Cray had never met a more irritable bastard than Marr when the man was wounded, he was on enough kickstart to fill a bucket and refused to lay down and rest. Surreptitiously Waylon produced an airhypo and gave him a blast of something, which floored the burly sergeant immediately. "What was in that soldier?" Cray looked both impressed and a bit annoyed that Waylon had acted in such a manner without direct orders. "Just some VA-RL9, its a painkiller."
"Dont do that again without asking ok."
Waylon nodded and hefted Marr into his bunk, they had performed flawlessly today and he had little reason to begin chewing them out over minor things. He had an APC full of weird monitoring gear, unknown drugs, computers and surgical equipment, they had even managed to acquire a SLA Jeep off some careless SHIVER’s that had left it to pursue some looters. Waylon had displayed another unknown skill, which was boosting cars and Cray meant to pick over the kid’s brain later to see if he had any other abilities they didn't know about.
//start TX Flashtraffic
LT 038382-7TH
SALTWATER SUCCESSFUL
SITREP OK
HAVE MATERIALS IN OUR POSSESSION
//end TX
For awhile he sat there watching the little Aleph radio expecting a quick response, after 5 minutes Cray gave up and went out to help Gary plant the mines on the perimeter and set up the movement and vibration sensors in their new home. He’d found an old abandoned light rail station underground in an area virtually uninhabited area, it was a bit tricky getting the APC down the stairs but it would be possible to get it back out again. Nothing had been through here for at least 100 years as far as the ratty poster advertising a New Year’s celebration could tell them. The biggest worry was the spiders that lived down here, some where about the size of large cats and Cray didn't want any of them making a guest appearance in his sleeping bag.
As a reward he let Waylon use the CREA-3 incinerator on them, he didn't know if they where poisonous but he didn't want one of the crew getting bitten on the arse latter if they went out for a leak. Waylon took to the horrid grey furred beasts with a fury and giggling delight, coating them and their webs with methane and burning naphtha gel. Some of the ones with white stripes on their legs actually squealed when set on fire which made him less enthusiastic but more thorough.
15 minutes latter the soot-stained teenager came back with an empty flamethrower and reported the enemy either dead or in retreat. "Good!" Cray hissed relieved that the awful things where gone but made sure that they all checked their equipment and sleeping gear for new tenants before going to bed. It had been an expensive investment the CREA-3 in their last supply drop 2 months ago. He was glad they had found a use for it, someone back in high command even threw in the ammunition for free, which Cray took as a good sign that they where appreciated or at least noticed enough.
Halfway through the night he got a message on the Aleph, which blipped loud enough to wake the normally heavy sleeping Cray out of bed.
//Start RX Flashtraffic
SITREP RX- SALTWATER
I WANT EVERYTHING YOU CAN GET FROM DEADMAN
EQUIPMENT BY 1900 TOMMORROW DATA-PIX-SCEMATICS
USUAL DROPSITE & DATASLUG
WELL DONE
CHICANE TH03456-UXX
//end RX
"Ya dont want fucking much" he grumbled and went back to sleep, tomorrow could be a long day by the sounds of it.
The next day was indeed a rushed and busy effort, at least Marr was back on his feet and as lively as ever, Cray knew the man wouldn't complain even if he was still hurt. He gave Waylon a hard time of it though, making the boy drag everything heavy about and cussing at him if he didn't do it quick enough. About the only event was something tripping off the sensors down in the tunnel, Gary went down there for a look but didn't find anything. Just as a precaution he planted extra mines down there and trip flares just to be sure in case it wasnt a false alarm.
By 17:00 Marr had dragged out, examined and photographed everything he thought he could without breaking any of it and handed over the data to Cray, "come on Way, strap on some Blocker and lets go be SHIVER’s for the day. You can sleep on the way there." Reluctantly Waylon clambered into a suit of green armour and hopped in the Jeep, "be back in about 4-5 hours. Stay here and out of trouble Marr, if you have to split we’ll meet up at the safehouse." Marr nodded, "righty-o sir, too buggered to get up to mischief anyway."
"Thanks Sergeant, an the rest of y’all. Top effort all round."
He left Waylan sitting in the Jeep outside ‘Ma Gum’s’ liquor, guns and takeaway while Cray went inside the little suburban shop. SHIVER’s buying sweet n’ sour, salted Dunkin Dognutz wasnt exactly an extraordinary occurrence. He slapped the disks under the shelf into their little dead letter drop, paid for the meatball things and walked out. Cray’s heart almost skipped a beat when he saw the huge suit of exo-armour standing near the drivers side of the jeep talking to Waylan, "be cool", he told himself and walked over.
"Sarge, this nice shaktar would like a lift to downtown if we’re going that way."
Cray was about to tell the slop to go ‘get fucked’ but he caught a sight of its face, he’d been around shaktars long enough to know that they didn't look all the same. It was Jrt’kn.
"Tell the nice Mr Operative to get in and we’ll go have a bit o’ company along the way. You drive private."
"Where the fuck have you been?"
Cray was not at all happy about Jrt’kn’s sudden reappearance, he checked out clean on the bug scanner which was good enough for now.
"I had to kill some of my family, it was a matter of pride. It is done now, I will not disobey you again."
"Damn right you wont."
"My clan are rich they will compensate you and the rest, sir"
Something wasnt right, he couldn't put his finger on it but there wasnt something right at all about Jrt’kn.
He’d get to the bottom of it later.
They where only 20 kilometres away from base when all of a sudden Jrt’kn started getting restless in the back of the jeep and kicking at the panels. Waylon pulled the jeep over immediately to the kerb and Cray jumped out angry, startled and more than just a bit annoyed.
"What’s this happy bugshit soldier!"
"Ssssssshaaaah!"
Cray took a step back.
"Sah, they, it, got into my"
"What the fuck?"
"Couldn’t keep it out"
"Oh shit"
"Sorry sah, so sorry"
Jrt’kn looked into Cray’s eyes with the most profound look of sadness he had ever seen, slowly the shaktar brought the revolver Marr had fixed for him under his chin and blew his brains out.
"Oh fuck no!" Waylon screamed and tried vainly to get into the back of the jeep.
"Get him out, Way, now soldier!" Cray looked around and noticed that the general street vermin had decided to make for their holes, something stank of an ambush and he dived into the Jeep to get his carbine out of the gunlock.
Yanking the heavy weapon out and cycled a round he looked up in time to see a mirage pass through the jeep and through Waylon, who made some sickly inhuman choking sound and slumped forward. The stench came through the scrubbers on the armour like they weren’t even there, rotting flesh, decaying vegetation.
Then he saw them, 4 in front and behind. They where the stuff of nightmares, 8 foot tall, black armoured and deathly thin moving with feline grace and speed. Something bounced off the jeep as he rolled into the gutter, switched to automatic and aimed. The necanthrope raised the ugly six-barreled thing on its arm just as Cray pulled the trigger, 3 rounds hitting it in the chest, head and abdomen. It went down shrieking like stuck pig and the rest did the same, clutching their heads.
He didn't wait for another one to point its gorecannon and sprayed down 3 more with the heavy depleted uranium slugs, they writhed on the ground tearing at the holes with claws to try and pull the bullets out, mutilating themselves in the process.
"Fuck me I am just so fucked!"
Cray tried to crawl under the jeep as a blast from one of the ones behind him rippled the air above him tearing some holes in his back that made him scream. Another one just suddenly appeared on the road nearby and sent its snaking, claw tipped arm after him. He kicked it away but the creature struck home and the claws sliced through his thigh like razors and began dragging him out, the thing hissed excitedly and slapped the carbine away like a toy.
"Boil you in oil my pretty little fish! We’ll make chips out of your spy too!"
The thing gloated over him and looked over to its companions who where trying to save their union members from tearing themselves apart.
"Your death with take a thousand years shark child..."
He aimed at the only thing he could see and wondered if necanthropes had testicles. The DRAUG roared in his hand and he managed to avoid breaking his neck as the nec’ dropped him. Momentarily stunned he staggered up to see the necanthrope with its pelvis snapped in half tearing at its groin as the deathsuit writhed back from around the wound. The DRAUG thundered 4 more times and closed on an empty shell leaving the necanthrope a shattered, rotting mess. The rest had dragged their companions off and where nowhere to be seen, he gathered up the carbine, injected the shredded muscles with kickstart and some into Waylon who was no longer moving. Then drove out of there as fast as he could. "Hang on Way, I’ll get you home ol’ buddy"