Chapter 62: Fiver city--The deadly 30!
In the deep underbelly of the SSG, hidden from all but the highest-ranking officials, there exists a legend—a whisper of terror known only as The Deadly 30.
These weren't ordinary soldiers, no. They were men and women who had been at the brink of death, souls who had seen the abyss and returned... but not as they were. Ravaged by war and broken beyond repair, they had been selected for something darker.
Dr. Lucius Strake, alongside a select few scientists, had woven together strands of alien DNA, potent drug cocktails, and cutting-edge cybernetic implants to create these ultimate weapons.
Stripped of their humanity, they were more machine than flesh, each movement calculated, each thought governed by the code embedded in their enhanced neural systems.
They felt no pain, no fear, only cold efficiency. Each member of The Deadly 30 had been built with one purpose: to execute the will of the SSG, swiftly and mercilessly.
Their existence was so classified that even many within the SSG didn't know about them. They were the agency's backbone—a silent yet ever-present threat that kept the SSG in power, crushing enemies long before anyone could register their existence.
Their judgment was swift, their presence lethal. It was said that the last thing anyone ever saw before they died was the cold, cybernetic glow of their eyes, as if death itself had taken form.
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As Dr. Lucius Strake fled the chaos of Riverdale, his mind spun with panic. He had narrowly escaped before the battle began, running like a rat abandoning a sinking ship.
His colleague, Andrew Marshall, was now dead, and the weight of failure pressed heavy on him. But Lucius had a destination in mind—Fiver City, home to the largest SSG base, and more importantly, the resting place of The Deadly 30.
With hurried steps, Strake made his way into the secure compound. The base was enormous, a sprawling fortress teeming with soldiers, but deep below the surface was the real heart of SSG power: the underground chamber where The Deadly 30 were housed in stasis. They lay there in their individual pods, appearing almost peaceful, like dormant titans waiting to be awakened.
Strake's pulse quickened as he passed through the security gates. The soldiers on duty knew him—he was, after all, one of the few men who had a hand in the creation of these... things.
As Dr. Lucius Strake rushed through the sprawling base at Fiver City, the cold metallic corridors stretched endlessly ahead of him.
Every step echoed like a reminder of the disaster he had barely escaped. His mind was racing—how would he explain the catastrophe that unfolded at the Riverdale base?
His instincts told him that running was the right call, but now he faced the daunting task of reporting to the imposing figure of General Rwald Dune. Lucius wasn't sure whether he'd walk out of this meeting alive.
When he arrived at the general's office, the air inside felt heavier, almost oppressive. General Dune sat behind his massive desk,
General Rwald Dune was a brute of a man, towering over most of his peers, his presence casting a shadow long enough to intimidate even the boldest of officers. He was not a man to be trifled with, and Lucius knew this better than most.
He continued to review files with the cold precision of a man who thrived on control. He didn't even look up when Lucius entered.
"Strake," the general's voice was a low growl, thick with suspicion, "what have you brought for me this time? Another experiment? Another weapon?" There was an almost mocking tone in his words, his fingers drumming the desk impatiently.
Lucius swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He had spent years working under Rwald, and knew the general wasn't a man who took kindly to failure—or to excuses. "No... I—"
"So, nothing?" General Dune interrupted, his eyes snapping up to meet Lucius's. There was a dangerous gleam there. "You storm in here like a rat fleeing a sinking ship, and you have nothing?" His voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "Why are you here, Strake?"
Lucius froze for a moment. His heart pounded in his chest. "It's about Riverdale... the base is—it's gone."
Now, Rwald's eyes sharpened like the edge of a blade. The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.
"Gone?" The general's voice was dangerously calm, as if he were trying to understand whether Lucius had just lost his mind. "What do you mean, gone?"
"Destroyed," Lucius breathed, his voice barely more than a whisper. "An alien... attacked. We didn't stand a chance."
Rwald's fingers clenched into a fist, his entire body stiffening as the words hit him like a physical blow. But it wasn't disbelief that followed—it was cold, seething anger.
"You fled." Rwald's tone was accusatory, venomous. "You left the base? Left my soldiers behind?" He stood up from his chair, towering over Lucius like a predator over its prey. "And what of Andrew Marshall?" His voice thundered through the room. "Where is he?"
The mention of Marshall's name caused Lucius to flinch visibly. The general's eyes narrowed further, and his muscles tensed, ready to explode in violence.
"Marshall..." Lucius's voice faltered. "He's dead, General. Killed by the alien."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Rwald's face twisted with fury, his eyes burning with barely contained rage. In a flash, he lunged at Lucius, gripping his collar and slamming him into the wall with a force that rattled the shelves.
"Dead?" Rwald hissed through clenched teeth. "You let my right-hand man die, and you ran? What kind of coward are you, Strake?!"
Lucius gasped for air as the general's grip tightened. "General, I didn't—he didn't—there was nothing I could do!" Lucius sputtered, his voice strained. "It all happened so fast! The alien—it tore through us. It... it hunted us."
Rwald released him with a disgusted shove, letting Lucius stumble to the floor, gasping for breath. The general paced the room like a caged beast, fists clenched at his sides.
Andrew Marshall wasn't just any SSG officer—he had been more than that. He was the backbone of Rwald's operations, his confidant, his enforcer. To hear that Marshall was dead, especially without an opportunity for vengeance, sent a surge of fury through him.
"Tell me everything," Rwald barked, his back turned to Lucius as he tried to suppress his rage.
Lucius wiped sweat from his brow and composed himself as best as he could. "There was an attack... a group came in, but they weren't normal. One of them... an alien... it wasn't like anything we've ever seen. They obliterated our forces. Marshall tried to stop them, but..." He trailed off, unsure of how to explain how easily Marshall had been overwhelmed.
"An alien..." Rwald muttered, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully, his rage cooling into a simmer. "So we weren't prepared for this kind of enemy. Is that what you're telling me?"
Lucius nodded quickly, relieved to see that the general seemed to be listening now. "Exactly. We were outmatched. This wasn't a simple infiltration—it was a hunt. And we were the prey."
Rwald let out a low growl, his mind already spinning with strategies for revenge. "Then we will prepare. We will crush this alien." His lips curled into a cruel smile as his mind drifted to one particular asset.
Lucius saw the shift in Rwald's expression and immediately knew where the general's thoughts were headed. He felt a shiver crawl up his spine. "General, are you suggesting—?"
"Yes," Rwald interrupted, his smile widening. "It's time."
"Time for... them?"
Rwald's eyes gleamed with malevolent intent. "The Deadly 30. We awaken them now."
Lucius's blood ran cold. He had worked on The Deadly 30—had seen firsthand what had been done to them. They weren't soldiers anymore. They weren't even human. They were living weapons, the product of extreme experimentation with alien DNA, cybernetic enhancements, and mind-altering drugs. They were the SSG's ultimate secret—thirty unstoppable machines that only knew how to kill. They had been kept in stasis, waiting for the day they would be needed again. That day had arrived.
"The alien won't know what hit it," Rwald said, his voice filled with grim satisfaction. He punched in a code on the console beside his desk, and a door slid open, revealing a hidden stairway. "Come with me, Strake. We're going to awaken our sleeping giants."
Lucius followed silently, fear gnawing at his gut. As they descended into the underground chamber, the faint hum of machinery greeted them.
The stasis pods lined the walls, each one housing a member of The Deadly 30. Cold and unfeeling, their eyes remained shut, their bodies unmoving, yet their power was undeniable even in this dormant state.
Rwald stood before the central control panel and input the activation code. The room hummed to life, and the pods began to hiss and release their seals.
One by one, the soldiers emerged. Their eyes opened, glowing an eerie blue. Their movements were precise, their expressions devoid of humanity.
The command circuits in their minds snapped into place. They stood at attention, awaiting their orders like the perfect killing machines they had been designed to be.
"Welcome back, soldiers," Rwald's voice boomed through the chamber. "Your mission is simple. There's an alien threat... and we will not rest until it's been destroyed."
The soldiers said nothing. They needed no response. Their only purpose was to obey.
Lucius stood frozen in place, wondering if even these monstrous creations would be enough to stop the force that had decimated the SSG Riverdale base.
And as the Deadly 30 prepared for war, the alien threat loomed larger than ever before.