Book 4 - New Horizons 12

29/05/2024 – 10.14

Following return from 11 – 31 – 17 – 3 – 21 – 32 – 19 five days earlier SG2 had been stood down whilst the bases remaining authority (in reality technician Steffan Dorph) undertook annual inspection & maintenance on SGC’s LFTR (Liquid fluoride thorium reactor) This enforced layoff conveniently allowed Xuraa time to grow accustomed her replacement prosthetic right foot.

The time wasn’t spent exactly idle, the temporary ladders filling the gap in the redundant lift shaft were made permanent & all the loose material where the explosion had taken place was removed & made good although no efforts were made to break through into the adjacent shaft.

It was also good see that O’Harran was finally cleared for active service by the medical team & signed off as fit for duty by Irving Licance. Unfortunately, Dr Salem Kapek, out of the regen tanks & physically intact was still in a deep coma, his prospects remained poor.

After the routine morning meeting with Mahonney it was agreed that SG2 would split their efforts between the potential recovery of food stuffs from 11 – 31 – 17 – 3 – 21 – 32 – 19 (Dr Licance, Agatha & Dungip accompanied by SG1’s O’Harran & Dr Schultz plus additional fire power from IS duo Mountain ‘Redbear’ Jones & Jack Werbanuk who’d both accompanied SG2 to 11 – 31 – 17 – 3 – 21 – 32 – 19 on first contact) This left SG2 commander Macintosh, Jayne ‘Shorty’ Cobb & Xuraa Chomt free to look at pushing SGC’s efforts to enter, clear & ultimately take control of the Cheyenne complex above. Mahonney warned the reformed SG1 not to take any chances, it was strictly to be a no contact mission.

29/05/2024 – 11.22

Over the five-day layoff SG2 had kept abreast of what the IS team guarding the upper lobby had reported. There had been no attempt by the infected to breach the security doors from the upper lobby to the main distribution area, in fact the team had reported that the numbers of infected had dwindled to around half a dozen as nothing had been done to attract their attention. The handful remaining appeared to be in an almost torpid, stasis condition.

Watching through the armoured glass of the doors viewing panels SG2 hatched a plan although much to Rex’s annoyance his suggestion of using the lift shaft to contain the dead was ignored as Jayne pointed out that that meant losing control of the upper lobby plus maybe opening the flood gates to unseen masses.

29/05/2024 – 15.09

Mid-afternoon they reconvened in the upper lobby. Rex, Jayne & Xuraa had paid a visit to the SGC armoury. Rex was armed with the SGC’s solitary Militech LAP laser pistol complete with Tacticon red-dot laser sight, Jayne meantime had grabbed the Militech 90G gauss rifle that had been sent to SGC as part of a push to trial the next stage in combat rifle technology (lightweight, silent, recoilless, 99% synthetic, almost no moving parts, a projectile accelerator using EM coils configured as a linear motor that accelerate a ferromagnetic or conducting projectile to high velocity) Xuraa on the other hand, having no skill with combat rifles (she could use a MAC 14 but it was a noisy beast) picked up one of the charged energy staffs, her experience with these was almost as limited but importantly, like the weapons being carried by Jayne & Rex, it was silent. In preparation, Jayne had spent a couple of hours trialling the rifle in the make-shift SGC firing range, it was assumed form his grin he liked it a lot. On the upside whilst there was only one 90G in the armoury, there was over 22,000 gauss slugs to play with.

In addition to a couple of IS opo’s who’d been drafted into provide back up if required as well as open, shut & bar the doors, Didimos Chane had been temporarily been redrafted back to SG2 to man the drone.  The drone had now been ‘enhanced’ with a traditional wind up analogue alarm clock, it had been gaffer-taped to the top of the drone & its alarm triggered to ring once the drone was in flight.

The main chamber, once a vast natural cave, incorporated into the main north access tunnel following construction of the Cheyenne complex, was roughly circular, some 350 yards across as its widest point. Before acting they sketched out the distribution areas contents on the floor to make sure everybody present new what was going on. Looking out of the upper lobby doors the entry point from outside was to the left. Just to side of the lobby doors was an admin portacabin, to the right were stacked numerous pallets & boxes. Almost opposite the lobby entrance were a pair of 20’ shipping containers & dotted about the cave were three vehicles, a rough terrain stacker truck, a HMMWV & a M35 2.5t cargo truck.

29/05/2024 – 15.28

Having oiled the security doors hinges as best could be done without opening them they went into action.

With two of the IS opo’s stood back to give additional firepower support if required the second pair, grimacing at the noise caused, slid back the heavy dead bolts & pushed the doors wide, unfortunately the doors scrapped noisily across the floor. As soon as the doors separated Didimos sent the drone towards the across & left to the opposite side of the cavern around fifteen feet above floor level as the clocks alarm rang like there was no tomorrow. Instantly the three infected below its flight path reacted, initially their reaction was low, as if waking from a long heavy sleep, within seconds however this transformed into a wild full tilt run arms stretching towards the skimming drone. The infected charge reminded SG2 that whilst there charge looked no quicker than an ordinary human, as had been seen when SGC was first invaded, it was without any concern for personal danger, obstruction or obstacle.

On the other side of the cavern, towards the tunnel leading into the Cheyenne complex proper, the other three infected more slowly to the sound of the drone & alarm but they too were soon in pursuit.

Leading the group who were to shoot, Jayne signalled to hold back until, at the least the left-hand group of infected were almost beneath the drone, then he fired closely followed by Xuraa & Rex. As they’d seen previously the it seemed to take an inordinate amount of damage, unless it was a head shot, to put the resurrected down, even when on the floor, bodies shot to pieces, until severe & heavy head trauma was inflicted, only then did they die.

Whilst the initial gauss rifle barrage caused massive damage putting two targets on the floor & removing the head of a third, Rex & Xuraa’s were quite as successful. The energy staff in Xuraa’s inexpert hands lacked the accuracy required, Rex’s laser pistol to was beyond its practical range although his skill with a pistol aided by the laser sight did allow him to hit & immobile at least one target. As the second group of three infected reached the targeted group SG2 continued to rain fire down on them, as the last one hit the concrete, immobilised but not dead, one of the IS operatives screamed a warning & pointed.

From the southern tunnel pored a horde of infected, at a guess 50 or 60 if not more, as they spread into the chamber, for the most towards the alarm ringing drone, a small batch headed in the direction of SG2 attracted by movement or maybe the flash of the energy staff. Didimos, keen to assist, drifted the drone around the perimeter towards the main pack trying to catch the attention of as s many as he could, deftly he landed the drone on top of the left-hand ISO & killed the power however the alarm continued to sound, louder even as it used the steel shipping container as a reverberation box.

Quickly Jayne slapped in a replacement magazine, all 3 then poured gunfire towards the rapidly approaching pack., there was time for only a single volley before the infected would be upon them. As the doors were slammed shoot Jayne & Xuraa rattled of a last burst, Jayne’s shots lost in the stampeding throng. Rex however changed target & let of a blast from the staff at the nearer parked M35 truck desperately hoping to strike its buried fuel tank. Unfortunately, her aim, despite the shorter range, was still off, & hit only it’s rear wheel doing nothing more than disabling its future use.

As the infected hit the closed security doors the last bolt shot home.

All 7 of those in the upper lobby watched as bloody faces, bereft of all humanity, pressed up against the doors windows, all they could hope was that the doors would stand fast.