Planet Arkadia Storyline/English/4.3 Beyond the Golden Door

4.3 Beyond the Golden Door

Date: 6 MAR 3010 Time: 09:00hrs Location: Arkadian Golden Door, Aakas Alice O’Locklan stood at the edge of the broken balcony, looking at the pool far below. Water sprayed from cracks in the walls, casting shifting shadows across the giant statue. Even though scans showed that this chamber had not seen use for many years she felt uneasy. She didn’t fear an attack but had always hated being cut off from the sky. However, she was an IFN Commando and led the best scouts on Arkadia, so she was used to venturing into places that made her uncomfortable. She was within the chamber beyond the Arkadian Golden Door that had only just been opened for the first time. Six months earlier the Archaeological Society had offered a million Arkoin reward for the first colonist to craft the Golden Key, which had recently been claimed by Svena Faraday. Since it had been so hard to open the Door, Commodore Harvir had ordered that the military would accompany any initial search, and O’Locklan’s experience made her the perfect choice to lead such a mission. ‘How’s the view, Granny?’ Sergeant Hieuro asked from where the squad waited behind her. ‘Prettier than you, that’s for sure.’ O’Locklan said. She turned to Hieuro with a dangerous glint in her eyes. ‘Granny?’ He smirked at her. ‘You’re all wrinkled and tanned. Maybe if you spent less time outside you’d look as good as I do.’ ‘Call me Granny again and we’ll see who ends up looking worse. The rest of you, wipe those grins off. HQ has ordered us to scout the place and set up terminal, teleporter and network access for the Archaeological Society. Something is blocking our scans from penetrating beyond this main chamber but the scientists believe a terminal will be able to cut through any interference. Got that? Right, well it appears we finally get to meet our tech expert provided by the Archaeologists.’ She said, nodding towards the entrance as a small man appeared behind the squad. ‘Lieutenant O’Locklan? I’m Dr Reginald, your scientific and archaeological liaison for this mission. I’ve worked closely with both Professor Lee and Dr Zhen and have conducted extensive studies on the Aakas relics. I expect to be so busy examining everything down there that you’ll probably have to tie me up and drag me along. Or if we run into any trouble I should be able to find you the fastest route to the best hiding spot.’ Reginald said, raising a few laughs from the squad. ‘I like this one. Can we keep him, Lieutenant?’ Lefevre, the squad’s sniper, said with a smile. ‘You’d just be happy to have someone along who hides as well as you do.’ She replied. Turning to Reginald she said, ‘Once we’re down there you follow my orders and stay out of the way if things go bad. We aren’t babysitters.’ ‘Don’t worry, Lieutenant, I’ve done this before. I know the drill; I was at Defiant Firebase when the Oratan attacked. I’m more than handy with the Hermans. So where’s the path down?’ Reginald asked. ‘There is no path. Something broke off this balcony and it smashed its way through the bridges below. Sergeant Hieuro, I believe you were volunteering earlier to lead our expedition. Why don’t you show the Doc how we’re getting down?’ ‘At once, Ma’am.’ Hieuro saluted smartly, stepped forward and dove over the edge. A few seconds later they heard a splash. ‘All clear.’ Hieuro said over the transmitter. ‘Water is even deeper than it looks, which will make it hard for us to get to the lower levels. I’ll see if I can find the best way down.’ ‘Uh, you know, I can think of several better ways of getting down there—’ Reginald began. ‘Better, but not quicker. It’s your turn Doc. Try not to get hit by the equipment when we throw it over. Take a deep breath.’ O’Locklan said as she gave him a sharp push that sent him tumbling over the edge. The rest of her squad dropped their equipment with special flotation devices attached and quickly followed them down. While the squad was making their way down, Hieuro found a hole in the wall above the waterline caused by the falling debris. Once they passed through the makeshift passage they stood within a small, three sided room that looked as if it had remained undisturbed for centuries. While they assembled in the room Reginald paced impatiently as he fiddled with some of his equipment. ‘Lieutenant, I’m not getting any connection to my counterparts on the surface anymore.’ he said. ‘I have no link to HQ either,’ O’Locklan said, checking her own systems. ‘We’re cut off from the teleporter network, as we suspected might happen. Everyone stay on guard; we have no safety net now and we haven’t even begun to discover the mystery of this place. Reginald, one of those equipment packs has the terminal for a connection to the teleporter network. It should have enough power to link us back into the network and get our comms back online, so get that set up as quickly as you can. If we run into any surprises I want a route out of here. Sergeant, you and Lefevre stay here and keep him safe. Make sure we don’t get flanked by anything coming through the corridor leading towards the surface. The rest of us are going to continue the mission and scout ahead.’ O’Locklan ordered her squad around a bend that instantly opened up into a huge hall. Around the edges stood the tall warrior statues that could be found throughout Aakas. Even at a quick glance O’Locklan could see they were chipped and scarred. ‘Watch those statues; they look like the Sentries mentioned during the briefing.’ O’Locklan said as they entered the hall. There were too many entrances for her liking and there were small signs that it had seen recent use. She could see faint scuff marks in the layer of dust on the ground. They hadn’t gone far into the hall when a sudden roar shattered the silence. ‘Defensive formation!’ O’Locklan yelled, her squad in motion before she’d finished the order. As the cry faded the Sentries erupted into action, assaulting the squad from every direction, brandishing swords that glowed red hot with every swing. ‘Take ‘em down.’ O’Locklan ordered. The scouts calmly opened fire, shattering the enemy in the hall one by one. As the last one crumbled and the sound of the guns faded another roar shook the chamber and more of the enemy appeared from every entrance. ‘Looks like these guys are serious. Fall back to the entrance,’ O’Locklan ordered. ‘Don’t let them get past and cut us off from the others. Sergeant Hieuro, what’s your status back there?’ She yelled as the Sentries continued to arrive in increasing numbers. ‘All clear here. No sign of a threat from the main chamber.’ ‘Do we have a connection with the network yet?’ ‘Not yet, should be online in a minute. Lieutenant, the ground is shaking in here.’ Hieuro said. As O’Locklan focused on the sensation, a giant Sentry crashed through the other entrance at the far end of the hall. ‘Reginald, get that network link up and running now! We need heavier weapons for this.’ O’Locklan said. ‘Lefevre, get up here. Your rifle might be the only thing that can slow this beast down.’ ‘In position, Lieutenant.’ Lefevre said seconds later as he appeared by O’Locklan’s side. ‘Good. We’ll focus our fire on the rest; see if you can’t keep the big one off us until Reginald gets the teleporter online. Whatever’s down here must be valuable to have something that big guarding it.’ Lefevre sighted down his scope, breathing steadily. He tried his best to ignore the distractions of weapon fire and the thundering Sentries only metres from him as they continued their assault. Focusing his attention completely on the giant making its way across the hall, he released his breath in a slow stream, counting his heartbeats.