We moved through the water quickly, watching carefully for anything that might approach us from below while heading to the beach. The island was such that there was a steep dropoff into the open ocean after four hundred meters from the coast. It wasn’t a massive plot of land, a little more than two thousand square kilometers in all, and rose like a blot out of the ocean. Steep faces made approach on the northern, eastern, and southern faces difficult, but the west had something of a sandbar.

As we closed, though, I noticed a vibrant coral environment lush with life. At first glance, I didn’t notice anything particularly amiss, but I was hardly an expert on coral life. If there were biotics among the colony beneath us, we’d deal with it as it came.

Daniel pulled ahead of us slightly, understanding that his hardened mech would have the best ability to tank out of the five of us. Jessica and Fran came up immediately behind him, intent on using him as a shield. Domino and I trailed the back, just in case anything came up from behind us. Domino had outfitted himself with a shoulder mounted weapon, one with limited charges, but that would suffice nonetheless. It was an anti-material rifle, one that could tear through most mechs easily, only The Dauntless a considerable exception. Old world tech shouldn’t be able to hold up to it.

As for the rest of us, we didn’t modify our arsenals overly much. My weaponry was solid regardless of what we would find, and Fran’s approach gave a great amount of utility. Jessica was perhaps the most at risk, given that a great deal of her kit dealt in close quarters combat. She hadn’t been able to exercise that to the fullest underwater given our lack of specialization into aquatic mobility, but now that we were on land I believed she would be able to utilize her advantages to their fullest.

“Looks like we’re clear,” Daniel speculated, “I’m not picking up anything on the HUD.”

Domino added, “I don’t think they’d put anything out here anyways, if they were trying to keep it secret, that’d basically be screaming that something was here.”

For a few moments we moved forward, the water awash against the metal hull of the suit.

“We’re sure that there is something here, right?” Fran asked, concern clear in her voice. A heavier silence followed the question. If there really was nothing here, then what would that mean for all of the sacrifices we’d made to get here? It would be inaccurate to say that this whole trip was for nothing, though, given the threat that the Red Zone had posed and the necessity of taking it out. However, there was no small part of me that was aware that we needed access to one of these uplinks.

If this wasn’t a site with an uplink, then we’d have to try to find another one. That was something I didn’t believe we had the time to do. The Artorian Company was far from orbit, and if I wanted their assistance in the slightest, then I’d need them to be able to approach Earth. While it was possible to destroy the network of satellites overhead, that wouldn’t be conducive to long term goals, especially considering that getting them back into orbit would take a great deal of time. Resources were less of an issue due to the use of M.E. in general construction, but anything we would put in orbit would be a work of considerable effort and detail.

“If there’s not, we have other options,” I glanced to Fran, “But we know for certain that there’s one in the region, and this is the most likely place for it.”

Fran nodded, though she was already well aware of the information we’d found surrounding the island. Even so, none of us wanted this trip to turn up empty at the end.

As a precaution, I directed the Determinators to comb the surroundings of the island once, mostly to confirm whether or not they could find any kind of dock or alternate entry to the facility on the island. It was unlikely, but if they did find it, that might be a better way inside. If they didn’t, well, they would just have to join us later.

We emerged from the ocean, water glistening off of our forms in the dull light. Night had fallen, though there was plenty of ambient glow cast off by the full moon that hung overhead. Even without that, though, our sensors gave us a gamut of information, ranging from night vision to infrared, making the landscape we walked into as plain as day before our eyes.Which, in this case, was an unassuming beach with no particularly out of the ordinary features. Even so, I carefully swept the beach on the lookout for anything that seemed amiss. Fran swept the area as well, pulling at anything that might be magnetic hidden under the sand. We moved forward slowly until Fran paused, gesturing at a specific location and pulling upwards gently. Before our eyes, the sand shuddered, and a dusky piece of metal rose. I tensed for half a second before I realized what it was, and then chuckled.

“A car bumper.” I shook my head, “Well, didn’t expect that. Anything else?”

Fran let out a relieved sigh before picking up the bumper further and chucking it further afield ahead of us. It clattered against the sand, skipping several times before coming to a halt. Domino looked to her with a raised eyebrow questioningly.

“Checking for mines.” She shrugged, “Not a guarantee, but if they’re plastic and not metal, I wouldn’t find them. But, I think we’re clear.”

Daniel stepped forward, broad feet still sinking a full foot into the sand as he trudged through the turf. “I’ll check it, but I’m not picking up anything either. I could shell the beach?”

Jessica laughed, “We’d definitely announce ourselves to the island at that rate.”

I nodded, “True. For now, we’ll follow behind you, but I doubt there’s anything to worry about just yet. Lead on through the trees, we’ll trail you.”

He nodded, black metal and purple light gleaming almost malevolently as he strode forward several meters ahead. Every step we worried that there was a trap, but invariably Daniel’s every heavy step led to another, stopping only when he hit the tree-line. He turned to us, shrugging with his hands up expressively, the motion exaggerated in the titanic mech he piloted.

“Guess that’s all, then.” He chuckled, “Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting.”

Fran paused, looking to the sides, before quickly holding a hand up, “Wait a moment, I think there’s metal here.”

That got us to stop on a dime, my own eyes searching the ground in front of us for anything out of the ordinary. Sand and coarse dirt with winding, thin clusters of trees were what dominated the earth in front of me, however I did notice that there was something else present.

“I see something,” I highlighted it on my HUD, sending the image to the others.

Daniel nodded, “Looks like some trampled fence.”

Domino stepped forward, casting a wary glance over his shoulder to Fran. She nodded to him, thinking it safe enough to approach. We kept an eye out for anything unusual as he stooped down. He grabbed a hold of metal wiring and pulled, his mechanically assisted body letting him dredge up two meters of buried wire fence, bits of root and clumps of dirt coming up with it. He shook it loose, “Yep, fence. Torn the hell up though.”

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I saw what he was talking about as he held it up, the torn metal at the edges as though something big had pushed straight through it, rather than having cut it.

“Well, I think that means we have company.” Jessica sighed, “Guess it was too much to ask that we’d be the only ones here.”

“Nothing is ever that easy,” I agreed, “Keep your eyes open. Daniel, you lead. Fran, keep an eye out.”

Daniel moved forward with a wordless nod with Fran hovering just behind him.

“Hold up,” Domino gestured for us to come closer, “There’s a sign still attached.”

I tilted my head curiously as that and wondered what a deserted island might have need for signs. When Domino uncovered the trefoil symbol - the yellow and black hazard sign to indicate radiation - I didn’t need to see the rest of the sign.

“No Trespassing - Lethal Radiation Poisoning Area… Anybody got a geiger counter?” Domino nonchalantly dropped the fencing and sign.

“I do,” Daniel nodded, “Always on. Not a peep out of it, though.”

“Same,” I checked to be sure, but read no unusual levels. “It’s probably just to scare people.”

“Hope so,” Domino sighed before shouldering his rifle and moving back into position. After that, we made our way forwards, the plant life fairly overgrown, winding and twisting between the boughs in some places like a net. More than once Daniel was forced to push his way through in some locations, cutting through branches and vines as a matter of course and making plentiful space for the rest of us to follow behind.

I noticed that there were animal sounds in the wild here, much more than on the mainland. This island, if it had a biotic presence, was still mostly untouched. Perhaps that wasn’t so unusual if there were no humans or other larger forms of life here. We’d already determined that biotics tended towards areas with access to people, and with larger organisms in general. That at least seemed to be a point in favor of the island being deserted.

My night vision picked up the dark forest in fair detail, shored up by motion sensors and infrared accompaniments. I wasn’t the only one with these tools, by now each of the team had night vision and infrared as a general standard, and added more as needed.

As such, when the ground ahead of us and to the right churned, we responded almost instantly. Daniel planted his feet firmly and widely, forming a physical barrier between us and whatever was on the move.

Contrary to what we expected, though, a loud siren pierced the otherwise calm night air, a red light blinking rapidly on the object that had risen from the ground.

“Is that a turret?” Daniel blinked at the stout object as the barrels of a machine gun tracked us, sirens still sounding. Another speaker started in at that point, but whatever sounds it was supposed to be was garbled and incoherent.

“I’m willing to bet that’s why we haven’t seen any biotics in the area.” Jessica commented, “Why aren’t we getting shot yet?”

An instant later a silver streak shot through the air towards the turret. Just as suddenly, the automated defense let out a sharp metallic squeal as it was torn free from the supporting brace that held it, a splutter of electrical sparks sprayed through the air. The alarm petered off rapidly then too, and I turned to look to see Fran recalling her feather.

“Probably the last warning, I imagine most people would freak out and run away. Though, that seems ill considered, since if anyone saw that and got away it’d definitely require investigation.” Fran shuffled the feather back into place as she considered the turret and defenses themselves.

“Perhaps they were an afterthought?” Domino suggested, “What if the facility was repurposed and didn't need such defenses?”

That gave me pause, especially considering that I wasn’t aware of exactly when the building was made. I only became aware of some conditional shipments and peripheral contracts regarding the island, nothing concrete. For all we knew, there was some sprawling underground industrial complex beneath us.

‘Gods, I hope not.’ I shook my head, not looking forward to trying to slog our way through a large facility that likely was filled with automated defenses. The first thing I wanted to do was access some computer system, but most places would likely have the defensive network cut off from the mainframe. That’s what I’d do, in any case.

Steadily we stalked through the forest, watching out for any other signs that we might be ambushed. Along the way, Fran pointed out a couple of turrets that had been badly damaged at one point or another, non functional and with parts cleft from them. That, at least, confirmed the presence of something or someone else, though most likely biotic in nature given the fact that the metal was riven with what looked like claws than anything else.

We were quieter after that, uncertain if perhaps the biotics had actually surpassed the defenses of the island. Unfortunately, we were hardly stealthy, Daniel’s mech itself was surprisingly quiet, but there was only so much we could do when he needed to break through the forest in some places. I was just peering into the trees when I realized that a plot of earth was splitting open, a turret sliding only inches up out of the ground.

“Heads up!” Fran called, feathers flying out and guarding our opposite flank. I brought up my rifle in a snap, bringing myself into the Reaper’s Eye focus state while sighting my gun. With a rapid burst I fired, tearing through the metal casing that supported the turret and its ability to fire. Unlike the other, there was no bead of red light, no sound to warn us.

On the opposite side, a pair of machine guns began to chew through their ammo, firing at us and clanking and clanging off of Daniel’s dense armor and Fran’s encompassing barrier.

They fired for only a second before Daniel and Domino aimed their own weapons, dwarfing the noise that came from the turrets and tearing them both apart.

“Horseshoe formation, watch for more.” I commanded, putting myself a meter away from Jessica and Fran. Our loose U-shaped formation allowed Daniel plenty of room to maneuver, and still gave us cover from his direction.

However, after several seconds of searching and scanning, we found nothing more to surprise us.

“I think that’s all.” I turned to the others then, “Any damage?”

Fran studied her feathers before shrugging, “Nothing particular.”

Daniel chuckled, “A few scratches, that’s all.”

Domino and Jessica shook their heads, neither had any issue either. I nodded at that, Fran had done well to defend so quickly, though I was sure that just these turrets wouldn’t have been enough to deal serious damage quickly.

“Let's keep moving forward, we’re bound to run into more of them. We should be at the center in less than an hour if we keep a steady pace.”

The others nodded, guards back up as we moved. This hadn’t been bad yet, but I wondered what else might be in store for us.

I felt the Determinators ping me then, their mission to comb the outside of the island complete. They’d found a dock of a sorts, but by their estimates it had been utterly unused for the entire duration. Overall, they’d found no indication that anyone had been on or off the island in recent history, and were now combing their way through the jungle towards us. They had already dismantled a handful of turrets along the way. The Determinators were even more efficient in their approach than we were, given that they were networked together and could share information instantly. They hadn’t taken any damage aside from a scrape here and there, but they were carefully marking the turret locations to see if they could discern any pattern to them.

That much surprised me, and more so when they reported that they were beginning to predict turret locations. Still, I had to caution them not to rely overtly on that, but I couldn’t help but be supremely impressed, and somewhat flabbergasted when they stated that they’d nearly caught up to our progress on another angle even with everything else they were doing.

Then again, they were tireless killing machines and there were 52 of them, so perhaps in reality I had held my bar of expectations unreasonably low for them?

I smiled and shook my head, reminding myself that this wasn’t a race. At this rate, though, we’d make it to the facility even sooner.