With a bright flash of light, Luther disappeared from the dark space.
When he opened his eyes to look around, he realized that he had been sent to the time right before Yoselin stopped the desert buggy.
'We're here.' Yoselin cleared her throat and pulled to a stop. Ahead was what seemed like a rocky enclave with hills of brownish red rock.
On top of one of the hills was a huge metal construct like a tripod, occasionally flashing with red light. With how large it was, it was impossible to miss it.
Rebels clad in grey and brown combat suits surrounded it, busily tinkering with the tripod legs and other equipment Luther had never seen before.
Naz though, gritted his teeth in rage. 'Bastards! Don't tell me they want to mine here too?!'
'Hmm, the speech is still the same as before…' Luther mused inwardly.
This time though, he didn't bother asking what kind of machine it was as Naz himself proceeded to explain what he thought it was.
'Squad, we have to stop the rebels. That machine over there is called a Seeker. Just like its name, it's used to search for energy mines or places with high concentration of aether.'
The squad members' eyes turned red with fury.
How dare the rebels mine so brazenly even when they knew their actions were destroying the planet?
'Do they value profits that much over their lives or are they just plain stupid? We've cleared like seven of their camps already and killed thousands of rebels but more of these idiots keep showing up!' Qana frowned.
These rebels were really impudent!
Naz cracked his knuckles though. 'Saves us the time of hunting them down one by one. Squad, you know what to do. Attack!'
Luther though wasn't going to watch for the squad to rush to their death again.
'Captain, everyone, wait!' Luther called out.
Everyone in the squad turned to look at him, wondering why he was going against the captain's orders.
Naz frowned and turned to Luther, his gaze unfriendly. 'After all I said back in the desert buggy, you've gone soft?
It is our duty to kill all the rebels!
I'm disappointed in you, Luther. I thought you understood the situation at stake and were willing to help defend our planet.'
Luther shook his head. 'No captain, it's not like that. What if it's a trap?'
The squad members exchanged glances and burst out into laughter.
'You're overthinking, Luther. We've cleared many rebel camps and outposts all throughout the month. They're all untrained; there's no need to make plans to deal with rats like this,' Qana sneered.
The rebels weren't even united apart from being untrained.
The only reason why they had banded together was because of their greed and their belief in strength in numbers.
Most of them were not Espers; they had been ordinary citizens who had been lured by others to join in the money rush.
What harm could they possibly do?
Fubar nodded and chimed in, 'It's as Qana has said, Luther. This is just your second mission so you're not used to this. Just follow our lead.'
Luther resisted the urge to pull his hair and yell.
Why were they so adamant and stubborn?
How much effort did it take to make a battle plan before attacking a rebel outpost?
Taking deep calming breaths, Luther decided to change his approach. As his healing powers were invaluable to the squad, he could change his method and convince them to make a plan.
'With all due respect, captain and squad members, please humor me this once. It's not like the rebels can away.
Let's make a plan and scout like a true military unit for once.
If the situation is like you say it and the rebels are no threat, I'll be the first to charge in every time,' he pleaded.
Naz scratched his bright red hair in thought and finally replied, 'Alright.'
It didn't hurt to give it a try, right?
Like Luther had said, there was nowhere the rebels could run. Luther's request wasn't too excessive; it wasn't a problem to deal with the rebels like that for the mission.
Happy that his advice had been taken, Luther decided to press his advantage. 'Let's first shoot down their 'Seeker'. That should be possible, right?'
Fubar nodded. 'This distance isn't a problem. I can easily destroy it from here.
Qana though grumbled. 'Still, I don't see the need for all this fuss. We should be charging in, waving our scimitars!'
The squad gave Fubar space even as he mounted his sniper rifle on a high patch of desert ground.
*BANG!
He took aim and fired!
A blue flash of light lit up his muscle as the round squarely struck the head of the tripod, shaking it but not destroying it.
Fubar frowned and looked up. 'Hm?'
How was that possible?
He knew the power of his electromagnetic sniper rifle very well; there was no way a Seeker could tank a shot from him!
Something was wrong.
Qana narrowed her eyes and looked at the rebel outpost which had suddenly been stirred into frantic action, like a nest of disturbed ants.
'Fubar, have you gone rusty? Why's the Seeker still standing?' Yoselin asked.
'I don't know. I fired an explosive round just now. The Seeker should be a smoldering wreck but somehow it's still standing,' Fubar shook his head.
He hadn't fired a normal bullet at the Seeker.
Wanting to completely destroy it, he had fired an incendiary bullet, which should have made the Seeker go up in flames and an intense explosion.
Inexplicably, it showed no sign of damage, apart from the momentary shake.
Realizing that his squad were now taking the situation seriously, looking at the Seeker with solemnness, Luther decided to strike while the iron was hot.
'I don't think that's a Seeker!'
'Bullshit! Kid, I know a Seeker when I see one. That thing over there, no matter how tanky it is, is still a Seeker! Probably enforced with durasteel or another strong material,' Naz frowned.
Fubar though shook his head. 'Cap, the kid's got a point. No Seeker, reinforced or not, can block an incendiary round and even prevent an explosion.
Something's wrong with that machine!'
'All this time we're wasting wondering whether that hunk of metal is a Seeker or not, wouldn't we find it out if just stormed the rebel camp?' Qana face palmed in exasperation.
Luther resisted the urge to wring his hair in his hands.
Yoselin had told him a joke about the Quill race; their patience was just as short as their hair. It was absolutely right.
If he didn't find a way to prove it was a trap, the squad was going to charge to their deaths again.
But how?