She laughed into the mic. “Everything’s good.  These are friends.  Allistor and Helen.  And Fuzzy the bear.  We came to get you out of there.  Please let the boss know we’re here.”

There was a long silence, then Jenkins replied. “The boss is gone, Sarge.  These things appeared down here and took out a bunch of us before we got them.   Been a little… rough down here.”

Andrea bowed her head.  “How many have we lost?  And who’s in charge now?”

Jenkins’ voice caught as he spoke.  “Besides the captain, we lost twelve others.  Mostly the guards, and a couple of techs who were working down in one of the pits when these things appeared.   As for who’s in charge… well, now that you’re here, I guess that’s you, boss.”

Andrea rolled her eyes.  “Alright, Jenkins.  Send the lift up.  We’ll join you in a few.”

“Roger that, boss.  Welcome back!”

Andrea and the others exited the vehicle, and she led them over to one side of the bunker.  A moment later the parking area near their feet split apart, two horizontal slabs separating like a giant maw opening in the earth.  Allistor moved to the edge and peered down into a deep tunnel that ran straight down a few hundred feet. “Is this… a missile silo?”

Andrea shook her head.  “Nope.  That would be much larger.  This is an access shaft.  Mostly used for moving supplies up and down.  Like a freight elevator.”  As she finished talking, a wide metal platform rose up to ground level and stopped.  “All aboard!” she called out, stepping over the small gap onto the lift.  The others joined in, Fuzzy a little hesitant as he sniffed at everything.  When he finally got aboard, she placed a hand on a sensor pad attached to the metal frame of the lift.  A green light came on, and she hit the ‘down’ button.  As the lift began to descend, the roof above them slid closed.  The deep clang that echoed down to them as the two doors connected was more than a little ominous.

It took a full two minutes for the lift to descend to the next landing and a set of heavy-looking doors.  When it came to rest, Andrea pressed her palm to another sensor, and the doors opened.  Inside were four men with automatic rifles and body armor.  The rifles were pointed toward the floor, but the men were clearly ready to raise them and fire at need.

“Airman Bjurstrom, Campbell, McCoy, and Goodrich.   Good to see you guys in one piece.  Jenkins said it was bad down here.”