Recon Operation: Infiltration Failure

When Lieutenant Bet heard the words of the Marksmen, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and questioned the personnel.

"What do you mean?"

The Marksmen didn't reply and merely pointed at the telescope. 

Understanding what they meant, Lieutenant Bet walked towards the telescope and peered through it with his eyes.

As he gazed through the telescope, he noticed the shadowy humanoid figure on top of a building in Torrington directly staring at their position.

Lieutenant Bet immediately understood that this was an AT classification, an Aberrant Tyrant. The fact that they were discovered by it poses problems. 

"It looks like it's merely observing us from afar. But I don't doubt it would probably start an assault on us for invading its territory."

He took a communicator from his special officer uniform since this was the unexpected situation the Director had warned him about.

"I'll call for the Condor to pick us up. Continue your observations."

Lieutenant Bet said and talked to the communicator for a short while. On the other side, the pilots reported the Condor being refueled. It would probably take ten or twenty minutes for it to pick them up.

He was dissatisfied with this news as things became even more complicated for him to handle.

He swiftly turned his gaze towards the Sentinel-Assault Squads, forming a defensive line near the entrances. 

"Sentinels, prepare for unusual activities in the Fortress. We got discovered by an Aberrant Tyrant, so be cautious of our surroundings."

Lieutenant Bet ordered and warned the Sentinels of the upcoming battle. Afterward, he looked at the SRS personnel gathering data through their drones.

"How long will your structure and layout mapping take?"

One of the Drone Operators immediately answered without looking back and extended one finger.

"Ten minutes will be our minimum." 

"The external layout map has been completed, but the internal layout displayed some complexities, so we need time."

The Drone Operator explained why they needed time. It was a sound explanation. And besides, ten minutes in mapping the entirety of the Imperial Fortress was already impressive enough.

"Understood, take your time and be ready for extraction."

Lieutenant Bet nodded in understanding. But before he could continue thinking about the mapping process, the LRS personnel relayed important information.

"Sir, the Aberrant Tyrant is making movements."

Without hesitation, Lieutenant Bet walked to the telescope and peered through it. He observed the Aberrant Tyrant making some movements.

It appeared to be inhaling air.

Instantly, he realized what its action meant. However, before he could tell others, the Aberrant Tyrant in Torrington started screeching. 

*GRAAAHHHHH!!!*

Its violent screeching resounded throughout the silence of the eternal night. It was clearly heard by everyone and everything.

'F*ck!'

Lieutenant Bet inwardly cursed and swiftly ordered those around him to prepare for battle.

"The bastard is screeching for its fellow abominations to wake up. Prepare yourselves for battle. We will be fighting soon."

The growls beneath them started small, but they soon became louder and louder. It was clear that the screech of the bastard Aberrant Tyrant woke the horde. 

The Sentinels guarding the entrances nodded and prepared their EM rifles for the upcoming wave of aberrants.

'Damn that bastard of a monster.'

Lieutenant Bet wanted to shoot down the Aberrant Tyrant himself, but for now, getting extracted by the Condor was his goal.

Besides, as he glimpsed through the telescope once again, he noticed the number of shadowy figures standing over the buildings of Torrington growing.

It first started with one and ended with dozens. 

Dozens of Aberrant Tyrants was vital information for the Cerberus. It also made him understand the capability of force needed to destroy them.

"Write down what you see in Torrington. Don't miss a single detail." 

Lieutenant Bet ordered the Marksmen, to which they responded with a nod. The LRS personnel continued their observations and wrote everything they saw down.

The upper roof they stood on soon trembled. Thousands of aberrants swarmed into the Imperial Fortress and were about to climb up to their position. 

"Tsk!"

The lieutenant clicked his tongue and held his rifle tightly. He walked towards the Sentinel Assault Squads and supported the defensive line with them.

Silence encapsulated the air of darkness as the Sentinels got their attention on the entrances. 

The upper roof kept slightly trembling under the force of thousands of charging aberrants. It got stronger and stronger, signifying the distance between their position and the aberrants. 

"Let's start."

The crimson-lensed gas mask of the Sentinels glimmered as they threw a couple of flashbangs and grenades into the entrances. 

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

Flashes of light pierced through the darkness of the eternal night. What emerged were the blinding images of thousands of abominations charging through the halls.

Upon seeing their target, the Sentinels didn't hesitate and pulled the trigger of the EM rifles. Muzzle flashes escaped the barrel while thunderous roars resounded.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

The Sentinel were efficient and skilled as their bullets penetrated through the heads of aberrants. Each pull from the rifle's trigger brought down aberrants en masse. 

Lieutenant Bet took out his EM rifle and assisted the Sentinels in their massacre. He shot at the aberrants without care.

But he noticed the defensive line slowly retreating. The numbers of the aberrants weren't to be underestimated. Ordinary soldiers would have fallen in the first wave.

Sentinels had only fought through with their accuracy, teamwork, and fearlessness of such abominations.

The battle went on, and the entrances became flooded with aberrants. The Sentinels were having a difficult time maintaining the defensive line. 

Fortunately, though, the SRS personnel had concluded their layout mapping. After completing their task, they didn't hesitate to reinforce the defensive line.

Nevertheless, the aberrants persevered. They sprinted without care as though they had been hungered for months. Noticing their precarious situation, Lieutenant Bet had to take a risk. 

"Utilize your frags."

With an order, the Sentinels took out their frag grenades and immediately threw them to the entrances.

The frags rolled on the floor and rapidly flickered. But a second later, a radiant light shone from them, and a thunderous explosion echoed.

*BOOM!!!* *BOOM!!!* *BOOM!!!* *BOOM!!!*

Lieutenant Bet and his soldiers held on as the floor of the upper roof trembled from the force brought by the grenades. A shockwave could be felt, threatening to lay waste to them. 

Dust encapsulated their surroundings while the Sentinels had their gaze towards the entrances. As the misty dust slowly dissipated, they noticed the rubbles of concrete blocking the entrances. 

It appears they were fortunate to have only collapsed a part of the entrance and not the entire segment of the Imperial Fortress.

"This will buy us enough time."

Lieutenant Bet muttered to himself and sighed in relief. He turned his gaze towards the LRS personnel, who were still recording their findings.

The situation in Torrington was a lot more complicated than they had imagined. Numerous Aberrant Tyrants were within their expectations, but dozens?

A single Aberrant Tyrant could command thousands of aberrants. What would dozens of Aberrant Tyrants represent?

"Sir, multiple aberrants detected."

A Drone Operator reported and pointed downwards. Lieutenant Bet raised an eyebrow and looked down from the upper roof's terrace. Then, he saw the massive pile of bodies climbing to their position.

"Tsk!"

Lieutenant Bet clicked his tongue and signaled some of the Sentinels to help him scrub these annoying abominations. 

Four Sentinels walked over to the terrace and began shooting at the climbing aberrant horde.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

"Another aberrant horde detected, Lieutenant."

Another Drone Operator pointed at the other side of the upper roof, where hundreds of aberrants charged out of the entrances. 

The aberrants were clear to not give up, and they would always find a way to reach their position. 

Sentinel-Assault Squads positioned themselves in a defensive formation. They were being besieged on all sides, resulting in their firepower waning.

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

The growls and cries of the aberrants resided as their pale and mutated skin could be seen in the flashes of light that escaped the barrels of the Sentinel's rifles.

These abominations were formerly humans, but now... They looked far from their original forms. Such was the horror of the Stygian Virus. 

"We must not falter!"

Lieutenant Bet kept shooting at the bastard abominations. The Marksmen who recorded intel on Torrington had concluded their task and joined the defenders. 

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

Gunfire resounded in the desolated Imperial Fortress. The light emitted by their EM refiles was the flickering hope amid an ocean of hideous abominations. 

"Sir, they are pushing us back!"

"Permission for frags."

"Rejected."

A Marksman inquired, but Lieutenant Bet rejected him. Fragmentation grenades were too powerful to be used. They would probably take casualties since they were fighting in the upper roof's open area.

They had barely any cover and with the aberrants surrounding them. It was clear that they were losing. 

Lieutenant Bet felt that they were about to be overrun by these monsters, and the idea of the frags rang in his mind. But luckily for him, a light shone over them as the Condor had finally arrived.

*Lieutenant, this is Condor.*

*Prepare for extraction.*

Its propellers quietly resounded while its aircraft doors opened. One after another, the LRS and SRS personnel swiftly entered the Heavy Transport Helicopter. 

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

The Sentinels fired upon the charging aberrants as they calmly retreated into the helicopter. Lieutenant Bet was the last to enter the aircraft, and upon stepping into it. 

The Condor hovered away from the upper roof. Lieutenant Bet kept shooting at the bastards with his rifle as the abominations overtook their position and charged at the aircraft without care.

But no matter what the aberrants did, they could only fall to the ground amidst its white mist.