Terminus Gate (Survival Wars Book 5) by Anthony James

Author:Anthony James [James, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-02-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

“This one is a lift,” said Braler.

The Ghast stood adjacent to a doorway that looked like all the others – two metres wide and three tall.

“Open it,” said Duggan.

Braler made a different gesture to the one required to open the other doors. “This is something we have in common with our former brothers,” he said. “Our doors open in the same way.”

The words concealed a thousand feelings and centuries of unspoken history. Duggan didn’t respond and waited for the lift door to open. The others of his squad were positioned around the room, several with their rifles aimed at the descending lift. It took a few moments to arrive and as he stood, shifting his weight impatiently from foot to foot, Duggan caught sight of one of the display screens mounted into a wall next to him. He had to do a double-take when he realised some of the words were familiar. Then it came to him – the Dreamers and Ghasts shared a language. There may have been several hundred years of divergence, but the language modules in his suit computer knew enough of the Ghast script to be able to offer him a rough interpretation. Haxun-TN to Control Room B, he read. It’s the same shit in a different language.

The thought was comforting – the realisation that the enemy had motives he could understand. He might not know why they were so hostile to other races, but the fact they were trying to exterminate humanity was something he could look at and respond to appropriately.

Had the lift pinged when it arrived, Duggan would have struggled to cope with the peculiarity of it all. However, the lift made no sound and the door opened. It was empty inside and there was room for only one of the two squads within.

“Squad One and Lieutenant Chainer get in,” he said.

There was a panel on the right-hand wall of the lift. “Where to?” asked Rastol.

“Top floor.”

The Ghast poked a finger at the top area of the panel. The door closed and there was the sensation of movement. The feeling of being within the enemy lift intensified the strangeness of the situation. Duggan had fought for years, but it was usually on inhospitable terrain. Occasionally he’d fought the Ghasts in mining outposts or research stations. On the Frades-2 base, he felt like he was involved in the first truly urban combat since he’d joined the Corps. The enemy weren’t civilians, but they weren’t exactly combat-ready.

“This is crazy,” said Rasmussen, leaning against his plasma launcher.

“There’s still zero atmosphere,” said Camacho. “I thought they’d have got the top floors locked down.”

“Be grateful they haven’t,” Duggan replied.

“Some of that Bulwark fire must have punctured the walls.”

“Sucks for whoever wasn’t in a suit.”

“It doesn’t suck for us, Cabrera. That’s the only thing I care about,” said Byers without emotion.

The lift stopped moving. “Ready?” asked Rastol.

“Open it,” said Duggan, crouching with the others.

The Ghast pressed the panel and the door opened. The space beyond was in darkness, with no sound or movement.

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