“Captain, what’s the order frommand?”
“All units are to return to the transport ships, ascend to higher altitude, and stand by. Keep an eye out for anything emerging 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 wereunched near the cave entrance, igniting a roaring fire.
Thick ck smoke rose into the air as the mes cleared a three-kilometer radius, reducing the tall grass to ashes and leaving a charred, barrenndscape. The previously obstructed view was now open and unobstructed.
“Captain, what are they doing?” A member 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 n.
“Looks likemand is gearing up for something 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 time, their numbers were overwhelming—dozens of vessels, including over 20 transport ships and more than 40 gunboats.
“Calling TZ091, this is TZ083,” came a sudden voice over themunicator.
“This is TZ091, go ahead,” replied the soldier handling the transmission, ncing at the captain for confirmation.
“Haha, is your captain Winter there?” The tone turned rough and familiar.
The captain tapped themunicator operator on the shoulder and took the mic. “Mana? Is that you?”
“Haha, it’s me! Bet you didn’t expect this—I got promoted. I’m now the captain of TZ083, with a higher number than you.”
“Congrattions! We haven’t met since we left Riken. When this mission’s over, drinks are on me.” Winter and Mana were long-time friends but had been separated since departing their homeworld, assigned to different ships. Reconnecting now was a wee surprise.
“Sounds good! But be careful this time—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 ssified, so I suppose I can share. Want to know how I became 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 came back. We even lost a dozen men. That’s how I ended up as captain.”
“…” Winter was speechless at the sheer brutality of the exnation. He felt a chill thinking about how close he hade to the same 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 vignce.”
“Probably because the orders haven’t been fully disseminated yet. Since we’re on the same 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 borated, “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 some time to get here.”@@novelbin@@
“What’s this big move?” Winter couldn’t help his curiosity.
“Something major, for sure. Word is, it’s a deployment 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. Arge 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 metal modules andponents, slung beneath transport ships, were dropped onto the scorched ground.
From several 50-meter-long heavy transport ships emerged engineering vehicles, apanied by thousands ofbat engineers from smaller transport ships. They began rapidly assembling equipment.
Meanwhile, 5,000 soldiers secured the perimeter, erecting makeshift fortifications around the construction site. The cave entrance received special attention, with numerousndminesid in the vicinity.
From their vantage point in orbit, the Rikenmanders 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,” someone countered. The construction site below was a trap; any emergence would be met by the fleet of gunboats hidden in the skies.
“On the contrary, the ability to endure such a tant disturbance suggests intelligence. Beasts would haveshed 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,” someone retorted.
Due to the mechanized nature of Riken’s homeworld, 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 spection.
“Enough arguing. We’ll know soon. Since thest attack urred at night, have the soldiers remain vignt after dark.”