Chapter One:
Grim tensed his muscles, blinked sweat from his eyes, and pushed aside the pain that tore at his arms. Gritting his teeth and tightening his grip on the bar he exhaled and pushed upwards once more with all his might, groaning with the effort as he lifted the heavy weights for a final time and brought them to a rest on the stand above his head. With a sigh of relief, he collapsed back onto the bench and lay there for several moments to catch his breath and wait for the aches in his muscles to subside. Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes and relished the feeling of another gruelling work out successfully completed.
A harmonic beeping sounded as his commlink demanded his attention. With a groan he rolled up into a sitting position and picked up the bleating device. He looked at the data screen and grunted in irritation, the summons always came at the most inconvenient of times.
He clicked off the commlink and sighed, deciding he had time for a quick shower before he reported for duty in the allocated briefing room indicated in the message. Running his hands through his crew cut Grim stood and plodded into the bathroom for a well-earned shower.
Removing his shorts, he stepped into the shower and activated it, gasping in surprise as his body was shocked by the sudden assault of cold water that rained upon him and cascaded down his naked body. It had been a month since Revenant Squadron's last mission, their deployment to the Acacia Avenue Apartments to apprehend the notorious computer hacker Cyrus Green. The mission hadn't gone quite as planned with the squad being ambushed by over thirty bogeys. But still, they had come out victorious in the end, and although half the squad had spent a good amount of time in the infirmary, they hadn't suffered any fatalities. They had spent the past four weeks recovering from the mission, training, running drill exercises, and for Grim and his Sergeants, hosting classes on various topics at the academy. Despite his initial objections to the undertaking Grim had come to quite enjoy teaching classes on combat tactics and the theoretical side of warfare, in connection with more practical training exercises.
Grim was the last to enter the briefing room. The rest of his team sat at the table before Colonel West, a stern-faced black officer who had the same displeased expression permanently frozen on his face. Grim noted that the buzzcuts the five other members of Revenant Squadron wore made them all look alike at first glance, like brothers. "Brothers in arms," he thought to himself.
The other members of the team greeted him as he entered, his hair still wet from the shower he had taken before answering the summons. He replied with a lacklustre hello and nodded to them all in acknowledgement before taking the seat nearest the Colonel.
"Thank you for joining us Lieutenant," West said with zero enthusiasm. "I'm glad you could find time out of your busy schedule to attend an official military summons in a prompt fashion," he said, dryly. His cold, dark eyes fixated on the commander of Revenant Squadron.
Grim didn't take the bait and nodded in response.
Colonel West turned from him and addressed the entire team, getting straight to business. "Just over a week ago, on a mission to apprehend a wanted fugitive, a commando in our armed forces stole some valuable and classified information and deserted, taking with him some highly classified and dangerous data and a cache of weapons in a stolen gunship," West said as images appeared on the large screen behind him to emphasise his point. "The deserter was pursued and his ship badly damaged in the chase. Unfortunately for us the chase had descended into the lower city and the gunship went down somewhere in the recesses of Downtown. Due to the complicated nature of the terrain and its depth from the surface it has been difficult to pinpoint the crash site and track the deserter," West explained. "But several days ago we finally got confirmation of the location of the crash site and his last known position," the Colonel said, a map appearing on the screen behind him as several flashing lights indicated the crash site and his position. "Due to the delicate nature of the information and the significance it holds command wants Revenant Squadron to requisition it and apprehend the deserter," he said, sweeping his gaze over the six commandos seated in front of him. "You're to bring him in alive. I have specific orders from headquarters that he is to be captured and brought in for questioning, failure to do so or seize the data will have dire consequences for Revenant Squadron," West said, looking them all in the eye one by one.
"Um, excuse me, sir," Jet asked, raising a hand.
West glared at him. "What is it Corporal?"
Jet shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "The date on the deserter's last known position sir. It's from three days ago," he said, gesturing to the board behind the Colonel.
West nodded. "It is. Unfortunately, we were unable to track him any further as he had removed his armour's tracking system," he explained.
"A target could move a long way over the course of three days, even while trapped Downtown," Dex pointed out. "He could be anywhere in a hundred-kilometre radius. That's if he even stayed down there and didn't move up into the lower city, in that case, the search area could be huge," Dex continued.
Colonel West nodded in agreement. "Revenant Squadron was specially chosen for this mission due to the complex nature of the parameters and the logistics involved," he said. "Plus," he continued, turning his gaze to the lieutenant. "The deserter is someone you're well acquainted with, and General Vulcan thought it would be appropriate to allocate Revenant Squadron this mission as a result. Considering your….rivalry of sorts, it should provide some extra motivation."
"Who?" Grim thought aloud, before the realisation hit home.
West noticed his expression and nodded curtly. "Yes," he said simply, before turning to the screen and pressing a button on the remote he held. The image changed to that of a grizzled, battle scarred warrior roughly Grim's age. "Gentlemen; meet Major Jax Caskar. Four purple hearts, three silver stars, two medals of honour, and one Federation Commendation of Valour," West said.
Jet whistled in appreciation. "Damn, that's impress…." he began before a glare from his superior officer shut him up.
As soon as he realised who their target was Grim clenched his fists and grit his teeth, burying the rage building inside him before it boiled over. He and Caskar had history together, to say the least.
"Caskar's a certified war hero, why is he suddenly stealing government documents and deserting from the military?" Cram asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Doesn't make much sense, does it?" Wes chimed in.
The Colonel's expression became even more displeased, if such a thing were possible. "How or why isn't important. What does matter is Major Caskar is a traitor and has turned his back on the Federation, and made off with highly classified documents," West said. "Your job is to track him down, recover the data and bring him in alive for interrogation."
"You said Caskar deserted after obtaining the documents on a previous mission, what were the mission parameters?" Dex asked. "Perhaps if we knew more about it and what he intended to do with the information we could get a more accurate idea on what he's planning and where he's headed."
"That's classified," West said flatly.
Dex rolled his eyes; but said nothing further.
The Colonel ignored him and continued with his briefing. "What we can tell you is he is alone, deep in unfamiliar territory, and without any assistance. What he intends to do with the information is unclear at this time, but we have reason to believe he plans on locating a Syndicate resistance cell and either selling or trading the information to them," West elaborated.
"Let me get this straight," Cram said, reclining in his seat with his hands folded behind his head as he chewed on something that was likely gum, or some other non-regulation condiment. "You want us to go into the depths of Downtown, which is an alien, hostile and unknown territory, to hunt down one of, if not the most dangerous men in the Federation, capture him alive, recover some data he's stolen and return it to you, just like that?" he asked.
"Yes," West replied. "No one said it would be easy," he added.
Grim snorted. "You make it sound like a routine job, it's practically a suicide mission. The chances of surviving let alone succeeding are virtually nil," the lieutenant said with a frown.
"Going into hostile territory without adequate reconnaissance, let alone none at all, has a long history of ending very badly," Cash commented.
"Which is why Revenant Squadron has been assigned the mission," West said, unmoved by the dissension shown by the commandos. "Aside from Nova squadron you're the best there is," he added, naming Caskar's squad he had commanded before deserting. When no one said anything further he continued with the mission briefing. "Caskar's tracer was found roughly sixty kilometres from the crash site, where he's gone since then is unknown, but he is no doubt trying to find a way out of Downtown and establish communications with the Syndicate rebels."
"Twenty kilometres per day, give or take a few," Grim piped up. "Which is a decent pace considering the environment, but he's either in no rush, or is wounded. Considering his ship was shot down and crash landed, I'm leaning towards the later."
West nodded. "We have reason to believe he's either moving to an arranged meeting point with the Syndicate or is attempting to establish one and bring them to him."
Grim rubbed at the stubble on his chin. "He will be wanting to get as far from the crash site as possible. Since he knows that's the first place we'll look for him," he mused out loud.
"So, he'll continue to move away from it," Jet finished.
Grim nodded curtly without shifting his gaze from the map displayed on the screen that filled the wall in front of them. "For the next day or two at least he will be wanting to stop somewhere to set up camp and organise himself, which means he won't be still on the move," he said. "Alternatively if he is still active he's got a three day head start, but baring a smooth journey we should be able to catch up to him in a couple of days, hopefully before he meets up with his contacts."
Colonel West nodded his agreement and took the hint, highlighting a section of the map that lit a search area 40 kms squared in a 180-degree grid from his last known position.
Grim studied the highlighted area for a few moments before smiling. "Looks like we've got our hunting ground."
Chapter Two:
The gunship wove through the maze of buildings, navigating its way through the valleys of steel as it moved through the lower city, gradually descending towards the limits of civilisation where the city ended and Downtown began. The commandos of Revenant Squadron sat in the passenger bay, strapped into their seats as they waited to reach their destination.
The gunship's intercom crackled to life as the pilot addressed his passengers. "Approaching landing site, ETA three minutes Lieutenant."
"Affirmative," Grim replied before turning his attention to his squad. "Alright boys, this is it!" he said. "I don't need to tell you we're on a dangerous mission here. The chance of success is woefully slim and its practically a suicide mission," Grim said. "We're headed into unknown and uncharted territory where anything and everything could be a potential threat. On top of that we are hunting a very dangerous foe who we have to bring in alive, despite everything."
He paused briefly to let his words sink in and consider what he said next. The tension around the mission had been evident ever since they had taken off from the base, and now it was so thick they felt as if they were almost swimming in it. Grim didn't blame them for being anxious and afraid, if they had any sense they would be.
"We've all heard the rumours about the mutants, freaks, abominations, creatures of the night and monsters that supposedly inhabit Downtown," he continued. "If the stories are legend, myth or true I know one thing for certain. If it's true, then they're real. If they're real then they're alive, and if they're alive they can bleed, and if they can bleed, they can die!" he roared.
A chorus of cheers and fists pounding against chest armour and bulkheads answered his declaration.
Grim picked up his helmet and placed it over his head, its systems coming online as it settled onto his shoulders. The rest of the squad did the same, the visors on their helmets lighting up with a crimson red glow as they came online, and the helmet's systems synced with their armour. In their polished black armour, the commandos resembled high tech versions of medieval knights, the glowing red strip visors making them look menacing. A feature that inspired fear in their foes and gave them a psychological edge.
The Lieutenant undid his crash webbing and stood, grabbing hold of an overhead handrail with one hand. "We can't do this by the book, because no one's ever done it before," he began. "So, we improvise and draft a new battle strategy that suits the environment. Standard urban warfare procedure, but also utilising covert operations of jungle battle tactics," he said. "We're entering the abyss and don't know what we'll encounter, so for all intents and purposes we play it safe, keep our guard up and constantly be on the look-out. I'm splitting us into two three-man teams for the operation, like the triple A assignment. Team Alpha will consist of myself, Jet and Cash, while Cram leads team Beta of Wes and Dex. Stay together as a unit unless instructed otherwise, should the situation require it, and always maintain visual and audio contact with the squad," Grim said. He tapped the side of his helmet and taking the hint they all switched over to the internal communications system. "Any questions?"
The rest of the team all turned their heads in Jet's direction and the rookie shrugged. "No sir," he replied.
"Closing in on our destination, sixty seconds until landing," the pilot announced over the comm. "Target beacon is in black zone, have to land at alternative position two kilometres away to ensure safe landing," the pilot added.
"Affirmative, standing by," Grim replied. He motioned his men forwards and they all moved into position, holding onto the overhead handrails as the gunship gave a whine and slowed before gradually making a vertical drop. The commandos all activated their weapons with a chorus of electronic beeps and whirls as the powerful blaster rifles powered up. They activated their helmet's night vision and prepared their armour's systems for combat, per their preferred settings.
The two gunners situated in the gunnery pods flanking either side of the gunship scanned the area for any potential threats as they descended, the pilot bringing her down neatly in the middle of a rectangular area that was the ruins of an ancient walkthrough mall.
The access ramp descended with a whirl as Jet and Dex led the team's exit from the gunship, flanking both sides of the ramp and taking up defensive positions in front of the ship as they fell into a crouch.
"All clear!" Dex declared after a few seconds.
The rest of the team followed suit, scanning the area for any potential threats as they exited the gunship, falling into formation within their two smaller designated teams as the two groups moved out.
"Falling back to Checkpoint Charlie, let us know when you need us Lieutenant," the pilot said to Grim over the comm.
"Copy that, beginning trek to the beacon. Good luck, and thanks for the ride," Grim replied.
"Same to you sir, happy hunting!"
The landing ramp ascended once more as the gunship lifted off vertically and made its way back to the lower city where the crew would check in at a local security HQ and wait for news from the Revenants.
The commandos moved out through the streets, each team taking an opposite side as they made their way towards the tracking device Caskar had ejected from his armour. Skirting the walls of ancient, crumbling buildings they strode through the area, constantly on the lookout for any would be ambushers, locals, or anything that might present a problem or a threat. The streets were eerily empty and silent, devoid of any signs of life.
"Jynx, this place is creepy," Wes commented. "It's shocking cold down here too."
Cram scoffed. "We're what, seven kilometres below the surface? Of course, it's cold, this place hasn't seen sunlight in centuries."
"Quiet!" Grim snarled. "Maintain comm silence unless necessary."
The two soldiers said nothing further as they continued to shuffle through the streets, rounding a corner and suddenly stumbling upon an inhabited area. Several dumpster fires and cooking pits lit the street with a warm, welcoming glow as they moved into the street and inched their way down it, exercising additional caution now they had encountered signs of habitation. Makeshift seats and debris surrounded the larger fires, their recent occupants having vanished.
"Weird, there's obvious signs there's people living here, but where did they go?" Jet wondered aloud.
Cash chuckled. "We came in on a gunship, the sight and sound of it caught their attention for sure," he said. "In this place it's like waving a massive flag and screaming "here we are, while setting off fireworks."
"Oh," Jet replied as he realised their arrival had been noticed for kilometres around.
"And they've all high tailed it and gone into hiding," Wes finished.
"Where?" Jet asked, before realising the folly of his question.
Cash chuckled, "Take a look for yourself kid. Switch over to infrared," he said, tapping a finger on the side of Jet's helmet.
Jet did as suggested, and the area immediately lit up with several dozen glowing red figures. "Oh; I see," he said, sweeping his gaze around the street.
They moved through the winding, narrow streets towards the tracking device, their night vision lighting the streets on their camera feeds with a clarity that allowed them to see everything within two hundred meters of their position as if it were daylight, albeit a curiously green tinted one. There was something foreboding and unsettling about the dark, empty streets kilometres below the hustle and bustle of civilisation where they could see the sun's rays and feel its warm caress upon their skin. Down here, in the poverty-stricken recesses of Downtown it was cold, dark and damp. The smell of a perpetual wetness and stale, stagnant air invaded their nostrils, even through the filters in their helmets.
"I've got a bad feeling about this place," Cram muttered, more to himself than anyone else, speaking aloud because it made him feel better to interact with his teammates.
"Civilisation left this place centuries ago and abandoned the destitute. Whatever fragments of society remain are going to be primitive at best," Dex said. "It's like they've reverted to pre-civilisation and become a tribal race once more."
Wes was about to comment when something flashed past at the edge of his vision. "What the fuck was that?" he said, whirling in the direction of the movement he had only the barest glimpse of.
"What was what?" Dex asked, turning to see the source of his squad mate's alarm.
"Over there," Wes said gesturing with his rifle off to their far left. Bits of brick, stone and cement littered the ground between the crumbling remains of two walls. "Something moved past us. I only just got a glimpse of it, but it looked like a large reptile of some sort, with six legs," he said incredulously.
Cram joined the two of them in studying the place where Wes said he had seen the creature, studying their surroundings with his infrared scanner, but seeing nothing.
An uneasy shiver raced up Wes's spine as he replayed what he had seen in his memory again and again. He hadn't got a good look at it, and what he saw was brief, but it was nightmarish to behold.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now," Cram said. "Keep a lookout just in case; we don't want any nasty surprises."
Wes and Dex voiced their acknowledgement and the three of them resumed their trek towards the tracker, Grim's squad waiting for them so the two groups didn't get separated.
They continued their journey and before too long arrived at their destination. The tracker was located on the second floor of a crumbling four story building, still emitting its signal, which had allowed the Revenants to pinpoint its precise location.
"Cram, your team is to remain outside and watch our backs; keep an eye out for any suspicious activity," Grim ordered, leading Jet and Cash into the building through its crumbling doorway.
"Copy that," Cram replied before turning to his subordinates. "Defensive positions, Dex take point and find a good vantage point somewhere," he said, addressing the team's sniper.
Dex nodded and began hunting for a location that provided him with cover; but allowed a good view of the street.
Meanwhile Wes and Cram took up defensive positions near the storefront Grim's team had entered.
Grim led the way into the building, moving through what used to be a combination grocer/convenience store on the first floor, but gave way to apartments on the subsequent levels. They made their way up a winding, narrow staircase and onto the second floor, inching down the hallway towards the location of the tracker. Entering the apartment through the shattered remains of the door they quickly located the device, laying on the floor of the main room which stood empty, with the exception of the odd piece of debris and tell-tale signs of recent habitation. The bones of devoured vermin and the remains of a small fire sat in the centre of the room. The tracking device and some pieces of scrap metal and circuitry laying nearby, in conjunction with some bloody rags and bandages.
Grim stood over the remains of Caskar's makeshift camp and took in what he saw.
"Looks like Mister hotshot ain't so hot after all," Cash commented, coming to stand beside him while Jet conducted recon of the rest of the apartment.
Grim nodded. "Well that adds some context to his situation," he said. "He's wounded and his armour is damaged, looks like he had a bit of a rough time locating and discarding the tracker."
"My question is, why go to all that effort to remove the tracker, then just leave it here?" Cash asked. "He could've smashed it and stopped it from transmitting, which would make it a lot harder for us to find him, but he didn't."
"Hhhmmm," Grim uttered. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense and that makes me uncomfortable. Knowing Caskar he's got something up his sleeve; and that means we've got to be ready for anything," Grim said.
They made their way out of the building and joined the rest of the squad to discuss their next move. "What could you find out about the surrounding area?" Grim asked Dex, who had been holed up in the window of a 6th floor building across the street and had gone to still higher ground to scope out their surroundings.
"Not a lot," Dex admitted. "Heading away from here without returning to the crash site there's only two possible routes he could've taken. I couldn't see too far ahead, even with my helmet's spotlight activated briefly and attempting a simulated recreation of the place I'm sketchy on the details. It appears a couple of larger buildings to our west collapsed some time ago and brought down a few smaller ones around them, hence that way is blocked off for quite some distance."
"We could split up and take both routes?" Jet suggested.
Grim shook his head. "We stick together. We can't go splitting up every time we come to a fork in the road. We'd soon be alone, then likely dead."
"How about we shake down some of the locals and see what they know?" Cram suggested. "Someone is bound to know something about Caskar and where he went."
"Good idea," Grim said, combing the area with his infrared scanner. The building two doors down was occupied by five inhabitants, currently sitting and remaining in place, apparently hiding from the commandos and hoping to go unnoticed. No such luck. "Okay, we do this by the book, treat them as non-combatants and with the same degree of decency we extend to normal civilians," Grim said. "My team will go in through the entrance and apprehend them, while Cram's team goes in through a back to prevent any escape and counter any potential ambush," the lieutenant ordered.
"Copy that. Let's roll boys!" Cram said leading his two commandos down a narrow alleyway between the two buildings. Grim and his team took up position across the street from the building, crouching behind anything that gave them cover as they waited for the signal that Cram's team was in position.
"Bingo!" Cram announced upon sighting the rear door to the building. "We're in position boss."
"Copy that," Grim said, motioning to Jet and Cash in turn. "Let's move out!"
The three commandos jogged across the street with Jet and Cash taking up defensive positions on either side of the entrance as Grim kicked the door in. The door fell inwards and broke apart on rusted hinges as Grim bounded into what had been a reception area. Jet and Cash drifted into the room close behind, flanking their commander on either side, rifles held at the ready.
A man in tattered rags cowered behind the reception booth with his hands in the air, while another got up and bolted from the room.
Cram threw his shoulder into the rotted remains of the timber door that marked the exit and it fell apart under the force of the blow. His team hustled into the building, just in time to catch the fleeing vagrant. "Freeze! On the ground!" Cram shouted over the external speakers, shoving the nozzle of his blaster into his face.
Wes and Dex moved to apprehend another who scrambled to his feet in a back room and attempted to flee as well, an elbow from Dex smacking him in the jaw and knocking him to the ground.
Jet kept the man behind the desk firmly in place by gesturing for him to stay put and keeping his blaster levelled at him.
Grim approached the one Cram held at bay with his blaster firmly pointed at his head. He lowered his own weapon and gestured for Cram to do the same.
Cram obliged but kept a close eye on the hobo; in case he decided to try anything or make a run for it.
"You, understand me?" Grim asked.
The man, who was filthy and looked to be in his 60's nodded. "I speak, yes," he said in a somewhat thick and drawling accent.
"Good," Grim replied. "We don't want to hurt you, we want information. Tell us what we need to know and we leave."
The man looked around uneasily at the commandos and then back at Grim with a nod, his eyes wide with fear and his face covered with a sheen of sweat.
"There was another one like us, here three days ago. Did you see him?" Grim asked.
The man looked at him fearfully and swallowed with a nod. "Yes, we all see. Always notice strangers, especially demons from world above," he said.
Grim scoffed. "Where did he go?" he demanded.
The old man looked around frantically as if searching for an escape.
"Hey!" Grim barked. "Look at me and answer the question!" he snarled.
"No know," the vagrant replied.
"Yes yes!" Grim snapped. "Tell me, where did he go?"
"Don't know," the hobo insisted. "He come one day, gone next. No see leave."
Grim grit his teeth behind his helmet, preparing to have to beat it out of him if he had to.
"He go bad way," piped up the vagrant Jet was guarding.
Grim turned to him. "Where?" he demanded.
The vagrant's eyes widened with horror as he trembled in fear, suddenly overtaken by a deep sense of terror that confused and unnerved the commandos. "No go," he insisted, his lip quivering.
Grim took a step towards him and pointed his blaster in the bum's direction without raising it.
The hobo's gaze flicked from the glowing red visor to the blaster rifle, taking the hint he nodded and swallowed hard. "Gorgotha!" he rasped, as if he was afraid to even utter the word. "He go through home of Gorgotha!"
"What's a Gorgotha?" Jet asked.
"Greek pastry?" Cash quipped.
"Gorgotha, big evil. Monster from abyss," the vagrant said. "None ever return. Me told him, he go anyway, faster route he say. No afraid of monsters."
"Neither are we," Grim replied flatly. "How do we get there?"
of it allegedly ends up in the water. It's apparently a sewage dump for a good hundred kilometres out, but after that its clean oceans and nothing but clear skies," Dex said with a faraway tone to his voice.
Wes chuckled. "Can you imagine that? Actually seeing the real ocean?"
"Seen it," Cash replied. "Apart from a vast, dark blue, wet thing, you're not missing much."
Wes shrugged and continued to stare into the distance, across the lifeless black water. "Still, would be nice to see it; just the once," he commented.
A splash just on the horizon caught his attention, followed by another, then another as they began moving towards the group of commandos on the wharf and increased in frequency. "What the fuck?" he uttered, not quite sure what to make of what he was seeing. "Hey fellas?"
"The hell is that?" Jet commented, his confusion matching Wes's.
The commandos stopped and turned their attention to the source of the disruption in the water before the splashes became a wave and a large, shape loomed just beneath the surface of the water, rapidly advancing upon them.
Shouts of alarm echoed over comm channel as something broke the surface of the water and reached up dozens of meters into the air.
"Take cover!" Grim shouted over the comm as a giant, withering tentacle came crashing down upon the dock, almost taking the lieutenant out as he dived aside of the flailing limb. More tentacles burst from the depths and lashed out at the soldiers, the air becoming thick with blaster bolts as they instinctively returned fire. Tentacles whipped and slashed through the air, attempting to grab hold of the commandos as they fired upon it and fled for safety.
The slimy appendage struck at Grim, lunging at his face as he dodged aside and fired a volley of automatic blaster fire at it. Most of them missed, but several connected, blowing chunks of meat from the appendage, making it recoil in pain, before it thrust itself at him once more. Grim threw himself backwards onto the ground and released another volley of blaster bolts at it that chewed through flesh and muscle, spattering his armour with its foul smelling black blood as the appendage spasmed and retreated.
Elsewhere Cash fired frantically at a slippery tentacle that whipped itself at him again and again. Jumping, dodging, ducking and weaving about, thus far he had managed to stop it from getting hold of him. The flailing limb was proving difficult to get a lock on as most of his shots missed it, blasting charred holes in the ancient cement of the dock or flying off into the distance. Finally, he managed to hit it with a couple of lucky shots as it trembled and reared up like a snake ready to strike. Cash seized his opportunity and hit it with a barrage of blaster bolts, the super-heated energy blowing the tentacle to pieces and leaving it a mangled, gory mess.
Wes jumped back from a tentacle that came slithering towards him across the cement, wriggling and thrashing about like a frantic snake as it attempted to grab him. He danced about, skipping and hopping this way and that as he struggled to stay away from it, firing pot shots at the ooze covered extremity.
It suddenly shot up and wrapped itself around his helmet, making him stumble backwards as its slithering mass impeded his vision and began coiling itself around his helmet. He fired blindly in a panic, turning this way and that as he tried to dislodge it.
"Help!" he screamed.
"Roger that bud. Relax, I've got ya back!" Dex said, rushing to his aid.
Suddenly its grip slackened as it uncoiled and flung itself back at its attacker. Dex withdrew his combat blade and buried it up to the hilt in the tentacle's soft, leathery flesh. It lashed the commando like a whip, throwing all its strength into the blow. Dex stumbled; but didn't lose his grip on the knife. He clung to it as if his life depended on it and with all his strength sawed through the thick mass of the tentacle until with a slop it came free, slicing the withering limb in half.
A slick, serpentine tentacle slithered out and wrapped itself around Cram's ankle as he fought off another that kept striking at his head, lunging at him like a cobra pouncing upon its prey. It caught the commando by surprise, yanking him off his feet and sending him crashing to the ground, hard. It began dragging him towards the water as he slid across the concrete, trying to grab hold of something to stop himself, but unable to find purchase on anything.
A shower of blaster bolts from Jet landed all around it, some of them hitting the tentacle that seemed to vibrate with pain as the bolts blew scorched chunks from its flesh. It didn't relax its hold on Cram's leg, as it continued to drag the flailing commando into the water.
Cram fired blindly at it, blaster bolts peppering the cement and occasionally getting lucky and scoring a hit. He saw the edge of the dock rapidly approaching and giving up on the blaster, withdrew his combat blade and hurled himself into a sitting position as he began hacking at the limb coiled around his ankle.
Jet seeing this caught on; and leaping over a slashing tentacle and ducking under another, came running with his own blade drawn. Grabbing Cram by the arm he managed to stop his decent over the side of the wharf as he dropped his blaster and lent down as they both hacked at the tentacle that refused to let go.
The appendage shuddered with the impact of their blades, flinching in pain as they cut their way through it. It responded by wrapping itself tighter around Cram's leg and pulling with more force than ever.
Jet was hauled off his feet and came crashing down next to Cram as he was dragged over the edge, grabbing hold of Jet and almost taking him with him as he hung over the side of the wharf, the water lapping at his feet.
Jet slid towards the edge but stopped short as the Lieutenant suddenly appeared and grabbed him by his free hand, grunting with the effort to stop the two commandos from toppling into the water.
The targeting computer inside Grim's helmet flashed as the HUD display's cross-hairs signalled a lock on the tentacle and he put several well placed blaster bolts into the limb, severing it as the remainder flapped about and disappeared beneath the waves. He helped Jet and Cram pull themselves to their feet. "Come on, move it!" he snapped. "Let's get the shock out of here!" he said as he jogged backwards, away from the water, covering his two subordinates as they retreated and regrouped.
Jet retrieved his weapon and turned just in time to see two tentacles explode from the water and go hurtling through the air, wrapping themselves around Wes's middle as he cursed in surprise, was hauled from his feet and lifted ten meters into the air. A string of colourful language erupted from the suspended commando over the comm channel.
Cash and Dex fired upon the tentacles, attempting to blast them apart while they tried to avoid others that whipped, swiped, and lunged at them.
Grim opened his mouth to voice a command; but stopped short as something huge burst from beneath the water, raising a dozen meters into the air and letting out an ear-piercing shriek that rattled their brains inside their helmets. The huge monstrosity uncurled two enormous pincers, each the size of a speeder, and glared down at them with a pair of huge, bulbous, black eyes.
"Fucking hell!" Cash shouted in alarm as the abomination rose out of the water, spread its claws and began flexing them, the huge crablike pincers opening and closing with loud audible clicks.
"What the fuck is that?" Dex exclaimed.
Grim hadn't had time to consider it when it had ambushed them with its tentacles. "Gorgotha," he breathed, as it dawned upon him the old vagrant hadn't been merely relating the folklore of Downtown; but trying to warn them of a very real and horrific threat.
It opened its mouth to reveal a gaping maw of dozens of razor sharp teeth as it let out a sizzling hiss. The tentacles holding a struggling Wes began to bring the commando towards its hungry mouth, the tentacles moving as if in slow motion, like Gorgotha was taunting them as it promised to make them watch as it ate their comrade.
"Revenant Squadron; form up! On me!" Grim roared, falling onto one knee as he flicked a switch on his blaster and aimed it at the hellish abomination intent on eating Wes.
The rest of the squad made a beeline for their commanding officer, Cash and Dex ducking and weaving around flailing tentacles that grabbed at them as they ran, the extremities efforts being hindered by a shower of blaster bolts from Jet and Cram that provided them with cover fire. They reground with the rest of the team and following Grim's example took up firing positions and activated their grenade launchers.
"Fire!" The lieutenant commanded, pulling the trigger at the same time. The other four commandos followed suit as five grenades rocketed from their blasters and shot towards the hideous monstrosity. A fraction of a second later they impacted and exploded with a dazzling display of flames and billowing black smoke as they smashed into the creature's cranium. The beast roared with pain and howled in fury as the smoke began to clear, revealing its thick bone skull to be charred, pockmarked and creased with its black blood. Here and there blood ran from gaping wounds and chunks of meat littered the ground before it, some entrails dangling from pits that oozed blood and slime. Enraged it hurled Wes at his comrades and they caught him awkwardly, his rough landing knocking several of them from their feet.
"Fuck me, it's still alive!" Cram exclaimed.
"Orders boss?" Jet asked, stumbling back to his feet as Cash helped him up.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Grim said. "Revenant squadron, move out!" he snapped, motioning his men forwards as they moved off and broke into a run, with him following close behind.
Gorgotha screeched with fury as it advanced on them, its pincers opening and closing ferociously as it jabbed them at the fleeing commandos, its tentacles lashing out at the soldiers as they fled. The commandos engaged in a running fight, firing at it as they ran in an attempt to hold its flailing limbs at bay as they tried their best to avoid them.
"Move it! Move it! Move it!" Grim barked, forcing them to run as fast as their legs could carry them while they ducked, dodged, weaved and jumped around the snapping tentacles, running around the edge of the harbour as they raced for the exit at the opposite end of the docks.
Its pincers shot out at the fleeing commandos, smashing into the ruins of the buildings above their heads and raining debris upon them as Gorgotha clumsily struck at them with its cumbersome claws. It jabbed the claws at them again and again, the commandos leaping aside of, or ducking under the pincers as they crashed into the buildings lining the harbour.
Cash came to an abrupt stop as a pincer smashed through storefront directly in front of him, and narrowly avoided catching himself on the ridge of deadly looking spikes that lined the claw's edge. "Whoa, jynx that was close!" he said, ducking under the claw as it removed itself and receded for another attack.
Debris from above peppered their helmet's as Grim fought to see through the puffs of dust and bits of material that rained upon them. He stumbled and almost fell as the force of one of the pincers shattering a wall behind him knocked him forwards, managing to steady himself as he ran.
As they approached the exit he looked over his shoulder and felt a spine tingling fear slither up him as the abhorrent creature climbed onto the wharf on a number of stubby tentacles, its torso resembling that of a crocodile that ended in a long reptilian tail that disappeared into the depths of the water. Tearing his gaze away from the monstrosity Grim focused on running and was close on the heels of his men as they tore up the narrow road, none of them slowing until they were well clear of the street. They could hear the foul creature's shrieks of anger behind them as they ran, the sound gradually decreasing in volume as they widened the gap between them. It was either unable or unwilling to squeeze its way down the narrow road to follow them, much to their immense relief. Once they were sure they had escaped the commandos came to a stop to rest and catch their breath.