’t matter anymore.

One of the corpses was of a decapitated soldier, and his HUD outlined the soldier’s cuirass. It seemed to be in good condition, and the Marine guessed the soldier wouldn’t need it anymore. Setting his boot softly on the soldier’s chest, the Marine watched as the cuirass dissolved into a swarm of metallic fragments and was absorbed by his Suit, bringing his ARMOR up to 50.

Lightly bowing his head at the soldier, the Marine approached the gate. It was jammed shut, and the sparks flying from its frame indicated it was malfunctioning. Grabbing hold of the dual doors’ edges, the Marine pried open the gate into a dock crowded with zombies and imps.

A few steps away stood a former engineer, whose body had been grossly fused with a large acetylene tank which now perforated its torso. As soon as the Marine opened the gate, this worker shambled towards him with a deep gargling sound. A reflexive kick sent the zombie flying at the others behind it, exploding and killing three others with it. With the rest of the demons alerted to his presence, the Marine stormed into the dock.

It was an elevated clearing that must have been a transportation hub. Supply crates and explosive barrels littered the floor, with only flimsy waist-high railings standing between the walkways and the yawning depths.

BANG BANG BANG! The Marine swiftly dispatched the closest enemies with precise shotgun blasts. He loaded a shrapnel shot. BANG POOWW! A zombie engineer and two imps exploded in a swell of flame and blood. A new sound beside him drew his attention, a fast whirring that sounded like a power tool switching on. Turning to the sound, the Marine barely managed to dodge a faceful of spinning metal teeth. It was a zombified worker with a chainsaw fused to its hands, hellbent on slashing the Marine with it. Moving fast before the zombie could attack again, the Marine grabbed the zombie’s arm and forced the chainsaw to its own head, moving on to a pair of imps as the dying zombie howled in agony.

The Marine switched to his new EMG pistol. POW! He gaped as the target dark imp’s head disappeared in a burst of bone and brain. He aimed at another’s chest. POW POW! The Marine was sure he could fit his arm through the hole in the dark imp’s torso.

Left punch, right hook. POW! POW! Right, left, uppercut. POW! POW! The Marine cleaved and carved his way through the crowd, collecting ammo and HEALTH from his fallen victims. A plasma soldier kneeled to release a heat blast. Charging at it, the Marine grabbed the soldier by the throat and threw it over the edge of the platform, hearing its moaning growls fade as it plummeted.

An elevated burst of rifle fire directed the Marine’s attention up. A squad of soldiers were shooting at him from a ledge that hung over the dock, too high for the Marine to reach. Dodging their fire, he picked up an explosive barrel with his free hand and slung it at them. He watched as the barrel soared almost gracefully through the air before taking careful aim and shooting it with the EMG.

Just as the barrel exploded and the blast thundered throughout the hollow cavern, the Marine felt a rough hack at his back. He turned to find himself face-to-face with a fairly undecomposed zombie, a young former scientist with a bright red fire axe in its hands. This one was not a languid shambler, however. It was alert, and fast. For a zombie. Noting a trio of soldiers approaching from ahead, the Marine kicked the axe zombie into them as he focused power into his fist, his gauntlet crackling with crimson energy. POWW! The Blood Punch tore all four zombies apart as their very blood was boiled within their bodies, sending the axe flying in the air. Expertly catching it by the handle, the Marine hurled it straight at the tank in a possessed engineer, the explosion killing it and another two demons beside it.

The last demon in the dock was a dark imp that hopped high across the suspended walkways, lobbing green and blue fireballs at the Marine. He shot at it with the EMG, but its nimbleness and him dodging its attacks made accurate shots impossible. He switched to the pistol’s alternate mode and sent a quick charged shot in the imp’s direction. He missed, but noticed a burst of electric arcs on the wall where the bullet landed. Tracking his prey, the Marine charged the next shot to full capacity and fired. The bullet struck the railing right beside the imp, releasing a small explosive surge that stopped the imp dead in its tracks. The demon only managed to release a single shriek before another bullet blew its head off.

With the dock cleared, the Marine shouldered his weapon and noticed the digit 1 appear under the Calibrator component in his HUD.

Curious, the Marine brought the Calibrator component up on his Dossier.

[POWER ENGINE]

AVAILABLE CALIBRATION CYCLES – 1

AVAILABLE BOOSTS: AREA SCANNER

AREA SCANNER – STORED: 0, ACTIVE: 1, COST: 1 CYCLE

NOTE: MORE POWER-UPS CAN BE ACQUIRED AND SYNTHESIZED BY FINDING USEFUL ITEMS/ARTIFACTS

The Marine raised his eyebrows in understanding: this Power Engine generated calibration cycles based on his neural performance, and he could later spend these to build “power-ups.” That would come in handy.

Switching off his Dossier, the Marine headed for an adjacent barrack which lead directly to the satellite array. He glanced at the chainsaw zombie’s decapitated corpse as he walked by, wondering why such a weapon was on Mars to begin with. He found it almost ironic. Had it not been unusable from the zombie’s corruption, he might have found it quite-

The doors to the barrack glided open.

Quite advantageous.

Almost as if answering his prayers, on the floor of the barrack was a dead zombie with a clean new chainsaw still embedded in its chest. After the briefest pause, the Marine strode towards it and pulled the chainsaw free.

It was certainly a curious device. The casing was of bright yellow coloration, the bumper spikes were unusually sharp and pronounced, even the teeth appeared viciously blade-like. The logo PAINSAW was printed on the blade and casing in large bold letters. The Marine guessed this was not official industrial equipment.

CHAINSAW ACQUIRED

MUNITION TYPE – BATTERY PACKS

PRIMARY FIRING MODE – SHORT BURST (CONSUMES ONE BATTERY)

SECONDARY FIRING MODE – LONG BURST (CONSUMES AT LEAST ONE BATTERY)

The Marine powered on the chainsaw, feeling a surge of satisfaction as the blade loudly buzzed.

Putting the chainsaw away, the Marine glanced over the barrack for any useful supplies. There was a rack of shotgun shells, a grenade box, and a large white apparatus on the wall, on its front a blue cross and the words HEALTH STATION. It unfolded as the Marine approached, extending a metallic tube with what appeared to be medical gel injectors. His HEALTH at 84, the Marine inserted his arm into the device and watched as the injectors descended onto it, bringing his HEALTH up to 100.

Pulling his arm out of the device, the Marine spotted a familiar holographic face materializing on a display.

“The UAC,” the Spokeswoman proudly exclaimed. “The world is counting on us! How committed are you?”

So this was going to be a regular occurrence. Fantastic.

An exasperated Marine advanced to a large grey room that appeared to be a cargo station, with doors leading to other parts of the Res Ops installation. At the far end was a door marked DISH ACCESS. A yellow holographic display on it read ACCESS DENIED – LEVEL 2 ACCESS ONLY.

explained the computer as the Marine approached the gate.

Without a second thought the Marine kicked the door off its hinges and had barely stepped across the threshold when an alarm began to ring.

“UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.” It was the facility’s automated voice system. “SECURITY HAS BEEN ALERTED.”

At once, swells of crimson flame began to manifest around the Marine, and he hurried into the onward chamber before he was swarmed. Equipping his shotgun, he aimed at the soldiers as they began to fire at him. BANG BANG! He sniped them off but they kept coming. BANG BANG! A heat blast hit him, and another, and his ARMOR steadily ticked down. BANG BANG! The chamber was a dead end. It led directly to an airlock but he couldn’t find the control switch amidst the chaos. His ARMOR was gone. BANG BANG! A plasma soldier fell before it could charge another blast, but the horde seemed to never end.

A green fireball missed the Marine’s head by a hair’s breadth.

Uh oh.

He switched to shrapnel shots. BANG! The dark imp exploded in a cloud of viscera, but not before lobbing a fireball straight at the Marine’s chest. His HEALTH was at 88. BANG! The shot missed, and the Marine grimaced as the demon’s burning claws slashed at his face. Rifle fire struck him in the stomach, and a fire axe hit his neck.

56.

Charging a Blood Punch, the Marine fought for space as the crowd descended upon him in a writhing wave. The punch connected but a possessed engineer got caught in the shockwave, and the explosion pushed him back before he could absorb the fallen demons’ energy.

21.

His Blood Rage violently surging, the Marine raised both fists as crimson bolts arced across his gauntlets. Left, right, left. Imps and soldiers mercilessly fell by his hands one after the other, but their numbers proved too great. He fought as savagely as he could but was overwhelmed by the horde, and a grinning zombie with a chainsaw split his head in two.

When the Marine woke up he found himself back at the barrack, just in time to hear a perky voice chime up.

“Here at the UAC we take pride in-”

The Spokeswoman was cut short by the Marine’s foot smashing her projector. He stomped repeatedly on the device until it was nothing more than a pile of metal and glass fragments rolling on the floor. Once it had been sufficiently pulverized, he moved on to the rack of lockers, effortlessly shredding them apart like tissue paper.

Throwing the torn lockers down, the Marine rushed once more into the cargo station, only to find a pair of drones installing a new door to replace the one he’d destroyed. His anger resurging, he turned to a pair of thick pipes attached to the wall and tore them off, repeatedly smashing them against any available surface he found.

the computer uttered amidst the Marine’s outburst,

The Marine ceased his assault to breathe deeply, his fists trembling with barely contained rage. After a few moments of quiet seething, his anger abated and he lightly nodded.

The Marine quietly grumbled as he headed to where the computer indicated.

An ageless immortal warrior and he was taking directions from a machine. How quaint.

* * *

Ruby stepped into the hospital’s administrative deck. The emergency lights kept strobing in regular intervals, washing the corridors in alternating waves of dim red and pitch black.

She adjusted her armor, making sure every part was firmly attached. Helmet on, armor on, EMG locked and loaded. Slow, deep breaths, just like in training.

“Tik tik tik.”

A sound echoed behind her, like claws ticking on the tiles.

In the blink of an eye Ruby turned around. Nothing. The corridor was clear.

“Tik tik tik.”

She swiveled back. The sound had come from behind this time.

“Tik tik tik.”

They were toying with her. She pivoted back and forth, completely exposed and with no idea of the enemy’s position. She heard a growl here, saw a darting shadow there, but couldn’t place any of them.

A whirring sound rose in the distance, and Ruby noticed the lights at the far end of the hallway switch on with a loud snap. The power had been restored.

Someone else made it.

The corridor gradually came into full illumination in large strips, and Ruby prepared herself for a confrontation as the wave of white approached her.

Snap. Snap. SNAP.

Nothing. So far, nothing. Ruby knew the enemy was still out there, and she knew they’d surely attack once they were brought into the light.

SNAP. SNAP. SNAP.

The light over Ruby turned on, revealing an imp not ten meters away. Releasing a fierce screech, the imp pounced at her with claws outstretched. She ducked and rolled out of the way to retaliate with her pistol. With keen marksmanship she shot the creature’s knees and put a final bullet between its eyes, but her gunshots would have revealed her position to anything on the deck. Before the imp hit the ground, Ruby was already running down the hallway at full speed.

She tore past one locked door after the other, determined to reach the VEGA terminal before her pursuers caught up with her. Growls echoed behind her, and when she turned she could see dark shapes dart from around corners.

Ruby reached the door to the networking hub, desperately placing her palm to the access pad.

“Access granted. Hello, Agent Taylor.”

Rushing into the chamber as soon as it opened, she slammed the SEAL DOOR button on the wall beside her. She knew the room had no other exit.

But they didn’t.

Moments after closing, something slammed against the door. Something meaty. Claws scratched the metal as the perpetrator howled in frustration. Ruby heard other imps arrive, and she kneeled with pistol at the ready as still and quiet as possible.

After a few seconds the scratching on the door stopped, and Ruby heard the creatures skulk away with bitter growling.

She wasn’t sure they were gone for good, but she put her pistol down and took a moment to calm her nerves.

Standing up, she approached the VEGA terminal.

The VEGA networking hub was a dim semicircular room with a series of manual input monitors in the center. Only these were illuminated; the room’s walls were completely dark and meant to contrast with projected holographic displays. Ruby read the message presented on the central monitors.

WARNING: DEMONIC INVASION IN PROGRESS

No shit.

Ruby closed the emergency message and established the link to the VEGA network, bringing the primary displays up. The reply was immediate.

VEGA spoke softly but just audibly. It seemed he understood Ruby’s situation.

“VEGA. What’s happening?”

Ruby pondered for a moment.

“I…don’t know. I was here in the Hospital, changing floors on an elevator when the attack hit. I heard the screams and the roars but…I don’t know.”

“…Yeah. I’d just passed the third floor when the wave hit. I pressed the STOP button and stayed there till everything quieted down.”

“Are there any more survivors, VEGA?”

“C-Central Command? Hayden and Pierce? VEGA, what’s going o-?”

Ruby gulped. She’d been through her own fair share of firefights and containment breaches but this…she didn’t like this one bit.

This is bad. Ruby’s mind raced as VEGA continued.

The Spaceport? The Spaceport is majorly far away! How the hell am I supposed to get there without Command noticing? Without getting killed by demons?

Radiology Department? Wha-why?

Ruby nodded. This was no time for panic. She was still alive, still breathing, and if she had a chance to reach the Spaceport and leave the planet, the Spaceport was where she was heading.

“Thank you, VEGA,” she said while turning to leave.

Sure enough, the deck was clear when Ruby stepped out of the hub, and she could even hear an alarm sounding in the distance. She took one last glance at the VEGA terminal before the door shut behind her.

Should I leave now or check out the Radiology Department first? What the hell could be in there that could help my chances?

With what VEGA had told her, Ruby didn’t fully trust the AI, but he had kept his word: there were no demons out to meet her when the door opened.

She sighed. As she was, she had no chance of reaching the Spaceport by herself. Any help at all, even an old sentry bot, was better than nothing.

This better be worth it, she thought as she headed for a stairway to the third floor.

* * *

KEYCARD.

The Marine found the keycard at the end of the walkway, hanging on a lanyard from the neck of a zombie’s corpse.

At least what was meant to look like a corpse. Besides those of a typical zombie, the body had no external damage or visible blood, lying all too natural against the wall.

They must think he was really stupid.

Rolling his eyes within his helmet, the Marine casually approached the zombie before standing on one foot and crushing the demon’s skull with the other. The creature growled in alarm the brief moment before its brain spilled on the floor.

The Marine stooped to pick the bloody keycard from the now-corpse’s neck. So much trouble for just a small yellow piece of metal.

Kicking the body aside, the Marine pulled open the maintenance hatch on which it lay. This passage would lead directly back to the cargo station.

Sure enough, the passage ended with a hatch opening downward, and the Marine dropped into the familiar cargo station and its nefarious Level 2 door to the satellite array.

“Access granted,” the automated voice spoke as the door finally opened.

Indignant, he bolted into the dock as soon as it opened. The airlock was there, but where was the control swit-

“Welcome to the UAC Mars Installation,” a perky voice chimed.

No.

“Located along the vast Valles Marineris canyon system-”

The Marine rushed to the projector and smashed it on the wall before the Spokeswoman could utter another word. Why were these projectors everywhere? Did the people of the twenty-second century not use pamphlets anymore?

Calming his breathing, the Marine glanced at a security station neatly tucked against the wall. A familiar looking object caught his eye. Enthusiastically stepping into the station, he crouched to pick up an assault rifle from the corpse of a soldier in white armor.

50 CAL HEAVY ASSAULT RIFLE ACQUIRED

MUNITION TYPE – BULLETS

SECONDARY FIRING MODE – PRECISION BOLT

NOTE: SCORING HEADSHOT KILL WITH PRECISION BOLT WILL PRODUCE EXPLOSION

Although “heavy assault rifle” was a bit of an understatement; the firearm was more like a light machine gun. Closed-bolt with a box magazine – that vanished when synced to his storage matrix – and a tactical scope mounted on top.

Still, a familiar weapon to the Marine, with a very satisfying weight.

Feeling a quaint idea tickling at the back of his mind, he accessed the storage matrix’s settings and tweaked a few configurations.

Moments later, the ammo box reappeared attached to the rifle. He pulled the bolt and loaded a bullet into the chamber before test-firing a few rounds into the wall.

It felt good to watch the rounds be loaded into the rifle and have their cases expelled out the chamber. The sound was very satisfactory as well.

Not a bad weapon, the Marine thought.

He checked the security station for anything else of value. The gun racks on the wall were completely empty, although there was an armor cuirass tucked away in a corner. Walking over to pick it up, the Marine spotted a small grey box on the floor beside it. Inside was a collection of small spherical objects.

UAC PROXIMITY MINES ACQUIRED

THROW TO ATTACH TO SURFACE – WILL DETONATE UPON DETECTING ENEMY

He nonchalantly raised his eyebrows. New equipment was fine, he just needed to find the airlock switch.

Turning to leave the security station, he spotted the switch on the wall beside the doorway. That explained why he hadn’t found it earlier.

He pressed it and proceeded to the airlock while checking his automap. There was a lift to the satellite control station on the other end of a cargo loading zone, with a considerable number of imps and zombies scurrying about the structures. He’d have to thin their numbers if he wanted to reach the control station. Hearing the airlock hiss open, he switched off the automap and stormed into the loading bay.

The Marine fired at a pair of soldiers standing right outside the airlock. To his surprise, the soldiers fell with just a few rifle rounds.

Not a bad weapon at all.

He turned his attention to the battlefield. It stood on the edge of yawning ravine, with the faulty satellite dish mounted on an adjacent platform. Spanning columns and pipes blocked most available lines of sight, while elevated walkways provided the enemy with advantageous sniping positions.

Switching to his shotgun, the Marine leapt onto a walkway while dropping a proximity mine at his feet. A few moments later he heard an explosion accompanied by the unmistakable sound of splashing gore. All too easy.

BANG BANG BANG! The shotgun was perfect for dealing with demons in this labyrinthine environment. Point-blank blasts dealt quickly with foes that pounced from behind corners, while the occasional shrapnel shot was more than enough for those that sniped from a distance.

The Marine sprinted across a walkway approached in both directions by imps. He dropped a mine before spectacularly leaping past the encroaching demons. The mine exploded moments later, turning all the imps to steaming gibs and bringing the walkway loudly down onto the Martian dirt.

With the demon’s numbers comfortably reduced, the Marine advanced to a collection of platforms that led to the station lift, planting a mine behind him for good measure.

This part of the base exterior was still multi-leveled but with large open spaces, more favorable to the Marine. Equipping the heavy assault rifle, he unloaded a hail of bullets unto the demons that blocked his path. Imps, soldiers, and zombies alike were torn apart by .50 caliber full metal jacket rounds.

A dark imp on the platform above threw a green fireball. The Marine dodged it and sniped the demon with the tactical scope. BOOM. Dead. A plasma soldier began to charge a heat blast. BANG. Gone.

Seeing a clear path to the station lift, the Marine ran for the gate when a red shape sprung out from behind a column, and he saw burning fireballs form in its hands.

Pyroimp.

The Marine quickly turned for cover behind a column but not before the demon unleashed a stream of hellfire from its hands, washing the Marine in scorching red flames. His ARMOR ticked down to 31. Worthless scum. It must have warped in during the battle, which explained why it hadn’t shown up in his automap.

He fell back to put distance between himself and the pyroimp. It was a heinous creature; bright red in color with vicious white spikes all over its body. The fireballs it launched at the Marine erupted into pools of flaming fluid that burned on the ground and walls. He did his best to dodge its attacks but was unable to get a clear shot without entering its aggressive line of fire, and after several hits his ARMOR was gone.

Gritting his teeth, he rushed out of cover while strafing around the pyroimp and switching to the shotgun. The speedy creature managed to dodge a direct hit but was faltered by stray buckshot, and just as the Marine pumped the shotgun to reload, two more pyroimps dropped from the rafters and charged hellfire streams. This time however, he had nowhere to find cover, and he took the full strength of both attacks.

He retreated to analyze the situation. Three pyroimps guarding the lift entrance, a few soldiers and normal imps scattered across the structures, 65 HEALTH, and almost no bullets.

First things first. The Marine threw a grenade and shot it in mid-air. The pyroimps were too far apart to be damaged by the explosion but they were faltered by the blast, and the Marine hoped that would buy him a few seconds.

Falling back to the labyrinthine portion of the area, he sighted a rifle soldier, and after faltering it with a few .45 pistol shots he punched a hole in its chest. 6 HEALTH and ten bullets. An imp leaped from behind a column with murderous intent, upon which he swept its legs out from underneath and broke its back on his knee. 5 HEALTH and eight bullets. Hearing the distinct sound of a chainsaw nearby, the Marine rushed towards the sound. He recognized the culprit: it was the same zombie which had killed him earlier. A fully charged Blood Punch reduced it to steaming red smears on the walls. 12 HEALTH, sixteen bullets, and a chainsaw battery.

Adequately restored, the Marine checked to see if any of the pyroimps had followed. Sure enough, one leapt onto the walkway above the Marine. Fully charging the EMG’s secondary, he aimed and pressed the trigger. The surge knocked the demon off the railing, and with impeccable accuracy the Marine blew off the creature’s head as it fell and watched the body tumble into the canyon below. One down.

He spotted another pyroimp drop to ground level and begin charging a fire stream. He stunned it with a quick charged shot before equipping his chainsaw. The spinning metal teeth chewed effortlessly through hide and bone alike, drenching the Marine in a shower of thick blood and gore.

Disgusting.

Fortunately, the Praetor Suit absorbed the deluge and converted it into munitions, yielding a bountiful supply of bullets.

One to go.

With its brethren gone, the last pyroimp assailed the Marine with scorching hatred. It lobbed fireball after fireball, setting large swathes of the bay on fire. Pushed back by the crimson flames, the Marine retreated almost all the way back to the airlock. He stared as the pyroimp came into view: a dark figure emerging from the flames, claws dripping with burning fluid and its teeth bared in animosity.

He considered raising his shotgun, but instead just casually rested it on his shoulders. Continuing forward, the demon screeched as flames erupted from its hands, raising them to attack before a loud beep suddenly interrupted its self-aggrandizing. The pyroimp looked down to find itself stepping on a small metallic sphere with a blinking red light. The Marine might have described the pyroimp’s expression as surprise or dread before the mine detonated and the demon’s innards were splattered across the arena.

The Marine indifferently wiped a glob of flesh off his visor. So predictable.

Stepping between the dwindling flames, the Marine took the lift up to the control station and cycled through the airlock. He passed by empty computer terminals and rooms with blinking servers, blood smearing across the walls and screens. Checking his automap, he noticed an odd icon marked in one of the rooms, one that looked like a boxed lock. He jaunted off the main path to the satellite control station for the icon, finding a large safe with a screen stacked on top of a desk.

interjected the computer all of a sudden.

Pressing his palm to the screen, the Marine established a link to the safe’s system. He stood still for a few seconds as he unraveled the safe’s defenses, and soon after the screen turned green and the safe slid open with a loud clang.

The first thing the Marine noticed was the digit under his Calibrator counter tick up to a 3. He had earned a second point earlier after defeating the pyroimps; apparently analytic concentration applied as well. If only he had useful power-up schematics to spend them on.

After pulling the safe door open all the way, the second thing he noticed was the blue set of combat armor stored inside. It looked remarkably advanced: a clear outer shell covered the entire suit while glowing lines faintly gleamed on the blue underlayer.

The Marine contemplated for a moment. He currently had 88 HEALTH, and didn’t anticipate any dire threat at the moment. Grabbing the Mega Armor, he moved it into his Suit’s storage.

NEW POWER-UP SYNTHESIZED – MEGA CHARGE

HEALTH AND ARMOR WILL BE INSTANTLY BOOSTED TO 200 EACH

EFFECTS LAST UNTIL EXHAUSTED BY DAMAGE

FABRICATION COST – 5 CALIBRATION CYCLES

That was more like it. The Marine was about to leave when he noticed one last glint inside the safe. He reached in and pulled out a small figurine of…him.

It looked like a toy, comically disproportionate with a huge head atop a stubby body, but impeccably made nonetheless. Printed from acrylic and resin, it was undoubtedly a miniature model of himself.

As he held the toy a long-forgotten memory flashed in the Marine’s mind. A young boy lying awake under his bed covers at night, a dinosaur toy in one hand and a robot toy in the other. Both figurines glowed faintly in the dark, and the boy quietly engaged in a fictional battle of epic proportions, hoping his father wouldn’t catch him playing again.

But that had been a long time ago, and the Marine quickly forced the memory out of his mind. He was not in his childhood bedroom but in a bloodstained facility on Mars, and the toy he held in his hand was not his. It must have meant something to someone else, someone who was likely now dead. He softly bumped the toy’s hand with his own fist before gently placing it back in the safe. Turning back out the room, he headed for the control station.

He stepped into a semicircular room with a series of terminals in the center and holographic displays on the walls. As he approached, a live feed of Samuel Hayden faded into view on the primary display. On the other side of the screen stood a total replacement cyborg, an imposing yet elegant frame of metal, polymer, and glass. His cybernetic body had a white outer shell with black joints, and no visible features on his face save for an unblinking vertical strip of blue light.

The cyborg lightly chuckled as the Marine entered the room.

“You’ve returned.

The only flesh and blood to walk between dimensions.

I must admit, I had doubts that you would ever wake. Some part of me even hoped you never would.

But to see you standing there, I can’t help but feel certain…admiration. It is a privilege, to be acquainted with one such as yourself.”

The Marine scoffed. He’d dealt with others like this Hayden before. First he would try to command him, then he would try to kill him, and when that failed he would try to negotiate. The Marine despised it when they begged for their lives.

Lastly, he would die.

At the Marine’s feet, the floor panel in the center of the room slid open and out rose a large white cylindrical device. It unlocked to reveal a clear sphere that blazed from within.

“It’s a gift. Take it. It will give you strength, help you on your journey.”

The Marine grabbed the transparent sphere, feeling a familiar energy burn inside before crushing it, bracing as scarlet bolts arced across his hand and dissipated into his Suit. The device sank back into the floor and disappeared beneath the sliding panel.

ENERGY OVERLOAD

POWER CAN BE REROUTED TO REPAIR DAMAGED MODULE

The Marine stared at the diagnostic map displayed on his HUD, pondering which subsystem he should repair first. Selecting the Vanguard Bracer, he watched as a blue hexagonal energy shield enveloped his left forearm before culminating in a runic symbol in the palm of his hand, both of which faded away into nothingness.

VANGUARD BRACER RESTORED

INCOMING ATTACKS CAN NOW BE PARRIED

CERTAIN PROJECTILES CAN BE CAUGHT AND RETURNED

Hayden’s image appeared on the display as the white device sunk back into the floor. On the other side of the screen stood a total replacement cyborg, an imposing yet elegant frame of metal, polymer, and glass. His cybernetic body had a white outer shell with black joints, and no visible features on his face save for an unblinking vertical strip of blue light.

“That is pure Argent Energy you’ve just taken into your system. It seems to agree with you. Hmm. I will unlock the remaining Argent Cells in the Base for you.”

Argent. So, they called it Argent. That was the plasma they were extracting on Mars: the Aethereal energy that permeated the Immortal Realms. And there was only one place they could be extracting it from: Hell. There was a Hell portal open on Mars, and the UAC were using it to harvest Hell’s energy.

The audacity.

The stupidity.

Keeping his eyes on Hayden, the Marine stepped over to the terminals and resumed the dish alignment procedure. An image of the moving dish came into view on an adjacent display as the Base’s status report finally loaded. The talking computer recited the figures that appeared on screen.

<61330 uac members deceased, 81% of the base is on lockdown, demonic presence throughout the mars installation is critical. according to the records, doctor hayden, the invasion originated in the lazarus facility. approximately 27 minutes ago, a lazarus wave was detonated manually by doctor olivia pierce, transforming sixty-four percent of all uac employees into possessed. the rest were killed by the wave itself.>

Sixty-four percent conversion? What were these people doing?

That woman, she was responsible for all of this. She had killed everyone in this installation and allowed the demons into this universe.

They were capturing demons too? Opening Hellgates and building machines to aid demonic invasion? The Marine struggled to restrain his fury, clenching his hands into fists.

Noticing the Marine’s rage, Hayden interjected.

“I feel I should apologize for what’s happened her, some of my employees took things too far. Olivia was the cause of all this and I believe…YOU…will have to deal with her in time. You may not agree with our research but know this: We did not create the Argent Fracture. It was a serendipitous discovery, a wellspring of infinite potential during a time of crisis on Earth. We simply exploited Hell and its resources because it was in mankind’s best interest to do so. What you see now is the cost of that progress.”

The Marine stared in contempt, but he unclenched his fists. He knew better than anyone that interdimensional rifts didn’t just happen naturally. But if Hayden was speaking the truth, and the UAC hadn’t built the Hell portal, then who did?

He visibly shook his head and crossed his arms. He didn’t trust the cyborg, and even though the computer stated it would help him, it was clear that it operated in Hayden’s service. The Marine suspected there was much more they weren’t telling him.

“I understand you don’t trust me. Considering your position, that is to be expected but I am not your enemy. I want to stop this invasion as much as you do so please, allow us to help you. VEGA has informed me that you and the Praetor Suit have been impaired by the prison tomb you were found in. I am willing to place all UAC assets at your disposal to help you recover your power. We can put an end to this invasion, together.”

The computer interrupted before the Marine could react.

“On screen, please.”

The display switched from Hayden to a different scene. It was the old woman in some control station, facing towards the camera while standing coldly over the corpses of human workers, some on the floor while others still sat on their chairs. She was inputting commands into a holographic terminal in front of her.

“Authorization: Olivia Pierce Alpha Four, Zero, Two.”

A map of the Mars Base appeared on her display with red circles superimposed on its facilities, which she dragged towards a central location.

“All power rerouted to Argent Energy Tower,” spoke the facility voice.

A diagram of a mechanical tower-like structure came into view, accompanied by a tall digital slider.

“She is trying to tear open the portal between our world and theirs.”

Pierce put her hand to the slider and slowly dragged it to full height, despite the system’s alarms and warning messages.

As the bright red displays finally faded, Pierce looked directly at the camera.

“You could not have saved them, anyway.”

The Marine immediately pulled out his EMG and put a shot between Pierce’s eyes on the display. If she was receiving his image, she made no indication of noticing. She turned around and slowly walked away before the feed cut out and the display switched back to Hayden.

“The system won’t allow anyone but Olivia to override it now. We will have to shut down the Argent Tower manually from the surface. The shortest route to the Argent Facility is through the Foundry, an extension wing of Resource Operations.

Do we have a deal?”

The Marine sighed.

He didn’t wish to cooperate with Hayden at all. If it was up to him, he would reduce the entire planet to dust, Argent energy and Hayden be damned. But he couldn’t. His strength was gone, and he would need Hayden’s assistance if he wanted to stop this invasion.

He nodded.

Deal.

* * *

Third floor.

Ruby leaned across the doorway and peered in both directions. All clear.

Glancing in all directions and constantly looking over her shoulders, she headed for the Radiology Department.

I don’t get it. Someone deliberately released a Lazarus Wave, something only Command could do, but why? Why would they kill all these people? Weren’t they always going on with that ‘benefit humanity’ stuff?

She pushed these thoughts out of her head and forced herself to focus. She could ask questions later. Now was the time to concen-

“RRAARRGGHH!!”

GOD DAMMIT!

She had turned a corner straight into the path of a Possessed soldier. It roared upon seeing her and raised its rifle to fire.

Ruby quickly put a bullet in its brain but it was too late. Her cover had been blown and she could hear movement near her position. But this time she couldn’t run away. If she was going to find out what was in room 348, it was now or never.

If I run, I might be able to lose them.

Running at full speed across the hospital deck, Ruby kept her eyes peeled for any signs that pointed towards Radiology. A roar echoed from someplace nearby, and she tightened her grip on her pistol.

An imp leapt out from behind a column. POW. Dead. Another dropped from a rafter. POW. Gone. Ruby’s aim was sharp but she did not congratulate herself yet: she knew that where one imp was, more would always follow.

“AARRGGHH!”

A shotgun soldier stood in front of her. Ruby aimed her EMG, lining up the sights with the demon’s head, and-

“MORTAL!”

The soldier’s eyes filled Ruby’s mind with numbing terrors, its voice reverberating deep within her core. She pulled the trigger and missed.

Oh no.

The visions vanished as quickly as they appeared, but long enough for the soldier to fire at Ruby. The buckshot loudly struck her armor and Ruby was pushed back by the force of the impact.

Attempting to recover her composure, she realigned her sights and finally blew the creature’s brains out.

Please, no no no. Not here.

She spotted a sign that read Radiology. She was getting close.

She headed towards the sign and spotted at an imp hanging on the wall, teeth bared and claws burning.

Raising her pistol, she –

-realized the imp wasn’t roaring, it was jeering. It mocked her struggle and resolve to live, its voice whispering terrible things into her ears.

What?

She snapped out of it but not before the imp pounced and slashed at her.

Yelling, she pushed the imp back with a well-placed kick and struck it with her pistol. Knocked to the ground, another strike bashed its head in.

Her neural implant was malfunctioning again. Without it, Ruby was powerless to shield her mind from the demons’ psionic attacks.

That’s why I was here TO BEGIN WITH!

Her armor was holding but it wouldn’t last forever. She needed to shake them off, and fast.

She entered the last lobby that would lead to room 348, only to find it occupied with soldiers and imps.

SON OF A-

Without hesitation Ruby grabbed the nearest zombie, a former worker, and held it in front of her as she picked off the soldiers with her pistol. After several shots her meat shield was falling apart and her pistol ran empty. She threw the zombie with full force at a plasma soldier and loaded another clip.

Reloaded, she circled around the room to dodge the imps’ fireballs as she returned her own fire. Dead, dead, dead. An imp pounced at her. Punch, stomp. Switching to the EMG’s secondary, she fired a fully charged shot at a squad of soldiers huddled close together. The blast tore the very flesh off their bones, and Ruby spotted a grenade drop from one of their belts. She glanced towards the lobby entrance.

She’d taken care of the demons within the lobby but reinforcements were charging down the hallway. With no other options left, she rushed for the grenade and picked it up. She felt a familiar chill creep into her mind as she flicked off the pin, and she knew they were coming for her.

“I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!”

“YOUR KIND ARE OVER!”

“DIE, MORTAL!”

Ruby’s vision blurred as the demons approached, and she could hear her blood roaring in her ears. Throwing the grenade in their direction, she rolled behind a pillar and covered her ears.

Moments later the grenade exploded and Ruby’s mind went quiet.

Hearing nothing, she peered from behind cover to find the lobby completely empty, piles of steaming gore where the demons had once been.

Clearing her throat, Ruby strode across the room, picking up pistol clips and grenades from fallen soldiers.

Room 348. Medical Imaging?

Her destination was right around the corner. Ruby reloaded her pistol and continued forward.

The room was surprisingly clean. Despite the disarray and scattered items, there were no corpses in the control room. Not even a single drop of blood. She glanced towards the scanner visible through a window. Empty. In fact, Ruby could find nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly nothing that seemed useful.

Why would VEGA tell me to come here?

At that moment she heard a thud nearby. It came from the adjacent computer room.

Ruby inched closer, careful not to step on anything that might make noise. She pressed herself to the wall beside the door panel. It was locked. She quietly inputted her security code, reading herself for a confrontation. Taking a deep breath, she slammed the OPEN button and stormed into the room.

“Wait! Don’t shoot!”

Ruby stared in shock. The man on the other side of her pistol stared in shock, as did the others beside him.

In front of Ruby, hidden in Room 348 on the third floor of the Mars Base Hospital, were five other human survivors.

* * *

KILLS - 46%

SECRETS - 3

TIME - 20:00​