The Dig

[Semir Gerkhan]

29-5-834 AS

Planet Pygar, near the Doldrums.

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PSI Agent Luke Garcia

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Agent Luke Garcia watched from one of the car windows as that maintenance guy walked slowly away from the tram along the track. The wind and sand hit him and shook him from side to side, but he kept walking. He was soon lost in the swirling dust, and García could no longer see him.

He turned and addressed his men, who were beginning to move the boxes of military equipment. "I don't trust this guy to keep the tram stopped for too long, so speed up as fast as you can."

Agent Mackintosh nodded and smiled. "Well, boss, at least he's left his cleaning unit." He pointed towards the machine that Agent Wells was operating. Garcia returned the smile and then fell back into his thoughts, while absentmindedly touched the pin with the Ponrifical Service of Intelligence emblem that he wore on his lapel.

In the end they had been lucky to meet that poor bastard, Marko. Luke had been about to put a bullet in his head when when showed up, but now he was very glad he didn't do it. Indeed, even if Marko couldn't stop the tram much longer, the contribution of the gravitatory cleaning unit would allow them to move all the equipment to the entrance of the Doldrums in one go. That would make their trip across the surface shorter, and more difficult for them to be seen from the air. Of course they ran the risk of him telling someone what they were doing, but something he had perceived in Marko's face told him that he was too grateful of continuing alive to react that way. They would be on their way soon anyway, and if they moved quickly they wouldn't give any air patrols time to locate them. This was really a very inhospitable region of the planet.

Garcia came back to reality and checked that all the equipment drawers were already placed on the cleaning unit. Then he began to put on his environmental suit that would protect him from the storm outside the tram. The entrance to the settlement's small cave system was not far, barely a 20-minute walk along the surface, but Luke knew that without the suit any unexpected variation in intensity in the storm could wipe him out in a matter of seconds. When he finished, he made sure that the rest of his 5 subordinates were also well equipped, and opened one of the side doors of the tram.

Garcia jumped down onto the track and took a few steps forward towards the desert. Then he turned to his men and motioned while speaking to them through the suit's transmitter. "Everyone down, security perimeter. Wells, you and that damn machine come down next."

The entire team descended, including the cleanup unit managed by Agent Wells, and soon found themselves in the middle of the desert, surrounded by thunderous wind and clouds of sand. They could barely stand or see anything, and tried to protect themselves behind the gravitational machine. The only thing that allowed them to know where they were going was the laser global positioning device that García handled, and which revealed the direction of the target's coordinates.

About half an hour later the entrance to the Doldrums cave system appeared on a nearby promontory, and the team quickly took refuge inside. They went deep enough until they could no longer feel the wind and the gusts of sand, and they began to take off their suits. The agents took down the equipment drawers from the cleaning unit and opened them. Each one took an assault rifle, with a built-in silencer and holographic sight, and they dressed in ballistic vests over their black tactical jumpsuits. Finally they put on the night vision full helmets. From the rest of the drawers they took out various scientific devices that Agents Mackintosh and Dominguez loaded into their backpack.

Luke checked the helmet's built-in communications. "Testing, testing... Do you all hear me?" The rest raised their thumbs in approval. "Good. Okay guys, you already know the action plan, but let's summarize it." He took out a holographic projector from his pocket and activated it, causing a three-dimensional image of the cave system to appear in suspension. "From what we know thanks to Agent Schroeder's information, this entrance to the Doldrums system is slightly away from the settlement, so it's not usually visited by anyone, especially at this hour." He pointed to an area on the map. "We'll advance to the colony and enter the Amber Citadel through a small passage that must be in this area. Once there our objective is to infiltrate the heretics' complex and reach the relic to secure it."

Agent Ellis intervened. "How many hostiles do we expect, boss? Is there any new info?"

Garcia shook his head. "Nothing new, indeterminate. We know that in the settlement and in the outer areas of the complex there are patrols of some kind of security guards, who wear blue tunics. There will be several dozen, they vastly outnumber us, so we should not confront them." He smiled confidently. "Nevertheless, we know their patrol routes, thanks be to Deux and Schroeder's information. We can avoid them without problem." Luke's face twisted in concern. "However, once inside the complex we'll have to face the inner guard that protects the leader of these impious heretics. They never seem to leave his side and are well armed, so we've free rein to eliminate them if necessary." He looked over the faces of his men. "Anything else? No? Good. Go ahead, and remember that Deux protects."

The team advanced towards the darkness of the tunnels, guided by the holographic projection, and in less than an hour they reached the edges of the settlement. The streets were practically empty at that time of night, and fortunately quite poorly lit, although some distant singing could be heard, coming from some decrepit houses. The agents moved carefully between the buildings, covering each other, and remaining hidden and silent at the moments when a human silhouette was seen in the distance. On one occasion they were able to see an armed patrol of about fifteen men dressed in blue tunics passing in front of them, but since they knew their route, they weren't located.

As they slowly moved forward, Luke couldn't help but remember about how they had managed to get there. His plan so far had been a success. Although it was the first time he was in command of an operation, he couldn't complain about the results. For some time his and his small team had thoroughly investigated the main settlements of Pygar, but no information had turned up that would lead them to find out where that relic could be. In the end, although Director Orlov had demanded maximum discretion, he had no choice but to include and infiltrate more agents in other minor settlements. Finally, one of them, Agent Schroeder, had finally raised the alarm from a remote settlement in an abandoned region of Pygar, the Doldrums.

Something was happening there. García had never heard of that settlement, which from what Schroeder said had been just a miserable village until a few months ago. However, currently it had become a kind of pilgrimage center from many places on the planet, and even from outside. Sick or crippled people came like an incessant trickle and stayed in the filthy accommodations of the small colony, or even built shacks with scrap metal. Some groups of other, very different people, were also arriving, carrying scientific equipment. The streets were full of mendicants and vagabonds wandering around, seeking salvation, while groups of white-robed cultists had begun to appear, dancing and singing heretical proclamations. People talked constantly in the streets and in the horrible bars of the settlement, and one word was constantly repeated: The Amber Citadel. It was evident that they had finally found the relic.

Many people were approaching the white-clad cultists, who offered salvation and miracles to "those who were worthy," and attempted to recruit them as acolytes. Agent Schroeder had managed to contact someone who served as a source of information, a man named Arthur. That guy had come there on his own, looking for answers about the artifact, and he seemed to have gotten close enough to those preachers to be able to obtain information about exactly where the relic was.

However, that poor man had been discovered by the heretics, and Schroeder had never heard from him again. Fortunately, Arthur had been able to give him a notebook full of very interesting notes before being captured. It detailed the location of a kind of impious sanctuary called The Amber Citadel, several galleries below the settlement, in which the cultists had their headquarters. The relic that now they had to recover was also placed there. They didn't know exactly what it was like, apparently Arthur had never seen it in person or at least he hadn't reflected it in his notes. However, they would do everything possible to get it out of there and take to the Faith Haven scientific facilities.

The tactical team reached the marked entry point to the cultist's complex. It was one of the old service shafts, abandoned and with the protective grille damaged, just as Luke had been informed. Through it, the six men soon found themselves in an area of individual cells, that seemed ready to house the aspiring acolytes. The hallways were dark, but the agents had their night vision devices, and they also knew where they had to go. With great care they entered one of the cells, now empty. The place was as miserable as what they had seen in the rest of the settlement. The only furniture there was was a filthy mat on the floor, a blackened tapestry on the wall, and a stinking tin bucket in the corner.

"It's here." Luke barely whispered into his helmet transmitter and pointed to the tapestry. "Dominguez, remove it, now."

The agent moved the piece of cloth while his colleagues pointed their guns, revealing a fairly large crack that went into the rock. They barely fit sideways through the hole, and they had to take off their backpacks and pass them through little by little. Luke led the way as they trudged through the crevasse, descending lower and lower, until finally the walls widened and they could regroup.

An amber light filtered through the exit of the crack, and when they looked out they found themselves in a kind of garden with a throne in the middle. Sitting on it was a man, dressed in a black robe. With his eyes closed, he seemed to be sleeping, although the tubes that were inserted through his nostrils, showed that he was in full chemical trance. In front of him, ten red-robed cultists stood with heads bowed in prayer. The atmosphere was tremendously silent, and was only altered by the mechanical sound of the pump that breathed Cardamina to the man on the throne, and by the barely audible murmurs of the men in red, who whispered their heretical mantras.

Thanks to the information that Schroeder had given them, Luke knew that those guys belonged to the inner guard of the cultist leader, or as they called him, the Reverend. He also knew that they carried weapons under their robes. After observing the situation for a few seconds, he realized that they were performing some type of ritual, and were not expecting an attack from that side. The best option they had was to kill them all as quickly as possible, and before they could request reinforcements from other wings of the complex, or even from the settlement itself. He raised his left arm and motioned for his men to prepare for a blitz assault, watching as they took up firing positions along the edge of the crack, dividing up their targets. When everyone was ready, Garcia pulled a flash grenade from his belt and threw it into the center of the room, and pointed his rifle at one of the cultists.

The guards in red were caught by surprise. The grenade exploded in a silent but tremendously bright glow that completely illuminated the room, blinding most of them. In the next few seconds six of them received two shots to the chest and one to the head, collapsing to the ground. However, the other four reacted much faster than imagined and threw themselves to the ground, rolling and drawing their weapons. The PSI agents concentrated fire from the edge of the crevice toward them, but the heretics returned the shots with several automatic pistols. Two of them had managed to take cover behind a thick column, and the other two were hiding behind a metal sideboard, taking out their weapons and firing rounds at their attackers.

The leader of the cultists opened his eyes tearing the tubes out of his nostrils. "What is this?" He stood up, staggering, in the middle of a small orange cloud and looking around confused. "The demons attack us! Guards! Guar...!" Three shots pierced his chest, sitting him back on the throne. The Reverend began to squirm, as blood poured out of his mouth.

García was firing bullet after bullet, but he was starting to worry. The seconds were passing and they were not being able to finish the guards off. He knew very well that probably that shooting was being heard even in the settlement, and it was a matter of time before more cultists came to help their companions. If there were too many of them, things would get completely messed up, and they would have to retreat. He soon understood that from his position neither he nor his men had a clear angle to end the shootout quickly, their enemies were well barricaded just in front of them. While changing the magazine of his weapon scanned the room at a glance, anxious, and his gaze stopped at the throne, on which the Reverend writhed, throwing up blood and clutching his serious wounds. Now he saw it clearly, he had to advance to the throne! If he took cover from there he could flank the cultists and force them out of cover.

Luke stood up. "Cover me, I'm going to move forward!" He quickly signaled to his team so they would understand his maneuver. "Burst fire, now!"

Garcia jumped over the edge of the crack and landed on the artificial grass floor, listening the staccato tapping of his men's rifles. He noticed several bullets whizzing by his head as he ran towards the throne, and dove behind it taking cover. He looked out with his gun ready and immediately noticed that the cultists stopped firing at him. They continued opening fire on his men, but looked toward his position, undecided, fearing to hit their wounded leader. Luke didn't hesitate and began shooting at the cultists in the column, whose flank was exposed at his angle. He took down both of them with accurate shots, and then tried to run towards the cover they had left free to flank the two who were hiding behind the metal furniture.

Luke felt several impacts on his vest during his sprint and a sharp puncture in his right thigh when he reached to the column. He leaned against it while replacing the magazine again, and ignored the the waves of pain throbbing in his leg. He knew he was injured, but now he didn't have time to think about it. He peeked over the side and watched as Wells and Dominguez jumped through the crack, covered by the bursts of Yang, Ellis and Mackintosh. One of the cultists stood up, shouting heretical proclamations, and discharged his automatic pistol at the two agents. Dominguez was knocked down by several impacts, but Wells returned the fire, hitting the guard in the head and killing him instantly. Luke took advantage of the distraction to break out of cover and finish off the remaining cultist.

Yang, Ellis and Mackintosh spread around the room while Wells tended to Dominguez, and Luke pointed towards the door leading to the room."Take positions!" He then checked and palpated his body, but found no injuries other than his thigh. Fortunately it seemed merely superficial, so he just extracted a syringe with a military-grade astringent analgesic and injected into his leg.

Dominguez seemed fine, although somewhat disoriented, and stood up helped by Wells. When Luke walked towards them he saw that the agent's helmet had a large mark on the side, and a piece of the visor's glass-steel had been torn off. Part of his face could be seen through the hole, with some minor bloody cuts caused by shrapnel. He shook his head and gave a thumbs up. "I'm okay, boss, don't worry. That bastard almost caught me... but today is not the day."

Wells approached the throne and examined the Reverend, who still struggled trying to breathe. "He's screwed, boss, but it will take him a while to die." He looked at Luke with an evil smile. "I suggest we let him drown in his own blood like the heretical bastard he is."

Garcia raised his gun and shot the cultist leader twice in the head. He then looked sternly at his subordinate. "Deux commands us to be merciful to our human brothers, Wells. Just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean they should suffer. Eternal Nothingness awaits them, that's punishment enough." He pointed towards the access door, where Agents Mackintosh, Ellis and Yang were already in position. "Now, clear the hallway!"

Yang opened the door and threw another flash grenade. The 6 men advanced down the hallway in formation, and eliminated another four red-robed guards who emerged confused from side rooms with pistols in their hands. Finally they reached the end of the hallway where there was a small intersection. Luke saw in his left the ornated door of what was called by the heretics as the Holy Room. That was where the relic was supposed to be, but they had to secure the area first. Luke also knew that the other door at the end of the corridor communicated with the rest of the complex, and beyond, with the outside. And more enemies could come from outside. In fact, some distant shouts could be heard, calling to arms.

"Wells, seal that door with the welder, and Yang, cover him." Luke made a circular movement with his hand. "The rest with me."

The agents stormed the entrance to the Holy Room. The distinctly alien-looking relic was placed on a pedestal, emitting a faint violet light around it. There was a rarefied atmosphere and a strange vibration shook the air, and within a few moments, all the members of the team felt a disgusting, uncomfortable... unholy sensation. It was striking how big it was, they really hadn't expected that size, about three meters high, two meters wide. It also looked pretty solid. This was going to weigh a lot.

García ordered Mackintosh and Dominguez to remove the scanners and cameras from their backpacks and set them up around the relic. "I want a preliminary analysis of this thing and a holographic model to send to the Director immediately! Look to see the energy levels it emits and if it's releasing any type of harmful radiation." Then he left the room, immediately grateful to be away from the exposure to that artifact.

Agent Ellis approached him from behind, rising the visor of his helmet."Uh, boss? We've the relic. And now?"

Luke responded as he took out his communicator, to call Director Orlov. "The orders are to take it home, you know well."

Ellis smiled with some disbelief. "Oh yes, I know, boss, but..." The agent pointed towards the Holy Room. "Have you seen the size of that thing? How are the six of us supposed to get it out of here through this damned settlement full of heretics?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders, and for the first time let a shadow of doubt appear in his eyes. "Honestly, I've no idea. So I hope the Director comes up with something, and quickly. Otherwise, we'll have to destroy it."