Scion of Humanity

Captain Jeremy Jackson shifted uncomfortably at the dining room table alongside two other team leaders. In the past month, he and the others had entered the spatial distortion dozens of times and killed what seemed like hundreds of aliens.

Our teams can’t survive this meat grinder much longer.

Over the last few weeks, half their soldiers had died. Of the original six teams, only three now remained.

By now, Jeremy had learned to keep his mouth shut. Scott Peters, their CIA boss, and the only one seated who was not military, did not take kindly to objections. What Jeremy could not fathom, however, was how the other two team leaders remained loyal.

Are they just playing along?

The other captains and their teams had been thrust into the same meat grinders as he had, yet they never seemed to question their orders. Even now, they eagerly and respectfully responded to Mister Peter’s queries.

“Of course, sir,” Captain Roberts responded. “Whatever you need.”

Suck up.

Jeremy’s lip curled in disgust before he was able to prevent the expression.

“Okay, now that we’re all caught up.” Scott shuffled the papers before him until he found the appropriate notes. “There’s been a new development. Leadership has determined that the spatial distortion here in DC is no longer a priority. The quarantine will remain, but we will cease all exploratory operations.”

Finally!

“That, however, does not mean that our job is done. In the past week, two additional distortions were located and secured. One is in Spokane, Washington, and the other is in Pinetop, Arizona. The first was reported by a rancher. He was chasing away wolves on horseback, when he stumbled through the distortion. Luckily, he had a rifle on him, and was able to eliminate the NHIs on the other side. According to the rancher, these are not the same NHIs you are all familiar with. They are short, fat, and ugly.”

Jeremy heard a snort of laughter to his left, but remained straight-faced as he absorbed the new information.

“We have less information about the second distortion. It was discovered a few days ago by police. Two of their officers were chasing a local druggy and went MIA. When backup arrived, there was an altercation with a fugitive, which ended in the deaths of at least one officer, possibly others. While searching the scene, three additional police stumbled inside the distortion before it was cordoned off. As yet, none have returned.”

Jeremy shook his head sadly. He knew exactly what kind of hell they were up against. Likely, the local police officers were already dead.

“Captain Frederick, I’m placing you in charge of the Spokane operation.”

“Yes sir,” the team leader affirmed the order.

“Captain Roberts, you’re in charge of the Pinetop operation.”

“Yes sir,” the officer responded.

Mister Peters turned to Jeremy. “Captain Jackson, you will accompany Captain Roberts to Pinetop. Your team will be split between operations, and you will be placed under Captain Robert’s command. Is that understood?”

Jeremy bit his lip and then responded, “Yes sir.”

When he affirmed the order, the CIA man addressed his new commanding officer. “Captain Roberts, your operation is a bit more complicated than Captain Frederick’s. The local police force is angry about the loss of their own, and want answers. They’re also out for this ‘fugitive’s’ blood.”

I would be, too, if some criminal killed my friends.

“Keep an eye out for any sign of the criminal,” Scott continued. “If he somehow made it out of the anomaly alive, we need to detain him. We will, of course, not be providing any answers to the police. The quarantine team has already given them a cover story and denied further access to the site. They will run interference with the local authorities while you and your team investigate the distortion.”

That’s gonna go over well, I bet.

“Unfortunately, we have no information on what may be on the other side. However, your orders remain the same. Both teams are to capture and return with any NHIs they find. If that remains impossible, you are to interrogate them on site and execute them.”

“Yes sir,” all three captains responded.

“Good,” Mister Peters nodded absently. “Private transportation has been arranged as well as local accommodations. I want this new operation up and running as soon as possible.”

I thought Arizona was all desert.

Pinetop was nothing like Jeremy expected. He assumed the area would be filled with cactus, rocks, and blazing heat. Instead, their new site was surrounded by verdant forest, which could be quite chilly when the wind blew. Although, he did find one lone cactus on his way.

It’s really nice here.

Unfortunately, his flight to the small city was not. He had been escorted to a private airfield, transported on a cargo plane to a small airport in Show Low, Arizona, and was then driven to a house in Pinetop, fifteen minutes south. As the accommodation was decorated as a vacation home, not a CIA safehouse, he could only assume they had rented it off Aerobnb.

Once situated, Jeremy, along with Captain Roberts and his men, were transported with black SUVs to the quarantine site. A white fire tower stood atop a large hill, which overlooked the area.

Unfortunately, there was only room inside the small structure for four people, especially kitted out in gear as they were. Jeremy, along with two other soldiers, waited on the staircase below as Captain Roberts gave last minute instructions.

When the additional orders were fully disseminated, they marched through the distortion, one at a time. Jeremy entered the distortion and immediately appeared within the familiar darkness. In this area, time seemed meaningless.

Seconds, minutes, or even hours later, he was ejected from the dark and into a desert wasteland. Jeremy quickly rose to his feet, where he immediately noticed a much heavier gravity than he was used to on Earth. However, the strange sensation was not as important as his safety. He raised his rifle, and scanned the surrounding area for threats.

After he ensured the area was clear, he tried and failed to raise his team on the dead communication equipment. He checked, and the camera on his helmet was also offline. When he determined that all electronics were disabled, as usual, he began to observe the area in detail.

Same old, same old.

Jeremy stood at the bottom of a small canyon, fifteen feet deep. Whatever stream carved through the rocks was nowhere to be seen. Only tan stones, coated in dust, surrounded him.

If the increased gravity was not enough to convince him he was on another planet, the local star, which was almost twice the size of the sun, clenched it. He carefully climbed out of the depression and continued to search for aliens.

All he found at the top was more desert.

Jeremy located the highest point nearby and summited the jagged rocks until he reached a viewpoint where he could reconnoiter the area.

What the hell is that?

What looked like a large, tan bear, foraged among short, fat succulents. However, it was unlike any bear he had seen back home. Not only was it far bulkier, but it had long, bushy ears as well.

Well, that thing’s definitely not intelligent. Let’s see if I can find the aliens.

Unfortunately, that bear-like animal was the only creature in view from his vantage point. He was forced to descend the rocky rise, and explore the area on foot.

An hour later, he was hot, sweaty, and annoyed. Twice, he felt a familiar tingling sensation, and was forced to turn back before it morphed into debilitating pain. He had begun to think of the mysterious technology as an invisible fence, and was careful to stay within its bounds.

Jeremy clambered along yet another rocky hill to better survey the area, when he stumbled into the local wildlife. In distress, he lost his grip, and slid down to the ledge below. The loud rock slide woke the slumbering beast above, and it roared at the invasion of its territory.

Shit!

Jeremy unstrapped his firearm, aimed at the large animal five feet away, and fired. The first bullet only made it angrier, so he continued to fire steady shots, aimed at center mass, until all fifteen rounds were expended.

He immediately ejected his magazine, detached a spare from his vest, and inserted it into his rifle. With his training and practice, the reload took less than a second.

The bullets did heavy damage to the strange animal’s internals, and its footing slipped as it lost strength. To Jeremy’s horror, the rhinoceros size creature began to slide off the side of the ledge, directly above him.

He immediately threw himself to the side atop a large outcropping, where he became precariously balanced in the heavy gravity. Unfortunately, his reload, as fast as it was, delayed him just long enough that his rifle was caught beneath the beast as it landed.

The gun was wrenched from his hand, which heavily bruised his fingers, and almost caused him to fall. However, when the dead weight of the bear-like animal finally stopped its slide, he celebrated his victory.

That was close!

Jeremy hopped off the outcropping and over to the ledge where the wild beast fell, to retrieve his firearm. He bent over, found the strap, and pulled. When it did not budge, he attempted to pry it out. In the end, it took him almost a half hour before he was able to retrieve his weapon.

Well, shit…

As he inspected the rifle, he realized it would never fire another bullet. The steel barrel, the strongest piece of the gun, was irrecoverably bent. Without his rifle, he was left with only a combat knife and two fragmentation grenades.

Maybe I can whittle a spear?

Captain Jackson searched the horizon, but found only cacti and rocks in his view. He had yet to find a tree since he arrived, and would be unlikely to locate a suitable branch.

I guess not. Are these bear thingies the only thing here? Do I need to kill all of them for the distortion to become active?

Jeremy checked his grenade pouch and grimaced. The explosives were far more likely to wound than outright kill. If he used one on the large animal, he would need to get in close and finish it off with his knife.

Maybe there’s just two more bears and I can go home.

He took a swig from his canteen, wiped the sweat from his brow, and set off in search of a bear to kill.

Jeremy shielded himself behind a large boulder as the grenade exploded. The concussive blast was accompanied by a strange yelp, and he immediately peeked around the stone to observe his prey.

Yes!

His throw had been accurate, and the beast now let out a soft mewling wail as it lay on its side. He retrieved his knife from his waist and stalked forward to put the wounded animal out of its misery. Jeremy grunted with effort and buried his knife deep within its eye socket.

When the large creature did not immediately die, he pried the six-inch blade from side to side until it finally lay still.

Hopefully that’s the last one, I’m all out of explosives.

That was the second grenade he had used, and the third animal he had killed. He was left with nothing but his knife, and intended to return to the small canyon where he arrived. Hopefully the spatial distortion would be open so he could return to Earth.

By the time he located his arrival point, the large sun had begun to set, and he was exhausted. Despite only wearing twenty pounds of gear, he felt like he wore over a hundred. His legs felt like jelly, and his back was sore. As he descended into the canyon, all he could think of was the barbecue place he saw on the drive into town.

Maybe they’ll order take out after debrief.

Unfortunately, he found no red, swirling, glow of a distortion where he entered. The anomaly was inactive, and he remained stranded on the alien world.

Jeremy stared at his six-inch knife, his lone weapon, and then at the setting sun.

I should find the next bear before it gets dark.

As he struggled out of the canyon and searched for the next animal, he did his best to focus on the task before him rather than his hopeless chance of victory. He trudged through the rock and dust until the last rays of the local sun lit the sky.

Jeremy was forced to turn away from the invisible fence three times before he finally found another bear-like animal. He immediately hid behind a rock and quieted his breathing before he dared check to see if he alerted it.

Thank God.

The beast remained unaware of his presence, a mere fifty feet away. Unfortunately, he doubted he could reach the beast while remaining hidden.

Maybe it’ll fall asleep soon.

The sun set, and night had fallen. So far, he had found no other animals, only the short, stubby cacti they seemed to feed upon. While he waited impatiently for the animal to sleep, he pondered something that had bothered him.

There’s no way they get that big just by eating cactus. What’s going on here? Is this like a zoo or something? Why does the anomaly only open after I kill everything in the pen?

Unfortunately, he found no answers to his questions.

It took over two hours before the large animal finally bedded down for the night. Twice he had to silently stalk the beast as it moved on to forage food. Each time he departed, he held his breath and advanced slowly, careful to not alert his prey.

Finally.

He stealthily approached. As he knelt before the slumbering creature, his heart raced and sweat dripped from his brow, despite the chill. Captain Jackson gripped his knife with two hands, took a slow, deep breath, and plunged his blade down into its closed eye socket.

It immediately woke with a roar and batted him away with its oversized limbs. He rolled along the rocky ground, and felt twinges in his back and limbs as they became bruised.

When he realized the beast now stood, he immediately scrambled to his feet. His movement alerted the large creature, despite it having only a single good eye, and it lunged toward him.

Jeremy dove to the side, and further injured his hip in his desperation to escape the wicked claws. He felt a breeze ruffle his short hair as the beast’s large paw swiped the air above him.

Screw this!

Jeremy pushed himself off the ground and fled the area.

He panted as he darted between rocks and over short hills to avoid pursuit. Each time he looked behind him, he found himself barely ahead, which only served to spur him on.

When his stamina completely flagged, and he felt he could run no further, he took one last look behind him and then collapsed to the ground in relief.

The bear-like creature had finally bled out.

I can’t believe I killed that monster with a knife!

Captain Jackson remained on the ground as he breathed heavily, desperate for oxygen. For long minutes, all he could think of was how much he hoped it was the last animal within the pen, until his thoughts were interrupted by a strange new phenomenon.

Welcome to the Collective!

What the hell is that!?!

Jeremy waved his hand in front of his face in an effort to dislodge the lightly glowing words before him. It passed back and forth, threw the message, but had no effect on its existence. He mentally forced them away, and was surprised when the action was successful.

Your species has been chosen by the Architect to join countless others on a path to power. As a member of the Collective, you will use nano to enhance your body, gain access to combat classifications, and harness power previously unknown. This will be necessary to overcome the challenges your planet will face in the future. You will be given directives to follow to show you the path. However, it is up to you to decide how you achieve it. Always remember, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

As one of the first of your species to join the Collective, it is your duty to spread this message and prepare others for what is to come. You may induct others into the Collective early by transferring nanomachines to them.

Holy shit! Justin Miller was right!

Jeremy dismissed the message, and another took its place.

You have successfully completed the Combat Scenario. Would you like to choose your reward now?