Leviathan

[Doomguy]

-Costa del Sol-

You never quite get used the moving through dimensional gates. Or telepoters, or whatever you want to call them. The pull that feels like gravity has decided it hatred your guts and tried to fling you across the universe, the brief moment when you're in two places at once and you can feel the different airs press against you, and the mental whiplash of stepping in a place where you weren't going, not unlike the feeling of missing a step in the dark. I could only thank my stronger constitution that my first time didn't end with me getting killed with my own puke covering the helmet visor, but I don't think it will ever become a pleasant feeling. At the very least, this time it was a step in a pleasant beach, and not the flesh covered house of pain.

The thing that hit me first as I pulled away from the gate was the ocean breeze, the cool wind and salty smell passing through the vents in my helmet and hitting my face. I could hear the ocean waves churning the water and slapping the sand, hungry birds squawking as the circled overhead, and the hustle and bustle people just near the furthest range of my hearing. But what caught me the most was something that I had been deprived of for longer than just my time in Hell: the warmth of the sun shining on me. In contrast to the stark white plane of existence had been stuck with moments ago, this had been the first time where I felt like I had truly escaped from Hell. Then a boneheaded, dick-less, nimrod wearing plastic white armor and carrying a mass-produced toy gun and his four identical compadres went and ruined that when they decided to surround me in a semi-circle with my back to the gate.

The stand off was rather calm. The five soldiers ahead of me had their guns aimed at the ground, trigger fingers on the guard, and maybe they even had the safety on. They weren't amateurs, at the very least. I didn't have a gun out at the moment, and any attempt to reach for my guns will probably get me shot. That they weren't advancing on me either mean they weren't hostile or they though they we safe from me. A poor assumption on their part, but I wasn't going to push the situation into a fight if it meant I could get a better advantage while their guard is down.

"What is your business here in Costa del Sol?" Said one of them who had a different shoulder pad to mark them out as a higher rank, a voice synthesizer making it had to determined what kind of person was. And their skull styled full helmet made them hard to read. Glancing around the area for any clues I saw a massive and stylized sign with "Welcome to Costa del Sol" practically smacking me in the face with it's bright colors, with a dab military tent barely ten feet beside it adding a nice bit of juxtaposition to the whole scene. I raised my hands up to try to play the innocent and hoped these guys weren't the more mercenary military campers.

"I just got here, to be honest. I don't even know what I'm going to be doing. What's with the security team?" I said, eyeing up the soldiers. The sergeant was stoically silent and seemed like he didn't want to put up with my crap, but a greenhorn in the mists answered for me.

"Two primes stole a naval ship not to long before you got here" the greenhorn answer with a very false sense of authority, and got stared down immediately by his CO. The greenhorn bucked and stepped down while the sarge gave the kind of sigh only given by those who have had a consecutive bad day for a very long time in a job they hated. I could sympathizes. I was guarding a waste processing planet for three years before demons decided to pay a visit. The sarge gave one last look over me and then with a wave of his hands the rest stood down.

"Alright, just don't cause any trouble. We'll have you under watch. Welcome to " The sarge said that last bit with major monotone boredom, and the squad left to leave me to my own devices. I simply gave a shrug, happy to not have to deal with whatever screening process or paperwork this place would normally have, and I walked into the town proper.

The place was charming, in that tourist trap kind of way. A hodgepodge set of customs and cultures, pulled in from the universe just like the people, managing to keep a peace with only a little bit of a push from a completely authoritarian government that was one gate over. It would also be the first time I've noticed the people that have been sucked in here as well, or rather the non-humans dotted along them. In my own world, aliens were still considered a part of science fiction even as we were placing colonies around the solar system, so a giant sharkman wearing a wife beater and swim trunks as he explained fishing with a spear over a rod with what was clearly an elf with a surf board was surreal to the point that it felt like I was the least interesting thing here. Being a bit of a sentimental old sod and completely dubious of whatever food I summoned with the Omnilium, I ending up passing by the numerous shops and salons to find a tiki themed bar-n-grill with the name of "The Waning Moon". The smell of cooking meat was enough to entice me in, and I decided to order some dinner while I figure out what I'm going to do.

I was already down two "tropical" drinks as I waited for my order to arrive, leaning back into the seat of a corner both with my helmet lying on the table, and I tried not to overhear anyone's conversation or otherwise draw attention to myself. But unfortunately for me, a trio of sea dogs in the booth opposite of me had one loudmouth in their group and it was impossible to NOT hear him.

"Captain, I protest," said the loudmouth human, who judging by his crew cut and not terrible teeth is or was a naval sailor. "You and everyone else know that Crescent Lagoon base was abandoned by the Imperials because they were calling as many troops back. It's ripe for the picking, and you and the other superstitious gits are just being stub-" the man was cut off when his captain, a green skin beast of a man, slammed his fist into the table to silence the insubordinate seaman. That the smaller human wasn't smacked was either him being a very high rank in their group or a strange show of respect (or he just didn't want to kill the guy.

"Stuff a cork in it, Perry. Me and da other kaptains agreed that the Imp's story is nothing but bilge, and three other ships trying to looted it ended up haven't even returned." The captain explained in a very low accent, only stopping to take a glug from some neon blue drink with a tiny umbrella in his hand "If ya wanta row a dingy dere yourself, then go right a'ead, but I'm not moving an inch" "Perry" weighed his options, then slumped down on the table and pouted in defeat. I on the other hand was much less deterred, and walked to the other table. Perry and the silent sailor gave me a completely bemused look, while the captain was more interested.

"So, where exactly is this "Crescent Lagoon base" I asked the captain, implying that I had something to offer for the information. The two sailors looked between the two of us, but the captain gave a wide smile instead, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth.

"Lets make a deal"