Where Vultures Dare by Scott Warren

Author:Scott Warren
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction
ISBN: 9781733811910
Publisher: Parvus Press LLC
Published: 2020-06-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Gravity Farm

SLICK ROCK, WET WITH dripping condensate, offered Aesop an unfavorable grip as he slid beneath a low overhang to scope out a possible tunnel. Somewhere in these endless caverns was a way to reach the major. He grunted with effort, cursing the powerful gravity generators that put his weight near Earth norm, even if they were the primary force holding the atmosphere in place. With so many cracks and fissures, there would be no way to pressurize the Alpha lab with traditional airlocks.

“Flashlight,” said Aesop. He felt a flat puck press into his hand, and he brought it above his head.

“See anything?” Vega asked, crouched down next to the crevasse.

The puck illuminated nothing but volcanic rock. Aesop cursed and wormed his way back out. “Nothing,” he said, putting his helmet back on. On the digitized map, he crossed off another on a dwindling list of potential accesses to the mineral sampling lab. “No access here. Let’s check the next one.”

Vega handed Aesop his EVA combat harness and rifle, and Aesop shrugged back into it. The armored modules were too bulky for tunnel diving, so Aesop had stripped down above the waist to the self-healing O-suit that made up the base layer of the marine armored vacuum ensemble.

“I don’t get it, Vega,” said Aesop. “These two sections are no more than twenty meters apart, and they never bothered to connect them?”

On the digitized map, this level of the Alpha lab brushed up against a tunnel leading to the mineral sampling lab the major was currently working his way towards. There were a few such sections, but none of them seemed to get closer than fifteen meters, like there was a wall in between. Well, strictly speaking, there was a wall in between. He could have sworn the construction areas were closer, maybe even close enough to blast through. But it must have been a scaling issue.

The pair set off down the tunnel again.

Vega tilted his head down the tunnel back towards the Alpha lab. “Eggheads, eh? We’re three hundred meters from the main shaft; this was just future expansion crap. It’s a maze down here.”

“I thought it was where they kept the human-xeno hybrids,” said Aesop, slapping Vega on the shoulder. That at least got a chuckle from the Brazilian.

“We haven’t kicked in every door, Cohen. There might still be some. I saw this flick last month where the xenos looked like Jane Connado, but blue and naked. If only, right?”

Aesop shined his light up towards a crack near the roof of the cave. “I don’t watch a lot of movies. Think you can fit up there?”

“You’re chapado, Cohen. Ain’t no way.”

Aesop huffed.

Vega was built like a tanker truck. He’d have made an excuse for any crack he didn’t want to crawl into, but Aesop legitimately had to agree—there was no way his bulk would squeeze through.

Vega held out his hand, and Aesop once again passed over his rifle and upper gear. Even in Earth-standard gravity, Vega made quick work of boosting Aesop up to the crevice.

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