The Pluto Experiment

Frontier Planet XIV, 2397

Black Site

Digging in the dust, to most people, feels like child’s play, but for Natalie Shepard, it was uncovering the past. She had been digging for days at this site by governmental mandate, and still he felt no closer to understanding exactly what it was she was dealing with. The workers had been excavating what looked like a massive obsidian pillar, although its exterior had proved impervious to all conventional scans and even excavation equipment. Still, the government had been fairly interested in both the pillar and its contents, so she and her crew kept at it. Currently, she was mapping the dig for the next week, but having little success. Finally, she closed her analysis program and swore.

“It’s no good,” she told Landon Ark, her research assistant. “Even though we’ve dug out thirty feet of pillar, we still don’t know what’s inside. We have no idea if it’s hollow, full, or what exactly it even is.” Ark shrugged.

“The way I see it, we don’t have a choice. Six figures for a dig would…well, that’s a lot of money. We’ve come too far to abandon it now.”

She nodded. “Is the drill back up and running?”

“The repair crews managed to get it functional, thanks to a little bit of grease and some sharpening. Are you ready to start again?”

“Actually, that won’t be happening.” The two of them whirled. Standing in the opening of their hastily-constructed shelter was a man in a black suit of composite armor. “Your dig site is now under the jurisdiction of the Plutonian League’s Intelligence Division. We’ll help you remove your equipment, and we’ll pay you twice what we promised. But we have to ask you to leave as soon as possible.”

“You’re with the government?” Natalie asked. “Prove it.”

“All right,” he said, punching commands into his tactical computer. “There you have it,” the man said, holding the tablet up. “Agent Jack Tarber, Extraterrestrial Intelligence Investigations, Plutonian League Branch Office. I’m now in charge of your site. Any questions? No? Well, get your things together. My men will assist you should you need it.”

Natalie shook her head. “All right, then. I’ll get to work. One thing, though. Can you tell me why the government’s so interested in that cylinder?”

Agent Tarber smiled. “That, my dear girl, is because this isn’t just a piece of history. It may very well be the future of human technology, too.”

“And you’ll just use these artifacts for experiments?” Landon asked. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“Not technically,” Jack replied. “And my friends back at headquarters will make sure it never is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some technology to collect.”

Orbital Special Operations Station, Canis III

Milky Way, Jansen Route, 20:00 hours

2418

Lieutenant Danielle Griggs sat awake in her bunk, looking at the holographic screen in front of her. The operation looked simple enough; a mining station gone dark and a routine intelligence check. Nothing out of the ordinary to most of the soldiers in her tactical squad, but to her, the entire operation seemed off. This mining station, though it was on the frontier of human exploration, had been well-defended. Alien invasion therefore seemed unlikely, which left either rebellion or migration. Reports of movement had to be filed with Immigration, Customs, and Importation Services, and the lack of any documentation or applications for documentation ruled that out. All that was left, then, was rebellion, and she liked that idea not at all. Despite the fact that the Plutonian League was freer than the Terran Federation and far safer than any number of military splinter groups, many colonies had split from the League to form their own governments. And that, she feared, had happened here.

“What’s your game?” She muttered, tapping the screen. “There’s nothing there.”

“Problem?” Dani looked over to see her roommate, Allison Shepard, rubbing her eyes. “You’ve been up for the past three hours, just staring at that pad. See anything you like?”

Griggs shook her head. “Nah. Just reading the brief again. Something doesn’t add up.”

Shepard laughed. “And you think you can read that thing to death and find out what it is?” Dani sighed.

“I guess not,” she replied. “But I’m worried. What happens if we’re walking into a trap? What if we need something we don’t have?”

“Then you should get some sleep,” Allison responded. “You won’t do anyone any good exhausted. Besides, you’re our best strategist. If you can’t catch it, there’s no way anyone else on the squad will.”

“Should that make me feel better?” Dani asked.

“No, it’s supposed to get you to turn in. That obnoxious light is keeping me up.” Dani laughed, for the first time in a while.

“Fair point. Well, good night.”

“Finally,” Shepard muttered.

Dani shut off the holographic tablet and rolled over. “Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Shepard said, remembering that Dani was her superior, despite their friendship. And, with that, the two of them went to sleep.

Sirius Beta

Mining complex, 02:00 hours

Stefan Bakrylov fired two shots from his pistol into the panel on the wall, closing the blast door behind his group of miners and security personnel. His men sounded out of breath, and a few of them were nursing injuries, but they all knew that the survivors of their latest engagement had gotten off lightly.

“How many did we lose?” He asked Martin Edwards, the security force leader.

“Two,” Martin responded. “And that’s two too many.”

“We keep going like this, there won’t be anyone left.” This was Connor Lockharte, Stefan’s best friend. He reloaded his compact automatic and Excelsior .44 Extended Magazine and spat blood out of his mouth. “We’ve got to find some way to even the odds.”

“I know.” The Saturanian checked the load in his Mossberg 8-gauge Eliminator Shotgun and pumped it twice, ejecting a spent shell and priming the next. “That door won’t hold.”

“What’s the plan?” One of the miners asked. “We can’t keep running. They’ll corner us eventually, and then we’re all screwed.”

Stefan shook his head. “Not if we can get to the shuttle bay.”

“They’ve blocked that route off already,” one of the security guards said. “Even with lasers, we couldn’t cut through the doors fast enough. And if even one of those monsters gets on a transport…”

“Can they fly them?” Another miner asked.

“You want to find out?” Edwards challenged. “There’s no way we’re opening the bay. None. We have to destroy the shuttles before they can take off.”

Stefan looked at Martin. “We have to get out somehow.”

“What about going down?” One of the miners asked. “We have those dormancy pods. If we drive them deep enough…”

“…it’ll only take them a few days to find us,” Edwards snapped. “So I suppose we can run and die, or we can fight and die.” Suddenly, they heard clanging in the ducts. Stefan looked up, and Martin swore.

“Pull back!” Edwards shouted. Stefan shook his head.

“Get the miners out. Take them down to the repair area, and have them rig a few slicing lasers onto grav-bikes. Then make a break for the bay. You should be able to get there before they figure out what’s what. Don’t stop, for any reason, and barricade yourselves inside once you get there.”

“And us?” He asked. Stefan shook his head.

“We aren’t doing anything,” he answered. “I’m staying here.”

“I’m staying with you,” Connor said. “No way are you facing those things by yourself.”

“You’ll die,” Martin said. Stefan smiled, baring his teeth like a hungry wolf.

“Doubtful. Now go. You have five minutes.” Edwards nodded, and he gestured for his men to follow. “Stefan, are you sure about this?”

He nodded. “Quite sure.” One of the vents in the ceiling clanged sharply, and it buckled underneath the blow from the creature inside. “You’ve got five minutes before they get in. Go!” Edwards’ men filed out, and Stefan closed the door behind him and then blasted the control panel with his shotgun. He cracked his neck and watched the vent.

“Ready?” He asked. Connor narrowed his eyes.

“Always.” The duo looked up, listening as the creature behind it clawed at the metal. The grate suddenly fell, and a dark shape dropped to the floor. It turned to face them, its red eyes blazing. However, before the creature could move, Stefan raised his weapon and fired the twenty-millimeter grenade launcher at the alien. It barely had time to snarl before the shell struck the beast and blasted it into thousands of gory bits. Stefan ejected the spent shell and loaded a second grenade as two more beasts dropped down from above. His eyes narrowed. Beside him, Connor raised his pistol and squeezed off three shots. One of the creatures staggered, bursts of orange fluid spraying into the air as the bullets penetrated its flesh. Then the door in front of them burst, and the shadows poured in.

Orbiting dropship

Sirius Beta, 04:00 hours

Dani Griggs stood with her hand wrapped around the overhead bar on their transport, facing her team.

“Listen up!” She raised her voice over the roar of the engines. “This mining complex went dark a week ago. No updates on production, nothing. That’s our first sign that something’s up. The second is that no shuttles have left the bay since then, either. For a mining colony, that’s unusual.”

“So this is recon?” Arnold Brooks, the team’s sniper asked. “Good. Nothing too drastic.”

“Speak for yourself, Arnie,” Tyler Barrett growled. “I’m bummed we don’t get to blow anything up.”

“Shut up, both of you!” Dani snapped. “All right, here’s the deal. We’ll split up to cover both sides of the complex. Shepard, I want you to take Michaels and Johnson to cover the eastern half. I’ll take Brooks and Barrett to the west, and we’ll meet in the middle. Radio checks every quarter hour, and GPS trackers online at all times. Hart, this means you.” The entire squad laughed; Dwayne Hart was infamous for turning off his GPS tracker when he wanted to go somewhere. “All good?” Nods and military-type affirmatives. “Get ready, kids,” Griggs said. She hit the PA system and called to the pilot “We’re ready for the descent.”

“Got it,” the pilot replied. “Fasten your restraints!” The dropship heaved, and the members of the squad tightened their grips on the bars to keep from falling over. Dani watched their faces; not a shred of fear or a hint of uncertainty. Veterans all, ready for whatever they might encounter. Even so, she had to bite back her own nausea, and the nagging feeling that she had missed something vital in her analysis.

They hit the platform, their boots clanging dully on the metal. Dani went first, her Winchester M21 Carbine’s flashlight cutting through the darkness. Behind her, Ty and Arnie followed, both of them sweeping in all directions. Behind them, she heard the dropship rise again, and soon the hum of its engines was lost to her ears.

“Arnie, what are you seeing on thermals?” She asked.

“All cold, boss,” he replied. “Nothing moving, either.”

“They don’t get days off here,” Ty muttered, thumbing the safety catch on his grenade launcher. “This place should be bustling.”

“I know,” Dani said. “And I don’t like this.” Her radio clicked, and she heard Shepard’s voice.

“Beta, checking in, ma’am,” she said. “We’ve touched down on the east pad and are moving into the loading bay. Over.”

“Copy that,” Dani said. “We’re moving into the communications tower on the west side. Radio in if you see anything unusual. Scan regularly on thermals, too. We’re getting nothing here. Over.”

“All dead here. Over.”

“Copy that. Stay sharp, Alli, and don’t do anything stupid. Griggs out.” Dani looked at the control panel; it had what looked like nine-millimeter bullets embedded in the metal, and the electronics were exposed and gutted.

“Wow,” Arnie said, looking at the door. “Someone locked up well.”

Ty shook his head. “This doesn’t look good, ma’am. They really wanted this door shut, and I’d rather not open it.”

“I don’t like it either, but we have to get inside, Ty,” Dani said. “Get it open.” He nodded.

“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He felt the door experimentally, and he tapped the metal. “Titanium composite. Cutting through would be work, but I could do it. It’d be quieter than a breaching charge.”

“Breach and clear. Concentrated charge,” she ordered. “Arnie, hang back and cover.”

“Got it,” he said. The Aussie stepped back and raised his rifle. “Door covered, boss.”

“Charge set,” Ty announced. “Waiting.”

Dani held up three fingers. Then she lowered one, then two, and finally she lowered the third. Barrett stepped back and dropped the switch, detonating his C-20 charge at the base of the door, where the locking mechanism would be. The small explosion destroyed the doors’ machinery, and the metal panel slid back.

“Safeties off,” she whispered over the radio. “Permission to engage, but be judicious. Don’t signal our presence if you can avoid it.” Arnie swept the hall with his thermal goggles.

“Boss, I’ve got heat sigs up ahead. Fifteen meters.”

“Motion?” She asked.

“Negative,” he replied. “They’re still. Prone, too.”

“Bunks?” Ty whispered.

“Not here. It’s the comms tower.” She swept the rooms on either side with her flashlight. Nothing. They kept moving down the hall; as they did, the hairs on the back of Dani’s neck started to stand on end. Maybe it was just a premonition, but she got the feeling that they were about to walk into something very, very bad. They opened the door to the comm room, and Arnie stopped.

“Holy…” he stopped, his mouth hanging open. Torn bodies were strewn everywhere, gaping holes ripped in their flesh. In each of these was inserted a dark cylindrical object with a luminescent purple core, the light of which pulsed rhythmically.

“What are they?” Ty whispered. “They’re hideous.”

“These people are alive,” Dani said, checking one. She held her flashlight to the dead man’s eyes, which did not follow it. “But there’s only enough brain activity there to keep them that way. Something’s made sure they didn’t die, even though they’ve shredded them like this.” She stood, raising her gun. “These are nests.”

“Meaning those cylinders are eggs,” Ty muttered, feeling bile in his throat. “That’s disgusting.”

Dani keyed her radio. “Shepard, this is Briggs. Over.”

“We read you. Go ahead.”

“We’ve found bodies. They’re being used as incubators.”

Shepard gasped. “What?”

“They’re being used to warm eggs. Repeat, they’re being used as incubators.” Dani looked around. “Pull back to the platform and radio control. Let them know not to send anyone else.”

“We might need evac if there are survivors,” Allison protested.

“We might not want to see the survivors,” Ty put in.

“Boss.” It was Arnie, and he sounded upset. “We’ve got heat sigs now. Not much warmer than the surface, but they’re closing fast.”

“Where?” Dani asked.

“Above us,” he answered. “One story. They’re in the ducts.” Ty swore.

“Should we pull back to the pad?” He asked.

Dani shook her head. “Not yet. How many are there?” She asked.

“Too many,” Arnie said. “And they’re not exactly tiny, either.” He sighted with his rifle. “If we stay here, we’re cornered.”

“Same on the pad,” Ty put in. “Boss, we need to move.” Dani nodded.

“Try the west corridor,” she said. Suddenly, one of the ceiling tiles gave, and something dropped to the floor. What it was she could not tell, but she did not like it at all. She opened fire with her weapon, but the creature screeched and flung itself at her. Halfway across the empty space, the animal burst into a shower of orange goop. Arnie lowered his rifle, smoke still wafting from the barrel.

“That was…hideous,” Ty muttered. “Blew up real good, though.”

Dani raised her weapon. “All right, assume we’re surrounded. Shoot on sight, apologize later.” Ty nodded, sweeping the hall ahead of him with his launcher.

“Nothing.” He sighed. “At least they’re…” a second screech echoed from the hall, and Arnie’s eagle-eyed rifle splattered a second creature along the wall. “…small,” Ty finished.

Arnie shook his head. “This is bad, Griggs. We’re running blind here, and these things are fast.” Another leapt from the darkness, but Dani shot it twice. The spider-like being hit the floor, twitching awkwardly. She knelt to examine it and almost retched. The thing looked like a cross between a spider and an octopus, with thin, spiky legs and a beaked mouth on the bottom of the body. A cluster of red-hued eyes covered its plated top, and the light was rapidly fading from these. It was about four feet high, about the size of a large dog. The legs jerked in rigor mortis, which further unnerved her.

“Ugh,” Arnie said. “That’s a nasty creature, to be sure.” He swept the hall. “There might be more.” Dani raised her rifle and stood.

“Right. Let’s move.” They moved down the hall, blasting the creatures as they appeared. Ty had switched to his sidearm, and the standard-issue pistol shredded the alien beings with ease. With each alien corpse, though, Dani grew increasingly uneasy.

“These things are small,” she muttered, kicking a dead one. “I think they’re hatchlings.”

“I’d hate to see the teen years, then.” Arnie swept behind them. “Let’s hope none of them are hanging around.”

Dani nodded. “What do we have for heat sigs, Arnie?”

“Two,” he announced. “Human, and moving.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Thirty meters,” he said. “Keep following the corridor, and we should run right into them.” Ty’s pistol cracked, and another of the creatures exploded into bloody pieces midair.

“We better hurry,” he said. “We don’t have infinite ammo.”

“Would be nice, though,” Dani remarked, blasting another. “Watch your shot placement.”

“Like we need to, boss.” Arnie’s rifle split two of the aliens. “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“Might not always be, so watch it.” She stepped up to the security door and tried it. “Ty, if you would.”

“Charge?” He asked. She nodded. “All right, I’ll need some cover.” Ty knelt and started fiddling with a small C-20. Arnold and Dani swept the hallways, their motion trackers blank.

“It’s quiet,” Arnie whispered. Suddenly, his tracker blipped, and he saw a large red dot. “Too quiet.” He whirled, and what he saw stopped him for half a second. A hulking black shape was lurching down the western corridor, one red eye gleaming in the low scarlet light cast by the plasma lamps. Arnie leveled his rifle and squeezed the trigger twice, and the shots ripped through the alien’s flesh. However, these injuries only elicited a shriek of rage from the alien, and it lunged toward the trio. Arnie rolled and, finding his feet again, emptied the rest of the magazine into the crimson eye. The animal screeched and fell backwards, vermillion slime pouring from the new perforations in its body. Dani raised her carbine and fired a half dozen shots in a quarter-inch spread, effectively blowing the creature’s brain’s out. Even so, the alien lurched forward, its scythe-like jaws snapping open and closed like a ghastly machine. Arnie slammed a second magazine into his weapon and let loose twice more, finally putting the beast down. Even as it fell, the creature flung its right foreleg at the sniper, catching him on the right shoulder. This glancing blow alone was enough to send him sprawling, and to open a deep gash through his unit insignia.

The Aussie got to his feet, swearing profusely. “That was my only patch,” he raged. “It cost me almost a week’s pay!”

“Cool it,” Dani said, reloading her weapon. “If the patch is the only thing you lose tonight, we’ll have gotten off lucky.”

Arnie shook his head. “Whatever you say. How’s the door coming, Ty?”

“About…ready!” He announced.

“All right,” Dani said. “Blow it.” The C-20 detonated, and the door swung open. “Check those heat sigs,” she told Arnie.

“Got ’em,” he said. “Two of them, up high. And they’re surrounded by aliens.”

“We need to get up and help them.” She looked up. “Where are they?”

“Up high. There’s some kind of security room overhead. Grapnels should take us up,” the sniper answered. “And the only things in need of help are the aliens. They’re dying like…well, like flies.”

Security Room

Second Floor, Comms Station

Connor rolled onto one knee, emptying the rest of an assault rifle’s magazine into the large arachnid creature’s flank. It whirled, swinging its clawed front legs in a decapitating scissor. He bent almost double backwards and rolled again, pulling a pin from a grenade as he did. The miner dropped the explosive to the floor and jumped away, watching as a fiery explosion sent mangled alien bits into the air. Behind him, he heard Stefan’s shotgun bark twice, and the following splatter told him that the pellets had struck the target. Then, the twenty-millimeter grenade launcher roared, and another by the door burst into flames. The creature screamed and flailed briefly before finally collapsing to the ground. Connor slung the assault rifle onto his back and fired three rounds from his pistol into the alien’s head.

“What was that for?” Stefan asked. “It was dead.”

Connor shrugged. “It twitched.” Stefan looked sidelong at him. “Okay, so it just felt good.” He turned and looked at the fallen creatures. “They’re getting bigger, you know. And they have venom glands now.” He flexed his metal hands and plunged them into the alien’s corpse, ripping through the flesh, examining its body parts. “Adaptation, you think?”

Stefan shook his head. “No. This is part of their development; a next stage, if you will.”

Connor nodded. “Let’s check scanners, see whether or not there are any survivors.” He tapped his finger on the security console. “Hm.”

“What?” Stefan asked.

“There are three people on the stairs,” he said. “They’re moving in tactical clearing formation.”

“Meaning?” His friend queried.

Connor turned around, his mouth set in a grim line. “Meaning the military sent people to investigate.”

“Military means…No.” He slammed his fist down on the console, buckling the metal. “Get down there. Bring them up here.” Connor reloaded his rifle and shook his head.

“I told you mining was a bad idea,” he growled.

“Don’t be an ‘I told you so’,” Stefan admonished.

Connor shrugged, loosening the kukri in his belt. “Too late.”

Corridor

West Wing

Dani fired three shots from her carbine, exploding three of the smaller aliens. The large arachnoids were coming more and more frequently, which filled the trio with a sense of grim foreboding.

Arnie swept the staircase with his rifle. “Thermals clean, boss. We’re safe for now.” Ty looked up, his pistol in the ready position.

“Safe being relative,” he added. “The shuttle’s not going to circle around while we’re gone, right? We don’t want any of these things getting on board.”

“It won’t come back until we find the survivors,” Dani said.

“Based on what I’ve seen, I believe there are survivors.” Arnie scanned the staircase one more time. “Wait, scratch that. I know there are survivors.”

“Oh really?” Ty asked. “What makes you so sure?” The Aussie lowered his gun.

“Because there’s one of them on the stairs.” The man came into view, and Dani was unsure of quite what to do. He had stringy black hair, was medium height, and was wearing what looked like red night vision goggles. He wore an orange-spattered leather jacket crossed by two bandoliers. The assault rifle in his hands was military-issue, though exactly where he had gotten the weapon was unknown. The man lowered his weapon.

“Well, I’ll be,” he breathed. “Those idiots really did send toy soldiers.”

“What did you just call us?” Dani asked, her voice sharp. “We came here to rescue you. We thought this base got taken by rebels.” The man snorted.

“I wish. These things showed up ten days ago. We have no idea what they are, but we figured out what they can do real fast. Did you guys bring more?”

“Yeah.” Ty looked around. “They’re in the east wing. Why?” The other man swore.

“Get them on radio, tell them to get out now. At least, if any of them are still alive.”

“What do you mean?” Dani asked.

“They showed up in the mine first,” he told them. “We think that’s where the main nest is.”

“Main nest?” Dani said.

“Yeah.” He jerked his thumb. “My best friend is holed up in the control room upstairs. I’ll take you to him and the survivors. That is why you’re here, right?” Dani nodded, falling into step behind him.

“How many are there?” She asked.

“About two dozen,” he said.

“Out of a mining crew of more than a hundred?” Arnie exclaimed. “What happened?”

The man shook his head. “Doesn’t bear repeating, but it was gory.”

Ty bit his lip. “How have you people stayed alive?” He asked.

“Mostly guns,” the other said, opening the door to the control room. “We had a few rocket launchers, but we ran out of ammunition far too fast. The biggest ones can take an entire magazine from a rifle before going down. We’re low on food, morale, ideas, and hope. Any suggestions?” Dani stepped into the control center.

“Well, let’s see what we have to work with.”