Solar Warden, Jakob Waechter [book club suggestions .TXT] 📗

right away or switch to it if needed. I suggest one at least uses it. You will advance and open all doors. Use the guns, C4 or whatever means. Try not to damage the crafts in the hangar. The rest will secure our current position. SW-4 your main objective is to find our people then move back. It is possible you lose communication. I will see what I can do about it. You have your orders. I have to report to the Icarus now. Good luck SW-4.” Knight finished his mission briefing. He walked out of the facility for the report and SW-4 started the search operation.

 

“We just received a situation update. We made hostile contact with aliens. It would be better you speed things up Dr. Watkins,” Major Diaz, the SW-6 leader, informed her.

“Hostile do we have dead?” she was worried.

“Not yet. Two are missing and two dead creatures which attacked us.”

“I do my best to speed things up but much faster than my best assumption it won't get. So we still need approximately two hours. Can you arrange that we get probes from the aliens?” she replied.

“I can try,” Diaz responded.

SW-4 had opened up all doors to the hangar. They considered to use C4 but opening the panels and cutting the power worked to open them manually afterward. They found some empty rooms and one with unknown equipment.

Now they were at the two bigger doors. C4 was their choice. They blew a hole in both doors. The hangar seemed to be empty except two ships. While the other big door covered a heavy lift which was just one level below. They checked the ships in the hangar, while the drone monitored the heavy lift. No one was there. Now they checked the doors to the side which led just to a corridor on the side of each hangar and a level up in the tower over the bigger hall. All rooms there were empty and there were also more semitransparent windows. Also they had no problem with the communication connection yet. There were no signs of Ryan, Caine or the lost drone. They found another door pairs that could be the possible lift doors they found in the corridor below which they didn't opened yet because they were in the cover sight of the others. But now they tried. Powering off helped again to manually open them.

“Commander Knight the doors in the corridor are as expected lift doors. Both lifts are at the top it seems. We found another stair. But contrary the way to the big doors of the hangar and the opposite lift door we found, this area here seems less protected. Also the rooms in the tower we checked are empty. I guess we should continue with the heavy elevator down. This more protected area looks more promising,” Major Pearce, the leader of SW-4, reported.

“While we don't have more of those alien weapons, I don't want to use more teams on the search. Continue with the sub level. A stair down did you not find? Or does the tower elevator lead also to the sub level?” Commander Knight replied.

“No, sir. The tower elevator ends in your level. A stair down is missing. We are on the way to the heavy elevator.” Pearce led the way back.

 

Ryan woke up in a bright room. All what he could see were white walls and a white area which was the light. He tried to look around but couldn't. It seemed he was paralyzed. Only the eyes he could move. Then a head of a Gray came in his sight.

“It's nice you visited us. We always appreciate new samples,” it said. “But your affinity to violence hasn't changed much. Also from your samples it seems the pollution is more extreme now on your planet. We are not interested in any discussions or diplomatic relationships with a such primitive race like you.” The head moved away.

Ryan realized now that his helm was missing. He was still a bit dizzy.

Then an explosion occurred. There were voices to hear. But it was an alien language. Some other noise he could not identify. After that it was silent again.

 

SW-4 moved out of the lift door. The two in front had ARX-160 rifle with the GLX-160 grenade launcher on it. It was a modern lightweight weapon which gave a good combination of firepower. They moved into the hall and went directly to the only corridor ahead and covered there.

The corridor was bigger. It had the size which was a bit bigger then the lift doors. The two with the alien weapon followed and took cover to the side. Then the SW-4 leader went out of the lift. He used his Desert Eagle a not typical weapon for special operatives. On his back he had a M27 with its optics not ideal for close quarter fighting’s. They all used on their rifles the 5.56x45 mm NATO armor piercing ammunition.

No one was to see in the corridor. The light here was not the brightest as at the top level. Ahead the corridor let to a similar hall like the one at the lift with also a bigger door. To the sides Pearce could not see. He signaled to move.

The team advanced and secured the hall which had another corridor to the right. It had the same size as the one they came from.

 

Another explosion occurred. Ryan tried to move. It didn't work. Then silence again. He tried to speak which did also not work well. At least he could whisper a bit. A minor success but an improvement.

Gun fire started. Then further explosions. Some voices. But he could not understand.

 

“It's dead. They are much easier to kill without armor,” a soldier said.

“Well, all shot at it. It had no chance. The grenade launcher was not necessary but in this corridor and at that distance a safe choice,” Pierce noted. “Let's go on. It seems we woke them up.”

They moved further forward and opened the next door to the right with C4 as other options did not work. They found another lab behind a further door which opened automatically. Is was seemingly for plants. Further ahead there was another door.

 

The explosions came closer. Ryan tried to scream but he couldn't. Silence again. Then another explosion it was very close.

“We found them. Secure the corridor.” One in a suit stepped into the sight of Ryan.

“Major Ryan this is Major Pearce are you all right?”

“Caaaan't mo v e,” Ryan whispered.

“OK. We check this out. You seem not hurt. You are in your shirt on a table. I check for Caine now.” Pearce walked to Caine. “Lieutenant Caine are you alright?”

There was no answer.

“Lieutenant Caine if you can hear me, blink two times with your eyes.” Pearce looked at him he blinked two times.

“Ryan and Caine are paralyzed. They are awake and can respond. Caine with eyes blinking. Ryan can whisper a bit,” Pearce reported.

“I send you SW-2 as reinforcement they have a field medic with them,” Knight replied.

“Did you see the aliens in here,” Pearce asked Ryan.

“Yes, a Gray,” Ryan whisper.

“When did they left?” Pearce asked.

“Two explo.. be...f,” Ryan whisper.

“About two explosions before?” Pearce tried to verify.

“Yea,” came back from Ryan.

“OK. Then he is not far away. SW-4 advance I wait here for the reinforcement,” Pearce ordered.

“Sir, we are low on C4,” one of the squad members informed.

“Then go as far as you can. All doors have to be checked. I will get more from SW-2,” Pearce replied and switched to radio. “Commander we are low on C4. We are further investigating and securing the area down here. A Gray could not be too far ahead as Ryan told me. If SW-2 have none we need resupply.”

“SW-2 are not the explosive experts like you but one of them has some. But then we will run low I guess,” Knight replied.

“We have more at our abandoned bikes,” Pearce replied. “But we just want to secure the area down there. I inform you if we need more after SW-2 is here.” Pearce was checking his team operation by looking out of the also automatic opening door and the blown corridor door.

“Good. Don't rush things now unless you see the need to,” the Commander advised.

An explosion occurred as Pearce team opened another door. Pierce went back to Ryan. “SW-2 is now on the way. They take care of you.”

 

Knight informed the Captain about the situation.

“We should take prisoners if possible. I mean the Gray. The others would be too risky. It seems we have made some progress. Unless the situation changes we should proceed trying to retrieve the ships. Reinforcement should arrive in the next hour. Can you say that the zone is safe to fly in?” the Captain asked.

“No, we only hacked in their system and probably cornered them in the sub level. But with the man power and especially weapons we had we can only advance in the sub level yet. We possess now three alien weapons. So with another team we are try to secure the top level which seems less protected as far as we checked. But keep in mind one of those alien rifles is enough to shoot down any craft trying to land,” Knight replied.

“Ok. Then you have no choice secure the whole building else no one can fly out. I advise the reinforcement to use the bikes for now.” Fisher decided. There were not much options. He wanted to abort the drilling. But another hour would not change much. It would be more if they have to use the bikes all the way through the canyon.

“Wait a moment I get a situation update,” Knight told, then talked with Pearce.

 

“We found a door we cannot penetrate. The C4 is not working. Even the highest setting of the alien gun cannot penetrate it. SW-2 is now with Ryan and Caine. So we just retreat now and secure the door area. Wait something is happening. The door is opening.” Pearce hadn't given the commands. He shouted, “Move back, get cover, they might ambush us!”

Two of the soldiers went to the side of the door. Both had the alien weapon. The other two ran back to the corridor but there was no cover till they reached the position of Pearce at the end. At that distance Pearce switched to his M27. The soldiers saw him aiming and went to the side.

Pearce saw through his scope to a bigger device in the middle of the room. There was some light coming from it.

The door was massive and opened slowly from the center to both sides. It was to the half open and still no one to see. The soldiers nearly reached the end of the corridor where they could get into cover around the corner.

Suddenly two of the turtle faced stepped to the side and immediately fired at the running ones in the corridor. One shot missed the other one hit. The soldier went down.

At nearly the same moment Pearce returned fire and also the two at the side started to shoot. The energy blast burned through them and hit the wall behind. While both enemies went down another shot was triggered and burned through to the wall missing the device in the middle.

Pearce stopped firing as he recognized his target fell then searched for more to come. “There is one behind the device on the right. Avoid hitting that thing. Stay in cover, I will shoot again.” He shouted and fired some shots.

The fallen soldier was pulled into cover by his squad mate. Which checked him then for hits.

“Anderson seems to have no signs of the hit,” the soldier reported.

“SW-2 we need your medic,” Pearce radioed and fired more shots.

A door with the same size behind the device was closing. The Alien fired some shots then seemed to retreat to the door.

“Ambush now he is retreating,” Pearce commanded over digital radio.

The two at the front went in and Pearce also advanced. They went around the device on both sides