2041 Sanctuary (Dark Descent) (81 page)

Trish, now in control of the Centipede, followed behind, the yellow multi-wheeled supply vehicle by her side, its wheels kicking up dust and soil as its lights blazed a trail ahead.

Jason looked behind them, something catching his eye. He pressed a button on his helmet to activate the communication system. ‘Hey guys, did any of you just see that?’

‘See what?’ Sarah’s voice came back through his helmet’s speakers.

‘I thought I saw something back here.’

‘Like what?’ Trish’s voice broke up slightly as she moved further away from him.

‘I’m not sure; like a light?’

‘Stop sodding about,’ Sarah said, you’re getting left behind.’

‘Your eyes will play tricks on you down here,’ Trish told him, ‘it’s a bit spooky.’

Jason searched into the black void with his visor and flicked through its various spectral fields. ‘Hmm, I guess so.’ He turned round to see Trish and Sarah were now a few hundred feet away. ‘Hey! Wait for me!’

The two women slowed and then stopped to wait for him to catch up.

‘Come on, lard arse, we haven’t got all day.’ Sarah cuffed him round the head as he rejoined them.

‘Hey, did I show you these cool blue stones I found yesterday?’ Jason said, as the three of them started off once more.

Sarah shook her head. ‘Nope.’

‘They’re really cool.’ Jason held them out for them to see. ‘Check it out, they glow really bright in the dark.’

Trish peered at the luminous objects cradled in the palm of his hand. ‘They look radioactive.’

‘Nah, don’t be silly,’ he said, ‘they’re beautiful, harmless, probably worth a fortune on the surface.’

‘Really.’ Trish appeared unconvinced.

‘Definitely, you could be walking along with a millionaire.’

‘Or an idiot,’ Sarah said.

‘Yes, that’s also a possibility,’ Jason conceded, laughing, the infectious sound lightening the mood that had hung over them since they’d left the USSB.

The three friends continued to talk and joke as their small forms disappeared into the immensity of Sanctuary, their voices and laughter floating off and fading away into the darkness.

♦

Sometime later, after the companions had vanished from view, the area where Jason had been standing gradually lit up with a bright, shimmering, blue-green light that appeared to hang suspended just off the ground. A noise, like metal scraping on rock, accompanied this ethereal phenomenon and on the edge of perception a curious clicking sound could be heard, growing steadily louder with each passing moment.

A large, viscous lump of inky, black mucus slipped to the floor and a deep snarling growl transformed into a terrifying, bloodcurdling screech, its reverberations echoing out into the pitch-black of the ancient Anakim structure that would be forever known as … Sanctuary.

To be continued in …

2041 Sanctuary

Part 2: Let There Be Light

(Book Two, Part Two of
Ancient Origins
)

OUT NOW!

—————

Author Note

Thank you choosing
Dark Descent
, I hope you enjoyed the read. If you have the time to leave a review on Amazon that would be really appreciated. Also, please read on for a comprehensive set of appendices with some author notes.

Sincerely yours

Robert Storey

—————

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APPENDIX A

GMRC CIVILIAN PERSONNEL

Professor George Steiner

Director General of GMRC Subterranean Programme

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Directorate (Oversight) / Transient

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Subterranean structural engineering

Management and leadership

Planning, design and development

Mathematical modelling and forecasting

Computer programming and software development

Malcolm Joiner

Director of U.S. and GMRC Intelligence

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Directorate / Transient

GMRC Division: Intelligence Division

Skill set:

Espionage and covert intervention

Intelligence gathering, restriction and dissemination

Information pathways / Management and leadership

Psychological warfare

Richard Goodwin

GMRC Subterranean Base Director

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 9 Alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Steadfast [U.S.S.B. Sanctuary – unofficial]

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Management and leadership / Planning, design and development

Dr. Kara Vandervoort

Ecosystem Director

Nationality: South African

GMRC Clearance – Level 8 Alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Steadfast

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Biomechanical engineering / Management / Data analysis

Special Agent Myers

CIA Agent and GMRC Intelligence Operative

CIA Special Operations Group (SOG)

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 9 Delta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: Transient

GMRC Division: Intelligence Division

Skill set:

Covert military intervention / Leadership / Strategic planning

Close quarters and unarmed combat

Nathan Bryant

GMRC
Subterranean Facility Coordinator

Nationality: American

Global Acquisitions and Intelligence Liaison

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Beta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Oversight / Transient

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Logistics / Management / Negotiation, arbitration and presentation

Linguistics, communication and translation

Sophie
Merchant

Primary Aide to Professor Steiner

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 7 beta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Oversight / Transient

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Organisation and presentation

Linguistics, communication and translation

Franz Veber

GMRC Subterranean Base Director

Nationality: German

GMRC Clearance – Level 2 delta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: E.U.S.B. Deutschland

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Security and overt surveillance

Grant Debden

Primary Aide to Malcolm Joiner

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 8 delta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: Transient

GMRC Division: Intelligence Division

Skill set:

Organisation and presentation / Information pathways

Linguistics, communication and translation

Intelligence gathering, restriction and dissemination

Duncan Sanderfield

Population Control Manager

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 8 alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC HQ, New York

GMRC Division: Population Control

Skill set:

Organisation and presentation / Social engineering

Trend analysis and information pathways

Petra Villalobos

Smithsonian Museum of Sanctuary Vaults Officer

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 7 alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Administration and logistics / Security and overt surveillance

Dagmar Sørensen

Director of GMRC Research & Development

Nationality: Norwegian

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Alpha

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Directorate / Transient

GMRC Division: Research and Development

Skill set:

Scientific exploration and advance

Black project development and integration

(Special access programmes: acknowledged and unacknowledged)

Information pathways / Management and leadership

Shen Zh
ǔ
Rèn

Acting Director General of GMRC Subterranean Programme & Subterranean Base Director

Nationality: Chinese

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Delta

Designation – Civilian

Deployment: GMRC Directorate / P.R.C.S.B. Oversight / Transient

GMRC Division: Subterranean Programme

Skill set:

Management and leadership / Structural engineering

Planning, design and development

APPENDIX B

S.E.D. PERSONNEL

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary

Designation: GMRC Civilian

Riley Orton

Deep Reach Team Leader

Team: Alpha Six

Nationality: American

Profession: Explorer

Dresden Locke

S.E.D. Facility Commander

Nationality: American

Profession: Explorer

Cora
Islanovich

Deep Reach Deputy Team Leader

Team: Alpha Six

Nationality: American

Profession: Explorer

Jefferson Church

Deep Reach Team Member

Team: Alpha Six

Nationality: American

Profession: Explorer & Lead Archaeologist

Anne-Marie Wingmore-Bates

S.E.D. Administrator

Nationality: American

Profession: Administrator

APPENDIX C

U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL

Colonel Samson

United States Army SFSD Brigade Commander

Special Forces Subterranean Detachment

(Codename: Terra Force)

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 8 Alpha

Designation: Military – Special Forces

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Steadfast

(Pseudonym: Colonel Hemmingway)

Skill set:

Overt military action / Sniper tactics and marksmanship

Covert military intervention and counter-insurgency

Close quarters and unarmed combat

Leadership and strategic planning

Subterranean warfare / Subterranean transit

Sergeant Alvarez

United States Army Decontamination Team Staff Sergeant

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 5 Alpha

Designation – Military

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary

Skill set:

Overt military action / Unarmed combat

Corporal Walker

United States Army Decontamination Team

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 5 Beta

Designation: Military

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary

Skill set:

Overt military action / Unarmed combat

Sergeant Rogers

United States Army Ordnance Corps

Nationality: American

Deployment: U.S. Army Barracks, St. George, Utah

Skill set:

Overt military action / Unarmed combat / Logistics

Captain Williams

United States Army SFSD

Special Forces Subterranean Detachment

(Codename: Terra Force)

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 9 delta (Special Access Personnel)

Designation: Military – Special Forces

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary (Scientific Laboratory Complex)

Skill set:

Overt military action / Multi terrain warfare

Covert military intervention and counter-insurgency

Close quarters and unarmed combat

Subterranean warfare

Colonel Weybridge

United States Army Brigade Commander

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 8 Beta

Designation: Military

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Steadfast

Skill set:

Overt military action

Counter-insurgency and unarmed combat

Leadership, logistics and strategic planning

Brigadier General Ellwood

United States Army Commanding General

(Division Commander)

Nationality: American

GMRC Clearance – Level 10 Delta

Designation – Military

Deployment: U.S.S.B. Sanctuary

Skill set:

Overt military action / Subterranean warfare

Covert military action and unarmed combat

Leadership, logistics and strategic planning