Chapter 663: Dropped
"Adjusting course of all pods." Jace announced and then a burst of air was released from all of them as the asteroids burned up. Their pods were pushed onto a new course that separated them from the asteroids that were starting to disappear into space dust.
A moment later the gravity increased on them as they entered a free fall. He hummed as they passed through a cloud layer on the dark side of the planet. It would be night time when they landed. Their initial impact would cause a show. But only nearby villages could see them and only if they were paying attention.
"Impact imminent." Adrian announced. "Commander Jace and U, both of your pods are going to be landing a bit in the water. You forgot to account for the high tide." Adrian pointed out.
Jace hummed. "I did indeed." He leaned back and hummed as the pod fired thrusters a moment before touch down. Then he felt the force and stretched as his pod slammed into the ground. The reinforced holographic glass screen cracked on impact as outside was covered in steam from his touch down.
Jace slammed his fist through a glass window and onto the red emergency button that was on the right side of the door. He then did the same to the one on the left side.
Boom!
There was an explosion as the door flew off into the mist and slammed into something. He stepped out of the pod and began to retrieve his gear. The mist began to clear and he could see his discarded pod door had slammed into the back of another pod. He could also see everyone else had landed just fine.
"Sir, why did you trigger your emergency door release?" Adrian asked aloud. Now that they were on the surface of the planet the communication channel was not to be utilized. It was unlikely but it was for the possibility of there being a listening device.
"My door cracked. I triggered it on the off chance the explosives would go off when I opened the door." Jace explained as he started loading the grenades into the launcher before pulling out a satchel and finished filling with the rest of the grenades.
"Should we push these into the ocean or pull them ashore?" U asked as he finished removing his gear.
Jace surveyed the area as Adrian turned to him. Jace pointed at a group of heavy foliage. "Start moving them over there." He turned and grabbed his pod and heaved it out of the water and began carrying it to the shore.
"Holy shit..." Cinder mumbled as he walked past them. He moved past Joshua who was dragging his pod into the bushes.
"Make sure they are hidden. We might need to come back." Jace explained as he dropped it into a ditch. "Yeah there should be enough room." He nodded as he surveyed the area. "Adrian, I am going to get a view of the area from the top of that hill. Do you need help?"
"No, actually... Pala, go with the Commander you have the high definition binoculars." Adrian ordered and she nodded then turned to Jace.
"Keep up." Jace told her as he started to jog toward the hill. He moved quickly at a moderate pace. Only glancing back once to see that Pala was managing to keep up with him. He crouched as he arrived at the crest of the hill and looked over. There were less trees up here but there was still fairly tall grass that they could use for cover as they surveyed the area.
"What are we looking for?" Pala asked as she crouched next to him and pulled out a pair of binoculars that had multi imaging technology and video recording.
"A starting point. Look for all settlements or any discarded pieces of metal that might indicate a vehicle or base." Jace instructed. "Our scans were able to pick up a bunch but we were not able to separate the factions out. They are utilizing technology so outdated that it is not hackable."
"How?" Pala asked in surprise. "Everything post-wired communication is hackable." Jace tilted his head forward slightly. "Ah..." She nodded in understanding. "The sirens set up wired communications and that is what they are utilizing. No wonder no one knew about the siren colony. They had no static traffic. Only a biosign scan of the planet would reveal their presence and that type of technology is only reserved for the Cerberus Unit."
Jace hummed as he spotted two villages further up the coast. One of them was located on a hill with wooden walls blocking them in. The other was lower down on the embankment of a small lake and even from here he could see the conditions of the sirens was not good. He slowly panned around and stopped as he spotted the closest village. He quickly checked the other way and spotted two more villages that were visible from this position.
Farther back there was something but it was just out of view. Although there were roads going from all of the villages toward that direction. The terrain around the area was too rough and untamed for roads between the villages themselves.
"Five villages visible. That swamp village... commander do you see that?" Pala asked with a note of disgust.
"Yeah, the closest one. All of the villages are likely treating the sirens badly. But they are keeping them partially submerged in water while also partaking in vises. That also makes them the easiest target and most likely place for us to find allies." Jace explained, "we found our starting point."
"How many war crimes are we allowed to commit?" Pala asked in anger.
"All except the ones regarding civilians." Jace answered with a chuckle.
"Good." Pala turned and started making her way back down the hill. Jace followed her a moment later. "Why did you bring grenades?" She asked.
"Most of them are shock grenades. They will stun enemies for a time. Which is more effective against humans than sirens. I only brought a few explosives and incendiaries." Jace informed her.
"So it is mostly for breaching rooms where they are holding people hostage. But it is a lot of extra weight to carry." Pala pointed out.
"Only until we get a ride and I am sure it will not be long before we get one." Jace chuckled as he adjusted his satchel. A full reinforced bag was too bulky so he had to make do with a soft satchel. It was only a few minutes before they were back with the rest of the unit that had finished hiding the pods.
"Commander, do we have a plan of action?" Adrian asked when they returned. He glanced repeatedly at Pala who was clearly angry.
"Yes, there is a nearby swamp village. It has thirty occupants at most. Half that amount in local hostages as well. It appeared that all the sirens in that village were women." Jace informed them. "I would like to capture the commanding officer and a few additional soldiers alive. But the rest can be killed. In addition, we need to secure the communications room ahead of time so it is not destroyed in whatever skirmish we get into." Jace ordered. "We can get closer and then you can make a plan."
"Are you not providing a plan?" Cinder asked in surprise.
Jace shook his head. "I am here for the overall operations command. I am not interfering in your field tactics. I am leaving your commander in charge of that, because he has far more experience with commanding you all." Jace answered, he turned to lead the way but froze and stopped for a moment. "Oh, and before I forget. Eel and Cinder, you have not encountered something like this before. So try not to lose your temper and screw up the overall plan or your captain’s plan."
The others looked to Pala who just shook her head and followed after Jace. "Adrian, what did the commander mean?" Cinder asked as they followed through the brush. They were heading down a slope and into a thick collection of trees and foliage.
"Experience is a better teacher in this instance." Adrian answered. "Pala, is the village area enclosed or open?"
"Open." Pala answered.
"Then U will sneak in and secure the communication room that Commander Jace believes exists. Pala and Jace will sneak in after and secure civilians and clear the houses. As soon as they are noticed the rest of us will pick off any enemies on the outside and secure the safety of any civilians being held outside." Adrian quickly ordered. "But first we need to verify the village layout."
Jace smirked from his forward position but froze as his foot landed in water. He lifted the foot back up and groaned at the mud covering his pristine white armor. He then moved forward and began walking through the swamp.