The Three Who Stayed

[Birddog6]

​

Private Second Class Kowalski's feet were heavy, laden with burden. At the end of the hallway- lay a doomsday device, a practical ticking time bomb. It had burned through the crust of the Earth above it, and was rapidly descending into the base below. A nightmare scenario for sure- a fusion reactor, modified into a bomb, burning through the base.

His NCO- Sergeant First Class Vibes, and an ONI Spear commando of all people, were the last to stay. Kowalski and the Commando were sprinting back to him, the heat from the device welcoming him as soon as he left the reactor room. The coolant in his arms was heavy, and the sprint back to the device at the entrance to the base was longer than he remembered.

The thud of his boots hitting the metal was louder, thanks to the empty base. Only the constant loop of the DEFCON siren was the thing that broke up the monotony of it all. He opened the door, the steam of the room enveloping him as soon as it cracked open. Vibes was there, hurriedly applying every bit of coolant to the floor below, setting up a controlled pad for the fusion reactor to land on, made of synthetic thermal material that Kowalski could only harbor a guess to. As a Medic, he didn't have much, if any, expertise in chemical reactions.

The Spear Commando was the one to break the silence, instructing Kowalski to leave. Kowalski turned his head, ignoring him. He braced Sergeant Vibes, holding him so that he could pour the coolant at an angle, without having to step over to the Fusion Reactor. His radio was screaming- Freelancers, Spartans, Naval Personnel all telling him to evacuate, to leave the base. He turned his radio off, opting to forgo even bothering to listen to them. There wasn't a damn place he could run if that thing went off.

Vibes and Kowalski were profusely sweating under their suits- the heat creeping on them, wrapping them in a muggy blanket. The toxic steam was in the air, coolant and water, mixing in a shallow puddle beneath their feet. There was no retribution, there was no perdition- this was an all or nothing affair. Any mistakes, and the reactor would detonate- or continue to burn through, hot enough to do significant damage to the vital data servers below. Losing them probably meant more to the Spear Commando than it did to Kowalski, but a blow to one cog affected them all.

Besides, Valkyries never died alone.

The core eventually cooled, and Vibes, Kowalski, and the Spear Commando suffered burns all over their bodies. Kowalski's arms and hands were mostly affected, but Sergeant Vibes suffered more than he did, being his proximity.

But in the end- the Men who Stayed, stopped a disaster.