Eve and her squad sat in the fuselage of a phantom hawk stealth transport helicopter, their arctic white camouflage stark against the silver-grey interior. Each squad member carried their new rifles and gear, which kept them warm in the almost subzero conditions of the uninsulated interior of the helicopter- except Specialist Corporal Taeyeon, who carried her DMR and PDW.
Also aboard were Team One of the Seaward Wolves, led by Isa Nymera, as well as the First Squad of Platoon Six, commanded by another Sergeant. Everyone sat ready- masks extended, visors down, hoods up.
Eve held her breath and watched as Alpha Team's helicopter received clearance and lifted off, disappearing into the swirling snow like a ghost, bound for the uncertainty of the Asphodelians' Cold Weather Outpost Four.
- - -
[30 minutes later]
The seconds ticked by like hours until eventually after what felt like eternity Eve heard lieutenant Nia's voice crackle over the communications channel.
"Command, Bravo, check, over."
Eve quickly responded. "Bravo team lead, command. Good check, over."
"Command, Bravo. Begin weapons check, helicopter to start warmup. Confirm, over."
Eve breathed out slowly. "Bravo team, Command. Good copy. Out." Eve tapped her helmet to switch to team comms, where she could be sure that all her teammates could hear her. "Bravo team, this is your team lead. Weapons, show clear."
The cabin clanked with the sound of bullpups and other firearms being cleared.
"Check."
The sound of bolts clacking filled the helicopter as each operator slid their bolt back and forth, verifying that it worked without any flaws before inserting magazines and letting their firearms chamber a round. Eve, now familiar with her new bullpup, did the same, and after finishing she gave a thumbs up to the pilot and copilot seated in the cockpit.
The phantom hawk's rotors started turning slowly before becoming a blur, and the thrum of the blades resonated through the cabin. The helicopter remained like this on standby until-
"Command, bravo. Takeoff clearance is go, you are clear to take off."
Eve and her team heard their pilot respond through their helmets. "Bravo team, Command. Roger that." Slowly and dreadfully, the Phantom Hawk lifted off of the helipad and Eve watched the silhouette of MOB 7 fade below her into the snow as the helicopter pulled up and away, speeding through the snowstorm towards Cold Weather Outpost Four.
After maybe 10 minutes of flight, the helicopter started coming in to land. Peering through the window of the helicopter, Eve could barely see if not for her visor's enhanced visuals. The visor's enhanced vision diminished the clutter of the snowstorm, allowing her to see as if it were simply raining.
Eve signalled for her team to prepare to disembark, and they all shouldered their rifles. Eve breathed out heavily. It's go time.
The helicopter landed roughly in the crunchy snow, its downdraft kicking up a snowstorm of its own as it set to the ground. The doors slid open.
"Everyone out!" Eve and her team quickly left the phantom hawk from both sides, fanning around the helicopter, with First Squad exiting from the starboard while the TRACE team as well as the Seaward team exiting from the port side. Immediately Eve was buffeted by the howling and biting arctic wind while snow plastered her combat suit.
Luckily, her combat suit kept her warm and allowed her to move with relative ease, even under these conditions.
As per standard procedure, the team dropped prone surrounding the helicopter, scanning for any possible threats. Eve performed a quick mental head count and scan before declaring to the pilot that everyone had left the helicopter.
"Last man out," Eve called over comms. The communication channels were life savers, as the helmet muted the sound of the wind and allowed for perfectly clear communication between the teams.
"Copy that." The pilot gave Eve a thumbs up, and Bravo team lay prone, fanned out on either side of the phantom hawk like a pair of wings as the helicopter rose up and away, the sound of its muted rotors fading into the distance.
Eve and her team stayed prone until the helicopter was well away. Then, Eve stood and issued her first order for the operation: "Stand up, let's move. TRACE will take point, followed by Seaward. Squad one will bring up the rear." Bravo team followed her orders silently. Eve made sure to keep an eye on Vian. Seo took point, followed by Vian, then Eve, then Taeyeon. Behind Taeyeon, Isa stood at the point of her team, and MOB 7's Squad one followed closely behind with their Sergeant leading.
"Keep an eye out- we should come in contact with Alpha team within two klicks." This meant that they should roughly meet up with Alpha squad in two kilometers. The reason behind the distancing was to keep the teams as scattered as possible to avoid detection before they met up.
They walked in silence through the snowstorm. Eve and a couple others switched to thermal vision, and as Eve scanned the environment while she walked. The snow of the frozen wasteland crunched under their feet.
There were no trees or vegetation, just plain, flat terrain dotted in shell craters and covered in a heavy blanket of snow. In the distance she could also make out some ruined buildings, but they were far too sparse for a city; Eve presumed that it was a small village that had been evacuated during the Asphodelian advance. Eve and her team clambered in and out of shell craters and skirted to whatever cover they could such as large rocks that were covered in sheets of white, peppering the landscape.
Eventually, Eve picked up a lighter dot of luminosity through her thermal vision. She signalled the team to halt, and they did, shouldering their rifles and scanning their surroundings. Eve looked closer and noticed that there was actually a sparse line of these dots.
She called out over comms. "Bravo team, this is Alpha. We should be approximately one hundred meters"- she checked her bearings- "west of your position. Please identify and confirm. Over."
She was met with a quick response. "Alpha team, Bravo. We read you loud and clear. We confirm you west to our position, over."
"Copy. Moving now. Out." She signalled for her team to stand, and approached Alpha team. Eventually, they reached the ring and the rest of her team realized what she had been heading towards.
Visible thanks to their enhanced vision the ghostly silhouettes of Alpha team, kneeling, appeared out of the blizzard in front of Eve and her team. Eve approached and was met by Alpha team's commander, Tech Sergeant Wynn, who stood roughly half a head's height shorter than Eve. They stepped forwards to report. Their voice was surprisingly high, like a teenager.
"Alpha team has secured the perimeter, and hasn't made enemy contact. We have seen no signs of enemy movement, nor has overwatch."
Eve nodded respectfully. "Thank you, Tech Sergeant. We'll move now. Spec Corporal Taeyeon, if you could keep an eye out, please."
"Good luck."
"Thank you." Eve set out with Bravo team past Alpha team's protective cordon, heading towards the location of Cold Weather Outpost four, marked as a waypoint in the distance.
- - -
Bravo team slowed to a crawl as the looming structure of the Asphodelian's Cold Weather Outpost Four emerged from the howling wind: a weathered building, once well built and fortified. The building itself was painted white to blend in with the snow, but by now it was grey, wartorn with bullet and shrapnel dents, and becoming red with rust.
Spotlights shone through the haze, and lights could still be seen flickering in the building, which itself was huge- easily twice the size of a large high school or around the size of Capital University's Developmental Tech laboratories.
Eve took a cursory glance at the outpost while they approached carefully. Looks like command's suspicions could be correct, Eve thought.
Either it was abandoned recently - which doesn't seem to be the case by the condition of the place - or someone is still here, keeping those electrical generators up and running. It's also much, much too large to be an actual outpost, Eve noted. At this size, I wouldn't be surprised if they housed an entire battalion here. Looking for information might take a while…
The remains of sandbags, large shipping containers, and concrete fortifications were littered around the outpost, which itself was heavily destroyed. Mortar and shell craters made the frozen ground look almost moon-like.
Long before Bravo team reached the outskirts of the outpost, they were already on their guard. They kept low, scanning every single inch of the building for threats, eyeing destroyed holes in the wall where enemies could possibly pop out, looking down every single shell crater, checking the remains of every door or window.
Eve breathed out slowly, and led her team to the maintenance door that the major had chosen as their entry point. She noted that the keypad, as well as the little light above the keypad indicating that it was locked was still alit.
Eve inched forward, sliding the same thermal tape cam she had used in her first operation under the door as her team formed up on either side. Luckily, it slid easily through the bristles under the door, which were probably intended to keep the snow out.
Eve stepped away from the door, standing to the left of it with her TRACE squad, along with the Seaward PMCs. MOB 7's Squad one flanked the right side.
As the camera whirred to life, it transmitted a live feed to Eve's visor, and she did a preliminary scan of inside the outpost. The maintenance door led to a small hallway that quickly bent out of view, filled with flickering and broken lights.
Glancing in all directions, Eve couldn't make out any wiring or tripwires that detailed any traps, although there could be further on. She didn't notice any scanners or sensors either, though several could simply be well hidden. They would need to be careful later on.
Eve retrieved the camera, hooking it back on her belt. She relayed this information to her Team: "No visible traps in view, but keep an eye out for them. No sensors in view either. Stay on high alert."
She then raised her rifle, indicating that they would get ready to enter.
"Vian," Eve whispered. Vian edged forwards and examined the door. There was visible no lock on this door that she could pick, but the door's locking mechanism itself was electrical. Luckily, they had accounted for this.
Vian pulled from her belt a square device, which she gently stuck on the door. Stepping away, she pressed a corresponding button on her belt, and the device softly whirred, blowing the circuits that kept the door shut.
All light disappeared from the door, then a soft click could be heard. Vian stepped forwards and slowly turned the doorknob. It obliged, and Vian glanced at Eve for confirmation.
Eve breathed out again and nodded. Vian swung the door open, catching it and letting it go slowly before it slammed against the wall.
Seo stepped through the door without hesitation, followed by Eve. Vian rejoined the squad, hustling to fall in behind Eve, and Bravo team flowed seamlessly into the Hallway.
Bravo team silently stalked down the hallway and around the corner, where they were met by a… large reception area? The words "Welcome to Biotech Solutions!" in LEDs were hung on the wall, along with a logo of a large leaf.
What in the world...?
A large reception desk, similar to one that would be seen in a hospital, sat in the middle of the room, and two more large hallways that bent out of view. As Bravo team entered the room, Eve had some squad members of Squad one watch the hallways while the rest examined the room.
Jumping over the desk, Eve noticed the computer behind the Reception was still on. Quickly grabbing the mouse, she checked the file folders while the others searched cabinets.
No luck; the files were wiped, and there were no external drives or USBs.
Eve sighed and walked over to one of the hallways. Glancing around, it looked like the others hadn't had much luck either.
Eventually, Squad one's sergeant as well as Isa came up to Eve. "No luck, sergeant." Isa looked somewhat frustrated.
Eve thought quickly and spoke over comms to reach everyone spread throughout the room. "Alright, here's what we're going to do." She looked at Squad one's team lead. "We'll split into two fireteams. Seaward will come with us. Sergeant, you'll be in tangent command with Squad one. We'll take the left hallway, and you can take the right. Keep contact every couple minutes, and call in to me if anything comes up."
"Copy.
Eve walked to the left hallway with her team and the Seaward Wolves at her back. She nodded to Squad one's Sergeant, then they both started down the hallways in unison.
As she started walking down it, she spotted a glowing status sign on the wall.
[Laboratory #1: Active.]