To Protect and Serve (With all My Heart)
You've been created to kill.
That's what you do.
No ifs, ands, or buts.
That's your purpose.
Remember, you're designed to kill and only kill...
Remember that, Frost.
Remember that, and you'll keep living.
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Chapter 1:
Dark Facility Part 1
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The Moon's Atmosphere: The Dark Side of the Moon
June 21st, 2050
June 21st is known as the longest day of the year on Earth. The Summer Solstice. 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness on the beautiful blue planet that the humans call home.
But in space, it's not full of life like on Earth. Instead, it's just a dark black void that seems to go on forever. A soldier, by the name of Frost looked outside of the transport vehicle he was in and continued to stare out into space. But the black void resided the majestic planet Earth. Frost could see the white puffy clouds and the cerulean blue color that was called the sea in the atmosphere of the Earth.
"Frost, sir?" a voice asked.
Frost looked towards the direction of the voice and saw that his squad were looking at him.
"Yes, what is it?" Frost asked.
A young man by the name of Jackson recoiled back a little due to the icy tone Frost had.
"We-we're almost ready to land, sir." the blonde and blue-eyed soldier informed, stuttering a little.
Frost's team consisted of six soldiers total, including himself. Frost looked towards each of his squad-mates and looked at them in their eyes. The five soldiers in front of them were clearly nervous.
Frost nodded to the soldier that had informed him and then looked into the ground. His helmet was already on, showing to his squad members that he was ready to go.
Two soldiers sat in a row next to Frost and three sat across from them in a somewhat tight room.
To the right of Frost sat Ramirez, a young recruit that showed excellent effort and a great soldier. He too had a crew cut and had dark brown eyes that matched his hair.
Jackson sat next to the window, right in front of Frost. He sat uneasily as his short blonde hair gleamed a little from the light. He too was a young soldier just like Ramirez.
The one that sat next to Jackson was Nutcracker. He earned the name by his 'addiction' to nuts. Reaching into the side of his pack, Nutcracker opened up a can of peanuts and started to eat the small brown legumes. He was a little older than Ramirez and Jackson, but held a much younger complexion due to the number of nuts he eats.
"Eating more nuts?" a female voice asked towards Nutcracker.
The voice came from Vigs, a tough female soldier who sat in front of Nutcracker. Her hair was a very bright pink color to have a bit of feminism to show.
"Ye-yeah..." Nutcracker said, as he shoved a handful of peanuts down this throat. "I always eat when I get really nervous." he said, his hands still shaking.
Vigs smiled and leaned forwards.
"Mind if I have some?" she asked.
Nutcracker shook his head and bent his can towards Vigs. The female soldier stuck her armored hands into the can to get a few peanuts.
"Yo, can I have some?" a soldier asked that sat next to Nutcracker.
The soldier went by the name of Sea-man. He didn't like what he was called, but a small incident during training at sea earned him the unique name. His green eyes looked over to Nutcracker as his short green hair stuck out like a sore thumb. It was certainly an odd color.
Nutcracker nodded and put the can within Sea-man's reach.
"Thanks." the green-eyed soldier said as he flipped a few legumes in his mouth.
Each soldier were covered in body armor, from their neck to toe. What was missing was just their helmet. The said helmets were in their laps or by their sides. They were shaking a little bit because the mission was dangerous, dangerous enough to get killed.
Frost too was a bit nervous, but he wasn't showing it. He knew that if he stuck to his training, everything would be fine.
"ETA, two minutes." the pilot of the transport said through the speaker above the soldiers' heads.
The five soldiers took notice and placed their helmets on, popping a hiss. The room they were in was a pale white color and small circular windows that showed the depth and beauty of space. Nutcracker put his can away as his helmet hissed on his head.
It was amazing how advanced human technology was. Space travel was much more common and there were even small colonies starting to develop on the Moon.
And suits made for battle was much better and easier to put on. The solid helmets hid the soldier's face, but their identity showed in the visors of other soldiers. Their eyes couldn't be seen as the visor was heavily tinted.
But even with this astonishing feat brought new problems that had never been encountered yet.
The mission was briefly briefed, but enough information told each soldier what their main objective was.
"There has been a slight problem on the Moon, Frosties..." a commanding female voice told Frost and the five soldiers.
The squad waited patiently what their superior officer had to say.
"We lost contact with the people on the dark side of the moon." the officer said, her face hidden in the shadows as she gave the information to the soldiers. "A research facility suddenly went down without a trace. Something may have been done in secret since our satellites were down. Any questions?"
"What are we exactly to do, Control?" Ramirez asked.
"You are to go in and find out what happened." Control said. "We would use drones, but there's been technical difficulties."
"As in what, ma'am?" Vigs asked.
"The drones barely properly work in outer space. If this situation was on Earth, we would switch this to a drone mission in a heart beat." Control explained "Also, the radio is somehow down. Your radios will be fine, but the communications device inside the facility are dead."
Nutcracker munched on a few hazelnuts as silence filled the room.
"Hey, can I have some?" Sea-man whispered, nudging his elbow into the nut-loving soldier.
"Anyway..." Control said, "This mission is very dangerous as there can be anything waiting. I entrust you soldiers with this very important mission."
"Yes, ma'am." Ramirez, Vigs, Jackson, Sea-man and Nutcracker said in unison.
But Nutcracker's answer was blubbered out as his mouths were filled with pecans.
"When the hell did you get those?!" Jackson asked, pointing to the jar of pecans in Nutcracker's hand.
"Frost?" Control asked looking over to the soldier.
"What?" Nutcracker said as Jackson's shocked face looked down at the pecan jar. "I love nuts!"
Frost nodded to Control.
"You're a project of a few words..." Control said, "I've read in your project reports that you weren't very chatty..."
Frost gripped his fists as he remembered what Control had said. She said that he was just a project. A filthy project that didn't mean anything. And that he wasn't a human.
But his grip loosened as he remembered something.
He wasn't a human.
He was a project designed to kill and destroy... Humans.
Frost remembered the exact words his 'creators' had said.
"Remember, you're designed to kill and only kill... Remember that, Frost."
"ETA, one minute." the pilot said as the whole ship went dark. "We're now entering the Moon's atmosphere."
The pilot's voice interrupted Frost's train of thought, the sudden darkness now calming him down. The squad was now on the dark side of the moon. There wasn't any sunlight to help the soldiers see whatsoever. Clicking their night vision on, the six soldiers could now clearly see just as much they could do with light.
"ETA, thirty seconds." the pilot said, "Make your way towards the pressure launch pad."
One by one, the soldiers got up and exited out the room there were in. Their heavy metal combat boots clanked on the ground with each heavy step.
"Pack lightly." Frost said as the soldiers were walking in single file, "But bring a few more things than for a simple search mission."
"Yes, sir."
The soldiers grabbed their main armament: a simple C-14 Guass rifle. However, each soldier packed a little more to fulfill Frost's orders. Fetching an extra pistol and ammunition, chambers and hammers clicked as slid onto the soldier's armor.
Loaded up, the soldiers made their way to the pressure launch pad as they were instructed. In the launch pad, it was just several ropes that hung from the ceiling. Six to be exact.
"I never trusted these things..." Sea-man said as he gently tugged on the thick ropes.
"Well, you at least know the drill, right?" Jackson asked. "It's just hold, slide, and let go."
It was a very simple, yet very efficient procedure.
"Alright, Frosties." Frost said in a very authoritive tone, "Just stick to your training and keep your head on at all times. If you do, you will come back alive. So... Let's do this."
"Ooh... I'm getting jittery..." Nutcracker said as he reached for the thick rope.
He was clearly shaking as he wrapped his fingers around the rope.
"Just like what Frost said, Nutcracker." Vigs said coolly.
She was nervous and tried her best to contain it.
" 'Remember your training.' "
"Go-got it!" Nutcracker said.
"Alright, Frosties!" the pilot said through the radio in the soldiers' helmets. "We're about a hundred feet from the surface! Commencing drop off!"
The floor below the soldiers erupted open as if they were giant doors. The middle of the floor flung wide open to the dark surface of the room.
"Stay frosty, Frosties!" the pilot said. "We'll pick you up soon!"
The ropes extended down to the open bottom, the Frosties slid down the long rope and safely to the ground. There was no need to slide down with both hands because of the Moon's gravity.
With each thud of their boots, the Frosties got their weapons out in front of them and scanned the entire horizon of the Moon's surface. The facility was just few hundred feet away. The flying transport above them soon roared away, leaving the soldiers in the complete darkness and a whole new world.
The Moon's surface was just a barren wasteland of moon rocks and just more rocks. It was much different that any place on Earth.
"So odd... But beautiful..." Ramirez commented softly.
All of the other soldiers quietly agreed as Frost simply nodded his head.
"The base is just there." Frost said, giving a hand signal towards the giant facility. "Stay quiet because we have no idea what's there..."
All the soldiers nodded as they brought their rifles up. In a 'V' formation, Frost aimed his rifle up at the giant doors of the base. Ramirez, Jackson, Vigs, Nutcracker, and Sea-man aimed their rifles in different positions of the base just in case anything popped up. The team could've just walked up without any care and just open the door, but the complete silence of the facility left an eerie feeling in each of soldiers' stomach.
The Frosties were now at the giant door, no lights even making the slightest appearance. And the fact of no sound made the mission much more creepy.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Nutcracker said as he shakily looked at the facility with his weapon up.
He still kept his composure as he observed the dark tall facility.
"My God..." Vigs said as she looked at the door.
"What is it?" Frost asked.
"The door... It's forcibly opened..." Vigs said as she crouched walked over to the door.
A small section of the door was very charred and disintegrated. Someone, or something had entered the base very loudly and left a very distinct trace.
"It has to be some kind of explosive..." Jackson said as he kneeled by Frost's side. "I've seen many explosions that dented, but never disintegrated like this..."
"Tread lightly." Frost said softly, giving the signal for 'regroup'.
The soldiers followed his orders and grouped by Frost. Frost then pointed into the damaged door, giving a signal to follow behind them. One by one, the soldiers crouched into the hole to get access to the base.
Sea-man was the last one to go in, but something didn't even feel right for him. In fact, his instincts were warning him. As he went into the base, a few humanoid figures from the rocky mountains of moon rocks above and spotted the Frosties.
The Frosties were now at the depressurizing chamber, a large hole gaping in front of them. The white walls were charred black as coal as the Frosties' armos scathed the wall a little.
"Clear left." Vigs said, turning her rifle in a section of the particular hallway she looked at.
"Clear right." Nutcracker said, turning his rifle in his designated direction.
"Hallway, clear!" Jackson said, looking at the main hallway.
The facility was a pure white building that was one of the most advanced things the humans had created. But the darkness inside clouded many of the technology, as if it's been stripped. The lights barely were on and flickered violently, increasing the eeriness of the setting they were in.
"The facility's has been attacked..." Ramirez said as he looked at a shattered glass wall.
The glass wall looked to be a few inches thick, not even a bullet possible to even penetrate it. Someone or something must've had more than just guns to blast their way into the facility.
Frost gave a signal for Jackson and Ramirez to check the left hallway that intersected the main hallway and Vigs and Nutcracker to the right.
"Sea-man, on me." Frost said as the said soldier crouch walked over to him.
"Sir..." Sea-man said softly.
"What is it?"
"I-I feel that someon-something is in the shadows..." Sea-man said nervously as he looked towards the shadows. "As if something is watching... Waiting..."
"I feel that too, soldier." Frost said, looking towards to the terrified soldier. "And we have a mission to do."
"Frost!" Vigs' voice said through the radio. "Nutcracker and I found something... Gruesome... Over."
"How gruesome, over?"
"It-how do you put a mangled human corpse on a scale of one through ten of gruesomeness, sir?" Nutcracker asked, "Over."
Sea-man cocked his head into full attention and brought his rifle up, alert if anything was going to attack.
"How does the corpse look like?" Frost asked, "Over."
"I see that the torso was ripped open..." Vigs said, her voice over the radio. "I see the intestines... Stomach..."
"Frost, do you copy? Over." Ramirez's voice said through the radio.
"Copy, over." Frost said as Sea-man looked around the corner.
"Jackson and I found a total count of... ten human bodies." Ramirez said grimly. "All the vital organs are present, but the heart. Over."
"Copy that." Vigs said. "I can't see the heart on this body and-"
"SHIT!" Nutcracker yelled out of the blue as he fired a couple of rounds.
The deafening cracks of the bullets echoed throughout the base, even though they were in space.
"Nutcracker, what the - FUCK!" Vigs' voice said through the radio.
"Kooshar!" a voice that didn't come from any soldier said. "Yurksh!"
"Kill them!" Nutcracker's voice yelled, firing his rifle in bursts.
"Fucking hell!" Vigs' voice said. "What the fuck are these things?!"
"Ramirez! Jackson!" Frost said. "Do you copy?!"
"Co-copy that, sir!" Jackson answered. "We heard everything from Vigs and Nutcracker! We're on our way!"
"Frost, these things are everywhere!" Nutcracker said, sheer panic in his voice. "These aren't human!"
The gunshots continued on as Frost and Sea-man made their way towards Vigs and Nutcracker. Rameriez and Jackson had sprinted as fast as they could be safer in larger numbers.
"Let's go!" Sea-man said, gripping his rifle, checking his corners as he and the others made their way to Nutcracker and Vigs.
"Cukcrunka!" an odd voice said.
A large humanoid figure that was much taller than any soldier stood in the way, sheathing some sort of blade from both it's hands. The creatures didn't have any eyes and was black as night, blending in with the darkness. It's back was arched in way that it was more on fours than on twos. A large tail coiled on the rear end of the creature, drool dropping from it's mouth as it said something again.
"Kooshar!" the creature said, lunging at them.
Frost, Sea-man, Ramirez, and Jackson took no hesitation in shooting the monster. Each soldier expect Frost dumped their entire clip into the creature, over killing it with bullets.
"Watch your ammunition!" Frost said as the humongous beast fell down.
Bullet holes filled the creature's body as a dark blue crimson liquid slowly leaked out from the holes.
"Each shot is going to count to get to Nutcracker and Vigs!" Frost said as he continued to aim towards the hallway the odd creature jumped out of.
The three soldiers hastily reloaded before getting ready to move.
"Vigs, Nutcracker, do you read me?" Frost asked as silence echoed throughout the facility.
"Nu-Nutcracker got impaled by one of these things!" Vigs reported. "I don't see a wound, but a blade pierced him!" it sounded like she was on the brink of breaking down.
"We'll be there stat!" Sea-man said. "Nutcracker is not going to leave his nuts behind!"
"He-he's still breathing." Vigs said as the sound of a clip clicking into her rifle was heard. "Come quick... Please."
"You heard her, boys!" Jackson said as adrenaline pumped into his body. "Let's do this!"
Frost led the soldiers down the hallway as quick as they could and safely as possible. Checking corners, the soldiers knew that another one of them would pop out.
Suddenly, two creatures with their blades revealed themselves in some sort of ambush.
"Krakina! Krakina!" a distorted voice from one of the creatures said.
"Lursvst!" a second one said, snarling, it's black blade out.
The soldiers in unison sprayed down the creatures with their weapons very efficiently.
"Just like clockwork!" Ramirez said as his boots stomped the now dead body of the creature.
"Don't get too comfortable yet." Frost said. "They somehow got close enough to stab Nutcracker... And we have no idea how they did it..."
"Graulsh!" a voice said from the sides of the soldiers.
The walls that was next to them suddenly collapsed, revealing the dark night creature. The black blade they wielded were ready to strike and kill Jackson. There wasn't anytime to fire their weapons at the incoming creature. The sharp blade came quick and nimble into the sides of Jackson's head.
It was all over for him.
But Frost was very alert and stepped in front of the sharp blade, using his gun to deflect the attack. For the soldiers, it seemed instant, but to Frost, he had more than a few seconds to counter that attack. He couldn't let the soldiers die under his watch. He was strictly ordered to keep his soldiers alive.
Frost roared as he twisted his gun around, making the blade spin in a very uncomfortable position for the creature. As the arms of the creature twisted around, a crack was heard in the creature's arms, a painful sound coming from it's mouth.
The soldiers; Sea-man, Jackson, and Ramirez immediately fired their weapons on the creature's head, killing it instantly.
"Wo-wow..." Jackson said, "Than-thank you, si-"
"Don't mention it." Frost said, cutting Jackson off as he grabbed his rifle. "We have Vigs and Nutcracker to save."
