Choi's half of the squad bolted through the halls. Their boots made clanking noises each time they drummed on the metal floor of the building. Gabriel felt his surroundings become a blur. He had been sprinting faster than he was used to, and although they were running for at least a minute, by the time they reached their car and stopped, Gabriel's heartbeat slowed quickly. Once he began to move again, he could barely feel his heartbeat. It seemed like he didn't exert any energy at all from the run.
Choi approached the head of the mining team. "We need to hurry back. The mine is under attack."
The leader turned. "I received the same message. The last thing they said to me was that they were safe and hidden. I'm not sure how long they can hold out for. We'll drive back as fast as we can. You may go ahead of us."
Choi then turned to Siu and Johnson. "I will drive fast. Siu and Johnson, you two may sit in the back with Hoodman. It wouldn't be safe for you guys to be on the roof."
Gabriel climbed into the back of the car and buckled his seatbelt. Siu and Johnson followed suit. Everyone spread out, with Johnson sitting a few seats away from Gabriel and Siu across from them. He faced a row of empty chairs. There was also a weapon rack. The back of the car was lit by a single white light on the roof. Once Choi started the car, they were moving quickly, with Gabriel slowly being rocked back and forth in his seat before he got used to the speed.
"I hope we can come back in time to help," said Siu.
"I'm not sure how it would be different if we left immediately," said Johnson.
"Soldiers need rest to function well," said Gabriel. "Even with our enhancements, we're still human."
"That makes sense, but now we're under stress. I wonder how the fight will go now," said Siu, pausing before she thought of something else. "Those miners needed rest as well. But now I don't think they'll be returning to the camp."
"I'm physically rested, but I think my mind won't be able to rest yet," said Johnson. "I hope I'm level-headed by the time we reach the camp."
"Me too," said Choi. "I'm still wondering what would've happened if we went back immediately. I'm trying not to blame myself or anyone else."
"You couldn't have known exactly what was going to happen," said Gabriel.
The ride was faster this time around, especially because the car was going downhill. Gabriel also felt that the ride would be shorter because they knew the route to the camp now. He hadn't exactly memorized all the twists and turns, but the route was now more familiar. He had been on it now. The area was a little less strange to him. He also thought that it would take them slightly less time to get back, but he didn't know exactly how long it would take them. The car was moving much faster, but he got used to staying in his seat without being worried about getting thrown around within his seatbelt.
Gabriel tried to slow his breathing down and sometimes spent a bit of time keeping his eyes closed. He didn't think he would be able to fall asleep if he kept jolting slightly within his seat. He just tried to calm himself down so that he would have a clear mind when it was time to fight.
An unknown amount of time passed before Gabriel sensed that they had finished descending the mountain, as he wasn't tilted to the side. The car accelerated again, the buzz of the engine filling the silence. Gabriel was mostly looking at the floor, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He didn't feel like talking just yet. He just wanted to do nothing so that he could be rested before the upcoming fight. Eventually, he noticed that he was panicking a little less, based on his slow heartbeat and feeling warm, although the warmth was probably from his suit, which kept him at an optimal temperature level.
"We're going through the ravine," said Choi. "We need to slow down a little."
"Have you received anything from Staff Sergeant Kipmi?" Gabriel asked.
"No new transmissions," replied Choi. "I'll try to contact him again once we're a bit closer."
Gabriel won't ask again for the rest of the trip. The ride was feeling a little long because he sometimes panicked and was itching to get to the fight. He guessed that everyone else felt the same way, whether they showed their fear or not. He also thought that Choi was the one who had the most stress as she was the one driving and had to pace herself.
The car sped up once they were outside the ravine.
"Are you still behind us?" Choi asked, contacting the mining team.
"Don't worry, squad," Choi announced loudly. "They're not far behind us, but they'll allow us to drive farther ahead. They said it will be fine."
"You still can't be too careful, right?" Siu asked.
"None of us know where the Fire Nation troops are, or which direction they came from," said Choi. "I wouldn't be too sure about an ambush here. I'm more concerned about the camp. Plus, there's no metal for them to take."
"That makes sense," said Siu. "The Fire Nation might take them prisoner or kill us, though."
"Hopefully there's no delay to reach the camp," said Choi.
After a while, they were in the plains and Choi sometimes had to slow down when there was a hill. Gabriel was fine with the changes in speed because they weren't too sudden.
Gabriel didn't care about how much time was left. He didn't bother to check, and he also didn't want to pester Choi about their position on the GPS. He just leaned back on his chair.
"I tried contacting the staff sergeant, but I haven't gotten a reply at all," said Choi.
Gabriel panicked a little on the inside and his mind grew restless, but he didn't show it on the outside. He was always a little worried about the rest of the squad's whereabouts, but his worry increased now that they lost contact with Kipmi.
"Do you think they left the camp?" Gabriel asked.
"I guess," said Choi. "Maybe their communications were cut because the Fire Nation took over the camp and sabotaged the communication devices."
"We probably have no signal either, so we can't connect to them or anyone else," said Siu.
"Our GPS is still fine," said Choi. "We might see the Fire Nation troops before we see the camp. Besides, our communicators will work within a 1-kilometer radius even if our advanced communication devices are sabotaged."
"I'm not sure if they're still there," said Gabriel. "What if the rest of the squad is hiding?"
"In that case, we will change our route instead of heading back in our usual path," said Choi. "We'll approach from another direction because the Fire Nation might be expecting us."
Choi made a turn to the left so that the car can approach from the right. There was still a path to the camp from that side, though there were also some thick walls of stone.
Gabriel didn't think that it would take them longer if they went on this alternate route, though. He guessed that they would need to scout before approaching the camp with the car.
During the rest of the ride, Gabriel didn't move much, and he didn't breathe more quickly. He wasn't twitchy, yet he felt restless as well. Sometimes, his heartbeat was elevated for a few moments as well. He felt his muscles tense and shivered a little as he was preparing for combat. His body had few soft places because of the serum. Although his body felt hard, his joints were still easy to move, so it wasn't like his movement was restricted. Once he received the orders, he was ready to jump out of his seat and grab his rifle.
Eventually, Gabriel finally heard Choi's voice, though it startled him slightly. He snapped to attention. Finally, those long hours of waiting had come to an end.
"Hoodman, Johnson, walk through those rocks and scout," said Choi. "Report your findings, and I'll make a decision to drive there or drive away and move stealthily to regroup. Siu, man the machine gun up top with me.
"Also, both trucks are safe, and they will move a bit farther from the camp. They won't be returning. Instead, they'll just stay beside some cliffs."
"Yes, sergeant," said each soldier as they unbuckled their seatbelts.
Gabriel and Johnson grabbed their weapons. Gabriel's assault rifle didn't have a grenade launcher attached. Putting a few explosives in the pockets of his vest, he opened the door once it was safe for everyone. He was also carrying multiple magazines for both his rifle and his pistol.
Johnson strapped his submachine gun to his back while he grabbed his sniper rifle and ammo.
Siu wasn't far behind, grabbing a bandolier of grenades, then grabbing her assault rifle, which had a grenade launcher attached under the barrel, with a separate trigger. She strapped it to her back.
Gabriel and Johnson went outside once their weapons were loaded. Although his suit temperature remained the same, he felt a slight chill. Perhaps it was the darkness above, or the wider space, with the added danger of them walking into an area crawling with enemies.
Gabriel walked ahead of Johnson, aiming his rifle. Johnson also aimed, to look through the scope. The sniper was quite bulky, with a long barrel. The bipod was tucked in.
They walked on stone, though there was also a bit of sand on the ground. The ground was mostly hard and rocky. Tall rocks shot up from the ground, providing a lot of cover, casting a lot of shadows. Gabriel was unable to see the camp from where he was standing, and the pair had to walk right into the darkness.
They took a break, leaning on the stone walls and looking ahead of them. Although it was mostly dark, it was that time of Polus's day where both the sun and stars were out. Night vision and reading thermal signatures would be worse than just using normal vision.
Both men spent a little time looking ahead through their sights. There was mostly darkness, but they also saw some rocks beyond the shadows.
The layer of sand on the ground was thin, but it helped them walk quietly without expending a lot of effort in taking steps. Gabriel kept his rifle pointed as he walked ahead of Johnson. Once Gabriel cleared him to go, his partner followed. Since Johnson was the sniper, he always stayed behind Gabriel.
Gabriel walked slowly, keeping his rifle raised, but he spent a little time turning his head instead of just looking through the sight. There was also no sound at all, which was probably the scariest part of it all. He looked up. The cliffs were high and steep, which made it highly unlikely that an enemy was hiding and that they would ambush Gabriel or Johnson from above. He was just entirely focused on searching for the enemy, trying to think of every drill he learned in his training so that he could easily use the skill.
Johnson walked slowly behind Gabriel. He leaned next to a pillar of rock before going prone and scanning with his gun. Gabriel continued walking, eventually seeing the walls of the camp. He then activated his communicator, which was on his left wrist.
"I see the outside of the camp," said Gabriel. "I'm right beside the wall and I don't see any people or vehicles. I don't see much, though. There might be people at the towers, but I need to move closer to see them."
"Copy that," said Choi. "Johnson, see if you can get any high ground from those rocks"
Johnson moved behind one of the tall pillars of rock that was right next to the camp. Gabriel did the same, but he went on the other side so that he can see the watchtower.
Gabriel walked around the base of the rock. The rock wasn't very tall or wide, and he walked to the other side in minutes. He had a good view of one of the towers.
He could see some people standing on a tower, moving big lights in all directions. Gabriel could see the white light illuminate parts of the ground. He looked with the sight on his rifle and saw soldiers wearing black and grey spacesuits. They had black vests, but the rest of their suits were dark, with white lines. He immediately recognized that they were Fire Nation soldiers based on the color scheme and design of the uniforms, as well as the insignia on the helmet, even though he just saw a circle pinned on the front of the helmet.
"I see that Fire Nation soldiers have taken over the base," said Gabriel. "I see them on the watchtower and they're shining lights around the outskirts of the camp. I think I'm at least a hundred meters away from the tower. I don't see anyone standing outside the wall right now."
"We will drive closer, Hoodman," said Choi.
"I see a tower as well. Hoodman and I went opposite ways," said Johnson. "I've climbed as high as I could. I think I'm a bit far from them. I think I'm quite hidden, but I can't be too sure."
"We'll go through the path that you went through, and we'll hide behind one of the tall rocks," said Choi. "If you're in trouble, just run to the car. Stay hidden and try contacting the rest of the squad before you try and fight."
Gabriel lay down on his stomach. He could easily roll and hide behind the rocks. The ground was a bit hard, with a bit of sand dusting his clothes. It was flat and there were no obstacles or anything sharp around him.
He tried to contact Kipmi again. His device had no tracking abilities, so he was unable to tell if he was near Kipmi or the rest of the squad. He had the option of ringing everyone, so he chose to do that, hoping that Kipmi, Larsen, Ghuvi, or Tanbur would pick up. His face fell and he felt like his heart sank as the call failed again. Communication between both sides of the squad had been jammed.
"Staff Sergeant Kipmi hasn't picked up," Gabriel said to Choi, Siu, and Johnson. He didn't need to dial, as they were already connected, but he could just choose whether to send a message to one person or multiple people.
"We have arrived," said Choi. "We are just standing by on our machine guns. Hoodman, go with Siu. I will go beside Johnson so I can plan for how we retake the base, and hopefully reunite with the squad."
Gabriel made his way back to the APC and manned one of the machine guns. Every few minutes, he would rotate the turret.
"Where could the rest of the squad be?" Gabriel asked.
"Maybe they're hiding in nearby rocks as well," said Siu. "Probably on the opposite side of the camp if we're too far to contact them."
"And we'll try taking back the base? I assume we're vastly outnumbered."
"We need to make a way into the camp. We'll need to make sure all the miners are safe and wipe out any enemies that we come across."
After that, there was a bit of silence. Gabriel was only thinking about how they were going to enter the base and retake it.
"This is how we are to attack," said Choi. "I will drive the APC to the front of the camp with Siu on the machine gun. Johnson, when I tell you to fire, you shoot the guards on the tower. With that diversion, Hoodman, you use your grappling gun to climb up the tower and flank. Johnson will signal you in case you don't notice that he took a shot."
"On my way, sergeant," said Gabriel. He got off the APC and walked to Choi's original position. After going around the tall rock, he saw the tower that Choi ordered him to climb. Johnson wasn't there. He stood behind the rock, and he had to think about the sequence. He was the last person to move. He had to wait for Choi to cause a diversion before Johnson could shoot the guards on top. Then it was time for Gabriel to run forward.
Gabriel opened his backpack and pulled out a grappling hook pistol. Strapping his rifle to his back, he held on to his grappling gun. He took slow, controlled breaths so that he would stay alert while he was awaiting the signal.
The sequence would only take a few minutes, but it felt much longer for Gabriel as he had to be alert. He slowly moved around, and sometimes counted in his head. He was just watching the two guards on the tower.
After several minutes, he heard the unmistakable noise of a gunshot, though it wasn't that loud as he had hearing protection. It was still loud enough to send him a clear signal, and he saw one of the guards drop dead. Moments later, so did the second guard.
He had already been sprinting to his target by the time he saw the second guard fall. Johnson then spoke to him moments later, and he quickly reassured him that he was on his way.
His surroundings became a blur. Gabriel must've been sprinting as fast as a horse, though his legs and heart didn't need to expend a lot of effort. Once he reached the base of the tower, he took a shot with his grappling hook, aiming above the railing and pulling the rope back so that the hook lodged onto the thin metal railing. Although there were no alarms that were sounded, it was clear that the enemy soldiers were aware of their presence, so Gabriel had to quickly scale the wall.
Gabriel grabbed onto the rope and had to run up the wall. His heart was racing, though it was out of the thrill of the experience and not his fear. He felt a little fear, though, but he was more afraid of the enemy soldiers than he was of heights.
Within seconds he grabbed onto the railing and stepped on the floor of the tower. He climbed over the metal and retrieved his grapple gun. Placing it on the floor, he drew his rifle. He looked around and saw the Fire Nation soldiers running rapidly toward the entrance.
He saw other guards on the opposite tower, and he quickly shot them. Putting away his grappler, he also made a call toward Kipmi and his companions, and this time, Ghuvi picked up.
"Can you hear me, Ghuvi?" Gabriel asked. "Sergeant Choi led us to attack the camp. I've successfully infiltrated by climbing up one of the guard towers."
"I hear you, Hoodman," the woman on the other end spoke. "My team and I ran off to the cliffs on one side of the camp. Our camp's communication device has been compromised, and we've been unable to reach you or anyone else. I'll notify Staff Sergeant Kipmi so that he can assist you."
Gabriel returned to the fight, choosing to use his rifle to accurately pick off enemies from a long distance. After checking for anyone beneath him and finding no one, his focus was on the APC. He saw the enemy hiding behind the cover of their own APC. Bodies were piled near Choi's car as well as on the enemy APC. Gabriel easily picked off other enemies from behind. By the time the Fire Nation noticed Gabriel's presence, he had already killed a dozen enemy soldiers.
Soldiers were rushing from the far sides of the camp to attack Gabriel. He used his machine gun and sprayed quickly, hoping to slow the enemy. He was an excellent shot, managing to hit most of them even though he had to move quickly as the enemy began to rush him.
He hid behind cover and used his assault rifle again in case enemies had advanced. Moments later, he saw a grappling hook. It was the same model as his, and he looked over and saw Johnson. Gabriel gave the sniper a helping hand.
Gabriel was watching the stairs while Johnson was looking through his scope to take out enemies from afar.
Gabriel quickly hid behind cover when he heard the enemy's footsteps. Although the battle was fast-paced, Gabriel didn't feel tired at all, and his heartbeat remained bearable. He threw a grenade down the spiral staircase, putting his hand through the metal bars that were in the middle of the stairs. He then retreated further up as he heard the explosion. He sat at the top of the stairs again, and saw that his grenade had killed three soldiers, though the stairs weren't damaged at all. He aimed his rifle down the stairs, waiting for the enemy to peek so that they could get a clear shot at him.
"We've arrived at the camp!" Kipmi's voice was heard by Gabriel.
He breathed a little sigh of relief that the squad was now reunited, though they still had to fight.
One soldier ran up the stairs and began spraying with his rifle. Gabriel rolled to the side, one hand gripping his weapon. Another soldier was right behind the first enemy. Gabriel shot the first one, but then a second enemy jumped on him. Gabriel lay flat on his back while his enemy was stepping on his right arm, which was holding his rifle. Gabriel then kicked the soldier's side, moving him to the right and it caused the enemy to lose his balance. Another soldier ran up while aiming his rifle, and Gabriel kicked her down the stairs. She was thrown in the air and fell on top of a few other ones. Gabriel raised his right arm and shot the downed soldiers before they could attack him.
Returning to cover to reload, Gabriel continued to watch the stairs. A few minutes passed and eventually the gunfire stopped. There was less movement.
"Everyone except the snipers check below for enemies," said Kipmi.
Gabriel climbed down the stairs, stepping over the bodies of downed enemies. He walked on the ground and started circling the camp. He saw piles of dead bodies and parts of the walls were riddled with bullets, though the holes weren't that deep.
"I see no activity," said Gabriel.
"We're clear," said Kipmi after a few minutes. "Let's meet inside the main building."
Everyone rendezvoused at the building in the middle of the camp. They met inside the room where the squad could meet to discuss battle tactics. The room was a bit spacious, with a table and some computers, though they were turned off while the Fire Nation occupied the base.
Kipmi had turned them back on after finding out that the enemy hadn't damaged their technology except for the communication devices.
"Good thing the enemy didn't destroy anything," said Kipmi.
"I think they wanted to use this as a base," said Gabriel. "They wouldn't want to damage anything."
"Where's your mining team?" Siu turned to Larsen.
"They are safe behind some of the rocks," Larsen answered her. "Joo Dee called them all to the surface and they retreated. We managed to cover them while the enemy was approaching from multiple directions."
"Our miners, on the other hand, are a bit far from this camp," said Choi. "They're still a bit far from the base, but they're still with their vehicles. It will be harder for them to hide."
"Alright, so here's how it is," said Kipmi, grabbing the attention of the whole squad. "I don't think we or the miners will be returning to this camp. Joo Dee is awaiting orders from her superiors at Amlin for their next move. Even though our communications were jammed, we could still contact people at other places. I need to fix the devices."
"Why don't we call for backup?" Johnson asked.
"Lieutenant Williams says the other Myrmidons are occupied," said Kipmi. "Same with the Space Marines. They are already stretched thin. Moving any units would leave a base vulnerable to the Fire Nation."
"What is the next step for us?" Gabriel asked.
"We would need to make sure the miners are safe and far from this base in case of another attack," said Kipmi. "If there's another attack, we must do our best to fight back, but we might need to retreat too. Our priority is the safety of the miners."
"Will we be able to contact them all?" Siu asked.
"I'll need to fix the communication devices," said Kipmi. "For now, we need to watch out in case more enemies come. Ghuvi, Johnson, Larsen, and Choi, you take the towers. Everyone else, stay here. I'll need to send messages to the miners once we can contact them all again. After that, I will need to contact Lieutenant Williams and wait for his next orders."
Kipmi walked out, leaving Siu, Gabriel, and Tanbur in the room. Gabriel sensed that there would be tension, as he seemed to be Tanbur's enemy. Gabriel was a bit calm, though, and everything was quiet. He didn't want to speak and was uneasy around Tanbur, though he didn't want to make it obvious that he had severe trust issues. For many years, Gabriel had to be in that situation, where he couldn't let his guard down around certain people. He had a feeling that Kipmi had done this on purpose to make everyone resolve any conflicts between them. Maybe he would never know who killed Rodrigo. Now that the squad was reunited after a long fight, Gabriel thought about his personal mission again. Maybe Tanbur seemed like the obvious suspect, but someone else was the mole, or perhaps there were two people within the squad that were secretly working for the enemy. Was there one impostor in both teams? He didn't want to be too comfortable around Choi or Johnson.
He didn't think it was a coincidence that the Fire Nation attacked when the squad was split in two. His crazy theory was that someone in the squad had conspired with a commander in the enemy's army. Kipmi would still think that whatever Gabriel said was nonsense. Gabriel decided to say nothing, and perhaps share any new theories with Siu.
Gabriel was expecting the worst from Tanbur, but he was probably overthinking. That didn't mean that he was just going to relax and be a pushover. He couldn't read minds. Maybe Tanbur had nothing personal against him and he didn't think anything negative about Gabriel. Gabriel was thinking that Tanbur had at least an ounce of respect for him. There was a chance that Tanbur wasn't the killer and that he would support Gabriel.
Eventually, Kipmi returned, and everyone in the room perked up. "The communication devices are fixed. I will contact Lieutenant Williams and wait for his orders.
Kipmi made a call while everyone else sat silently. Their lieutenant's voice was broadcast to the whole room.
"What is it, Kipmi?" Williams asked.
"Sir, we've been attacked by the Fire Nation twice now," said Kipmi. "The attack that happened recently was more destructive, and now our mining team is separated and hiding. Our communication was jammed and that prevented us from contacting each other if we were far apart. It's only a matter of time before the enemy strikes again."
"I've received orders from the executives at Amlin, and they told me that Joo Dee was ordered to return to the colony," said Williams. "You must cover their retreat and escort them all the way back."
"Very good, sir," said Kipmi. "I'll notify the miners and the squad. Have there been any similar attacks in other places?"
"No," said Williams. "Everywhere else seems peaceful. They were successful in delivering their resources to the refinery just like you."
"Well, the colony, our base, or the refinery might be next," said Kipmi.
"They've located one base and decided to attack it," said Williams. "Your focus is on the safety of the miners. Fight hard, but you can't hold the base. You can't stay at the mine because the enemy will keep coming. You must retreat so you can live and fight another day."
Kipmi turned to the others. "I'll contact Joo Dee to coordinate a retreat. Hoodman, tell the rest of the squad about the orders. We will be defending, but we must always retreat. There's a high chance we're outnumbered and outgunned, even though we've already killed a couple hundred of them in total."
Gabriel knew that Kipmi had a point. It was only a matter of time before the Fire Nation captures the base and probably wipes out the whole squad if they don't retreat in time. That would give the enemy a foothold and they could probably make their push towards Amlin. They were probably after the precious metals that were mined. Maybe the refinery was the next target.
The defense was weak. Although the squad had proven themselves to have capabilities that were beyond human, they were still lacking in numbers and firepower. They had no artillery and only one vehicle.
Gabriel had all those thoughts and theories while he notified the squad that they should be retreating while holding off the attackers for as long as they could.
"The four of us should get some sleep," said Kipmi. "You'll need it if we're constantly fighting. After that, it's our turn to keep watch."
The four of them went to bed. Gabriel crawled in after ditching his armor. They had gone to sleep in their uniforms so that they could be ready for a fight within seconds. Gabriel had his armor and weapons beside his bed. Although he moved around a lot in bed, he forced himself to slow down his movements so that he could be calmer. Eventually, he grew tired and fell asleep, hoping to grab a few hours, even though his body didn't need as much sleep as it used to.