Landing Base

The Sub-Z unit reached The Opal Landing base at 11:15 AM.

Javes pulled into the runway and slowly came to a stop at the end of it. After about 3 minutes of gathering their stuff, the hatch of the aircraft opened and everyone climbed out of the hatch.

Kira reached the ground first and walked towards the 3 pilots directly ahead of her.

The pilots saluted once she was less than a yard away. "Captain Kira, it is nice to meet you." Said the tall blonde in the middle of the two. "We have heard so much about you."

"Really?" Kira asked.

The one on the left, a short, but fit kid chimed in, still saluting. "Yes. You're scholarly achievements, is known to almost everyone."

"Oh, Kira said. "I'm happy to hear I'm so popular."

At this point, all of the members had reached Kira and the pilots. The 3 pilots acknowledge them all with great praise. Javes, who had had enough, tossed the pilot on the left his bracelet.

"Use that to move the aircraft into the hanger. Give it back to me when you're done." He then walked into the building behind the pilots with his bag. Mason apologized to the pilot for Javes' attitude and walked into the building after him.

The building was a plain stone box with a tall tower in the center. It was located in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing for miles- other than the hanger beside it and a parking lot behind it.This box was the Opal Landing base's official location.

Kira, followed by the rest of the crew, walked around the pilots and towards the gray building. Inside were soldiers from all kinds of divisions, and pilot crews sprinkled here and there. The walls were mostly a bland grey, and in the middle of the room was an elevator that went to the top of the tower.

The unit sat by Javes and Mason, in the many seats in the area. The two boys were looking at something on Mason's little holo- screen built into their bracelets. Apparently, it was something funny, as Mason chuckled, and Javes lips quirked up into a smile before relaxing back into his blank face. The others just did their things and waited.

About a minute passed before the three pilots came into the building, looking for the unit. Once they spotted them, they walked over and gave Javes his bracelet back and gave Kira a remote controller.

"Here is the controller for your transport, Captain." The blonde boy said.

Kira gave the controller to Lucy and stood up, as did the rest of the unit.

"Thank you, guys." She said.

"Anyways, we gotta go. Goodbye now." Kira said. She walked towards the doors- with the rest of the group in toe, and they were off.

——

As you already know, beside the building was the aircraft hanger, but behind that was a field of modified range rovers that was blocked from sight by the massive building in front of it.

How did they know where the range rovers were located, you ask? Well, they came here for a field trip once during their time at the academy. You don't forget about these kinds of stuff.

Most of the range rovers were all a dull sandy looking color and some green and brown colored ones sprinkled around-to match whatever their surroundings were- but they weren't really the type to be stealthy, so whatever paint job the rover had, it didn't matter.

Lucy waved the wrist with her bracelet on it over the the controller- activating the gadget and using it to find which car it belonged to.

After walking through the rows of rovers, one of the cars started up as she neared it, though she was still some 20 yards away.

She started the car and moved it toward herself, using only the controller in her hand.

As it gradually made its way towards her, the other unit members stood behind her waiting for the car to come.

After it finally arrived a few feet in front of Lucy, she walked over and hopped in the driver's seat. The rest got into the back-with Kira in the passenger's seat- their bags in a compartment behind them.

"Why couldn't we have just walked to the car?" Questioned Hede.

"Because someone in our unit doesn't like to walk to distances that are farther than 10 feet."

Lucy Replied.

They all looked at Helix.

"What? It's not my fault I don't want to exert so much energy I could be spending doing more important things."

"Like the mission, right?" Kira asked, turning to look at him.

"Uhh, sure."

Kira sighed, turned around and tapped the top of the dashboard 2 times, signaling it was time to go. Lucy got the memo, revved the engine and zoomed out of the lot in a blur of sandy brown.

——

Normally, soldiers would use aircrafts to reach their destinations- as it was both faster and easier than doing so on land. The practice of driving cars fell out over 90 years ago as aircrafts became more and more preferred, so seeing someone with a license for a car was rare.

But where they were going was different.

In Opal there are cities, or suburbs, in this part of the world that have suffered major battle scars during the Ruling War and battles following after that. The pollutants in the air messed with the aircraft controls and put the passengers in danger. Flying was a no-go in the small burrow of Kingsly, where there mission was taking place-a wasteland where nothing can survive.

Except aliens.

They thrive in a place like that. Though not many are ever recorded there. Only a few each month, which are always taken out by lower squads.

'So what's so special about this one.' Thought Wish.

Kira turned to look at her. She raised an eyebrow and Wish shrugged. Kira must have heard her thinking.

"So who bets that this Foha will have no more than 20 aliens?" Hede Said.

Forum of Hostile Aliens or Foha (pronounced Fa) is the term for a gathering of aliens.

"I bet there's more than 30 but less than 60." Zak challenges.

"Okay then. The loser has to pay the winner 100 inx." Hede declares.

"Deal." Zak agrees.

"Actually, no deal. It's pointless to bet on things like that." Serenity said. The 2 boys turned to her.

"Well your words hold no weight as you don't even have a bet placed." Zak rebuked.

"Fine, then..' Serenity thinks for a second. " I bet the number of aliens is somewhere in the seventies."

Hede and Zak smirked. "Deal." They both said.

'There is no way there are that many aliens in one place.' Zak thought.

Serenity smirked back and did some final preparations.

——

After about 10 minutes, they arrived at their mission site. In front of them were ashes, dust and crumbled buildings. There were no sounds, no life- it was deserted.

Pax passed out the bags in the back of the car in silence. The rest took their bags in silence as well. This was no time for talking.

Kira held up a fist, and after a quick look from the front of the rover, held up an unclosed hand- signaling to go ahead.

They got out of the car carefully with their bags and walked quietly towards one of the fallen buildings.

They crouched beside it and set their bags down in front of themselves. They unzipped them and pulled out their weapon of choice and a few extra melee and ranged weapons.

They zipped them back up and hid them around the corner of the building.

Kira signaled the unit to get into battle formation 'Black Widow' and get ready for advance.

With a look around the corner Kira saw the outline of the streets, ashes floating from corner to another, skulls that were either human or some other animal, and finally- the aliens.

They were in huddled together by some rubble 5 blocks away. Kira counted how many there were and smiled.

"Looks like Hede and Zak has to pay 100 inx each" Kira whispered.

"What?!" Hede and Zak whisper yelled.

"How many are there?" Serenity asked, smiling.

Kira looked back to aliens and recounted.

She turned her head to look at the group.

"Seventy-eight," Kira said.