“Ten seconds to impact,” Radiance announced: the final phase of our voyage.

I could feel the body of the shuttle tremble as the front thrusters slowed us down just enough to ensure a safe water entry. The sensation was different from the standard atmospheric re-entry. Ever since rejoining the Fleet, I’d experienced more of those than any officer had in their lifetime.

“First time hitting water, ma’am?” one of the grunts asked.

As part of the mission command staff, my original seat was in a separate section from the crew, but I had swapped it to join the rest of the grunts. Colonel ‘Rissa was furious, going as far as to call me capricious on open comm. However, the sole reason that I wished to be there was because I wanted to be the first one out of the door once the mission began. Whether it was stumbling on Cassies or third-contact artifacts, I didn’t trust anyone else to deal with the situation adequately, especially in exo gear.

“First time hitting liquid,” I clarified. Laughter erupted. One thing that one could count on among ground troopers was the constant atmosphere of unfiltered jokes. Knowing that any mission could be their last, it didn’t take long for them to stop holding back. “I hear it’s softer.”

“Only for the shuttle, ma’am,” someone else said in comm. “Only on the shuttle.”

“Three. Two. One. Impact!” Radiance’s voice sounded in everyone’s helmet.

The deceleration was hardly felt. If anything, I had caused worse to my crew during evasive action. I felt my suit move up for a moment, stretching the restraints it was strapped to, before relaxing back down. Moments later, the shuttle accelerated once more, and then its underwater propulsion system kicked in.

“Nice, but it lacks a kick,” I said.

“It’s usually different, ma’am. Pilot’s probably trying to impress you, being a fresh young officer and all.”

There was no point in explaining that I was at least eight times older than the pilot or anyone else in the shuttle. Decreasing the volume of my comm, I reviewed the mission specs. At our current speed, we were expected to arrive at the start point within forty-eight minutes. A few shuttles were ahead, but I had given strict orders that none of them were to exit without my explicit authorization.

“Any new readings, Rad?” I asked directly.

“It hasn’t been an hour since last time,” the ship replied. “No changes from what I can tell. If there are Cassandrians down there, they’re keeping quiet.”

“Let’s hope there aren’t any there at all.”

“Won’t that defeat the purpose of the trip?”

“Depends on what we find.”

“The cobalt deposits are still there; the cave system is still there. If you’re lucky, it’s been sealed. If you’re not, it’ll be flooded.”

“So young and yet so cynical.” I created a virtual image of the sea floor. At this depth, it was originally speculated that there wouldn’t be any living organisms. The first set of probes had quickly dispelled that notion. My fears were that we might come across more than simple cell organisms.

“Lux still wants you to join,” Radiance said. “The BICEFI needs you. Just look at the missions you’ve been doing so far. You’re practically part of the organization.”

“If that’s true, why can’t things continue as they are?”

“It’s because of your first captain, isn’t it? The first ones are always difficult to forget.”

Quite amusing that I was hearing that from her. Back when I had agreed to become her mentor, I had told her the exact same thing. It was true, of course, Augustus was difficult to forget, but not only because he was my first. He was extraordinary in many ways, not to mention one of the few captains that had served on both fronts. Of all the war heroes, he was among the select few that could be considered the human equivalent of the Paladins. In all of history, there were probably fewer than a million like him. Among the things he taught me was the value of being free to set his own terms. That was why he had resisted joining the admiralty for as long as possible.

“I won’t be able to do my job if I’m tied down to a single organization, even the BICEFI,” I said. “I belong to the Fleet. This is where I need to be.”

“Well, don’t expect me to stop asking.” I could hear the arrogance of youth in her enthusiasm.

“I know you far too well to expect that. For the time being, though, let’s focus on the mission.” I leaned back as much as the exo suit would allow me.

One by one, the shuttles landed in the target area. Twenty-nine shuttles, holding sixty people each—a minuscule amount, considering the hundreds of thousands I used to carry when I was a ship. For a human, however, this was a considerable number to command. It wasn’t me who had made the final decision. Whoever was in charge of the operation—Med Core or BICEFI—had come up with it, and there was nothing else anyone could do but obey. I could only trust that the core cluster that had come to such a conclusion had something specific in mind.

“All shuttles, give me a status.” I stood up. The giant exo suit made my actions sluggish.

Dozens of voices filled the comms as all shuttle leaders told me their status at once. A chaos of “greens” erupted, letting me know that everything was fine so far. Pre-empting my next order, Radiance also transmitted the latest orbital scan of the area—no changes or causes for alarm.

“I’ll be heading out to get a look. Everyone, remain inside.”

Removing my exo’s supports, I went to the shuttle door and started the opening sequence. Water flooded it, quickly filling the space. It was murkier than I had hoped. The arrival of close to thirty shuttles no doubt raised a lot of mud, making my task more difficult—all the more reason a battleship was better suited to handle the initial recon.

It took seventeen seconds for the door to open, allowing me my first step onto the seafloor. The surface was softer than expected, covered with a layer of sediment. Some work would be required before we could access the cave network or the cobalt deposits. That must have been another reason for Command to scrap the mission.

“I’m out on the surface,” I said in general comm. “Visibility is severely impaired. Looks like there’s quite a lot of sand.” I turned on all the lights of my suit to the maximum. “Layers of rock are visible, indicating that the sediment layer is thin.” I continued forward. “I can see the remains of one surviving probe. Pressure must have crushed it on the way here. Next time, don’t be so cheap.”

“Thanks for the insight, Elcy,” Colonel ‘Rissa said with a sigh. “Anything else of actual significance?”

“There are no traces of any activity,” I continued. “As far as I can tell, it’s a normal sea bed. No advanced plants of living creatures as far as I could see.” I took out the scanning module from the side section of my suit. “Moving away from the shuttle to perform a deep scan. Radiance, find me a safe spot. Two hundred meters from any shuttle at least.”

“Understood, mission commander,” the ship said mockingly. “Continue forward, then take a seventy-three degree turn clockwise.”

I complied. After close to a minute, walking with the speed of a snail in glue, I arrived at the closest safe spot. There, I placed the scanning module on the floor.

“I’m about to start the deep scan. Brace yourselves. If there’s any third-contact tech nearby, things might get shaky.” I activated the device.

Milliseconds passed. Then seconds. To overall relief, the scan hadn’t triggered any response. So far, so good. Hundreds of readings were streamed directly to Radiance, who in turn deciphered and analyzed them, sending back the actual picture of what was underneath. A single module wasn’t able to provide much specific information, but when combined with the data Radiance already had, it provided me all I needed to know: the cobalt deposit had a well-defined shape, and the cave network wasn’t flooded.

“All shuttles, you have a go,” I said. “Get out and prep the terrain.”

When I first joined Fleet training, my instructors would often say that directing people was often more tiring than doing the actual work. Maybe that was the case in some instances, but not in this one. Remaining in my spot, with Radiance’s help, I monitored over a thousand grunts as they toiled to even the seafloor, preparing it for a cave breach. Light floaters and other heavy equipment were taken off the shuttles before they launched back up to the surface. If all went well, they would be back in about a week to pick us up.

Several hundred people in exo suits marked a perimeter, as three times that number sucked all the sand and murk from the water in order to increase visibility. While they were doing so, an equally large team was working on removing all sand and sediment from the drill sites.

It was a pleasure watching experts do their thing. For the most part, I hardly had to intervene, focusing my attention on the cobalt artifact instead. The shape was unlike any other third-contact item I had come across. After a brief discussion with Radiance on the matter, it turned out that the BICEFI weren’t familiar with it either. That automatically increased its value, also starting a turf war behind the scenes between the BICEFI and Med Core. Radiance let me know some of the trivial details, though not the final outcome—she was a member of the organization, after all.

Meanwhile, more scanning tech was installed on the seafloor, helping provide an increasingly better picture of the cave network. In terms of size and structure, it was starting to look like a Cassandrian nest, although there remained a thirty-two-point-one percent chance that it could be a natural formation as well.

Four hours in, the first drop was completed, providing pods of food and oxygen to last the team another thirty hours. As per my orders, the supplies were gathered in three separate sites and assigned guards. Despite the grumbles from a few ground troop officers, I remained firm on that—I much preferred putting up with grumbling and sarcasm for a week than having something happen to the supplies due to a mishap or surprise enemy activity.

Once that was done, and the airlock plug was secured over the breach site, the drilling began. Originally, the plan called for creating an opening that would allow us to enter the caves, from where we would split up in groups to monitor the cave system. However, looking at the scans, I decided to have a second team use the backup drill to start retrieving the third-contact artifact. Considering the possibility of attack, I much preferred the item be secure prior to our breach. The change was quickly approved by Director Sim and whoever was above him, even if it increased the length of our mission by at least a day.

And while my entire team took turns drilling, I tried to make out the bigger picture. According to the information that trickled down from Radiance, fighting on the surface and in orbit had intensified. The Cassies had managed to gain control of a few key locations on the planet, requiring planetary bombardment. That was a first. Until now, the Med Core had been quite reluctant to resort to such measures, but losing their grasp on the planet had made them a bit more desperate. There had been seven attempts of Cassandrian ships to reach orbit, although they were quickly shot down by our ships. However, the prospect was becoming more and more likely.

As for the facility on the orbiting satellite, things weren’t looking good there, either. Radiance stressed that the information wasn’t official, but there appeared to have been a rogue transmission requesting an evacuation from the ships in the system. I wasn’t told any details regarding the person who had sent the message and the reason they had prompted it, but it was safe to assume that there had been another case of infestation as well. According to additional rumors, Ondalov had suffered a serious accident, requiring agora to be used to save his life. Of course, there was no confirmation of that either.

By the end of the first day, the entrance plug was complete and tested. Reaching the artifact, however, had been significantly delayed. It had turned out that the simulations regarding the drill’s effectiveness had been wrong, resulting in the spare drill giving out. Once again, I made the executive decision to continue with the main drill while requesting a replacement drill from orbit. This time there was some grumbling from ‘Rissa, but in the end, I still got my approval. Two new drills were scheduled to arrive in sixteen hours, along with another food and oxygen drop.

“Jespersen,” I said in comm. “Did you get any sleep?”

“Not yet.” The man’s sigh sounded louder than his response. “It’s not easy operating anything in this suit. I can’t seem to get any proper readings about the artifact.”

“It might not be you or the device. Third-contact tech is finicky. Will you be able to hold on for another few hours?”

“Sure. Why?”

“I’ll go to sleep mode for a bit.”

“Ah. Right. No problem. It’ll take me at least that long to get this to start a new analysis.”

“Get Radiance to help you if needed. Platoon leaders, get some rest as well. I want you fresh when we’re ready for breach.”

A chorus of “yes, ma’am” followed. Doing a quick overview of the latest scan data, I then proceeded to get some rest. When I next opened my eyes, three hours had passed. The primary drill had been moved to the artifact drill site, and what was more, they had successfully reached the depth of the artifact itself. That was somewhat unexpected. According to my simulations, they weren’t supposed to have progressed so fast.

“Radiance, send a log of events while I was sleeping,” I said in comm.

“Can’t do that, grandma,” the ship replied. “The mission is classified as need to know, so I need approval from both Med Core and the BICEFI to send out anything.”

Once again, I had to admire the joys of bureaucracy. Apparently, it didn’t matter that I was part of the mission, or that as the mission commander, I needed to have the data at my disposal.

“Send a request to those it may concern,” I said. “I need the data.”

“Request sent, but don’t expect a quick answer.”

“I know. Are you allowed to summarize what happened, or do I need to make an official request for that as well?”

“Not that I know,” she laughed. “You haven’t missed much. Jespersen modded the drill and got to reach the artifact. He’s there trying to figure out how to extract it. There doesn’t seem to be an air bubble around the thing, so he’s thinking of alternative ways to get it out, possibly through inserting corrosive gasses.”

For the first time since I’d known her, Radiance had lied to me concerning a mission matter in such blatant fashion. There was no way for Jespersen to “mod” the drill, let alone increase its effectiveness by a factor of two. Something else had happened, something I was not deemed important enough to be privy to.

“Jespersen, what have we got?” I asked him directly.

“I’m not sure, but it’s a big one,” he replied. “I haven’t seen anything like it! It’s big as a shuttle and its shape is completely irregular.”

That was unexpected. The BICEFI would definitely have a new toy to play with.

“Make the extraction a key priority,” I said, making my way towards him. “How are you thinking of getting it out?”

“For starters, I’ll pump in some oxygen around it. That should be safe and, with luck, it’ll make it possible to slide it out.”

The idea was rather good, although I would have requested a noble gas instead, which I did directly to Radiance. To my surprise, the request was initially denied with the explanation that it would take a lot of unnecessary time. However, less than a minute later, the request was approved, and I was told to expect the first drop, along with the required pumping equipment, in seven hours.

Relaying the news to the excavation team, I went to the drill shaft. I was perfectly aware that the conditions were quite harsh, but even so, I considered the execution quite shoddy to say the least. The shaft was barely large enough to fit three exos side by side. Whoever had drilled this had made it just large enough to extract the artifact and not a meter larger. Considering the maneuvers that would be necessary to take it out, this might cause serious problems later on. Two sets of allowed cables led down. The lack of light sources—once again a result of the shaft’s tightness—made it extremely difficult for several people to work in unison, not to mention that it was virtually impossible for more than four people to be in one spot together.

“Is there enough space for me to go down there?” I asked Jespersen.

“It’s a bit packed at the moment. Sorry,” he replied. “I can give you a feed.”

“No need. Keep doing what you’re doing. The new equipment will be here in seven hours. In the meantime, I’ll be heading to lead the breach.”

“Aren’t you going to wait for the new drills?” he asked, surprised.

“Is this one busted?”

“No, but it went through a lot. There’s no telling when—”

“Then I’ll be fine with it. If it breaks down, I’ll wait for the replacements.”

“You’re the boss.” There was an unusual reluctance in his voice.

“Let me know when you get this out. I want to take a look at it before you send it up in orbit.”

You can’t help yourself, can you? Radiance transmitted directly to my conscience core.

“Is there a reason why the BICEFI shouldn’t let me see it?” I asked in comm.

Radiance chose not to reply. I decided not to give the matter any more thought and oversaw the transfer of the drill back to the airlock plug. Twenty minutes later, drilling started again.

“Major Veregren, what’s the status of your team?” I asked.

“Bored and waiting, ma’am,” the woman replied. “Is it go time?”

“It will be. Get your team here. We’ll be going in the moment there’s a breach.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Junn,” I went on. “You’ll be the backup. Give us half an hour, then join in as well. The faster the search the entire area, the better. Everyone else, keep guarding the artifact and the breach site. The moment that thing is out, I want it ready to be launched into orbit.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the lieutenant colonel said. “What exactly are we searching for?”

“You’ll know it when you see it. Just make sure there are no surprises.”

Back during my first tour, Augustus used to say that a lot. Most of the time, he was addressing Wilco, but now and again he would give me the same instructions as well. Now that I was in his shoes, I had a pretty good idea of what he meant.

Drilling into the cave took less than ten minutes. It was remarkable how close the cave system was to the surface. As I prepped my specially designed rifle, I ran a background series of simulations to determine the optimal group size based on cave size. Had we been in normal suits, there wouldn’t have been a problem for squads of fifty to move about. In our current dimensions, it was best that the groups counted ten.

Within milliseconds, I composed a plan and sent out specific mission objectives, assigning group leaders and callsigns. Normally, that was to be Radiance’s job, but my former mentee let this one go without a grumble. There would be plenty for her to do soon enough.

One by one, the exos went through the airlock and into the tunnel. In the process, of course, everyone went through an obligatory decontamination procedure—we didn’t want to bring any Cassandrian spores from the seawater as we went inside. The moment the first group of ten had assembled, I led them down the tunnel.

“Radiance, start a permanent scan,” I said. “From this moment on, I want to know the moment there’s any movement that isn’t us in the cave network, near the artifact, or anywhere in the area.”

“Will do. What about above the surface?”

“Above the surface as well.”

“Well, in that case, there’s movement.”

Everyone froze in place. Before I could voice the order, my team spread out in circular fashion, weapons pointed in all directions.

“Pinpoint the location and identify,” I ordered.

“When you uncovered the artifact, three Cassie ships moved to your location. We thought that they were trying to leave orbit at first, but then they changed course, heading directly towards you. All of them were shot down before they got close, so there’s nothing to worry about, but keep in mind that you’re a target.”

That was completely unexpected.

“Requesting backup and non-stop monitoring,” I quickly said. “All teams, be on the lookout for Cassies. Fire at will and protect the priority targets. Remember, the artifact and the cave entrance are of key importance. Supplies and ammunition are secondary.”

“Isn’t that overkill, ma’am?” the major asked. “We haven’t seen proof of any Cassie in the area. There’s no proof that there are any at all.”

“Major, if there’s no enemy here, what directed the Cassie ships towards us?”

There was a long moment of silence as my commanders realized exactly what I was saying. While things remained calm on the seafloor, the battle had already started. We just didn’t know where the next attack would come from.