Space Hulk Amsterdam (Part 1)
An Agent Jen Story (AKA Prisoner and Ransom Zero.One.One)
Part 1 (Zero.One.One)
In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream
The New Geneva, a state-of-the-art Ampere-class starship of the Electrosphere Defense Corps jumped out of electro-travel. The ship was greeted by a mass of gunmetal grey, an amalgamation of starships known as a Space Hulk. This was the legendary Space Hulk Amsterdam. The contrast could not be any more different. The Amsterdam was huge, perhaps even cosmic miles wide. The New Geneva was a starship in name only, closer to a shuttle with the ability to jump into the electro-currents of space. Indeed, the EDC starship at the moment carried only three crewmembers, including our heroine, Agent Jen.
Dressed in her EDC infiltrator’s tactical suit – sleeveless, form-fitting, and high-tech – Jen looked ready for action but in reality she was anything but. Staring at the Space Hulk drifting through the black void, she shuddered, her hands absent-mindedly playing with her long blonde her. She was a bundle of nerves in the form of a woman. In all honesty, she didn’t think she would actually be going to The Amsterdam herself. And yet, somehow she got herself into this mess…
*** [Flashback]
The Strategic Operations briefing room at the EDC Headquarters were neat and tidy, the color white dominated the atmosphere with a mix of gleaming grey. The EDC’s 717th Independent Division, also known as Unit Sierra, had spent hours paying attention to the lecture that EDC Command had seen fit to give to them. The presentation was dry, but it got the essentials through. An EDC science team, codenamed Echo-263, had been sent to The Amsterdam. Their mission: to explore the Space Hulk and search for the lost United Earth-era technology that had been rumored to be found there. But the EDC had lost contact with them, and now Headquarters saw to fit to assign the 717th with the mission to investigate the Amsterdam to find out what happened to Echo-263.
The only eventful thing during the briefing was the various members of the 717th giving off their own theories regarding Echo-263’s disappearance. Sergeant Major John Keyes, Unit Sierra’s combat specialist, wondered if a rival kingdom or republic had gotten to them, especially the Galician People’s Republic – of whom the EDC had outwitted for the coordinates. Meanwhile, Specialist Gibran the resident scientific researcher believed the team may have unleashed the lost technology of the Amsterdam which led to their demise. The theories of Keyes and Gibran became the prevailing beliefs regarding what happened to the team, not just amongst the 717th but also the EDC at large. Agent Jen, though present in the briefing, said nothing in the belief that she had nothing to contribute.
And said belief was why she was shocked to discover that she had been chosen by Captain Pawel ‘Paul’ Sobieski as part of a three-man group to investigate The Amsterdam; her, Captain Sobieski, and the pilot. Paul’s reason for Jen’s inclusion, in his own words: “She has a knack for finding things that don’t want to be found.” After all, she was the reason why the coordinates to the Amsterdam was in the EDC’s hands to begin with. For her part, Jen was not convinced. Now Jen knew first hand how deadly Sobieski could be in a fight, but the team size wasn’t exactly reassuring. She would have refused, but the look in her Captain’s face – full of faith and confidence – inspired her to accept against her better judgement. Yet clearly Jen wasn’t the only one in the 717th who had reservations regarding Paul’s plan. Just before the team was to leave for The Amsterdam, Lt. Mark Ip, Unit Sierra’s second-in-command confronted Captain Sobieski. Jen happened to witness this clash.
Not one to waste his words, Lt. Ip went straight to the point. “Captain, you need more men.”
Sobieski responded, just as curt, “Echo-263 had more men.”
Ip said nothing, his expression impassive. But inside he knew his superior was set in his plan. “Fair,” he said. “But Jen…” The Lieutenant, his face still stone-cold, motioned a hand towards the agent. “…she looks terrified”.
*** [Present]
Jen remembered saying nothing in response to Lt. Ip’s remark. For in all honestly, Ip was absolutely correct; she was terrified. Jen was so lost in her own thoughts that she did not hear the sound of footsteps approaching.
“Jen.”
The EDC infiltrator almost jumped, but her surprise turned to relief as she saw Captain Paul Sobieski, dashing as always, now in his EDC combat armor.
“Paul,” Jen said, smiling.
“That’s Captain Sobieski to you,” Paul said jokingly; but his face soon turned serious. “How are you holding up, Agent?”
“Me?” Jen said, now putting up a brave face. “I’m fine. Never better and ready for the mission.”
Sobieski frowned. “You can’t fool me, Jen. You’re terrified aren’t you?”
Jen sighed, and looked to Sobieski in the eye. “You’re right, Captain. I don’t like space. In space, there’s no air, you can’t breathe. In space, no one can hear you scream.”
Paul said nothing. But suddenly, he placed both hands on Jen’s shoulders.
Jen yelped, her heart skipped a beat. But the sight of Paul’s serious yet tender face sent her heart racing, and her face beet red.
“Jen,” Paul began, “I won’t tell you to not be afraid. But know that I will protect you. That said, we need you, Jen. I need you, Jen.”
The EDC Agent said nothing. Her eyes once wide, now narrowed. She looked at Sobieski with determination. “I understand sir. I won’t let you down.”
“Good,” Paul said. “ETA’s 20 minutes, give or take. We’ll meet up in the loading dock then. Get yourself ready.”
And then he turned to leave.
Jen said nothing as she watched her Captain walking away; she smirked. “You sure know how to make your case, Captain.”
***
The New Geneva had now reached its destination. Jen became aware of it thanks to an announcement by the ship’s pilot, Lt. Francisca ‘Sisca’ Skye. The landing zone was small, but big enough to fit the ship and keep it protected. It was the only place that Sisca had deemed safe for the ship given the turbulence, typical of a Space Hulk due to their location in the electro-currents of space.
Both Jen and Paul were now dressed in their space suits, necessary for the airless and zero gravity environment they would explore. Just before they left, Sisca came down to the loading dock to see them off. Lt. Skye was an attractive woman with a serious look; her jet black hair was short but feminine, her EDC pilot’s uniform fit her like a hand in glove.
Sisca looked at Paul. She smiled and said, “Good luck, Captain.”
Paul nodded. “Keep an eye on the ship, Lieutenant.”
Then Sisca turned to Jen. The pilot narrowed her eyes, almost giving off a look of contempt. “Try not to be a burden.”
Before Jen could respond, Sisca turned and walked away, leaving the infiltrator dumbfounded.
“Wow,” Jen said. “She really doesn’t like me.”
Paul shrugged. “Don’t take it personally. Sisca doesn’t like newcomers.”
Inside her helmet, Jen furrowed her brows. “Yeah,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure that’s all there is.”
***
It had been a few hours since Paul and Jen left the New Geneva and began their investigation of The Amsterdam in earnest. The magnetic boots kept them grounded on the exterior of the space-borne derelict ship. As for weapons: Paul had a standard-issue EDC assault rifle, Jen opted for the pistol. At first, it took every bit of her restraint for Jen to remain calm, and she was more than happy to let Paul take the lead for this. But little by little, Jen’s confidence grew. By the time the duo made their way to the interior of the ship, Jen was comfortable enough to take initiative, and explore on her own – within a close distance from Captain Sobieski, of course.
Scans from the New Geneva, ran by Sisca, revealed that Paul and Jen was in the UEC Amsterdam itself, the very first ship that began the Space Hulk Amsterdam. Upon hearing this, both Jen and Paul were dumbfounded.
“To think that this ship is almost a thousand years old,” Paul said.
Jen nodded. “Talk about history.”
The atmosphere of the UEC Amsterdam was dark, almost claustrophobic. Yet Jen, with the knowledge that Paul was close by, began wandering. She looked around, as if hoping to find some old United Earth-era artifact. But then Jen saw something going by. Just barely; unfortunately, her helmet was restricting her view.
Jen called out, “Paul… I mean Captain, is that you?”
“I’m right here,” Paul said; he was just a short distance away.
Yet his voice, far from reassuring sent chills down her spine. After all, it came from the wrong direction.
Jen moved to take her pistol from her space suit’s holster. But she never did.
An unfamiliar creature, bestial and insectoid, pounced on her to the ground. Jen shielded herself by instinct as the creature lifted up its blade-like limbs, ready to stab its prey. The EDC agent braced for impact.
“Captain!” Jen cried.
Bullets riddled the creature, sending it flying in the vacuum of space. There was no sound, for they were still in the airless vacuum of space. Jen took a deep breath, and again, still reeling from the attack. She looked up to see Paul right above her, holding his rifle; he was the one to have shot that creature. He put away his weapon and reached out his hand downwards to Jen.
She took it.
“Thanks,” Jen said, now back on her feet.
Paul tapped Jen’s shoulder. “Don’t mention it.”
***
After that encounter, the two EDC operatives began examining the now dead insectoid creature in front of them. And the way it was shaped had them shook. Its arms were sharp like blades, as if swords had been surgically attached to its limbs, and its teeth were serrated and razor sharp. If there was one word to describe this creature, it’s ‘deadly’.
Jen quipped, “Armed to the teeth, literally.”
“Indeed,” Paul responded. “It’s as if this thing is bred for war.”
“Perhaps it was, Captain,” Jen said.
Paul processed Jen’s words, and knew exactly what she was implying. “You speak of the Klutuans.”
“I’ve read The Annals of United Earth,” responded Jen. “Twice. Read it again when you chose me to board this place with you. Icardi’s description of a Klutuan grunt matches perfectly with what we’re seeing right now.”
Paul crossed his arms; he too had read Icardi’s work of classical Terran literature. “I see. And if Icardi’s right about these guys, then they’re capable of consuming the biomass of entire planets.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Jen.
Paul pointed to the Klutuan corpse. “We take that thing to the Geneva. The Klutuans are a threat to humanity once more, so we need to study these guys. I’m sure Gibran will be happy with his new research subject.”
“I don’t think Sergeant Major Keyes will approve,” responded Jen, smirking behind her helmet.
“It’s dead,” Paul said. “It’ll be fine.”
Before Jen could respond, the ship shook, sending both Jen and Paul moving about even with their magnetic boots. Jen, desperate for something to hold on to, grabbed onto an unfamiliar protrusion on the ship’s walls. Unbeknownst to Jen, it was actually a console. She accidentally pressed a button.
Neither Paul nor Jen knew what went on before it was too late. The floor underneath Jen literally opened, like a trap door. The void below sucked in Jen.
Once more, Jen cried. “Captain!”
Paul was quick to move, but he was not quick enough to grab her in time. And he watched in horror as his partner was taken by the darkness below before the floors closed.
“No,” Paul said, almost in despair. “Jen!”
The EDC Captain began banging on the floor as if trying to break his way in. But soon he realized that wouldn’t do him any good. Having regained his senses, he soon found the terminal that Jen had accidentally activated, and the button that opened the trap door that sucked her in.
Paul’s hand hovered over the button. Jen, he thought.
A man’s voice interrupted, “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t.”
Captain Sobieski turned around to find another man in a space suit. Like with Paul’s own suit, the EDC’s insignia was emblazoned on the chest.
“Who are you?” Paul asked.
“Echo-263”, the man said, “or what’s left of them. Come with me if you want to live.”
***
Jen opened her eyes to find herself lying prone on the ground. Her space suit had broken her fall, but the impact must have knocked her unconscious.
Not for long, though. The suit’s head-up display showed Jen that medigel had been applied to her. But a quick look at a persistent red sent chills down her spine: her suit had been punctured. She panicked, gasping for air. But soon she realized that she was still breathing.
With that immediate crisis passed, she stood back up. Behind her helmet, Jen widened her eyes. Her surroundings were… no longer metal. The grey had all but disappeared. What replaced it were red and cream, the structure was now organic.
Now that she knew this place had air, Jen did the one thing she had been itching to do ever since she left the New Geneva.
She exited out of the space suit, seemingly a reckless thing but she did not hesitate. Why not, she thought. It’s useless at this point.
Now just in her infiltrator’s tactical suit, Agent Jen felt free, at least in terms of clothing. She turned back and saw her space suit now lying on the ground. Right next to it was her pistol; it must have fallen out of her suit’s holster during her descent into this place.
Jen reached down to grab that weapon...
… but then pulled her hand back. Something deep in her mind told her that it wouldn’t do her much good; and against her better judgement, she chose to heed it.
So Agent Jen walked on; she knew she needed to find a way out of here. Yet, she also knew she needed to investigate this place. Now her infiltrator’s instinct kicking in, she began to explore the place.
Carefully.
She snuck slowly, keeping herself attached to the wall. Keeping track of any little movements, she was able to elude the various kinds of creatures in this… hive. First there were the workers; Jen could identify them because they looked the most harmless. They were strong, judging by the heavy objects some of the them were lifting, but they were not literally armed to the teeth, to use her own words.
Further exploration led Jen to rooms filled with what she could only describe as oversized brains. Cerebrates, Jen thought. Icardi wrote on this.
Then there were the larva chambers, rooms in which the next generation of these… creatures were made. At this point, all doubts had been removed. She was definitely in a Klutuan hive. The larvas, oversized insects in Jen’s mind, made Jen grimace. Though Jen was not particularly afraid of bugs, she never cared for them either.
Jen made ready to leave when she heard a sickening splat. She looked down to see a larva, surely a stray as it was far away from the rest of its siblings. And Jen accidentally stepped on it; white liquid could be seen under her boots.
The larva, though hurt, was still alive. And it screamed, setting of the biological alarm of the Klutuans.
Now that her cover was blown, Jen began running. But she didn’t know where to run. She couldn’t go back where she came from, so she went the opposite way. Her destination was simple: anything but here. Yet her flight served only to send her deeper into the hive, and deep down she knew it.
Jen stopped, trying to get her bearings straight. She thought she had eluded the soldier Klutuans for the time being.
Until she felt a lean and flexible thing, like an elephant’s trunk, wrapping itself around her neck. And it began to squeeze. Jen now gasped for air. But before she could even register what was going on, the thing pulled her down; now Jen was lying on her back. She looked up to find a beetle-like creature pinning down her body with its feet. The creature’s arms were blade-like; more importantly, it had an appendage coming out of its back, the very same appendage that was now choking her.
The creature hissed, as if trying to intimidate her, but Jen was more concerned with her constricted airways and burning lungs. Her vision now blurring, the Agent pulled and clawed desperately at the appendage. But to no avail.
Now on the verge of losing consciousness inside of a Klutuan hive, Jen fully believed that she was going to die here.
Paul… was her last, desperate thoughts.
But before she passed out, a feminine voice cried out. “Ease up on her, Felix. She is to be unharmed and taken alive.”
And then everything went dark for Agent Jen.
To be Continued…
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