UNSC Dominion, Commander Richard's quarters
October 2nd, 1832 Local time, 2552
I think that realistically, that couldn't have gone much worse. Richard thought.
Ever since Fireteam Onyx had made its way back aboard, the whole ship had been stirred up, and rightfully so. The initial reaction had been confusion, followed very quickly by rage. The anger only intensified as time went on, especially after the team was finished being debriefed and Richard decided to make the reports of the incident accessible to the rest of the crew.
They were going to find out anyway. Richard thought to himself as he poured himself a drink. It was some sort of no-doubt prestigious whiskey, that the previous Captain had left behind as a welcoming gift. He didn't drink often, but now felt like a decent time. Still, he kept it small, he'd need to be thinking clearly in the coming days.
But right now, he was alone, and not doing anything important. He couldn't do much planning with Bradford asleep, and Curie and the Bridge Officers would need more time to gather information. He found himself rewatching the helmet camera footage from the event, focusing on every different perspective from the battle that they had access to.
The official conclusion the rest of the officers had reached on why the skirmish had taken place was a lack of proper communication. Privately, Richard blamed whoever had been in charge of the patrol of soldiers, if they hadn't been ordered to detain Onyx Team, there would have never been a fight. But he wasn't impressed with Fairfire either, there was a chance that she could have potentially avoided a conflict, even after the enemy squad leader had received his orders, but she had opted to respond with authority, rather than diplomacy.
She's a Hot-headed Helljumper, not a diplomat, what were you expecting? Richard critically thought, his frustration more directed at himself than her.
Her diplomatic performance had caused a harsh debate with Lieutenant Clark, the Commanding Officer of Zulu Company, the marine complement aboard the Dominion. Fairfire defended herself and her team, arguing he wouldn't have done anything different, if placed into the same situation. That fierce debate probably would have gotten violent if Richard hadn't personally intervened. He scheduled a personal talk with Fairfire for later, which seemed to satisfy the Lieutenant.
The last thing I need right now is a fistfight between a senior NCO and an Officer. He thought as he drank his second and final shot. That's probably a good place to stop.
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door to his quarters. The door was thick, but a hard knock could get some sound through.
Damnit, the buzzer must be out again. He thought, pressing the door control that was mounted on his desk. The door opened, revealing Ben, still in his armor, who walked in. On time, as always. I Still have no idea why he needed to see me. Richard thought.
Ben walked in but did not take a seat. Instead, he silently stared down at Richard, probably weighing the odds of whether or not the chairs in his quarters could handle the burden of his armor.
"The chairs are good, you should be fine." Richard said, before he realized Ben wasn't looking at the chairs, but at the bottle on his desk.
"Isn't it a little early for drinks, Sir?" Ben asked, an unmistakable hint of concern in his voice.
Ah, not exactly a great role model am I? Richard thought, feeling more than a little disappointed in himself.
"I figured now's as good a time as any, and I kept it well under the limit. Probably never going to touch the thing again." Richard said, hoping to dash his suspicions.
Ben was hard to read, especially with his helmet on. But Richard could tell he was still suspicious.
"Ben, I'm perfectly capable of doing my duty. I'm not a drunkard, you know that." Richard insisted.
"Of course, sorry Sir, I didn't mean to imply otherwise." Ben said much to Richard's relief, before taking a seat.
"Now, what can I do for you son?" Richard asked. He wasn't arrogant enough to assume that Ben thought of him as a father figure, but he still did his best to be a good leader as he effectively raised the boy.
He never does talk about his family, then again, none of the Spartans did. Richard thought. Of course, he knew what had happened to Ben's family, it was listed bluntly on his file. Most Spartan IIIs were orphans that were created by the war, Ben was no exception.
"Do you remember what you said back on the first day we met, you told me saying sorry was a waste of time." Ben said as he removed his helmet, a hiss of air emerged as he removed it, before placing it on his lap.
"I do." Richard said, not fully understanding where he was leading to.
"Well, I wanted to briefly disregard your advice and apologize. The mission was a failure, and I feel that's partially because of my inexperience." Ben said solemnly. "And I wasn't able to save one of my squadmates, Private Wilson."
Richard nodded, he was familiar with the fallen ODST. Private Wilson had his fair share of personal problems, but he hadn't deserved the death he'd been given, not by a longshot. Still, Ben's guilt was entirely unjustified, he had done everything he could have, and faced down an entire squad of shielded opponents without hesitation.
Franklin Mendez was probably to blame for that, he was an excellent instructor, but his perfectionist attitude rubbed off on every Spartan, not just Ben. Commander Ambrose had been the same way, which made sense, given the fact he was a former student of Mendez. Goddamnit you old coot, what's wrong with a little positive encouragement here and there?
"Ben, if you hadn't been there, and did what you did, we'd be having a funeral for more than one soldier today." Richard said, being careful not to embellish the truth. Curie's thinking and Ben's rapid action stopped the ODSTs from getting ripped apart at close range by shielded opponents, something they had been ill-equipped to deal with. Richard would not make the same mistake twice, the Marines would be bringing heavier weapons from now on, and certainly larger numbers.
"Thank you Sir... I think I just needed someone to say it." Ben said with a nod. "I know Curie feels responsible as well, even though she knows that couldn't have done anything more."
"People die, that's a sad reality of war." Richard said.
"War?" Ben asked, his helmet cocked in surprise. "Do you think we're going to end up at war with these people?"
Richard waved his hand. "Sorry, bad choice of words. Hopefully we can avoid an all-out war, I was more using it to refer to any sort of engagement."
Ben slowly nodded as he took in Richard's words. "I hope you can find a way to talk them down."
"Me too." Richard said. "I've got a few ideas, but I want to discuss them with Lieutenant Bradford first, and finish the service preparations."
"I understand." Ben said. "Thank you, Richard… Sir."
Richard waved his formal gesture away. "A private chat between soldiers is no place for formalities, it's a place to be honest, speak your mind."
Ben seemed somewhat doubtful, but he gave a nod of acknowledgement anyway.
"And don't let Wilson's death get you down, it wasn't your fault." Richard added.
"Who's fault was it, do you think?" Ben asked, after a moment of thinking.
"The miserable son of a bitch who shot him." Richard coldly answered. "By the way, between you and me, good kill, that rotten bastard deserved it."
Ben remained silent, and was probably thinking about how to respond to what Richard had said. "Yeah, thanks."
These are the first people he's killed. Richard remembered. Although Ben's training probably helped considerably, it was still something he would need to personally digest.
But thinking about the enemy soldiers had brought a new train of thought into Richard's mind. "By the way, while you're here, can I get your input on something?"
"Absolutely." Ben answered. "What is it?"
Richard adjusted the video feed of the battle that he had been watching, and moved it so that both he and Ben could see it easily. The perspective was from Fairfire's helmet camera, when she had fired a round from her shotgun at the enemy squad leader at the start of the fighting.
He paused the video when the buckshot was absorbed by the man's energy shield. The impacts prompted several web-like formations branching off from the impacts, the squad leader's was red, but curiously, the different enemy soldiers seemed to have different colored shields.
It could just be a novelty, I suppose. Not like the ONI engineers who put ours together give a crap about what color they are. Richard thought.
"This." Richard said, pointing at the impact markers. "These guys are obviously using some sort of energy shield, but something's… wrong."
"Curie and I noticed it too." Ben said, confirming that Richard wasn't the only person who had noticed the oddity. "No energy shield, Covenant or Human, makes a formation like that when they get hit."
Ben was actually the ideal person that Richard could have asked about this, which made his answer all the more troubling. Ben's knowledge of shields far surpassed everyone else's on the ship, given he was trained to maintain the complex systems of his armor. "So, what do you think is going on? Maybe this isn't an energy shield, at least, not like we know them?"
"I can't say for sure. Curie said that she ran some projections, and she said there's a very good chance that their shield technology is completely different to ours. She also said something about how their armor was devoid of energy signatures, so whatever it is, it requires either no power, or so little it's meaningless." Ben said with a perplexed expression. "I would theorize, but we don't have enough information to come up with anything meaningful."
"I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it." Richard said, before the realization clicked inside his mind, the true implications behind what he was seeing. "Imagine if we figured out how these shields work, and then brought them home…"
"We'd turn the war around, especially if we could mount it to our ships." Ben simply said, a hint of thought behind his words. "It's weird, isn't it? The people on this planet don't even have spaceflight, but they have shielding systems that surpass even Covenant Infantry... something doesn't add up here."
Ben's words provoked an idea in Richard's mind. "Actually, that's a good idea, we could ask the Elite about them. See if he knows about anything like this."
"Yes Sir." Ben said. "Should I ask him about anything else?"
"Whatever you see fit, there's certainly no shortage of things to ask him about." Richard said, his thoughts reminding him of the strange black creatures that had disintegrated when they had been killed.
"Understood, permission to-" Ben began to ask.
"Go right ahead." Richard interrupted. Ben departed with his new task, and Richard went back to his thoughts.
Maybe I should give him a commendation, he certainly distinguished himself for his first engagement. Richard thought once Ben had gone. But I should file Meadow's purple heart adjustment first.
UNSC Dominion, Brig
October 2nd, 1845 Local time, 2552
The worst thing about being in the custody of the humans wasn't anything like he expected. It wasn't torture, or being kept in horrible conditions, or even talking to the damn creatures, it was the boredom. He'd gotten so used to the silence during his time aboard the human vessel that he was amazed he was still sane.
So when the Demon walked in with their equivalent of a datapad, he was only slightly irritated, but mostly he was just relieved he wasn't alone anymore. Even if it was a demon he was sharing the room with, he would no longer be faced with the silence that isolation offered.
At least it's not the fat one. Set thought grumpily.
"Got a minute?" It asked.
"Oh, I don't know. I've got this wall to stare at, and if I stop it might get up and run away." Set cheekily responded.
"Is that so?" It asked, not showing any signs of irritation. "Regardless, we recently encountered some things that were unfamiliar with. We were thinking that maybe you know a bit more about them."
The Demon is smarter than the other one, Tom-ass. He is very foolish, easy to anger, like an unusually proud unggoy, he is quite funny. The Demon has some patience. Set thought.
The Demon handed him the datapad. It had a handful of images on it, and the first was a continental map of a planet. It was green and blue, like a lot of other human worlds. "Do you recognize this planet?"
Set was honestly confused by the question. He wasn't a navigator or a geologist, he was an infiltrator and an assassin. It looked like any human world that hadn't yet been reduced to a ball of glass to him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to be seeing.
"No, I don't. It's a human world, I presume?" Set guessed, earning only a blank stare from the Demon. "Well, what did you expect me to say?"
"Just answer the question to the best of your ability." The Demon said.
"So it is a human planet?" Set pressed.
"That's not for you to worry about." The demon sternly replied.
So either "yes" or there are some unusual circumstances about it, that is interesting. Set thought. If we are truly lost in space, they must be also confused to find something like this.
He found it quite funny how he had learned that the humans had gotten lost. One of the menial crewmen had come down to his cell and screamed feverishly at him, believing the event to be sabotage on his part. It only took around a minute for some other humans to come and stop him, but Set was too busy laughing to care. Even if he didn't do it, he found angry humans to be funny.
It almost makes me wish I could get out of here, do some sabotage of my own. Set thought devilishly.
The Demon swiped the tablet's screen, displaying an array of four smaller images, it took a moment for Set to realize what he was looking at. Large, black creatures that were clearly wildlife of some sort. Judging by the fact that the images were taken from a helmet camera, and that the user's weapons were aimed at the creatures, Set deduced the humans were fighting them. The strange animals made him feel uneasy for a reason he couldn't explain, giving him a suspicion that they were unnatural.
"Do you recognize these creatures?" It asked.
"No… but-" Set began, his curiosity overwhelming his desire to keep quiet. "These images, are they in their original form?"
"They're unedited, except for the information we blotted out in the corners." The Demon answered.
Set debated whether or not he should reveal what he was thinking. The texts left behind by the gods mentioned a deadly parasite which had caused great strife, and something about the creatures practically screamed "diseased" at his inner instincts. Although he was admittedly concerned, he decided that the parasite and these creatures were likely unrelated, if equally disturbing.
"No, I don't recognize them. They seem… unnatural." Set said, not letting his discomfort show.
The God's creations should not be toyed with, they granted us these bodies and tools for a reason. Set thought, wondering if some kind horrible experiment could have led to their creation.
"Yeah, we thought that too." The Demon commented.
They don't know either, that much was obvious. But its lack of knowledge suggests that it truly has no idea what it's looking at. Set thought.
The demon swiped the tablet again, this time displaying another image taken by a camera, likely mounted on a helmet. It showed a human weapon discharging and impacting another human, but the other human was protected by a set of unusual energy shields.
That is worrisome, the only humans we've seen with shields are Demons. Set thought. I wonder why they are shooting each other?
"Those energy shields, what do you make of them?" The demon asked.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Set asked, not bothering to hide his frustrations. "If you are asking what I think about the energy shielding on that human, it looks quite strange."
"You don't recognize the kind of shielding?" The Demon asked, seemingly surprised.
"No… do you?" Set asked, noting that if they were asking him, that they likely didn't know themselves.
"That's not your concern." The Demon said, his reaction telling Set all he needed to know. "What about their armor?"
"It appears primitive and too heavy. It appears to be made to intimidate, not to wage righteous justice. As if it was made by an over-aspiring Brute Chieftain." Set said dismissively.
"Have you ever encountered a human wearing armor that looked like this?" The Demon asked.
"Living ones? No." Set replied simply.
"I meant the design." The Demon clarified, obviously irritated.
Hmmm, maybe the Demon also has a limit to its temper? If it does, it is certainly much steeper than any of the other humans I have met. Set thought. Then again, humans in my company tend to die rather quickly.
"Well in that case, no. I have never seen human armor like this before." Set said. "Again, its design seems… remarkably outdated."
"What about the symbol on the chest?" The Demon asked.
"It's a flake of snow." Set said. The Demon looked at him with an indiscernible expression. "Well, you can't tell me I'm wrong now can you?"
"Do you have any guesses?" The Demon asked.
Set thought for a moment, genuinely putting the thought in, as he was curious as well. "It does not seem to be a religious symbol, it's far too generic and holds insufficient prestige for that. Maybe it is their clan symbol, their gang, flock, whatever a group of humans is called."
"I see." The Demon said. "One last question, this one's from me."
"Speak your mind Demon." Set said with a grin.
"Why are you saying anything?" The Demon asked. "Why cooperate with us?"
"I have not cooperated with you." Set answered. "I merely seek to expand my own knowledge of the current events that are transpiring. I feed you some of my information in order to do that"
"From what Lieutenant Thomas had told me, you act quite differently with him." The Demon said.
Set laughed. "Thomas is a funny human. He is easy to anger, and watching him suppress his own rage is entertaining, so I toy with him."
"But not me?" The Demon asked.
"You may be a human, you may be a Demon, but you are something that Thomas is not, a warrior." Set said. "I may not respect your species, but I have been taught to respect a worthy opponent, even if only for their capabilities."
"Well, that's certainly eye-opening." The Demon said. "Thank you for your time."
"Until we meet again, Demon." Set said dismissively.
UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 2nd, 2122 Local Time, 2552
The Bridge was quieter than normal, likely because most of the crew had just woken up to replace their first-shift counterparts. It was something of a relief, it gave Richard more room to think, and the steady beeping of the computers and the clacking of the keyboards was quite relaxing.
Out of the front viewport, the planet they orbited steadily spun around it's polar axis. The snowy northern continent where his soldiers had landed was in the middle of a harsh snowstorm, concealing much of the actual surface beneath thick grey clouds. His quiet observations were interrupted when Lieutenant Commander Bradford walked onto the bridge.
"Welcome back Lieutenant, how was the service?" Richard asked. They weren't able to give their fallen ODST a proper burial, but standard practice was to ceremonially freeze his body in cryo, preventing decomposition so that his family could have a proper burial.
I hope we can find a way to get home, and not just to deliver our dead Marine back to his family. Richard thought. He looked around at the rest of the officers on the Bridge, wondering if anyone else was going to die before they made it back.
"Quiet, everyone was restless," Bradford replied. "The ODSTs looked anxious, they must be eager for revenge."
"They are." Richard pointed out. "Most of the ship is angry, which is something that we'll want to keep in mind."
"That we will..." Bradford said as he took a position around the holotable with Richard. "So, have you decided upon our next course of action?"
"Well, let me bring you up to speed. There have been some… discoveries." Richard said, turning on the holotable, revealing a holographic representation of the planet, but with several new markers placed around it. "I ordered our recon probes and communications satellites into various orbits around the planet. The idea is that we can hopefully have eyes and ears in as many places as we can, even if we can't quite manage global coverage at the moment."
"Ah, damn, I should've ordered that hours ago." Bradford muttered. He crossed his arms and examined the hologram more closely. "So, what did we discover?"
"Well, that's just it, we haven't been finding as much as we expected, especially when it comes to human civilization." Richard answered. "The vast majority of the arable land on this planet remains totally uninhabited. From what we can tell, most of the planet's population is crammed into five large cities, as well as the surrounding suburbs and farmlands."
Bradford eyed over the globe, confirming what Richard had said. "Why leave all that land unclaimed?"
"We can't say, Curie ran every prediction she could and just couldn't figure it out. Her best guess was some form of environmental hazard that we can't detect with our current equipment." Richard said. "On the topic of environmental hazards…"
Richard shifted the hologram to focus on the planet's shattered moon, its physics defying nature all the more prevalent with what Richard had since learned. "One of our probes did some close recon on the moon, and confirmed Curie's theory of a "gravitational deadzone" on and around it."
"Gravitational deadzone?" Bradford asked, his eyebrows now scrunched up. "You mean it has no gravity, at all?"
Richard slowly nodded. "Needless to say, that's a can of worms I don't think we're quite ready to open. Curie warned me that it's going to be extremely dangerous to explore, so we'd need some specialized equipment, but apparently it's loaded with valuable materials, should we ever need them."
"Well if we need to barter for the parts to a slipspace drive, we know where to look." Bradford said. "Although, I doubt we could build one, even if we had the parts…"
"It's going to be a challenge, no matter how we do it." Richard admitted. "It could be decades before we even get a drive built, let alone find a way home."
There was a momentary silence as the two of them mutually reflected on their current situation, both of them knew what that news would do to the morale of the crew.
"Enough! Worrying won't get us anywhere." Richard grumbled. He was more irritated with how bothered he was, more so than anything else. "We need to focus on establishing a proper diplomatic contact with these people."
"That is if they don't just shoot us on sight." Bradford bitterly pointed out.
"Yeah well, at least in that regard, I might have some good news." Richard said, bringing the hologram of the planet back into display. "Curie analyzed the settlements with some extra detail, and she determined a lot about the inhabitants. One of the major things that she observed is different continents seem to have different regional building styles, which she attributed to cultural differences."
"That seems like a guess." Bradford said, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"That is because it is, monsieur Bradford." Curie said, her avatar forming next to the hologram of the planet. "I did have limited data to work with, but I did calculate a near-guaranteed chance of serious cultural differences existing between the different major settlements, possibly indicating that some of this planet's inhabitants might be a little bit less aggressive. Admittedly, I based that on data I have gathered from ancient human history, which might have major differences on this planet."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Curie." Richard said. He was unsurprised by the unwavering interest in her voice, a scientific mess like this had to be exciting for her.
Even if it's just annoying for the rest of us. Richard thought, looking out at the moon with newfound irritation.
"Well, I suppose we'll just have to take your word for it." Bradford said, his dissatisfaction very apparent. "Keep in mind, one gunfight in the backwoods of some snowy village is hardly going to make up an international incident in any society, especially if those soldiers didn't believe we were extraterrestrial."
That's understandable, it's not like humans are naturally oriented towards shooting one-another for no good reason. Richard thought. Relying on an assumption like that, especially an optimistic one, was risky, but Richard hoped that some appropriate precautions could help avoid further risks.
"Either way, we're adjusting our strategy, and that means a new landing site." Richard stated. "Subtle didn't work, recon didn't work, so we're going in blunt, loud, and direct. All good communication is based on clarity, and we are not going to be misunderstood."
Bradford raised an eyebrow. "So, we're touching down in a major city? What about the local military forces, they might mistake us for someone else, maybe even attack us."
Richard paused, that was a fair point. An unknown radar contact belining for your city center was usually bad news back home, and not just because of the Covenant. Even if this planet didn't have a history of insurrection like UNSC did, that didn't mean they would regard the approaching UNSC without suspicion.
I suppose that's just another risk we'll have to keep in mind. Richard thought.
"Actually, monsieur Bradford, that brings up something that I wanted to raise your attention to." Curie said, looking to Richard for permission to continue with her topic.
"Go ahead." Richard replied with a nod.
"When we were down on the planet, our Pelican was within the range of a radio signal." Curie explained. She displayed a representation of the signal's wavelength using the holotable, and Richard noted that it was unusually low-strength. "Following substantial examination, I now believe it to be a sort of primitive radar system."
Richard raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I thought that this planet had no artificial radio signatures?"
"Neither did I, at least, not until I realized a repeating oddity in the background radiation." Curie said. "Following our visit to the planet's surface, I now realize that there is, in fact, artificial radio signatures, but they lose almost all of their strength before they can leave the atmosphere."
Richard and Bradford exchanged looks of confusion. "That… doesn't sound right."
"Oh Believe me Commander, there is nobody more irritated by this than me." Curie said, allowing a hint of annoyance into her tone of voice. "Hundreds of years of well-documented study, including that which was done by my namesake, will now need to be re-examined because of this single discrepancy."
"Don't be so quick to make assumptions, there's enough scientific oddities about this planet. The radios acting funny is far from the weirdest thing about this place." Bradford pointed out.
"That theory certainly offers more reassurance." Curie replied. "Although that does not explain why our Pelican was not detected, if we were indeed trespassing, why would the soldiers hesitate to shoot us down?"
"I might actually have an answer, Ma'am." Ensign Gillespie interjected from his station. "A primitive radar system like you're talking about probably wouldn't detect any of our aircraft, they might not even spot the Dominion."
"That makes sense." Bradford added. "If they're using early-generation radar, they'd run into our radar countermeasures, they'd never see us coming."
"That's good for us. If they have no useful radar systems, we can land practically anywhere we want." Richard said.
"The radio signatures given off by this planet become more confusing the more I examine them." Curie said. "There's nothing that suggests this planet has nuclear technology of any kind, they likely haven't even discovered nuclear power."
I don't know if that's good news or bad news. Richard thought. On one hand, they probably lack fusion power, on the other hand, they have no WMDs.
Curie however, seemed unperturbed. "What an opportunity, we can truly help these people!"
"Only if they don't shoot at us Curie, and given our existing track record, maybe giving them nukes isn't such a good idea." Richard replied grimly.
"That is a fair argument, perhaps later down the road?" Curie suggested.
"Respectfully Sir, let's stay focused." Bradford critically interjected.
"You're right." Richard said. "Now, my plan is very simple. Curie has located what appears to be the least militarized nation on the planet. It's small, occupying only a small portion of this southern continent."
Richard pointed out the specific continent on the planet to Bradford, who looked at it with a hint of familiarity. "It reminds me of Australia."
"It does have some similarities, doesn't it?" Richard rhetorically asked. "Nevermind that, what's important is how we're going to make contact with the people on the ground."
"If you're thinking of bringing the Dominion into the atmosphere, it's a bad idea." Bradford said. "I know she's rated for it, but we'll cause a panic."
"I'm aware, we won't be doing that." Richard confirmed. "We'll take Fireteam Onyx, A squad from Zulu Company, and myself."
"You're going, in person?" Bradford asked. "What if you get wounded, or-"
Richard raised a hand to interrupt them. "There's a risk no matter what, I'm confident in the skills of the Marines and my own intuition to avoid getting hurt."
That, and I'm not going to ask anything of my soldiers that I'm unwilling to do myself. Richard thought.
"That's not exactly what I meant, let me rephrase that." Bradford said, Richard could tell he was still somewhat surprised by what Richard had said. "Why not have a liason? Or better yet, just someone to deliver a radio?"
"Because Fairfire and Clark are both unqualified for a first contact scenario. I'm also no diplomat, but I like to think all of that leadership training at Reach Naval Academy was Time well spent." Richard explained. "As for why I'm doing this in person…"
Richard paused, actually putting his reasoning into words was difficult, but he eventually found a solid example to make his case upon.
"I want you to think back to the Covenant, Bradford, and how they announced their existence to the UNSC." Richard said. "I'm hoping that a friendly, human face-to-face conversation can maybe help break the ice a little better."
"Well, I suppose I can't stop you." Bradford said, his displeasure with Richard's decision still obvious. "You know, touching down with that many men… they might get the wrong impression."
"I know." Richard said. "But we made the mistake of going underprepared once, we will not repeat that again."
Bradford gave a short, doubtful nod, but did not question Richard's logic. In truth, he was also concerned about coming off to aggressively, but he wagered that as long as he made it clear that he was only concerned for the safety of him and his men, the locals would understand his logic.
Especially once they learn about our other attempt at First Contact. Richard thought. "We'll be setting down in what we believe is the capital city of this nation. Despite what appears to be high-density residences, the local airfield has an unusually small amount of aircraft."
"Fourteen, an unusually small number for a settlement of this size." Curie interjected. "With two hangers I cannot see through, and only one of which is of any substantial size. That being said, their aircraft do have a rather interesting design."
"This is a big risk." Bradford pointed out. "What's our backup option?"
"If this mission goes south, we wait until Ensign Gillespie, Curie, and Lieutenant Chen can piece together how their communication systems work, and make contact via radio." Richard said.
"Well, that option is certainly safer." Bradford noted. "I certainly hope this works."
"Likewise Lieutenant. Now, let's hash out the finer details." Richard said.
Schnee Manor
October 3rd, 0124 Standard Time, 2552
Jacques could not believe what he was hearing. He'd been woken up in the dead of night with a priority message from some remote hellhole that he apparently owned.
Shows how important it is if I forgot it existed. Jacques thought.
But it was what he was being told that was the most upsetting, no less than eleven security personnel dead, and all of the survivors were badly injured. Even most of the White Fang animals that were so intent on ruining everything that he had accomplished mostly only operated with barely-trained insurgents. And while there was the odd raid that ended with tragedy, it was the number of those that had been left dead that shocked him, but it only got worse.
"What do you mean it wasn't the White Fang?" Jacques demanded. "Who the hell else could it be?!"
"Sir, some of the survivors reported the attackers identified themselves as United Nations Space Command in a brief discussion before they resisted arrest." The Manager of the mine that had been attacked reported.
Jacques clenched his free hand in frustration. "So what, you want me to go to the Board and tell them we got attacked by Aliens?!"
"No Sir, I certainly don't." The Manager clarified, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I've already reported it to the military, but we both know that's going nowhere."
"Did they at least give any indication of how they got out there?" Jacques demanded. "That whole damn area should be flooded with Grimm!"
"Some of the survivors report they escaped via some kind of airship, they said it was a dark green color, and didn't look like any Atlas model. It was also heavily armed, and it managed to kill a number of our troops." The Manager answered.
"Well find out who the hell they are, and bury them in a shallow grave!" Jacques barked.
"I'm already underfunded out here…" The manager began to explain. Jacques rolled his eyes.
"You'll get what you need, talk to the treasury department, I'm going to bed." Jacques said before ending the call and returning to his restless sleep.