east, not assimilation. This contradicted their contact with The Order during those first years. In those days The Order would kill, yes, but they preferred to capture and control, as if implanting and mutating humanity better served Voggoth.
“Do not fear, my children!”
The voice came from a woman wearing a dark robe and gliding among the hostages. “Be comforted, friends, for you will soon be one with the living God.”
Cries of ‘no’ and ‘please’ and ‘I’ll do whatever you want. just let me go!’ rang out.
Nina used binoculars to eye the speaker: a middle aged woman with a drawn face and thin long fingers. She spoke in a booming voice that made Nina think of radio preachers from the pre-war days dictating the gospel across late night air waves.
“Do not fear! Soon you will know the touch of Voggoth!”
Nina heard more voices, just below that of the missionary woman. She could not quite understand those voices-she concentrated and closed her eyes-a memory from long ago came to the front of her mind; something from a long time ago…
“I can’t hold it steady! We’re leaking hydraulic fluid!”
“Goddamn it, I knew you’d get me killed you dumb bitch!”
“Merede! Scott! Shut your ass or I swear on Mary’s name I’ll choke the hell out of you with my bare hands!”
“Scott, Sal, quiet! Nina, we gotta find somewhere to set her down. I’m thinkin’ just about anythin’ flat will do. Wait-look, to the right here-there’s a pad on that hospital roof.”
“Shep, I don’t think we can-“
“Just try, Nina. I reckon’ that and prayin’ is about all we have left.”
Helicopter blades-a gunning engine-shouts and grunts…
“You missed! Goddamn-“
“I can’t control it-power is almost-almost gone.”
“Nina! The parking garage. Aim for it!”
A horrid metallic screech. Glass splintering. A cry of pain. A scraping sound…
She tried to re-focus on the woman preaching the virtues of Voggoth to a terrified crowd of human prisoners. Instead, she felt pressure on her throat-on her wrists-and heard voices in the dark…
“She is quite strong. She will do nicely.”
“But your Excellency, she is very dangerous. She destroyed many of Voggoth’s children before we could capture her. The male would be easier to-“
“No. He is too weak and shallow-minded. This operation requires much more complex thinking capability in order for the new implant to remain hidden. As for her strength, this is an asset. They will accept her without question.”
“You desire the new procedure? The prototype? Is it not too soon?”
“Yes, the new prototype. It has passed the test on parallel battlefields with other races; it will work here, too. Humans are, in the important ways, identical to the other inferior species. Now do as I command. Then make preparations to return her to the city, somewhere near the crash site.”
“And the male-I shall prepare him for the standard drone implant.”
“No! If they count him among our number in the future, then they will suspect her. As much as it pains me to deny Voggoth another child, terminate him.”
“It will take time, Excellency, to prepare phase two of the process. The memory reconstruction alone will take several hours and-wait, your Excellency, she is conscious.”
“It matters not. She will not remember. Or rather, she will remember only that which we give to her. Proceed. Hello, my child, do not fear for you will serve Voggoth in a most special way…”
Nina’s attention returned to the historic fort, the humans inside, and most especially the missionary who preached the blasphemous word of Voggoth.
She spoke to the trio of K9s, “Odin, Mallow, Campion-decoy!” And she pointed to the north.
As Grenadiers are apt to do, they followed her orders as if they could do more than listen; as if they could read her mind. The black and gray dogs bound away from the cover of the tree line and into daylight. They curved north as they ran, barking when they reached the perimeter of the fort.
The Spider Sentry opened fire; six of the monks-with their pseudo-swords drawn-pursued as the dogs bolted north behind the historical buildings on the western perimeter, just skirting the forest as they ran.
A few hundred yards to the east, Bly and Maddock left their hiding place in the woods. Bly toted an M249 machine gun and dropped on his belly at the northeast corner of the Fort, just to the east of the implant building and opposite the side where the dogs had drawn attention.
At the same time, Maddock moved to the southeast corner with his PSG1 sniper rifle.
The dogs continued to run and the Spider Sentry and monks gave chase in an almost comical fashion. Instead of cutting them off they followed the K9s movements precisely, as if stuck on a path.
Nina Forest and Vince Caesar left cover and advanced from the west coming up behind the pursuing Spider Sentries and monks. Both fired grenades from the M203 launchers under their M4 barrels.
Nina’s grenade landed amidst the monks. A thud of an explosion launched black smoke, discarded swords, and chunks of mutated human bodies against the outer walls of the historic buildings.
Caesar’s grenade hit the spider sentry with brilliant accuracy, severing its rear-most legs and causing the ‘head’ to fall and roll while firing pellets at an insane pace directly into the sky.
The three remaining monks among the pursuit group turned to face the new threat. But so did the K9s, who reversed course and set upon the robed villains from behind. Despite their forearm-mounted firearms, the monks were torn to pieces in a few moments.
As Nina and Vince rounded the corner of one of the stone buildings, the monks in the courtyard opened fire forcing the commandos behind the wall for cover. The corralled humans fled to the south, some entering the barracks others making for the open field.
“Blasphemers! Feel the wrath of the living god!”
Voggoth’s priestess produced two fleshy balls slightly larger than softballs. She threw the objects and they rolled across the dusty courtyard. As they did, the balls expanded in mass, not unlike a cartoon snowball growing larger as it cascades down a slope.
The objects grew to the size of very large beach balls and stopped rolling. Thin appendages pushed through the surface of the balls into the air, bent at some sort of joint, and reached to the ground lifting the round center into the air. Two more Spider Sentries joined the fight.
Instantly, the first one disintegrated as Carl Bly raked the courtyard with light machine gun fire from the northeast. Puss oozed from the ‘face’ of the Sentry and it dropped into a lifeless mess.
The remaining monks-more than a dozen-alternated their attention from corner to corner of the fort. They fired at every human they could see, soldier or civilian; striking down several of the fleeing captives in the process. Meanwhile, the Ogre roared and charged at Carl Bly’s position.
Maddock opened fire with his sniper rifle. In an instant he emptied an entire clip of five bullets, killing three monks in the process.
Nina and Vince poked around the corner of the building and joined the firefight with bullets and anti-personnel grenades. More of the monks died.
The remaining Spider Sentry advanced on Nina’s position. The nose cone on its ‘face’ darted out like a skewer on a hose and slammed into the stone wall of a building, cutting loose a large chunk of rock.
“We need to fall back,” Vince said.
Nina answered with action, not words.
She jumped out from around the building, rolled to a kneel, and launched her M203 directly at the Spider Sentry. The grenade flew wide, arced into the courtyard, and exploded harmlessly a few yards in front of the implant factory.
The monster launched its skewer and fired pellets at the same time. The sharp cone pierced the ground next her feet. The tiny bullets peppered the ground all around her.
Vince followed Nina’s lead. His grenade-as it had with the first Spider-hit true. The ball at the center of the legs broke apart into goo.
