Guard Team Seven exited Kazzy the moment Minni powered her down in one of the hangars. Domrik caught up to the Captain, who was busy removing her helmet. "We have to take action now. Every minute we wait is another minute for them to prepare."
"I hear you, Specialist," she said, stashing her helmet casually under her arm. "We'll bring it up with the Commander. I assure you, he's no fan of waiting."
The team met the Commander in the designated briefing room, which consisted of only a table around which the soldiers stood. He'd already seen the recordings, and when they entered, he had his arm folded, nodding to himself in reaction to some internal dialogue. He maintained silence for several seconds after all movement had ceased. Just before the silence grew awkward, he spoke in his official voice, straightening his back. "Report."
The Captain, standing at the other end of the table, responded abruptly. "We found something, sir. It didn't show up on any of the scans until the Specialist pointed it out."
The Commander's frown deepened, as if not liking the confirmation he was hearing. "I want it in no uncertain terms that this discovery remain classified at the highest level. Not even the Major must know."
"Why?" Domrik asked before thinking. He remained resolute against the glares thrown in his direction.
"Because I said so, Specialist," the Commander snapped. "You get one pardon for breach of protocol. Your ignorance of it is no longer an excuse, unless you force me to insult your observational skills."
Domrik had seen the outburst coming. The Commander's energy was boiling over even before the Captain had spoken a word. He wasn't exactly sure whether the Commander was referring to the lack of his salute before the mission, or his sudden question moments ago. He decided it was best to act docile. "Of course, sir."
The Commander's gaze softened. "Nevertheless, I have to commend you, Specialist. And thank you. For not making me look like a fool. The Senator will be simultaneously pleased and infuriated by the success of this mission. I will get back to you with further instructions. Good work today, Guards. Dismissed!"
The five of them snapped a salute, Domrik still not comfortable enough to give the Commander the same treatment. When Team Seven filed out of the room, he stayed where he stood. The Commander tilted his head. "You're dismissed, Specialist."
Domrik dared to look him in the eye. "I know I said it was this one mission only, but I can't leave knowing what we know now. They have illusions, sir. Your scanners didn't penetrate them. I did."
He raised an eyebrow. "Your point?"
Domrik pursed his lips, wishing he could hold back his next words. Each one was another step toward damnation to a life of military service. "I would love to dismiss myself, sir, but I can't help but think that every minute you wait for the Senator's decision is another minute for an unknown force to make a move. We can't give them time, Commander. We need to act now."
"I understand your concerns, Specialist, and if I had my way, I'd be rounding up the entire platoon as we speak. Unfortunately, due process must reign."
"If you found that someone has broken into your home, stealing things and setting stuff on fire, and you had a gun, how long would you wait to demonstrate mastery over your domain?"
His eyes grew wide with fury. "This. Is not. A debate. Your service here is done. Leave!"
The fire of argument rose within Domrik, but he caught it just in time to keep his mouth shut. He'd said all he could say. It would have to work itself out. He exited the room and nearly collided with the Major. He swerved around her, uttering an apology, and continued on his way toward the temporary locker where his wristpad was stored. He wasn't sure how long she'd been standing there, but he hoped it was long enough to catch the context of the argument. Surely someone was willing to bend the rules.
Minni helped him dismount his suit in the armory. He changed back into his own clothes and gave her the undersuit, exchanging a few words of support and encouragement. They shook hands and went their separate ways.
He took a longer path back to his car, taking the time to appreciate the base's attempt to blend in with nature. Paying attention to the trees and ferns helped pump the brakes of his mind, which had gained momentum from the drama of the past hour. He missed the drama, in a way, the seductive pull of the self-righteous satisfaction. It was the most difficult habit to overcome, and so long as he breathed, it would always come back to tempt him once in a while. There were ways of being content with any outcome, though he admitted to himself that he was not at that stage yet. He very much wanted to return to the Preserve, just a bit more than he wanted to dive into his car and leave skid marks on the way out. Perhaps if Jase weren't involved, he might make a different decision.
His car was still intact and untouched, which he found to be a relief. He relaxed further then he rummaged through the travel back and found the Augmentor Bow still in its pocket at the bottom.
Hello. The thought slipped into his mind, and there was the odd sensation of not knowing if he was sending it or receiving it. It wasn't an unfamiliar experience. Often in deep meditation, the distinction blurred into nothing. Though other times, like during the heist, there was the sense of him projecting thoughts to Jase, as if he were directing a current of energy.
The Bow's presence calmed him further, and he found himself sitting with his hands on the steering wheel for several minutes, just letting himself become absorbed in the silence.
Just as he had the impulse to ignite the engine, his wristpad rang. He took his finger off the button and gazed at the number. Unknown. When he picked up, the Commander's voice came through loud and clear. "I don't want to hear nothing from you, Specialist. Get back here. The Senator just gave me the go-ahead."
The call ended before Domrik could respond. For a moment, it seemed as if he had imagined the call. He was both excited and bummed. The two emotions fought over his attention for a few heartbeats. Then the hesitation faded excitement won over. He climbed out of the car, his hand instinctively yanking the strap of the travel bag over his shoulder. There wasn't enough time to question the decision now. How he would justify bringing his own equipment, he didn't know. He didn't want to think about it.
The base resounded with the Commander's voice projecting from the external public address system. "All teams, suit up and report to the Hangar Nest by 0730. This is not a drill!"
The place was soon alive with activity, troops swarming out of various buildings and funneling toward the complex of buildings that housed the armories and med bays. He stayed clear of most paths until he reached the same building that housed the guest locker rooms. On the way in, he ran into Minni, who shouted "Hi stranger!" as she rushed past and slapped his undersuit onto his chest. He got changed quick, then hauled his travel bag over to the armory. Everyone was in a frenzy of preparation, which included suiting up, replenishing Aetherite stores, and readying their Aetheric rifles. He mounted his power armor with relative ease, and when the external cameras finally delivered a view of his surroundings, he found the Commander standing stiff with folded arms between him and his travel back. Suddenly his hands grew clammy.
"That was a quick decision, sir," Domrik commented, doing his best to not sound pompous.
"The Senator was available on her personal line, fortunately," the Commander replied, shaking his head, allowing himself a wry smile. "You and your silver tongue. Now listen up. You will be the backup to Team Seven. As you have demonstrated, your main function is to spot the danger, given that the rest of us are incompetent in our psychic abilities. I understand you have extensive combat experience, but that does not translate in the slightest to battlefield wargames. Out there, you know nothing. So besides acting as a glorified sensor, you will follow the orders of your Captain and your Lieutenants. Their lives could depend on it. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," Domrik said.
The Commander turned to gaze at the travel bag behind him. "Am I to believe you intend on taking this with you?"
"Consider it part of the backup, Commander," Domrik pleaded. "I'm still very clumsy in this suit. That contains reactive shields I know how to use, should the need arise."
He received a suspicious look, and for a moment thought he was going to be bust right then and there. The Commander shrugged one shoulder. "I suppose it won't hurt. I expect to see you at the Nest in five."
He made sure to arrive in three. The twenty-five Teams were already assembled in packs of five or six, arranged in neat rows facing the semicircle of hangars. They all stood at attention with their helmets cradled against their hips, some engaged in hushed conversation. Domrik found Team Seven near the edge of the formation. He slid up next to the Captain. "This will be interesting."
"Glad to have you back," she replied, craning her head to see what he carried. "What is that?"
"Backup," he explained, placing the bag next to his feet. "Mostly for me. Don't worry, the Commander approved it."
"Attention, Guards!"
All heads snapped toward the speaker. Everything was silent as the Commander drew his calculating gaze across the platoon. He tapped his wristpad, and a map bloomed above him for all to see. "Time is short, so I will be brief. This is no ordinary mission. We have discovered evidence of a covert entity existing within the bounds of the Antiga Nature Preserve. Marked here is the location of a hidden landing pad. And when I say hidden, I mean hidden. None of your sensors will pick up anything, because they are using an advanced form of projection technology similar to our own, but far more realistic. It is all but certain their craft use the same technology. For guidance as to the whereabouts of these hidden objects, defer to the Captain of Team Seven of Squad Three. They will lead the way, tonight.
"Our mission is to infiltrate this facility by any means necessary, and obtain as much intel as possible. These people are not protected by the law. You are authorized to fire at will. However, I would rather keep casualties to a minimum. The dead don't talk. Guard well!"
"Stay vigilant!" the platoon roared, breaking formation once everyone's hearing returned.
Team Seven boarded Kazzy in the hangar, and as the soldiers were getting situated in their seats, the Captain slapped the copilot's seat. "You're up here, Specialist. Gonna need your special eyes."
"Where should I put this?" Domrik asked, indicating his travel bag. It was a small miracle that he'd gotten this far without the Augmentor Bow being discovered.
"Choose a compartment," she said, pointing to the wall behind him.
After stashing the bag into the drawer's tight space, he strapped himself into the copilot's seat. Kazzy rumbled gently as the Captain drove it out of the hangar. Other Jets had already emerged, but they waited for Kazzy to reach the runway before following. As each craft entered Domrik's field of view, his HUD labeled it with the appropriate Team number and Jet name.
The Captain looked at Domrik through her visor. "You'd best start looking now."
He nodded, commanding his faceplate to split open. The dark sky ahead of them looked normal. The anxiety in his gut grew tighter as he realized just how much they would be relying on him. He took a moment to retreat inward, sensing his ambient connection to the Aetheric field. Even a tiny whiff of it was enough to lay calmness around his troubles. It gave him a soft-yet-sturdy sense that everything was alright. From that place, it felt like he could handle anything. Even the rickety vibrations of Kazzy's takeoff.
The Captain didn't fly as high as the previous flight. He imagined that was for tactical purposes. A thin scattering of clouds had formed, so he would need the clearest view he could get. It was dark enough now to glimpse the stars overhead. The lights of civilization below provided a magnified reflection. He found the overhead view of the patterned white-and-yellow dots soothing somehow. In the past, he would become hypnotized for long moments staring out over the city from under his favorite tree on Mt. Vernai. It was as if he could sense the stillness of civilization at relative ease during the night.
This night held the potential to disturb the entire nation.
Nobody said a word for the first ten minutes, the droning rumble of Kazzy's engines muffling all other sounds. Domrik's focus grew more intent the closer they came to their target. He recognized the familiar forms of the hills below. He slowed and deepened his breathing to counteract his increasing heartrate. Just as he felt more settled, a flicker caught his eye. A shimmering red dot was rising and fading to the left. It must have been no more than a kilometer away.
"There," he said, pointing.
"Show me on the screen, Specialist," the Captain replied.
He brought up the empty view screen projection and indicated the spot he had seen the disturbance. All other crew members would see the corresponding marker on their HUDs, corrected for their location and viewing angle.
"Squad Three, I have a potential bogey in sight, over," the Captain said. After a short pause, she looked to Domrik. "They see nothing."
"Another one," he replied, indicating its motion on the screen with his finger. "I can only see their exhaust. Can you hail them?"
She sighed, shaking her head. "Kazzy isn't receiving any replies. She thinks there's nothing out there."
"Do the reactive shields have a manual mode?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I request control over the shields."
"Request denied," she said, pitching Kazzy up to begin deceleration. "You don't know what you're doing."
Neither do you, he was tempted to say. Another red ball rose from the ground. The illusion was robust, aided by the darkness of night. He leaned forward, then indicated on the view screen the location of the landing pad. "A craft just escaped from that location."
"Here goes nothing," she mumbled under her breath. "Squad Three, circle formation around this target. Fire on my command."
Kazzy swung around to hover a couple dozen meters above and behind the cloaked landing pad. Two other Guard Jets took up position, forming a triangle with the pad at the center. Meanwhile, Domrik swung his gaze from side to side. "Marking more landing pad targets. More craft are escaping by the second."
"Forwarding them to the other squads now. The entrances are more important. Any bogeys you see, mark their heading. We can chase them later. Squad Three, ready your cannons. Confirm common target lock... fire."
Red flashes thundered into the ground, converging on the same point at roughly the same time. Domrik squinted his eyes against the white explosion, and it took several seconds for his eyes to readjust to the ambient darkness. It was difficult to see in the dim moonlight. A ragged hole had appeared in the center of the landing pad, its edges still glowing red and orange. Wisps of flame danced around the edges of the hexagonal pad where the plants had caught too much heat.
"That looks big enough," the Captain commented, bringing Kazzy down toward the pad.
"You can see it now?" Domrik asked.
"Yep, here goes nothing! Squad Three, I am moving in. Inform the other Squads to do the same with their pads. Each pad has a sphincter hatch. If it closes above us, you are authorized to eliminate it. We need as many Jets down there as possible. These bastards are bound to put up a fight. Let's give them one to remember."
With that, the craft lowered through the hole, missing the edges by only a few meters on each side. As soon as they were below ground, the sphincter hatch began to close. The stars above disappeared.
"Wait for it," the Captain muttered.
"Hold on," Domrik said, "won't the debris fall on us?"
"Aetheric cannons pack quite a punch, Specialist. They're calibrated for maximum heat output upon impact, with temps comparable to the surface of the sun. That will vaporize pretty much anything. Any residual molten material will be deflected by our reactive shields."
Just as she finished speaking, an explosion rang out above them, bathing them in white light for a split second. Then the occasional sizzle and pop of the reactive shielding sounded around the craft.
"Damn, this is deep," she said, watching the downward-facing views intently. "No wonder we couldn't pick up anything before."
Lieutenant Avosta spoke up. "Are you sure about this, Captain? You could have sent someone else in first. We're putting a valuable asset on the front line."
While part of Domrik was flattered with the recognition, the rest of him was disturbed. He wasn't sure how long he could tolerate being to reduced to just a "valuable asset."
"We need his eyes, Lieutenant," she replied. "It would be foolish to send a blind team to their deaths with nothing to show for it."
Domrik sensed the Lieutenant's desire to retort, but there was only a reluctant silence. Kazzy continued to descend for another half-minute. The bottom was as dark as the night above. He could only tell where it was thanks to the ship's sensors. Sonar returned a roughly hexagonal hole opening down into some kind of cavern with a flat floor. The Captain slowed their descent as they neared the opening. The visible spectrum view showed the blurry red reflections of Kazzy's bottom thrusters. She activated the external flood lights once they passed through the opening.
It was no cavern at all, but a long hangar branching off in four directions. All the lights were turned off. Dozens of craft were parked in regular rows, but by the way the flood lights passed through them, Domrik knew they were cloaked. Soldiers flowed from the exits carrying various forms of heavy weaponry. They were already taking aim.
"Watch it," Domrik warned. "Attackers at twelve o'clock."
"I have no visual," the Captain said. "This is an empty hangar."
Domrik gripped his restraints hard. "Take evasive action!"