whatever the hell it was chasing them, and they left him behind. That's pretty fucked up. They never went back in to see if he was alive or not, just locked down the rift and came looking for you."
"Are you serious?" Talbot's hands began trembling, but for once it wasn't from fear.
"Yep. Anyways, this time it'll be different. You won't get left behind."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Talbot.
The Australian commando's eyes narrowed, and his face adopted an expression so vastly different from his former casualness that Talbot's breath caught in his throat. There was something very predatory about that look.
"Because this time I'll be there," he said simply.
Talbot found the words somehow reassuring and terrifying at the same time.
***
The first person they met was General Sharpe, recently escaped from Base Alpha. "It's good to see you're okay, Doctor," the general said. "This mission would be doomed if you were to fall."
"Like my brother fell ?"
"Exactly."
"Why was there no rescue attempt to retrieve Thomas?" demanded Talbot.
General Sharpe's glare shot daggers at Wes, who simply leaned against a wall and yawned.
"It was deemed too risky to reopen the rift. The decision was made due to the high improbability of your brother's survival. Any rescue attempt would endanger this entire base of operations as well as the lives of those involved. Every time one of those things gets through the rift, it tears its way out of here through the very walls. Each breach is a risk the entire place will collapse, and the rift will no longer be contained."
"Surely if it's at the bottom of the ocean, anything to come through would drown?" argued Talbot.
"No, Doctor. These things don't breathe air. They move through the ocean easier than we walk on land."
Talbot swallowed heavily at the thought. "What do you need from me?" he asked, though he knew the answer would be the thing he dreaded most.
"We need you to find a way to close the rift from the other side. We believe the answers lie there, within the realm of Tartarus."
Talbot thought through the general's words. He really didn't want to help them after they'd abandoned his brother to die, but the image of Captain Benedict kept returning to haunt him. Even though he had been among those who had supposedly abandoned Thomas beyond the rift, the man's sacrifice remained, and Talbot felt obliged to repay the debt he owed.
"You keep talking about the rift being secure. How do you secure it?" he asked the general.
"I couldn't give you the details, but our scientists discovered that if we concentrated enough electricity on it - and I'm talking about more power than a city the size of Los Angeles uses - we could narrow the gap enough so that only smaller denizens of Tartarus could sneak through. Most of these we are able to take care of, but enough get past us that we have the problem of them escaping out into the world."
"How do you generate so much power?" Talbot asked.
"We transported a prototype nuclear reactor several months ago. It's a fraction the size of a regular reactor, but also more... how shall I say... unpredictable. It occasionally lapses, and then we have a problem like that cyclops back at Base Alpha, or the gryphon that attacked your Super Stallion. We need to close the rift from the inside, Doctor. There is no other way."
Talbot cursed inwardly.
"You'll be right mate," chimed in Wes, lifting a M4A5 Carbine assault rifle before slamming in a full clip and chambering a round. "Those little fuckers won't get within pterodactyl-farting distance of you, I promise."
Exasperated, Talbot spun to ask what he meant, but noticed the predatory look had returned to Wes's eyes. It was an expression of such intensity Talbot was forced to drop his gaze.
"When do you want me to go?" he asked softly.
"Now," answered General Sharpe.
Crap.
***
They stood in the rift chamber, and Talbot gazed around in wonder. The area revealed the scars of several battles, including
"Are you serious?" Talbot's hands began trembling, but for once it wasn't from fear.
"Yep. Anyways, this time it'll be different. You won't get left behind."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Talbot.
The Australian commando's eyes narrowed, and his face adopted an expression so vastly different from his former casualness that Talbot's breath caught in his throat. There was something very predatory about that look.
"Because this time I'll be there," he said simply.
Talbot found the words somehow reassuring and terrifying at the same time.
***
The first person they met was General Sharpe, recently escaped from Base Alpha. "It's good to see you're okay, Doctor," the general said. "This mission would be doomed if you were to fall."
"Like my brother fell ?"
"Exactly."
"Why was there no rescue attempt to retrieve Thomas?" demanded Talbot.
General Sharpe's glare shot daggers at Wes, who simply leaned against a wall and yawned.
"It was deemed too risky to reopen the rift. The decision was made due to the high improbability of your brother's survival. Any rescue attempt would endanger this entire base of operations as well as the lives of those involved. Every time one of those things gets through the rift, it tears its way out of here through the very walls. Each breach is a risk the entire place will collapse, and the rift will no longer be contained."
"Surely if it's at the bottom of the ocean, anything to come through would drown?" argued Talbot.
"No, Doctor. These things don't breathe air. They move through the ocean easier than we walk on land."
Talbot swallowed heavily at the thought. "What do you need from me?" he asked, though he knew the answer would be the thing he dreaded most.
"We need you to find a way to close the rift from the other side. We believe the answers lie there, within the realm of Tartarus."
Talbot thought through the general's words. He really didn't want to help them after they'd abandoned his brother to die, but the image of Captain Benedict kept returning to haunt him. Even though he had been among those who had supposedly abandoned Thomas beyond the rift, the man's sacrifice remained, and Talbot felt obliged to repay the debt he owed.
"You keep talking about the rift being secure. How do you secure it?" he asked the general.
"I couldn't give you the details, but our scientists discovered that if we concentrated enough electricity on it - and I'm talking about more power than a city the size of Los Angeles uses - we could narrow the gap enough so that only smaller denizens of Tartarus could sneak through. Most of these we are able to take care of, but enough get past us that we have the problem of them escaping out into the world."
"How do you generate so much power?" Talbot asked.
"We transported a prototype nuclear reactor several months ago. It's a fraction the size of a regular reactor, but also more... how shall I say... unpredictable. It occasionally lapses, and then we have a problem like that cyclops back at Base Alpha, or the gryphon that attacked your Super Stallion. We need to close the rift from the inside, Doctor. There is no other way."
Talbot cursed inwardly.
"You'll be right mate," chimed in Wes, lifting a M4A5 Carbine assault rifle before slamming in a full clip and chambering a round. "Those little fuckers won't get within pterodactyl-farting distance of you, I promise."
Exasperated, Talbot spun to ask what he meant, but noticed the predatory look had returned to Wes's eyes. It was an expression of such intensity Talbot was forced to drop his gaze.
"When do you want me to go?" he asked softly.
"Now," answered General Sharpe.
Crap.
***
They stood in the rift chamber, and Talbot gazed around in wonder. The area revealed the scars of several battles, including
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