A lone Junker rushed into the forest that led to the biggest imulsion drilling facility of cog.
In its hold, held several men that held the key to ending the war. Anthony was doing maintenance to his lancer while humming country songs, Carlos and Baird is chatting about the next thing they will do after the mission is done.
Alexander stood guard at the canopy of the junker observing the darkness.
"This is strange..." Alexander muttered as he watched outside. The dead forest is akin emptiness.
"What's the matter Major?" Anthony asked.
"There is no kryll... There's always a kryll infestation regardless of location."
"So you saying that the Comms been compromised is true then?"
"Or something worse is hiding below..."
"Marcus you always the optimistic sort."
The junker sputter and began to slow down, just before it reached the entrance of the facility.
"Great, this piece of junk!" Dominic kicked the vehicle as it sputtered what's left of its power to reached at the entrance of the facility.
"What do you expect from a stranded?"
"Well... It got us this far, Let's go."
The group exited the vehicle. Baird Open the hatched and closed it.
"Damm, Spark plug been shot... Major, you sure after we done with the mission you will break radio silence?"
"Yes, Grubs been listening to us, for god knows how long... They know our general location, but not the timetable... So we best hurry."
A streak of lightning erupted and several glowing eyes glared at them in the darkness.
"What the heck are those?!" Anthony yelled out.
"Lambent, that would explain a lot." Alexander watched as they scurry away.
"Can you tell us more about them?"
"Do you want to be court martial? Knowing them would literally make sera lose hope."
Marcus walked towards Alexander. He grabbed Alexander collar and demanding him to explain.
"Tell me what it is."
Alexander glanc5 at Baird.
"Baird... Is the encryption secured?"
"Sure, with what I had, the connection is secured and you have the final say." Baird realize something was up.
"Then let us talk as we make our way inside."
As they made their way inside.
"What do you think about imulsion?" He gave a question.
"It's a miracle clean fuel right?" Anthony answered. Alexander scoffed
"Clean, it's joke, the higher ups knew about it. Heck ever since it was founded, it became more of a curse..."
"Scientist that was tasked to understand it, found that the Imulsion itself is killing the planet... And they found some fungus living within the imulsion itself.
And it would be a matter of time that it would affect us as well, turning into those freaks just a while ago."
"You kidding right?"
"We are still in the early stages and there is no noticable effects, and it is the fact that why the locust one of the reasons is pushing towards the surface. The imulsion is like a plague to them as well infecting them like zombies.
Being doused by extreme dosages of imulsion and being near it would give you rust lung. The first step of infection before you become one of them."
"I don't believe you, I read many of those that died of rustlung would be dead?"
"It would be a matter of time till the Imulsion itself figured out how we all tick and then they can resurrect the dead to be their soldiers."
"What's the other reason locust want to be here?"
"Wiping out humanity, it is in their purpose and degree that they would be the rulers of Sera."
"Wait, let me say this, we been using this stuff that's been killing us slowly? And the way that you say that knowing the lambent would mean court martial?"
"Yeah, and a hammer of dawn on our heads as well, if we say it out openly. And what do you think would happen if all of sera that their enitre industry is linked to Imulsion, learned from our mouths that it is what made the locust rushed to the surface?"
Baird realized it.
"They will silence us. Too many interest is connected to it, So you saying that we been already fighting a three way war from the start?"
"For once, you are correct. But I am able to explain to you the truth thanks to your encryption, nothing must get out, not even letter to you families, and friends unless you wished them to die with you. So now you all knew the truth... Just keep it to yourselves. One of the reasons I got sacked and reduced my ranking to Major is because I wanted to reach out for the Supposed imperial church to assist our plights... They have technology that doesn't use the Imulsion..."
Their eyes raised as he mentioned his connection to the growing church.
"You knew about them?"
"Hell, I am their connection to this place, and the reason why the Council of Cog just demoted me instead of court martial me and ended up with Marcus bunk buddies, is the fact that I have more knowledge of this church inner workings. So in theory, Sarge Marcus over here have the heresay, I just a glorified scarecrow. To ward off our unorthodox methods" Alexander spoke, it was true and it was not.
"Or are you sure you not giving Marcus have time to spent with Anya?"
"That is up to your interpretation, Carlos."
As they walked into the facility it was raining and lightning came occasionally
As they arrive at two location, each leading to the entrance to the mines below...
One lead to the elevator and one went through the sewage system, Alexander can't help to stifle his laugh.
"Alright, Me, Marcus, Dominic and Anthony to the left side, Carlos, Baird, Cole take the right side." Alexander gave his orders.
"Why am I getting a feeling that you about to screw me over?" Baird spoke his honest thoughts.
"That's just in your mind, Baird. That's just in your mind, just be careful of the lambent and don't get too close, they make a worse explosion when they die, bone shrapnel and all that." Alexander laughed as he walked to the other entrance.
As they reached to the elevator, they found it unpowered.
"Marcus, Dom, Search for the Emergency Generators, even a giant facility such as this must have backup. We need to keep in pairs...and be quick. The natives are getting restless." Alexander glanced at the horde of lambent wretches flooding towards them.
"Anthony, Take cover and provide cover fire! Don't let them get close!" Alexander yelled through the barrage of bullets that is lobbed at the unending hordes of corrupted locust.
"Roger that Major!" The you g recruit now learn his lesson and aimed at the horde of lambent behind cover.
The Elevator began to power up, Marcus and Dom, rushed in and assist the battle.
"Fighting retreat! I take the rear guard! Dom, Marcus take the front! Don't let this grubs near us!"
The sounds of gunfire have attracted more lambent that even the ceiling is not safe.
Alexander tossed a promethium grenade and a blaze of fire became a barrier between the horde of lambent... They screeched and snarled as they fear the fire.
The rain fell on the blazing inferno and Alexander watched over them.. he muttered as he left.
"This world belongs to the Imperium... Not you foul infestation... I will not let you get them..." His golden eyes glimmer in the darkness. Before turning to normal.
Alexander arrived at the elevator and they saw what he did.
"That is not standard issue cog grenade, is that from the church?"
"Yes, Anthony... Make a impossible fire to get through. And possibly cutting off that escape route. So we have to find another route to escape."
"What do you mean, Baird?"
"What do you mean? Can't a trooper knows how to tolerate a little smell?"
"How about this, the faster you get out of that sewage, the better you get less infection. And I just ask the church for a universal vaccine if you whine some more Baird, I think Cole can handle this. That smell is literally masking your scent. And here we are fighting for our lives to enter that facility."
"Alright, Wizard Baird, just kindly give us your location before you cursed me by sacrificing your hair.."
"Why picked on Baird?"
"Anthony, Being intelligent and being smart are two different things... When Marcus is promoted to Sarge is because he is more street smart than some intellectual that knows what's on the books, I needed to keep Baird ego in check. Besides, notice he is getting used to it?"
"Ah... That's so?"
As the group ventured in the depths of the facility and Jack couldn't sliced the door due to it being thick, they found the other door to the mines is collapse. They heard noises in the guard room.
As they entered the room and they find signs of human activity... Bowl of instant noodles, and in a corner is a pile of black bags that have flies swarmed over it. And several clothes were left hanging.
"Hellooo, anyone there?" Anthony spoke.
"Are you guys the rescue team?" A man walked out and approaches them.
He was skinny and held a shotgun.
"Sorry, we need your assistance to the depth of the mines, what happened here?"
"I don't remember what the date happened... But it started several months ago... I just a security guard, and I was tasked of leaving, but these Damm creatures began to flood out of the mines and the miners who unable to get out was killed. I wanted to join the rest but they were hunted down by the sheer amounts of these monsters... Stayed here and tried to survive... Why on hell you are trying to enter the mines?!"
"To end the war. Will you help us?"
The man shrugged and agreed.
"Might as well be a hero than die in this place... Let me open that door, I locked it to prevent them from flooding in this floor... Guess that didn't work out so well " the man went to the panel and opened it.
The door creaked and revealed the dust that came flowing out.
"Alright, we got a stranded that allows us access in this part of the facility, hang in there."
"Bear with it Baird."
As they walked in the depth, the man grabbed a gas mask for himself and beckon them to follow him.
They arrived a old refinery section... Possibly a place where they used old refining methods of purifying the imulsion.
None of them dared go close to the machines that is leaking imulsion due to unable to get maintenance. As they heard from Alexander and the fear that they become one of the Lambent.
As they arrived at a worn out floor, the Stranded wanted to move forward, Alexander grabbed him, just seconds before the floor below the stranded collapse and lead to his doom.
Many glowing eyes stared from below. Waiting to feast on the man.
"T-thanks..." The man paled.
"God-damned they failed the Osha violations more times they could count ... Seemed this boards are creaky and we must check if it able to support our weight. We got at least a few seconds before the flooring collapse. I go first, if I fall, I definitely got a score to settle at the bastards below us."
Alexander pointed at the growling below the rotten floorboards.
They treaded the path carefully and some of the floor groaned and creaked, some collapse just a mere foot.
Alexander stepped on a rotten board and he fell down. Marcus wanted to help.
"Don't wait for me, I just find my way up! Head to the mines!" Alexander laughed as he held a flamer, and began to scorch the floor below, the lambent hoping to get a free meal, exploded in flames and every hole they tried to swarmed in is filled with flames.
"Burn, Burn!" Alexander laughed as he done with scorching the floor below.
Anthony spoke...
"My brother Benjamin would loved to worked with him..."
He found the emergency ladder and rushed out to the second floor.
Leaving a flame of death below them.
Marcus and the team that he followed already met Baird and the rest.
Alexander could smell the stench from Baird..
"Not, one word."
"Rest in peace, Baird Follicles, your service to cog have been appreciated..."
"Ooh, we playing mine carts... "
The man they found stepped back.
"Sorry, this is far I could go now. Someone got to man the cart system."
Alexander looked at his eyes and nodded.
"Alright, I think there is a squad from the Church is coming to pick you up, just wait and stay put that place, okay?" Alexander spoke as he handed the man a radio to convey his directions, as he relay a imperial guard squad to fetch him.
If the man he saved was a asshole like in the game, he would just leave the man to his fate to be devoured by the wretches. But he didn't, so that is his sense of gratitude.
As the man manually control the mine rails
"Okay... We are heading to the furnace!" Marcus yelled
"Change the rail!"
"Woo! This is like a amusement park!"
"Locust!"
A horde of locust began to popped out and immediately opened fire upon them.
As each of them took their respective carts, the locust attacked and began flooding into the mines...
The locust boomer was in one of the platforms wearing a hat... And Anthony sniped the Boomer and it fell down.
"Its that the train conductor or something?"
"And we didn't have tickets to snip, Locust have a weird sense of humor."
As they arrived in the elevator that led to the depths that held the imulsion rigs, they met the other teams arrived more earlier.
"About time you showed up! Help us out!"
The group joined the fight, using the heavy machinery as cover as they picked off the targets one by one.
As they reached their expected platforms, Alexander gave a order.
"Communication will be iffy, It's a race, those that managed to reached the destination first will inform the rest to that location, Cole, is the Sonic resonator ready?"
"Clean, mean and ready to be executed." Cole patted a machine on his shoulders.
"Operation Get your arse to designation, now commencing!"
The aged platform came to life as they entered the depths below, the creaking of gears of the elevator was the sound they hear...
As the lift arrived at their destination, the distant roars of the locust was heard.
Delta squad moved into the darkness as quietly as possible due to the fact that they were inside the stronghold of the locust, none wanted to be swarmed by the locust in their home.
In a clearing that lead halfway across the drill platform
A monster fell from the ceiling and snarled.
"Baird, This is Major, We got a Corpser, We will be late for the party!"
"Die you freak!" Anthony opened fire as he side fire towards a pile of rocks. Causing the Corpser to protect itself.
Alexander saw the ocean of imulsion around them and got a idea.
"Dom! Marcus! Make that crab distracted and push that thing to the bridge!" Alexander yelled as he pointed to the rusted bridge that lead directly to the sea of imulsion.
"Didn't you say that it is going to be lambent!?" Dom yelled.
"Not if I blow its brains out. It can't control a headless freak!" Alexander patted his Lascannon.
They slowly forced the Corpser to the edge of the imulsion field bridge and a laser blasted at the chains that held the bridge the Corpser was on and it was screeching towards its doom and it tried to escape it. The group watched as it screamed out.
"Move aside, Extermination coming through."
Alexander pushed them aside and open fired upon it and blasted its skull open and the corpse sank to the bottom of the glowing yellow sea.
The group noticed a trio just overseeing a cliff and waved at them.
"Just hurry up! Or else the stank be your operandi!"
As they headed deeper, they found themselves in a labyrinth of stone archways and natural bridges of granite..
"Shiiiit I hate... Labyrinths." Alexander groaned.
"Let's go in a group, we will be picked off if we separated."
As they traverse to the depths they found the drill platforms and there was a whisper.
"Hostiles....."
"Must have been the wind?" Anthony spoke as if to calm down..
"Anthony... A wind would have just said that is not a good thing to hear. Or someone ass is that loud enough for us to hear it, doesn't like us."
"Huuumannns"
Several locust began appearing...
Most of them is heavily clad in armor and some form of cybernetics installed.
Marcus shot first at the nearest grub and the bullet bounce off the skull and revealed a metal plates embedded below it. They aimed at them with some form of crossbow and as they took cover in the limestone barriers, the crossbow exploded.
"Shit... The grubs gotten a upgrade."
"Theron royal guards... So they upgraded this place to importance... Lancers and cog issue chainsaws don't work out so well. Marcus... Grab this!" Alexander tossed his Chainsword at Marcus.
"That thing is enough to shred their metal skeletons! Use their crossbows against them. I provide cover fire and distract them!"
Marcus examine the blade and press the trigger, it hummed to life as wanting to guzzle more grubs.
Alexander stepped out of the cover and opened fire at the nearest group.
"Eat this freaks!" He yelled as he pressed the trigger and the hot beam of light envelope the group and boiled their insides and turned their bodies to ashes.
They turned towards him as he was deemed a threat and their bodies could handle the lancer fire that is pelted upon them.
In their arrogance, they neglected Marcus that held a Chainblade that managed to get close to them, he immediately went to work and slash the nearest Theron guard.
The Chainsword roared to life as it bit into the flesh of the Theron guard, rending metal and flesh alike, and making the Locust scream in pain as he was sawed into two pieces. And his blood splattered across Marcus face.
The locust that was so distracted with Alexander rampage realize too late as Marcus and the rest managed to use their weapons and fired their explosive bolts, blowing their brains out.
"God damm a another report when I get back...Locust having Metal skeletons... I hate paperwork..." Alexander groaned.
"Cole, Carlos, Baird! How's your end!"
"Alright, I breaking radio silence to command and we better find a way out of here, unless we want all to be deaf!"
"Alright Boys! Time to get ourselves to the surface!" Alexander yelled.
As they made their way out, scores of locust stood in their way. Delta team fought their way out and reached the surface.
They hit the ground as a wave of Sonic blast erupted below and let out a screeching noises in their ears. Letting clouds of dust wash over them.
After they done, they watched the rising sun looming beyond the horizon. Alexander gestured Marcus to answer the call.
"Dayum... Wonder what we would be doing now?"
"I could use a shower... I stink like hell."
"Nah, I could use a hot warm food..."
"Paperwork, paperwork... Fucking red tapes.. wrestling match with a bureaucrats..." Alexander muttered.
"You alright Major?"
"Oh... Just fine Anthony... Wanna write a letter to your brothers?"
"Oh yeah... I forget about that...this is one heck of a mission."
A radio came in bearing bad news.
"Fuck, so what we been doing is meaningless?!"
"Not all of it..." Baird show a map from the geobot that he requested from Alexander.
Hundreds of miles and miles below sera.
Baird handed it to jack and it downloaded the data.
"Sending it now"
"Good lord... Just how deep is it?!"
"Wait... This map... Its made by your father in east barricade...."
The two helicopters arriving in the distance.
Alexander turned and looked at the facility behind him.
"This is bad... Locust shouldn't be that advanced..." He hopped on one of the Ravens and left for East Barricade.
The war have turned more darker for humanity..
With a outsider help, Alexander wasn't sure if following the heroes is the right call.
Below the surface, where the battle once stood, a giant locust heard the communication from the helmet he stolen. And smiled as he crunched it to pieces. He ventured in the depths as he grunted orders to the locust that accompanied him.
"The king and queen wills it. May darkness consumed them..."