Snake caught Pequods approach on his iDroid in time to descend the cliff to meet them, thankful that the light hadn't yet finished dying.
The soldier who jumped down to join him looked young to Snake, like too many of the combatants around here. Snake took note of his weapons, an assault rifle and pistol, lacking the sniper rifle that would be best for covering the approach.
"Resistance Basilisk, reporting for duty," he declared, snapping of a salute.
"At ease," Snake responded, practically an old reflex. "Basilisk, the current contract is protecting an archaeological team on their expedition. They are currently setting up camp in an excavated hollow within the plateau. Can you confirm the hollow is not about to collapse while they are working?"
"I think so," Basilisk replied, clearly not wanting to disappoint Snake. "I wasn't able to complete the course before the Taliban enlisted me, but I believe I remember enough to confirm the structural integrity."
Snake nodded, collecting a supply bag from the helicopter.
"Good enough for now. When you've finished your survey, will you be willing to stay on for the rest of the contract or would you prefer to return to Mother Base?"
"It would be honour to work with you!"
The hero worship again.
It had gotten on Snakes nerves enough that, before Ocelot convinced him to take it easy for a bit, he had gone around the platforms 'giving the men an impromptu crash course in self defence'.
And they still thanked him, from the floor.
"Right. Pequod, you are clear to return to Mother Base."
"Understood. Returning to base now, Boss."
Snake watched Pequod taking off for a moment before returning his attention to Basilisk.
"The entrance is this way."
]
The sun had just about finished setting as they entered the hollow, giving it a rather different feel, especially given the lights set up across the floor.
"This does not look natural," Basilisk noted, looking around the space. "Boss, do you have any idea how long ago it was carved out?"
"Centuries at least."
"Centuries? That would… maybe if they had scaffolding… no, not enough trees in the area, not to waste on a hidden structure… carved out from the top down? But clearing the rubble…"
He stopped suddenly, looking quickly over the hollow.
"Boss, was there any rubble when you came in?"
"No. Why?"
"That would mean… the walls and roof haven't taken any damage over time, else there'd be a lot if rubble to clear out. Which means the structure must be sound… somehow."
"Somehow?"
"A space this size… I can't see how the local schist would be strong enough to hold in place. Even if there was a strong ore seam the rock beneath would break away, and it wouldn't be so regular."
"So this place is an anomaly," Snake concluded.
And so far, anomalies had never been good news.
"I'm heading back out to watch. Keep up the survey or get some rest. Your shift is next."
"Yes Boss."
]
Climbing back up the cliff with the supplies was somewhat more awkward, but Snake reassured himself that it should be the last time.
After all, Pequod had come through with more than just Resistance Basilisk.
In the bag he had the supplies to drop a climbing rope down, letting him climb up or down far safer and more easily.
Just so long as he and Basilisk made sure to pull it up after them when on watch.
As long as the spike would go in.
The first spot he tried, by the route he took up, the spike refused to break through the ground, as it did for the second.
The third spot, closer to the cliff, it finally sank it, reassuring Snake that it hadn't been a dud.
He attached the rope and give a firm tug, making sure it was planted firmly, then started watch properly.
There was a patrol visible on the road, and after making sure there waa nobody else around, he focused on them.
The patrol paused at the outpost he'd spotted, before starting moving again.
He gripped his binoculars tightly as they neared the point the archaeology convoy left the road, relaxing when they carried on past.
With his elevation, he should be able to take out the driver and passenger on the approach, even with the windshield, but it would almost certainly draw attention.
The outpost… he'd been clearing them across the region, returning from time to time to grab more recruits, so it shouldn't draw the same attention.
And could even act to distract local forces.
He just needed to wait until Basilisk was ready for his watch.
]
One of the problems with watch was making sure you didn't fall into a regular pattern, and another was risking falling asleep or getting bored and distracted.
Taking time to check on Mother Bases status did a little to help, but Snake was feeling restless.
/"Boss, I'm ready to take over watch,"/ Basilisks voice stated over the iDroids radio.
"Understood. Dropping rope."
Snake dropped the rope over the side of the cliff, watching it dance into the dark below, going tight as Baslisk took hold.
It was about a minute before he reached Snake at the top.
"Good vantage up here, Boss," he commented.
"Remember, if you see something, contact me first, then head to the hollow."
"I could give cover from here."
"Not with that rifle. The Gryzov, right? It doesn't have the range. Best to use the bottleneck, limit arcs of fire."
"It would put them much closer to the camp."
"But you wouldn't waste so much ammunition. How many spare mags do you have?"
Basilisk hesitated.
"I understand your point, Boss."
"Reach any conclusions about the hollow?"
"Nothing yet Boss. It… seems to defy science."
Snake couldn't help snorting quietly.
"I've encountered that a few times. Usually people rather than places. Hope it turns out better this time…"
He shook his head.
"I'm heading down. Pull up the rope once it goes slack."
]
Snake paused for a moment at the bottom of the cliff, deciding what to do now.
He wasn't feeling too tired yet…
And that outpost remained so tempting.
]
Snake made use of a closer outcrop to scout the outpost properly.
First he tracked along the road, confirming the absence of any delivery point.
It wasn't as convenient to get around the area using their own postal network, but it also meant they weren't likely to have as many patrols passing by.
He also got to mark a few soldiers as they passed by, recording their location and which department on Mother Base they would work best in on his iDroid.
Satisfied with the roadside scan he moved his gaze upwards, marking every soldier and piece of infrastructure in the outpost.
By the number of soldiers he spotted, it was one of the smaller outposts in the area, barely making to double digits.
On the other hand, it did have an obvious communications relay and AA battery, which would have been a serious issue for Pequod if they had to fly over the outpost.
Fortunately the low number of soldiers meant they weren't able to cover each other too well, giving him an opportunity to knock a few of them out with his sniper rifle.
Not too many, just because they wouldn't see their comrades hit didn't mean they wouldn't realise something was up if they came across them while they were still unconscious, after all, but enough to open a path towards the generator.
There were so many opportunities in the dark after all…
]
The first the outpost knew something was happening was when the lights went out.
The men checked their weapons, while the closest of them checked out the generator.
It wasn't an immediate cause for concern, the generator had run out of fuel before, but it still needed to be fixed.
Just in case there was a saboteur around…
AN: Slightly shorter chapter, due to not gettinf tge time to write. I'll try to add tge extra words to the start of next chapter, to keep up with the schedule.