CHAPTER 43 – GARDNER

DATE POINT: MAY 12th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)

LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, INSIDE ANOMALOUS STRUCTURE

ENSIGN PRESTON JENKINS

“Sorry… hear your last transmission… garbled. Hang on… motion sensors! Ariana! Where are you!? I’ll hold… long as I can!”

Jenkins felt a horrible pit form in his stomach as he watched the double phalanx of scarabs move in on their position. He grit his teeth, racked his charging handle, and took aim with the intent to do something about it. A bright flash brought his attention to a group of three of the laser heads. He almost ducked before he realized they hadn’t been targeting him, but rather Ariana.

You just signed your death warrant you mutant fucks! Jenkins thought with a scowl as he squeezed the trigger twice with his sights centered on the one of the three that seemed most ready to fire next. Bullseye! Seeing their fellow’s chest explode in gore caused the rest to scatter like cockroaches.

Oh-hoh-hoh no you don’t! Jenkins thought as he lead his reticule just ahead of the path of the laser-bitch that had taken the pot-shot at Ariana. Three quick squeezes of the trigger caused his rifle to buck three times in rapid succession. One round missed by a hair while the other two landed; one nearly severed an arm and the other gauged a gaping hole through the side of the chest.

“Hang on Gardner! We’re coming!” Ariana shouted as she rose back up ready to fire. Jenkins beamed with pride at her. In most circumstances, Ariana tried to hide behind a tough front, but Jenkins liked to think he was one of the few who saw through it. If one paid attention, one could see just how deep her protective streak truly ran in moments like these.

"Preston! Get your head out of your ass and start shooting!" Ariana shouted at him as she began launching arrow after arrow into to the double line of scarab-men, who were now much closer than he was really comfortable with. Jenkins lined up a shot on one in the first row, exhaled and began to fire.

“HT one, let’s shred these bastards! I say we charge their position and put THEM on the run for a change. Then we go save Gardner. If we allow ourselves to get trapped in here she's as good as dead.” Ariana said over their private comm channel in a tone that made it clear there was to be no arguing. Despite her confidence, Jenkins found it hard to believe that things would go so cleanly, though he had little desire to say so out loud.

“Hoo fuckin rah!” Anderson shouted as he fired his last anti-personnel shell into the ground just ahead of the scarab phalanx. The whole mid row was sprayed with fire and shrapnel, breaking the charge. Those lucky enough to survive intact were efficiently put down by precision fire from Ariana and Preston as the tank lurched forward at maximum acceleration straight for the door. The extreme gee forces sucked Jenkins back into his seat with his rifle against his chest.

“Multiple contacts on… sensors! I’m falling back to the…. What the fuck is that?!?” Gardner shouted amidst crackling static.

As they charged through the door, Jenkins felt the gee forces change as a second TK field activated behind them, which dragged the flank of the tank into a punishing high intensity turn which made him silently happy he had clipped himself in as he was nearly flung from his seat. Their tank slammed into the wall and Ariana was sprayed with ichor as they crushed an unlucky scarab.

"What the hell, Anderson!? Fucking disgusting." Ariana complained.

“C'mon!! Roadkill! Twenty points!” Anderson said over comms, while laughing. Jenkins couldn't help but laugh for a moment as well, which dispelled some of the tension for a brief moment until it died in his throat when he realized they were surrounded. Multiple Quadragons were inside the range of their main cannon on both sides. One of the Quadragons in their path roared and pointed a claw in their direction.

"Your genius plan led us into a trap, Jenkins!" Anderson shouted, the laughter had died in him as well it seemed.

“I’ve killed one… At least I think its dead. There's more coming…. A lot of them. Ariana…. Please hurry! I’m scared…. I can’t do this alone!” Gardner called out, eliciting a feeling akin to a knife twisting deep into Jenkins' guts. If I hadn't have led us into that corridor...

The moment of introspection was broken as they were charged from all sides. Their tank dropped like a rock for a moment as they hit the deck on their support struts as Anderson redirected their TK field. The enemies in front of them were dragged in together and thrown backwards in a heap as the ones behind closed rapidly on them. Jenkins, being the lucky one on the outside and thus most exposed, began to fire into the charging mass of enemies behind them. Out of the crowd, a Quadragon emerged in a full four legged sprint. Jenkins immediately recognized the threat and opened fire, pulling the trigger as quickly as he could.

*CRACK* *CRACK* *CRACK* *THUNK* *CLICK*

Jenkins cursed as his magazine ran dry and he hit the mag release before fumbling for another one. The Quadragon seemed to absorb the three rounds he managed to fire without slowing. Dozens followed behind, emboldened by the charge, including several more dragons. Ariana fired arrow after arrow to help pick up the slack, but a few dead enemies at the front only succeeded in slowing the charge rather than stopping it.

“Anderson! We need to move, NOW!” Jenkins shouted right as the main cannon on their tank fired at the tangled mass of enemies in front of them.

“Just cleared the way! Keep that dragon off my ass! Hang on Gardner! We’re on our way!” Anderson replied as their TK field reformed itself and the tank began to hover once more as it pulled away from the wall and began to accelerate.

Jenkins slapped his magazine home and racked the charging handle as the lead Quadragon leapt at them in a desperate bid to catch them before they could escape. Jenkins spammed the trigger as quickly as he could, but it wasn’t enough. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the dragon landed on the back of the tank and dug its claws into the armored slats on the rear of the tank and as well as into the deck below. Sparks flew from the overburdened back end as it sank down and dragged against the deck. Two of the surviving uninjured Quadragon's heads then spat fire at their seats in the front of the tank, forcing Jenkins and Ariana to duck.

FLAME STRIKE DEFLECTED; PHOTONIC SHIELD DEPLOYED… 87% INTEGRITY REMAINING… RECHARGING

“I know this thing has more power in it! Punch it!” Ariana shouted.

The TK field strength increased to the point that it began to suck Jenkins upwards, stretching his harness to its maximum and lifting his head up enough up out of cover to see a second Quadragon arrive. It too, grabbed onto the back armor of their tank with the horrible sound of straining metal. The rest of the pack were mere seconds behind them.

“I’ve killed a few… smaller ones, but …. dragons is chasing me! Ple…. Hurry! I… don’t … to die like this…. Where are you guys?! NO! NOO!! Stay…. BACK!” Gardner’s voice came through, clearer this time, though still somewhat distorted, accompanied by the sound of gunfire as the transmission cut off.

Furious, and refusing to accept the situation, Jenkins opened fire at the same time as Ariana did. At this range, with their targets stationary as they were, it was much harder to miss as the first dragon head exploded in gore followed shortly by a photonic arrow melting its way into the brain of another. The wounded dragon let go and began twitching as it fell. Ariana landed another headshot on one of the other dragon's heads, stopping it from shooting flames. Slowly their tank began moving again as Jenkins switched targets to save the rest of his magazine to help slow the broader charge and to cull the closest threats.

The horrible sound of scraping and twisting metal filled the corridor before the mangled armored slats bolted to the rear of the tank tore free and they jerked into motion with an undeterred mass of enemies in hot pursuit, The Quadragon threw the torn armor section to the side and roared in anger before it took a parting arrow to the throat.

“Holy shit! Holy shit! WE MADE IT!” Jenkins laughed as the tension rolled off of him and he took the chance to reload.

“Hang in there Gardner, the coast is clear and we’re on our way!” Ariana shouted out with a relieved and almost joyful tone.

They rounded the corner at a frankly unsafe speed, crunching into the wall in the process. Jenkins' mood plummeted as the tension came back full force as the seconds ticked

“Gardner!? Come in! Speak to me girl!” Ariana shouted.

“Technical Sergeant Gardner, answer me dammit! Do you copy?!” Ariana shouted in an even more desperate tone.

Jenkins’ radio flared to life with a disturbing mixture of static and gurgling noises before it fell silent. They raced around the next corner in tense silence.

“Still no sign of her IFF… Where the hell is she!?” Anderson said over their local comms channel.

“She was being chased… maybe… What if we didn't-” Jenkins began before Ariana cut him off.

“Don’t you dare say it. We are saving her then we’re coming back to save Paul and the rest!” She hissed. Jenkins had little will to argue the point. They rounded another corner in silence and at a decidedly unsafe pace, nearly clipping the wall once more. An unexpected radio transmission cut through the silence, far too garbled to be intelligible, aside from the identifiable male voice.

“Gar… *KRRRRRRSSSSCH*…this is…*KRRRRSSCH*… hell are …. *KRRSSCHH* …come in!”

“Who was that?!” Jenkins asked as he perked up out of the black mood he had begun to fall into.

“No idea, reinforcements? It sounded like she had succeeded in contacting the rest of the teams… Maybe they can reach her before we can?” Ariana replied in a slightly hopeful tone.

“Ah… shit! Listen... I just picked up Gardner’s IFF… ” Anderson said in a tone that said it all.

“She’s dead isn’t she?” Jenkins asked, feeling the blackness threaten to swallow him whole.

“Nooo!! We were… we were supposed to SAVE her… then save Paul…” Ariana sounded so broken in that moment, that Jenkins felt the overwhelming urge to rush to comfort her, no matter the reception the act may have had. He opened his mouth to offer some words of comfort, anything, but she spoke up first and beat him to it.

“I’m going to PERSONALLY TEAR THE MONSTER THAT DID THIS TO SHREDS WITH MY BARE… FUCKING… HANDS!” Ariana followed up with shocking vitriol oozing from every word.

“Ariana….” Jenkins began before she cut him off.

“Don’t. Just don’t Preston. Whatever you think I need to hear just leave it. Anderson, let’s get in touch with that other party that we heard looking for her. They might need our help.”

Or maybe we’ll need theirs… Jenkins couldn’t help but think as he tried his best to not let her sharp rebuke get under his skin.

“Right, on it!” Anderson said over their personal channel before he switched to wide band at max power. “Unidentified friendly, this is Rhino HT One inbound on your position, do you copy?”

“HT One this is Patriot Two, call-sign Locust, reading you loud and clear. Do you read me?”

“Just fine, Locust, just fine. So far I've only picked up your IFF. Is it just you, or have you brought additional reinforcements along? Team one has been split in two and we need immediate assistance. Having the cavalry arrive right now would be pretty damn magical.” Anderson replied.

“Negative, HT One, teams two through four were ambushed by an army of murder bots and took heavy casualties. We lost one of the gunships on the way in, too... Team two failed to disable the base point defense before calling us in. As far as things stand right now, I AM the cavalry.”

“This whole operation has gone to hell. We’ll take any help we can get, definitely not gonna argue with getting Patriot support. The other half of team one was left in the main room up top with some giant dragon-hydra while we drew off the majority of the ground forces that attacked us. We tried to save Gardner… but... we didn’t make it in time…” Anderson replied morosely.

“I… I know. I… saw what happened to her... just a horrible way to go. At least I took out the snake dragon that did her in, bastard was eating her corpse... Fair warning for when you see it, it's not a pretty sight. It was her early warning that gave us enough time to react and provide air support before we lost the rest of teams three and four. She died a goddamn hero in my book, and she took more than a few of those freak bastards out with her. For what it's worth, when we make it out of here I’m putting her forward for a commendation.” Locust said with bittersweet conviction as he rounded the corner into their view.

“Thank you for dispensing justice in her honor.” Ariana replied somewhat coldly.

“I don’t need the thanks. After what she did for us and what they did to her, it was the least I could do to avenge her. I’m sure she’s in a better place now.” Locust replied.

“I don’t know about all of that better place stuff, seen far too much evil in this world to believe in all that. What I do know is we can’t dwell on the big philosophical questions now. We’ve got quite the lead on our pursuers but that won’t last long with us standing still like this. We couldn't rescue her, but we can still save the rest of the team if we hurry.” Ariana said.

“I’m a believer myself, but I can respect that outlook on things. At the very least, wherever she is now has got to be better than this hellhole. Now, let’s go murder the fuck out of those xeno pricks chasing you and then we'll go save your friends. I’ll take point.” Locust said as he lifted off and shot down the hall as HT One turned to follow.

MEANWHILE…

DATE POINT: UNKNOWN

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

TECHNICAL SERGEANT VANESSA GARDNER

Vanessa came to with a panicked start and immediately clutched at her stomach. Horrid flashes of memory tormented her, causing extreme dysphoria as she felt the firm flesh of her abdomen.

What the hell?

Another shock, a wave of unbidden memories washed over her. Being chased through darkened hallways, illuminated only by the lights of her suit and rifle amid the dull red haze of emergency lighting. The elation of temporary victory against some beetle-giant and the desperate hope for survival as she evaded and killed more of her pursuers; all stolen from her by the cruel jaws of the dragon.

Horrific images of slavering heads fighting to tear into her; the trauma of watching her intestines ripped from her and the burning agony as her world faded to black. Even stranger was the feeling of floating over her own body as it was consumed, and the strange peace that followed. Far too real to be imagined, much too fresh to process, yet here she was.

Whole. Alive. How?

Was it all just a dream? Then why did It feel so real?

It was only then that the greater details of her situation and her surroundings came into focus for the first time. She was wearing some form of soft linen dress made from two strips that covered her breasts and exposed her stomach, yet provided for modesty from the waist down. Beautiful clasps of gold and precious jewels secured the dress about her shoulders and around her neck, as well as another set about her waist just below the navel.

She rose from a bed that was little more than an elaborately decorated raised cot made of wood and woven reeds with a surprisingly comfortable mattress of layered furs. The room about her was full of dark furniture and the walls were beautifully carved and painted with hieroglyphics. Ethereal flames burnt with no visible torch or smoke at various spots around the edges of the room, allowing a complex interplay of light and shadow.

A shiver ran up her spine as her eyes landed on a seated figure in a dark corner that stood before it stepped into the light. Unconsciously, she balled her hands into fists and angled herself to be ready to fight or run as the being revealed itself. Her eyes were immediately drawn up his chiseled, bare-chested body to an increasingly incomprehensible juxtaposition of forms as she took in the full picture. Light gleamed across a long, thin beak which emerged from a green feathered face that was framed by a blue and gold headdress. What struck her most were its eyes; swirling galaxies of grey and blue flecked with bits of gold which radiated calm serenity. The being studied her patiently as it rested upon a strange black staff with a curved top. There was a regal wisdom about the figure that seemed to put her strangely at ease as she wrapped her mind around the visual.

”Greetings dear child, It is gratifying to see you awake at last. We were unsure if between the sudden violence of your death and the level of damage our systems have taken that we would be able to successfully recover your Ba and Ka before their return to the seas of primordial chaos.”

Something broke in her mind in that instant, shattered between the realization that she had in fact died, that she appeared to now be a captive somehow, and this bird-man was speaking to her inside her own head.

Gardner opened her mouth to speak, but she found her words failed her. She released her nails from painfully digging into her palms while a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“We can see our words have caused a great level of distress within you. Such is the natural reaction to first facing the reality of one’s untimely death. Be not afraid, child, you are quite safe here. We share a similar fate, in fact, in that we are both physically dead and gone from this world. One may take heart in the knowledge that the essence of our souls from this instance of our life in this timeline have been recorded and stored in the Duat. This is a complicated topic for the uninitiated, leaving much to explain, and we regret to say we have very little time.”

This time, Gardner found her voice.

“Who are you? Am I your captive here? What is this place? What are you going to do with my friends?!” That last question came out sharper than she had intended, but she felt no desire to apologize over it. This being had much to answer for and she had more than half a mind to unload every bit of her frustrations into him.

“Such questions are natural ones, which we will answer to the best of our ability given the time provided. We have gone by many names to many cultures, in this form we are known as Thoth, God of wisdom, science, and the patron of scribes, last scion of the royal lineage of Aht’Lantis. In other pantheons and bodily instantiations, we have taken on many other names in the aspect of Enki, our progenitor, though we diverged in personality long ago. Your physical form has expired, but a copy of your eternal soul and living memories have been imprinted by the capture of your Ba and Ka. You have been partially reintegrated and granted special passage to meet with Lord Osiris and to treat on behalf of your friends both for their survival and in the hopes of our future cooperation. You are a prisoner, yes, but not one of force, rather one of circumstance. We are in the Duat; the twin pathways to the halls of Osiris created to test the souls of those deemed potentially worthy of being granted eternal life in the bountiful field of reeds. As your people have clear scientific prowess and an understanding of the nuances of technology, we can dispense with the shroud of mysticism. This is what remains of the now broken pathway to the digital afterlife for the worthy peoples of the land of Kemet.”

“So… all of this is just a digital representation of a simulated afterlife? Oh, hell. I really am dead.” She said as she squeezed the tips of two fingers together.

Everything looked and felt so real. The crushing weight of her predicament threatened to break her once more until a burning inner fire pushed back against the pressure as she lifted her head. As impossible as it sounded on the surface, the words of Thoth carried the ring of truth to them, and she quickly found herself increasingly at peace with her situation. Burning under the surface, however, was a deep anxiety over the fates of her friends.

“Indeed. We empathize with your predicament in that there is much to get used to and to try and understand in such a short time. We will answer your questions truthfully to the best of our ability, but we must hurry if you wish to save your friends. We have orders to bypass the gates and to take you directly to the seat of Lord Osiris. Take my hand, child and I will lead the way.”

Vanessa studied the massive, six-fingered, caramel-skinned hand that was offered as she gathered her nerves and solidified her resolve.

“Very well then, take me to Osiris.” She said as she took his hand and they disappeared in a flash of bright light.