Chapter 7

Councillor Weaver and Lieutenant Carter were in the back of a car moving along a lightly travelled highway, their convoy being escorted by security vehicles. After studying heaps of evidence and interviewing dozens of tight-lipped Exis personnel, they found enough reluctantly cooperative informants and project details to deduce the location of the undisclosed teleportation project. The convoy of hover-cars arrive at the edge of the sprawling industrial sector, passing into the landscape of immense factories and production plants.

Their cars pull onto a narrow street shaded by towering installations on each side, pulling up to a security checkpoint manned by lightly armed guards that came running in front of their cars.

"Turn these vehicles around!" a guard shouts.

The doors on a vehicle are thrown open and six sizable anti-gravity drones are ejected, they swiftly surround the guards, the prongs of their mounted plasma cannons glow threateningly around them as the zero-g thrusters quietly buzz with energy. Councillor Weaver and Lieutenant Carter step from their vehicle and approach the checkpoint.

"You are impeding our investigation" Weaver states.

The guard held a sour expression as he drew his attention from the impressive weaponry.

"Nobody is going through here" the former human states.

The other guards began to look nervous, glancing between themselves.

"We are representing the interests of UAC's council and board of directors, I assure you that we are authorized to be here" Weaver states, flashing his corporate identification.

"There's important work going on and it can't be interrupted" the possessed guard persists.

"Hey, another guard interrupts, can't you tell that they're officials? Stand aside"

"No!" the former human snarls at his colleague.

"Listen clown, Carter suddenly bursts, we're going inside this facility. It's a fact and if you try to stop us again, you're going to be arrested. The only reason you're not already is that we have more important matters than you" he loudly explains.

"Let's go. Run him over if you have to" Weaver says returning to his vehicle.

The possessed guard glares angrily as the bodyguards burn through the locked gate with a plasma torch. The convoy carried on past the checkpoint, the zero-g drones drifting alongside the vehicles.

A Hell Priest had been eavesdropping on the interaction from the facility's security surveillance room, watching the vehicles pass through the security checkpoint and coming closer. The Priest calls the possessed project director in a panic.

"The investigators are almost here! Get that thing working, now!" they shriek.

"It's nearly complete, we can make it" came the dry voice in reply.

In the aerospace construction hangar, the Project Director runs to the railing outside his elevated office.

"Everyone! Everyone! Stop all optimizations! Stop!" the possessed director orders loudly, then rushing down to the work-floor to assist.

He began issuing new assignments directly to each worker, intending to complete the project before it was too late. A senior-technician stepped over to the Director.

"Hey, we're not finished with MHL field stabilization, the ring emitters could ignite if it isn't worked out" the technician protests.

"Just do as you're ordered" the former human demands, unintentionally growling demonically as he spoke.

The technician took on a concerned expression.

"I've put a lot of work into this project and I don't want to see it wasted" he explains.

The former human's anger reveals his demonic form for all to see, he draws a pistol and shoots the technician dead.

"Does anyone else want to share his fate?! Then get this thing working! Now!" the former human screeches to everyone around them.

At gunpoint, the terrified workers reluctantly carried out their tasks, they plug the remaining hardware into the network and move the cable-strewn modules into place within the teleporter's chassis. The director runs to a relay station and throws a switch, the various systems of the portal began to energize.

He then moves to the main control console, the director's mobile began ringing.

"What?!" he snaps into the receiver.

"Some UAC brass is heading to the hangar. We tried to stop them, but..."

A technician suddenly attacks the Hell Priest from behind, swinging a heavy wrench, the possessed project director turns around and fires, shooting the technician in the chest.

"I'm dealing with it!" the director shrieks into the phone before tossing it into a secluded corner of the hangar.

He steps to the control console and attempts to activate the portal, plasma began feeding into the circular array of the teleporter ring, the massive coils energize, a rising hum vibrates through the hangar.

Councillor Weaver, Lieutenant Carter and other bodyguards strode through the adjoining halls, getting closer to the construction hangar.

"Something is definately being hidden here, they're not trying to keep us out for nothing" Weaver states.

"Exis has resorted to some audacious measures, a lot of heads are going to roll. Why are they doing this?" Carter asks.

"I don't know" Weaver replies flatly.

Carter draws his pistol as they came upon the lab they expected to be holding the teleporter.

"If they're going to put up a fight over this insanity, it's going to be now" he says, nodding to the other bodyguards as they prepare to enter.

Weaver bypassed the security with his authorization and the tall alloy doors slowly part. A narrow beam of light shines through the widening space and stings their eyes, the passage is flooded with radiance and a loud, throbbing vibration.

The doors slowly pull aside, a massive disc of brilliant light was looming before them, Councillor Weaver gawked in disbelief. They were too late, demonic creatures were spilling from the gate. Hell Knights were attacking workers, their screams resonating through the hangar.

More aliens were coming through the portal and stomp toward the group, they open fire on the hulking demons.

"Get everyone out of here! Go!" Weaver exclaims.

Before turning to run, they see the face of a giant demon staring through the portal. The group turns and runs for the exit.

The face disappears from the portal, then its massive clawed hand grips the edge of the glowing gate from the other side. Despite the massive ring of the portal, the giant kneels as it climbed through the gate.

The Hell Priest had moved to his elevated office, he uses the control console to move the anti-gravity crane away from the portal just before the Icon of Sin stood, barely preventing the demon from striking its head. The Director then activated the cargo doors on the other side of the hangar, massive sections of wall moved along a track, clanking loudly. Sunlight from outside spills into the hangar.

The demon climbed through the gate, then standing to its full height. With a gathering of demons alongside, the Icon of Sin moves toward the parting doors.

Dawn was breaking on Mars City, the colony's meager security forces were stationed on the roof of a structure wielding an assortment of weaponry in preparation for the expected demonic assault. Far in the distant, boulder strewn hills, numerous hordes were advancing from the decommissioned facility. A teeming swarm of demons are suddenly slammed into the ground. Cacodemon are flattened, the bones of Hell Knight and Pinky are shattered as pulses anti-gravity energy are blasted into the Martian surface by the drop pod decelerating from terminal velocity. The powerful zero-g thrusters continued to pulse, shooting waves of sand away from the pod as it gently lands.

The drop-pod unlocks, venting vapourous jets of sealed life support gasses. The sealed seamless hatch cracks, an upper section protrudes, then raising upwards, the other section lowers to the dusty ground. Master Corporal Revok lifts the safety bars securing him in place and steps into the Martian landscape. He scans his environment, the sounds from nearby demons rattling his nerves. He quickly checks the location of Mars City on his auto map before making his way to the UAC colony.