“Captain, what’s the order from command?”
“All units are to return to the transport ships, ascend to higher altitude, and stand by. Keep an eye out for anything erging from the cave.”
“Phew, I was really worried the officers would order us to head down there,” one soldier said with a relieved sigh, a smile spreading across his face.
“Hah, you coward.”
“Tch, then why don’t you go down? I’ll cover you from up here.”
“Hmph, unauthorized action is grounds for a court-martial.”
The special operations team had barely boarded their transport ship when two gunboats arrived in the distance. Several incendiary rounds were launched near the cave entrance, igniting a roaring fire.
Thick black smoke rose into the air as the flas cleared a three-kiloter radius, reducing the tall grass to ashes and leaving a charred, barren landscape. The previously obstructed view was now open and unobstructed.
“Captain, what are they doing?” A mber of Team TZ091, still on standby over the cave, asked in confusion as they watched.
The captain shook his head. His rank wasn’t high enough to be privy to the full plan.
“Looks like command is gearing up for sothing big. They’re clearing the field,” another soldier interjected.
“Tch, I can see that too. But do you know what this big move is?”
“Haha, just look at this grass—so tall and thick—”
Shortly after the fire subsided, a fleet of various ships appeared on the horizon. This ti, their numbers were overwhelming—dozens of vessels, including over 20 transport ships and more than 40 gunboats.
“Calling TZ091, this is TZ083,” ca a sudden voice over the communicator.
“This is TZ091, go ahead,” replied the soldier handling the transmission, glancing at the captain for confirmation.
“Haha, is your captain Winter there?” The tone turned rough and familiar.
The captain tapped the communicator operator on the shoulder and took the mic. “Mana? Is that you?”
“Haha, it’s ! Bet you didn’t expect this—I got promoted. I’m now the captain of TZ083, with a higher number than you.”
“Congratulations! We haven’t t since we left Riken. When this mission’s over, drinks are on .” Winter and Mana were long-ti friends but had been separated since departing their howorld, assigned to different ships. Reconnecting now was a welco surprise.
“Sounds good! But be careful this ti—you don’t want to end up in a bad spot.”
“Oh? Do you have insider info?”
After a brief pause, Mana replied, “It’s not classified, so I suppose I can share. Want to know how I beca captain?”
Winter was puzzled. Mana had been a deputy before they left—how had he suddenly been promoted? Out of respect for their friendship, he didn’t ask outright, but Mana brought it up anyway.
Before Winter could respond, Mana continued, “We were also sent to investigate missing patrol squads. Found a cave, just like you did. The previous captain insisted on going down despite the risks. None of them ca back. We even lost a dozen n. That’s how I ended up as captain.”
“…” Winter was speechless at the sheer brutality of the explanation. He felt a chill thinking about how close he had co to the sa fate. Shaking off the thought, he asked, “Do you know what the current mission is?”
“You haven’t been briefed yet?”
“Nope, just told to hold position and maintain vigilance.”
“Probably because the orders haven’t been fully disseminated yet. Since we’re on the sa mission, I’ll give you the scoop.”
Winter’s lips twitched in hesitation. Should Mana really be sharing this? But before he could protest, Mana elaborated, “See all those ships? They’re special ops teams, just like us. Command sent them to lead the charge. The main force is still en route from orbit and will take so ti to get here.”
“What’s this big move?” Winter couldn’t help his curiosity.
“Sothing major, for sure. Word is, it’s a deploynt of over ten thousand troops.”
“Ten thousand? Is the area below really that dangerous?”
“No idea how dangerous it is. The problem is that it’s too narrow down there. A large force would be useless. That’s why they’re sending engineers to dig out the caves. We’re just here for cover, so it shouldn’t be too risky.”
“Sounds manageable.”
Soon, the main force arrived. Hundreds of transport ships and gunboats descended en masse. Large tal modules and components, slung beneath transport ships, were dropped onto the scorched ground.
From several 50-ter-long heavy transport ships erged engineering vehicles, accompanied by thousands of combat engineers from smaller transport ships. They began rapidly assembling equipnt.
anwhile, 5,000 soldiers secured the periter, erecting makeshift fortifications around the construction site. The cave entrance received special attention, with nurous landmines laid in the vicinity.
From their vantage point in orbit, the Riken commanders monitored the operation via the observation systems on the ships and soldiers’ terminals.
“Are we sure this isn’t a hidden civilization?” one captain asked skeptically. Despite earlier theories about ancient creatures, the possibility of a subterranean society couldn’t be entirely dismissed.
“It doesn’t seem like it. We’re deliberately making a spectacle at the cave entrance. If they were intelligent, they wouldn’t tolerate this provocation,” soone countered. The construction site below was a trap; any ergence would be t by the fleet of gunboats hidden in the skies.
“On the contrary, the ability to endure such a blatant disturbance suggests intelligence. Beasts would have lashed out by now,” another captain argued.
“Good point,” another officer agreed.
“But wild animals also know to avoid danger. Faced with a superior threat, they might choose to retreat,” soone retorted.
Due to the chanized nature of Riken’s howorld, wild animals had nearly gone extinct. The few that survived were kept in artificial reserves, long removed from their natural behaviors. As such, the Rikens’ understanding of wildlife was based on books and videos, leaving room for speculation.
“Enough arguing. We’ll know soon. Since the last attack occurred at night, have the soldiers remain vigilant after dark.”
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