"Sir! Teams Alpha, Beta, and Charlie are suited up and ready to move out!"
"Good. Get them out there ASAP. Had Echo gotten the PT ready yet?"
"Yes Sir!"
The guard responds, handing a device the size of a cellphone to Ambrose before taking off. Ambrose flips it open. It shows a radar, a dot flashes about two clicks North-East. He closes it and places it in his vest pocket. Then it was time for him to get suited up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Once he had his suit on and his gun ready and loaded, he meets up with squad Alpha at the cave exit.
"Let's move put. You know your objective, don't forget it."
He's met by a chorus of
"Yes Sir!"
The surface is pitch black except for the small bit of moonlight that peeks through the gas and a small light in the distance, too far to see clearly. Ambrose pulls out the device, the dot is only a little more than a click and a half away.
"Stay together everyone."
He yells before entering the long grass. It was about three hours till sunrise when Alpha squad reached the end of the tall grass. Kharaneae roam the clearing, making rumbling and low growling noises as they pass each other. Ambrose was unsure how many there were, it was too dark to see more than five or six feet ahead. The fire they saw earlier had been put out, Eli was close, he knew it. But they couldn't confront them here, that would be suicide. Everyone tries their hardest not to make a sound as the couch in the grass, one wrong move, and they'd all be dead meat.
~~~~~
It was about two hours till sunrise when Ambrose's radio crackled to life, a lot louder than expected.
"Alpha squad, this is Beta squad. Do you copy? Over."
A Kharaneae whips its head in their direction. Ambrose takes out his radio, turning the dial on the down, watching the Kharaneae for any sign that it knows they're there. They all hold their breath.... The Kharaneae approaches the grass a little to the left of Ambrose and starts to sniff about, the soldier beside him starts to tremble, his armor plates clinking together. The sound alerts the Kharaneae and it screams, alerting all the others nearby.
"Fall back!"
Ambrose yells, raising his gun. He shoots the Kharaneae in the head yet it barely affects it, but it gives him enough time to get a running start.
"Get to point Beta!"
He yells, looking back to see if anyone was still behind him. In the air was a flailing body, the soldier was screaming but it was already too late to help him. A Kharaneae bits down on him as he falls and Ambrose could hear the crunching of his bones as he went silent, dead. Though he could not see it happen, he heard this repeat multiple times, gunshots ring out followed by deathly screams, and if they were close enough, the shattering of their bones as they died. He had lost seven of his thirty-five people on his team by his count, probably more. They were too spread out to take down any of the Kharaneae with the firepower they have. They had to meet up with Beta squad at the forest where they could hold a defensive position using the cover of the trees. More screams fill the air as he emerges from the grass, Beta squad has set up a defensive position in the distance, they just needed to reach it. As other soldiers shoot out of the grass they pause to look at Ambrose for further directions.
"Go! Go! Go! Get behind Beta squad!"
Quickly they take off again huffing, most have faces plastered with fear, a few have been coated by the blood of their comrades. Ambrose retreats as well as soon as the first Kharaneae near the edge of the grass. He runs as hard as he can, heading straight for where Beta is currently.
"Fire!"
Yells the Beta squad leader and bullets fly over Ambrose's head, piercing the Kharaneae's hard skin. The large guns carried by Beta squad are loud as they continuously fire, till the Kharaneae screams a retreat call, escaping back to their nest injured.