Recon Operation: Imperial Fortress
Condor Heavy Transport Helicopter.
In the large aircraft's dark metallic confines, several squads in black lay calmly on their seats, awaiting their deployment to the outside wasteland.
Amongst them was the newly-promoted Sentinel, Lieutenant Bet.
He glanced at the soldiers given to him as the inky metal surrounding them trembled from the turbulent skies and a red neon hue lightly gleamed in their confine.
Lieutenant Bet had the iconic crimson-lensed gas mask of the Sentinel and wore a special officer uniform only given to those considered as personal guards of the Director.
"Hounds of Cerberus, we have been deployed to investigate Imperial Fortress residing in the bridge that connects Torrington and the Southern Goshen County."
Lieutenant Bet began debriefing the squads with him on their mission. This was a reconnaissance mission aimed to understand the circumstances of the Fortress.
Most of all, whether it was holding on to its intended purpose.
The blockage of Torrington's aberrant population.
"The Director has allowed us to prove ourselves. But we must follow the Director's orders as well. To immediately retreat when things go beyond our expectations."
"If we fail to do so... We will dishonor his name."
"So, Hounds of Cerberus! Have I been understood?!"
Hearing his calm yet roaring words, the jet-black soldiers saluted in their seats. They then responded with unrivaled vigor.
*Understood!!!*
Lieutenant Bet nodded in satisfaction and thought about the soldiers given to him by the Director. He was precisely equipped with four squads.
Two of which were Sentinel-Assault Squads(SAS), the other was one Short-Reconnaissance Squad(SRS), and the last was one Long-Reconnaissance Squad(LRS).
The Sentinel-Assault Squads' mission was to protect the reconnaissance team from the danger of the Fortress. And they must do so quietly without alerting the innumerable horde of aberrants.
The Short-Reconnaissance Squad was tasked with creating an overview of the situation in the Fortress. They must inspect it enough to construct a good map from it.
Finally, the Long-Reconnaissance Squad had to undertake a recon of Torrington. At the moment, the Cerberus had no information about the vast town.
Only its current state, utter devastation.
Before Torrington fell, the Imperium Military fought with all their might, and this fact was known by every survivor in Goshen County. When all hope was lost, they decided to block the bridge.
One could argue they could have destroyed the bridge, but Duke was a bit delighted that this didn't happen. After all, if there was no bridge, how could they take Torrington back from the aberrants?
Sending helicopters carrying armored vehicles might be the solution, but it would be too inefficient even with the capabilities of Cerberus.
Nonetheless, these four squads were under Lieutenant Bet's command. The results of their actions would have a prevailing hit to him as he was their superior.
*Sir, we are approaching the target.*
Out of nowhere, the pilot's voice sounded out from his comms. Lieutenant Bet furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at his soldiers before ordering them.
"Prepare yourselves! The operation is about to commence."
The soldiers clad in jet-black and crimson-lensed gas masks stood up from their seats. And a couple of seconds passed by until the Candor hovered over its target.
The red neon hue blinked and turned into bright emerald green. A deep hum resounded afterward while the aircraft's doors slid open.
Candor lightly hovered a few feet above the Fortress's upper roof, which made it easier for the soldiers to be deployed from the aircraft.
One after another, the jet-black soldiers got out of the aircraft's metallic confines and were met with the chilling darkness of the eternal night.
They could only hear the light echoes of the helicopter's blades, but other than that, there was silence.
As Lieutenant Bet stepped out of Candor, he heard the pilot's voice through the comms.
*Sir, the Condor will await your call in Installation 01.*
Afterward, the aircraft's doors slid and closed. The Condor hovered away from the Fortress's upper roof and headed into the newly-acquired Installation 01.
The Sentinel-Assault Squads swiftly created a defensive perimeter in the upper roof and silently dealt with nearby aberrants to not alert the horde.
On the other hand, the members of the Short-Reconnaissance Squad deployed their drones to begin the inspection of the Imperial Fortress's structure and layout.
Meanwhile, the Long-Reconnaissance Squad placed a telescope pointed at Torrington to observe its current state.
Lieutenant Bet calmly observed the squads do their duties, and they went well with his expectations. All of them knew the value of silence since what they were doing was no less the same than infiltration.
"Have you checked the entrances leading to the Fortress's interior?"
He asked one of the Sentinels nearby, which prompted the questioned one to shake their heads. Entering the interiors brought too many problems for the infiltration, which Bet understood.
"Okay, just set up a defensive line near the entrances."
Lieutenant Bet ordered, and the Sentinel responded with a nod. The SAS squads began silently treading nearer to the entrances and quietly created a defensive position.
Then, the lieutenant walked towards the SRS, who were gathering intel about the layout and structure of the Imperial Fortress through their drones.
"What's the situation?"
He asked the Drone Operators who were utilizing the drones. They glanced at him and answered in hushed tones.
"Nothing of any kind, Sir. The layout of the Imperial Fortress is within our expectations, shrouded with corridors and rooms."
"Hmm... There also seems to be nothing going on in the grounds of the Fortress."
Lieutenant Bet gazed upon the empty and large staging ground of the Fortress. He could see nothing but darkness and mist.
"It might seem that way, Sir. But the staging ground is brimming with aberrants."
A Drone Operator handed his tablet to the lieutenant, which he calmly accepted. He watched the screen with interest and saw numerous black dots in the thick mist.
It seemed that the darkness and mist were remarkably good in blocking their field of mission.
"Their numbers reach thousands. Perhaps climbing into tens of thousands maximum."
"I wonder what's stopping them from marching into the bridge."
Lieutenant Bet curiously muttered since such an army of aberrants could undoubtedly flood the entirety of the south. Even the Cerberus would have a difficult time fighting against such a horde.
"It should be that gate, Sir."
The Drone Operator pointed into the mist. The lieutenant focused his gaze on it and saw the big metallic gate.
Even though it was hard to see because of the white mist, he also notice the line of tanks ahead of it. However, all of them were abandoned and destroyed.
Nevertheless, with the blockade of large metallic gates and the tanks, no aberrants could pass through the empty bridge of Torrington.
"I guess that's their last stand against the abominations. Despite being cornered, they never opened the gate. I guess the Imperium Military isn't so bad."
Lieutenant Bet remarked and shook his head in disappointment. It would have been better for such soldiers to be with Cerberus.
Subsequently, the lieutenant walked towards the LRS personnel investigating Torrington through a telescope. He noticed them writing descriptions of their discovery.
It made him curious about the things they discovered.
"Is there anything unusual about the town?"
Hearing his questioning words, the Marksmen operating the telescope answered with a nod and procedurally explained.
The explanation of the Marksmen made Lieutenant Bet furrow his eyebrows. After all, its discovery was too unnatural. Desolated streets with nothing but clear emptiness? It wasn't something that aberrants should be doing according to their knowledge.
"Is the possibility of the aberrants heading to the north considered?"
He posed a possibility since the abominations might have migrated north. The marksman writing notes about their discoveries nodded his head and reported.
"We have considered this possibility. But no signs of any migration could be found in the town."
"Torrington is too mysterious. No strays could be discovered, and the streets are too empty. It might be the abominations hiding in the buildings. But unless we attract their attention. We can only speculate."
"I see... Continue your observations. We have half an hour in the operation to discover more about the Imperial Fortress and Torrington."
Lieutenant Bet nodded in understanding and said to the Marksmen. The infiltrating personnel could take their time observing the place. There was no need to be hasty.
'But, the more time we spend in this silent hell hole, the higher the chances we could be discovered.'
'And I don't want to imagine how the scenario would lead, especially when there are possibly tens of thousands of monsters below us.'
He shook his head and stopped his thoughts from getting further. Sadly for him, however... Things weren't simply meant to be.
While the LRS personnel observed Torrington through the curved lens of the telescope. They noticed a figure standing amidst its towering buildings. All of them raised an eyebrow upon noticing its existence.
"What the hell is that?"
"An antenna, perhaps?"
"No, that's obviously humanoid shape."
"A humanoid in the middle of Torrington..."
A Marksman thought about it for a short while before finally realizing what it was.
"Wait, according to the reports, this should be a part of the AT Classification."
His words were a shock to his fellow Marksmen, but it wasn't too astounding. After all, they were staring at a town with over a hundred thousand in terms of population.
"An Aberrant Tyrant? I guess their existence should be expected in Torrington."
"But why is that AT staring at us?"
The Marksman's words brought their conversation to a halt. When they peered into the telescope once again. The humanoid figure was directly gazing upon their position with its creepy eyes.
"Lieutenant..."
They glanced at their lieutenant, who was staring at them with confusion.
"We got discovered.'