〔Conurbation Haven〕
〔The Arc〕
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〔Main Hangar〕
〔2/7/2306 03:24〕
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Dawn had been meditating quietly in his room for some time when he heard someone at his door in the middle of the night.
"Who's there?" Dawn still had his eyes closed and was all at sea.
"JP," said a bright, loud voice. "We'll depart before sunrise."
Dawn saw with his synchrotron vision that it was indeed the bulky mutant and opened the door of his spartan room, whose interior consisted only of a couch and a light bulb that swung from the ceiling like a pendulum.
"Not my idea of comfort," JP realized as he looked into Dawn's room.
"I think it's enough. Where are we going?"
"Erik told me that a reaction from a rebel commander had been traced. We have the coordinates to their hideout. Pack your things, we're going to the hangar."
Dawn took his coat and ran through the dark sluices, of the hangar, where a chilling breeze floated through. Jo joined him and JP on their way. She had wild, tangled hair and her eyelids were constantly flapping shut.
"I'll get you a coffee afterward," Dawn said.
"I'm still capable of that myself."
The huge hydraulic hangar door was half raised, allowing the clear icy night to crawl into the hangar. In the middle of it a small crowd had gathered around the Grizzly.
"You see that little guy. That's my partner Zero, he's the one who fixed this Grizzly" JP boasted to some passing soldiers as the rotor blades of the Grizzly slowly started to move in the huge hall.
Zero hopped down from the top of the Grizzly, with several repair droids following him. He wiped the dust off his dainty little hands.
"Will it fly?" Erik asked skeptically, who stood next to the Grizzly's entrance.
"I am pretty sure" Zero responded curtly as he picked up some tools. "I would venture a test flight to find out one hundred percent."
"We don't have time for that. The test flight will take place on the way to the rebel hideout" Erik made clear.
"What is going to await us there?" Dawn asked.
"You will get the information together with the other troops on the way."
Mercenaries in simple grey HMD pilot uniforms entered the hangar and manned a multitude of smaller fighter jets, which were placed in tubes inside the Grizzly. Afterward, the infantry troops of the first to the 21st company split up into dozens of Pelican transporters. In the process, thousands of people streamed straight into the hanger.
Parzival and his eight clones also hastily transferred their weapons into a Chameleon. Their heavy titanium armor made the ground shake with every step.
A unit whose soldiers had only one natural eye and wore grey urban camouflage uniforms saluted Erik as they walked by. They were introduced to Dawn as Reconnaissance Scouts.
In addition, there was a squad of broad men armed with HMD shields and sledgehammers. They wore their gas masks in their callous hands. Some of them had also carried thermite and air pumps, evidently they were specialized in breaching strategies.
"I had no idea there were so many here" Dawn marveled.
"They are putting a lot into this mission. It's the best opportunity we can get" JP explained.
"That means there's a lot at stake for us?"
"It always is, against the rebels," Erik said, who watched the units form up. "They want to annihilate the very thing that separates this city from total mayhem. If they conquer the upper levels, Haven will be doomed to extinction. That is why we must strike with everything in our power. It's time for you to pick your battle, Dawn, just like all of us did before you."
"Then why is the attack carried out as a cloak-and-dagger operation?" Jo said.
"We need to exploit the momentum since we know their exact location. Every few days at night they move around the city in a huge caravan to change their hiding place. That's where their name comes from, the Moonfall Legion" Erik said.
Erik spoke very quickly and made an almost nervous impression. Most of the soldiers seemed tense and serious, trembling in the cold night. They reloaded their weapons and paranoidly checked their equipment several times.
*** I would not have expected that. A surprise blow tonight. This can get nasty. ***
"Everyone into position in the Grizzly," Erik commanded.
Dawn entered the Grizzly, which he remained suspiciously precisely in his memory. His path led him to the bridge at the front end of the gunship. There the Administration Sphere stood in the middle like a big murky droplet. Zero climbed into the small sphere and Dawn sat down on a staircase at the entrance of the Command Bridge. There he waited for transmission on his HUD at 4 am sharp.
General McManus could be seen in front of a flag with the HMD symbol, who after a few moments began to speak in a firm and formal tone."Soldiers of all Special Forces and Divisions, after Operation Vermintide of Archetype Command, the Moonfall Legion released the following statement, which we were able to trace back." A symbol of a rising moon appeared on the screen, accompanied by a distorted high pitched voice.
"It is with the utmost discomfort that the Moonfalll Legion must learn of the recent calumnies and slander against them. The attacks on Haven's food supply contradict the code of honor of our organization and were initiated for propaganda purposes by the fascist Council and their bloodhounds called the HMD. Proceedings against civilians and workers are opposing all ideals and ideas of the Moonfall Legion. The Council and the HMD must not assume that the accusations remain unpunished. Do not bow down before the regime, but rather, raze it to the ground."
***That's weird. For brutal terrorists, they have a lot of pride they want to defend. ***
General McManus went on, now a map appeared in the transmission "The message was sent by a rebel leader known as Oni from District -7. There is an empty five-story mall where the sender was located. There are three entrances to the building, one of which is from above. The building complex has a large open front through which a ship can enter head-on, followed by the incoming main company."
***Is this ship going to be the Grizzly? ***
"To the left and right of the central shopping arcade, there are smaller corridors with shops, which you have to comb for rebels. The mission has the maximum priority and the maximum authority level. Strike at full force."
Suddenly the bridge began to tilt slightly and Dawn sensed on his sensors that the ship was starting to move.
*** It won't take long for us to get there. I'm waiting for further transmissions. ***
Now the mission data appeared on Dawn's HUD.
﹝INFILTRATION HIDEOUT﹞
﹝¤ District -7 | All-U-Need Shopping Mall﹞
﹝Authorisations Level 10﹞
﹝Expected Enemy: Moonfall Legion﹞
From the bridge of the Grizzly, Dawn could see the blurred outlines of the cityscape through the repaired glass windshield, while the gunship from the Nano War meandered rapidly down through the several districts layered on top of each other.
"Erik here, come in please" Dawn heard via his Neuro Feed.
"This time, the Archetype Command will split up. JP goes with the Breachers to clear the way for the main company after landing, Jo flanks the side entrances and Dawn enters the rebel corridors with the Scouts squads from the inside. Zero will stay in the Grizzly and try to secure any advantage that he can get for us. Understood?"
"Roger, Sergeant!" echoed three voices in the chorus.
Jo complained "Why does he go with the Scouts this time. Where is my fun then?"
"Touchdown in five minutes" Zero interposed, without any reaction on Jo's comment.
Dawn jumped up from the stairs and looked out of the grizzly's window into a busy night scene, from which advertising holograms for OpTech dazzled him with a new android fabrication. He left the quiet bridge and entered the crowded chaotic corridors, where the numerous command shouts echoed in his head. He squeezed through a line of simple infantrymen to get to exit 12 at the underside of the Grizzly, which was marked on his HUD.
"Dude, watch where you're going. Those guys from the Archetype think they're better than us," Dawn heard a burn-scarred man call out to him, whom he pushed aside unintentionally.
"I told you before, first they let us do the dirty work, and then they let us get the credit."
Dawn turned briefly but then decided to walk on without saying a word. To keep him from hearing the noise, he lowered the level of ambient sounds. He rushed through the hallways, finally arriving at a small folding hatch.
"Am I at exit 12?" Dawn asked a man from the ranks of the Reconnaissance Scouts.
"Yes, you are" stuttered a chubby man standing close beside him in the dark room. He hadn't put his helmet on yet and beads of sweat were running from his forehead.
"Put on your armor or you will die," Dawn told him unmistakably.
"Yes, I know, but it's so stuffy under there and I am sweating and..."
"Please," Dawn said, "It could happen at any moment now."
The man awkwardly put on his helmet with Dawn helping him
"Thank you. I guess there's no going back now."
An announcement blasted through the Grizzly, and red lights flashed alarmingly. Dawn saw the increased vital signs of the soldiers in full readiness and went into fighting pose. "Opening doors in 10...9...8"
The soldier next to him breathed heavily through his helmet and looked around in irritation as the countdown inevitably proceeded. Dawn had no idea what was waiting for him outside.
*** Do they expect it? Or can we just run over them? ***
His neuro feed kept quiet. Everyone was completely silent until the moment of landing. The Grizzly touched down with a rumble. Paralyzed, some soldiers stood motionless, while others ran through the rattling door. The corporals of the scout squads shouted, " Forward, move!"