Inside the cramped VTOL, the engine's steady hum barely masked the tension that hung in the air. Liam sat in silence, his chest heaving as he tried to calm his ragged breathing.
Around him, the remaining soldiers of his team treated each other's wounds, their faces tight with anger and disbelief.
"What happened?" Colonel Severin's voice crackled over the comms, sharp and biting. "I ordered you to save the human subjects, not engage the enemy."
"Save the human subjects?" one soldier spat, indignant. "They were the enemy! Those things tried to tear us apart!"
"Yeah!" another soldier chimed in, his arm slashed and hastily bandaged. "You sent us in there to save lives, but with what? Not enough force, not enough weapons! Now no less than a dozen of our comrades are dead because of it!"
