Chapter 832: Book of the Dead

Chapter 832: Book of the Dead

**TEXT ONLY MESSAGE FOLLOWS**

**EMERGENCY BROADCAST FOR [HEADER CORRUPT] AREA**

**TEXT ONLY DO NOT PLAY SOUND OR VIDEO ATTACHMENTS UNLESS FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE**

"I don't know if this will get far. I'm using the sector emergency broadcast system. Greenies of the 17th Special Tasks Combat Team have managed to get it up and running.

"If you can hear this, stay alive. That's my message to you. Stay. Alive.

"The combat team I've hooked up with has a plan. It's a plan that YOU need to know about.

"They're spreading through the com-system. The Atrekna appear to have somehow empowered Terran phasic residuals with enough energy to hunt and kill. They spread through the com-system, but only visual.

"This means that they are spreading, somehow, through the hypercom system. The hypercom wave and the ansible system both are, to use our parlance, 'haunted' by Terran Shades that use the system to move from victim to victim.

"If you read this, you have to destroy the ansible links, the needlecaster, and the hyperwave com system.

"Blow the main network dishes. Destroy repeater towers. Cut fiber optic and superconductor lines. Destroy NEO dishes and network reception centers.

"If you are in a space combat vessel, you must go after the ansible or hypercom relay. That's what is allowing the shades to spread.

"Disable video on everything. Attached to this file is a step by step guide for disabling your retinal link picture-in-picture function.

"You don't want that to happen, trust me.

"This report is text only.

"VERIFIED LINK: 20MeterSafeZone145Seconds TRUSTED SOUND FILE

"Use text. Stay informed. Stay alive." - Recorded Broadcast from the Front Lines of Iron Piglet; Journalist unknown (Presumed Killed in Action, remains unrecovered, file header damaged)

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Welcome to Crime-Net! Remember, Council LawSec is here to serve YOU, the people that make our civilization great! Remember to report any suspicious activity to your Unified Law Enforcement Officer as soon as possible so that you are not considered an access*&A((ASfasd89&^

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PLEASE LOGIN OR TYPE "HELP" IF YOU ARE UNSURE AND OUR AUTOMATED SYSTEM WILL ASSIST YOU

LOGIN>Help

REQUEST FOR HELP RECOGNIZED

TYPE OF HELP NEEDED

(C)ombat

(R)escue

(I)nstructions

(M)edia

(E)mergency

>M

Welcome to Crime-Net's Most Wanted! Is your neighbor on here? If so thea090ds78afas98c76fasas

THERE ARE NO AUTHORIZED VIDEO FILES ON THESE SERVERS!

Please select audio file type

(S)ongs

(I)nstructions

(N)eighborhood

(G)host Protection

>G

SETTING RINGTONE SOUND FILES ON REPEAT HAS PROVEN TO WORK AT A 10 METER DISTANCE

(R)ingtones

(I)nterviews

(B)roodcarrier Songs

(C)rafting and Survival Instructions

(A)rea Descriptions

(G)reenie Squeals (It's a math thing, Green Mantids only)

(E)xtended Play Howls

Currently, there is no known law of diminishing returns with the howls.

However, howls will attract walking dead and shades.

Use with care.

What would you like to peruse.

"More inside, sir," the Private said. He reached out and pushed on Tut'el's head again.

Tut'el crabwalked over behind the door as the Private fired three times and there were two shrieks.

"Man, them's some angry drawings," the Private said again.

"I need a radioman," Vuxten said, looking around. "Dammit, they're heading toward the barracks."

The Private held up two fingers. "Hang on, sir," he nodded. "Hit it, Big Mike. Warfather will cover you."

Captain Tut'el felt faintly outraged that the Private was giving assurances on behalf of a Major, much less Major Vuxten.

He opened his mouth to say something when atonal sirens kicked on.

CASE OMAHA - CONDITION SAMEDI - REVERT TO LOCAL COMMAND - IRON WEAPONS WORK - HOLD WHAT YOU'VE GOT - RANGE CONTROL OIC flashed on Captain Tut'el's retinal link.

Captain Tut'el was staring straight at all the high-speed parabolic dishes when a light tank crashed through the retaining wall, spun in place, then started driving in lopsided circles.

"She's a little drunk, sir," the Private said to Vuxten, who had just twisted the top off of a bottle of narcobrew and snapped the cap through a shade, which popped with a screech.

Captain Tut'el had seen the tiny threads of lightning on the cap.

"Fine by me, she's got a tank, that's all I care about," the Major said.

Tut'el closed his mouth.

The Major touched his implant. "Private Kathreelee, quit dicking around with those dishes and go run over the ansible relay."

The tank weaved slightly, played a merry tune over its external speakers, crushed the last two dishes, then crashed through the retaining wall and drove off.

"Hand me the flare gun out of the emergency kit, Captain," Vuxten said. He looked at the driver. "Link me to the vehicle PA."

The Private fired twice at a shade as he backed up, nodding.

Tut'el looked around on the floor, then spotted it. He pulled it open, grabbed the flare gun, then handed it to the Major.

The Major pointed it straight up.

The flare sputtered and hissed as it climbed into the sky.

Tut'el wiped his mouth as he saw all the white shades around them.

"Well, this is gonna be fun," the Private said. He tossed Captain Tut'el the tire iron. "Here. Doesn't matter where you hit 'em, just hit 'em before they get you."

The shades screeched and rushed.

-----

"Huh, that's weird," Peter said.

Legion, Daxin, Menhit, and Kalki all looked up with identical expressions.

"Define... weird... brother," Daxin said slowly.

"Got a lot of weird kicking across the superluminal communications systems. Weird stuff," Peter said. He turned and looked at the mostly empty control room. "I just let everyone go. I'd hate to bring them all back."

"How weird is it," Menhit asked.

"It makes me nervous when you say stuff like that, brother," Legion said.

"I'm going to go see if Dancer needs anything," Kalki said, standing up.

"No, you don't," Daxin said, grabbing the back of Kalki's vest and pulling him back down.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it," Peter said. He frowned. "We might want to check what's going on outside the SUDS."

"Might," Daxin agreed, nodding. He looked at Menhit. "Go check one of the TV's."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Peter said as Menhit left the room.

-----

The General leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his ample stomach, and stared outside.

The posting was a humble one. Just command over an old maintenance depot, where older weapon systems and the munitions they needed were stored by a military that believed in never throwing anything away.

It normally only called for a Colonel, maybe even a Major or a Lieutenant Colonel, but the General, four star, not a star less, had pulled some strings and this was the duty station he had pulled.

He only had a few weeks to go.

Then he would retire.

He planned on being a cabinet maker or a wood worker. He had been taking eVR courses and found working with wood to be satisfying.

Very satisfying.

The General sighed and looked out the window.

The stars were coming out as the desert moved from day to night. The moon hung overhead, huge and white, with lights here and there from cities and military bases.

The General loved watching the day turn to night. The way the sky went purple right before it went indigo and the stars came out.

He yawned and stretched, scratching his belly, leaning back in the chair.

The speaker on his desk went off. An atonal screech that was repeated by the speakers outside, echoing through the Mo-Have-At-Ye Desert of the Hamburger Kingdom. The General gave a surprised squawk and fell over backwards.

CASE OMAHA - CONDITION SAMEDI - PHASIC SHADE INVASION appeared in his vision.

"Aw, nerts. So much for retirement," General Imak Takilikakik said, slowly getting to his feet.