Using the Leftovers

[Taeli Raaf]

While the facilities on Togoria were finding and adapting viable material, a second offshoot of the same part of the project was being established in the ruins of Melida/Daan. While the initial impact had caused a severe amount of devastation to the planet ... the aftermath of when the Vitae had left was even worse. The impact had damaged too many of the planet's reactor sites and other areas where toxins and radiation were stored.

Not much life was left on the planet, with the civilians having been moved to domed off cities to try and eke out an existence and to rebuild. Aurora Industries was thus left to their own devices in going about the next phase of their Project Galvani, with those still on the planet just trying to survive.

Radiation shielding, air scrubbers, defenses were all needed at the mining facility here and that was exactly what they were working on. Taeli wasn't personally there to oversee it, she was still on Togoria, but she was being kept in the loop.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

The miners, or as they had taken on the name of recyclers as well once they heard what the Togoria workers were calling themselves, were encountering a slightly different set of problems than the Togoria facility. Those problems were mainly environmental in nature as the impact and subsequent fallout had left a ton of debris in the air and the equipment kept getting jammed as they dug down into the projected site.

Still, some of the men had worked in a cortosis mine and they equated the conditions to the same as a cortosis mine ... just with less risk of getting fried by the material they were gathering. The residue of the beings killed was almost like what was left after an atomic explosion, not surprising considering the forces unleashed by the impact and the radiation that had been unleashed by the more populated world meant that plenty of the material was perfect for "glow matter."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

As work really began in earnest, the recyclers began delving into the ruins of the capital city under escort from Aurora droid security. Scanners were tuned to looking for what an internal memo had now dubbed Sianium among the nearby buildings while another team was looking to breach into the sewers below the city. From what had been seen on Togoria, the sewers were a safe guess of a large source of viable material on Melida/Daan, especially considering the natural reaction of civilians to flee to supposed places that would be safe from the impact.

At the main facility, the research team in charge were working on mapping out the local area on a holomap of reported material sites. Green meant it was heavily filled with organic material, yellow medium, red barely any, and blue meant nothing there. The survey teams were ahead of the recyclers, and were mostly drones programmed to look for the Sianium base material.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Work continues, but we're dealing with something weird in the outlying areas, sir," the head of the facility was informing Jaxson over the comm. "While we've been finding a great deal of viable material, something is picking off our recon drones if they stray too far into a certain section of the city. We think it might be feral survivors or even creatures that have mutated. I've upped the number of patrols and recon teams are going to be escorted by some of our droids."

"Interesting, if possible capture a live specimen if it is a creature," Jaxson said, stroking his chin. "If it is feral survivors, only one way to deal with them as we discovered during the relief operation with the Vitae. When will the first shipment of material be ready?"

"Within the next fortnight," the head of facility stated. "We wanted to get our operation secure and the equipment completely established before we began recycling processes."

"Very well, the refinement facility on Galidraan had a successful cell creation, but they will need more material than what shipments from Togoria can bring them before cells can be created enmass."

"What about Taris?"

"A team has been dispatched to the old Siantide sites to review them for Galvani, Taeli and I are expecting a report from them within a few days," Jaxson said. "I highly suspect results there will be positive and we won't have to worry about supply issues between Taris, your facility, Togoria, and the tests coming from Iego. Let me know when the shipment is sent and what is causing your recon teams some distress."

"Yes sir."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

The recycling had begun in the more secure areas of the Aurora operations, but whatever was stalking the recon patrols was making it significantly more difficult to expand out to the other sites that had plenty of Sianium. The head of operations was getting annoyed with whatever it was because they had yet to get a clear image of the unknown adversary.

Still, they had at least filled one freighter and sent it off to the refinement facility on Galidraan despite the setbacks they were facing. He still wanted to expand their operations to the other sites though, and so he had a difficult order to make. Sending a message to Aurora Industries security forces, he had requisitioned several Petreus bombers and an entire wing of Lunar fighters, along with Harbinger and Herald droids. He was not going to be messing around this time.

"The plan is simple," he explained to the commander of the security division. "We will be sending a recon and recycler team out to Site Alpha-06, which we have designated as having an absurd amount of Sianium. The team has orders to carry out recycling duties and establish an outpost there, but they will also serve as bait for your forces to eliminate this unknown enemy. We have quotas to meet and I don't want anymore interruptions. Exterminate the pests, but per Jaxson's order, live specimens are needed for the bioengineering division. Understood?"

"And if the opposition is survivors from the cataclysm?" the security officer asked.

"Exterminate means exterminate, Captain," the head of facility replied. "We need access to those Sianium sites, no ifs, ands, or buts."

"Very well."

"We have also been requested to bring along a new weapon the boys from Kesh have sent us to test in the field," the commander continued. "We have accepted the request and will be utilizing these if need be, which the case will be highly likely. They will be distributed at the outpost site."

As the freighter carrying their first shipment lifted off, the Aurora fighters and bombers lifted off in the opposite direction to provide air cover for the recon/recycle team and their ground escorts.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Several hours later, the mission had cleared a large zone around the outpost site and established perimeter defenses while the recyclers got to work on mining the Sianium. Plenty of feral people and beasts had been cleared out, and the commander of the expedition had a sinking feeling that the worse wasn't over yet. Air cover was still present, but he had instructed his men to get out the special toys the scientists had given them.

"Are you sure about these things?" a soldier asked, handling the grenade in his gingerly. "These use the stuff we're mining right?"

"From the Chief said, these are Sianium plasma grenades," the commander said, looking at the crate they had busted open. Rows of spheres roughly the size of a redfruit were inside, a green light pulsing gently from each sphere. "They use a Sianium core within a plasma generator and other techno babble, but after three seconds, the plasma charges and the Sianium reacts violently to it. Big explosion in a little package."

"Do we have any idea on how they actually work in the field?" his lieutenant asked, looking at the orbs a little nervously.

"We're the first field tests, right here, making sure this site is secure for recycling and getting the needed Sianium for the project," the commander stated. "Better buckle in boys, those insane survivors or whatever they've become, are more active at night. I want spotlights up along the entire perimeter and start handing these out to the men."

"Yes sir."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Grenades and weapons distributed, and the sensor grid and spotlights are online, sir," an officer reported to the commander as the vestiges of light faded behind the horizon. Within the established outpost, the sounds of the recyclers getting their mining gear going could be heard. They would attract the enemy, no doubt about that.

"Then we just..." he started to say and then an insistent beeping began from his fellow officer's datapad.

"Sensor grid breach in section 4," the officer exclaimed and then there was a loud crackling explosion of green energy. Warped and twisted bodies were thrown this way and that. It would seem the Sianium grenades worked their magic after all.

"We're under attack!"

"All forces, hold your positions!" the commander ordered as out of the gloom, multiple humans with weird growths and protrusions scrambled from the rubble towards the lights and sounds. Blaster bolts started flying, red energy searing and hitting the advancing monsters. Another grenade went off, evaporating some enemies and throwing into sharp relief the features of the monsters assailing them.

"Grenades have a kill radius of roughly 7 to 8 meters, with damage being felt at roughly 15 to 16 meters," a scientist observing the battle over the helmet cams said. At the main Aurora facility, which was also dealing with attacks, the engineers had wanted to witness their work in action. The Chief of the facility was happy to play host to the weapon specialists from Kesh as they tested their part of the project. "Energy output is roughly twice that of standard plasma grenades, most likely due to the unstable nature of the Sianium and its energy capabilities."

"Continue observing the action."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"There's a lot of them, sir!" a soldier yelled, emptying his clip into the horde of mutated beings. "Where the kriff are they all coming from?"

"I'm not sure," the commander said, tossing a grenade himself and smiling grimly as it went off in a flash of green energy. It was odd seeing such mutations so soon after the catastrophe to Melida/Daan. Perhaps some sort of chemical agent or viral weapon was released during the cataclysm? Or maybe some sick scientist was playing Celestial on the poor survivors?

"Stand by boys, coming in for a strafing run," the fighter squadron captain said, his Lunar fighters flying over and unleashing angry red bolts of laser cannon fire against the horde pressing in from all sides. "We've got a visual of the enemies are mainly coming from the east and then circling around to attack from all sides."

"Have the Proteus bombers follow along the enemy course, we need to stop their origin point or we will never be hold this position," the commander ordered.

"Copy that, five by five."

At the main facility, the engineers continued to observe from the helmet cams the new grenades. They had designated them the AI-Gx02 Si-Plasma Grenades for distribution purposes. They seemed to be quite effective against individual enemies and in groups, even just the injury radius from the explosive force of the grenade unleashing its energy was impressive and possibly enough to debilitate enemy troops.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Sir, we've spotted some sort of facility that is spewing out those creatures about sixteen klicks away from the outpost," the bomber commander said over the task force's comm frequency. "Picking up some defensive guns, shielding ... scanners indicate a great deal of lifeforms inside. Possible clong center, clear to engage?"

"Engage, knock that place out," the commander ordered, firing several bolts into a twisted monstrosity as the line of Aurora security was being steadily pushed back, even the Harbinger and Herald droids were being pushed by sheer numbers alone. Several Sianium grenades went off in quick succession, giving the personnel some breathing room to reform their lines. Another strafing run bought them more ground as they re-established their line at the entrances to the mining post.

"We can't let them get inside, or the recyclers are going to get slaughtered," the commander ordered. "We make our stand here. Herald Two and Three, open rocket fire."

"Acknowledged," the droids said, their rocket tubes sliding out of their shoulders and unleashed their rockets into the stream of energies, alongside more of the Sianium grenades and now fragmentation grenades.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Bombing run is a go, take it out!" and explosions rocked the facility, defensive turrets not expecting the sudden attack by an unknown enemy. More explosions rocked the place as more of the Proteus bombers came in, delivering their payload of proton bombs on the site. A few more passes, and the place was mere rubble, but none of the horrors were coming out of them.

"Facility is rubble, circling back and dealing with the horde heading your way still, gonna need a team to come in and see who was behind this," the bomber captain said, dropping his few remaining bombs on the mass of victims of whatever twisted experiments were happening.

At the outpost, the attacks slowly started to cease as the horde couldn't get through the narrow choke-points that the entrance provided.

"Well I'm glad we had those grenades and the droids ... otherwise, we'd be dead," the commander exhaled. Even still, they had lost several men to the attacks and two of the droids had actually been torn to piece through their phrik armor and turadium skeleton. "Now we just need some of those BurstStreak blasters. Anyways, we're going to hunker down until dawn, then I want a team to go check out that facility that was pumping these beasts out."

"Yes, sir."

"Plenty of data to analyze on the AI-Gx02's, successful field test as well," one of the monitoring engineers said, closing down the feed.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

While a new team came in to cover security, and the engineers and scientists from the Kesh weapon lab came to gather more data on the Sianium grenades, the commander led part of his team to destroyed facility to find out the kark had been going on. Shifting through the wreckage, it was quickly ascertained the site had been some sort of research and cloning lab, but no identifying markers could be found as to what the research might have been beyond genetic manipulation. The proton bombs had done their job.

With the facility though, they did find several live specimens in a sealed section of the lab, all unconscious, but the team would be sending them along to Jen'asha Station for study and to perhaps figure out the nature of the experiments. After all of that, the attacks started to die down as new monsters wouldn't be attacking their outposts and Sianium gathering could continue at pace enough to keep supplies flowing to the refinement facilities on Galidraan and Hosrel XI.