Chapter 85: RTB

Another day of work, another cycle inside the colony. Workers piled up on the streets, each one carrying their tools for the day.

Children tagged along the corners, laughter filling theirs and anyone’s ears who passed nearby.

Centered on the urban fringe, a tall tower stood proudly, extending from the base of a large fortress.

From there, Hans stood straight, the wind brushing softly across his youthful face.

Beside him were two of his most trusted aides, Alexei and Selene. They had been him far longer than anything, aside from Adam who was busy checking today’s military inventory.

Below him, the colony moved like it had learned to pretend the world outside didn’t exist.

A bell rang somewhere near the workshops. Those tasked to work here split into lines, orderly and snappily. A few carts rolled by filled with scrap metal and wooden crates. Some were today’s repairs, others for reinforcement.

Hans watched it all, then shifted his gaze past the fringe’s low walls to the south. Beyond it was a road thoroughly cleared of any obstruction—vehicles or whatnot.

Every part scrapped to its usefulness until nothing remained. The old world was gone, might as well utilize what it had left for them to use instead.

“The road clearing seems to be in full efficiency,” his mouth moved.

“The Commander’s point system has motivated the people,” Selene responded. “It is their duty to follow your will.”

“What about the training of those militia men?” Hans asked, as if there was more in the sequence of his questions.

“They’ve been doing pretty well, Commander,” Alexei replied. “There were a few bumps on the way, but the instructors assigned aren’t one to back out of a challenge.”

“How about the troops assigned to Pandora District? Do we have any reports of their return?”

“Guards haven’t caught a sight of them, Commander.”

“Is that so?” Hans frowned. It has been a week since his troops left. Their safety was his main concern, as it was a large group in terms of operational strength.

Just the Light APC itself could be worth more than ten conscripts in battle.

At that moment, static buzzed into Alexei’s comms.

“Guardian Actual, this is Guardian One. Do you copy?”

An Army Soldier’s voice called out.

“This is Guardian Actual,” Alexei replied. “What’s with the link up, Guardian One?”

“We got friendlies on the horizon, over. Echo Team may have returned.”

“Copy that, Guardian One. I’ll relay it to the Commander, over.”

Hans turned around. The Rank 2’s promotion has augmented his body’s capabilities. Alexei’s radio chat reached his ears loud and clear.

“Commander, a stationed patrol has sighted friendlies from the east.”

Hans’s muscles tensed upon hearing Alexei’s report. He had been waiting for those resources for too long, and waiting any longer might strangle himself to death.

“Make preparations,” Hans ordered. “It’s about time they arrive.”

…

From the tower, the eastern road looked like a thin scar cutting through the land. For a moment, there was nothing but heat and empty distance.

A moment later, dust rose up. Blurry outlines of moving shapes followed behind it, growing larger by the minute.

The first to show clearly was the Light APC. The metallic frame remained as is, covered by dirt and grime on the way. Up top, the machine gunner sat lonely under the heat of the sun. He missed dearly those scouts and agents hitching along the APC.

Behind the Light APC trailed Hans’s armored SUV. The Army Soldiers, Medics, and Engineers happily sat on the comfortable seats, subtly smiling while enjoying the outside view.

Even further was a small line of vehicles that didn’t belong to the colony’s usual fleet. An SUV with high clearance led, followed by a pickup truck with a loaded bed, another frame car that looked more expensive than practical, and three more other cars packed with people inside.

One guard climbed higher on the wall railing, squinting as he shaded his eyes.

“That’s ours,” he muttered, voice half-disbelieving. “That APC’s ours.”

The others leaned in, observing carefully. The machine gun silhouette. The familiar armor plate.

Then the second vehicle came into full view and the guard’s brows shot up.

“Commander’s SUV too…”

He counted without meaning to. One. Two. Three. More frames behind them—cleaner, bigger, and far too luxurious to be colony stock.

“How many cars did they steal?” another guard blurted.

“Shut up,” the first guard hissed, still staring. “Look at the passengers.”

Faces filled the windows, mostly faces they haven’t seen before. Some sat upright like guests. Others looked like they’d been dragged out of somewhere and didn’t know if they were safe yet.

A third guard finally snapped out of it and looked at the rest.

“Has someone notified Officer Alexei?”

“Already sent someone,” the first guard replied. “Alright, we’re still not sure if those guys are ours. Contact them immediately using our channel. If they don’t respond after three beats, we’ll open fire.”

Nobody wanted to kill the other party, but they wouldn’t be so stupid to not act carefully either. Only Hans himself had the power to determine if those soldiers inside the vehicles were his.

The rest had to improvise—radio comms uplink being one of them.

“Five hundred meters in,” the second guard calculated through his binoculars. “Link it up.”

“This is Zed One Niner Echo,” the guard spoke into the mic, voice low and steady. “Unidentified convoy on approach to Fortress Gate. State your callsign.”

Static hissed for a breath.

“Zed One Niner Echo, this is Echo One,” a familiar voice answered. “We’re inbound. Do not fire.”

“Authenticate,” the guard replied immediately. “Challenge word: Copper.”

Static beat for a moment. And then—

“Response word: Harbor,” Echo One said. “Count check. Light APC lead, then Command SUV, then five civilian frames. Repeat, five.”

The guard’s eyes flicked up from the comms post. “Visual confirm, over.”

“Headlights, three flashes. Now.”

Far down the road, the lead vehicle blinked its lights.

It was indeed three clean pulses.

The guard exhaled without realizing that he had been holding his breath.

Goodness, that went well, he wiped the sweat off his face. If that challenge failed, I’m afraid… Ah, why think so much?

“Confirmed, Echo One. Slow to ten. Gate will open in ten seconds.”

He turned his head.

“Tell the towers: friendlies confirmed. And they brought a damn parade with them.”

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