17. Smugglers
After we place Mr. Wiley in the brig, I head to the bridge to talk to Captain Derek. When I reach the bride and spot the Captain, I salute him before speaking. "I place the target at the brig."
"Good. That's the first phase done."
"First phase?" I ask, confused. I thought all we have to do is to arrest Mr. Wiley and bring him to Zuloth.
"The first phase of this operation was to arrest the target. The second phase is to stir the smugglers into moving so that we can spot them moving the goods. And by the looks of it, we're successful." The Captain looks at the projection on the window, overlooking the asteroid belt. The projection zooms into the mining station to see multiple workers loading containers into a cargo transport ship.
I sigh internally; I should have expected that wasn't the only thing I have to do. They sent us to dismantle this smuggling operation from the beginning.
"So what's our next move, Captain?"
"We're going to send your team and one of our platoons to secure the station and find any hidden weapon cache for evidence."
"And the workers?"
"Detain them; all of them. Everyone in that station is under suspicion of helping with the smuggling operation until they're checked and cleared. I already sent a request to Zuloth for additional support."
"Then what's phase three?" I ask, a hint of dissatisfaction in my voice. "I don't like being kept in the dark, especially if it's dangerous. I want to make the best decision for me and my team to avoid any unnecessary risk. Or is this just a need-to-know basis?" The crew working on the bridge glares at me as I boldly talk to the Captain.
Come on, who wouldn't question their officer if the boots on the ground didn't have proper intel and are just given vague orders. It's a good mindset for simple grunts, but if you want an effective unit, you should give them the best chance possible. And giving them all possible intel will increase their odds. But hey, it's not my first rodeo.
The Captain lets out an amused smile. "Don't worry Lieutenant, I wasn't trying to hide anything. I was about to tell you before you ask. Phase three is just waiting for backup from Zuloth so we can pass the guest to them and let them handle the rest here on out."
"I'll be at the hangar, Captain."
"Good. My platoon will be there at the hangar in ten minutes."
After everything is set, three dropships launched from the hangar. Every dropship can carry an average of two squads or 25 suited-up soldiers, excluding the pilots. Flying in a vic formation as the lead, we head towards the station where the workers are loading containers into cargo transporters. As soon as we land, six fully armed squads exit the side door of the dropships. The Captain's platoon immediately orders the workers to raise their hands and detain them while Alpha and my squad secure the area.
After getting out of the dropship with Jean, we head towards the Captain's platoon and my team.
"The outside perimeter is secure," Tarik says through the comms.
"Lieutenant. We have detained most of the workers outside the station. The only place to check is the station itself and the mine shafts," The Second Lieutenant commanding the platoon reports. "Also, the containers inside the transports contained only ores. No weapons."
So these are just decoys. Most likely the caches are in the mine.
"Send your team to secure the station, we'll check the mine. Foxtrot, on me; Alpha, watch the perimeter."
"Sir!" Everyone yells.
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Inside an excavated chamber of the mine full of containers of different kinds of weapons. Two people, one wearing an illuminated suit and one wearing a jet black military exosuit are having a heated discussion as soldiers scour the surface of the asteroid.
The Zulaith supervisor wearing the illuminated suit yells at the person wearing the jet black suit. "We are fucking screwed! They found out and the soldiers are detaining everyone!" He points at the camera feed on a nearby screen. "What are we going to do about this!?"
With a distorted electronic voice, the person with the jet black suit replies to the panicking supervisor. "Calm do–"
"You're telling me to fucking calm down!? Are you shitting me!? If I get caught, how the hell am I gonna pay for my family! What I'm gonna do when I'm in jail!?"
In a split second, a black hand tightly grasps his neck, making him gasp and struggle as he is held up in the air by a single hand. "Listen, I already planned for this. If you don't want to be arrested, follow my orders. Understood?"
"Gah! Ye... yes!" After he answers, the grip on his throat loosens and he falls on the ground, coughing. Gasping for air for a minute, he slowly gets up from the ground with shaky legs.
"Now that you're up, I want you to do this—"
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After entering the mine's airlock entrance, we cautiously scan the corridor as we arrive at a facility. Setting up positions at the facility's large pressure door, I hug the wall where the control panel is. I raise three of my fingers and start counting down. Everyone readies their weapons.
Three… two… one… and I tap the panel to open the garage door. As the door slowly rises and loud mechanical hiss can be heard from the hydraulics. What awaits us at the other side was a sentry turret menacingly pointing its barrel towards us. Oh shit!
"Take cover!" Jean yells as I immediately took cover behind a wall. The rest of the squad immediately took cover in their position when the machine gun opened fire. A continuous roar of gunfire echoes in the mine's corridor.
"Foxtrot! What the hell happened!?" Captain Derek's voice shouts from my comms.
"We're under fire from a sentry turret, Bravery!" I yell.
"That means they're getting antsy. Find a way to deal with it, Foxtrot."
"Roger that! Flash that sentry!"
One of my team grabs a flashbang, pulls the pin, and hurls it towards the turret that's suppressing us. A bright flash and a loud bang followed after it detonated, overloading the turret's sensor and forcing it to fire blindly for a split second. It was enough for us, not in the firing line of the turret to shoot at it until it was eliminated. With the turret out of the way, we storm the facility and start clearing every room. When we cleared the room, we found a group of workers huddled up in a room after they heard gunshots.
After asking them questions, they told us that a few workers were running further in the tunnels carrying containers and armed with guns. I let two of my men escort them out of the facility before chasing the ones who are running away. When we managed to catch up, two of the workers opened fire on us with assault rifles. We immediately took cover.
"Foxtrot to Bravery, we managed to catch up with the smugglers and are now engaging!"
"Copy that Foxtrot, good hunting."
While the smugglers are forcing us to take cover, they are just wildly firing at the corridor without any thought of conserving ammo; until they both run out and have to reload. Using the opportunity, I pop out of cover and shoot a burst of fire at one of the smugglers who are trying to reload. My shots land at his torso, instantly downing him. His buddy quickly took cover as he barely dodges the rounds from my team. By alternating fire, we suppress the enemy from firing back, while some advance; repeating it until we reach the enemy's position.
When we reached his position, the zulaith smuggler was cowering behind cover. When he saw the muzzle of my rifle in front of his visor, he stiffened.
"Drop your weapon!" I shout.
He quickly drops his rifle and raises his hand in the air. "D-Don't kill me!"
"I won't kill you, but tell me where your group is going or you'll be taking the brunt of the charges," I say with a deep threatening voice.
"I will! I will!"
After we cuffed him, he told me that they're going to the deepest part of the mine to use an improvised hangar. We quickly tried to catch up to the smugglers as we left the guy cuffed to a pole. When we found an airlock, I saw people on the other side loading containers in unmarked transport ships. As soon as they spot us, they begin firing at the airlock until the glass breaks, and pressurized air on our side is forcefully sucked into the vacuum of space. We took cover behind heavy machinery as all the air in the room was expelled, leaving only silence and the vibration of our rifles as we returned fire.
For some reason, the smugglers we just fought moments ago and the one we are currently fighting are putting up an effective resistance. Not like the previous two who were wildly firing with no coordination. They are firing with one or two smugglers at us, and when they're out of ammo, another one takes their place to cover them while they reload.
Is one of them a veteran leading them?
When I try to take a glimpse, a hail of bullets forces my head down as it hits my cover. But it was enough for me to notice a jet black military exosuit calmly standing there.
It's not another worker, it's a highly trained operative commanding the inexperienced smugglers and effectively keeping us from advancing. Shit, this is a huge problem.
"Foxtrot, sitrep."
"We're under fire and can't advance at the enemy position! Someone in a black exosuit is leading an effective defense with the smugglers!"
"Black exosuit?"
"Affirmative, Bravery! They're commanding the smugglers and we can't gain any advantage!"
"Maintain your position. Your fighting with someone that's been torn at our side for years, codenamed: Black Wasp. Good men and women died in their hands so be careful."
"Wilco."
As we slowly pick off the smugglers one by one, the transport ship's engines silently roar, and the smugglers slowly retreat. When they board the ship, I manage to shoot one of the smugglers from the ramp before it closes and flies off. Another ship with a sleek design flies off with the transport ships.
"Foxtrot to Bravery, targets have escaped."
"Copy that Foxtrot. Head back to the surface."
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An hour after the operation, we had checked all workers in the station, and any of those who failed at the lie detection test was sent to the frigate for further interrogation. I also gave my report to the Captain before returning to the crew cabin. When a destroyer arrived a few hours later, we handed over the operation to them and we headed back to Zuloth.
10 hours later, I can see the blue atmosphere of Zuloth in the crew cabin as we near the station. Everyone packs up and heads to the hangar. We headed into the dropship, strapped ourselves, and flew towards Zuloth. A notification pops up on my helmet HUD, displaying 100,000 credits have been transferred into my account. Another payday. Nearing the atmosphere, I tilt the dropship up at a 40-degree angle as I prepare for reentry. When I reached the Karman line, a bright streak of plasma started engulfing the ship as it entered the atmosphere.
When the dropship has slowed down and the plasma dissipates, the night sky of Zuloth fills the cockpit's view. The lights of the city shine brightly from the ground as the flight computer returns the control to me. I'm back.