Quoted By:
The thing was faster you. You knew this. It probably knew it too.
In the time it would take to sling down another missile or arrest your craft’s forward momentum, the encounter would be over. The entity would be dead – sure - but you would probably be left with one or two fridge-sized voids in your fuselage. While you’re a decent pilot, you’re not some kind of psychokinetic wizard: damage like that would certainly be terminal.
Fortunately, missiles aren’t the only thing slung under your gunship’s winglets. The chemical halogen laser pod was a niche weapon, but it had served you remarkably well during your last deployment. A few solid hits against a disintegrating summon taught you that its collimated beam could incinerate flesh as easily as it could melt through high-density composite armor.
More importantly, it was a laser. And lasers are exceptionally fast.
You cycle to the weapon and depress the firing stud. A familiar, scintillating beam flashes into view with the pressurized scream of gas-discharge, bridging the distance between you and the target instantly. You’re not entirely sure what the entity is made of. It doesn’t matter. Not-flesh bubbles and sparks as the laser sweeps across a lumpen torso, the lens array tracking the target mercilessly as it spasms to escape the burning heat.
The laser pod cycles off. The entity collapses into a disarticulated, gently dissolving heap. Interestingly, you note that the remaining members of its congregation had collapsed too, in almost perfect synchrony with their now-dead master.
Still, QRF-15 treats them with caution as they pass through. Over the comm, you hear scattered shots as Carter’s infantry choose to “double-check” some of the intact-looking specimens at a more comfortable distance.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After traveling another half-kilometer or so, your team picks up on another transmission.
“...real lucky break after we noticed redistribution of the anomalous entities…unknown unit advised…..northern…..warehouse nine….repeat…delta nine-nine…moving to northern edge of extraction zone.”
Carter is quick to offer his opinion, straining his casual demeanor.
“We shouldn’t fall for this again. We’re still being hunted. If we get pinned in another trap, then we’ll be completely screwed.”
But you were less certain. Sure – the message could be another fake – but the cadence sounded more normal this time. And the mention of relocation seemed very reasonable given the stir that your team was making…
>Move to the northern edge of the extraction zone; find the signal. The lead seems promising…
>Continue East. Bad idea to fall for the same thing twice. You’ll keep moving east until you have more convincing evidence that this is real…
