Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Advance Force

"Gas them!" Adam ordered . The two marines at his side stepped forward releasing clouds of aerosolized spray from canisters on their backs, like they were spraying for weeds. The concoction was of the same composition that had been synthesized under the ice of the Tricar home world and was being used to great effect. As the spay passed over the ground, the red fleshy substance began to boil and churn before dissolving back into the dirt. It was a good sign, but two men with canisters weren't going to be enough to fix this mess.

The active void area covered what amounted to about 150mi (241k) while the affected void area was more than a thousand. Reports were streaming into the command center from refugee camps, and survivors fleeing the active area, that included images and videos of subtle changes in the landscape that denoted the coming void.

Animals, plants, and structures slowly morphing into something much more sinister.

Adam had already seen multiple infected dogs and cats roaming the streets, though, luckily it seemed void sickness did not affect dogs and cats in the same way it could affect humans. Adam almost shat himself upon opening a door to a residence and being charged at by a massive void dog with glowing orange eyes and an exposed skull surrounded by pulsating meat. Right before he was about to shoot it, the dog had skidded to a halt at his feet and done a happy sort of dance from paw to paw its tail wagging wildly. Against his better judgement Adam had reached down to pet the creature, and the dog had pressed its sticky snout into his hand leaving behind void Residue, but no worse.

Seems you can't corrupt the epitome of pure love.

Void cats simply ignored him.

He was relieved to learn that void sickness was not incurable, at least to non-sentient beings, and the void infected dog, who had been given a generous spray of antivoid serum, was already beginning to sprout fur again.

And now they were having the void serum synthesized in labs across the world, discussions were being made about releasing the serum in great canisters over large areas, or perhaps infusing it with rainwater. All of these things were well and good and might work in the long run, but it would take some time, and Adam was not willing to wait. Even now the destruction that had been brought by the void sites was unimaginable.

He stood in the rubble of his hometown surrounded by familiar buildings reduced to ruin.

His old high school lay empty and crumbling, houses on his street had their doors ripped from their hinges. His childhood home had been a nest for yet another void mother. He had found her in his parents old room pasted into the top right corner of the room where, every now and again, that void in her abdomen would open, and she would produce another unholy terror.

He had dispatched her with a swift blade to the throat all the while imagining what might have happened if his parents had stayed behind on Earth.

Adam reached up and rubbed the sides of his helmet squeezing his eyes shut with a grimace of pain. They were all so loud, and difficult to ignore, but he had to keep focused.

The ground rumbled, and Adam lifted his head just in time to catch the first in a line of massive armored military tanker trucks as they came rolling up the ruined highway. The man in the front car leaped down from his spot in the truck dressed in full battle regalia and wearing the flag of the UNSC on his right shoulder.

"Admiral." The man said saluting

Adam was taken aback for a long moment retracting his helmet to look at the man face to face, "Been a while since I heard that."

The man shrugged, "Seemed appropriate." He motioned with a thumb back to the convoy, "Got thirteen tanker trucks of the stuff, and more men than you can shake a stick at. We're ready when you are."