Soup Sandwich

Ian slid down from the small tunnel into the muck that had filled the small dome. For centuries seepage of chemicals and industrial runoff from unknown sources above found its way here. “What an interesting sensation,” he thought to himself. The bodysuit that fit him like a glove changed colors slightly indication that the chemical soup was indeed toxic. “Wonderful. I probably only have fifteen to twenty minutes before the suit becomes saturated.” Holding his las pistol above his head to keep it out of the mess he found himself in, Ian waded off to his left.

“Your first task,” Ian reviewed his briefing in his head, “is simple. You are to recon a small dome and retrieve a small package. Once this is done return to your entry point to turn it over to my team and provide a report of what you saw.”

“What can there possible be to see in here?” He thought to himself. All around him lay construction materials in various stages of decay. There were several small buildings leaning over on failed support beams and a stack of barrels protruding out of the mire. To his right was a single walkway leading to a drilling platform in the center. The walkway to, from, and immediately around the platform was the only continuous areas free of the liquid now coming to his waist.

The men, who he hoped would soon be his ‘family’, had dropped him off at the sewage pipe that helped feed the soup he now found himself in. Without instruction he had decided it best to stay away from the walkways as those were bound to be patrolled, and opted instead to use a circular approach to the center. This way he could get a feel for the layout of the area and get a better view for his report.

‘Plunk!’ Something hit the surface of the mire on the far sound and the sound echoed off of the distant walls. Ian peered through the darkness but could see nothing other than the ripples on the liquid. Now pointing his weapon into the shadows he continued along. His heartbeat quickened enough that he could now feel his temples throbbing to the rhythm. As he approached the far side of the dome he searched in vain for the cause of his earlier fear, but could not find anything.

‘Plunk!’ This time it came from behind him and to his right. Ian spun around aiming his pistol into the darkness. There was nothing except a new ripple upon the surface.

“Hey!” A form appeared up on the walkway and called out. “Who’s down there?!?”

Ian cringed as he realized his actions had caused a noticeable splash. The figure up on the walkway stepped away for a moment, but quickly returned with a handheld torch. With no other place to hide Ian slipped into the shadows of a stack of barrels.

‘Plunk!’ This one was much closer. It was the guy up on the walkway, throwing debris into the mire. ‘Plunk!’ The man above tossed another object into the soup. This time close enough to splash him. Each time the beam of light from the torch searched the shadows around the impact point.

Ian fought to control his breathing. Although it seemed like the man was alone, he was between Ian and his exit point. After the man on the platform threw a few more stones into the muck he seemed to lose interest. Letting out a long quiet breath he moved out from under the barrels and began to search for way up on the platform. Whatever Dyrke wanted was up there, sentry or no sentry.

As he slipped through the muck Ian noticed a sizable drainage tube. Instead of depositing more fluids into the mix, this one was positioned in a way that drew excess fluids off the top as it filled up, and it was large enough for people to get in and out single file. From here he could not tell how far it went, or where it went to. Turning back to face the drilling platform he noticed that it was also not visible from above. “This might be of interest,” he thought to himself.

From here Ian stuck to the wall. There were plenty of large pieces of junk sticking up out of the toxic soup to hide behind. Every few minutes the man on the platform came to a random edge and scanned the area below. And each time Ian stopped in place, not wanting his movement to give him away.

Finally he found a ladder up and out. Waiting for the man to perform one of his inspections Ian double checked his las pistol to ensure the barrel remained clean and the power cell was still charged. As the man walked away once again Ian slowly lifted himself up the ladder.

The top of ladder was midway across the walkway between the dome wall and the drill platform. Looking both ways Ian didn’t see any more people and he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the Emperor was smiling upon him and he hoisted himself up and over. As he stood up the drill in the center of the room began to bore into the dome floor below causing a roar of noise to fill up the room. The walkway vibrated unnervingly below his feet causing him to look down. When he did the sentry returned and began to shoot at him. Rounds whipped by and impacted around his feet..

Looking back up towards the drill he saw the man now crouching behind a console shooting at him. The jig was up and there was nowhere for him to hide. There was nothing else to do but charge headlong into the ambush.

“AHHHH!!!!!!!” Ian’s screams were drowned out by the massive drill picking up speed. He squeezed the trigger on his las pistol sending bolt after bolt of ionized atoms into the console the man was hiding behind. Ian’s shots drew closer and closer to home and the man stopped shooting back as he sought cover. The last five meters Ian hurled himself through the air and over the console, headlong into his attacker. As the two men crashed into a heap they slid into a small pile of boxes. Ian felt a sharp pain in his ribs. Regaining his feet he looked down. There was now a long gash across his ribs and he was now bleeding profusely. Even with a quick glance he could tell that his ribs had saved him from a much more severe wound, and that it would take several stitches to close it back up.

Setting his face with a grim determination Ian reversed the hold on his knife and renewed the assault. His victim had been dazed and barely lifted his arms up in defense as Ian’s knife found its target. The man never said another word as he slumped to the ground.

Without moving his hands Ian looked around the platform. What would Dyrke possibly be interested in? Then he looked back down the walkway towards the dome wall. It disappeared into a small tunnel that was lit on to the edge of his line of sight. There was no movement. “Good,” was all he said to himself. Only then did he look back down at the man underneath him.

It was another juve, but not from house Van Saar. The kid was dressed in the traditional vest and bandana of house Orlock. A stub pistol lay beside his limp right hand. “Why would the Orlocks entrust this place to a juve?” Ian asked himself. Withdrawing his knife, and without thought, he checked the kid for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Standing above him Ian leveled his pistol at his victim’s head. It would be such a simple thing to ensure the kid never reported back to his gang. His hand began to shake. Dropping his head and hand Ian sighed. “Let the hive swallow him if that is his fate.”

He stepped over the juve. As he lifted his eyes back up to look around the drill platform again his gaze fell upon a small satchel. Kneeling beside it Ian threw open the flap. Inside were several notebooks, and two data slates. Refastening the flap Ian stood to leave and he noticed another person. Waiting at the sewage drain he had entered from stood one of Dyrke’s men, waving him over. He quickly crossed back through the mire and into the small tunnel.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” the man asked.

“Just this,” Ian said as he handed over the satchel. “Oh, and there is another drainage tunnel on the far side.

“Good work kid. You get a go on your first task. The name’s Rogers by the way.”

“Nice to finally be called something other than ‘little rat’.”

“Well, I wouldn’t get too used to that,” Rogers said. “You still have to face the other three tests before anyone on the team even will consider calling you anything else.” Without waiting for more he turned to lead Ian back the way they had come.

Ian glanced down at his wound and winced. “Any chance to get this taken care of,” he called up to his escort.

“If you want you can drop out now. Otherwise,” Rogers said as he turned back around, “you’re just going to have to wait until this is all over.” Shaking his head Ian declined the offer. “Good. Besides, if my premonitions about you are correct. You’re going to eat these tests up.”

“Just great,” Ian thought to himself, “nothing like being given a soup sandwich to eat.” The pair left the hum of the drill behind them and headed back from whence they came.