Part 3

Second Contact: Tensions

  "Hi, I'm Cale Trucker, and I'm here under Commander Will Parson - we're the peacemakers," Cale said, shaking hands with the muscular, 29 year old, dark haired man before him.

"I'm Lagan," the man said, firmly shaking Cale's hand. "I'm from the WarTech Center - we're a supplement to your team, sort of like in-the-field backup." Cale noted the faraway look in his eyes, though his tone and words suggested a hyper-awareness of everything around him.

They were on board the shuttle, nearing Skywheel Station. Looking out the window, Seth could see flashes of electrical lightning storming its way across the scarred surface of the station. Lights were on in only about half the complex. He could only imagine what conditions were like inside - especially with all those monsters hunting all those people. He could bet they'd run to the power core, the center of the station - that's where it was considered safest in many emergency contingency projections, but Seth wasn't so sure himself.......

As he watched, one of the radar towers disappeared into a tower of flame, then flickered out and was gone.

The station was slowly being destroyed.

"Did you see that?" he asked Lagan.

"Yes," Lagan said in a mysteriously dreamy voice, "of course........I see it.......I see everything.........."

Seth turned away from him to stare out the window again, thinking this man might be a little too strange for him.

A jolt shook the shuttle. Into the passenger cabin came a report from the pilots: "We're docking.....secure yourselves."

Everyone donned their seatbelts as the landing proved to be quite jerky and erratic. But two minutes later they were firmly attached to Skywheel's north docking station.

Will Parson stood and addressed the team: "Okay men, we have an update message from Colonel Crayson back in Hawaii."

On the monitor appeared an image of the Colonel Crayson, co-leader of the US AFOC and founder of the Crayson Center in Hawaii, from which Will and his team had come.

He spoke: "Our negotiators are continuing the talks with the aliens...ambassadors, but their warships have moved into optimum battle positions around our population centers on earth. The direction that this thing turns in the near future hinges entirely on this mission. For our sake and for the alien's you must succeed. If you don't, things are not going to go well. Emergency power is now pumping half the station's systems. There is oxygen and weapons...... the rest is up to you." He cut out.

Parson pressed the switch that opened the door connecting them to the station. The airlock seal whirred as it was activated. Slowly, the men picked up their weapons - Parson's men had their standard issue M-9 pistols, while the WarTech men carried everything from sawed-off double barrel shotguns to a shoulder mounted mini-cannon. Lagan in particular lugged a unique, gray four-barrel gatling gun of a make that Cale had not yet seen.

Lagan caught him looking at the gun. "Prototype," he said. "Runs on a chain."

Parson put two fingers to his lips then pointed at Pete Strather to take point. Gunnery Sergeant Michael Levy and Alan Shear went next, then the two women, Darren Brookes, Seth, Shock, Allister, Cale, and finally Les Venexia. They were followed by Lagan and his crew of two, and then an agent from the AFOC and Space Command bringing up the rear.

"Good hunting," the Pilot's voice came softly over the speaker. "We'll be waiting for you here."

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Seth muttered under his breath. Parson hissed at him from the front.

Their boots made hardly a sound on the harsh metal floor. Lights on the walls flickered on and off erratically, casting eerie shadows that never seemed to be the same shape twice. From somewhere in the distance faint, echoing creaking sounds could be heard.

They were breathing slow and hard, the quiet was intense. Cale gripped his weapon nervously, thinking, This is it. This is where we live or die.

From the docking bay room, three doors led out into the station. The one on the left wall led to the pilot's ready rooms; the one on the right led to the monitor stations, and the one in the center led into the ring of the station. After having Brookes and Allister run a quick check to make sure the former two rooms were clear, they proceeded down the center corridor, as quietly as possible.

Their boots made soft scraping noises on the floor, almost masking the evil hissing sound that suddenly came from their right. Seth froze, causing Shock to stumble into his back. "Hey!" Shock whispered.

Seth turned to the right. "Did you hear - "

His voice was cut off by the sudden deafening shotgun blast that came from their left - and left the surprised Lagan lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.

The sound of the discharge echoed throughout the corridor, leaving in its wake a shocked silence.

The WarTech agents were crowding around Lagan, who had taken the blast in the middle of his back and lodged in his lungs. He was dying fast.

"There's something he didn't see," Seth whispered to himself as he trained his gun into the darkness that everyone else was watching.

A click echoed in the shadow, and everyone fired at once.

A second later, following the small trail of blood that floated out of the shadow, the body of a man tumbled into view, several holes in his torso.

He was holding a twelve gauge.

Parson and Strather checked the body. The skin was pale - almost ghost white. The uniform was that of the marines - six years ago. It was torn and decayed, and the body stank of rotting citrus.

Zombie.