For a brief window of time, several disjointed calls came through the comms at once, those that could be deciphered through the dense static were general acknowledgement and warning checks of “unknown organisms”. Even the military detachments covering the perimeter confirmed visuals on several “insect mounds” forming up from the ground in addition to the trees. However, once again the interference quickly severed any further chatter and left only static in its place. A mixture of anxieties washed through the civilian units, mainly the science teams, pushing them to hypothesize the situation at hand in hopes there was an answer. With the EM spikes shorting out comm transmissions, however, it would be near impossible to speak with their colleagues for additional intel. One of the science teams, however, concluded that the immediate presence of the glowing cobalt insects following the away team’s discovery and intervention of the scattered orbs was no coincidence...
[:: P2A-594 | Delta Third Unit - Research & Survey ::]
[:: K. Anderson | Agent J. Tripp | Agent D. Lanis ::]“What's our recourse?” Agent Lanis asked the research assistant. “You have a theory, right? Any way to push these damn things back, because otherwise we were instructed ahead of time to pull you guys out and regroup at the Beast Command Vehicle.”
One of the male researchers had a small kit opened with tools included that facilitated sample extractions, labeling and cataloging, and various other field work functions. He held a datapad up toward the trees, snapping images of the tiny creatures and attempting to analyze their structure. However with the electromagnetic interference, establishing an accurate read on the insects was becoming increasingly frustrating, and the strange yet wonderful little creatures were not holding still long enough for a photo op.
“As you said, Agent, it’s just a theory.” The first researcher shook her head, flustered and realizing the shit luck they’ve been exposed to while on the planet has caused their research equipment to be about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. “But, what we
can surmise by the insects’ sudden appearance as well as the path they’re taking, which seems to be primarily converging toward the orb, is that they are a kind of ‘reactionary defense mechanism’.”
“Attacking anyone who interferes...” The other Agent, Tripp, interjected while keeping a close eye on the insects as their numbers grew with each passing second.
“Probably more than likely protecting the orbs.” The first researcher concluded. “Considering they aren't specifically moving toward any of us at this time.”
The biologist,
Karen Anderson, was situated closest to the “trees” she’d been examining earlier, and while packing up her supplies she spotted a tiny object fall from the faus branch, causing her to recoil. She then realized it was one of the insects landed onto its back; it's tiny legs moving at a high rate of speed as it attempted to upright itself. Intrigue and excitement took hold of the Biologist, as she leaned in for a closer look, her hand instinctively going for a small pair of forceps in one of the side pockets of her tool kit. The stainless steel tool slowly made it’s way closer to the insect, opening up the prongs on the tip just wide enough to secure the small creature without harming it.
Upon closer inspection, the insect’s supposed “biological” structure appeared much more metallic and it’s make-up resembling that of a
nanomachine, it’s outer shell constructed of tiny “plates” forming a contiguous piece of armor over the body, and six thin needle-like legs perfectly designed to move independently of one another. The more fascinating aspect, however, was the bluish liquid that secreted from the insects undercarriage and ran down the tip of the forceps, causing a wisp of smoke to rise as it began the process of deteriorating the stainless steel compound at a slow pace.
Ma’am…In deep thought & fascination, the scientist hadn’t noticed the voice addressing her from afar.
Ma’am... “Ma’am!” Agent Lanis’ voice came louder and bolder, startling Karen, and causing her to drop the specimen. “I need you to move away from the tree, as it-” The Agent quickly realized that the young woman had been holding
something when he walked up near her. “Ma’am was that one of the insects?” His tone was considerably less friendly. “You do realize we were given strict orders
not to touch any flora or fauna, yes?”
“But I-”
“Not now.” He interrupted, pointing to the tree behind her. “Pick up your supplies and move, because whatever the hell you just did caught their attention.”
“What?...” The word was a mere whisper as a puzzled and frustrated expression washed over her face while she turned her attention to the large looming tree.
[:: P2A-594 | Alpha Second Unit - Perimeter & Recon ::]
[:: Captain B. Eccleson | Military Detachment Commander ::]“Captain Eccleson.” One of the soldiers called out as he hustled across a small clearing where their commander was stationed, holding the remains of a damaged drone. “Those alien
bugs have doubled in number and converging on the nearby orbs.” He lifted the disabled drone to eye level. “They've also taken out several of these, leaving gaps in the mesh energy field.”
“Damn it, this comm outage isn't helping either.” Eccleson shook her head. “We'll need to-” Her eyes suddenly grew wide. “Watch it, Sargeant!...”
Before the Captain could get another word in, a half dozen nanites scurried out from the dead drone, running up the soldier’s arm, and causing him to drop the machine in a fit of panic. “What the shit??” He shook his arm in an attempt to dislodge the creatures -Eccleson doing her best as well to swipe them away with her gloved hand- but neither were able to remove the threat that was quickly making its way up along the forearm of the soldier's environmental suit, and immediately burning through the tough material with it’s blue acidic liquid. He pulled at his glove, trying to unbuckle the sleeve in the process, but the insects were too far embedded by then…
“Sargeant! Keep your suit on-”
“FUCK!” The soldier grabbed his arm, ripping at the already deteriorating sleeve, as pain surged throughout his skin, working it's way up toward his shoulder, then neck, where the swarm left a trail of corrosive liquid that slowly began eating away at the man's flesh, exposing the underlayer of tissue and causing large amounts of blood and pus to develop along the opened wounds.
“I need a medic here, now!” Captain Eccleson frantically called out to the nearby squads, knowing that there were a handful of trained field medical units on standby...but were they ready for something like
this?
Anxiety welled up in the commanding officer, as she could do nothing but watch the horrific scene unfold, the tiny creatures making short work of whatever defensive tactics they decided to employ. The young soldier fell to his knees, grabbing at his helmet’s neckpiece to pull it off, hoping he can rip the bugs from his already bloodied and torn skin.
“Captain-...” His voice was raspy and garbled as he tried to reach out an arm that had degraded to nothing more than melted skin tissue and bone, his skeletal hand attempting to grab for Eccleson whose expression showed only fear, and petrified beyond words. Four or five soldiers, one of which was a medic, rushed up to the scene, some stopping in their tracks in confusion, disgust and the overwhelming feeling of helplessness. The soldier now lay writhing on the ground, it's face partially eaten away as the nano-creature’s continued path of destruction removed all signs of where eyeballs had been, leaving the sockets empty and hollow. And in between the agonizing shrieks from his desecrated vocal cords, an unspoken word remained frozen on the deteriorating flesh of his face that was clear enough for all of them to recognize…
RUN.[:: P2A-594 | Delta First Unit - Research & Survey ::]
[:: M. Newton | M. Smith | Agent S. Edwards | Agent T. Gurrera ::]Michael was close by the others at a brisk pace, holding tightly to the small orb he’d taken earlier, and couldn’t help but notice that several dozen insects seemed to be coming
his way, no doubt to take back that which he found.
“This could be problematic” Michael said, as he tried to stay on track with the others, all the while watching the converging creatures. The distance slowly began to grow between him and the rest of the group as Michael’s processors focused on the insects themselves, attempting to hypothesize their true nature and origin by running various scans at one time and cross referencing them with insects of similar type already located in his database. Aside from his initial findings of their nanotechnological makeup and defensive protocols, he could find no other reasoning for their existence on the planet.Perhaps they were some sort of defense force?
Curiouser and Curiouser as his mind went further down the rabbit hole.The android found himself disconnected from the other group, swallowed up by the dense flora, and now playing host to dozens of bluish insects that seem to have nothing better to do with their time than bother Michael.
“Is this what you want?” He said, holding the orb up as the insects did, in fact, gravitate toward the metallic sphere, but did not harm his body on their trek. If it was a closer look he wanted, he certainly got it, as the insects did not pay much attention at first to the android’s presence so much as what he held. However, their intent grew more aggressive as they clearly wanted the orb back, to release it from the stranger’s hand, and perhaps even return it to its point of origin. Their tiny bodies worked as one to pry the orb from Michael’s strong grip, and as they realized the futility of such a feat, their next plan was to
remove the stranger’s hand.
“This I can not allow,” Michael stared at the nanites, almost as though he could read their next move. “My apologies for this.” And with that, the android sent a strong enough electromagnetic pulse from his body which caused the insects to scatter by the impact, a few of which appeared to have shorted out while hitting the ground. And if that hadn’t been enough, the spike of energy used by Michael caused his body to suddenly shut down and collapse like a ton of bricks to the forest floor.
Meanwhile, the team’s lead -Agent Edwards- took point, with his partner Gurrera pulling up the rear while keeping a visual on the blue insects and their quickening pace, some decidedly leaping from tree to orb, and others breaking off to swarm the hovering drones that were activated earlier to create a protective mesh over the entire survey area. Several of the tiny insects appeared to take flight momentarily, giving them enough momentum to cross the large expanse between each drone, and latch onto the lightweight polycarbonate frames, a few landing on the undercarriage as well as the top. Electrical currents emitted from the drone’s circuitry developed upon their landing, engulfing the nano-creatures in thin light blue tendrils, which in turn, caused the drones to short out and drop from their aerial positions.
“What the hell?...” Edwards sidestepped a rapidly descending drone, followed by another, and yet another. “These damn things are taking down our defenses, let's pick up the pace folks!”
The Agent turned his attention to Kenzie who stuck close by and seemed to be faring pretty well considering she was physically exhausted, and yet he couldn’t help but to worry about her no matter how stubborn she might be. Oddly enough though, he’d never had the luxury of “worrying” about anyone in his line of work, which was probably good considering the current state of things. But either way, he liked her and hoped she felt the same, even though he wasn’t always the best at noticing subtle
signs from the opposite sex, but he silently promised himself that he’d ask her out once they returned to the Vitae.
“Ms. Newton, look out!” If by instinct alone, he quickly pulled the girl a few feet to one side as two of the drones came crashing to the ground, causing several nano-insects to scatter in opposite directions, two which happened to scurry up the girl’s boot and leg. Kenzie screamed something fierce, alerting Gurrera and the science crew as well, while Agent Edwards knelt down attempting to brush the creatures from the bio-suit. He knocked one off, which went flying into the thick shrubs several feet away, the other he caught with his gloved hand, which quickly burrowed itself into the thick material, burning a hole through and into his skin..
“Damn it!” Edwards exclaimed, as a quick and dirty stinging pain shot up his wrist.
“What happened?” Mackenzie chimed in, her eyes widened and unaware of the insect that slipped under the Agent’s clothing in all the excitement.
Edwards frantically pulled off the glove and unfastened the suit’s sleeve exposing his arm where he could see the single blue insect tearing its way through the man’s forearm. He clenched his teeth, writhing in pain from the poison secreted from the insect’s body, which slowly ate away at the surface tissue and underlying muscle. To make matters worse, his oxygen levels were becoming dangerously low due to the breach. Gurrera, not wasting any time at all, grabbed his partner’s arm, and applied pressure right near the creature’s path, stopping it in it’s tracks, before pulling out a tactical knife from his belt sheath.
“This is gonna hurt hombre…”
Before the other even had a chance to respond, Gurrera jabbed the black steel blade straight into the area where the nano-insect had stopped -near the elbow bend- causing the small creature to spasm and Edwards to shriek and attempt to recoil from the man’s iron grasp.
“Hold still bud, almost there…” The blade dug around into the open wound for what seemed like an eternity to the poor bastard on the receiving end, but Gurrera was able to extract the dead insect and crush it under his size thirteen boot in one fell swoop without even giving it a second thought. He grabbed a small roll of utility tape and wrapped it around the remaining part of the sleeve near Edwards bicep to cut off any further escaping air pressure, allowing the oxygen levels to begin normalizing. Once that was finished, he handed Kenzie a piece of gauze and directed her hand to apply pressure to the man’s wound, instructing her to keep it there until they make it back to the ship.
“Alright. We good? Great.” Gurrera said flatly, patting his partner on the back. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He paused for a moment and looked around.
“Wait. Where the hell is that ‘Smith’ guy?...”
[:: P2A-594 | Alpha First Unit - Research & Survey ::]
[:: Chief G. TreVayne | Agent F. Phillips | A. Locke ::]The group had just left the survey area, as there was no reason to stick around any longer with the threat they faced. The two-person science team stayed securely between the Sec Agents, as did Amara and her pet, as they quickly traversed through the jungle’s dense landscape. For a moment, the Chief could hear the incoming screams through comms static, the voices of others coming in digitized and broken, pleading and warning of things they didn’t understand nor could do much about. And then the voices ceased. But he knew what was happening, as the same hell being brought down on the other teams was also unfolding at a rapid pace within their survey zone. Gavon watched as the network of hovering drones were being systematically destroyed by the invading army of incandescent insect-like creatures, which turned out to be more than your garden variety “bug”. The science team’s theories about them being mostly -if not all- machine were probably true, and as much so as they wanted to collect the specimens for future study, the Chief’s instructions were clear and enforced to ensure they didn’t disrupt the balance of things on a planet they barely knew anything about. But it was too late for that. Their presence was known all too well at this point, and a price was being paid for interfering with their alien homeland.
“Phillips, any word from Eccleson’s crew?”
“Negative, Chief.” The Agent switched between a vast number of frequencies, each coming up with little to no coherent communication, his hand every-so-often moving up to the visible wound across his cheek where one of the insects latched on from their initial attack.
“GPS sensors are fucked as well, making it impossible to track their whereabouts.” Gavon tapped at the datapad before placing it back in his bag. “At this point we need to assume they’re all returning to the
Beast.
Whatever instigated the small creatures to press down as they did, remained back at the survey area, leaving a relatively clear path south-west to the Command Vehicle. Amara’s dog, Cody, however, alerted the team to yet another entity, drawing attention to the fact that it was trailing them. It was the same unknown which crossed their path twice earlier back at the survey zone, although it was uncertain whether the creature following them was alone or not, it was fast and moved through the thick foliage like a wisp of black smoke. By Gavon’s estimation, they were roughly half a klick from their Command Vehicle, and most likely double that distance from the Nyx. Either way, they had no recourse at this point.
Unable to use computerized means of scanning due to the lingering electromagnetic interference, Gavon surveyed the immediate area with his normal sight and noticed the dark form of the creature as it passed between two trees, it’s form no larger than a medium-sized animal. It seemed to be creating it’s own perimeter around the group, most likely waiting for an attack of opportunity as it continued the looping path. Phillips signalled to the Chief, and pointed up toward the trees ahead of them, where several dozen insects were scurrying down the trunks, blanketing the tree with a blue glow along it’s descending path.
Gavon slowed his pace as did the others, stepping within whispering distance. “We need to clear this area now before these things come down on us like a shit storm.” He said, pointing to the line of tall trees ahead which were now being overrun by the bugs. “On me...” He caught a glimpse of a small open area to their left, and pointed toward that way. “Go!”
The group took off as fast as their feet could carry them, but only for a short distance as the tiny blue creatures did something remarkable, and yet altogether potentially deadly, stopping the entire group in their tracks before they were even able to make their escape. The insects had quickly and efficiently linked themselves together and formed a “net” that spanned several meters high between the surrounding trees, essentially boxing in the team. A low humming sound emitted from the connected insects, as it also appeared that an electrical field was developing which coursed through the tiny carapaces and engulfed the “cell” that was created.
“Clearly we’re not dealing with mindless bugs.” One of the scientists blurted out in a fearfully optimistic tone of voice. “But if I’m gonna die, I’m glad it’ll be from something as cool as this!”
“Shut up, Collins.” His partner scolded, hitting him in the back of the helmet.
Cody growled at the bugs, pulling at Amara’s tight grasp that she currently had on his collar, knowing that the dog would most likely do something as stupid as crash through the barrier.
“Enough of this shit.” Gavon said, slipping the ARX-59 rifle from his shoulder and at the ready, aiming the laser sight at a specific ahead near the lower part of the net. “Phillips, focus on that point.”
“I’m on it Chief” He said, aiming his rifle at the target area.
“Fire.”
Bullets streamed across at a high rate of fire, pounding the focus area enough to disrupt the creatures, causing the net to waver, but doing nothing to open up a gap in the slightest. Another stream of shots went off with the same futile conclusion. No breach of the net.
“Uh...Chief?...” One of the scientists was backing away from a large swarm that had taken flight and was converging down on them. “I think you just pissed them off!”
Nearby, echoing from the darkness of the low lit area of the forest, a piercing howl was heard, followed by another coming from a different area, and then another after that. A sudden explosion initiated from the outer part of the electrified net caused the insects to scatter, and a
black wispy dog-like creature barreling through what was now a large gap in the force field. Another came from behind the group, and a third, same result, systematically breaking down the wall of insects and causing the massive linked swarms to retreat in various directions. The “shadow wolves” moved quickly, the wispy tendrils surrounding them lashing out at the remaining insects, their powerful jaws crushing them two or three at a time, swiping at several that came within inches of the group, and knocking them out of the air so they could be disposed of. The entire scene unfolded within seconds it seemed, as the mysterious dark creatures left the insects in a wave of confusion, clearing the majority of them from the immediate area.
The only sound heard was that of Amara’s dog whimpering in the presence of the alphas, shaking enough to cause the medical equipment on the animal’s harness to rattle, and hiding behind his master in the face of the three wolves. The dark wispy tendrils that surrounded the creatures came to a rest, until they faded away and left what appeared to be a typical wolf form but with thick, black fur and ominous glowing red eyes. They made no sounds, but simply stood there, unprovoked, and essentially non-threatening, regardless of their frightening appearance. No one in the group moved at that point, unsure what the creature’s next action would be, but to their relief, the three animals turned and bolted back into the thick of the forest, disappearing into the shadows from whence they came.
Everyone let out a long-held breath of air, and Gavon, pulling out the datapad from his rucksack, was pleasantly surprised to see the GPS tracking software back online, with the Beast Command Vehicle and Nyx locations noted on the screen.
“Chief TreVayne, this is Captain Eccleson, do you copy?” The transmission came over the comms clearer than ever, eliciting a wave of excitement from the others in the group as they could hear various chatter from their scattered crew mates.
“Eccleson, dammit it's good to hear a voice over this thing finally. What’s your location?” Gavon responded, waving his team over as they continued their path toward the Beast.
“Chief, we’re enroute to the Beast, and the
Shriek scout patrols are heading back to the Nyx.” Eccleson’s voice sounded distressed, with an underlying uneasiness in her tone.
“Captain did everyone make it out okay?”
The comms had nothing but silence for several seconds, and thinking that they lost transmission again, Gavon was about to repeat himself until…
“No. It was a massacre Chief. A god damn massacre...”
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