*The Strategic Command will be cooperating with us in our mission. An SD4 Reaper Drone will be sent for recon and intel gathering. Our designated tag will be Alpha.*
In the two Vanguards following behind the leading one, the lieutenant's commands escaped the radio. The elite Sentinels nonchalantly nodded with the order, but the captured survivors were shocked.
Located in the central Vanguard of the convoy, the survivors glanced at one another after hearing the lieutenant's voice through the radio.
"Hey, was that a radio?"
One of the survivors gulped in anxiousness of what he was about to do. But as he was curious, he decided to be brave and questioned the Sentinel beside him.
Silence followed his questioning words before the elite Sentinel slowly turned his head towards the survivor with his glinting crimson-lensed gas mask.
The one survivor who asked the question became astounded and couldn't help but wonder if the soldiers in front of him were not humans but robots.
Though... His thoughts were answered when the elite Sentinel responded to his question.
"Yes, what about it?"
The voice of the elite Sentinel resembled that of a rough middle-aged man. There was no distorted mechanical voice that the survivor expected.
"Ah- Ehm... You see... Ever since the eclipse, radios have stopped working. Even when we tried repairing them or changing their components, they still wouldn't detect radio signals."
"So a working radio is a surprise. How did you make it work?"
The survivor asked, but the elite Sentinel merely shook his head and aloofly answered.
"Don't know, and don't care. I am not tasked to understand the complexities of how things work."
"My job is to escort, protect, and destroy."
The straightforward answer of the elite Sentinel created a tense atmosphere in the Vanguard. But it was broken when the elite Sentinel in the front seat decided to join the conversation.
"Don't mind him... That's how most of us talk when we're on a mission. Anyhow, what made you little guys survive in this darkness?"
When elite Sentinel spoke. He became the inquirer as he asked a sensitive question to the survivors. It's not like the Sentinels didn't care about the sensitivities of some things.
They merely don't care about the feelings of the survivors.
"Well... That question hurts, but there's nothing wrong about answering it."
While rubbing his head, the survivor understood the natural bluntness of the Sentinels and decided to answer their question. Besides, it has been a while since he told anyone about his stories.
As he was about to speak, he also noticed the worried expressions of his colleagues. He merely smiled at them as if saying that he was okay.
"Before the eclipse, I was a high school graduate of Torrington High School. I was about to enroll in college when the eclipse happened, and the sun disappeared."
"I don't really remember much afterward other than blood and gore. I remember the Imperium Military setting up roadblocks everywhere. News about shelters also scattered."
"While we were advised to head to other shelters, I stayed behind in Torrington to find my parents. Things were going well for the military until it didn't go well."
"Alarms and sirens rang in my head during that time. Screams, cries, and growls resounded throughout the darkness. Gunshots flickered while soldiers inevitably killed everyone on sight."
"I managed to hop on a truck, though it ended up with me abandoning my search. I knew I was lucky when I sat on that truck. After all, I could see others on the other side wanting to be evacuated."
"The evacuation trucks took off with a convoy of military vehicles. We were escorted through the highway and headed south. When we were about to reach our destination, we heard about the fall of Torrington."
"Everyone in the truck, and even soldiers, were dumbfounded. Luckily though... All hope was not lost since we got evacuated into the southern shelter."
"Hope Shelter."
"Thousands of survivors were protected by the military, and I remembered the small construction project they planned to do. Despite rations being a problem, the shelter wasn't as hopeless as the outside."
"But..."
Before the survivor could speak, the elite Sentinel on the front seat continued his words.
"It fell, right? I saw that shelter inside and out with my own eyes."
The survivor was shocked when he heard the words of the elite Sentinel. To have visited such a place must mean they have fought against thousands of aberrants.
"We investigated how it might have collapsed, but the environment was too unclear. Bullet holes were everywhere, and the area in front of the walls looked like a battlefield."
"Do you know what happened?"
As the elite Sentinel inquired, the survivor hesitated before sighing in sadness. Even the survivor himself couldn't believe how it fell.
"I-It all started three months after the eclipse. Survivors and remains of the military from Cheyenne flooded the south of Goshen County."
"From them, we discovered the true devastation brought by the aberrants. Even their heavily fortified city collapsed under the weight of survival and the pressure of aberrants."
"According to the Cheyenne Military, the Dominion Marquess died in the city. It was all because of a horde that originated from Denver. They flooded the north and consumed everything in their path."
"At that moment, I expected Goshen County to be devoured. But luckily, it was spared since we are all still alive now."
"But the problem had merely begun since the Cheyenne Military wanted to hand over our authority to them. We knew this was an invasion, so the Military of Hope Shelter didn't hesitate to initiate the battle."
"Despite the opponent being enormous than the Hope Shelter, we lasted for quite some time during the battle. Our walls became riddled with holes, but we didn't stop."
"With the help of survivors, we manage to get a stalemate against a superior force. Unfortunately, though, it ended when a horde from the south penetrated Goshen County."
"Both the exhausted factions were consumed, and we had to evacuate."
"The evacuation didn't do well since both sides were still fighting while the aberrant horde attacked. So, a bloody massacre occurred on both sides."
"I barely survived because someone was willing to sacrifice themselves for me."
The elite Sentinel calmly listened to the young survivor while also recording it. Such information would be helpful for Cerberus, especially when taking account of particular events.
"I see... Thank you for being honest with me. You must have gone through a lot to survive in this darkness."
There was some truth in the elite Sentinel's words. These survivors weren't people living in luxury and safety, but humans who were forged by the eternal night.
He understood their strength the most, and that was overcoming improbable adversities.
When the young survivor heard the words of the elite Sentinel. He only wryly smiled and became quiet. Just as the survivor had said, it had been a while since he had spoken about his past.
It was painful to speak of it again, but it also gave the survivor some relief. After all, he wanted to tell others what he had gone through to stand before them.
The metallic confines of the Vanguard continued to rumble as it drove through the rough expressway leading southward. This wasn't the first time the survivors rode a vehicle, but they noticed the differences.
One clear difference was the excellent stability of the Vanguard. Even though it quivers in rough terrains. It does it better than most vehicles. Otherwise, they would be swaying right to left.
Despite the survivors being captured by jet-black soldiers wearing crimson-lensed gasmasks, they felt unnaturally calm. While the Sentinels were cold, they didn't emanate an aura of viciousness.
In simpler terms, they were soldiers, not monsters pretending to be soldiers.
With this in mind, the survivors of the two Vanguards felt the upcoming change that would cover the entirety of Goshen County. And they discern it pointing in a brighter direction.
So, it made them slightly look forward to the future.
Back to the leading Vanguard, the lieutenant calmly gazed forward into the darkness of the wasteland. Only the gleaming forward lights of the Vanguard could be seen.
Ever since he was summoned by the Director, such was the general sight he would always see. It made him understand that humanity was trusted into a fate worse than death.
A destiny in which they would forever be covered in darkness shrouded in the eternal night.
But before Lieutenant Bet could continue thinking about it, the communicator blinked, and a communication line opened.
*This is Strategic Command. What is your status?*
A cold voice sounded out from the communicator.
"Status is clear. Alpha Team is heading to the designated destination."
*Understood, I am Officer John, and I will be your handler in this operation.*
*The SD4 Reaper Drone is nearing its reconnaisance target. As said before, it will be providing you intelligence. It will also support you if negotiations fail.*
*My duty in this operation will be assisting you in diplomacy with the survivors. As such, I will be connecting directly to your ear-head communicator.*
*The goal for this mission is for you to gather personal intelligence of the targets and direct their shelter's classification in our data. So whether they exist or not will depend in your answers.*
*I believe you will do well, Lieutenant Bet. May the Director be with you.*
"Thank you, Officer John. May the Director also be with you."
Lieutenant Bet didn't know what the last words of the Officer meant. But for some reason, it sounded good, so he followed without hesitation.
*I'll open communication when the Reaper arrives. Be careful.*