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aaaaaaaagh_skyThere was another round door up ahead. Ellen was starting to get sick of round doors and round corridors and the endless cold. Her uniform, whatever it might have done for the original owner while she was still alive, simply was not able to keep out the cold. The sooner they found Tercorien's squadmates- assuming they did find them- the better, as far as she was concerned. "So," she said, trying to distract herself from the pervasive chill, "what do you think the aliens want with us?"
"Dunno," said Tercorien with a shrug. "Maybe they seeded Earth with life millions of years ago and they've been coming back to check up on it, you know? And they don't like what they've seen, but they're taking samples anyway? Or... or maybe they're trying to get a toehold on Earth, so they're stealing people to learn what we look like and how we act, and once they've figured out how to imitate us best they'll send in their infiltrators to take the place over?"
Ellen wrinkled her nose- there wasn't much point to taking over Earth now, if things were as bad as the Capital Wasteland everywhere- but didn't say anything. It wasn't as if she had any theories.
"Or maybe they're meat eaters," said Tercorien slowly, stepping through the door, "and they're... harvesting us, one at a.... hey, is that some kind of operating room in there?"
Ellen craned her neck sharply, trying to see what Tercorien was looking at, but the medic had stopped in his tracks in front of her. "Wait a minute," he said as he squinted into the room from where he stood. "What the... no. NO!"
She glanced at him; for all that he wore the winterized armor of the Alaskan troops, he was starting to shake. "That's my squad in there!" Tercorien shouted. "What the hell are those aliens doing to them? You green bastards! Get your hands off them!"
He dashed forward, ramming his fists against the window; Ellen could see, now, that there were a number of aliens gathered around two operating tables, and that in the rear part of the room there were two cryogenic pods. As she turned to find the operating room door, Tercorien muttered, "There has to be a way to release their containment seal. Maybe there's a, a button or something on this console-"
"They usually like Y-shapes," Ellen murmured. Tercorien nodded and brought his fist down on the only Y-shaped button anywhere among all the instruments. There were a couple of clanking noises, and then with a soft hiss, the operating room door slid open.
Tercorien's eyes lit up with a fierce, almost painful joy. "How do you like that, you fucks? How does it feel to be on the other end for a change?" He lunged for the door, alien gun drawn, and shouted, "EXPERIMENT ON THIS, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"
( "I don't remember half of what they did to me, and that's probably a good thing - they must really like you, at least they let me keep my clothes-" )
Throat burning almost as much as memory, Ellen charged into the operating room after him.
When it was over, the only thing left of the aliens were ashes.
It occurred to Ellen as she silently reloaded her gun that there were four cryo pods in the room, two occupied, two empty. She moved over to one of the empty pods and touched the glowing green spot on its control panel, but all it produced was silence interspersed with alien babble. The other one, though...
"Private Lawrence Mears, U.S. Army Medic, Serial Number 3476511."
Alien voices babbled.
"Private. Lawrence. Mears. U.S. Army Medic. Serial Number 3476511."
Again, alien voices- angrier this time.
"AGH! Fuck! You... can do what...ever you want to me... I'm not saying jack sh...Stick it where the... sun don't shine..."
Angrier aliens than before, now, and the sound of something heavy striking human flesh.
"AGGGH! Oh my g... P-priv.. ate Law-lawrence M..mea..rs. U.S. Ar...army M-m-m...edic..."
She stepped away from the pod, her hand over her mouth. There were tears in her eyes; Tercorien had them as well. "Oh my God, no," he murmured. "I can't believe they did this to you. Why wasn't I here sooner? I could've stopped them..."
"We came as quickly as we were able," Ellen said, equally quietly. Truth be told, she was half kicking herself as well. "That's what we're here for."
"I... yeah." Tercorien nodded. "Yeah." His expression hardened again. "You're right. That's it. I'm sick of running. Let's finish these aliens off and get the hell home!"
"All right," said Ellen. "Where are the controls for these pods, anyway?"
"Over there," said Tercorien, indicating a likely Y-shaped control, "but don't touch them just yet, okay? I... I think I can work some of this stuff, now that I look at it. If we're careful, I may be able to bring them out of stasis safely, so they don't end up like Colonel Hartigan."
Ellen winced, but nodded. "What do you need me to do?" she said. "I learned to read from my father's medical texts."
"Let me see... damn." Tercorien glanced up at a row of slender glass ampoules mounted in chrome. "The aliens've injected them with all sorts of compounds I don't recognize. I don't know how they'll react when they wake. If these are really their vital signs...."
He indicated a row of tiny screens, each more complicated than the last. There was one that almost resembled what Ellen remembered the normal rhythm of a human heart was supposed to look like- almost.
"... then they're not very good," Tercorien finished. "I don't know if they'll last more than a few minutes, at best, but... you saw what the aliens did to the others." He looked to Ellen uncertainly. "We can't just leave them- can we?"
A few minutes of life, confused, thousands of miles from anything that had ever been home, capped off by certain death... or- She glanced over at the piles of ash on the operating tables. One hand crept up to the side of her throat. "No," she said, "you're right. Revive them. Even if they die afterwards, at least they die as people, not as experiments."
"O- okay."
Tercorien's work was complicated, but quick; apparently once he made up his mind to do something, he stuck with it. A few minutes later he looked up at the tubes, crossed his fingers, and hit the Y-shaped release button. The pods slid open in a hiss of condensate steam. Ellen held her breath-
"Agh... feels like someone rearranged my insides," came a mumbled voice from the thick of the steam.
"What the... where..."
Tercorien beamed. "It worked!" he said. "Ellen, it worked!" He grabbed Ellen up in a fierce, momentary hug of glee, but dropped her an instant later. "Uh. I mean. Excuse me-"
He darted away, over to where the steam was dissipating. Ellen blinked a few times; what had just happened?
"All right, squad," she heard him say, "listen up. I know you have no idea what's going on. We've been captured by aliens- the things that grabbed us from Anchorage. And I know you're in the same boat I was, weapons-wise-"
There was an odd, round-ended container rimmed with pulsating blue lights close at hand. On a hunch Ellen found the one steadily glowing spot on its surface and pressed it. The lid slid back to reveal two slender rifles of alien design and a container of the glowing thumb-sized sticks that seemed to power all the weapons. "Not for long," she called out. "Come and have a look."
Tercorien glanced into the box and beamed. "Fantastic. Here, men. Take these weapons and follow me. Let's show them what some motivated U.S. soldiers can do!"
"Dunno," said Tercorien with a shrug. "Maybe they seeded Earth with life millions of years ago and they've been coming back to check up on it, you know? And they don't like what they've seen, but they're taking samples anyway? Or... or maybe they're trying to get a toehold on Earth, so they're stealing people to learn what we look like and how we act, and once they've figured out how to imitate us best they'll send in their infiltrators to take the place over?"
Ellen wrinkled her nose- there wasn't much point to taking over Earth now, if things were as bad as the Capital Wasteland everywhere- but didn't say anything. It wasn't as if she had any theories.
"Or maybe they're meat eaters," said Tercorien slowly, stepping through the door, "and they're... harvesting us, one at a.... hey, is that some kind of operating room in there?"
Ellen craned her neck sharply, trying to see what Tercorien was looking at, but the medic had stopped in his tracks in front of her. "Wait a minute," he said as he squinted into the room from where he stood. "What the... no. NO!"
She glanced at him; for all that he wore the winterized armor of the Alaskan troops, he was starting to shake. "That's my squad in there!" Tercorien shouted. "What the hell are those aliens doing to them? You green bastards! Get your hands off them!"
He dashed forward, ramming his fists against the window; Ellen could see, now, that there were a number of aliens gathered around two operating tables, and that in the rear part of the room there were two cryogenic pods. As she turned to find the operating room door, Tercorien muttered, "There has to be a way to release their containment seal. Maybe there's a, a button or something on this console-"
"They usually like Y-shapes," Ellen murmured. Tercorien nodded and brought his fist down on the only Y-shaped button anywhere among all the instruments. There were a couple of clanking noises, and then with a soft hiss, the operating room door slid open.
Tercorien's eyes lit up with a fierce, almost painful joy. "How do you like that, you fucks? How does it feel to be on the other end for a change?" He lunged for the door, alien gun drawn, and shouted, "EXPERIMENT ON THIS, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!"
( "I don't remember half of what they did to me, and that's probably a good thing - they must really like you, at least they let me keep my clothes-" )
Throat burning almost as much as memory, Ellen charged into the operating room after him.
When it was over, the only thing left of the aliens were ashes.
It occurred to Ellen as she silently reloaded her gun that there were four cryo pods in the room, two occupied, two empty. She moved over to one of the empty pods and touched the glowing green spot on its control panel, but all it produced was silence interspersed with alien babble. The other one, though...
"Private Lawrence Mears, U.S. Army Medic, Serial Number 3476511."
Alien voices babbled.
"Private. Lawrence. Mears. U.S. Army Medic. Serial Number 3476511."
Again, alien voices- angrier this time.
"AGH! Fuck! You... can do what...ever you want to me... I'm not saying jack sh...Stick it where the... sun don't shine..."
Angrier aliens than before, now, and the sound of something heavy striking human flesh.
"AGGGH! Oh my g... P-priv.. ate Law-lawrence M..mea..rs. U.S. Ar...army M-m-m...edic..."
She stepped away from the pod, her hand over her mouth. There were tears in her eyes; Tercorien had them as well. "Oh my God, no," he murmured. "I can't believe they did this to you. Why wasn't I here sooner? I could've stopped them..."
"We came as quickly as we were able," Ellen said, equally quietly. Truth be told, she was half kicking herself as well. "That's what we're here for."
"I... yeah." Tercorien nodded. "Yeah." His expression hardened again. "You're right. That's it. I'm sick of running. Let's finish these aliens off and get the hell home!"
"All right," said Ellen. "Where are the controls for these pods, anyway?"
"Over there," said Tercorien, indicating a likely Y-shaped control, "but don't touch them just yet, okay? I... I think I can work some of this stuff, now that I look at it. If we're careful, I may be able to bring them out of stasis safely, so they don't end up like Colonel Hartigan."
Ellen winced, but nodded. "What do you need me to do?" she said. "I learned to read from my father's medical texts."
"Let me see... damn." Tercorien glanced up at a row of slender glass ampoules mounted in chrome. "The aliens've injected them with all sorts of compounds I don't recognize. I don't know how they'll react when they wake. If these are really their vital signs...."
He indicated a row of tiny screens, each more complicated than the last. There was one that almost resembled what Ellen remembered the normal rhythm of a human heart was supposed to look like- almost.
"... then they're not very good," Tercorien finished. "I don't know if they'll last more than a few minutes, at best, but... you saw what the aliens did to the others." He looked to Ellen uncertainly. "We can't just leave them- can we?"
A few minutes of life, confused, thousands of miles from anything that had ever been home, capped off by certain death... or- She glanced over at the piles of ash on the operating tables. One hand crept up to the side of her throat. "No," she said, "you're right. Revive them. Even if they die afterwards, at least they die as people, not as experiments."
"O- okay."
Tercorien's work was complicated, but quick; apparently once he made up his mind to do something, he stuck with it. A few minutes later he looked up at the tubes, crossed his fingers, and hit the Y-shaped release button. The pods slid open in a hiss of condensate steam. Ellen held her breath-
"Agh... feels like someone rearranged my insides," came a mumbled voice from the thick of the steam.
"What the... where..."
Tercorien beamed. "It worked!" he said. "Ellen, it worked!" He grabbed Ellen up in a fierce, momentary hug of glee, but dropped her an instant later. "Uh. I mean. Excuse me-"
He darted away, over to where the steam was dissipating. Ellen blinked a few times; what had just happened?
"All right, squad," she heard him say, "listen up. I know you have no idea what's going on. We've been captured by aliens- the things that grabbed us from Anchorage. And I know you're in the same boat I was, weapons-wise-"
There was an odd, round-ended container rimmed with pulsating blue lights close at hand. On a hunch Ellen found the one steadily glowing spot on its surface and pressed it. The lid slid back to reveal two slender rifles of alien design and a container of the glowing thumb-sized sticks that seemed to power all the weapons. "Not for long," she called out. "Come and have a look."
Tercorien glanced into the box and beamed. "Fantastic. Here, men. Take these weapons and follow me. Let's show them what some motivated U.S. soldiers can do!"