Lt. Nakamura’s voice crackled softly over the comms.

“Engage stealth modules. We’re moving into position.”

Arthur glanced at his team, nodding slightly as they activated the stealth feature on their armor. His HUD flashed briefly, and his vision adjusted to the faint shimmer of light as his body began blending into the rocky, reddish-brown surroundings. 

It wasn’t true invisibility, but the cloaking field distorted their outlines enough to make them nearly undetectable unless someone was specifically searching for them.

The teams split, with half taking up defensive positions around the perimeter of the relay station. The jagged rock formations provided natural cover, and the ECHOs moved like shadows, silent and precise. Plasma rifles were raised, scopes scanning for any signs of enemy movement.

Arthur’s team was among those tasked with approaching the station. As they advanced, Arthur checked his Map. It displayed two red dots just beyond the gate they were approaching.

‘Two hostiles behind the gate,’ Arthur thought. Then he checked his HUD showing the same. 

Arthur whispered through the comms. “Two enemy spotted just beyond the gate, on both sides”

Arthur glanced at his teammates. Elena was already at the panel beside the gate, typing rapidly to override the lock. Samir stood guard, his rifle trained on the surroundings, while Leo and he took up positions on the right side of the entrance.The others got ready to engage with Arthur at the front and Leo over his shoulder.

“Elena, how long?” Arthur whispered.

“Thirty seconds,” Elena muttered, her fingers dancing across the keys. “This system is complex, it’s got layers of encryption. Just… don’t rush me.”

“Take your time,” Arthur said, though his grip on his rifle tightened.

“Positions,” Arthur whispered. He signaled Leo to aim right while gesturing to the two ECHOs from the adjacent team to cover the left.

The Chimerians, oblivious to their presence, stood still, likely scanning the surroundings with their sensors.

Arthur counted down silently with his fingers ‘Three… two… one.’

The mechanical gate opened with a soft whoosh, revealing a dimly lit corridor on the other side. The two Chimerians stood a few meters apart, their frames covered in crystal blue armor.

The moment he dropped his hand, plasma fire erupted in a controlled burst. Arthur’s shot hit the Chimerian on the right squarely in the neck, where its armor was weakest. The creature crumpled with a faint, gurgling noise before it could react.

Leo’s shots followed immediately, hitting the same target to ensure it stayed down. On the left side, the other team mirrored their precision, taking out the second Chimerian with synchronized shots to its chest and head.

The entire engagement lasted less than two seconds.

“Clear,” Arthur said, his voice calm but adrenaline coursing through him.

“Good work,” Nakamura’s voice came through the comms. “Keep moving. We’re on a tight clock.”

…

The team moved forward cautiously, Arthur leading the way with his system Map scanning ahead. The corridor was narrow, lit by dim, flickering lights that cast long shadows on the walls. The air felt heavy, though their suits provided them with a steady oxygen supply.

Elena glanced at the walls, her expression tense. “I don’t like this. It’s too quiet.”

“Quiet is good,” Samir said, though he sounded unconvinced.

“It’s not,” Arthur thought but didn’t say it aloud. The eerie silence was unnerving, and the lack of resistance made him feel like they were walking into a trap.

As they approached the next junction, Lt. Nakamura called for a halt.

“Hold here,” he instructed. “We’re regrouping with the other teams before proceeding deeper. Arthur, Elena, check your HUDs for alternate routes. Samir, Leo secure the area.”

Arthur nodded, bringing up the HUD again. The overlay showed multiple branching paths ahead, but none of them appeared to be active with enemy movement. Yet.

“Anything on your side?” Elena asked.

“Nothing immediate,” Arthur said. “But that could change the moment we move forward.”

“It always does,” Elena muttered, her fingers twitching nervously near her rifle’s trigger.

“Relax,” Arthur said, though his own nerves were on edge. “We’ll handle it.”

…

Arthur paused mid-step, his brows furrowing as he brought up his Map function. The system panel overlaid his vision, showing the schematic of the relay station within a five-kilometer radius.

At first glance, everything seemed normal, no nearby enemy signals apart from the usual Chimerian patrols. But as he scrutinized the display, something odd caught his eye.

‘This doesn’t add up,’ Arthur thought, tilting his head as he zoomed in on the station’s interior.

Arthur only took a cursory glance at his Map when he was at the gate, so he didn’t notice the oddity at that time. But now as he looked closer he noticed there were less than 20 guards in the whole Station. And he had a bad premonition. He checked his HUD but it didn’t show anything.

As they searched the relay station it became more apparent that something was wrong.

“That’s… not right,” Leo said, his voice uneasy. “A relay station this critical should have way more security.”

“Unless it’s a trap,” Elena muttered, her grip tightening on her plasma rifle.

Lt. Nakamura also got the same response from the other teams and thought the same.

Arthur’s gut twisted. He didn’t like this. “It could be. But there’s no way to know until we check. Lt. Nakamura, permission to scout the warehouse. We haven’t checked there yet.”

Lt. Nakamura, who had been quietly analyzing the data, nodded. “Agreed. Arthur, lead the way. The rest of you, stay sharp. Other teams will check additional areas, no one goes solo. Let’s move.”

…

Arthur and his team went through the dimly lit corridors, relying on his System Map to find the shortest route towards the warehouse and also checking his HUD to compare them. 

The relay station’s interior was eerily quiet, the faint hum of machinery the only sound. As they neared the warehouse, their HUDs finally picked up enemy signatures, marking the presence of Chimerians near the entrance.

Arthur raised a fist to signal a halt. Signaling his team, of the three hostiles just around the corner.

The team fell into formation, their movements silent and practiced.

Arthur moved toward the entrance. He peeked around the corner, spotting the three Chimerians. They stood by a console, their bodies faintly glowing under the dim light, their claws tapping rhythmically against the controls.

Arthur raised his hand and counted down silently. Three… two… one.

Arthur stepped out first, his plasma rifle trained on the closest Chimerian. He fired a precise shot to the creature’s neck, its weak point, and it collapsed instantly.

Leo followed with a volley of shots, taking down the second enemy before it could react. The third Chimerian turned toward the commotion, its claws extending, but Natalia’s quick aim took it out with a clean shot to the head.

“All clear,” Arthur said, scanning the room.

“Nice shooting,” Elena muttered, though her eyes remained sharp and watchful.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Lt. Nakamura warned. “We’re just getting started.”

…

The team pressed forward, their HUDs marking two more pairs of enemy signals deeper inside the warehouse.

“These corridors are a maze,” Leo muttered as they navigated the narrow paths lined with rusting crates and machinery.

Arthur glanced at his Map, which updated in real time. “Stay close. We’re almost upon the next group.”

When they reached the first pair of Chimerians, they found them patrolling a storage area. Arthur signaled for silence, and the team split into two groups to flank the enemies.

Arthur and Samir moved to the left while Leo and Elena circled to the right. Lt. Nakamura stayed behind to provide overwatch.

Arthur took a deep breath, then motioned for Samir to take the first shot. He nodded, his plasma rifle humming softly as he fired. The first Chimerian dropped instantly, and Arthur finished the second with a burst of precision shots.

“Clean,” Lt. Nakamura said, stepping into the room. “Move to the next.”

The second pair was just around the corner, near a stack of glowing power cores. This time, the Chimerians were more alert, their movements sharper and more calculated.

“Looks like they know something’s off,” Elena whispered.

“Let’s make it quick,” Arthur replied.

The team moved in sync, their rifles lighting up the dim space as they took out the enemies with coordinated shots.

…

As the last Chimerian fell, the warehouse grew silent once more. Arthur scanned the area with his System Map, but no enemies appeared on it.

“Area secure,” he said, lowering his rifle.

Lt. Nakamura nodded. “Good work. Now let’s figure out what they were protecting.”

Arthur approached one of the glowing consoles the Chimerians had been working on. His technopathy flared as he interfaced with the device, pulling up its logs and data.

Elena also started to check the logs on the holographic console.

“What do you see?” Lt. Nakamura asked, watching her closely.

Elena’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing good. They’ve been transmitting data to an unknown location outside this star system. We need to figure out what they’re sending, and fast.”

“Then let’s not waste time,” Nakamura said, his voice steady. “We’ve got a job to do.”

After Arthur sifted through the data he came across a log of an inventory, at first glance there was nothing suspicious about it. 

But Arthur felt the log was heavily encrypted, Arthur forced his technopathy to delve deeper, he decrypted the log layer by layer and finally saw what it was. The Chimerians just transported a bomb with a heavy payload, just a week ago.

Thought there was nothing wrong with transporting a bomb, but Arthur felt suspicious about its security so he searched where it was kept, and found it was stored in one of the bunkers in the warehouse where daily necessities were kept.

Arthur went towards the bunker as it was just on their left. 

“Arthur you got something” Leo asked him, after seeing him going towards one of the bunkers.

“Nothing, thought I should check it.” Arthur replied. After arriving in front of the bunker where the bomb was kept and opened the gate.

As the gate opened Arthur saw a basin sized orb with metallic tubed jutting out of the honeycomb structures of the bomb. When Elena and Lt. Nakamura saw it, their countenance changed.

They rushed forward to check it. 

“Sh*t, it has a countdown. It’s a live bomb!!!” Elena exclaimed and checked the countdown and her face became pale.

Arthur went and saw that there was only less than two minutes left for the bomb to detonate. 

“Can you do something about it?” Leo hurriedly asked Elena as she was the technician of their team. But before Leo could even finish his sentence Elena was already onto it.

“I can only try, but there is no guarantee I will be able to diffuse the bomb!” Elena frantically started to type something on the holo-pad on her arm guard.

“This is Lt. Nakamura to all teams, IT’S A TRAP. We have encountered a live bomb at the warehouse requesting immediate evacuation of all the teams!” Lt. Nakamura relayed their situations to the other teams, but even he knew that it was impossible to leave the relay station in less than two minutes.

***

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