Six hours had already passed when the module built by the logistics divisions of both the Order and the Blood Dragons was successfully connected to one of the docking bays found in the irradiated tunnel carved inside the Heaven's Gate. A couple of 'Big Dragon' transports moored in the module to unload a last batch of supplies to keep the facility as stable as possible in case any hostile actions was taken against it.
The Hideyoshi's Memory -a 'Kagutsuchi' cruiser- was floating close to the module, patrolling the area and making sure the supply convoys reached their destination safely, assisted by two wings of five 'Katana' fighters each which were escorting transports heading from the Arch to the Nampo cloud where Ryuku base was located. From time to time a wing of 'Nephthys' fighters aided them after entering Tohoku from the Omicron-92 shortcut, followed by a Hathor gunboat patrolling the surroundings.
Kazuo Akechi was standing still in front a the blast door. Behind it there was the pressurized hallway which could lead a small team into the dormant rock. He was supposed to wait for an Order marine squadron that would conduct a brief reconnaissance operation, intending to evaluate what kind of defenses -be it automated or sentient- would that part of the base have.
However, Akechi already received clear instructions from the head of the Shogunate before reaching the Arch. His mission wasn't reconnaissance at all, but retrieval.
A convoy consisting of a Borderworlds Transport, an Eagle and three Nephthys were closing in to the arch, finishing the last preperations for the operation they had been called for. The BWT filled with three professional commandos were preparing themselves as well. They would aid the Blood Dragons in their attempt of a reconnaicssance mission inside the arch, so they were told, led by one of the Overwatch.
When the transport moored at the station, the marines entered the boarding module while the Eagle was docking as well. The three remaining escorts supported the Kagutsuchi cruiser with the patrols.
The three commandos, consisting of four men each, nodded at the Overwatch as he entered the room. The Overwatch walked over to Akechi and reached out his hand for a handshake.
"Konnichiwa. Johan Lennox. *He said by putting a hand on his chest for a moment, after he shook the hand of Akechi* I heard you need some help regarding some scouting behind this wall?"
Akechi shook the Overwatch's hand energically, drawing a light smirk. Then, he signalled the huge blast door awaiting in front of them, drawing the attention of the Order agents there.
"Four of your men will be enough. Should any outnumbering force wait for us behind the 'wall', our only option would be retreating immediately, not fighting back.
He began to walk toward the blast door, raising a hand and making a brief gesture with it. Alarms bells raged, lights concentrated on the blast door which was opening slowly. Everybody present there focused his attention on the rather creepy show. Akechi adjusted his light armor, partly covered by tight pieces of golden and reddish cloth. Dragons barely wore any armor heavier than a Naval marine would do, favoring speed and honoring the technique of striking the first blow, as they have been doing in the nebula battles for so long.
"I will be waiting in the next door. Opening sequence will start in five minutes. This will be supposed to be a secondary docking bay. As I said, pick a few of your best men.
Lennox nodded at Akechi pointing at the three commando leaders to come with him. The commando leaders were equipped with a rather thick armor, which still allows fast movement though. Carrying light energy rifles, they formed up behind Lennox, who only wore a light, specially manufactored armor for himself. He turned towards the commandos, nodding.
"We will probably encounter automated defense parameteres. Our main objective is reconnaissence, making sure the way is clear. Understood? Then make last checks."
The Overwatch checked his armor and handgun as well, for any difficult circumstances equipping himself with a melee. He then walked, together with his men, towards the door, Akechi was talking about, taking position. He took look back at his men, who seemed to be ready. Lennox glanced at the door, then Akechi with a nod.
The last blast door squeaked heavily as it opened slowly. Akechi shuddered at the thought of whatever could be waiting for them right behind the door, yet recovering his neutral temper immediately after noticing the darkness spawning at the end of the corridor they were in. He gave a swift nod to the Overwatch before he began walking firmly into the facility, followed by the Order marines.
There were no noticeable light sources at both directions of the curved corridor and silence wasn't complete at all, some sort of distant working engine sound came from behind the metallic walls. Chem lights were placed on the floor every twenty meters as the group advanced, never stepping deeper in the facility but staying inside the same corridor which encircled the irradiated tube where the module was built. Flashlights pointed at every inch of the space they marched in, looking for anything or anyone that would endanger them.
"You may be wondering why it was chosen to build the module in this level and not above or below, Overwatch."
Akechi whispered calmly, standing still in front of a blast door which didn't look very different from the few others they ignored. He tapped the console briefly, stared at the door, then turned at the Overwatch.
"However, this metal bulk won't allow me to show you the answer."
Lennox wasn't far from Akechi as they entered the corridor, his men behind him, prepared for any hostility they might encounter. Calmly following the Dragon deeper into the corridor, he couldn't find any signs of any kind of infested personnel. Keeping quiet until they reached the blast door in which Akechi seemed to be interested in, the marines positioned themselves around the Dragon and the Overwatch to cover them, just in case.
"It is more secured than the other doors, I guess...I could try to gain access into their neural network, or we just could blast it open with one of the heavy plasma cannons we brought for that purpose."
Lennox whispered back as he checked the door and the terminal of the door.
"But both options could trigger defense parametres if executed..."
Activating the one-eye-visor Lennox was carrying and switching it to night vision mode, he looked into the depth of the corridor, looking out for anything suspicious.
A strong crackle was heard, followed by the sound of metal being smashed. No, it didn't came from the plasma rounds that blasted the door open, but the rather coarse action they decided to take definitely began causing the creepy noises.
"We have awakened them."
Akechi whispered again. Even though he could smell the incoming danger, his steps were firm as he advanced into the new corridor. Didn't take them more than thirty meters to reach a hallway and a hangar surrounding it, and always stalked by the metallic noises. One of the Order commando soldiers pointed to the left, the opposite side of the hangar. The whole group could spot dozens of red dots blinking in the darkness, as if they were bats hanging from the ceiling and staring at them. The group moved slowly, walking down the stairs that would allow them to reach the hangar's floor. Immediately after, they splitted in two groups, taking cover behind the first ships they spotted and advancing through the 'Wyrms' and assorted light craft resting there. Nobody dared to point their flashlights at the ceiling yet, but they were well aware about what would be watching them.
The Dragon never looked behind him, he didn't care whether the Order agents could catch up or not and the only gestures he did were strictly directed at Lennox, who would issue orders to his agents at his own discretion. Suddenly, Akechi stopped his light and silent march and for first time he addressed one of the agents so he would point his flashlight to their left. What Akechi saw there made him put a grin on his face, however it didn't last long enough before the creepy noises knocked on the two blast doors a dozen meters ahead of them.
The gates of Ryugukutsu site opened abruptly as a Katana fighter was floating above them. The Dragon Cave was an underground facility carved inside one of the many mountains across the barren-like landscape of planet Niiza in Okinawa system. Daytime temperatures usually broke the 100º C barrier while nights were widely known among the Guild and Kishiro scientists as cold, below -50ºC levels. This, of course, wasn't an issue for Akechi to worry about as long as he remained inside the ship.
Short time later, the Cave swallowed the Dragon snubcraft while the gates closed behind it. The purpose of this facility or the mere knowledge of its existance was supposedly restricted to the Shogunate members, Daimyos included. Since Akechi managed to get out alive from the onslaught in the Arch aboard that Katana, he immediately felt that the ship couldn't be just returned to Chugoku or even Sendai, the well-hidden in the dense nebula of Okinawa. One of the prime purposes for which the Cave was existed was to isolate very few elements found since the beginning of the Nomad War that shouldn't see the sunlight, or at least for some time, as Akechi understood once he reached the position of Daimyo.
He jumped off the ship's cockpit and took a few steps away before turning around to admire the legacy of Ozu to the Dragons. A relic, a symbol of the strength that Dragons showed in the battle of Heaven's Gate almost twenty years ago, the sword that Ozu wielded to command the Dragons against the infected forces, a hero among his kind.
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