Gord Zajac - Major Karnage

“A merger,” Karnage said with a scowl.

Cookie smiled. “Yeah… the squidbugs… they can’t survive outside for long… that’s why they smoke… acts like a filter… keeps our clean air out… for now… until they change… until they merge it all… until they merge us… until they merge themselves…”

“Why change themselves? Why not just change us to match them?”

“The Intelligence doesn’t care… does what it needs to do to keep going… to survive… the squidbugs… everything… they all change from world to world… Intelligence adjusts their forms… to make them ideal… incorporates whatever it finds… fits it all in… like me… like you… it wanted you, Major, for its host… it picked you… most suitable… right genetics… that’s why they wanted you for so long… why they hunted you… they were gonna change you… give you to the squidbugs… make you suitable for the Intelligence… but I stopped ’em, Major… I played a little… shell game… I made ’em think you weren’t right… weren’t suitable… I gave ’em someone else….” Cookie’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Major… I’m so sorry… if I had known, I wouldn’t have… how could I know?”

“What Cookie? What didn’t you know?”

“You’d been captured… they were going to… I had to misdirect them… there was no time… I made a choice… I didn’t know who she was, Major… if I’d known that you… that she… I didn’t know who she was…”

Karnage’s heart jumped. “Sydney. It’s Sydney, isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry, Major… I didn’t know….”

“Where is she, Cookie? Where is she?!”

“They’re preparing her,” Cookie said, “for the Intelligence… you have to destroy it, Major… before it takes its new host….”

Cookie shut his eyes, wincing as a powerful blast of white shot up from his head and into the pipe. It careened through the walls, and collected around a sealed hatch. The hatch spiralled open, and the light flowed into it. The light flew down the tunnel, illuminating it with a dull grey as it went.

“That will take you to the Intelligence… but you have to go, Major… you have to go now… it knows I’m here. It’s trying to… stop me. I’ll hold it off long as I can… no one can go with you, Major… not Vel… not anyone… the Intelligence can jump from host to host… that’s why you have to kill it now… before it wakes… it knows you’re coming… it will try to stop you… be prepared, Major… it knows everything about you… about us… it will try to… you have to go, Major… you have to…”

Cookie shut his eyes. He didn’t speak again.

Karnage stood over Cookie’s limp form, hoping for more. It never came.

Karnage felt Cookie’s neck. He still had a heartbeat. Karnage rounded on Stumpy, pointing at Cookie. “Help him. Figure out what’s wrong with him. How to stop him from bein’… how to stop that green energy from hurtin’ him.”

“Me?” Stumpy stared down at Cookie’s empty skull. “I’m no medic, Major. I don’t know the first thing about this. It’s way beyond anything—”

Karnage grabbed Stumpy and shook him. “You have to try, Stumpy. You have to try!”

“Major.” Velasquez pushed herself between Karnage and Stumpy, forcing Karnage to let him go. “There’s nothing you can do.”

Karnage returned Velasquez’s gaze. “There has to be something. I came so far, and Cookie was there for me, every step of the way. Without him, we wouldn’t be here. Without him, we’d all be— goddammit, Vel, there has to be something we can do!”

“There is,” Velasquez said. “You can do what he asked you to do.”

“I can’t leave him like this,” Karnage said. “Not now.”

“You have to. Or we’re all done for. Including Sydney.”

Karnage looked down at Cookie. His fingers tightened into balled fists. He felt like he was being torn apart. “He stuck by me. Trusted me to help him. It’s my fault. My fault he’s here. If I hadn’t opened my goddamn mouth. If I hadn’t lost my head….”

“You’re doing like you always do, Major—the best you can. Just like Cookie. He knew that. He gave me something to give to you, just in case. Said I’d knew the time would be right, and I think that time is now.” Velasquez put something cold and metallic in Karnage’s hand.

It was a dog tag. Karnage read the inscription.

Cpl. Charles “Cookie” Blunderbuss

C&E – CPN FORCES

Karnage clenched his fist tight. He could feel the metal digging into his hands. “He may have given up on himself, but I ain’t givin’ up on him. Not yet.” He handed the tag back to Velasquez. “Here. He’ll be needin’ that.” He turned to Stumpy. “You do what you can. You’re not a miracle worker, but you’re pretty damn close, Corporal. Try and figure how this contraption works. Just do your best. That’s all I ask.”

Stumpy saluted. “I’ll give it my all, sir.”

Velasquez shook her head. “You never give up.”

“Not on my troops,” Karnage said. “Not ever. Show me this gear you got for me, Captain.”

Velasquez led Karnage over to the alcove. She handed him a rocket launcher. “Spragmos Industries RPG-OX9.”

Karnage looked it over. “This is space combat gear.”

“You’ll be going into the centre of the ship,” Velasquez said. “The atmosphere’s completely toxic there. No real oxygen to speak of. Only way to get rocket fuel to burn is if it comes with its own oxy. You’ve only got two rounds, so make ’em count.” Velasquez handed him a pile of folded clothes and a helmet. “There’s a suit to go with it. Rumour has it you’re human and need to breathe just like the rest of us.”

Karnage took the suit. “How much oxy I got in this?”

“Not a lot,” Velasquez said. “Couple hours. Maybe more, if you only breathe through your nostrils. So try to stay good and pissed off.”

“You know, I finally get that joke now, Captain.”

“Good for you, Major. You’re cleverer than I thought. That only took you, what, twenty years?”

“Twenty five,” Karnage said. “But who’s counting?”

Velasquez helped Karnage into his space suit. She attached the helmet to the metal neck ring with a loud hiss-chunk .

“Follow the white lights,” Velasquez said. “They’ll take you to the centre of the ship. Find the Nucleus, and destroy it.”

“What’s it look like?” Karnage slung the rocket launcher over his shoulder.

“Like a damn bowling ball,” Velasquez said. “Small grey sphere, glowing green and sending out pulses. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Karnage nodded. He slung his goober rifle over his other shoulder.

Velasquez pointed to it. “If you think you need more firepower, I got stronger stuff than that. Stuff that actually fires bullets.”

Karnage shook his head. “No point. Killin’ stuff just pisses off ol’ Mabel here.” He tapped the Sanity Patch through his suit.

Velasquez nodded. “Good luck in there, Major.”

“Do me a favour, Vel.”

“Sir?”

Karnage pointed to the hatch. “You see anything come outta there that don’t look like me, you shoot it. Twice.”

“Only twice?” Velasquez looked disappointed.

Karnage stepped through the hatch, and found himself in another fibre optic tunnel. Tiny spirals of white light spun along the walls, and he began to follow them as they shot forward a few feet, spun in place, then danced back before repeating the pattern again. It was hard to keep them in sight. He had to twist his entire torso in order to turn his head, otherwise he found himself staring at the inside of his helmet.