Hudson's body ached as he lay face down in a pit of mud. Rolling onto his back, he stared up at the hole he had fallen through and saw the other mercs hanging over the side.

“I'm alright." he managed to splutter.

He dragged himself away from the muddy pit, then wiped clumps of brown sludge from his face. It smelled foul enough to make him gag but he ignored the stench and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a tunnel thick with an ominous green mist. There were pools of emerald coloured water everywhere.

“Get down here.” Hudson called up.

“Right away, captain.” Came the reply.

Hudson turned around in the direction of the elevator and sighed. It was completely blocked off by rubble that had fallen away from the floor above. Maybe, if the others had not used all their explosives they could blast through, but it was impossible now.

“Elevator’s a no-go.” Hudson replied, wiping more mud from his forehead. “It’s completely blocked.”

“We could climb down.” Orson Raggett suggested.

“Negative. We don’t know which parts of the structure are safe.”

“So, what do you suggest, captain?”

Hudson could not concentrate to think of a plan. The idea of being buried alive underneath Fort Nebula did not appeal but it was a possibility without an exit point. He was panicking now, imagining the roof collapsing, trapping him forever in a muddy and misty nightmare.

"Captain?” Squeak repeated, obviously hoping for some direction.

“I’m thinking.” Hudson fired back.

They needed rope but none of the mercs carried it with them.

“Go back through the rooms and find some rope.”

“But captain, we didn’t see any rope.”

“That’s because we weren’t looking for it. Now go and check!”

“R…. Right away.”

“And keep your eyes peeled. This place is….”

A high-pitched scream. It was impossible to tell who it came from, but it chilled Hudson to the bone. Gunfire exploded from above. A shadow passed over the hole he had fallen through. Then more piercing screams with short bursts of gunfire in-between.

“Guys, talk to me.” Hudson cried, releasing a pistol from the holster on his right hip.

No response.

He pulled out a mud-caked, communicator from his jacket pocket and frantically tried to contact Bry Tanner. There was no answer. Worried for the safety of the other squad members, he completely ignored his own advice from earlier and leaped onto the nearest girder, desperately trying to pull himself up through the hole. It was unsecured, so it broke away, leaving him sprawled out in the mud once again.

With no time to compose himself, he battled through the mud to look for another way up. Every step was laboured, sapping his energy like a three-day marathon, but he soldiered on, desperately hoping to strike lucky.

There's got to be another way up.

He swung around a corner that led him to a group of unmarked barrels sat in the centre of a fork in the tunnel. There was no mud in either direction, but the barrels caught his attention immediately. All were open and filled with the same green substance that coated the base.

Then, he saw it. At first glance, Hudson thought it was another barrel separated from the rest, but its oval-shape, green tint and glassy surface made him realise it was nothing of the sort. He moved in cautionary fashion towards the object, pistol still in hand. There was a blonde-haired man trapped inside, fixed in a squat position with his eyes closed. Hudson could make out the Antantan uniform. An officer’s uniform if he was not mistaken.

Is this man dead?

A sudden blink made Hudson fall backwards in surprise. Composing himself, he scrambled back to the trapped individual whose eyes were now fully open.

What the hell happened to you?

A rumbling from behind put Hudson on red alert. He had little time to choose between taking the left tunnel or the right one. Without a moment’s hesitation, he chose the right one. It led him towards a dim light at the end but there was no sign of a way back up.

Should have taken the left tunnel.

The light came from the cracks underneath a metal door. Hudson feared it would not budge but he managed to push it open and scramble to the other side. He did not even check his surroundings before slamming it shut. It was then he saw bloodstains on the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" said a voice inside his head.

Hudson swung around to find himself face to face with two individuals. They wore matching red armour with three circles where the eyes and nose should be.

The Red Ghosts.

The merc on the right removed their helmet, and Hudson saw a female Gogglo staring back at him. She looked like Ulric Raven but with softer features and a little more hair.

“Echo.”

"That's my name. I asked for yours, stranger."

“Captain Zach Hudson of Viper’s Fist."

Echo gestured towards the other merc. "This here is my human comrade, Kessel. What you doing here?"

"I'm with Viper's Fist. We're here to rescue ye."

“Why would you do that?”

“Your father asked us to.”

"My father is here?"

"No, but he'll be glad yer safe."

Hudson typed the good news to Raven on his communicator. It took less than a minute for the communicator to beep. Hudson read the reply and then handed Echo the communicator.

"He wants to speak to you. Just key-in your message."

Echo typed on the keypad and then pressed send. Nobody said a word as they waited for the response, but Hudson could not help wondering why Raven wanted to message his daughter. The weird request left him feeling more than a little suspicious.

"Don't delete the reply when it comes." he said firmly. "I want to read it."

Echo did not answer but she hurried to read her father's response as soon as the communicator beeped. She then showed it to Kessel before handing the communicator back to Hudson. It took a quick scan for him to realise the message was gone.

"Ye deleted the message." Hudson said angrily. "Why would ye do that?"

"There was nothing important in it. Well, nothing I can't give you the gist of anyway."

"What does that mean?"

"It means my father is waiting for us up top."

"He can't be. We left him back in Vala."

Echo placed her hands on her hips. "Well, clearly he's come after you."

"Why?"

"I dunno." she said, giving Kessel a sneaky look in the process.

Hudson's was even more suspicious now. Raven had wanted to remain in Vala so how come he was suddenly in Jandalgine? Was he here to steal the treasure, or something else?

"I think I'll message him." Hudson said. "Find out what's happening."

But there was no time. Something slammed into the door that separated the room from the tunnel. Hudson saw fear in Echo's eyes. She took a few steps back, her head darting from left to right, obviously searching for an escape route. Then she put her helmet back on.

"It's one of those things, isn't it?" she said.

"One of them?"

Echo nodded. "They slither at great speed and spit venom that encases victims in a green shell. We saw it happen to someone when the Antantans brought us down here. I think they crack the shells open when they're ready to eat. We have to get out of here."

“Not so fast.” Hudson fired back. “Where’s the treasure?”

“Treasure? What treasure?”

“The Domdan Treasure, of course.”

Hudson waited for an answer but all he got were looks of confusion from the two mercs in front of him. They chatted between themselves and although Hudson could only hear one side of the conversation, he guessed Echo was just as baffled as her human comrade.

“We have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kessel replied. “Someone’s not been completely straight with you.”

Hudson turned to Echo. "Yer father."

“Don’t look at me like that. If my father tricked, you into coming down here then he acted on his own.”

“So, you don’t know where the treasure is?”

“Of course, I don't. We were sent here on an infiltration mission, but it’s got nothing to do with any treasure. Dad has business interests in these parts and wanted to know if the Antantans had discovered prime.”

Normally, Hudson would never trust the word of strangers, but something told him to believe the two former captives. It was obvious that Raven had made the Domdan Treasure part up, probably to make the job more enticing. Shaking with rage, and with the creature still throwing its weight at the door, he considered leaving the two captives as bait, but his conscience would not allow it.

"That door's gonna cave in at any minute." Echo said, her tone fearful.

"Where are yer weapons?" Hudson asked.

"I heard two officers talking about a storage box, but I think it's away down the other tunnel."

"Figures." Hudson said, readying both pistols. "Get behind me and I'll shoot the thing."

"Will it have any effect?"

"How the hell should I know. Just do it will ye?"

The door caved in, and for the first time, Hudson saw the horrible creature that had attacked his squad as it came slithering into the room. It was a horrifying mixture of gloopy brown skin and veins with a bulbous head and no eyes or nose. It took Hudson a second to regain his composure but when it came, he fired multiple shots in the creature's direction. It jerked back in silent agony, but it did not fall, nor did it show any sign of pain or damage.

"Move." Hudson ordered.

Pushing past the dazed creature, they raced back along the left tunnel and swung down to the right. There was a single box located halfway down, containing a handgun and a sword. Hudson was surprised when Echo threw the handgun at Kessel and took possession of the sword. He had sailed all over the world but had never come across a swordswoman.

“Ye know how to use that thing?”

“A damn sight better than you, old man.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not that old.”

“That's exactly what an old person would say.”

Hudson frowned at the telepathic put-down. "Let's just get out of here before any more of those creatures show up."

"This handgun is loaded with armour-piercing bullets." Kessel explained. "Might do the trick against them."

Hudson shook his head. "I'm not waiting to find out."

As they hurried down the tunnel, Hudson tried to contact Bry again but there was no response. He found the lack of communication concerning but there was no time to give it much thought. Not while he was being chased by a creature that wanted to trap him in a shell and then eat him.

"Look, a ladder." Hudson heard Echo say.

Sure enough, there was a ladder that led to a closed hatch above them, but there were also wooden beams being used as a ramp that led down into darkness directly in front of them. Hudson peered closer and noticed thick green clouds.

“What the hell’s down there?”

“I think it’s their nest.” Echo said. "Let's get up the ladder and see if we can get through that hatch."

“I'll go first." Hudson said.

He climbed the ladder and reached the top, but the hatch would not budge no matter how hard he pushed. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like scraping coming from the nest. He had barely got back down when a group of creatures came slithering up the ramp towards them. They were smaller than the others, possibly younglings, but Hudson could not be sure.

"Be careful." he yelled.

But Echo was already on her way, slicing through the creatures like there was no tomorrow. Each time she halved one of them, the two parts would continue to move, almost like they were impossible to kill. They performed a spitting motion, but nothing came out. Hudson and the other merc started firing but all they could do was hold the critters at bay. Meanwhile, the larger one from before was slithering up behind them.

A noise from above. Hudson looked up to see the hatch open and Squeak ushering them to safety. All three climbed up the ladder, getting through the hatch and closing it just before the critters could join them.

"Fine time to turn up." Hudson grinned, ruffling the youngster's hair. "Where are the others?"

Squeak's solemn expression told its own story.

"All of them?"

Squeak nodded. "They're all trapped in those impenetrable shells."

There was a crash that rocked the base, as the creature from below smashed its head through the floor and spat its green goo at Squeak. He was encased in a green shell within seconds.

"Squeak." Hudson yelled, looking on helplessly at his friend trapped in emerald purgatory.

Echo was first to fight back, stabbing at the creature with her sword while she urged Hudson and Kessel to help. Their combined efforts forced it back down, but the base began to violently shake, before another creature burst from below. It was far bigger than the last one and swallowed Squeak's shell in one gulp. The roof was ripped away as the creature continued its upwards trajectory, rising until it towered high above the base itself.