Chapter 771: Nightfall
The roof was roughly the size of two basketball courts, surrounded by a low parapet. It offered a wide field of view, but also meant they were exposed on all sides.
"Establish a perimeter defense! Inventory all usable supplies!" Raynor shouted.
The Raiders and military police quickly took positions facing every direction.
Some medical supplies found inside the station were brought up, but weapons and ammunition were indeed limited.
Dr. Hanson crouched in the center of the roof, using a portable device to analyze a blood sample collected from an infected.
The light from the data-slate's screen illuminated her solemn face.
"Preliminary analysis... the genetic structure is extremely unstable, containing massive amounts of exogenous insertion sequences. This... this doesn't look like natural mutation. It looks more like an artificial biological weapon or... forced alteration by some sort of parasite." Her voice held disbelief. "Furthermore, the sample is highly sensitive to ultraviolet light. Under simulated UV irradiation, the cellular structure breaks down rapidly."
She looked up. "If we can expose them to strong ultraviolet light, we might be able to kill or weaken them! But it has to be high-intensity, wide-area irradiation."
"It's nighttime," Raynor's voice came over the comms. He had already linked up with Matt's channel. "And Meinhoff's weather control system shows overcast skies for the next twelve hours. Natural UV intensity won't be enough."
"Then we create artificial UV light sources!" Dr. Hanson said urgently. "Large disinfection lamps, industrial welding arcs, even adjusting the spectrum of shipborne searchlights... anything that can generate a sufficient intensity of the UV-C band!"
"That requires time to prepare and deploy," Matt's voice replied over the comms. "And we need a secure area to install the equipment."
At that moment, the roar of engines tore through the night sky.
Three Hyperion dropships broke through the cloud cover, heading toward the medical station's roof.
The searchlights on the ships illuminated the scene below—at least several hundred infected were gathered around the medical station, with more pouring in from deep within the refugee camp.
"Marines preparing to drop! Clear the landing zone!" a dropship pilot shouted.
The side doors opened, and ropes dropped down.
Dozens of Raider Marines fast-roped down, quickly establishing a defensive perimeter on the roof.
They brought extra ammunition, several automated turrets, and even two flamethrowers.
"Flamethrowers! Perfect!" Tychus grew excited upon seeing the new gear. "Let's give these freaks a taste of BBQ!"
With the arrival of the Marine reinforcements, the roof's defense stabilized temporarily.
The flamethrowers spewed long tongues of fire into the infected horde, igniting a large swath.
The infected let out piercing shrieks, rolling in the flames, but even while burning, they still struggled to crawl forward until they were completely reduced to charred husks.
"Their vitality... is too tenacious," a Raider muttered, watching a figure still moving amidst the flames.
Valerie stood in the relatively safe central area, observing the entire defensive layout.
She had dispersed her five security consultants to the three directions under the most pressure. Their heavy weapons and precise marksmanship served as critical pivot points in the defensive line.
"Miss Valerie." Raynor walked over, his face smeared with soot. "Matt just sent word; the infection has spread to other refugee camps."
"The Meinhoff garrison is trying to establish quarantine zones, but the situation is chaotic."
"The Command Center wants us to hold the roof to serve as a pivot point and observation post for rescue operations."
"They have dispatched engineering units to try and establish defense towers equipped with UV lamps nearby, but they need time."
He glanced at Valerie and her team. "Your people are very adept at defensive combat. I want to put you in command of the eastern defensive line, and I'll assign a squad of Raiders to you. Can you hold it?"
This was trust, and it was also a test. Valerie nodded calmly. "Yes, Commander Raynor. Leave the east side to me."
"Good." Raynor patted her on the shoulder and turned to inspect the other directions.
Valerie took over the eastern defensive line.
It was about fifteen meters wide, originally defended by six Raiders and two military police.
She positioned two security consultants at the high points on either side, keeping the other three as a mobile reserve.
The Raider squad leader was a middle-aged sergeant named Devin, an experienced veteran.
"Sergeant Devin, I need your men to form interlocking fields of fire at the front. Use burst fire to conserve ammo. My team will handle neutralizing any individual targets that break through the firing line," Valerie rapidly deployed them. "Also, set up tripwires and makeshift alarms on the inside of the parapet to prevent them from sneaking up."
"Understood," Devin moved to execute the orders immediately.
Valerie maintained brief updates with Ryo via her data-slate: "Have assumed partial command of defensive line. Infected characteristics confirmed: active at night, UV sensitive, highly contagious. Situation critical."
Ryo's reply was concise: "Record all data. Ensure your own safety. May utilize special means for extraction if necessary."
Special means... Valerie knew what that referred to.
But she didn't plan on using them right now. The combat and data here were both valuable.
The night deepened. The infected attacked like a tide, wave after wave.
They climbed up from the ground, leaped over from the roofs of adjacent buildings, and even attempted to scale the outer walls directly.
The flamethrowers ran out of fuel, and the automated turrets' barrels glowed red hot, requiring replacement.
The Raiders began taking casualties.
One soldier had infected blood splashed on his arm. Within minutes, he began convulsing and losing his mind, forcing his comrades to agonizingly put him down.
Another soldier was tackled while reloading, dragged off the roof, his screams quickly fading into the darkness.
"We ain't gonna last till dawn at this rate!" Tychus roared as he swapped out an ammo belt.
Dr. Hanson, crouching in the center of the roof, suddenly shouted, "I've analyzed their attack patterns! They seem to be attracted by sound and movement! If we can create a loud enough sound source or a moving target, we might be able to draw them away for a while!"
Raynor understood instantly: "Use the dropships! Fly low altitude, turn on all lights and loudspeakers, and lure them out into the open areas!"
The orders were relayed.
A dropship lowered its altitude, circling the medical station. The piercing sirens and flashing lights successfully drew the attention of a massive number of infected.
At least a third of the infected began chasing the dropship, moving toward the wasteland outside the refugee camp.
The pressure instantly lessened.
"It's working! But it won't last long!" the pilot reported. "They'll return once they lose visual contact!"
"Just buy us some time!" Raynor shouted. "What's the progress with the engineering units?"
Matt's voice came through: "The first defense tower with UV searchlights has been erected two kilometers away and is currently testing. If successful, we can gradually establish a defensive line and push the infected back."