Major Mills stood in the crowded monorail terminal. Top UAC researchers that usually act like whispering statues were in the grip of unrestrained hysteria. Mills could barely believe what he was hearing.
"Are you serious?" he asks.
"If you don't believe me, you can take a look for yourself" Mason says, gesturing to the monorail car.
The Marine steps inside. Victor was beside Leonard, in the middle of the car was the sprawled corpse of an alien creature. He toggles his radio as medical personnel arrive at the terminal.
Chief Revok had just arrived in the primary surveillance control room, examining the station layout on a holo-monitor after the alarm woke him up.
"Major Mills to Chief Revok" his radio sounds.
"Revok here, go ahead Major" he says.
"Some top-level researchers just arrived from a monorail coming from Echo Labs, there's an alien corpse here. They report there's an infestation of creatures in sector-B" Mills explains.
Revok was already scanning the layout of the complex, seeing aliens occupying the halls.
"Report to your squad, you'll receive orders soon" he instructs.
He could see from the security footage that aliens were moving into sector-A which connects to the rest of the station. They would have to deploy soon if there was any chance of stopping it. He's reminded of the vague rumours circling UAAF about such creatures but was confident their skills and weaponry would make short work of them.
He uses his authorization to open a menu of emergency security protocols, he brings tactical monorail cars to station, unlocked cabinets of plasma-based weaponry and activates station defences. He relays orders for defence squads to assemble then jogs from the room.
At the monorail station, the tram pulls away, Director Wright takes notice.
"Excellent, the station Chief is deploying tactical monorails. The Marines will take care of this" Scott says.
Troops begin filing into the station followed by the station Chief. The tactical monorail soon arrives at the terminal. They begin boarding the monorail as the researchers argued loudly. Susan shook her head in disagreement and steps over to the Marines.
"Chief Revok!" she shouts, the Corporal looks over.
"Yes, Doctor. Make it quick" he responds.
"The aliens are coming from the portal, experimentation chamber 10-A. It must be destroyed, it's the only way" she frantically explains.
"We'll take care of it, now get off the station" Revok says before stepping onto the monorail car, it soon pulls away.
After their close encounter in the monorail, the Director was compelled to evacuate along with the rest of the station's personnel.
The Marines stood within the swaying vehicle, a row of cabinets held armour and weapons.
"The invasion originates from a lab in sector-B and moving into A and C, Chief Revok explains, Viper squad are already making their way through sector-A and Obsidian squad is on another monorail heading to C, we are heading to sector-B. Nobody else should be in the research complex, so don't hold back on these things"
They donned their armour and grab weapons as Revok unlocks the ammunition cabinet.
The station personnel made their way to the pods below deck. Outside the base, escape vehicles break away from Deimos, drifting slowly before thrusters propel them a safe distance from the moon. Viper squad arrives at the doors to sector-A of the research complex, they unlock the security door and make their way toward the path connecting with sector-B.
Within the monorail, demons had teleported into the car. Revok draws his sidearm and fires, their twitching corpses are thrown to the rear section. The car came to a stop and the doors slid aside, growls are heard within the station platform and along the rails below. The demon around them are swept with bursts of plasma before they cautiously spread through the platform.
"Nova arriving at sector-B. Viper and Obsidian squads, report" Revok relays over the radio.
"Obsidian squad reporting, arriving at sector-C monorail station"
"Viper squad reporting from sector-A, coolant juncture. Encountering hostile units" came the replies.
Nova squad strays into the adjoining hallwaypassing storage and mechanical rooms, a security door retracts and they move deeper into the complex.
Growls could be heard from nearby passages before demon burst onto the main corridor. Revok directs his troops to clear out the creatures around them, smoking craters are burned upon the flesh of large-jawed Pinky. They were nearing the elevator needed to reach their objective when a member of their squad went missing after passing archeological research labs. They searched and called for them over the radio but were forced to proceed to the teleporter, hoping the lost Marine can survive.
They ride the elevator to Level 5 and continue to the sector-B Atrium for their rendezvous with Obsidian squad, roasting passing demon as they wait.
Elsewhere in the research complex, the lost Marine from Nova squad surfaces from possession looking around an Engineering Substation in confusion. His energy cells were gone and the rifle's magazine was spent, a Marine from Viper squad with roasted armour lays motionless nearby. A demonic hiss startles their nerves, sweat beads upon his brow as he pulls his sidearm from the holster.
He swings the barrel of the gun toward the noise but nothing was there. His balance was unsteady, his vision skewed. Something wasn't right, it felt like he'd been drugged. Having no idea where the main corridor was from here, he attempts to contact his squad but power had been drained.
He strays into an adjacent passage gripped with fear, claws emerge from shadows cast by clanking machines. His hands shake nervously as he squeezed the trigger, the round sails into the darkness as an Imp passed through a beam of light. The quaking of his hands subsides and he fires multiple shots, the creature falls and he runs toward the next passage.
He enters another mechanical room and tries to find the way out, surfaces around him were melting. He finds some clarity and remembers where to go, he moved toward an open passage when a demon suddenly attacked from nowhere. His pulse races as he leaps out of a fireball's path, their sharp claws slash his armour. The lost Marine kicks them into a moving piston and is repeatedly crushed.
Radio chatter echoes from ahead, he steps to the passage.
"Is someone there?" he calls out.
His boots clank upon the railed walkway as he approached an intersecting path, he follows the sounds of footsteps ahead. He cautiously moved deeper through the shadowed maintenance path, a Marine passes in the other direction behind a wall of pipes to his side.
"Hey, come back. I'm lost!" they shout, hallucinations swaying his sight.
He banks around the pipes and sees them on the path ahead before disappearing behind a machine.
"Where are you going?"
He again gets no reply. He follows but the Marine had disappeared, a security office was along the wall. He steps within and looks for the weapons locker, he grabs a shotgun and some rounds. He turns back and sees a large-jawed Pinky charging through the open door, he aims the weapon and fires.
Nova squad was still waiting on their scheduled rendezvous in the Atrium. A security door rises, Obsidian squad stood on the other side. Blood was splashed upon their armour, red eyes stare back from the visors. A possessed Marine raises their rifle.
"Take cover" shouts Revok.
The former humans savagely sway their rifles, throwing streams of plasma in all directions.
"Die!"
"Mortal!" they shout.
They ran to find cover, a vending machine is tipped onto its side as possessed Marines strode closer and took aim.
"Stop! Hold your fire!" shouts Revok.
They dive from the paths of sweeping plasma.
"I'm hit!" a Marine cries.
"Okay, let them have it. Fire!" Revok commands.
Nova squad attacks, a marine is struck during the exchange. With all their combined skills, they manage to take down Obsidian squad one possessed Marine at a time. The sound of discharging energy dissipates as silence consumes the area, the squad erupts into hysterics as Revok stares silently.
"We are going to contact Viper squad, then we're going to shut down that teleporter... and for the time being I don't care what stands in our way" Revok says as his voice trembles with anger.
Branches of demonic growth had slithered from the portal lab into adjacent areas, growing into blobs that consume systems dedicated for the teleporter's operation.
The lost Marine reached the main corridor of the complex and attempts to regroup with Nova squad, he was shaking with fear and drenched in a cold sweat. Demonic grunts echo from passages all around him, nervous anxiety was gripping his thoughts when thumping alloy reached his ears from behind. He looks back as Hell Barons passed through a nearby security door.
He's struck by fear, tripping to the ground in terror as the demons stomp closer. He scrambles to his feet and runs in the other direction, screaming as creatures emerge all around him. He downs an advancing Pinky and races through the far door, passing through the reception of the bio-medical division and toward a rounded hall. Imp pounce from shadows and rip his armour, he fights off the attack and races deeper into the lab, the roars of Baron still reaching his ears.
He strays into a medical lab and scans for movement when creatures break through vents or emerge from shadowed corners, stalking closer as station lighting began to flicker. Ammunition began to dwindle, he cries out as a demon rips his armour. He braces his wound, backing away from the attack and bumping into a hibernation unit against the wall.
Nova squad reached level five after ascending a short staircase, then toward another security barrier.
"Quickly clear the experimentation chamber of creatures, then all units will target the top-left part of the teleporter. Melt through the shielding and destroy the hardware underneath" Revok instructs.
The barrier opens, snarls and discharging plasma could be heard nearby, they cautiously approach. Pinky had cornered a pair from Viper squad in a short hall. They rush closer but we're unable to reach them before massive jaws gnaw their limbs. They roast the demon and advance to attack more creatures further along the passage, leaving the dismembered Marines behind among the roasted remains.
They encountered more resistance the closer they got to the portal, stepping around tentacles moving along the floor. Revok leads his men through the destroyed laboratory door spilling humming noise and streaks of red light into the hall. Branches of flesh stretch from all corners of the control room, it was like a corner of hell. The teleporter's energy was glowing with a red hue, the demonic growth reformed it into a terrifying sight.
Streams of plasma cook the demon in their path to chunks, sending plumes of ash drifting. They approach the destroyed view screen and fire upon the creatures gathering behind. They climb through the tentacle strewn opening and drop into the overgrown teleport area, Revok directs concentrated fire on Hell Knight and Pinky as grenades burst. Creatures were soon reduced to smouldering chunks, the droning hum of the portal overtakes the lab.
They attack the demonized teleporter, their streams converging on the targeted area. They reload and resume fire but their attacks dissipate against the growth.
Their streams of plasma sway as they're drawn into the glowing gate, the energy grows larger. Electrical flashes manifest around the device as turbulence clears, the portal opens to reveal landmarks from a desolate realm. The portal surges in size, streaking along the growth-strewn casing before consuming the surrounding walls. The station was transporting into an unknown realm, the Marines gasp in shock.
"Abort, fall back!" Revok orders, the gate expands to the floor and ceiling of the experimentation chamber.
Nova Squad ran to escape, rushing into the main corridor and below deck to the rows of escape pods. They were climbing into a vehicle when a Hell Knight turned a far corner and hurls a blob of plasma, striking a Marine. The plasma hits their upper torso, eating through the armour and into his chest. They're gripped with shock as they scream in pain, the stomping of the approaching Hell Knight was growing louder as they launch the pod.
In the medical lab, the lost Marine could hear the Barons approaching when sheets of portal energy surged through nearby passages, revealing the sharp peaks of mountains framed by the crimson sky of an alien world. His mind races, he turns toward the hibernation chamber and frantically tapped the control panel. He fires his last round after an Imp approached from behind, then inputs an unknown duration into the system. He throws his only grenade and climbs into the chamber as Baron appear and portal energy surges along the walls of the laboratory. The lost Marine's heart races inside the pod, portal energy suddenly ripples upon the interior and crawls along his limbs just before he settles into stasis.
Outside the colony, survivors watch from escape pods as the Martian moon disappears into a parallel dimension.