Tyran Station was only a thirty-eight-hour drive from the target facility. It sat alone on Syltran 4, the fourth planet from its star in the Sectrez system. The planet is primarily made up of water, with the rest of the landmass being covered in steamy, dense jungle. There were six other planets in the system, which were called 1, 2, 3, Prime, 6, and 7 (the 'Prime' designation usually denoted the most populous world in a system). Two of the planets in the Sectrez system were completely controlled by Core and had only military installations with no civilians on them. The five people on board Kyara knew that Syltran 4 was not inhabited, even though that was the official designation.
Three hours away from Syltran 4, Kieran Ravy stopped the ship and called a team meeting on the bridge. They had to come up with a plan before they could move forward. Naturally, Nora Rahmyn led the conversation because she had the most pertinent tactical experience. Before being given a "less than honorable" discharge for defying a direct order to evacuate a wounded comrade from an active battlefield, she had been a field medic in the Core Army for a year; the soldier had later passed away from his wounds. Nora Rahmyn's allegiance to the Core had been permanently broken by that incident.
"What exactly are we dealing with down there?" Nayla Zantara started by outlining their main obstacle. "At this time, we only have a location and a likely purpose. We lack information about defenses, manpower, and pretty much everything that is necessary for infiltration.
Luna Trevyn suggested a possible remedy. "What if we entered a fictitious flight plan that went from Celyra Prime to Sectrez Prime? This establishes a credible paper trail. We could say we were visiting fake relatives or delivering off-route supplies if we were caught close to Syltran 4.
A flaw was pointed out by Nayla Zantara. However, we still have to approach the planet closely enough to land or even drop a parachute. Making Kyara invisible to their sensor grids is the only way to handle that undetected.
Yan Zantara said, "Let me guess," with a drawl. "You have an idea."
"Maybe," admitted Nayla Zantara. "Kieran Ravy, do you have the components necessary to rig a wide-spectrum wave scatter device?"
Leaning back in his command chair, Kieran Ravy looked thoughtfully at the ceiling panels while tying his fingers behind his head. After a while, he thought, "I could probably modify the infrared sensor arrays for active scattering, but that won't work against passive detection systems or techniques that don't depend on wave propagation." Configuring it would also take some time, but I believe I can handle it.
"As far as I recall," Nora Rahmyn added, "thermal emission tracking and radar were standard Core Army procedures for detecting spacecraft." But I only had ground operations experience—never interstellar command—and I left the service nearly three years ago. It's possible that their procedures have changed.
If their sensor technology hasn't changed significantly, Kieran Ravy reasoned, "in that case, the scatter field should effectively neutralize heat and radio signatures." The main disadvantage is that we lose our own short-range detection ability when we reconfigure the infrared sensors. I can navigate with ease using my instruments and vision, but if another craft sneaks up on us, we won't notice it until it's too late."
Over the bridge, a tense silence descended.
"It's a risk worth taking," Yan Zantara said at last.
"Okay, then," said Kieran Ravy. "I'll start working on the changes. You should all start putting the mission gear together in the interim. Even though Kyara will eventually touch down on Earth, we will still require ammunition, rations, and fatigues.
He was gently but firmly interrupted by Nora Rahmyn. "I was a soldier for a year, Kieran Ravy. I am aware of the mission requirements. I'll take care of the setup while you go play around with your emitters and circuits." To start gathering their supplies, she got up and walked off the bridge.
Kieran Ravy went down to Engineering's sensor subsection after retrieving his extensive toolkit from his quarters. There were no significant problems with the work. He connected a specially made emitter dish to the main infrared sensor housing, rerouted power conduits, added extra circuit boards, and cautiously turned off the main sensor arrays. Two hours of quick, concentrated work later, the required changes were finished. He went back to the bridge and carefully rerouted the control interfaces to Luna Trevyn's sensor station for another half hour. To make sure his changes hadn't unintentionally affected any other ship functions, he had Nayla Zantara complete a comprehensive diagnostic systems check after he was done.
In the meantime, Nora Rahmyn had effectively prepared their field rations, which consisted of straightforward, high-calorie meals that were vacuum-packed and freeze-dried, with each choice being approved by the person who would eat it. The 'hydrator' is a small, battery-operated device that would be used to rehydrate these meals. Shrunk to the size of a cereal box, it looked like a microwave oven and operated simply but with a lot of power. After directly extracting oxygen and hydrogen molecules from the surrounding air, the device created water inside the food pouch and heated or cooled the contents to a temperature that the user desired. Even though it was limited to processing a single meal pouch at a time, its practicality in the field was evident.
Their approach to insertion was straightforward: Kieran Ravy had set up a crude remote-control device that gave him basic control over Kyara's movements and weaponry. Low on autopilot, the ship would approach the target area. From the open ramp, the five companions would parachute their bulky supply packs, and then three seconds later, they would jump themselves. The autopilot would automatically retract the ramp, seal the hatch, deploy the external armor plating, and steer Kyara to a hidden landing site on the same island as the suspected facility after onboard sensors verified the team had cleared the ship. If their makeshift stealth system worked as planned, the ship would stay safe and hidden until they were rescued.
Upon landing, the initial plan was to deploy a grid of ground-penetrating radar units for two days in order to create a comprehensive subsurface map of the facility. They could create a detailed infiltration strategy after compiling the map on a portable computer. In preparation for the mission's sabotage phase, Yan Zantara packed his pack with several pounds of plastic explosives and other detonation tools. Silent takedown techniques, which involve eliminating an opponent before they even perceive a threat, were rehearsed in everyone's minds.
After manually guiding Kyara through the atmospheric approach's early phases, Kieran Ravy activated the autopilot and the freshly set-up wave scatter field. On the open exit ramp, he joined his fellows. They were waiting for him, wearing muscle tees and camouflage fatigue pants, their faces and arms smeared with grease paint, and their hair held back with standard military camo headbands. Although Luna Trevyn, as usual, refused to cut her long hair for something she considered so insignificant, the women wore their hair tied back. They heaved their supply packs off the ramp at the signal of Nora Rahmyn, waited three seconds, and then jumped out into the humid air after them. Kyara flew along its preprogrammed course without incident.
Although their parachutes unavoidably snagged in the dense jungle canopy, the landing was successful. They sliced themselves free with their combat knives. No one was hurt, and a brief inspection verified that all of the supply packs had landed close by and were quickly found. Nayla Zantara, the main scout, only carried twenty pounds, while Kieran Ravy's pack was the heaviest, weighing sixty-five pounds before the weapons were added.
On the ground, Nora Rahmyn took command. She was the ideal leader for this operation because of her military experience and familiarity with Core protocols. As designated carriers of equipment and heavy weapons support, Kieran Ravy and Yan Zantara carried almost half of their pack weight in ammunition, with the rest being made up of signaling equipment, food rations, ground radar units, a large inflatable tent, individual survival kits, and the hydrator unit. A miniature proximity sensor that could detect approaching heat signatures and had a five-mile range was also carried by Nayla Zantara. Her four friends' thermal profiles were pre-programmed into the device, and a single, loud beep would alert her to check the display whenever a new signature was entered. In essence, it was a portable version of the advanced suite of sensors built into her armor on Kyara.
Within fifteen minutes, they located a suitable base camp location using a locator beacon signal sent from Kyara's secret landing site. While Nayla Zantara and Yan Zantara started using the hydrator to prepare their first meal, Kieran Ravy, Nora Rahmyn, and Luna Trevyn swiftly set up the tent. A handy source of water was a nearby clear freshwater stream. The topic of the radar units' deployment came up while they were eating.
According to Kieran Ravy, "I don't care how unlikely it seems that there are patrols out this far," he said definitively. "No one ever travels alone! When we part ways, bad things happen incredibly quickly. As a silent reminder of the catastrophic result at the Finals Clash, he pointedly raised his mechanical right arm. After taking a big bite out of a hot, gravy-dripping beef sandwich, he said, somewhat stifled, "If anyone goes anywhere, they need someone with them." He cleaned his chin of a smear of gravy.
"The more teams we deploy simultaneously, the faster we complete the mapping," legitimately retorted Luna Trevyn, who was sitting on a big tree root.
Nayla Zantara added, "Come on, Kieran Ravy, we can all handle ourselves," from her vantage point twenty feet up a nearby tree. "It's not like the arena where people were actively hunting us."
"Even if they suspected someone was here, their first move would be to search for Kyara," said Nora Rahmyn. "The standard Core Army doctrine's propensity to concentrate on the most evident threat is one of its major weaknesses. They are not subtle.
"True," Kieran Ravy admitted, "but it's still too dangerous to operate alone. Finding a hidden lookout post, setting off an unexpected sensor, or experiencing equipment failure are just a few of the many ways to get into trouble out here.
Yan Zantara reminded him, "Kieran Ravy, you built most of our specialized equipment," "Surely you have faith in it."
"Yes, I trust the gear, but..."
"Let's make a compromise," Nayla Zantara proposed. "Although we work independently, we must adhere to a five-mile radius around this camp. Within that range, my proximity sensor is able to track each person's heat signature. We can radio someone back if they go too far. Each of us will have both melee and ranged weapons. Excessive caution is not necessary.
Without saying anything, Kieran Ravy acknowledged that he didn't have his father's skill at persuasion. They would move forward with separate deployment teams.
The process of setting up the radar was simple and took roughly five minutes per unit. They had to manually deploy 256 units in a precise grid pattern, half a mile apart, according to initial estimates of the facility's size. Before turning on, each unit used a tiny, shaped charge to pierce several feet below the surface. Once deployed, they were able to map several underground levels and clearly identify structures within them. Following placement, the units would be remotely activated, wirelessly sending the data they had gathered to Nayla Zantara's portable computer at the base camp. One person could easily carry ten of these devices at a time, and each one looked like a miniature land mine. It was estimated that it would take two days to set the entire grid.
Following a sleepless night, the team loaded up with the first set of radar units and dispersed, keeping a half-mile between each individual. Using their networked GPS locators, they carefully positioned a device every half mile as they walked in straight lines. They made it back to camp to reload after traveling five miles. Over the course of the first day, they carried out this procedure fifteen times, successfully deploying 150 units by dusk. In order to radiate outward, their base camp had been placed in close proximity to what they believed to be the center of the facility.
Luna Trevyn's assigned deployment route brought her within ten feet of Kyara's landing spot early on the second day. After a brief visual examination, she saw no indications of forced entry or disturbance. The main hatch's iris-scanning lock was still locked. The ship looked undisturbed and perfectly hidden, save for some vines creeping up the landing gear struts and accumulated jungle debris. She used the radio to inform the others of this information. Nora Rahmyn adamantly told Kieran Ravy to follow the mission plan even though he wanted to board his beloved ship for a thorough systems check.
Later that day, Yan Zantara made an important discovery on the way back from installing the last set of radar units. He called them by their new radio callsigns: Yan Zantara was Rambo, Luna Trevyn was Midnight, Kieran Ravy was Gearhead, Nayla Zantara was Prowler, and Nora Rahmyn was Tie Dye.
"Rambo at every point. Arrive at my location as soon as possible. This might be significant.
"To Rambo, prowler. Report the situation. "What have you discovered?"
"I'm not sure, but it's unquestionably not natural terrain. Come on over here. Rambo is out.
"Gearhead copies." "Midnight copies." "Tie Dye copies." "Prowler copies."
The team took almost twenty minutes to get to Yan Zantara's spot and comprehend his enthusiasm. When the call came, Kieran Ravy was nearly two miles away, as he had been on the far right flank of their formation. However, Kieran Ravy's response was the same as everyone else's when they arrived.
"Holy shit."
"Our thoughts exactly," according to Nora Rahmyn's grim confirmation.