Chapter 242 – Tanis – Arrival
The moment I crossed the dimensional door, the world changed.
Senses, light, space, gravity, flow of time. Everything else that makes up me and surrounds me has become infinitely distant.
This is what it would feel like if the human body could maintain its thoughts without dying while being pulled like a taffy stick across the event horizon.
Only one scene remains clearly.
Artemis sending off with both hands placed on her lower abdomen in the transmission room.
Her sad face disappeared in an instant.
I remember that clearly.
* * *
Consciousness was temporarily lost. It appears to have passed through what Solaver described in the dictionary as ‘a space where humans cannot pass while maintaining human consciousness.’
When I returned to consciousness, it was the final stage of the warp, and I noticed something unidentified approaching rapidly as Artemis was moving away.
It feels like watching a person jump from the roof of a dozen of stories high-rise building and see the ground getting closer and closer.
But there is one problem.
Monsters look up from the ground.
Shwaaak!
The moment when all senses, light, space, gravity, and the flow of time were restored.
The open maw of the infection was in front of my face.
A long, snake-like forked black tongue protruded between the 3-4 cm hook-like teeth.
[Keeeeek-!]
Their distinctive screams rang out from a little distance away.
There is no time to complain, ‘Spawn kills, you immoral bastards!’
The instincts trained through multiple rounds of life and death immediately prepared one for battle.
However, when I looked closely, the infectious agent in front of me was already dead. The open mouth looks threatening, but it flies cleanly over the bridge of the nose, blowing up warm steam.
The moment you throw away the body and take an aiming shooting stance.
Whoosh!
The sound of a bullet being fired was heard past the foam silencer.
Pooooo!
Whisk.
The familiar sound of bones and flesh exploding and bodies falling to the ground without control.
[Code green!]
[All enemies neutralized!]
The emotionless and dull voices of stalker robots were heard from all directions. But to me, it is as ecstatic as a choir of angels.
“Don’t shoot! “It’s all sorted out.”
Solaver approached, waving both hands hastily.
“Don’t worry, old man. “I’m not that kind of kid.”
I lowered the gun and laughed. Although you can’t see his expression because of the nanosuit helmet.
“It’s a great welcome.”
“I’m sorry. “I never thought they would be here too.”
Even as we were talking, the stalkers were spreading out in all directions, doing their own thing.
Poop!
Alpha and Tango identified and killed the fallen infected. The skull was broken by a weight-bearing kick.
Charlie and Echo are on guard in preparation for an attack.
The dusty floor was made of a material similar to marble and the ceiling was dark. Although it was a place that had been abandoned for a long time, it felt more like an antique historic site rather than a ruin.
My eyes turned to the plaque hanging on one wall.
[Tanis Museum.]
The visor interpreted the text and called it out. Her voice is a dry, mechanical voice.
“Anyway, I think we arrived at the destination properly.”
The simple warp device in the laboratory where the vaccine is located is sealed and cannot be accessed.
After considering areas with still functioning warp devices, the museum was awarded the bid.
The distance from the research center is appropriate, there are few serious danger areas along the travel route, and it is also far from the residences of the Prison Management Bureau staff and their families.
Kwasik!
The last infectious agent has been confirmed and killed.
A total of 5 corpses were similar to typical Earth walkers except that they were approximately 2 meters in size.
“They are the Sornens.”
Solaver said.
When I searched for the name using my PDA, a simple profile came up.
They all have muscular bodies that are over 2 meters tall. There is no body hair at all and the skin is dark blue. The sharp raised eyes exuded aggression.
Like humans, they reproduce sexually, but all men are muscular pigs and women have a compressed body like a gymnast.
“Do you see horns on the head?”
“Yes. It looks pretty cool.”
They grow around the outside of the head in a canine-like shape, becoming longer as they approach the forehead.
“The Sornens call those horns the crown. A base for claiming that they are a noble lineage that distinguishes them from other civilizations.”
“Unlucky.”
“I won’t deny it. Most civilizations thought that way. The problem is that they are exceptionally superior both physically and intellectually. The combination of the spirit of the chosen people and strength made it the most warlike civilization in the universe.”
Tongue.
Solaver tried to stroke his chin, as was his habit, and hit his hand on the face lid of his protective suit.
“Are you doing a joke?”
“Hum! Anyway, they are one of the three races that uses the idiom ‘tear, kill, grind and drink’ as mentioned before. You will encounter quite a lot here.”
“I guess there are that many Sornen criminals?”
“That may be the case, but they are arrogant and feel proud that other civilizations are educating their criminals. That’s why we dispatched the most corrections officers here, and their subordinates also came with them.”
I turned my attention to the corpse of Sornen Walker.
“The base is similar to the human walker, so we can use some of our combat experience. “It’s a much higher weight class, though.”
Just by looking at the hand, you can see the size of a human head in one hand.
I don’t know what their physical capabilities are, but even based on the lowest level walkers, they would be much more threatening than the walkers on Earth.
“You can’t let your guard down.”
“Of course.”
Charlie was operating an instrument the size of a shoe.
[Oxygen concentration. Stabilization.]
[Nitrogen concentration. Stabilization.]
[Chemical hazards. None.]
[Radiation. Allowable range.]
The instrument spoke in a female voice with the same tone as the visor.
[No moving creatures are detected within 70 meters.]
Charlie reported.
“Good. Everyone is moving.”
I looked beyond the room we were in, at the end of the passage where there was a faint light.
* * *
Advance through the quiet museum in tactical formation. Alpha and Charlie, who were in the lead, opened the way using pillars and various exhibits as cover.
A very minor problem arose here.
You are now on an extremely important mission. More than just my life, the fate of my country and my entire race may be at stake.
Nevertheless, my eyes kept wandering.
“They’re all stuffed. “I understand your curiosity is rising, but stop glancing.”
Solaver whispered softly.
I looked away from the various taxidermied alien creatures on display.
Here, there are things to see everywhere, such as the Earth’s Dinosaur Museum, that will immediately hit you in the face.
There’s one that looks like a cross between a saber tiger and a leopard, a reptile that’s a muscular version of a velociraptor, and even a man-eating plant. Oh my goodness, a flower larger than a person has fibrous lips!
It is difficult for anyone to lose interest in these things as long as they are born as a man.
“Because the infectious agent may be disguised.”
“Infected organisms know how to pretend to be dead, but they can’t pull off such high-level pranks.”
My poor excuses were suppressed at once.
“… There is such a thing as what if?”
“I’ve been here a few times in the past, so if there’s anything suspicious, I’ll be the first to know.”
“Did you like museum tours?”
“As this is a planet where several members of influential families are imprisoned, important people visit from time to time. Sometimes there were situations where I had to be an escort. “This museum was perfect for a passing course.”
Meanwhile, the passage continued to get closer, and the light exit, which had been as faint as a matchbox, grew to the size of a person. Then I noticed that the light at the exit was blue, not white.
Stand tall.
Alpha, who was leading, raised his fist. We all took a shooting stance.
There were several corpses lying on the floor in front of me. It’s hard to see from here because everyone is wearing clothes.
Alpha approached alone and examined the corpses.
[Clear.]
We started moving forward again.
When I looked up close, I saw that they were completely rotten, with all the bones exposed.
“Your leg is broken, and your spine is severed. It looks like it died because its back was dug up. You can also see remains with their heads cut off or their chests crushed.”
“It’s probably the work of the infected entities that welcomed us.”
“And this.”
There was also a skeleton crouching down, embracing a small skeleton about 80 cm long.
The damage to his clothing was the most severe, and his back and hips were severely damaged, as if he had received a random attack while lying face down.
“… Keep moving forward.”
We kept going and finally came to the exit of the blue light.
Whoa!
The moment we stepped outside, a strong wind greeted us.
A completely different atmosphere from the quiet interior of the museum.
When you look up at the sky, it is completely different from that of Earth. There are no white clouds, no sky-blue atmosphere filled with the sea.
“It’s beautiful.”
If the ceiling of Earth was a tent covered with a sky-blue curtain, Tanis was a planet where the tent called the sky had been completely removed.
“It’s really beautiful.”
Falling stars, the Milky Way crossing between them, and purple and blue haze-like clouds decorate the sky.
Of course, this does not mean that there is no atmosphere. This place has a stable atmosphere that makes it possible to breathe even without a helmet.
[Occupy the position.]
Except for Echo, the remaining three stalkers each moved to an appropriate sniping point.
I climbed over rocks, sand dunes, and mushroom-like trees. Be alert to your surroundings while sitting or lying down, depending on your circumstances.
Slam!
For an instant, their guns were pointed in one direction.
Crook cluk-!
A friendly howl was heard from where the gun was pointed.
Hundreds of palm-sized creatures similar to flying squirrels fly in groups in the sky about 100 meters away.
Perhaps it was riding the rising air current or their special ability, but they flew across the sky scattering purple light without even flapping their wings.
Wooooow-!
A sound that sounds like a whale singing.
Whoa!
Small creatures scattered around like a school of herring avoiding predators.
Soon, a huge creature resembling a humpback whale passes by.
The fins are large like condor wings, and most of the body except the head is transparent.
I just looked at the scene in admiration.
“Welcome to Tanis.”
Solaver, who was a few steps ahead, waved his hand at me.
“You are the first human being to set foot on a planet in outer space.”
“It would have been better if I had come lightly wearing an aloha shirt and sandals.”
“It’s good to not lose your sense of humor.”
“It’s too cool a planet to house criminals.”
Haha!”
He burst out laughing.
“Do you know what the paradox of tourist attractions is? If it’s a first impression or if you’re just passing through for a while, that might be possible. But it’s a very dangerous world to stay in. Even before the infection spread.”
“I know. “I have studied the ecology of this place to some extent.”
“That ecology is the story before the infection spread. No matter how much you study, there will be more danger than you can imagine.”
“I guess so.”
When I looked down from the sky, I saw a dry land spread out.
You can see sandy areas and rugged rocky areas everywhere, withered and dead trees, ponds with ominous bubbles rising, pieces of large animal bones rolling around, and strange flowers that emit light on their own.
So far, there is no movement of the distorted ground creatures.
“Move.”
We headed there.
