"Alright, it’s time to start the operation. Let’s move, Cleo."


    Rex began scanning the wrecked cargo ships one by one, while thebat drones kept the swarm busy. Meanwhile, it was Carlos’ turn to drop from the ship. Since he was just a regr human, the ship had to lower its altitude to a safe level before dropping him onto the warehouse rooftop, along with tenbat drones and six cargo drones.


    Once he hit the roof and the drones joined him, the ship immediately took off, its engines roaring as it shot away. For now, its firepower was enough to hold off the flying bugs. With that cover, Carlos figured he could get inside without too much hassle.


    He made his way to the door on the rooftop, but it was locked. And with no other option, he shot the lock and forced it open. Thebat drones moved in first, securing the area. After a few moments, Carlos could hear gunfire echoing from inside the warehouse.


    Curiosity got the best of him, and he peeked in. The drones were already locked in battle with the bug burrowers, which were crawling up from the ground, tearing apart huge sections of the stored food.


    "Damn, I gotta move fast before they wreck everything! Cargo drones, follow me! Let’s grab what we can!"


    Wasting no time, the drones began picking up the food and liquids Carlos pointed out, all while trying to avoid getting shot or snatched by the burrowers that asionally burst out.


    "Hey, Cleo, are you sure there’s nothing salvageable from those destroyed cargo ships?"


    ["Affirmative. Scanners show there are many useful parts, but everything we need is beyond repair. This doesn’t seem like an ident anymore... high probability of sabotage."]


    "Sabotage? Who in their right mind would want to stick around this bug-infested hellhole unless... the one who did it already left the? Damn, what the hell is going on here?"


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    While Carlos was busy gathering supplies, Rex and Cleo were still searching for parts to fix the ship’s flight engine. So far, no luck. With nothing salvageable from the destroyed cargo ships, they decided to head to the warehouse, where spare parts for ship maintenance were supposed to be stored.


    The warehouse was pretty close to thending zone, so it didn’t take them long to reach the entrance. Lucky for them, the door was already open. It looked like the bugs had attacked right in the middle of a maintenance job on a cargo ship.


    "Looks like we’ve hit the jackpot here! Cleo, scan this ship, quick!"


    ["Scanning in progress. Please stand by."]


    ["Scanplete. This cargo ship has an operational flight engine. Please secure the area while I send in an engineer drone once the ship passes overhead."]


    "You got it; leave it to me."


    Cleo then directed the drones to form a defensive perimeter around the warehouse while Rex continued scanning the inside for anything useful. Meanwhile, up in the sky, the ship kept circling, getting closer to Rex’s location, but it had been several minutes already, and the bug numbers showed no signs of slowing.


    Despite the ship’s constant fire, wiping out bugs left and right, they just kept pouring out of the colony’s central hole. It was clear the hive mind was a much bigger threat than they’d anticipated.


    After a few more minutes, the ship finally came into range of the warehouse. It fired something that looked like a small metal ball toward the ground. As soon as Rex spotted the falling ball, he moved toward it, with severalbat drones trailing behind to secure it.


    "So... is this the engineer we’ve been waiting for? It’s just a metal ball."


    ["Give it a moment, Rex. Since it has nobat abilities, it first scans the area for any potential danger before activating."]


    After about a minute, the metal ball finally did something. It split in half, and a small robot spider emerged. Cleo connected to it immediately and directed it toward the warehouse, with thebat drones escorting it.


    Once it reached the cargo ship, the little robot scurried inside. It located the flight engine and began dismantling it with astonishing speed and precision. Rex, fascinated, couldn’t take his eyes off the thing.


    ["Rex, please grab the engine parts it’s cing here. These are what we need. Now we just have to wait for the ship toe around again so we can extract them and pick up Carlos."]


    "Got it. By the way, how’s Carlos doing? Everything okay?"


    ["Affirmative. The burrowers are still active in the area, but thebat drones are handling them. However, we need to hurry since their ammo is running low."]


    "Good to know. Once we’re aboard, let’s head straight for Carlos. Have thebat drones cover us and fire at the swarm when we reach his extraction point. That way, there’s less chance of him bing a target."


    [...]


    ["I’m genuinely surprised the host finally made a sensible decision. Well done."]


    "Heh, what can I say? I have my moments."


    A few minutester, the ship finally arrived and began its descent so Rex could board safely without damaging the flight engine parts. Once on board, Rex handed the engine pieces over to a cargo drone and made his way toward the pilot cabin.


    "I’m ready, Cleo. Take us to Carlos."


    ["Understood."]


    With the flight engine secured, the ship quickly lifted off, heading straight for Carlos’ extraction point. The swarm kepting strong, endless waves of bugs piling up. The colony was littered with thousands of bug bodies by now, but thanks to Cleo, there was still plenty of ammo left for the turrets to burn.


    When they arrived at the rooftop of the supply warehouse, Carlos was already waiting, and so were the burrowers. As they made their way down the staircase to leave, the burrowers mmed into the structure, and a few even emerged from the rooftop itself.


    Some of the drones protecting Carlos and the cargo drones werepletely out of ammo. Cleo had no choice but to use them as battering rams, smashing them into the burrowers before detonating them. Luckily, thebat drones apanying Rex still had some ammunition left. As Carlos and the cargo drones boarded the ship, thebat drones kept the swarm at bay.


    ["Sessful extraction confirmed."]


    "Good! Get us out of here, Cleo!"


    They quickly flew out of the colony’s airspace. Once they were a few kilometers away, Cleo used thebat drones as a distraction, sending them to draw the swarm’s attention while the ship made its escape.


    "Whew, that was close, huh?"


    "Yeah, no kidding. Never in my life did I think I’d be doing a halo jump and taking part in a military op. Oh, by the way, bald guy, did you grab the chips?"


    "Of course I did. I’ve got a whole cargo drone full of them."


    "And... you got the spicy ones, right?"


    "I knew you’d ask. Yeah, I made sure to grab mostly spicy ones."


    "Damn, man. Why weren’t you born a girl? I swear, I’d fall for you. Such a shame."


    "You know, Rex, one of these days I’m going to kill you in your sleep."


    Now that the tension had died down, Rex and Carlos broke intoughter, tossing around yful insults and reminiscing about their time as kids when they were ves to a wealthy family. It took them 15 long years to buy their freedom, but they never forgot those days.


    In the gxy, very was amon practice, though civilians without criminal records had a chance to buy their freedom after 15 years of servitude, provided their owners allowed it. The agreement usually involved paying a hefty sum of credits over several years.


    However, if a ve failed to meet the payment deadline, they’d be re-enved, this time as fugitives, with no further chance to regain their freedom.


    Luckily for Rex and Carlos, they managed to pay off their debts by sticking together and helping each other. Rex even helped Carlos pay for his sweetheart’s freedom. A few yearster, Carlos married her, and they had a child. Tragically, she died during childbirth.


    Despite the gxy’s advanced medical technology, the costs were exorbitant. For regr office ves like Rex and Carlos, hospitals were out of reach.


    Instead, they turned to ndestine doctors. Though still expensive, they were far more essible for ordinary people. Rex even helped Carlos cover the doctor’s fees. It was moments like these, along with many other sacrifices, that solidified Carlos’ unwavering loyalty to Rex.


    "By the way, Cleo, give me a damage report. And what’s our next task?"


    ["Understood. Three of the eight turrets were overused; their barrels arepletely destroyed. Shield energy is down to 8%. We’ve also lost all of thebat drones, and we don’t have enough materials to produce more. I rmendnding in a safe location to recharge the shields."]


    ["And for what’s next on our to-do list is...]