User blog:Gracchus Mccarthe/Benson and Roister: Operation: Extract

     Rex woke up and went jogging like he had the morning before. To his surprise, A.J. was already up, jogging along the road as well. Rex caught and greeted him. They laughed and joked as they went and returned to the TLF after a while to eat.

     After this, they killed time until the afternoon. Then they went to the gym and played Grid with some of the players who were there the first or second time, as well as some other new players.

     After the game ended, they returned to the TLF and each passed time however he saw fit until it was night. Then they went to bed. Several days passed with Rex and A.J. following this routine.

     Rex wanted to break the monotony, and he got his wish the next week, though it happened in a way he did not particularly enjoy.

     Rex an A.J. were escorted by a contingent of guards to Commander Morris’ office.

     “There’s been a zombie outbreak on Thera, a planet in the neighboring solar system.” the officer told them gravely. “We don’t know how it happened, and we need you two to head up a squad there. The thing is completely infected. Our bio scanners detect no indication of normal human life. I leave whether or not you go up to you.”

     “Why us? And why such short notice?” A.J. inquired.

     “You have experience against them. Limited experience, yes, but at least you know what to expect. As for short notice, the whole planet will be vaporized in just over an hour. The president of the trans-fed wants to nip this virus in the bud before it can even get itself started. He’s ordered a class-7 Jolt Ship over there to do the honors.”

     “I see.” A.J. said. “I’m ready to go. I just need to head back to the TLF to pick up my armor and get my gun.”

     “I’m goin’ too.” Rex stated.

     “Very well.” the commander replied. He ordered the guards to take them back to the TLF to get their armor. “In the mean time, I’ll put together your squad. You are dismissed. Hurry back.”

     Rex and A.J. saluted. After they had returned to the TLF and gotten their armor, the guards took them to the base’s landing zone. Rex and A.J. retrieved their weapons and walked to a drop ship, next to which the commander stood.

     He introduced them to their team. “Carl Rosk, Medic. “Cecil Ardo, Engineer. Ray Thorss, Weapons Expert. And Troh Lev, Assault Troop. This is your group.”

     “Why such a small team?” A.J. asked.

     “We need most of our personnel ready here, in case of an outbreak.” the commander responded. “You shouldn’t need any more soldiers; there aren’t too many zombies where we’re sending you. You’ll be briefed about the mission on the way. As you’ve likely guessed, you’ll be going on this ship. Good luck.”

     The six SAS boarded the drop ship. “Strap yourselves down.” the pilot said.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Crazy.” Rex thought. “Female pilots are rare in the SAS.” Soon, the shuttle had left Aartis’ atmosphere and was warp-cruising towards the next solar system.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The co-pilot turned his seat around and relayed the soldiers’ orders to them. “You guys need to get through a subway station and find a prototype vaccine. The commander informed the Thera base about the Kurios Space Station incident last week, and they went to work right away on it. They weren’t sure if it would work, but we can’t risk not getting it. We need to complete Operation: Extract, before the Jolt Ship completes Operation: Disinfect.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Do you know where the prototype is?” A.J. asked.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The co-pilot nodded. “It’s at a research lab located east of where we’re dropping you boys off.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Wait a sec.” Rex said. “Can’t you just drop us off near the lab? We wouldn’t have to go so far and it would be quicker.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “I’m afraid that’s not possible.” the co-pilot responded. “Since there are no personnel to run the security systems, the defense grid has switched to automatic. The anti-air cannons would knock us down. You’ll have to take care of that too so we can get you guys and the vaccine out of there.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “How do we do that?” Troh inquired.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The co-pilot answered, “We’ll tell you when you get there. There’s a computer you’ll need to hack to override the security systems.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Cecil sniffed. “Hack a computer, eh? Guess that’s where I come in.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     The co-pilot told them the rest that they needed to know about the mission. About half an hour after he finished explaining, the pilot said, “We’re approaching Thera. Only about 400,000 km to go.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Pretty soon, the large, brown planet came into view. Huge cloud formations swirled over its surface. “Crazy to think that whole place is zombified.” Carl muttered as he shook his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">     When the shuttle neared the atmosphere, the pilot warned, “It’s going to be a bumpy ride for a little while.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Indeed, there was a great deal of turbulence as the shuttle entered the outer reaches of Thera’s atmosphere. A few jostling minutes later, the craft pierced through a layer of thick clouds, and the surface became visible again.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “We’ll be landing in about four minutes.” the pilot said. “This shuttle isn’t made for high-speed vertical ascension, and we can’t go too fast, or this ship’ll burn up due to-”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “I think we all learned about physics in school.” Rex responded in a sarcastic tone.

<p class="MsoNormal">     Ray nudged him. “I think you just didn’t want to get schooled by a girl, er, woman.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Rex ignored the comment. He looked at Carl’s gun. “That’s a funny-looking DSC. Never seen one like that before.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Actually, it’s not a DSC: It’s a Striker. They’re similar, but this one shoots bigger, thermal bullets.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     The ship continued descending. In a short time, it touched down. The soldiers disembarked and looked around. They had landed near a highway. A blue lake lay to the south and a forest to the north.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Thanks for the lift.” A.J. told the pilot. “We’ll see you in less than…” he checked the mission timer, “twelve minutes. If not, then get outta here.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “But there’s still eighteen minutes left before the Jolt Ship gets here.” The pilot pointed out. “Why did you say twelve?”

<p class="MsoNormal">     As the SAS readied their weapons and armor, A.J. said, “The drop ship is gonna need about five minutes to get far enough away that the explosion and resulting planetary debris won’t cause severe damage. Like you said: you can’t go too fast through the atmosphere, or you’ll burn up, and this ship isn’t made for high-speed vertical ascension.” Then A.J. faced the other five soldiers. “Are you guys ready?”

<p class="MsoNormal">     They all nodded, except for Cecil, who gave a thumbs-up. The SAS tramped off in the direction of the nearby city. As they went, Troh said, “This might sound a bit weird, but this place looks beautiful. Pity it’s gotta be destroyed.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “When we’re blastin’ away at zombies, you might change your mind.” Carl told him.

<p class="MsoNormal">     After two minutes, the SAS got to the city and found the subway, all the while blasting through dispersed groups of infected. A.J. checked his timer. “We have ten minutes, boys. Let’s make this quick. Radar says there’s a biiiiig group around this corner.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     The radar was correct. A huge group of zombies awaited the SAS, and they swarmed them immediately.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The soldiers responded by firing their weapons into the horde.

<p class="MsoNormal">     A.J. and Troh’s weapons had large capacities, so they kept shooting as the others reloaded. Suddenly, Carl shouted, “There’s more comin’ up from behind!”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Rex turned to look then called out, “They’re just weak ones! I got this, you guys just keep shooting.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     Rex unsheathed his knife, since his rifle was empty, and he’d accidentally left his handgun on the drop ship. He ran up to the oncoming group and swung to the right, slashing one aggressor’s neck, then plunged it into another one.

<p class="MsoNormal">     Rex’s knife went in so deep he couldn’t pull it out. Instead, he kicked the zombie and the knife stayed in his hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">      Rex counted twelve more zombies. He swung and thrust through four more, when one zombie grabbed his arm. Rex swung hard and caught it between the eyes, but not before it chomped down on him.

<p class="MsoNormal">     Rex dropped the knife and his arm started bleeding. “Oh, man, I really need tougher armor!” he thought. He couldn’t reload his gun because of his arm, so he retreated to the others’ position, which was not far behind him.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “I couldn’t get ‘em all!” Rex yelled.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Then duck!” A.J. warned. Rex followed the instructions, and A.J. opened fire on the small horde. His LMG chewed through them in seconds.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Why didn’t you do that in the first place!?” Rex hollered. A.J. ignored him.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “We’re not getting anywhere!” Cecil pointed out. “They just keep coming!”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Focus on that downed plane!” Ray suggested, pointing at a large commercial plane that had crashed into the ground nearby. “Maybe there’s still fuel in its tanks. I know it’s fumes, not gas that makes the explosion, but if we’re lucky, a well-placed thermal shot might set it off!”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “It’s worth a try!” Carl yelled as he aimed at one of the fuel tanks. He pulled the trigger on his gun and the shot hit a fuel tank, but it bounced off. It did, however, leave a dent, so Carl fired several more shots while the others held the zombies back.

<p class="MsoNormal">     After a short time, BOOOOOM!!! The fumes from the gas tanks had ignited, setting off the liquid fuel and making a huge fireball. Smoke was thrown out as a shockwave knocked down both the SAS and the zombies.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Hurry! Let’s go!” A.J. shouted as he got to his feet. The soldiers couldn’t see anything through the smoke, so they had to rely on their radar to find their way. The haze prevented the zombies from being able to see, so the SAS got a good distance away before getting attacked again.

<p class="MsoNormal">     After the group dispatched the infected, Carl said, “Here, Rex.” He pulled a medkit from his belt and after opening it up, removed a bandage and a syringe. He wrapped the bandage around Rex’s wound and stuck the syringe into his upper arm. “That’ll keep your arm going until you can get it properly taken care of.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “Thanks, Carl. I owe you one.” Rex said as he bent his fingers and twisted his wrist as feeling returned to them.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The SAS continued moving, but soon they came upon a large hole in the ground from which zombies were coming. “I got the hole; you guys hit the zombies climbing out.” Cecil said as he holstered his small rifle and took his bazooka off his backpack. He fired its two shells at a nearby building.

<p class="MsoNormal">     The resulting explosions knocked off large amounts of debris, which fell on the hole, making a cover.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “I doubt that’ll hold ‘em too long, but it will give us some time.” A.J. said. “Look! That sign says the subway is over there.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     The SAS ran in the direction the sign said to go. They went down a set of stairs into the subway system.

<p class="MsoNormal">     “I can’t believe the subway’s still working.” Rex told the others. “You’d think it’d be kaput… at least I would.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     “This city has only been infected for a day or two.” A.J. pointed out. “If you’re wondering how I knew that, the zombies outside the city looked bulkier and less human than the ones in this city. They look like the ones on the Kurios Space Station did.”

<p class="MsoNormal">     After getting on the subway, Cecil used a door control panel to hack into the main control systems. A.J. gave him the coordinates of the lab, and Cecil found a station that was located almost right next to it.

<p class="MsoNormal">     Cecil pumped his fist. “Yes! We’re in luck. Station 244 is right next to the lab.” He used the computer to direct the subway to the intended destination…