- John York -
"I apologize on behalf of my colleague, John." Wiz bowed his head before continuing to speak. "Sir, we've found signs that seem to be what you're looking for."
"John, I believe the Blue Division has found the planet where your sister is being held captive. However, it's only a hypothesis at the moment," Wiz explained.
"How did you discover the planet, and what makes you think that you’re right this time?" John asked.
Before explaining, Wiz started a small projection of the planet and the surrounding region.
"First, it's a planet within Ork territory, but it's not too far from our border," Wiz explained. "Furthermore, there's no trace of teleportation or any kind of faster-than-light travel being used. Because of that, for a long time, we thought it was some kind of abandoned planet."
Wiz changed the displayed images to more recent records. "However, a few weeks ago, we started to see movements near the planet, made by ships traveling below the speed of light. After that, we attempted several infiltration and espionage missions; of the three spies sent, only one returned. However, he brought promising news."
Wiz presented some photos of a huge fortress built in the middle of the desert. The golden sun seemed like it would melt anything that set foot on that land. Even so, the fortress remained standing, with some towers resembling spears and some white domes scattered throughout the fortress.
However, it was in poor condition. It was possible to see corridors and walls falling apart. What was once a critical part of Ork infrastructure, to an amateur eye, seemed utterly abandoned.
John could understand how several analysts examined this planet and didn't point out any irregularities.
"I get it, but what indicates that there are prisoners in this fortress?" the Heir asked.
"Our infiltrator managed to capture some images of captured humans being taken inside the fortress," Wiz explained, presenting the latest images.
"Alright." John had no more questions; among all the information he had obtained in recent months, this was the most concrete.
‘No wonder Wiz had remained a General for decades.’ John mused internally while watching the Blue Division General presentation.
"I imagine you already have a mission planned?" John asked.
"Yes, we intend to launch a small-scale assault on the fortress," Wiz explained, his fingers gliding over the holographic projection as he presented the enemy's schematics. "However, teleportation is out of the question. Our initial probes have detected jamming waves enveloping the entire fortress."
He pointed to the pulsating energy patterns displayed above the table. "These blocking frequencies make any form of air-to-surface teleportation impossible. Furthermore, we have no intel on whether they possess underground teleportation devices to deploy reinforcements at a moment's notice. That means we must execute a swift, surgical strike and withdraw before they can react."
"Right. What would be the team's size and the invasion method?" John asked.
It was Quinn's turn to rejoin the conversation, as her division specialized in this type of mission. "It will be a team of twenty rangers. They will perform an orbit jump with direct descent onto the fortress. The priority will be the rescue of the princess, with the secondary objective of obtaining critical information on the Orks' movements."
"Jump without chutes?" John asked, his eyes fixed intently on Quinn.
"With parachutes, obviously," Quinn replied, her tone edged with impatience. "Our team isn't trained for orbit jumps without them.”
"Alright. I will participate in the action.” John said calmly. “Also, I will bring four Rangers from House York. Lastly, this jump will be without chutes."
"That's impossible," Quinn protested, her eyebrows knitting together in disbelief. "We can't execute a mission like that."
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"I will ensure the safety of your Rangers. Don't worry," John explained.
Quinn hesitated, her gaze dropping to the table. She could see that further argument was futile.
"Alright," she sighed. "But this goes against standard protocol."
"When will the action take place?" John asked.
"Immediately," Quinn replied. "We can't afford any delays. There's no telling when they'll realize we've been monitoring them."
"Excellent," John said with a faint smile. "That's precisely what I was hoping for."
--
--
A few hours later, the York and NEA ships met. The operation would use only a smaller ship to avoid being detected when entering Ork territory.
Both the 20 NEA Rangers and the 5 York Rangers were transferred to the infiltration and escape ship.
While waiting for the operation to begin, all Rangers had to remain in the ship's cargo area. The only one who would stay was a pilot who would need to keep the vessel intact while the mission was carried out. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.
At the moment the jump was made, several other ships would start searching for it to shoot it down before the infiltrators could escape.
The Rangers could hear the captain's information through their communicators, "We are approaching the planet Merea Alpha. In 30 seconds, the cargo bay will open. You will have 60 seconds to perform the jump. Your mission should last a maximum of thirty minutes; after that, it's impossible to guarantee the safety of the evacuation ship. Understood?"
"Yes!" all the Rangers confirmed.
It was possible to see twenty-four red Rangers preparing for the landing inside the ship, except for one person. John wore the Golden Ranger's armor. He would be the first to jump, as his powers would be needed to ensure the others' safety.
A few seconds later came the captain's final confirmation: "Ready? I'm opening the cargo bay. Start the operation!"
As soon as the Rangers received the information, John ran to the opening and made his jump.
An orbit jump was one of the actions performed by Rangers to ensure a quick assault on a point of interest before the Orks could detect them. This meant that the ship only needed to get close to 50 kilometers from the ground before jumping.
After a few seconds of the silence of space, the Rangers began to free fall, accelerating to around 200 km/h in their descent. However, none of them carried parachutes.
After some time, John could already see the ground. His armor, which was already golden, shone and sparkled with the fire of his entry into the planet's atmosphere. However, his intention was not to decelerate.
As soon as John could see the fort, he crossed his arms over his body. He had no intention of slowing down at all. Using his control over Energy, he purposefully increased his mass and acceleration, reaching the ground in the blink of an eye.
"3. 2. 1." John counted the seconds before finally landing.
What many would consider the force of a missile was simply the landing of the Golden Ranger. The Orks who had been walking inside the fortress were quickly reduced to ashes, and around the Heir, there was now a vast crater and dozens of buildings reduced to rubble.
A few meters above John were the other 24 Rangers. However, unlike the Heir, they did not have equipment or even training for this type of landing—something usually only performed by the daredevils of the Yellow Division.
To ensure some safety, the Heir let all his Energy flow, flooding the area around him.
The Orks who saw the Ranger ran to attack him, only to faint a few steps before reaching their target.
John closed his eyes and let his energy expand until he found each of the twenty-four Rangers preparing to land. He moved his hands as if he were controlling marionettes and quickly pulled their strings.
For those watching from the outside, everything seemed absurd. However, Quinn could feel almost immediately her body rapidly slowing down in the air, a few meters before hitting the ground.
However, as soon as she could set her first foot in the fortress, she could feel the dense field of Energy that had spread.
‘It… It just isn’t possible.’ She looked incredulously at the Heir.
"Did everyone arrive safely?" John asked the companions who had just landed.
"Yes, sir," the Rangers confirmed.
"Start searching," he ordered.
With his energy completely expanded and covering the entire surface of the fortress, he looked down. The Ranger could sense that Katherine was not in any of the buildings in front of him.
However, he was not yet finished.
"This is for having the audacity to take my sister," the Golden Ranger uttered.
Amidst the chaos of his landing in the fortress, John, with his armor gleaming under the scorching sun, walked, trying to get as close as possible to the center of the city. With an infuriated look, he brought both hands forward, clapping his palms in a simple yet powerful gesture.
At the instant his hands met, a colossal wave of Energy was expelled, vibrating at such an intense frequency that it was almost tangible. The wave of energy continued to expand rapidly, traversing the city like an invisible force. However, wherever it touched, the impact was immediate.
A deafening roar broke the remaining silence in parts of the city. Huge fissures spread like spider webs among buildings, walls, and towers.
In a matter of seconds, one of the towers began to crumble, cracking in half under the overwhelming power released.