WARREN

The empty ammunition holder bounced off the rocky floor of the tunnel. Elaine inserted her final clip into the hot-barrelled SG99. Only thirty rounds left. Thirty rounds between her and oblivion.

She broke into a jog to try and reduce the time it was taking on her torturous journey towards the surface. It was purely guesswork, if there was an upward gradient then there was a good chance she was going in the right direction. The light above her helmet visor was the only illumination in these sunless depths, her only protection an automatic rifle and basic issue body armour.

Less than an hour earlier it had all begun as a routine extermination mission. The twelve strong battle squad arrived on the surface in an armoured shuttle, and had set up base camp overlooking the giant mound with its twin exits. The matter transmitter had locked onto the queen’s hatchery. Brad had strapped the portable return transmitter to his back and at fifteen-second intervals the group materialised inside the egg-laying cave at the base of the nest site.

Destruction of the hatchery and the queen, before the ‘soldiers’ literally caught wind of their attackers was about to commence when everyone realised that Brad, who was last one in the matter-stick, had not appeared. Once in a while the transmitter failed and a squad member was left on the surface, or if really unlucky disappeared into the ether, that was one of risks they had come to terms with, but without Brad and his backpack the group was trapped. The only way back to the surface was through the tunnels, hundreds of tunnels that fanned out in all directions, with only a handful actually leading towards safety.

The realisation that Brad was lost hit Elaine very hard, and she had turned away and punched the chamber wall badly bruising her knuckles. Brad; the only man she really wanted, and now he was gone. They had lunched together, shared evenings in the officer’s mess, and once she had even kissed his cheek, and yet although they hardly knew each other she had fallen for him. Now there would be just memories and an unfulfilled longing.

‘Okay team,’ yelled Mac, the group leader and senior officer. ‘Let’s do the job, then head out of here.’
‘Yes,’ thought Elaine. ‘Okay for Mac and some of the others.’

In a sense it was okay for her too, as Elaine had done this a dozen times before, although she knew that it would probably be every man or woman for his or herself. There was additional problem, at the last moment they had taken along Sue. ‘Petit Sue’, as Jack had called her, a very pretty, slightly built woman in her thirties, who was in charge of the medics. She did not have any battle experience and had only basic weapons training. The chance of any of them reaching the surface was slim, almost non-existent, with Sue to guard even less.
‘Sue,’ yelled Mac, ‘you stick with Zelda and me. Let’s blast those ugly insects and then make a run for it.’

‘Run!’ Murmured Elaine. ‘Yes, run if you can. It’s all uphill in the pitch black, and if the helmet light fails then you’re blind.’

She stopped, almost stumbled, and leant against the slimy tunnel wall. Slime! She switched off the helmet light, and watched the fungus glow a soft yellow. It was just enough to see by, and meant she would be less conspicuous. She breathed easier, even though the smell at these depths was almost overpowering it meant this was a well used passageway and must inevitably reach the surface.

The six-legged soldiers had swarmed out of the tunnels in a desperate attempt to save the hatchery and to sacrifice their lives. Jack and Ritchie held them at bay while the team destroyed the queen. The first wave died with flailing legs and snapping jaws. Ritchie was buried under the mass of twitching limbs and bodies, and Sue had tried her best to ease Jack’s fatal injuries with pain killing injections. Poor Sue, she had seen plenty of dead and dying, but never in these circumstances. She had held up well, but her dusty tear-stained cheeks showed her inner turmoil.

Elaine flicked off the safety catch, and listened. The clatter and scratching of chitin covered legs and feet indicated trouble was nearby. Through the gloom a solitary ‘soldier’ appeared. It raised its antenna to call for assistance. Elaine squeezed the trigger, and the hiss of an armour piercing shell sped towards its target. The head disappeared, the antenna flopped forwards, and the black shinning body collapsed into the dust. Silence once more. Elaine stepped cautiously over the twitching remains avoiding the barbed forelegs.

Twenty-nine rounds left; one for every year of her life. She could have stayed at home and raised a family, but for that fateful day when the recruitment vessel had arrived at her village. A recent argument with a casual boyfriend had convinced her that marriage and children was not for her, she had joined up and was whisked off to a distant garrison, her life changed for ever.

What of the others? After several deadly encounters the squad had been reduced to five. Sanchez took the lead, Zelda and Mac flanked Sue, who had no option but to carry a rifle and protect herself as best she could. Elaine had taken up the unenviable position of rear guard, and decided that walking backwards afforded her best chance of bringing down her multi-legged attackers. The team had approached an intersection comprising four tunnels, and after a brief discussion opted for the passage on the right, which besides being wide had a slight incline.

The attack was swift, and deadly. An explosive shell ricocheted off an armoured jaw and smashed into the low roof. Rocks crashed down and Elaine had dived away from the others to avoid being crushed. For some minutes she lay stunned and disorientated, her helmet buried under rubble, before realising the way ahead was blocked and her companions missing. An hour of searching through rarely used tunnels had brought her back to slime and fungus covered walls.

A movement! She fired off two precious rounds. It was just a lump of fungus dropping from the roof. Two wasted rounds, two rounds that could be the difference between life and an unpleasant ripping death. She cursed and balled a bruised fist, then thrusting her arm in the air shouted out Brad’s name. It echoed down the sickly yellow glowing passage, a cry of despair, a cry of loneliness for a love that was lost forever.

More scrapping; she flattened herself against the wall, and held her breath as a line of ‘workers’ carrying severed limbs of their soldier protectors hurried past. One stopped and extended its long feelers out towards her. Elaine prepared to fire, but the creature, which only reached waist height, licked her body armour. She was covered in slime! It must have thought she was part of the wall. Realising its comrades had gone the shuffling insect picked up its burden once more; a decapitated ‘soldier’ head blown off by an armour piercing shell, and then scurried away after the others.

Another column clattered past carrying – carrying two human torsos. Elaine screamed and opened fire, spent cartridges bouncing off the roof and landing upon the devastation below. Silence once more. The magazine empty. The ‘worker’ squad obliterated. Elaine had looked for long enough to see the shoulder flashes; only Mac and Sue were unaccounted for.

Elaine was running now, no need for caution any longer, if she moved fast enough she might just evade those snapping jaws. The tunnel was beginning to widen and from a side passage a single ‘soldier’ appeared; red thorax and antenna, a gate guardian, she must be almost at the surface. Elaine spun the rifle making it into a club; a useless weapon against such a monster, but she intended to go down fighting. The creature staggered and collapsed, smoke pouring from its immense jaws.
‘Elaine! Thank the stars you’re alive.’
It was Sue, a smoking rifle in hand.
‘Thanks Sue. I owe you one. Have you a spare ammunition clip?’
Sue turned the rifle over and ejected the empty magazine.
‘Sorry Elaine, that was my last round. I was saving it for myself, but I don’t think I’ve got what it takes to commit suicide, even in these circumstances.’
‘The surface can’t be far away, it seems lighter already.’
‘Just along the passage and up the slope. I’ve been trying to summon up enough courage to make a run for it. After they got Mac I just hid behind a rock fall, I was really terrified, but I’m okay now.’
‘You’ve got what it takes to be a frontline trooper.’
‘Maybe Elaine, maybe! I think I’d prefer to be with the medics though. This has been such a terrible nightmare.’ Sue gave a big sigh and attempted a smile. ‘I should have been on honeymoon, and not in this awful place.’
‘But that means you must have…’
‘Married. I was married yesterday.’
‘The commander shouldn’t have sent you on this mission, what was he thinking of?’
‘He doesn’t know yet. Jonathan and I applied for permission last week and told the chief it would probably be at least a month away, but yesterday, yesterday we decided to go ahead. The ceremony had just finished and I had to attend a briefing. I guess you know the rest.’
‘Was that the last time you saw Jonathan?’
‘Yes!’ Sue brushed away a tear from her dust-streaked cheeks. ‘He thinks I’m on a routine patrol.’
‘Poor kid!’
‘I’m five years older than you.’
‘Well, this sort of combat ages a person pretty quickly. There’s no use in hanging about let’s make that run now.’

Both women leapt forwards and raced towards the slope. Bright sunlight burst through and clean, if somewhat dusty air filled their lungs. The ground levelled out and above them on a nearby ridge they saw the gleaming silver tail of the shuttle, with regimental badge standing out in proud relief.
‘We’ve made girl,’ shouted Elaine, breath coming in quick gasps.
‘Yes we’ve…’ Sue’s voice faded. ‘We nearly made it.’
Three gate guardians faced them barely fifty paces away. The only shelter was a line of boulders, but these lay the other side of their tormentors. Elaine raised the rifle above her head and yelled.
‘Here we are. We killed your queen, and destroyed the hatchery, so whatever you do won’t make any difference now. You’re finished.’
The trio advanced, and with less than ten paces to go stopped and turned their heads towards the boulders. The left-hand guardian sunk to the ground, then the right hand and finally the centre, the larger of the three. A figure carrying a plasma gun appeared from behind the boulders. Elaine dropped her rifle and leaping over the sticklike remains ran towards her saviour.
‘Brad! Brad, you’re alive.’
‘Transmitter malfunction, sent me about a mile across the desert. Where’s the others?’
‘There are no others.’
‘Oh God, that’s terrible. I’m responsible, I had the return equipment.’
‘Of course you’re not responsible, that damn equipment is always going wrong.’
‘At least you’re safe. I was so worried, I thought I’d never see you again.’
‘Really!’
‘Yes Elaine, really! I’d have been devastated if you’d have ... if you’d not returned.’
‘When I was underground in that,’ Elaine took a deep breath hoping her voice did not sound too shaky, ‘that warren, I thought about the tunnels I was travelling through, and how like the human situation it appeared to be. Many pathways, but only a handful heading towards an eventual goal. I realised then that I’d spent years going along the wrong path, but that’s all over now, because I know what I’m going to do and where I’m going.’
‘I don’t quite understand.’

‘Elaine!’ It was Sue, running towards them. ‘A column of gate guardians on their way up the slope.’
Brad fired off a gas grenade, which would disorientate the creatures for a least half a minute.
‘Okay ladies,’ he said, ‘let’s get out of here.’

Brad slammed the emergency hatch and initiated the take-off sequence. ‘Safe,’ he gasped, taking in a lungful of cool shuttle-filtered air.
From all sides the sound of feelers, claws, and jaws clattered in annoyance at being thwarted of their prey. A handful of ‘soldiers’ hurled themselves against the shuttle, and bounced off the impenetrable armour.
‘I think we’re due for a spot of R an’ R,’ said Elaine, settling back into the command seat.
‘Yes,’ said Sue, closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths.

Dark blue sky turned to black as the shuttle cruised into orbit.
‘Pick-up in one hour,’ said Brad, as he slipped the controls onto automatic. ‘It’s a damn shame those creatures are able to launch their eggs into space, otherwise we could leave them alone.’
‘At least we stopped one more warren spreading their spawn across the galaxy,’ said Elaine, glancing across at Sue who had now fallen into a deep sleep.
‘Elaine, where are you spending your R an’ R?’
‘I haven’t decided – what are you doing?’
‘Paradise 11 sounds good. I thought I might go there.’
‘Yes,’ said Elaine, her voice dropping to a whisper, ‘Paradise 11 sounds fine.’