Null Spectger Station! Chapter Two: The First

 

They were about halfway up now. Power had been cut off inside the tower and it was pitch black. The small windows inside completely covered by the shadows cast by the setting sun outside. Darkness surrounded at them and nagged at the back of their minds, thoughts of Stormtroopers lying in wait kept them wary. Still, the local sensor droids indicated no life inside the tower except them.

“Break here,” ordered Gwynzer, “quick drink of water and we’ll keep going.”

“Where are they boss?” asked Slyfox, a quiet unassuming guy yet deadly accurate with his A280.

“They’ll be around,” Ati, the squad’s heavy weapon specialist patted his rocket launcher like a pet, “and when they show up, BOOM!” He laughed and the rest of the guys joined in, happy to relieve some of the tension.

“Keep it down guys,” Gwynzer chided as he chuckled, “maybe they’ve got some sensor block operating.”

“Not a chance,” answered Thomas, “we’re still showing on the scans so it’s picking up alright.” As if to emphasise his point he showed Gwynzer a datapad and stabbed at their location. “See.”

“Yeah yeah,” Gwynzer snorted, slapping the pad away, “maybe it’s some sort of cloaking thing then. I dunno, either way it shouldn’t be this easy so just shut-up and pay attention.”

A scuffling noise reached them, faint but distinct in the tall tower’s dark imposing structure. It stopped, replaced by the clang of a falling object, seemingly coming to a rest on the catwalk directly above them. The group immediately fell silent and looked up, peering through the void trying to make out the source.

“Thomas..” whispered Gwynzer

“Nothing boss,” came the reply, “I’ll check it out.”

Before Gwynzer could tell him to wait, Thomas sprinted ahead up the rising ramp, footsteps echoing back towards them as he advanced. They waited, gauging the reckless soldier’s progress as his steps changed in frequency indicating how far he had progressed.

“Come on up,” he shouted back after a few moments, “nothing here.”

Gwynzer led them forward, blasters pointed upwards scanning for any threat. Ahead lay a pile of crates, positioned like some kind of makeshift barricade.

“BOO!” shouted Thomas, jumping out from behind the pile and throwing something at them. He laughed as Gwynzer dropped to his knees to avoid it and swung his weapon to bear. Samzi caught the object and studied it, a broken Stormtrooper helmet, the lenses smashed and its surface scored with scratches.

“Relax,” grinned Thomas, “I found that still rolling about, probably just a rodent knocking in to it.” He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand then wiping it down the front of his uniform.

“There’s some blood back here too, must have been some kid of accident. Maybe that’s why we haven’t seen anyone yet, they had an accident and went to get medcare.”

“Maybe,” muttered Gwynzer, he glanced at Samzi who shrugged his shoulders in return, “well at least it proves there’s someone, or was someone, around.”

He made his way over to the crates and peered over, blood covered the area and pooled in the corner of the ramp. Thomas indicated round him, “See, must be an accident, something probably came to have a sniff and disturbed the helmet.” He coughed again, a deep hacking cough that caused him to double over.

“You alright?” asked the squad leader, reaching over and thumping him on the back.

“I was,” groaned Thomas, “until you tried the beat my lungs out.”

Gwynzer shrugged and looked him in the eyes, “One last thing.”

“Whats that chief?”

Gwynzer punched him in the jaw sending him sprawling to the floor. “You ever pull that cacking stuff again during an op and I’ll shoot you myself.”

Thomas laughed and pushed himself up, then collapsed again in another coughing fit. “Some...people have no sense of humour” he gasped.

“Samzi, take a look at him, he doesn’t look too good.” Gwynzer waved the medic forward as he frowned over Thomas’ hacking form.

“Don’t know what I can do Sir,” said the medic, running sensor scans over Thomas who continued to cough and seemed unable or unwilling to get to his feet, “no sign of infection, no bio hazard warnings in the air. Maybe it’s just an allergy to something.”

“Yeah, I’m allergic to Imp’s” cackled Thomas again before another coughing fit sent him into spasms.

Samzi flinched and covered his own face as Thomas coughed over him, feeling something wet hit him with each one. He looked down, blood. Lots of blood.

“This isn’t an allergy,” he said, injecting Thomas with some basic anti-virals, “maybe some new chemical weapon, I don’t know. I can’t treat this here.”

“If it’s some new weapon why haven’t we picked up anything, and why aren’t we all feeling the effects?” Blind, the support trooper, moved forward. Despite his name, he had the best eyes of anyone and could manoeuvre through the dark as easily as in daylight.

“Whatever it is its acting fast,” snapped Samzi, unpacking more equipment as Thomas continued to worsen, “his lungs are filling with blood, he’s drowning.”

“Can’t you drain it?” said Gwynzer, putting his weapon on the crates and kneeling down to assist the medic.

“No good unless I can stop the haemorrhaging.” He answered, “He’s going to bleed out before..”

The small bio scans shrilled as Thomas’s life signs stopped. Samzi sagged back in disbelief and shock, he’d done everything he could with the small field pack, but he felt helpless.

“Samzi. Samzi!” Gwynzer shook him and pushed something in to his hands. “Defib him!”

Samzi shook his head. “No use. Whatever it is I can’t treat it and he’s lost too much blood.”

He leaned forward and propped Thomas on to his side, giving the appearance of someone asleep, asleep that is apart from the dark blood that slowly dripped from his mouth as it drained.

“Ati, Blind, cover the walkway ahead, Sly go cover the rear” ordered Gwynzer as he stood and reached for his blaster without looking, his hands instinctively closing over its familiar pistol grip. The men nodded silently and silently slipped away, the darkness swallowing them whole.