{12:54, 15/05/2024}
{Greny Burns POV}
As we passed through the city's square I couldn't help but glower at the agitated looks on the faces of the people around, watching as parents shielded children from our passing vehicles and youths yelling at the police as they tried resisting them from moving toward the rifts. Only a day after the negrons had come through the gate and our country was already falling apart.
We arrived at the exotic gate and stopped in order to get clearance from the chief so we could commence the mission. I looked at my watch to account for our time of departure and checked if the special comms device John had prepared was online.
"Zeta team, you're a go" A voice resounded from the responder close to the wheels.
That was the green light we waited for and with that we made our way through the rift but funny enough I didn't get any reaction from passing through the exotic gate even though I had expected something major to happen. The only thing I was able to record however was how my watch malfunctioned like as if the time had moved backwards for about three minutes, but I just glossed over that little detail.
At the moment what I was more concerned about was how the next two days would turn out. According to the administrators intel, the location of the blank orb- that controlled the rift -was in some sort of safe house about two days drive from our current location. If we were lucky this recon mission would only last us about five days assuming there were no interferences.
"The drones seem to be working fine but the special comms device doesn't seem to be transmitting any signal, Captain" Six muttered, staring hard at the controller in his hands.
He was in charge of our gadgets and he toyed with them as much as he could throughout the drive without losing concentration.
He was right about the comms device. No matter how much I tried contacting base it always remained static every single time, but I still remained calm because we had expected this to happen.
"Although the air's thin, it's still pretty much breathable. I guess that Z fluid or whatever must have been the reason, just like the scientist had predicted.". Jace spotted, inhaling as he peered outside the window. He really was quite observative and an awfully good listener. He remembered in detail, every meeting we had been on and even the details pertaining to this strange planet's orientation.
"Yeah, the topography of this world is very different from ours also. Its almost like it has undergone countless tremors and still manage to survive without showing signs of substantial wear and tear to the very-".
"There you go again spouting all this science stuffs, geez you're seriously gonna make my head implode". Jace sighed, cutting Ten off as he held his head in mockery.
Ten was the rather nerdy one and was easily mistook for being weak and vulnerable but she was by far one of the most dangerous one amongst us.
She had been in prison twice for attempted murder and was cleared the first time due to the corrupt practices of the judge who presided over her case.
And according to her file, on the first occasion she had stabbed her coworker in the neck who she reported to have been harassing her.
Our vehicle moved tirelessly through the rocky plain tracking as much dirt as possible while doubling it's pace outrightly. We drove for over six hours without noticing any signs of life in the entire environment and all our faces were already marked with confusion at this point.
"We'll set up camp besides that cave like structure at the end of this road." I pointed out, scanning the environment for any abnormalities before we parked.
Thanks to the drone, we were able to track our movements as well as that of anything that would approach us without fear of a surprise attack.
We also gained a vivid image of the places ahead and could make out the good camping spots without having to drive around effortlessly.
We would set camp for now, while assessing our current progress and discuss further plans concerning our future trips.
This was turning out to be very tedious on our very first day but there was still this unsettling feeling that we hadn't made contact with any life form ever since we made our way into this planet.
"Cross, ten, you'll be in charge of the fire. Jace, Nelly and Kate will offload our bags and equipments while the rest of you are with me. We're going to scout the nearest environment for signs of threats and possibly life." I commanded, laying emphasis on the latter part of my statement to stress how bothering it was for me.
After we were done scouting we sat to eat our evening rations that we heated over the fire. The night sky was very beautiful with purple linings interlaced with the stars spreading across space.
Their moon wasn't quite different from ours and the only noticable thing about it was that they had two present in their sky- with one a much darker grey.
A heavenly sight indeed.
It was almost like staring at the evening moons stirred up peace within one's self.
"The briefing, cap." Jace pointed out. He had a good shoulder on his head and not just metaphorically but also literally, he was a hunk of a man and a very reliable teammate and it was a little disheartening that I didn't get to work with him on any missions before now.
They formed a circle around each other but I remained standing alongside Jace and cross. I drew the territory we were in, on the ground according to how the pseudo map the scientist had shown us displayed.
I marked a spot at one end of the map with 'X' which showed our current location and marked another spot at the center of the map which showed where we were heading towards.
There were three routes leading to the blank orb but John advised against using the fastest one; something about it not being safe.
That however, left us with two more that I marked A and B after cancelling out the fastest route. If we took route A it would take us two and a half days before reaching our destination but with route B it would take us only about a day if we were able to maneuver our way through the rough plain
"We are currently six hours out and the ETA is around 33 hours. We are going to be picking up the pace by tomorrow and will also be using that marking device we were provided with. The plan is to be within reach of the main zone by nightfall tomorrow, any questions" I suggested, finishing the arch of the base on the ground.
"How about we split up so we could mark both route A and B since they were confirmed to be the safest routes" Kate remarked, speaking up for the first time in a while. Although I hadn't noticed earlier, she was quite the beauty.
Long glossy red hair that showed signs of proper care and a fair olive skine that made her look almost like a goddess in the evening glow.
"Hmm" I sighed, staring at her as she made her point and almost getting caught by her gaze in the event.
"Yh" she replied, almost sarcasticly as if she had caught my stare, but I just waved off the thought as mere speculation.
"I agree also" Six fronted, tugging Kate with her shoulder.
Generally, it wasn't a bad plan. Marking both roads would increase our knowledge of both routes so that when we came to sweep the orb's post, we wouldn't have issues switching routes if we were intercepted or spotted. But I still had an awful feeling about splitting our manpower because it could reduce our chances of survival by a lot
Although we were all skilled in reconnaissance, not all of us had received special combats training and with recent developments with our abilities it still would put us at a disadvantage if one party were to encounter a large horde of negrons
"It's gonna be safe captain, we all trust you will make the right decision" Jace concluded, noticing my tinge of worry and he tapped me on the shoulder gently.
"Yh, it's your call cap" They all chimed together.
'Maybe I'm just overthinking it'
Since they were all in agreement it was safe to say that it was a good option. Besides unanimously deciding on the matter would be far more advantageous in raising morale, rather that just spearheading it singlehandedly.
"Alright then, get some rest we leave in the morning" I demanded, ending the meeting.