The Sentinels: An Absolute Monster (Book Six of The Sentinels Series)

The Dolina Massacre

A/N aside from my OCs I don't own any characters that may appear all rights belong to their respective owners. Thanks to Zzshark_Stormbeard for allowing me to use their character Serial Designation U from their Murder Drones fan comic Serial Designation U

July 15th, 2603, 1600 hours the planet of Zimowia, Eldaran territory

The crunching sounds of boots on snow reverberated through the deserted streets while soldiers of the Eldaran Defense Force patrolled the small outpost town of Dolina. The town emanated an eerie aura that Sergeant Adrian Palka felt acutely as he guided his squad down the main street. "Are you okay, Sergeant?" Leon Zeleznik, one of Adrian's men, asked. "Yeah, I just can't shake the feeling that we're being watched," Adrian responded. The point man raised his hand, signaling the others to halt. "What's the issue?" Adrian asked the point man through the comms. The point man gestured towards a house on the right, indicating movement inside. Adrian sent two of his men to investigate. They entered the house, and after a brief silence, Adrian's comms erupted with screams, and the sound of flesh being ripped apart followed by the unmistakable sound of gunfire. "What the hell?" Adrian muttered as one of his men was sent flying through a window, landing right next to him. "What happened in there?" Adrian asked the Corporal. "There's some kind of monster in there," the Corporal replied, his voice shaking. Thump. Something landed behind Adrian. He turned around to see a worker drone with rotting human skin grafted onto it, wearing a tattered dress, and its eye sockets were pitch black except for two yellow X's where the pupils should be. "What is that thing?" someone shouted. "Who gives a shit, open fire!" Adrian commanded as he unloaded his KG-6 Assault rifle at the drone. The drone merely grinned as the 5.56mm rounds deflected off its surface before it vanished. "Since when could those things teleport?" Leon questioned, surveying his surroundings. "How should I know?" Adrian retorted, inserting a new magazine into his KG-6. Suddenly, a tendril emerged from an alley and coiled around the leg of one of Adrian's men, dragging him into the shadows. The man's screams echoed as he was torn apart. "Bring the binder up here!" Adrian commanded. One of his men quickly set up the M50A1 "Binder" LMG, unleashing a barrage of 7.62mm rounds into the alley. Adrian signaled to stop firing and cautiously peered around the corner, only to find the dismembered remains of the soldier. Engrossed in the horrific scene, Adrian failed to notice the symbol encircling his leg. Moments later, he was hoisted into the air and turned upside down, his SPARO Helmet tumbling off. Frantically, he struck at the symbol, hoping to descend, as a tendril brushed his face. The drone, sporting a malevolent grin, neared him. "My, my, you're a feisty one," it declared in a monotone, robotic voice, seizing Adrian's neck and beginning to choke him. With desperation fueling him, Adrian drew his combat knife and slashed at the drone's face. "Ow! Wincing face" the drone cried out, recoiling in pain as Adrian crashed to the ground. Adrian's team unleashed a barrage of fire at the drone while Leon assisted Adrian to stand. "You ok, Adrian?" Leon inquired. With a nod, Adrian secured his SPARO helmet once more. A chilling scream pierced the air as one of Adrian's men was impaled by a tendril of the drone, which then severed the head of another soldier. "We need to get out of here," Adrian said. "Everyone, fall back to the Dardo!" he ordered over the comms. Adrian, Leon, and the two surviving squad members dashed to the outskirts of Dolina, where an M10 Dardo IFV awaited them. "Sergeant, what's happening? Where is everyone else?" the vehicle commander asked. "They're dead, and we'll be too if we don't get out of here now!" Adrian yelled as the drone loomed into sight. "Kill it!" Adrian shouted, the gunner fired the Dardo's the 30mm autocannon on the drone, stirring up a cloud of dirt and snow, while the IFV started its retreat. The drone emerged from the cloud of dirt unharmed. "Switching to anti-tank," the gunner yelled, launching an M90 Sparrow ATGM at the drone. In response, the drone extended its right arm, halting the missile mid-air and redirecting it towards the Dardo, striking its engine. The impact hurled the forty-five-ton IFV into the air before it crashed onto its side. The last thing Adrian saw was his comrades being tossed around like toys in a bathtub, with smoke filling the troop compartment, before his head struck the turret basket, rendering him unconscious.

July 16th, 2603, 0500 hours outskirts of Dolina.

Tessa Elliot arrived in the town to witness the aftermath of what was unmistakably a massacre: the disfigured corpses of Eldaran soldiers strewn across the main road. She removed the helmet from one of the fallen Eldarans, retrieved the data recorder from its rear compartment, and then respectfully replaced the helmet onto the lifeless soldier. Tessa slotted the data recorder into her holo-pad and pressed play. The latest entry unfolded, depicting the massacre from a soldier's perspective, with the cacophony of gunfire and screams emanating from the device. The playback continued until the soldier was savagely attacked by the solver, at which point the screen went dark, and the words "Error: footage not found, subject KIA/WIA" flashed in red. Muttering a curse, Tessa stowed the holo-pad in her backpack and headed towards the smoldering remains of an Eldaran IFV atop the hill, surveying the town below. The IFV lay on its side, its turret violently torn off, leaving a gaping hole in the center of the vehicle. Tessa drew her revolver and climbed into the IFV through the hole in the roof. She scanned the troop compartment for anything useful when a weak groan sounded behind her. Whirling around, Tessa saw nothing, but a seemingly lifeless Eldaran soldier slumped against the remnants of the turret basket. She pressed her fingers against the soldier's neck and, to her astonishment, felt a pulse. Tessa holstered her revolver and dragged the soldier out of the IFV and checked him for any injuries, there were none. Tessa propped the soldier against the IFV and activated a distress beacon placing it in the soldier's lap before leaving

Adrian opened his eyes and rubbed the back of his head, taking in his surroundings. He was in the back of a Roskam 32 Medical Evacuation vehicle. "Look who's awake," a medic said, shining a light into Adrian's eyes. "What happened? Where is everyone?" Adrian asked. The medic looked down for a moment before speaking softly, "The rest of your squad is dead." "Damn it, damn it, damn it," Adrian cursed as the medic tried to hold him down. "I should be dead, do you hear me? That thing should've killed me when it had the chance," he raged, thrashing around as the medic administered sedatives. "I should be dead alongside my men," Adrian murmured just before sleep claimed him.