Has it been confirmed that the core of the anomaly was still on that planet?
Not really. The specifics of the request never mentions the core. Since this was a private request, only the Captain and his Adjutants actually met with the requester. So even the rest of command was still in the dark about this single determining fact.
However, the personal briefing we got had solidified that fact. So there was indeed a leftover anomaly core inside Deronia's former colony capital, which bears the same name as its host planet.
Thus, it leads back to the previous question.
Why would you just leave it there?
Its not like you could just miss it, or the core hiding from you. There have been some examples of anomaly cores suppresing their influence, which hides it from observation. But, this certain anomaly, the City of Tolling Bells, has been confirmed not to be a core of that peculiar nature, a Shadow Core, more oftenly referred to.
If extraction was impossible, why not complete destruction?
There was a high chance that something acted as an obstacle to its complete destruction.
Inept cores, when simply left around, will remanifest its original anomaly. It could be in a month, years, decades, or sometimes in a week. Which is why they're usually relocated into controlled areas, or planets, for safe-keeping and 'harvesting'. This area would commonly be referred to as a Controlled Anomaly Zone, or COA Zone for short.
Its uh... Kind of like the dungeons from certain webnovels in my previous life.
Of course, its not like mercenaries usually get the chance to enter these areas. These zones are highly controlled and restricted by its governing power. For security reasons, COA zones would commonly have a naval fleet stationed around it, together with a massive battlestation capable of pulverizing enemy ships from the edge of a solar system.
Anyways, its quite clear that there was definitely going to be something acting as an obstacle in our way. The Captain and his Adjutants knew this, which is why our plans were designed with safety first in mind. The Captain, being the hulking mass of muscle that he is, was actually quite smart, which is quite contradictory to his appearance. Smart oni's were also rare amongst themselves.
'Will it be worth it, I wonder?'
Of course, extracting an anomaly core wasn't hard. Well, if it had just re-awakened a couple of days ago. Subsequent reawakenings after its first death causes the core to have a much more slower buildup. It's a well-studied fact amongst all cores. The signal was detected about 6 days ago, so it was estimated that its influence has still not reached its prime. At most, it would be about 50 percent of its power.
Of course, if it is confirmed that it was only at about 50 percent, a complete retreat would immediately be called out. 50 percent of a power that once overtook an entire star system? Nope.
"Combat undersuit, flashlight, magnetic strap-on pouches, combat knife, all good."
I was currently prepping my equipment in my room.
"Lets see-"
On the table, there seemed to be a piece of gear looking like an offshoot of a knights chestpiece and a military vest, with an overall futuristic tone. It was slim, with an outer layer made out of bullet resistant and laser resistant material. It looked like a black carapace, with some attachments on its bottom part to hold some pouches. That, was just the vest of a Cylekk Arms Viper Armor.
It costs about like, 500000? Very expensive. Of course, it was high-end military gear, which meant it had a couple of features that normal suits wont have.
I connected a small equipment onto the right shoulder attachment point. Fiddling around a bit on its screen, the armor changed its colour from black to a woodlands camo scheme.
Active camo was one of its features. Aside from that, it also had thermal masking, which was very helpful. Of course, it has to come with a thermal-masking suit aswell, or you'll just end up looking weird on thermals.
It's been about nearly one and a half days since that private briefing from the Captain. Right now, we had just finished the normal briefing for everyone in Command. Everyone was getting ready and prepping up, because in 5 hours, the operation would finally commence.
'I guess equipment's all good to go.'
Satisfied, I started putting on my gear.
There was also one piece of equipment that was as special to me as my sniper and magic pen.
It looked like a blank mask with hexagonal patterns all over it, which would cover one's entire face when worn. A bit too bulky for a mask, but not to the point where it would get uncomfortable. When holding it, it felt like it had no weight at all. Even now, I still didn't know what kind of materials were used when making this thing.
This was definitely the most expensive piece of equipment I own. It was a product of both magic and technology, a very rare Magitech equipment used for combat and surveillance.
I put it on my face, and felt it constrict a bit as I heard sounds coming from the mask.
Beeping noises, whirring noises, for the few seconds that it was occurring, the mask expanded to cover my entire head. It now became my headgear.
"Verified Biological Signatures."
Inside the mask, or I guess should I say helmet, orange words popped up from inside the mask.
"Initializing OISS."
And, then my view suddenly cleared up, showing me the sight of my room.
"Sub-systems initializing."
In just half a second, various indicators and statuses like my heartbeat, temperature, wind direction and its flow speed, and even G-force popped up on my screen, showing a neat yet tidy interface.
The constricting feeling had already dissapeared, replaced with a cool and comfortable feeling in my head.
'Whoever designed an AC magic circle in this was a genius.'
This gear was once considered the pinnacle of sniper equipment in the black market 50 years ago.
Kjerlikkon Magic - VIPER Advanced, Optical Imaging Scouting System.
The magic tool that allowed a person clueless about guns to instantly become a veteran sniper, and in turn makes a veteran sniper become a superhuman with unbelievable accuracy.
Combining both magic and advanced technology, it produced a crystal clear view without any obstruction or errors whatsoever, paired together with advanced scouting and surveillance abilities, it even had trajectory calculation that had a margin error of 0.000001%.
It costs about- 100 million credits in the market right now. Hell, you can't even get this in the market, and even if you did buy it in the black market, you're probably going to get alot of attention on your tail.
It was something precious to me, and close to my heart. I wouldn't trade for it even if someone offered 1 trillion credits. Not like anyone would. Why?
Because this was an item handed over to me by my predecessor, one of my trainers, and the only one I respected besides the Captain.
The previous Phantom, of whom I carry his title now, was the only person I truly considered as a father.
His legacy had been inherited by me, and of course, as to pay back his kindness in full, I didn't hold back and became the new Phantom.
Thats me. I, Cerr Rei, not really my real name, consider Phantom as my true name. Even if its just a codename. After all, as a weapon carefully 'raised' by the Captain, I find it much more fitting.
Ding~ Dong~
There was a sound coming from the ceiling. Kind of sounded like the beginning to a pilot's broadcast.
"General Announcement. Fleet exiting warp in 30 seconds."
The announcer was just the ship's AI, with a robotic female like voice.
"Destination, Deronia Orbit."
"Operation in 4 hours, 36 minutes, and 57 seconds."
"All Platoon Leaders and 2iC's after warp exit, are to report to their Battalion Leaders for unit tasking."
"Warp exit in 5..."
"4..."
"3..."
Well, even if you're going to count down, its not like the warp exit is going to be anything dramatic.
"1..."
Right after the announcement, there was just a slight vibration that happened across the hull.
Future technology had already mitigated a substantial amount of warping hazards, so its not like you had to strap yourself in a seatbelt when entering warp.
Ding~ Dong~
The announcement ended.
Beep!
There was a notification from the tablet.
Checking it I saw who it was that messaged me.
New - Lieutenant Cobo: Come to Hammer Squad Armory, urgent!!!! (unread)
I replied.
Lieutenant Cerr: What is it?
Lieutenant Cobo: Bro, you gotta help me!
Lieutenant Cerr: ?
Lieutenant Cobo: Ondez is after me!!!
Lieutenant Cerr: Who is Ondez?
Lieutenant Cobo: How about yo u go get ondez nutzzzzzz-
Lieutenant Cerr: Is this your pathetic excuse at trying to become funny?
Lieutenant Cobo: Doesnt excuse the fact that I still got you-
Lieutenant Cerr: Can you just get to the point?
Lieutenant Cobo: Picked your 10 yet?
Lieutenant Cerr: No. You?
Lieutenant Cobo: Same. Wanna random choose from 7th Battalion? They're just support this time.
Lieutenant Cerr: Whatever.
Lieutenant Cobo: Kay, meet me in armory at 10.
I closed the tablet and put it back on its place. The armory Cobo was talking about was naturally Hammer Squad's own armory, which was separate from all other armories.
Exiting my room, I headed towards the armory in full gear.
"Yo, Cherry."
As soon as I was about to turn left, there was a voice calling me from behind.
I knew who that was. I turned around to face him, and sure enough it was the face of my neighbour.
Dark red hair and red eyes, a striking and aggresive appearance.
"Kors?"
That was Korsik Ken. Hammer Squad member and our demolitions expert. He has the codename of 'Bomberman'. And true to his name, he has explosions as his fetish and constantly plays around with grenades and rockets in the armory. He's an explodomaniac, a word that I made up years ago to describe- this person.
"Looking cool dude, why not stick a few C4 around yourself to make it even cooler?"
That would make it even more hotter. Too hot infact, that I would literally die.
Before I could even reply, Korsik walked closer to me and spoke back to me again in a hurried whisper.
"Hey man, isn't there anyway you can- y'know, inscribe a triple hellfire spell on some of my rocket ammo?"
"Don't you already have four rockets that have those?"
"Ah, well, you know, four isn't enough for me... I'd probably just waste it in like, 30 minutes of the mission."
A rocket round inscribed with three hellfire spells would be the equivalent to a rocket that has the incendiary properties capable of razing an entire neighbourhood down into the ground. The crater from the three hellfire spells triggering would be as big as a basketball field.
"Haaaa... No time. Inscribing a single hellfire spell takes an hour."
And he wanted me to inscribe three times on a single rocket round thrice?
"Alright fine, I didn't expect you to do it anyways."
Why even try then?
"I'd like to say 'meet you down in the ground', but sadly we're going in separate locations this time."
"Well, theres a chance we might meet up in the middle."
"You know I'd rather that not happen."
If we had to meet up with the main division, that either meant we had already completed our side of the mission. Or-
Something had gone very wrong.
The complexity of human decisions and the unknown of the anomaly. All of that tangling with each other means nothing can ever go right. Our orders from the Captain was simple.
If there is any danger capable of eliminating your unit, immediately retreat.
Since the briefing for Command had already concluded, the others knew what we were up to. Of course, only me, Cobo, and the Captain knew the specifics.
"You're going to the Armory, right? Lets go together."
"Sure."
Since we had the same destination in mind, I decided to go together with him, as to why he wasn't in his gear yet? Well, considering the nature of his equipment, it would be a hassle to put all of it in his room.
We talked to each other while on the way, and while talking, the occurence of soldiers saluting and going back to their duties was a common sight. We had Lieutenant as our ranks, and the ranking system for the mercenary group went all the way until Captain. Below was Adjutant, and below that was Lieutenant.
There were only 37 Lieutenants in the group, accounting for every person in Hammer Squad, the Brigade Leaders, and certain logistical and operational personnel.
Ranks such as these weren't universal for mercenaries. Depending on the group, it might be different. For ours, we used the Union's ranking for it. Except for Adjutant and some ranks in between. It's both to keep a militaristic air, and as a sign of respect for the Federation.
'We've arrived.'
In front of us was the door leading to Hammer Squad's personal armory. It was a large metal door, easy enough for the Captain himself to fit in. Beyond this door, lay personal equipment for Hammer Squad members. I also had some equipment myself to take here.
Those types of equipment were either unconvenient, too large, too bulky, or too dangerous to be kept inside private quarters.
The door automatically slid open. On top of it was a small camera. Its red light was active, constantly monitoring the room outside. It was controlled personally by the AI, and after verifying our identities, it would automatically open the door to the Armory.
There was also an emergency fingerprint scanner, just in case the AI goes rogue, somehow.
The door slid open to reveal a large and spacious room filled with segments. Large metal grates seperated them, and inside those segments were personal equipment used by their owners. On the floor, numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on until 12 were painted in white. The area between the segments was quite spacious, wide enough to fit a sedan, and almost as tall as a double-decker bus. It was quite spacious, enough to fit most military equipment, aside from the most heaviest ones, or things like vehicles.
Personal vehicles were stored in the Command Bay.
Aside from that, when I went inside I was immediately greeted by his mug. Smiling slightly as if his face was stuck with that expression on default.
"Finally, you're here." He said.
"Oh, Cobo, you're still here?" said Korsik.
"Man, you brought him as well? Should've told you to go alone."
"Ahaha, sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"We were about to initiate something very private.... Very personal. You could say it's a very precious endeavour."
"Precious my ass, we're just about to choose who gets into our squad."
"Is it not precious at all? After all, if we choose the wrong grunt, we might get killed."
"Sigh, you know they're just gonna amount to those NPC's from shooter games at best, right?"
"Wait, you guys haven't chose your squad yet?" Korsik interrupted us a bit, as if he was worried.
"Too lazy, plus Captain didn't specify when to form it exactly."
"See right there, as expected of the second most laziest member of our squad!" Cobo interjected, as if to make fun of me at every moment available.
Aren't you also at fault?
'Well, I'm not too worried. Besides, it's just a small recon mission.'
Of course, even then, anything can happen. Maybe that one small mission can wipe us out. Which is why we still have to focus even on the ground.
No matter what you do, even if you plan it perfectly from the ground up, anything can still go wrong.
'Of course, we're still at fault anyways, but it's no big worry.'
We still had more than four hours. We can still make up for time with a small briefing.
'Hmm? Someone else is still here, 6th section-'
"You two sure have all of the time in the world just to mess around." a cold female voice came from the far side of the room.
I was about to say, its her, but yeah- Aside from me, Cobo, and Korsik, the other child that was trained together with us since childhood.
"It's like you two are oil and water, stuck together in an enclosed bottle."
The cold and expressionless blonde-haired Helene, the combat mage with a toxic tongue.
"How about you two scram and do what you're supposed to do, before you compromise the entire operation?"
The specialized combat mage of our part- no, squad. The prodigious and talented Helene.
'Codename Harbinger.'
Whether it was magical artillery, close combat magic spells, or platoon-wide rejuvenation, healing, and even buffs?
She was able to do all of this and even more.
"Young Miss Helene! You finally responded!"
So these two were in here together. And of course this guy wanted to get her attention.
"..."
"Sheesh, its rude not to respond you know-"
Clang!
The sound of metal hitting metal resounded throughout the entire area.
Helene had tried to struck Cobo with her magestaff. Cobo, had barely dodged by leaning his body 70 degrees to the right. Of course, he still had that easy expression, as if he wasn't even fazed by it.
Yeah, if it wasn't obvious-
She's really angry now.
"Wow, young miss! Such strength- are you sure you're a maiden and not a b-
Swoosh!
"R-"
Wooosh!
"U"
Clang!
"Te?"
Wow, his face beaming as he dodges all of those staff strikes makes me really want to join in.
By the way, she swung that magestaff from the very edge with one hand, a magestaff that was more taller than her, as if it was a stick. Those things weigh more than 2 kilograms you know? He technically was kind of right.
"Shut it, lowlife, if you don't want to get blasted by a dozen heatseeking fireballs."
"Ahaha- of course, of course. My mistake, pretty lady."
Not giving him the joy of entertainment any longer, Helene walked towards me.
"Cerr. You said you'd never treat this person as a friend. And look at you now, you're literally just his partner most of the time."
She said with a slight pause while raising her eyebrows.
"Are you sure you two are just not gay?" She said with a genuinely worried expression.
Pffft! The guy next to me let out a burst of air, holding back his laughter with a trembling mouth.
The reaction of that person was even more exaggarated. Making hollow laughter and slapping his thighs as if it was a certain T*** F******* 2 emote.
Helene.
Even then...
Isn't that too much of an insult?
I sighed.
"Helene. You must be delirious if you think I'd fall that far. I just get caught up with him in missions a lot, that's all."
"Lately, you've been becoming more like him, playing small pranks alot."
"Those are just friendly jokes between me and some soldiers."
"I've heard from some soldiers that they've seen you and him going into restricted areas together."
Snort! Korsik could barely handle his laughter, putting his left arm on his mouth to stifle it.
That was him annoying the shit out of me, giving me no chance to escape.
'This motherfucker.'
I looked at him, and Cobo was simply showing a gleeful smile, as if he was on Cloud Nine or something.
Let me send this bitch up to Ceiling 10 with my fist.
"Look, you know him. Its either he annoys you for 2 hours, or you give in. Those were simply moments when I had no choice but to give in."
I sighed again.
"You shoud know better by now, Helene."
The girl whose green eyes barely reached my chin responded.
"Well, if you say so... But you shouldn't let his influence affect you. Sadly, it can't be helped since this time the Captain personally wants you both to act together."
Helene closed her eyes and simply walked to the exit of the Armory, together with her magistaff, a futuristic looking yet completely magical product designed for mages.
Shiiing-!
The door closed, together with a thump sound as its bolts secured it into place.
"Aaaaahhh! So kyute~~!! I'm melting!!!" Said Cobo.
Of course, this wasn't in reference to her appearance, but yet just another one of his gags.
"It's so obvious isn't it right, Korsik!"
Korsik only nodded in respond, showing a slight smile.
Cobo slung his arm over my shoulder and showed a bright smile.
"Don't worry my friend! I, Cobo, give you the blessing to marry my little sister!"
Yeah, this asshole was her brother. They were born from the same parent. Hence their hair and eye colour being the same.
"I'm generous, aren't I? Of course, you shouldn't forget about me, your brother!"
He stretched his arms on my face, forming an arc with his hands.
"After all, what did those grindset videos on SpaceTube say again? Ah yes, 'Relationships with women, sex with m-"
I knocked his head with my fist before he was able to finish that sentence.
"Knock it off already, you already pissed off your sister to the extent of her not even calling you brother."
When was the last time she called you brother?
"Ahaha- of course, we'll always stay siblings. But anyways, why don't you consider it, hmm?"
"So you can force me to call you brother-in-law? No way. Plus, she doesn't even have those kinds of feelings for me."
'Even without any powers, you as her brother should obviously know this.'
"Aw cmon, that feeling can easily tip over to love with just one word."
I imagined Helene in my mind.
'I get it, she's cute, talented, prodigious, capable. Marrying her would not be a mistake.'
Marriages inbetween mercenaries weren't common. But it wasn't rare. Sometimes even the largest mercenary groups support marriage between mercenaries.
It's a business, honestly. The children born as a result of these marriages would just immediately be taken in by the mercenary groups themselves. Not as child soldiers of course, but given opportunities that a normal child wouldn't be able to get. When they grow up to become adults, incentives would be given to join their parents mercenary group.
Is it illegal? No. It's kind of a gray zone loophole that many large mercenary groups usually take advantage of.
But anyways, even if I was interested, pursuing such a relationship with her would only turn out to be a failure. Why is that?
Guess who she treats more like her brother.
Anyways, both parties are clearly not interested. So nope.
"So you are thinking about it." Said Cobo.
"Fuck off." I replied in kind.