"We're approaching XK-3-OS1," the pilot informed us before joking, "Or as we like to call it, Dragons' Sight," he added with pizzazz.
"Hah! Why's that?" the commander asked brightly.
"You don't know huh?" The pilot called back to him.
"Well, supposedly that there were flying reptilians on this planet!" The commander bellowed.
I didn't read the files about the space station but is that why it's called? I saw a few images already that Irelle had obtained illegally with Wyrm's help, and they had looked like dragons.
"You just wait. When you see what we've discovered, you're gonna lose your marbles," the pilot told us.
Suddenly, the communications panel came to life and a voice came through, "This is XK-3-OS1, come in, come in."
The pilot then flipped a few switches and pressed some buttons across the control panel before tapping on the intercom, "This is transport C-11B, do you read me?"
"We read you, transport C-11B. Prepare for docking at port A-2," the voice said, with the pilot responding, "Copy that, proceeding with docking."
I gazed out of the small, reinforced windows that peered out into space.
There in sight, orbiting around XK-3 was the first orbital station put here. It was a small class orbital station, but larger, nonetheless. Dozens of times larger than that ancient ISS that was presumably one of the first ever space stations built around The Old Earth.
Damn, I always wanted to go there, but it's off limits to all human habitation and visitation now and preserved as a nature reserve for its original species, excluding humans aside from researchers to monitor the planet.
I did read once that there were rumors of space stations before the ISS, but after the AI Wars, much of our information on history was destroyed and all that was left was snippets and bits of history. We had to rely on books but most of the machines had destroyed our stores of knowledge.
I focused once again on the orbital station.
Can't believe the people at the Department of Planetary Operations got one of these bad boys up and running around the planets.
Still...
I opened my holographic interface on my ICD and looked through the mission I was given.
The director gave us a mission that was authorized to investigate planet XK-3 and set up a military base on the planet for forward operations if needed. We were briefed on the dominant species observed from satellites, but we didn't have much else on the creature's behavior, intelligence, or anatomy.
I witnessed the hangar doors open of A-2 open to let the shuttle through.
Then there was a jolt in the shuttle, the docking clamps locking the shuttle in place as it landed in the hangar.
"Alright people, I hope you enjoy your stay here, with the, um... heh, you'll find out soon enough," the pilot told us in farewell while I waited for the airlock to open.
"Yeah, yeah, as if anything would surprise after what I've seen," the commander told him.
"Do you think that there are actual dragons?" I asked Irelle in a hushed voice.
He cast a glance at me while we continued on our way out of the shuttle, telling me, "I don't know. They looked pretty 'dragon-like' from the images I had."
As soon as I exited the airlock of the shuttle into the station's hangar, an assistant was waiting for us.
"How was your trip, sir?" she asked the commander kindly.
"Eh, it was just like any other," He responded to her plainly before asking, "Where are we headed?"
She looked on her tablet and informed, "I'll show you all your quarters for the one-day duration of your stay here before you head down to the planet."
"Alright, show us the way if you will," he told her.
"Yes, sir," she replied formerly before leading the way through the halls of the station. Past windows showing the planet we were orbiting.
I wonder what amazing things I'll see on this planet! What kinds of life may exist here?
It sure is green, just like any image of a planet with life from what I've seen.
The sight reminded me of home, and I felt a stone weigh in my heart. But I steeled myself and focused on getting to my room.
"These are your quarters, Unit LP261," she told six of us soldiers, gesturing to a sealed door with the identification B21 on it.
"Thank you," I told her before she showed the others a room for their stay.
I inserted my hand into the DNA scanner and the monitor lit up with, "Welcome, Private Zen."
Then the door unsealed and retracted into the sides to reveal a lit room with six beds, bunk beds to be exact. A bathroom, a computer terminal, and window peering out into space.
I should get some sleep; after all, tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
I took a quick shower before freshening myself up and heading to a bunk, a top bunk that was still free.
I gazed into the blank metal ceiling, listening to the faint sounds of people and machines coming through the mostly soundproof walls.
I shifted uncomfortably from side to side, trying to find a cozy position to sleep in. But my mind was restless.
Dad... I hope you're okay. I know you can't hear what I'm thinking but I might as well think it so I can get it off my chest somewhat.
I returned to a position where I was lying flat on my back, staring at the ceiling again.
You and JJ... I'm sorry I left you guys.
Tears began to form in the corners of my eyes and my breathing became shallow.
I was picked to join the survivor fleet to run from the Spatial's like damn cowards! But... they were just too powerful. I hope I can get back and save you all before the Spatial's reach our home... Even though that wish is unlikely, I'm still hoping.
Then the darkness of sleep reached the edges of my vision, myself feeling a lone tear roll down my cheek onto the bed.
I let my eyelids close, and the sweet embrace of dreams took me away from the hellish world that we were in.
I awoke to the bustling activity of their soldiers in our group getting ready for the day. Irelle was with Wyrm, talking about the whole dragon ordeal.
I groggily got myself up and readied myself, taking a shower and donning my uniform, before waiting for the rest of our unit to get ready.
We met the commander at the designated area of the station, following the information and maps provided to us on our ICD's.
A man and the woman that had escorted us to our quarters were waiting for us.
"Good to see you all awake," he began, motioning to us before greeting the commander, "And good to see you awake and well, sir."
"Yes, yes, let's get this on with," the commander told him with disinterest.
He shot a glance of annoyance at the commander before beginning, "I am Chief Researcher of the OS1."
Commander Kyro continued to wait impatiently, expressing it blatantly, "Let's hurry this along."
"Ahem," he started, unsure about the atmosphere before continuing, "As I am sure all of you are aware, this planet has been confirmed to be harboring life, and even intelligent life."
He used his tracking gloves with the holographic projector to showcase the planet to us and a few images of the life forms.
"We have captured aerial images from the satellites of these creatures flying and have detected unusual spikes in elevation of terrain in specific areas. We also have confirmation from the satellites of these structures being what appears to be massive hives, palaces, and cities all together," he told us, cycling through the images presenting odd looking protrusions of tannish-yellow color, structures of grey stone, and sprawling cities with the main inhabitants, dragons.
"The technology of these creatures is estimated to be around the Medieval Age, but towards the latter end of it. We do not know how hostile these creatures are, but we advise to approach them cautiously if to ever meet said creatures," he explained, showcasing a close-up view of the dragons, with dissections of each part such as the head, wings, body, legs, and so forth that explained their most likely function and animation.
"Your primary objective is to protect the construction of the base that is being built on this island which should be far enough from any of the major continents that it should be relatively safe," he continued, zooming in on the planet onto a specific island that had a volcano and high-rise cliffs, with one side having a gradual beach into the ocean.
"You will be assigned missions by the commander but in your downtime, you are to guard the base as needed," he told us, finishing and ending the holograms.
Then the assistant told us to follow her to the hangars.
"You will be taking hangar port A-3. Please equip your armored biohazard suits at this time," she told us, gesturing towards a row of thirteen biohazard suits in the dark, navy-blue suits which had the ICD equipped on the outside and had a built-in exoskeleton since we were military personnel, giving us extra strength and endurance. They were also equipped with extra armor that would be able to block any small calibers, light ordinance, and absorb light energy projectiles by spreading the heat of the energy projectile throughout the armor on the outside consisting of a dark grey color and was plated. The antenna on top allowed us to communicate with anyone on the planet with satellites as well as nearby personnel in proximity of five kilometers. Then there was the armored helmet that resembled one of the ancient gas masks from Earth and did function as a gas mask, but also provided thermal vision, night vision, protection against light calibers, light energy projectiles.
Lastly, there was the built-in AI network that was secluded to the suit itself, a closed network except for times when it needed extra information from UEF databases. It kept track of all the vitals, functions, and durability of the suit. It also used analytic software and visual cameras to analyze enemies and conclude possible points of weakness, with only a sixty percent success rate. All the data would be presented to the user in the helmet through an interface.
Too bad though that we didn't get the jetpack modification, but I hear they're really expensive.
I donned one of the suits nearest to me next to Irelle.
Immediately, the AI activated and ran diagnostics check. All the data appeared on my interface in front of my eyes, showing my heartbeat, blood pressure, brain activity, overall health, and enhancing my vision. Showing descriptions of the others around me and scanning the room I was in.
"Diagnostics complete. I am Solaris, your personal AI tool, sir," Solaris introduced in my ear, using the suits sound system.
"Good to meet you, Solaris," I told him in response, his artificial voice made to sound like a human male making his words comfortable to the ear.
"You must board the dropship, sir," he told me, the interface in front of my eyes lighting up a path to the airlock leading to the hangars where the dropship was waiting.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," I told him dismissively, making my way to the dropship with Irelle.
"Irelle, how's your AI?" I asked him. After all, since in the industry, AIs were programmed with some amount of personality to bring comfort and sanity to the user.
"A jokester is what," he told me before chuckling.
"What about?" I asked curiously as we seated ourselves in the dropship next to each other.
"If you're a mathematician, a lock would use a permutation, not a combination!" he exclaimed, laughing.
"Wha-? I don't get it," I told him, confused.
"It's a math joke," Irelle told me.
I'm not that well versed in math. But are there jokes about math? I didn't really think that math had jokes. That stuff was all just numbers and whatever, it was very pressurizing.
Then the commander boarded and noticed the pilot, "Hey! Good ol' buddy, you're the one that came with us here!" he bellowed, grabbing the pilot's shoulder.
"Heh, damn right I am sir!" he exclaimed in a rambunctious matter.
Then the commander seated himself near the front, having a good talk with the pilot while laughing.
We waited for the other soldiers to board the dropship; a minute passed as we waited.
Once we were all situated, the dropship jerked, and the docking mechanism released us as the hangar doors opened. Revealing the planet and the starry expanse of space around it.
Then the intercom lit up and a voice spoke from the control panel, "This is XK-3-OS-1, you are departing from port A-3, hangar doors are now opening."
"Copy that, transport A-02A is departing from port A-3," the pilot said over the communications device.
"We read you, transport A-02A. You have authorization to exit the hangar at this time at port A-3," the voice said through the intercom.
"God damn, would ya look at that beauty," the pilot told us, egging us to look at the same view as well.
I peered through the reinforced windows, as did Irelle. The planet was just as I had seen from the station and the holograms, but now we were heading straight towards it.
"How much you wanna bet the first dragon we see is a fire breather, eh?" Irelle asked me jokingly.
"You're on!" I told him vigorously, "Twenty-five credits!"
"Haha, deal!" he told me in response, punching my arm in agreement.
After entering the atmosphere with cloaking mode activated, we approached the base that from what I could see, was still in its construction phase. There were personnel running about, carrying supplies and building the base altogether with robotics assisting us.
"We are now approaching our destination," the pilot told us, impersonating one of those people over the speaker system commercial space flights, "We will be landing shortly at Landing Pad A-2."
"Hah, who am I kidd'in?" he joked before adding cheerily, "Ready to go see some of them scaly beasts?"
The soldiers roared in excitement, since this was a new thing for us all. Especially since all of us were new recruits other than the commander and the pilot.
The dropship slowed to a still before finally jolting in response to the engines being cut and the landing gear taking the brunt of the weight.
The back ramp of the dropship opened up, revealing grass, ocean, and a blue sky.
Is that the salty smell of sea water?
The waves lapped in the distance across the ocean's surface. Irelle and I walked out of the dropship onto the ground, admiring and taking in the environment. Feeling my metal hard boots press into the soft ground and grass. The thin strands and blades of grass brushing against my suit.
The smell seeped through my air filter, allowing me to take in the familiar scent of home.
It brought back the same home sickness I had felt yesterday, with the memories of dad and JJ returning.
My head slowly transitioned downwards, staring at the ground; deep in thought of home.
I just wish...
"Sir, your heartbeat is increasing rapidly. Is there anything bothering you sir?" Solaris asked in their masculine voice, interrupting my thoughts.
"Er, no. I'm fine," I told the AI, steeling myself.
"Hey, you still work'in in that tin can?" Irelle bantered, giving a playful tap on my helmet.
"Oh, um, yeah!" I told him, still collecting myself.
"This guy called Private Hawthorn is giving an introduction to the place," he told me, directing me to where the rest of the unit was with the commander.
As we approached the rest of the group, I heard the commander asking, "So can you give us an explanation of the place?"
"Uh, yes, sir!" the other person in their armored biohazard suit, responding to the commander.
He fiddled around with his ICD while shifting uneasily before asking, "Would you please follow me, sir."
"Lead the way," the commander told him, motioning for him to begin.
He led us to the portable shelter, explaining, "This is where you will all be housed until the base is completed. This shelter contains the basic amenities such as bunks, showers, restrooms, and so forth. Food and water will be shipped daily and can be consumed in the shelter, precisely within the bunks or halls. Your personal AI's will provide the more specific details once you enter the facility."
He then brought us to the construction site, "This is the initial placement of the first segment of the base. Which will be completed in approximately three days."
"The island is still only five days old after discovery and investigation for suitability of a base. Therefore, much of the island is not thoroughly explored and it is prohibited from entering the cave system below the island due to safety risks; that is the end of the introduction. You will receive orders shortly," the private finished briefly, giving the commander farewell and returning to his duties.
Irelle and I headed inside the shelter with a few others to explore it and learn more about our new homes.
I claimed one of the bunks when my ICD pinged.
I checked the notification messages feed to find a new mission had come through already.
A mission authorized by the commander himself? Not to mention this soon? He sure is eager to get things under way.
I checked with Irelle, to which he responded with, "Yeah, same mission as well for four of us from our unit. Wants us to find the commander in ten minutes."
I exited the shelter with Irelle and went to find the commander. He was busy talking with the architect.
We waited patiently a few meters away while he finished up his conversation.
"What segment of the base is this?" he asked the architect commanding the workers and robotics that were constructing the base.
"This is the life support segment. Such as sanitation facilities, consumption areas, rest areas, a communications sector, hygiene facilities, and entertainment areas for the personnel while the construction team finishes the other segments of the base over the coming days," the architect explained to Commander Kyro.
"How long exactly?" he inquired of the architect.
At the question, the architect pondered it a bit before estimating, "Around two days, and the rest of the week for the further segments. Since we have rotating shifts for the people and the robotics work twenty hours before taking a four-hour recharge."
"Sounds good to me," he told the architect dismissively before noticing Irelle, I, and Wyrm were waiting for him.
"I hope you all are ready for this mission," he informed us, giving a curt nod of approval at our readiness.
We waited around for the others to arrive, and when they did, the commander began, "I will be briefing you all on the mission you are to be given. You four will escort two researchers, an engineer, and a pilot."
Then two people in purple biohazard suits, one in a dark orange biohazard suit, and one in a grey biohazard suit approached us.
"These are the people you will be escorting throughout the mission," he told us, motioning to the two researchers, an engineer, and a pilot before adding, "You must not engage in any combat with any creatures unless needed to defend one of our own. You will escort the researchers and the engineer into the continent while they collect data, samples, and specimens if possible."
He then finalized, "You are expected to head to the designated dropship as soon as possible."
With that, he dismissed us, and we followed the researcher, engineer, and pilot to the dropship.
We boarded by the side entrance into the holding bay of the craft, situating ourselves on the seats.
The sparkling blue water outside of the shuttle caught my attention as we whipped past the water, heading towards the continent at Mach 2.
After a few minutes of travelling, the continent was seen peaking over the horizon, a greyish landmass from the distance.
We landed on a beach, the pilot staying at the dropship to keep it safe. Three soldiers exited first, leading the two researchers and the engineer out, with Irelle, Wyrm, and I in the rear.
I looked around our environment. Taking in the ambience of chirping birds, rustling of leaves at their tops, and the lapping of ocean waves against the beach.
We headed further into the forest, the researchers taking samples of the flora. Such as leaves, dirt, a few rocks, some insects, and bark from the trees.
Solaris using the interface to alert me of anything nearby that could be seen by the visual cameras.
I studied the surroundings, not only for potential threats, but for my own satisfaction as well.
The trees, plants, and grass looked completely normal as to the images of Earth when I learned about our home planet in history at primary school. Which is odd. How can there be a planet so similar to Earth's plant life?
I remember quite vividly the images I was exposed to of Earth, and some of these plants look just like the trees on Earth, not alien at all.
It is unusual, but I can mark it up as the fact that we may have travelled to a new galaxy or something.
Suddenly, the undergrowth moved slightly to the right of me.
I stopped and motioned for the others to as well, readying my rifle.
Then a little, white, furry creature with long ears and large feet hopped out.
I aimed my rifle at it, willing it to go away.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Irelle exclaimed accusingly, pushing the barrel of my rifle downwards towards the ground.
"What?" I questioned, confused by what I was doing wrong.
"That's just a rabbit! It doesn't harm anyone!" he explained to me hastily.
"A rabbit?" I echoed, looking back at the white, furry creature before asking, "Does it hurt people?"
"No!" Irelle exclaimed before explaining to me, "They're herbivores, they eat plants and don't hurt you unless you hurt them."
"Oh," I muttered, becoming embarrassed at myself.
I slung my weapon over my back again, with Irelle giving me a pat on the arm.
After that, we continued exploring through the forest.
Then I stepped on something hard.
I raised my foot and placed it next to the object, curious as to what it was.
It was tear drop shaped, pointy at the end and a deep black with a tint of purple.
I picked it up and examined it myself, a feeling of warmth filling my hand.
"Solaris, you know what this is?" I asked him, to which he responded after a few seconds of scanning it, "It would appear to be a scale from a lizard the size of prehistoric dinosaurs. Composition, structural, and thermal tests are required for further analysis."
"Huh," I murmured, thinking of the scale I was holding,
It must've come from the dragons of this planet. But I wonder where that dragon is now?
Suddenly, a roar resounded throughout the forest, putting my hair on end.
"What was that?" I yelped to the others, readying my rifle in defense, clutching the scale in my left hand.
"Not sure," Irelle replied shakily, searching for the source of the sound.
Then the voice of the pilot buzzed over our interfaces in our helmets, "We have approximately twenty dragons one click away."
"Let's head back," one of the researchers called back, with everyone in agreement.
We hurried bag at a small jog, not wanting to discover the source of the roar.
As we were heading back, I felt my vision change and everything seemed to move a bit slower. I looked below me to see a deep depression in the ground where my foot was about to land and I changed my trajectory, avoiding it successfully and continued on running.
We reached the beach and the pilot pulled back the door from seemingly nowhere, looking like he had just opened a door through dimensions.
"Let's go! Some white dragons are nearby, around one click away. I don't want to tangle with those kinds of beasts!" he told us quickly, helping everyone on.
I glanced over my shoulder to see high in the sky a group of white dragons, perhaps twenty, heading towards the forest.
I hopped on last, and the pilot scrambled to the cockpit as I slammed the door shut.
He punched some new commands into the control panel, and we whizzed across the ocean.
I relaxed in my seat, letting out a sigh of relief.
After a few seconds of stabilizing my beating heart and mind, I realized I was still clutching the scale. I released my hand and opened my palm to see the scale.
I examined it more closely now, flipping it and tracing my hands along the grooves of its underside, the familiar warmth filling my hand again.
"What's that?" Irelle asked while looking at the scale.
"I think it's a dragon scale from the dragons, but I'm not really sure," I told him doubtfully.
I let him trace it with his fingers in his gloves, feeling the grooves.
"We should give this to the researcher," I told him firmly.
"But..." he began slyly, "We could keep it as a souvenir."
It would be nice to have, but if we get caught keeping a sample that we are required to hand over to the researchers, we could get punished severely and be sent back to the fleet.
That is the worst-case scenario because then I wouldn't be on this wonderful green planet with dragons!
"No, I'm going to give it to one of the researchers since I still want to remain on this planet," I told him sternly.
He didn't fight back but made a disappointed face.
I located one of the researchers and handed them the scale.
"Where did you get this?" she asked curiously, inspecting the scale.
"When we were out on the continent, I stepped on it by accident and decided to hold onto it since I thought it may be useful," I explained to her.
"Thank you for bringing this to us, it'll help our research a lot!" she thanked, storing the scale in a container for storing samples that could possibly be contaminated.
"You're no fun," Irelle pouted sarcastically as I seated myself next to him.
We returned back to base without a scratch, with one of the other soldiers I didn't recognize reported to Commander Kyro.
Suddenly, Irelle held out his hand.
"What are you-," I began to question when I remembered, "No way, that wasn't a fire breather!"
"What do you mean?" he asked annoyed, "That was clearly a fire breather!"
"Was not!" I retorted.
After that, we were silent for a few seconds before I reluctantly transferred twenty-five credits from my account to his.
We headed back to the portable shelter, removed my suit and left it at the automatic decontamination chamber that would wash and clean it before taking a shower and resting on my claimed bunk.
I checked the time on my ICD after it was decontaminated, to only find that it was 1915, military time.
I had taken a bottom bunk this time, with Irelle on the top bunk.
I might as well get some sleep for tomorrow.
I checked my ICD's notification messages feed to see if there was anything new that I had missed, but there was none.
Should I go explore some of the island? I don't really want to get in trouble though. One of the rules from the academy is to not leave your post unless authorized. But... I didn't really get assigned a post by the commander or anyone really. Plus, I am curious about this island. I should get a better feel for the place, right?
"Hey, Irelle," I called out to the bunk above me, to which he responded, "Yeah?"
"Say, you wanna explore the island with me?" I asked him, my curiosity slowly growing.
He shifted around before jumping down and facing me, which I promptly sat up to meet him at eye level.
"You want to go out and check the island of our own will?" he asked, checking with me.
"Well... yeah, we weren't posted anywhere so I thought we just might get to know our home for the foreseeable future better," I explained to him, justifying my thought process.
He was quiet for a while, deep in thought before mentioning, "You know what'll happen if we get caught, right?"
"Yes, I do," I told him, "We can get punished for actively leaving the premise without orders. But we aren't going anywhere restricted, just the island, nowhere else. Plus, order is pretty slack since none of the utilities have been set up yet."
"Haha, yes, let's do it!" he told me enthusiastically, stirring a few others that were in the quarters with us before hushing his voice again.
He then added, "There is one slight problem though."
"What is it?" I asked, not knowing what it was.
"We have to wait thirty minutes for our suits to finish decontaminating before we can equip them," he explained to me, which I replied, "That's fine, we'll just wait thirty minutes then."
After a minute or two of boredom filling my mind, I suggested, "Do you have a pack of legacy cards?"
"Legacy cards?" Irelle echoed from his top bunk that he had decided to spend the thirty minutes at.
He got back down again and showed me a rectangular box, "You mean these babies?"
"How much did they cost?" I asked, surprised since I hadn't expected him to actually have any.
"Just a small fee of three thousand credits," he joked sarcastically.
"Three thousand?" I echoed in disbelief.
"Ah, come on man. They're the legacy version. They have been around for thousands of years; they're the best ones!" he exclaimed eagerly.
"Alright then, hotshot," I humored, "Wanna play blackjack?"
"Sure thing!" he said, taking the cards out from the box.
He shuffled them around a bit before handing me a deck. We played blackjack for the remaining minutes as we waited, with Irelle winning the majority of them all.
We exited the portable shelter, Irelle and I in our biohazard suits and weapons. With myself being annoyed at my losses.
"Where too, champ?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I told him in my best voice of not sounding like I cared about the game through gritted teeth.
"Let's explore the basalt column cliffs," I told him quickly afterwards. Heading towards the cliffs.
"Sir, I advise you return to the portable shelter and remain inside to limit the possibility of accidents," Solaris informed me, a warning symbol appearing and red lines outlining the edge of the cliff.
"It's fine," I told Solaris dismissively, which he stayed quiet afterwards.
I looked over the ledge, peering down at the waves of foam that crashed against the rocks and cliff faces base.
I traced my gloves across the flat tops of the basalt columns that made up the sheer cliff.
A small trace of the dust of dark grey rock stuck to my glove, like that of the dust on my home world.
"One heck of a fall," Irelle mentioned, looking out over the cliff and ocean, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I opened the file with the map of the island on my ICD, seeing what locations to explore next.
"Let's check out the caves, yeah?" I asked Irelle while he was still overlooking the ocean.
"Sure thing!" he told me while whipping around and heading towards the place.
"You know where it is?" I asked him, curious if he knew the way to it.
"Of course not, but I can check my ICD!" he exclaimed exuberantly while checking his device.
He led the way through groups of people and the differences in terrain until we reached the site where no one was to be found.
"Sir, you are prohibited to enter the caves for safety reasons," Solaris mentioned.
Suddenly, Irelle asked, "Did your AI say that you are prohibited to enter the caves?"
"Yup," I confirmed for him.
We stood there in silence for a few moments.
A strange sense of dread seemed to seep from that dark entrance as it stared back at me.
"We should go in," Irelle suggested, starting towards the cave opening.
I grabbed his shoulder, "No, I don't want to risk it."
"Aw, come on man! We'll just go in a little bit," Irelle tried to convince me.
"No... I-, I just don't think we should," I told him firmly before adding, "We should head back and stay in our quarters."
I hurried Irelle and I back to the portable shelter.
"Hey, what's the big deal?" he asked, concerned.
"I just didn't like the cave is all," I told him in a way that sounded believable.
"Uh huh," he enunciated slowly with suspicion, clearly disbelieving my explanation.
Then he decided, "Fine... let's head inside."
After entering, we sent our suits to the decontamination chamber that would automatically clean it for us while Irelle and I went to the showers.
I settled into my bunk, thinking about the caves.
Why was I so hesitant to enter it? What exactly happened there?
"Hey, Zen, why did you chicken out at the caves?" he asked with a chuckle.
"It was just... off..." I admitted.
"Huh," I heard him murmur before saying nothing else in response.
"Irelle?" I called out, a thought crossing my mind.
"Yea?" He called back in response, curious to what I had to say.
I asked him earnestly, "Do you think we'll get to see the continent? You know? I mean like some dragons up close. Not like the ones we saw from afar today."
"Probably not. We're just a bunch of grunts and all. But, anyways, get some sleep Zen," he told me.
After that, I spent the remaining time laying there, slowly falling asleep.
I awoke in the morning to Irelle waking me, "Hey, Zen, get up."
"Erg, what?" I asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Come on man, get up, we can't be late!" he told me quickly, sorting himself out.
I sat up and asked, "Huh? What do you mean we can't be late?"
"We got a new mission; thirty minutes!" he told me hastily.
I rushed myself and showered before meeting Irelle outside and asking tiredly, "What's this about exactly?"
"Didn't you check your ICD?" He asked me, but my brain was still getting up.
"Um, no, I haven't yet," I told him, fumbling with the controls of my device.
"I'll tell you," Irelle started, "We got a new mission to head to the continent for further research!"
Further research? Continent?
"Wait what!" I exclaimed excitedly, since my wish was coming true, "By further research? You mean-."
"Yup!" he told me joyously, "We have been authorized to escort a group of researchers to make contact with one of the inhabitants in a mostly isolated area."
"Are we going to the briefing?" I asked him.
"Yeah, follow me!" he told me while heading towards the area where we were to be briefed on the mission.
"Alright, soldiers!" the commander bellowed, clasping our attention.
"You have an important mission to carry out! You will be escorting a team of three researchers across the continent in search of a specimen within the isolated area that will be provided on your map in your helmet's interface. If there are any signs of aggression from the creature that is not defensive, then you have authorization to use force to subdue to eliminate said creature if they attempt to endanger any personnel's life. However, the main priority is to contact these creatures and break the language barrier. And if possible, bring back a specimen for testing," he finished before consulting with Private Hawthorn and the head researcher of the department of research and development of the island.
Then he called for a person named, "Captain Clove!"
A person in dark navy blue, armored biohazard suit came jogging towards him with a GXC-10 Rifle, one of the guns that can do quick fire using energy ammunition instead of ballistics. Although it tends to overheat fast and can only be used for two rounds before needing to be cooled off for thirty seconds by the cooling system. With two of those guns strapped to her back, she reached the commander.
"This will be your captain of the mission, you follow her orders, understand?" he questioned, which we responded in unison, "Yes, sir!"
He told her a few things before returning his attention to us.
"Head to the dropship now," he ordered dismissively and the six of us boarded the dropship with three researchers, two engineers, Captain Clove, a pilot, and a copilot.
"So how come we're going back to the continent so soon?" I asked Irelle, yawning from the early morning.
"Apparently, the admiral himself ordered that the dominant species of XK-3, the planet we're on, to be investigated and contacted because of the SRRD," he explained.
"Doesn't SRRD stand for Survive, Rebuild, Return, Directive?" I asked to make sure I had my knowledge right.
"Sure thing!" he told me joyously before adding, "And that's why the admiral is ordering all teams on the planets to contact lifeforms of the dominant species in isolated areas to not only minimize risk, but also establish relations with the creatures," he explained in detail.
We flew farther inland this time with our cloaking mode still activated. I watched through the windows, seeing the ground change from an open, dark blue ocean to sprawling green forests.
We descended toward one of the clearings in the forest that looked to be a few dozen meters wide and had a few rocks jutting out from the ground but not dense in numbers or large enough to pose an issue to the landing of the craft.
I felt the craft come to a stop, resting on the ground.
The back ramp opened, and Captain Clove ordered, "Pilots, engineers, and copilots, you stay with the dropship along with two soldiers. Everyone else, come with me."
She unstrapped her rifle and exited the ship, with Irelle, I, two other soldiers, and the researchers following behind.
"I hope they're not that scary up close," I told Irelle, which he joked, "They're just big lizards, plus, we got modern tech!"
We continued on into the forest as the other soldiers at the dropship began to patrol the area and create a safe space.
Here we come dragons. It is time to meet.
