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Swarm Chapter 3: Wrath
Posted By: monitor101<wasup1989@hotmail.com>
Date: 14 March 2005, 11:56 PM
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Chapter 3: Wrath
(0500 hours, September 13, 2551 Military Calendar / UNSC controlled space, ONI Engineering Research Facility EX-221-7, ONI Department of Special Weapons Projects, Lambda Serpentis system, planet Jericho II)
Webber stood over the body of Ferrell, who had been covered with a plastic sheet, which was normally reserved for cadavers in the morgue. Thirty other workers stood around him. Some were checking radiation levels, some were examining broken holding cell tubes, and others looked at the body. Webber looked down at the blood around the body; it was still fresh and still trickling out of Ferrell.
Hall stood on the other side of the bloody mess parallel to Webber. He looked up at him. Webber noticed a glint of fear and confusion in his eyes. "Tell me again what happened."
Hall stood straighter and gulped so loud that everyone in the room heard. "Sir, I noticed that a camera had shorted out then two others after it. I told Mac...Maintenance officer Ferrell to see what the problem was. He came to the holding area and checked to see what was wrong with the camera and sure enough, it had short-circuited. However, when I told him about the other two cameras he said that he didn't want to be blamed for it. I was about to tell him to shut up but then the com link went out. I got the image of the camera to come up but it was very blurry and I didn't have time to clear it up and thoroughly examine it."
"Were you in the control room or here with him?" Webber asked calmly.
"With hi..." Hall trailed off, Webber was asking him if he murdered Ferrell. "No sir, I was in the control room the entire time."
"Sir, he's right, I watched the control room camera, he was in there the time of the death," a techie said.
"Very well, now my superior Colonel Ackerson is on his way back to earth from one of the other planets in system, he'll be making a pit stop here."
"Colonel Ackerson, sir?" Hall choked.
"Yes Lieutenant and he'll want to speak with you when he arrives. In addition, two detectives from the city on the other side of this planet are coming over here to investigate this death. If they file a report to the UNSC HIGHCOM, Ackerson will be powerless to stop congress from making a full investigation into our Special Weapons Projects. They'll start asking questions and throwing many of us into the brig," Webber replied.
"Seriously, sir?" a tech asked, nervous at the thought of losing his job or worse.
"No, their from ONI, so we're good."
Many breathed a sigh of relief and went back to what they were doing. Webber understood the fear of the UNSC brass. ONI Special Weapons Projects funding was on a short leash. If they learned of what really was going on then the money would stop coming and as he had said, they would all be in the brig.
Webber stood on the landing platform. He glanced over at one of the Pelicans that had been docked, in the same night of Ferrell's death, it had been sabotaged and its memory bank had been wiped clean. He looked at the incoming Pelican and stepped back as it landed. He was splashed with air from its jets as it skidded to a stop on the platform, the rear hatch lowered, and five people stepped out.
Webber looked at the man in the lead. Colonel James Ackerson walked with a commanding stride that spoke of authority, his face always had a dark, vex look to it. He walked up to Webber, his "entourage" of four people at his heels.
"Dr. Webber...I trust you will inform me of exactly what happened here," Ackerson said
"Of course, Colonel," unfortunately for Ackerson his demanding and authoritative tone that made even general's shake, had no effect on Webber.
Ackerson sensed this. "Well?"
Webber informed him of Ferrell's death, the Pelican, and of Hall. When he was finished, Ackerson's expression had not changed.
"So, some tech went to check out a camera malfunction and was killed," Ackerson said, his voice hinted no emotion.
"Basically," Webber replied.
"Where's the body."
"Right this way, Colonel," Webber said and walked towards the door to the rest of the facility.
He led them through several hallways and passages to the holding room. They entered and walked over to the body. Webber noticed that now only eleven workers remained, the nineteen others had left in fear of facing Ackerson and his minions. Hall was among the ones remaining. Webber admired his bravery.
Ackerson looked down at body that was covered in the plastic. He kneeled down and pulled it back to reveal Ferrell's blood covered head and his entrails under the body. "Son of a bitch really bit the dust...cause of death?"
"Portable X-rays and other tests showed that his insides had literally burst. Several arteries burst, his lungs collapsed and he was coughing up so much blood that his intestines came up," Webber said.
"Sounds like the swarm." Ackerson said.
"We've all came to that conclusion, unfortunately."
"Uh-huh," Ackerson threw back the sheet and stood up. Straightening his uniform, he looked at Webber. "I want to talk to this Lieutenant Hall?"
Hal stepped forward, he was writing something down on a portable palm pad and he handed it to another tech. "Yes sir?"
Ackerson nodded and watched the blonde-haired, freckle faced Lieutenant step forward. "Tell me your side of the story."
Hall in the best steady voice as he could told of the events of the previous night. He finished slowly. "When I got here I found him like this."
"So, when the com went dead you waited to go and investigate, only after you saw the blurred camera image of him flailing about on the ground?"
"Yes sir, when the com went dead I thought it just might be a bug in the system so I didn't bother."
"Why did you wait to tell him about the other two cameras?"
"This camera seemed to be the only one that was important enough to be fixed; the other two were in areas that aren't as important as the holding cells."
Ackerson closed in on him. "You think the landing platforms and the mess hall's security is not as important as here?"
"Yes sir," Hall responded.
"This whole damn facility is equally important!" Ackerson yelled. "I want you on the next ship out."
"Yes sir, I plan to take full responsibility for it in front of the UNSC congress," ONI black ops and there secrecy/funding didn't matter as much to Hall as the life of his friend.
"There won't be any investigation, Lieutenant."
"Sir, I plan to file a report."
"Very well Lieutenant, my men will accompany you to Jericho city where you will take the next ship out system," Ackerson replied.
"Yes sir," Hall muttered.
Ackerson, the four others, and Webber walked out. Webber walked along side Ackerson and looked at him. "Well?"
"I'm not going to have some half-assed techie screw with my operations. Sanders, Benson!" Ackerson said.
"Yes sir?" two of the four members of Ackerson posse said in unison.
Ackerson turned his head and nodded. Sanders and Benson walked back towards the holding cells.
"Make the cover believable," Ackerson said to Webber. With that, he walked back to the Pelican.
Webber turned around and went to the holding cells. He entered and saw Sanders standing next to the body, Hall had continued what he was doing before Ackerson had come, as well had the eleven others. "Lieutenant, Sergeants Sanders and Benson here will accompany you to the city."
"Yes sir," Hall replied.
"Get your personal affects together and get ready to depart."
"Sir yes sir," Hall said and went to his quarters, closely followed by the two.
Webber looked around the room. "Get this mess cleaned up and the body out of here." He said to one of the techs and left.
Hall pulled on the straps of his seat harness and tightened it as the Warthog bounced down the dirt road. Sanders sat in the back, the chain gun had been replaced with a rear seat, and Benson drove. He shifted gears and stomped on the accelerator. Both of Ackerson's cronies had been silent since their departure. They hadn't drove on the main road, instead they took this secluded dirt road with tall grass on both sides, Sanders said that he didn't want any civilians to see them leaving the facility (it was supposed to be derelict, but the population knew otherwise) but Hall had his doubts.
Suddenly the engine began to groan and roar. Benson struggled with the gears and stopped in the middle of the road. He got out and walked over to the front, as he popped the hood a cloud of smoke bellowed from under it. "Damn, I think we blew something, can you give me a hand?"
Both Sanders and Hall got out. Hall walked up to the front and looked at the engine. "I know a little about motors, what seems to be the problem?
Benson looked at him and smiled. "You."
Hall looked at him and from the corner of his eye, he saw Sanders draw a pistol. Hall heard two consecutive shots and two smacks on his chest. He fell to the ground; his breath was knocked out of him. He looked down at his chest and saw two bloody holes. Hall choked and looked up to see Sanders level the M6D to his head, attached to its barrel was a flash/sound suppressor. He squeezed the trigger.
To Be Continued...
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