Space Odyssey: Spectre-Chapter 167: Bastion Outpost

"Are you sure we should go right in?" Tako asked as he piloted the hovercraft along the water, toward the outpost they were traveling to.

The night had gone without too much of an issue. A few different creatures came on shore and pulled the giant long necked creature into the water. Then they started pulling it apart, it was a gruesome scene when the sky changed to light again. The waters and that side of the island was covered in dark green blood.

"Positive. None of us saw them receiving any back up and there were only three on this hovercraft when there could have been six. Hoodwink’s outpost is severely lacking in manpower. I am honestly wondering why we have not received a larger amount of resistance. Either way we will know in a few hours." Jace told them as they passed the other crashed chopper.

Jace and Parrot watched the horizons and the sky as Tako pulled them up to the outpost. The closer they got the more detail they were able to make out. The outpost was a concrete structure. They could see the outside wall.

But as they approached they realized the inside structure was open and there was an opening in the wall. But the metal gate was lifted up so they easily moved inside. The inside had a bunch of platforms at water level and a spot that was clearly situated for the hovercraft to park.

Jace was the first one out of the hovercraft. He was jumping out onto the platform and then up the concrete stairs to the second floor. He was swinging around his Dragon’s Breath machine gun.

Just as he thought it was empty but the environment was an open design with weapon storage and what he could only assume were sleeping racks. The only area that was remotely confusing was a cold storage area. There were plastic tubes going from a liquid storage tank to empty slots.

"Clear over here." Jace called over the radio channel.

"I am clear on the lower area, it seems like a dungeon to imprison people and a weapon storage area. We have a bunch of broken gear down here." Tako called from the lower area. There was an entrance down there where the hovercraft would typically be parked.

"I am clear as well. I have the communications center and a bunch of other tech. I also have a... thing." Parrot informed them, she sounded unsure. Almost as if she was not believing what she was seeing.

Jace walked around a wooden bridge that ran through the center of the facility to arrive at Parrot’s area. Tako arrived at the same time as him.

"That is definitely a thing, what the hell is that?" Tako asked while Jace chuckled.

The thing in question was a multi legged biomechanical creature. Its head was made of a glass bowl full of liquid with a brain inside. Going from the brain down the stem and into its metal body. The body was almost like a metal cylinder drum that was attached to the ground. It has several wire-like limbs moving around constantly on consoles, buttons, and switches that were surrounding it.

It was like the thing was specifically fashioned to its job. But as Jace walked over to one of the consoles and screens he tapped a few buttons and chuckled in amusement.

"So that is what is going on." Jace continued to chuckle. "Parrot check the roof. I want to know how many landing pads there are. Tako the sleeping and what I think are feeding tubes are on the other side. Once you are done checking it out you can deal with this." Jace waved at the wire limbed creature.

"What is that thing?" Tako asked over the channel as they moved away.

"It is a biomechanical creature that specializes in tech. The mind was probably of a person with a high level of intelligence. It is a stationery unit that will probably follow a strict line of programming. Think of it as an enslaved artificial intelligence." Jace thought for a moment before frowning, "Is it weird that I am somehow used to Hoodwink’s abominations?"

"Yeah that is weird." Parrot answered immediately.

"We have become numb to it." Tako informed him. "I am on my way back, there was not much to see. The liquid is just a nutrient compound that is neutral."

"So liquid rations." Parrot pointed out, simplifying Tako’s explanation of the ’food’. "I have three landing pads up here. Does this mean there is a third chopper?" Parrot asked.

"Oh yeah," Jace answered as he began pulling out wires and pieces of equipment. He began making the high frequency equipment while laughing. The whip biomechanical creature kept flinching each time he pulled out a few wires. "That is because when the jamming signal first went up the protocol was to send a chopper to a central facility."

"Did they not put up the jamming signal?" Tako asked as he walked back in the room.

"No, we put it up. Originally it was only supposed to jam signals leaving the planet. But we were limited on the amount of research we could do ahead of time. So we failed to realize that the gas layer would amplify the signal to such a degree." Jace explained to them, the situation was making a lot more sense. "It also explains the rather relaxed response."

"What do you mean?" Tako asked as he started inspecting the creature.

"Well there’s a chance the jamming signal went up before they even realized that they were being invaded. Meaning the earliest mention would be when the choppers report at the central compound." Jace informed them, "there is only one reason why we would not have seen the Anvil land somewhere in the distance."

"The Jamming signal is too strong." Parrot answered as she walked in.

"Correct." Jace confirmed. "So now I am done." Jace clicked a button and there was a buzzing on their radio for a second before a lot of voices joined in. "Hey we have a connection!"

He listened for a moment as he could hear Spectre Dahlia issuing orders. She was having people establish strongholds. Apparently they took the spaceport and were able to establish control over the air above it. But they were struggling with an underground high speed train.

"Spectre Dahlia, this is Spectre Jace. Are you receiving me?" Jace asked over the high frequency jamming. The communication channel went quiet almost immediately.

"Jace? When did you arrive? I thought you were still separated from us." Spectre Dahlia pointed out.

"Oh, I still am. But I am using an unsecured open line that is probably being listened to by Hoodwink’s people. So keep the channel clear for the time being. I am safe with Parrot and Tako, we will find a way to you. But for now I need Hielo, are you there?" Jace asked.

"Affirmative sir." Hielo responded over the channel. "Do you know what is going on? We were unable to figure it out."

"Yeah I did. I am going to tell you what you need. Then I want you to figure it out from there." Jace informed her as he took stock of the equipment he had set up. Tako was busy disconnecting the parts of the whip biomechanical creature. "You will need a standard communication kit from STDP dash 03. Then you will need a large amount of power. Finally you will need the special kit. With those things you should be able to make the device needed to complete the primary objective. Any other questions?"

"No, I am good." Taylor answered.

"I have one, what are you three going to do?" Spectre Dahlia asked. "You three are the only ones that were separated from the rest of us."

"We will skip to the next stage. By the way, I just wanted to let you know that the jamming is our fault. So Hoodwink and his people were affected." Jace then disconnected the device and the channel dropped.

BANG!

"What now?" Tako asked after he fired his gun and destroyed the brain of the creature putting it out of its misery.

"Parrot, go to the roof and watch for company. I expect they will arrive eventually. Tako take a look around to see if you can find anything useful. I am going to probe the information banks on the outpost systems to see if I can find any useful information. At the very least there should be a map." Jace ordered as he turned his attention to the panels and screens.

He began breaking through the locked systems and storage drives. Most of which were protocols and stored orders. It was in those files that he found a few maps and programmed routes.

"I am just about done here." Jace told them as he stored the data on his armor’s local storage.

"Good because we have incoming. Five more choppers and another aircraft that looks like a ground to space transport." Parrot informed them.

Jace whistled before he responded. "That is a lot more than I thought it would be."

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦