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Chapter 4

last update Last Updated: 2020-11-26 19:25:01

The door of Forward Post-131 opened. The walls of the circular structure had no corners but it was big enough to house the modular radio and monitoring equipment inside. There were fifteen Protectorates from the Sons of Trident assigned to the post, but half of the detachment were missing.

Keron was greeted by a fellow Tier-4 Sergeant-Commissar, whom he also knew personally. She stepped aside to allow the Patrol Team to enter.

"Where's the rest?" Keron asked.

"Responded to an alert." She replied with thick Tritonite accent of the Isle-Dwellers. "But that was three hours ago."

"Still no word?"

"That's why we called you in." She replied.

Keron and his team stepped inside. His gaze went around the interior before settling it at his fellow Sergeant-Commissar, who approached the monitors at the farthest back of the room. They followed her.

"What's going on, Toran?" Keron asked. "I've never seen you so quiet before."

Toran grunted at the concerned response.

"Our brothers have deployed north-west from the Forward Post three hours earlier." She ignored his question. "At first, they were frequently checking in but when they have made contact with the anomaly, they went silent." She faced him. "I couldn't leave this place because no one would oversee my men and sending one of them out in the sands would be foolish and dangerous."

"It's been months, none of them were accustomed to V'rounian technology yet?"

"Damned if I know." Toran replied. "ADFs were good at manipulating these equipment. I do not know why we have to use these."

"But it seems like you have a good understanding of the equipment, just like Commander Farion." Razion interjected.

"That may be true, but I'd rather resort to our spirit-runes or living fires. We'd have a good chance of operating in full effectivity with that."

"Yeah," Keron laughed. "So I guess that's why you've called us?"

"Yes," Toran replied. "We need to find out what happened to them. Damned if I know, maybe they got swallowed by the shit pit."

Keron and Razion laughed. Vieron and Aran remained stoic, just like the rest of the Protectorates present.

"Always the filthy mouthed one." Keron said to Razion through private comms. "Anyway," he spoke, switching back to external speakers. "We're moving out to meet them. Where exactly are they?"

"Beacon F-89 was located at the north-western heading of the Forward Post. The beacon's signal would appear on your TacBracer," she pointed at the small screen embedded on Keron's right forearm. "It would be easy to locate."

Keron nodded as he pressed a button on the left side of his helmet, opening up a private channel with Toran.

"Test, test." He spoke. "Do you hear me clearly, brother?"

"Crystal clear, like the oceans of Triton, brother."

He switched back to external speakers.

"Alright, I'll keep in touch." He pulled the Type-3 Blast Rifle attached on his back. "Let's move out, brothers."

They turned towards the door and walked out one by one.

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  • Neon Desert   Chapter 5

    Dawn slowly breaks in the horizon as the first rays of the sun peeked from behind the mountains beyond. Keron watched the thermometer gauge of his display link to see the gradually increasing temperature. If he was a mortal with no protective suit, he would have fell sick because of the chilly wind that blew in the air.A portion of the green desert now became purple as the sun rose in the horizon. Pillars of sand flew as the passing wind carried them up. The grains battered against the plates of their armor while they walked. Aran momentarily looked behind to see the long trails they have left.Keron kept his gaze ahead, looking occasionally from left to right to check for immediate threats. He glanced at the screen of his TacBracer to see how close they are to the beacon. Seeing no difference in the grid, they continued.It was until they rose at the peak of a slope when they heard a noise in the distance. Keron held a fist up and crouched as he searched for t

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