Food for Thought

The horde was bearing down on them, less than twenty feet away. The seconds felt like agonizing hours as bodies continued to drop against the hail of bullets and Logan's dazzling bolts of energy. His J7 began to warn of overheating.

There was no stopping the oncoming infected with the weapons at their disposal. There were too many of them. Logan stood as close to Lilith as he could; if this was it, they would at least be near each other.

His thoughts grew darker as last resorts began to creep into his mind. A sound like the sky being ripped open hammered into Logan, driving any such thoughts from him.

Heavy impacts showered them in debris and shrapnel as Logan pulled Lilith to the ground and took cover against the side of the APC. The Sparrow moved into view; two point-defense turrets blazed angrily beneath the ship's bow. There was nothing the infected could do against such an onslaught.

Part of the administration building exploded as a missile impacted it. Debris was flung into the streets as another explosion rocked the building. Logan could only watch as the building was blown apart piece by piece. Anti-ship missiles were not effective at all against buildings.

Dust flooded the street as the building partially collapsed, and chunks were thrown into the street and surrounding structures. A thick wave of dust partially obscured their vision as the point-defense turrets fell silent. The soup that surrounded them rendered them almost blind.

"I'm only getting static!" Sergeant Aaberg said, keeping his panic under control. "Missiles ineffective!" He repeated that a few times but got no response.

With a deep groan, an infected stumbled through the dust, missing half its torso. Logan quickly shot it in the head. More infected continued to appear, and Lieutenant Fetter fired blindly into the dust with the APC's heavy machine gun.

To Logan's right, someone opened fire. More shapes began to appear in the dust as Logan readied himself again. Infected with heavily destroyed bodies, stumbled and crawled towards them.

The Sparrow had bought them some breathing room. Taking a second to center himself, Logan began to shoot at a slower pace. He had the time to line his shots up and gently squeeze the trigger. Beside him, Lilith was doing the same, efficiently dispatching the infected, who appeared slowly from the dust cloud.

Logan felt like they were gaining some ground now. Lieutenant Fetter's aggressive machinegun fire became short and focused bursts.

The sound of metal being cut just made it to his ears as Logan dodged out of the way, pushing Lilith clear as well. Sharp knife-like claws ripped through the air where he had just been standing. The heavily changed infected came at him again at high speed, with more infected pushing through the sliced open fence.

Before Logan could get his pistol aimed, he had to duck and slide to the left, narrowly avoiding another attack. Blood-red eyes were laser-focused on him as the infected snarled and lunged again.

Having nothing to block or parry with, Logan could only try to dodge out of the way again. His enhanced reflexes allowed him to barely keep up with the creature assaulting him.

Not having time to take a shot, Logan was purely on defense now that the creature was in melee range. Near him, Lilith was taking rapid shots at the infected moving through the fence.

"I'm almost out of ammo!" Lilith called out as she reloaded again.

As the infected Logan was fighting lunged again, it staggered back suddenly, a bullet punched through its shoulder as Emily opened fire from on top of the APC. Taking the opportunity, Logan lined his shot up as quickly as he could move and fired.

Slumping backward with a hole melted through its head, the infected began to glow as the flesh almost melted off its body. In a matter of seconds, all that was left was a charred skeleton and some burn marks on the floor. The image burned itself into Logan's brain as he had a flashback to Bendraar. It was the same damned thing.

"There's more of them coming! We have to push through the fence!" Lieutenant Fetter Hollered. The dust began to settle, and Logan could see hundreds more infected crossing the corpse-strewn street.

Logan turned his attention to the opening in the fence that was now their way out.

Before he could even begin to fire, an explosion rocked them all. The force almost took the wind out of Logan as the last of the dust was dispersed forcefully. A column of smoke rose from the now utterly destroyed administration building. Logan barely had time to orient himself again as a streak raced from the sky, impacting the ruins with another massive explosion.

"Orbital barrage!!" Lieutenant Fetter screamed.

"Lieutenant, get the back doors open!" Logan shouted back.

A third explosion almost threw them to the ground as it fell short of its target, obliterating the wrong building.

It took a second for the back hatch to open, but they all piled in as more rounds continued to fall from orbit. Huddling in the dark interior, dust pushed in through the open hole in the roof as explosions continued to shake the vehicle.

Another six explosions rocked them, and one felt incredibly close. The ground shook violently, and a deep rumble marked the end of the bombardment. They didn't move for another few minutes as debris, dirt, and other materials fell like rain on the APC's hull.

Quiet eventually returned to the world. Not even the infected were making noise.

Opening the hatch again, Logan came face to face with an infected. He raised his weapon and paused. It didn't react at all.

"Shoot it?" Emily asked in a confused manner from behind him.

Logan stared at it for a moment. Its body was totally still, like it was frozen. Inching forward, Logan nudged it with the barrel of his weapon, which caused the infected to drop like a rag doll. It lay on the ground, unmoving.

"What the fuck?" Emily stepped out into the street and looked around. Logan joined her, and they observed the carnage surrounding them.

The Administration building was a smoking ruin. The only indication that a structure had been there was the bits of building that managed to survive. Now, it was more accurately described as a hole in the ground.

Two other buildings had taken hits and were half blown apart. Infected stood frozen amongst the carnage where the Sparrow had opened fire. It was a mess.

Lieutenant Kilder approached an infected individual and examined it, "Is it over?"

"Whatever that thing that was attached to the reactor had to be controlling them," Lilith observed curiously as she walked around a few of the stationary bodies.

"You think so?" Emily asked as she cautiously pushed another body over and watched it crumple.

"How else would you explain this?" Lilith responded, giving Emily a questioning look.

"I honestly have no idea," Emily said with certainty.

"Everyone ok?" Logan asked, taking stock.

No one was hurt, which was amazing, given the last few hours. Logan looked warily at the sky and back at the destruction before them. Given the number of infected here, it was unlikely anyone was left alive in the area, but he still hoped no one was caught by either of the shells that missed.

"How the hell do you think they heard us?" Sergeant Aaburg asked, clearly confused, as he pulled the comms booster from his back and looked at it.

Logan walked over and looked at the small piece of technology, wondering the same thing. The exterior casing looked fine, and there didn't appear to be anything visibly wrong with it.

Looking up at Logan, Sergeant Aaburg sounded more confused when he said, "My hud is showing there was an overload in the power supply. I totally missed it, but I have no idea what could have caused it."

Taking a breath, Logan had a decent idea of what the cause could have been. Thinking back, it was probably when he started to feel desperate. He had to get himself under control. He needed to get a grip on his ability to transfer energy to things.

"The overload must have boosted the transmission power and then burned the unit out," Logan observed, keeping his thoughts about the matter to himself for obvious reasons.

A shadow filled the space around them, drowning out the sunlight. Looking up, the group saw the Sparrow move in a little closer. Despite the distance, the thrum of the grav drive was audible.

"Can anyone hear me down there?" Came Elinor's voice over the comms.

"I hear you, Captain," Logan replied while keeping a wary eye on the immobile infected.

"That was a bit of a show. Are you alright?" There was a clear hint of worry in her voice.

"A little shaken but doing just fine. It looks like the barrage stopped the infected. I have a report, but it can wait till we are back onboard." Logan said, feeling uncomfortable being surrounded by things that were trying to kill them only moments prior.

"Communication with the ships in orbit has been reestablished, and all interference has stopped. We'll keep an eye on you as you move to the rendezvous point. It will be much easier to get you back on board outside the city, where we can land properly." Elinor said

"Sounds good, Captain. Would it be alright if we made a pitstop first and brought a few extra friends onboard?" Logan asked firmly.

There was a pause before she replied, "I take it you're referring to the group of survivors you left behind?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Was all Logan said.

Another pause, this one slightly longer, "Very well. We will see you soon," Elinor sounded conflicted.

The group caught their breath for another few minutes while Logan and Emily wandered over to the crater where the Administration building used to be. Climbing a small pile of dirt and rubble, they looked down into a gaping hole that had been torn in the reactor complex's armored shell. The crater left by the barrage was relatively large and deep.

"That'll do it," Emily said sarcastically.

From what Logan could see, the reactor was utterly destroyed. It was only possible to examine the true extent of the damage by descending into the complex. Still, Logan had no inclination to do that.

Regrouping, Logan noticed that Lilith had been poking and prodding one of the infected and gave her a curious look. Despite the apparent lack of movement, he was wary that the infected might start attacking again.

"They don't have a pulse," Lilith observed, "I think they are really dead, at least they are now. I think being cold to the touch means the bodies have been dead for a while rather than dying after the reactor was destroyed."

"How were they running around and killing people then?" Lieutenant Kilder asked.

Logan and Lilith shared a brief, knowing glance, letting the question hang in the air. The walk to the Steepler Interstellar office was uneventful and unnerving for the group. Weaving their way cautiously through crowds of standing dead bodies was a little surreal.

They became more comfortable with the situation and began walking closer to a normal pace. The need to be constantly alert and quiet grew less important as they became more comfortable with the situation.

Standing once again next to the rear door into the Steepler Interstellar office, Logan pretended to override the door lock using his terminal. In reality, his remote connection to his terminal through the nano-machines only took a second to work its magic and allow him to open the door hands-free.

Doing his best not to startle anyone, Logan knocked loudly as he opened the door. Having removed his helmet, he called into the building to get people's attention. It didn't take long for everyone to slowly appear. Effy popped her head out first, shotgun at the ready. After a moment, she realized it was Logan waving at her.

"Nice armor," Effy gave Logan a curious smile.

Logan smiled back, "So, you guys want to get out of here?"

It took only a few minutes to get everyone excited about the prospect of leaving. Although they were cautious when warned about the immobile infected, Lilith reassured them that the threat was gone.

Taking an hour to collect themselves, Effy had a dozen questions that Logan did his best to answer. At the same time, Tanya visibly vibrated at seeing Lilith again. Emily was glad to see her two marines, and they chatted for a bit. Kilder and the others from the Sparrow were out of place but did their best to be personable.

Heading into late afternoon, people gathered what they needed for the walk ahead of them. It wouldn't take too long to get to the rendezvous point. Logan ensured the evidence to destroy Steepler Interstellar was still secure and grabbed a few snacks from the food pile. He noticed Vance packing a decent amount of food with Lindon's help. The pale man was seemingly on the verge of passing out at the relief that his ordeal was over.

With everyone ready to go, Logan realized he didn't remember everyone's names. The Man and two women who were with Emily seemed friendly with the other survivors. They bonded slightly with the rest of the group while Logan and Lilith were gone.

There was some fear and apprehension when they came across the first series of infected. It took people a few moments to get comfortable with the fact that they didn't have to fight or run away. Most did their best to avoid looking at them with Tanya once again glued to Lilith's side.

The metal and glass city eventually gave way to a dirt road leading into grassy hills with dense vegetation in the distance. Much of the planet outside of needed infrastructure hadn't been developed yet. It was a reasonably pleasurable walk, and there were no signs of infected as they left the last few buildings behind them.

Cresting a small hill, the Sparrow was visible. Landed on a large flat area of grassland, the sturdy landing gear had dug into the soft earth from the immense weight of the ship.

"I'm assuming that's where we are headed?" Asked Vance curiously.

"That is the Sparrow, currently the only way off Skye. Unless you want to wait for them to clean this mess up, I imagine the quarantine is going to last for a while." Kilder said dryly.

Slowly looming larger, the towering ship got closer as they trekked towards it. A gentle breeze sweeping across the grassland was a jarring transition to the world they had left only an hour ago. Logan stopped for a minute and took in the sight; Lilith turned around and made her way back to him. Quietly, they looked at each other and out over the plain before them.

Landed correctly on the ground this time, a small disused cargo ramp extended from the Sparrow's underbelly. Ships rarely, if ever, landed like this.

Approaching the ramp, a group of Marines eyed them cautiously until they saw the six armored individuals up close, recognizing everyone. There was a slight hesitation about letting the other civilians on board, but Logan assured them the infection wasn't an issue anymore.

Wearily, the group boarded the ship. Logan took one last look at the sweeping plains before walking up the ramp.

The civilians were escorted to the crew mess hall, as no other temporary space was large enough for them. Logan and the rest of the armor-clad group went to the armory to remove their armor.

It wasn't until he sat down next to one of the lockers that he really noticed everyone's appearance. Blood was splattered over their armor; there were numerous scratches and a few deeper gouges in places. Logan hadn't seen anyone get hurt that he could remember, but clearly, things had been more hectic than he realized.

Looking down, Logan was in the same state as everyone else. What he hadn't seen till now was the deep claw marks on his left arm. The protective plating looked melted at the edges. Frowning, he began to take his armor off and eventually examined the damage closer.

Stopping just short of fully penetrating, Logan could only attribute the lack of an injury to his reflexes. Fighting in close combat with one of the changed infected while wielding a pistol was not ideal.

There wasn't much conversation at this point. Everyone was mentally exhausted from the day's events. After showering and changing, Logan met with everyone on deck one, this time being directed through a different door that led into a larger conference room. He looked around curiously and wondered why they hadn't met in this space before, but it made sense, given the number of people present.

Between the Captain, Logan, Lilith, Emily, Kilder, and the two surviving Marines, there was no way they could cram into the smaller office across the hall.

It took a little while to go through everything. Lieutenant Kilder handed the captain a data stick containing all the information they had retrieved. She was starting to look worse again. Captain Norn was happy with everyone's report and asked everyone but Logan to step out.

"Time to call our bosses," Elinor said with a hint of sarcasm. With the interference gone, she had already had a brief discussion with the High Admiral.

The pleasantries were brief, but the Chief Auditor and High Admiral were happy to see Logan alive. They asked him to keep his report brief; with the highly classified nature of what they were now calling a terrorist attack on Skye, they would fully debrief him and the others in person.

Logan gave them a few questioning looks as he talked. Surely, their communications were fully encrypted, and they had not been shy about discussing details previously. Something must have changed. He kept details to a minimum and told them the initial problem was no longer a threat, though there would likely be a long-term need for cleanup and research.

He finished by asking if there was a doctor available for the Captain as her condition was starting to rapidly deteriorate once again. There was a little confusion as Elinor must have downplayed her condition; however, Logan insisted that she needed immediate medical attention.

After further reassurances that there was no longer any danger, the High Admiral agreed to send a shuttle to collect the Captain; she would be treated and monitored on a ship in orbit as the Sparrow's infirmary was out of commission.

Logan was then ordered to bring the Sparrow to Port Cepheus in orbit of the planet Aquilo with an escort, where everyone would be debriefed in person. Aquilo was the planet where the Ilmarinen shipyard and its three smaller support stations, Cepheus, Pegasus, and Signus, were located. It was also the central Logistics hub for all Navy fleets in the outer sphere. It was under a two-week trip for the Sparrow, but it would likely take longer if there were escort ships.

"One more thing," Logan said with a severe look as he addressed the High Admiral directly.

She returned his gaze curiously, her holographic image flickering gently. She was giving him a cautious look, which Logan took to mean that he should be careful with whatever he planned to divulge.

Logan considered his words, "Before I arrived on Skye, I was on the planet Bendraar dealing with some misappropriated funds. The Navy liaison was very helpful. I was hoping you could find his name and pass on my regards for his help dealing with that incident."

She gave him a curious, if confused, look and said, "Very well. I'm sure Victor can help me with that."

"Yes, the incident with Steepler here on Skye was similar, as it also had some misappropriated funds." Logan watched her closely.

High Admiral Samantha Gibson continued to eye him curiously until she began to realize what Logan was trying to say. She caught herself before her facial expression changed, "Interesting indeed. I'll be sure to look into that name and pass along your regards."

Logan had to assume both the Chief Auditor and High Admiral would make the trip from Earth after they signed off and said, "We will be seeing you soon."