The Gods did Weep

Chapter 1

Ad Astra Per Aspera

They just got out of cryosleep a couple of days ago. A man in a white officer uniform is sitting on the bridge speaking to a Capt. Micheal Sherman over video chat. "How does it feel to be making history, Sergent," the Capt says with a grin. "It's an honor sir, we've just made it past Sirius and should be making contact with R'lyeh in a couple of days." "Listen, McKenna," his grin fades, and his tone turns serious, "I know you're not happy with us being contracted out for search and recovery jobs, but we need this. With all the treaties and alliances made over the last few years, PMCs are not in high demand by any means like they used to be, and frankly, I'm glad we got any work at all," he chuckles. "It's fine sir, I have no issues with it, and if it means doing something good for once and getting paid for it, well, heh, that sounds good to me" the Sargent smiles weakly. "Glad to hear it; go brief the team on the assignment, and command should be unlocking the equipment storage here shortly. Good luck and godspeed Sherman out."

The ship was Artemis Allied Group combat transport vehicle or CTV for short. Capable of holding up to 400 men, only 130 were stationed on this one in particular. This mission would be one of Artemis's most profitable contracts and the only contract to be completed outside of the milky way galaxy thus far. Artemis was a Private Military Contractor created back in the day for those who didn't want or were ineligible to join their country's military. One member of command, In an autobiography, described the makeup and lifestyle of the company like this. "They would take any ragtag group of street urchins with enough brains to hold a gun or spoon-fed boys who want something more out of life or at least had parents who made it difficult to turn them down. We had an excruciating Bootcamp, and attrition rates were very high, but due to the grueling selection process, only those of high moral charter, substance, and discipline was accepted. We turned those boys into well-oiled killing machines. I and other officers, after boot camp, would train them in 3 simple things to kill, to recover, and to die. As the years went on, by the grace of God and to the detriment of the company and investors, relative peace was found on earth, and we had to look for alternative forms of work." The alternatives forms of work mentioned in the book came in many private groups hiring Artemis for search and recovery or S&R missions or, in rare cases, assassinations and other forms of wetwork usually involving business rivals, significant others, or upcoming controversial politicians.

Chapter 2

Mission Top Secret

Destination Unknown

Eight men are sitting in a small dark room. Sgt McKenna and Lt. Baker stands in front of them with a screen displaying maps and various information behind them. Lt. Baker announces, "Alright, everyone listens, I'm going to keep this short and sweet, 2; 2ars ago a caravan class trade ship was carrying an item that is very important to the entity who contracted us, the said entity wants us to keep confidentiality a top priority so we will now refer to them by codename Archangel. While heading through the Sirius star system, Archangel reported losing contact with the cruiser; after few weeks of attempting to get a transmission, a distress signal was sent with the words R'lyeh SOS and coordinates to the planet on repeat. We are to go there, recover the item and search for possible survivors; any questions?" one man stands up. "Yes, Corporal Dominguez?". "What is the item we are recovering, sir?" "Archangel gave us a mission dossier that we were told very explicitly is not to be opened until we get planetside, I; it'll give us more details then" "Understood," he replies and sits with a hint of nervousness. "I will be leading team 1 consisting of Jackson, Dominguez, Alister, and Travis. Call sign Spartan 12. Sgt. McKenna will be leading team two consisting of the rest of you. Brown, Carson, Lee, and Nakamura callsign Chariot 6, That's all, go to the armory, command unlocked it. Get acquainted with your gear and team,d make sure to rest up. We make drop planetside in 2 days."

McKenna gathers his papers and heads to his office. He sits, lights a cigar and pulls a journal from his desk, and begins writing.

Contemplations

Dreams amongst the stars

Journal entry

We just got out of cryostasis. I never get used to the sickness of the nitrous oxide leaving the body. I've always wondered when this rollercoaster would end. Artimus… Jesus. I've been through 2 civil wars, four quelled rebellions, and countless skirmishes between whatever enemy and me were unfortunate enough to position himself between my crosshairs... I am a tired man; I am a husk. Countless nights of seeing people in my dreams perish by my hand for nothing more than fucking currency. What has become of me? A whole life spent taking others Well, so be it. If there is a hell below, I hope they at least have the decency to give me a first class ticket to the 7th circle when it's my time…

Sgt. Bruce McKenna

January 14th, 2153

Chapter 3

Over Troubled Waters

"Excuse me, may I have a word with you, Sgt.?" McKenna nods and motions for him to take a seat, "What is it, Nakamura?" he says as he puts a stack of papers down. "Well... I wanted to speak to you about R'lyeh" he glances down nervously. "I've heard stories about it. It's not safe." Mckenna chuckles "well, son. I don't know many places that we get sent that are safe. We are soldiers. We get sent places that are not safe, and because we are willing to do that, and we get paid" McKenna raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "I am not going… sir," Nakamura stammers and quickly purses his lips... "What did you just say to me?" McKenna says, surprised. "I said i'm not going," Nakamura says. "You listen to me, and you listen well. That is direct insubordination, and if we had enough manpower to replace you, I would have you executed and thrown out the goddamn airlock. I want you to leave my office and prepare for drop." Mckenna now stares at Nakamura, who sits stunned. He slams the table and shouts, "Now, Corporal, get the fuck out of my office." Nakamura stands muttering to himself and quietly exits, closing the door behind him.

Chapter 4

Hell jumpers

In the armory teams, Spartan 12 and Chariot 6 team gather and begin to arm themselves. "Bruce" Lt. Baker walks over. "We only have one mission dossier. I'm going to have you take it. When you get planetside, your team's mission will be to identify and recover the object. We will head to the escape pods drop zones and see if we can locate any survivors. If you get any info that applies to us, just radio it in; sound good?". McKenna nods. "Yes, sir." "Alright, boys," Baker shouts. "We drop in 5mins; make sure your rebreathers are functional, your ammo is loaded, and your gravitational systems are in order. You won't have a chance once we're out."

In the armory, the wall opposite of the weapon and gear the men are standing at raises into two separate small cabins, each with five seats in a circle and a red interior light. "File in with your team," Baker says. Mckenna finishes putting on his armor. The Artemis modified their Phoenix MK II armor for this specific mission; there should be no enemy combatants, so the graphene plates were removed, and in place were temperature sustaining fabrics and materials, most being carbon fiber mesh. It came with a standard-issue Artimus helmet, with an attached headlamp and rebreather. As he puts on the helmet, he catches Nakamura looking at him with cold dead eyes. He considers saying something but lets it go and steps into the cabin, and sits. "Everyone in Bruce?" Baker calls over the radio from the adjacent cabin. "Yes, sir," McKenna says. "Good, you will be dropped approximately 4.5 miles from us to a rough estimation of where the item is, but when you get down, just check your dossier for exact coordination. We will be dropping to the location of the distress signals to search for survivors. When that's done, we'll call a shuttle from the CTV to come to pick us up," Baker says. "Sounds good, sir," McKenna says as he mentally prepares for the drop. As McKenna finishes speaking in the intercom, he turns back to the team. "When we get down there, I'll take point Lee you'll hang in the rear, and after we secure the dropzone, Nakamura will test radio communications with Spartan 12 and the CTV. Brown, you will man the mobile scanners. Sound Good?" They all reply with "Aye" in unison except for Nakamura. "Cpl. Nakamura, does that sound good?" McKenna asks aggressively. Nakamura sits in Silence. The helmets are heavily tinted, so neither could look at the other's face to gauge what they were thinking. "Cpl. I WILL NOT STAND FOR TH…" before McKenna could finish, Baker speaks through the intercom. z" We are at the drop zone, McKenna. You will be dropping in 10...9…" McKenna says "Watch yourself, Nakamura" in a hushed tone. The counting continues 5….4 Nakamura begins to take off his helmet. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Lee shouts. Brown attempts to force the helmet onto his head before getting punched by Nakamura. Mckenna attempt to hit the intercom but is too late before hearing. The AI announces, "Drop initiated; please stand clear."

Chapter 5

Adios, Space Cowboys

The cabins were not pressurized or oxidized. As they dropped, PFC Brown, who was standing to get Nakamura's helmet on, was thrown to the roof of the dropship cabin breaking his spine instantly with a horrifying snap; meanwhile, the pressure was building in Nakamura's skull. He screams, "Azathoth! thy time is nigh" before bursting from all sides. Painting the room with blood-brain matter and bone fragments, Lee screams in fear and confusion; meanwhile, McKenna sits in shock while his brain does somersaults attempting to process the chaos. Freefall continues, red lights flash, and the AI Speaks "prepare for impact" 3… 2… 1….". As the hits landfall, Nakamura's helmet hits McKenna in the head, knocking him out.

While unconscious, he dreams of a cave of light being surrounded by darkness, he calls out, but none hear him. He begs the darkness for the mercy to enter the cave, but the darkness simply replies, "You are in the cave, my child; you will be one with him soon. Only then will you pay for your transgressions. Kill the sound, free the soul. Kill the sound free the soul."

He jolts awake to the cabin. The bodies of Nakamura and Brown are still there. He takes a moment to collect himself, unbuckles the seatbelt, and stands. He notices lee isn't here, and the cabin door is open. He steps out. The planet of R'lyeh is dark as it is lightyears from the nearest star. He turns on his headlamp and looks among the desolate land. With the CTV communications and the scanner destroyed with Brown and Nakamura, he decides the only thing he can do is start walking...

Chapter 6

See with me

"Chariot 6 to Spartan 12," McKenna calls in on his personal radio. "Chariot 6 to Spartan 12 can you read me" Silence, "The hit must've busted my comms system, but everything seems to still be functional," he thinks to himself. He walks on trying to collect himself; he remembers the dossier Archangel assigned to them. "Maybe this will tell me where to go and what the hell is going on here," he mutters to himself. He unzips one of his pouches to grab a metal lockbox and key. He opens the box, and there is a red folder inside that reads. "TOP SECRET, ONLY TO BE OPENED BY COMMAND RANKING OFFICIALS WHEN PLANETSIDE" he opens it, and there is a letter with a smaller black box inside. The letter reads Go to coordinates 22°40′S 50°25′W to the item location. You are then to destroy the package attached with this letter when you arrive. Any possible survivors from the crash that are encountered are to be shot on sight," McKenna shivers. "What the hell is going on here," he thinks to himself. He pulls up a compass on his HUD and begins to head to the coordinates, about 2 miles away. "Let's just get this nightmare over with."

As he approaches the coordinates, he hears a low hum, no he feels it. It is not heard but felt. As he approaches, he sees the cave. A feeling of dread washes over him. He fights it and marches forward, but with each step toward the unholy realm, he feels he is losing himself. The hum grows into a monstrous wail. Slowly but surely, he attempts to maintain himself. There is no going back. A pillar stands next to the cave; inside, there is no light… unlike his dream. He walks inside the cave, his headlamp lighting the way. The wail grows into an immense screech. "Jesus, McKenna, kill the sound free the soul," Nakamura speaks to him on the radio. "How the hell…" McKenna stammers, hardly holding on to his ever-decreasing sanity. "Kill the sound McKenna; the box is the only way!" He throws the black box on the ground and stomps on it with all his might, over and over again. With each smash, the awful banshee scream grows quieter until it is gone. He feels sanity returning, but he feels a trembling ground beneath his feet.

Chapter 7

Immense Retribution

The trembling grows, and the cave begins to crumble. McKenna starts sprinting towards the exit of the cave. As he emerges, he sees a massive hole has opened itself. The size consumes the entire southern hemisphere of the planet, beginning at his feet. He stands in awe as a titan of horror emerges from the depths of the planet. He sees it, and it has seen him. It has cast its gaze upon him—1000 heads of 1000 bodies. A billion Eyes peer into this man's soul, judging and corrupting the last remnant of humanity left in this now mummified man. He is pulled into this seething primordial lord, and as they become one, the great awakening is completed. He joins the others in infinity. The end is nigh for all that reside in his realm. Soon as McKenna is with us, so shall all of the earth be in ethereal unity.