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D U L C E T
TASK FORCE NULL | OPERATION LUCEAT | MISSION PARVUS
L O H O P A II | EN ROUTE TO LT: -46.46724 | LN: 6.29873
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Soul eating machine — One
Maw technology — One
Maw technology that eats souls — One (But kind of cheating because that's a combination)
Celestial artefact — One
New Synthesised Mineral — One
Enemy technology they were commandeering — One
And if it was one box containing something, anything, that could destroy the darkside forever, then it wouldn’t have been this simple.
Would it?
It was almost an inconceivable notion. Almost, if her mother’s words hadn’t taught her so early on not to underestimate
any situation. Even now, she could hear the great admiral’s voice:
"Embrace being underestimated, love. That's the position where you can do the most damage."
Suddenly, the situation changed. In an instant, it became less simple. Verin’s warning gestures were the first of reactions to the ten dots that appeared across each member’s HUD.
In response, the team concealed themselves in the tree line.
Stay down everybody, weapons ready. We got drones looking around. Stay hidden, let them pass unless they fire on us. If they do, you're clear to engage. Use the trees as cover, they'll have a harder time flying in here than out there."
There was no time for her string of questions — Was there an
y chance those were standard-issued security drones? Maybe they were expecting Task Force Null, or someone like them? They had to meet someone and exchange a password, right?
“Maybe Mara’s right,” Cordé murmured to whoever was choosing to listen — although they weren't privy to her earlier thoughts.
“Maybe the asset retrieval's the easy part.” That was only half the mission.
She checked the chrono on her vambrace and frowned, watching after the droids and the drones' reactions to them. They might have been distracted, but now they were certainly aware of
someone else being in this forest. And
ten drones seemed to be a lot for standard security.
Light blue dawn-light started to yawn through the tree-tops. Frost glittered in response, sparkling for those witnessing the early hours of Lohopa II. Time was ticking on, and their visibility advantages were slipping away with the shadows.
They were less than one click from the facility.
<Not to keep the conversation going, but Chief,> she angled to look toward Agent Borra, <
Should we split up? Advance and cover?> She pointed in the general direction the drones had disappeared.
<They’re going to come back at some point, and we shouldn’t all be waiting for them. We’ve still got to get the asset.> As if to emphasise the necessity to split, she pointed now in the opposite direction where, about a hundred metres or so away, the facility was.