Blaster Squad #1 Terror on the Moon

Chapter 4

1

Euro Zone Experimental Weapons Facility

Area 51

Nevada Desert

North America Protectorate

4140.2.3 Galactic

Dr. Sal Tubruk gazed at the screen, his chocolate-colored eyes wide with awe. The flashes of red, green, and blue in the rotating mass of energy on the screen danced over his eyeballs, creating within him equal parts wonder and terror.

Sal tried to swallow but his mouth was dry. I've done it. Slick perspiration formed on his forehead and upper lip. The salty beads dripped into his eyes. He blinked and wiped the moisture away with his right hand.

Sal had helped to create a new form of energy more powerful, more deadly than any in history. And he dreaded it. He wanted to stop it. He needed to stop the madness before it started.

His mind raced with the horrors this terrible beast could do if unleashed. Should I tell anyone? Should I destroy it now?

The power level indicator on the board in front of him had redlined. He knew, once loosed on the galaxy, this energy would potentially consume planetary systems, stars and all, faster than any previously known weapon. It made the energy output generated by single stars seem like mere blips in the cosmic starscape by comparison.

For several minutes he sat paralyzed, staring at the twisting, writhing thing trying to escape the airless void of the containment chamber located on the other side of the glass wall from this monitoring room. The meter-thick treated glass was impenetrable to this death dealer. Sal's mind whirled with confusion and doubt.

No, the devil, he thought finally managing to steady his mind and focus. I've summoned the devil from the pit of hell who will destroy us all.

Suddenly sounds of explosions somewhere in the distance snapped his attention from the screen. What's that?

The sound of an explosion, followed by the floor beneath him trembling, caused his heart to skip a beat. His hands began to shake.

He considered his situation. The lab was the equivalent of ten stories underground beneath one of the most secure facilities in the Alliance. Five hundred elite Navy marines protected it with enough heavy weapons to destroy an armada. Should I run?

Before he could react, the locked door to his lab burst inward in a cloud of flame and black acrid smoke. As it blew, Sal dove to the floor and covered his head with his arms. The sound of blaster fire filled the corridor and the control room quickly filled with smoke while the metallic odor of ozone filled his nostrils and mouth. He gasped for air, coughing in the choking smoke.

And then there were the terrible but brief screams of death that sent waves of horror through him. His friends, colleagues, and the marines guarding the facility were dying.

After several minutes, the shooting stopped and the whine of weapons’ fire at last faded. The air became still and an ominous silence fell over him like a shroud of death.

Dizzy from lack of oxygen but thankful to be alive, Sal rose on shaky legs, then stumbled toward to the door to the corridor. He had to get to the surface and fresh air. Patting down his chest and arms, Sal realized he wasn't hurt.

I have to destroy everything. I shouldn’t have waited. I’m damned fool.

"Hey, Doc," said a man's deep voice.

Sal froze. Taking a step backward, he waved away as much smoke with his hands as he could in order to see who had spoken.

From the haze, a tall figure emerged draped in dull purple blast armor smudged in places with black soot as if from the fire and smoke. On his head he wore a helmet with a darkened faceplate hiding his features. In gloved hands, he held a large rifle that appeared to be larger and more powerful than the ones Sal had seen the marines carrying.

Sal swallowed hard. He suspected this weapon was a plasma rifle, but they were only issued to soldiers fighting in the badlands at the edge of the galaxy, not here on Earth. The weapon not only killed, it shredded flesh and left its victims in piles organic dust. It was why they were banned from the inner worlds. It meant this man, whoever he was, had vaporized his friends, colleagues, and the marines.

The man leveled the massive gun at him.

Sal raised his hands over his head, his body trembling with fear. "No. Please. I'm only a scientist."

"I know," said the man, his tone bland as if he were talking about an average day at the office. "You opened Pandora's box and we thank you."

The final sound that registered in Sal's mind was the whine of the plasma rifle being fired in the enclosed monitoring room.