Lanada awoke to Sam’s knocking; the most annoying alarm. His bright and early, cheerful face didn’t help either—a stark contrast to Lanada’s eye baggage.
“Morning! Ready for your second mission briefing?”
“No.”
Despite saying no, they trudged out after Sam anyways, slumped over from their fatigue. They were grateful that the odd dreams had stopped, but that still didn’t make them a morning person.
The briefing room was situated next to their STAR office, already filled with an array of the division's agents and operatives. Commander Reyna was sitting at a desk in front to the side, finishing up work on her computer while sipping a fruity drink. Sam and Lanada sat down to wait a few moments while others still filed in, slowly filling the room. Once a particularly plump human entered, Commander Reyna gulped down the rest of her beverage and stood, clearing her throat.
“Alright, got a lot of assignments here. Kar’Neil, starting off with your team…”
Commander Reyna went down her list of tasks, assigning agents and operatives, or leaving some open to volunteer for—the lighter jobs gleaning more hand raises. She still hadn’t gotten to Lanada and Sam though, and they were bored out of their mind.
They barely noticed when Reyna got to them finally, more than half the room already gone.
“Sam, Lanada, got a longer mission for you. We have a team of scouts in southern wastelands, about twenty kilometers north of Wistera. They stopped reporting in a day ago, and we need you to investigate. They’ve been tracking Geldor weapons shipments for the past week, but as of now, they haven’t confirmed their location or their safety. We need you to locate the team, then assist with their mission. You’re a bit better armed for firepower than they are, so if there’s a fight you’ll be their cover. Their last known coordinates will be sent to your Circles. Any questions?”
“Yeah can we go now? You like literally waited to do us last.”
“Um. Yeah, go.”
“Thank gods.”
“Lanada don’t be an ass,” Sam quietly shook his head.
“Sorry Reyna, you’d better start doing us first though. I didn’t wake up this early to just sit here for an hour.”
“Not a morning person? Okay though. Next time I’ll give you an assignment that you’ll get shot on. Those are the ones I brief first. I have a system, don’t fuck it up. Now, Jackson, your assignment…”
They left as Reyna continued her brief, addressing a tall saumryan in the back. Sam had an unserious grin, teasing Lanada.
“Shut up. We’re going to be in the desert for a while, I’m sure you won’t be smiling then. Humans are bad with heat.”
“Well our planet actually has more than just desert.”
“How? It got blown up by rich assholes.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Sam’s smile faded, even though he’d never been to his home world. When the humans came, they were fleeing global destruction caused by their ancestors. Its last nations had waged one final war, claiming to have destroyed the planet's surface. After generations of traveling, and even more spent on Mikoril, it seemed the rocky home with the saumryans and brestyrians was their last pocket of existence. Even if a human hadn’t seen Earth, they still had a sad look in their eye whenever it was brought up.
“Don’t look so sad, it happens all the time.”
“What, planets getting destroyed? I don’t think it does, Lanada.”
They left the capitol building to their ship, thanking the cool air from inside. Although saumryans were adapted for the heat, it could still get uncomfortable. Sam was having a much harder time though, his entire brow covered in sweat. Saumryans don’t sweat; Lanada found it quite disgusting.
Inside, the ship's crew were tending to their duties at a relaxed pace, paying Sam and Lanada a short glance or wave. The few they had smoked with dodged their eyes with Sam around, likely to cover their illicit relationship.
Bofi was eating a meal when Lanada and Sam saw her, letting her gulp down her bite before responding.
“You’re ready? Just got the ‘ords and the coords.”
“Please never say that again.”
“Sam get that stick out of your ass. Oh, and Lanada. Hiii!”
She waved and Lanada waved back, watching her climb upstairs with her plate of food still in hand.
“I’ve got some work to do, I have my Circle if you need me.”
“Probably won’t. Unless you tell me where you’re at so I can avoid you.”
“Can’t hide from me. I’ve got eyes everywhere.”
He walked off, burying his face in his Circle. Lanada decided to go to their room, unsure what to do.
“Now departing to Wistera, ETA 2 hours,” Bofi said over the intercom.
It was enough time to find those engineers to smoke with again. They left their cabin with a new motivation, heading to the engineer room. When they got inside, Sam was there talking to Hol’nel, comparing their reports.
“Lanada? What are you doing here?”
“Just uh, checking out the ship! Wow, this is the engineer room? Fascinating!”
“Just don’t touch anything.”
Lanada tried to calm down their adrenaline, but for some reason Sam had startled them. They felt like a child again, sneaking drugs under their parents’ nose. Sam was far less threatening, and Lanada was far more threatening though, so they brushed off their emotions and found the engineering crawlspace. With a quick look to make sure Sam wasn’t looking, they entered the hole, working their thighs to avoid crawling.
When they turned the second corner, the engineer smoking group wasn’t there, instead there was only a small human, monitoring a valve before him. Lanada recognized him though, he had been in the group before.
“Hey, where’s the weed?”
“What? Oh, it’s you. We’re waiting on Macan, he has reports to give to Sam though, so we’ll have to wait until then.”
“How long is that going to take?”
“Well, Sam is very thorough, we may not even get it in before we land.”
“Fuck that. Where’s Macan, I’ll go do the report for him.”
“Do you know how?”
“Nope. Bye.”
Lanada crawled back out, emerging right before Sam. He was inspecting a piece of machinery, taking notes on his Circle.
“Fuck! Wh—Lanada? What are you doing in there?!”
“Oh the bathrooms aren’t this way? Must have gotten confused, sorry!”
They tried to scramble to their feet and flee, but Sam stopped them.
“Lanada, what are you doing? Is there something I should know?”
“What, you’re the perfect STAR agent, why do you need me to tell you? Oh, I’ve got Macan’s report by the way. It’s the easiest and I want to learn how to do it.”
“Why? And his report is definitely the most detailed, usually takes me a while to get through his. Where did this sudden inspiration come from?”
“Just… I wanna help out. Now bye!”
Lanada ran out of the room, leaving Sam to shake his head. They scanned the ship for Macan, feeling more stressed with every empty room. They finally found him at the bridge, talking to another engineer.
“Macan! I’m doing your report!”
“What? You? What happened to Sam?”
“He needed some help on this one, you know how long he takes.”
“Alright, I’ll bite. I’m sure it’ll be better without him breathing down my neck the whole time.”
“Yeah, follow me.”
Lanada turned and then grinned, seeing their prize in sight. Macan’s small fanny pack above his ass was insulated to hold in the scent, but Lanada swore they could still smell the flower inside. They guided him downstairs and then into the engineering crawlspace, much to his surprise.
“Why are we going to the crawlspace to do reports?”
“Because I’m strung the fuck out and need a hit.”
“Oh, of course, I see. Do you even know how to do the reports?”
“Nope. But I bet I can do it, how hard can it be?”
“Oh gods… I really hope Sam doesn’t get my ass for this.”
Lanada tried to help Macan with his reports, but it was hopeless. Especially after two joints, they could barely do any math even on their Circle, which is what most of the report consisted of. Macan declined to smoke the second time, offering to just do the report himself. Lanada was satisfied as their head took on a heavy lull, freeing them of all the stress they’d been going through. Macan looked worried, but why? All he had to do was smoke again. Once he finished, he gave the paper back to Lanada to sign and review.
“Thanks dude!”
“You’re welcome… Wish I could say the same. You smoked all my weed and made me do my own report. Sam’s going to boot me for this…”
“Is he really that much of a hardass? I tease him all the time.”
“You’re in a position to. Sam is very much a by the books kind of guy. He tries to be casual with us, but it just doesn’t feel genuine; like he’s doing it because it’s his duty. You’re lucky you’re an agent like him.”
“Macan, you’re my bestie. I’ll make sure you don’t get booted off the ship, okay?”
“Good luck convincing Sam.”
“He doesn’t even know! I’ll give the report to him, if anything is wrong he’ll think I did it.”
“He still would’ve expected me to tell him you weren’t doing it right.”
“It’s probably fine, I—”
Lanada stopped as they heard footsteps above them. A nearby hatch opened and Sam peered his head in, staring right at Lanada.
“Lanada…”
“Um, want a smoke?”
They held up the last two centimeters of a blunt, nervously smiling at Sam.
“That’s not allowed on the ship. Did you give that to them, Macan?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve already said I don’t want that on this ship. STAR regs. You two finish that report?”
“Yeah, piece of cake,” Lanada handed over the paper.
“Looks good. Now Lanada, please get out of the crawlspace! Get back to work Macan.”
“Hey, you don’t have to be a dick to him. I pressured him.”
“No STAR operative should ever succumb to pressure. Our safety relies on it. It also relies on our crew not being high.”
“Sam I literally shoot better when I’m high! It helps!”
“I’ve never heard of that.”
“Probably because you’re a dick.”
“We’re about to land. Just—just go get ready.”
He walked off, flustered and shaking his head. Lanada was stationary though, working through their thoughts with Macan by their side.
“I’ve never seen him angry like that. What, did weed kill his family or something?”
“He’s just up his ass. I should get to work though, you’d better too.”
“Yeah. See you around.”
❂
They landed half an hour later, giving Lanada time to don their armor and chat with Bofi a bit. She was a breath of fresh air on the stuffy ship. Sam was wordless as they met at the airlock, stepping out to the dock.
Wistera was a small town in the south of the continent, dug into the sand to reach a more stable temperature. Fabric and foliage littered the rooftops, stretching across to provide shade down below. Despite the wide spread of buildings, very few got above four stories, keeping it a quiet town.
“Going to take the rover out. Wait here,” Sam ordered.
He turned back to the ship to find a bay door next to the one he’d parked his car. He opened it to reveal a small vehicle with two seats in line with each other, shaped like an egg for the cockpit with the wheels stretching out like arms. Beefy suspension proved it was built for offroad driving, despite its traditional black paint job.
“Do I get to drive?”
“No.”
“Wow fuck you dude.”
They were silent as they climbed into the rover after Sam, their knees uncomfortably squished behind him.
“They really couldn’t put more space back here?”
“It’s a stealth rover, not a minivan.”
“What, instead of sports equipment do we have guns back there?”
“Yes, actually. A couple rifles, a rocket launcher, ammo, armor plating, the works. Also got some drinks and food. We could live out of this thing for days if we had to.”
“Camping out of this with you sounds like hell.”
“Then you’d better hope we can find those scouts and get out.”
He finished with the car starting procedures, slowly pulling out of the ship’s bay.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
“We’re in a star port! No!”
“If I were driving we’d be going fast right now.”
“Good thing you’re not then.”
Lanada was silent again as Sam drove them out of the port, picking up speed on the town streets.
“We’ve got a couple hours of driving ahead of us, get comfortable.”
“Why didn’t we just land the ship closer?”
“Because they’d see us? If there’s a Geldor base in the area our ship would be spotted kilometers out. It’s better this way.”
“It would be better if you weren’t driving like a granny.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“The speed limit is fifty!”
“Yeah, that means go seventy!”
“We’re in a school zone!”
“It’s the weekend!”
Sam said nothing back, continuing his slow pace. Lanada only groaned, shifting their focus to their Circle for entertainment.
❂
A couple hours had passed and Wistera was no longer in sight, only a long road suggesting a town was that way. They had entered Mikoril’s large mesa region, marked by giant boulders and canyons—other rough terrain standing in their way. The rover handled it all very well, using its electronics to change everything from the tire pressure to the suspension tightness. It put Lanada’s old truck to shame, but they didn’t dare say that aloud.
“Okay, we’re close to the coordinates, we’ll have to go on foot from here,” Sam said, unbuckling and preparing himself.
Lanada got out too and looked ahead. Sam was right; there was no way the rover could keep moving forward. A line of towering boulders stood in the way, a small opening allowing access to a narrow path running down a ravine to the side. Over the edge was a massive drop, sending a chill down Lanada’s back.
“Long way down.”
“Remind you of your old body dumping ground?”
“Yeah, actually. Maybe I can start a new one, you can be the first!”
“...”
They continued along the narrow pathway for nearly thirty minutes, exchanging a few nervous words when applicable. The narrow path was often slippery, uneven rocks and sand bending under Lanada’s boots only to threaten their footing. Even with their adaptations, Lanada was roasting in the sun, only their armor trying to cool them off. At least they didn’t seem in as bad of a state as Sam.
“Over there, looks like a cave entrance,” Sam pointed down the bending path, a dark spot drawing Lanada’s eyes.
“Think that’s it?”
“We’re at the coordinates, must be. Let’s check it out.”
It was only a few steps to the cave, the contrasting darkness obscuring everything inside. Both Lanada and Sam had their guns drawn, prepared for anything. Even with the shadow of the ravine, their eyes needed a moment to adjust, keeping up Lanada’s nerves as they entered. It was a small interior, showing no life inside. Lanada and Sam both sighed, releasing their breath as they lowered their guns.
Despite the scouts not being there, it was clear they had set up camp. Bunks lined the wall on either side, tables and crates littered through the middle. Signs of a gunfight were clear: metal rounds stuck in the cave walls and the other objects littering the room, blood sprinkled intermittently. It seemed everything had at least a drop of blood on it or a bullet hole.
“The scouts were definitely here. Looks like they got roughed up,” Lanada pointed out.
Sam was closely observing the cave, marking each sign of violence.
“You’re right. These rounds aren’t from our standard issue either, I’m guessing they’re our Geldor we’re looking for.”
“Of course. You probably can’t wait for an excuse to shoot people.”
“You know this isn’t about that. Let’s search through all this, see if we can salvage anything.”
Lanada nodded and got to work, carefully opening a few crates to not touch the blood. Most of them were empty or full of personal belongings; nothing important enough to take. On the back table was a busted Circle, its display cracked.
“Looks like they haven’t had a radio, look. Think they’d have more than one?”
“No, most teams would only have one, otherwise too many variables. Don’t need people calling home in the middle of a firefight. Their leader would be the one making contact with reports and updates.”
“Well, we know why they’re not reporting in then.”
“Yeah, now we’ve just gotta make sure they’re alive. I’m calling the ship.”
Sam looked at his Circle while it dialed, immediately answered by Bofi.
“Going to need a scan of the area. We found the scouts' original position, but they’re not here.”
“Okay, working on it.”
There were a couple moments of silence while one of Bofi’s crew began scanning the ground.
“We’ve got four heat signatures nearby, I’ll send the coordinates over. Looks like the second one is your best bet; they’re in a good spot to set up camp. That’s all I’ve got though.”
“Thanks, Jenill. Well, let’s grab anything useful and get back to the rover,” Sam put away his Circle.
“We seriously have to walk all the way back? This is so annoying.”
“I’ll let you drive.”
“... Really?”
“Yeah, if it’ll get you to shut up.”
“No guarantees.”
❂
When they returned to the rover, the sun was already setting, getting an early rest behind Maegiira just over the horizon. The mesas now casted long shadows across the ground, making it almost hard to see.
“We can get in maybe an hour of driving before we lose too much light. Let’s go to the closest coordinates first. Looks like they’re all in Bolgan Valley.”
“Right. I can drive in the dark though.”
“Okay, even if I didn’t doubt you could, we’d be very exposed. The only other light for miles, the dust and debris, even the electric motors are loud enough to draw attention. If there is a Geldor camp out here, last thing we need is their eyes on us.”
“Could have just said they’ll shoot us. I get the picture. Does this mean I’ll have to sleep in a tent?”
“Yes?”
“Ugh. I hate tents.”
“What? They’re cozy!”
“No, they trap humidity, leak sand, attract bugs, and hold heat. Can’t just get the ship to land nearby?”
“I thought discretion was supposed to be your whole thing. You might have had it fancy as a big shot assassin, but you’re STAR now. A third of our nights are spent in tents.”
“Wish you’d blackmailed me for office duty.”
With the two loaded and the buggy started, Lanada began carving a path towards the nearest set of coordinates, being careful to avoid the larger, more spiky rocks. The drive wasn’t the fun, thrilling, high speed off road experience they were looking for, and instead they found themself trudging along to climb through the terrain and sand, the rover’s electronics putting in the works.
Eventually even the rover’s lights couldn’t show the complete path though, and so they decided to call it a night. Lanada’s odd dream still didn’t return, but they were honestly quite thrilled to be getting some sleep, no matter the discomfort of a tent.
They were awoken the next morning by knocking, Sam managing to find a surface hard enough to bang on. Their camp was quickly cleaned and packed up, adhering to standards of sustainability. Lanada had much more fun in the light, taking the rover through its paces now they could see where they were going.
“Hey Lanada, see that over the horizon? Looks like something.”
“We are getting close, let’s see.”
Lanada pulled the rover to a stop, overlooking a small cliff while a taller wall stood to their right. In the distance was a decent sized camp, tan tents and a metal fence stretching around it.
Sam found some binoculars in the back and got out of the car, peering down through the lenses.
“They’re not ours, look.”
He handed them to Lanada who had gotten out to join him. Looking closely, it was clear they weren’t Geldor. Many brestyrians, humans, and even saumryans were cut off from their communities. Those that couldn’t find a new one on Mikoril were typically pushed to public housing developments, but even those had been filling up. Their last choice was these makeshift towns spread across Mikoril.
Clearly this camp was one of those, Lanada observing families with children, couples, and the other odd group of people. Every different species seemed to live there, displaying the extent of Mikoril’s constrictions on housing. Many of them were shopping through a small market, otherwise going about their daily chores.
“Don’t see any guns. Looks like a normal community. A lot of people got displaced in the cities,” Lanada explained.
“You’re right. Let’s give them a wide berth for now, I imagine if we find the scouting team they’ll know what’s up. Next coords are the ones Jenill recommended.”
Lanada jumped back in and took off towards the next set of coordinates. It was about half an hour before they saw another sign of life, spotting more tents in the distance. Sam and Lanada did the same practice with the binoculars; they were clearly the STAR scouts they were looking for.
“Finally, I hope they have some good food, I’m starving,” Lanada handed the binoculars back.
“Really? I was more concerned about how many of them are alive. Let’s go, they’ll recognize the rover, take us right in.”
“As opposed to what, driving away?”
“…”
“Fine, fine, I’m driving, don’t get your balls in a twist now.”
“Believe me, Lanada. If modern medical science allowed it, I’d grow a pair and twist them up juuust for you.”
“Wait really? You can’t just get a transplant or something?”
“Nope, not yet.”
It was a quick skip down a hill and across a field of sand and dirt, not as many rocks littering the way. With the space, Lanada finally was able to let loose, offering a couple twirls to the rover. Sam yelled as they spun around a second time, but Lanada was too busy laughing. It was much more fun than their truck at home.
When they finally reached the camp, two scouts were already outside to greet them, hands carefully by their guns. They only looked relieved when the rover’s windows rolled down, exposing Sam and Lanada.
“Thank the gods it’s you, the first break we’ve had! Pull inside, I’ll get our commander.”
The smaller scout rushed inside after opening the metal gate, allowing the rover to enter. The camp was relatively small, only around ten tents arranged around a courtyard, surrounded by makeshift fencing. They didn’t look as well equipped as they should have been, however.
After Sam and Lanada left the rover, a short saumryan strutted up to them, wearing obvious high end armor. They were clearly in command there.
“Sam, good to see you again. This your new partner?”
“Yep, Lanada. This is their second field mission. Lanada, this is Captain Gelt’Rel, I’ve worked with it on several occasions. One of the best scouting squads we have.”
Gelt’Rel gave a half hearted smile at Sam’s compliment, but it quickly disappeared.
“Used to be. Lost a lot of good people in that cave. I assume you saw that already?”
“Yeah, buzzed past it yesterday, it was your last known location. What happened down there?”
“We were ambushed, simple as that. We don't know where they came from, but they were Geldor alright. We've been tracking their weapons to this area, but there's a couple settlements they disappeared into along the valley. We've been watching them for a couple weeks with no sign of the Geldor, we're not sure the population is even aware.
“We know they're somewhere in there though. I guess one of us got sloppy and they spotted us, followed us back to that camp one night. We were all asleep when they attacked, Ned and Sally were on watch and were the first to die. Lost about ten people. We fled here and have been trying to recoup since.”
“I have some of your equipment left behind, and your Circle. We got everything else that looked valuable though. Hold on.”
Sam poked through the rover to hand Gelt’Rel the Circle they’d found, along with some other salvaged equipment.
“Thanks, we’ve been out of contact for days. I’m going to make a quick report to command, you can set up your tent over there in the meantime. I’ll meet back to brief you on what’s going on.”
“Sounds good.”
Despite Sam and Lanada finally arriving to save the day, Gelt’Rel didn’t look happy as it trudged back to its tent, poking through its Circle. Sam wasn’t focused on it though, instead removing the tent from the rover again.
“I can’t believe we’re sleeping in a tent again.”
“It’ll be cozy. Plus these are some good people here in this squad. It’ll be nice to help out.”
“As long as they’ve got drinks and smokes, I’ll manage.”
“You should really stop that. It’s against STAR reg—”
“‘It’S AgAInsT STaR rEguLaTioNs!’ Do you ever take a break? I swear you have a suit for skin under there.”
“That would be very uncomfortable.”
“Right, that would make sense why you’re so uptight all the time.”
Sam released a loud sigh.
“Can I expect you to help with the tent this time?”
“Nope. I won’t put labor into something I don’t believe in.”
“Find something useful to do then.”
Lanada looked around for something useful to do, or an excuse to get away from Sam. They saw a group of scouts sitting at a table and playing cards. Rather innocuous, until Lanada looked harder. They were drinking. That was productive enough for Lanada, so they strolled up to them and asked for a bottle, sitting in the back of their card game while Sam struggled and groaned with the tent in the background.
Gelt’Rel wasn’t in its tent for long, exiting after Lanada had finished only half their drink. Watching Sam’s attention perk up when he saw it, Lanada knew he’d annoy them if they didn’t go listen to the briefing. They sighed and left the group of scouts, not preferring his sass.
“Need help with that tent?” Gelt’Rel asked Sam.
“Nope—UNGH—got it!”
“Okay, take a short break if you can and follow me.”
Lanada redirected to follow Sam and Gelt’Rel inside, a small computer and screen set up. Its Circle seemed to be mostly working despite its damage, its clean vector drawn lines still visible.
“We were originally assigned to track a weapons shipment. We followed it for a week to here before we were ambushed. Since we’ve established this new camp, we haven’t been able to make any progress on that. So far, we know there are two separate settlements, the Geldor's weapons or members could be hiding in either one of them. We know that for sure, our ambushers made it quite clear. The camps are at the ends of the valley, making us think this could be one of the Geldor’s weapon routes.
“Now to get back on our feet, we needed equipment and more support, and clearance to engage with the civilians, we already got that through you two STAR agents. Our next goal should be to scout out both camps and determine where the weapons have gone.”
“How do you know the shipment is still in the area?”
“They used the guns to shoot us.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Once we determine which camp has the weapons, we’ll need to infiltrate one of them and scan a couple guns, just enough to get a few serial numbers. It should have one that aligns with the shipment we’re tracking. After that, we’ll need to disarm and demilitarize them. We don’t want a straight fight, but with you two even we might be able to manage. We’re combat trained, but not in depth and we’re not specialized. We also need to be careful of the civilian population living there. Although most are young adults, many are families. If it does turn into a fight, Sam, you'll need to take command.”
“Uh, why don't you just leave? I wouldn't want you guys in my space either.”
Both Gelt'Rel and Sam gave Lanada a sharp look. They didn't smirk, but they at least shrugged back to the two of them. Gelt'Rel took a stern tone when it spoke again.
“Not while they have those weapons! We need to track their source. They clearly aren't designed by any manufacturers on Mikoril, and no facility on Maegiira could produce them at this scale. I'm suggesting a space station, or a base off-world. That's why I'm glad you got my comms back.”
“Yeah, will you contact Rendell? We’ll finish setting up then reconvene. Might be able to get out and scout a bit tonight. We saw one of the camps coming in, have the coordinates for the other one?”
“Sending them over now. That camp you saw is closer, but the other is nearly an hour away. At that point though, they’re about the same distance from our original camp. Those ambushers could have come from either. We haven’t seen guns in the open yet.”
“So it sounds like we’re going to need to go inside the camp?”
“Unfortunately, yes you will.”
“Fine. We’ll see what we can get outside first though.”
“Good. That’s about all from me. Thanks for your help, again.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Hah. You said the ‘just doing my job’ line,” Lanada laughed.
“Um, any questions, Lanada?” Gelt’rel asked, puzzled.
“Hah, no Captain.”
“I have nothing else for you then. Good luck.”
As they stepped back outside, Sam grimaced as he saw the still uncompleted tent. It had fallen over, undoing half of the progress he’d already made. Lanada tried to hold back their snorts of laughter as they returned to the drinking table, the scouts barely acknowledging them. After two more bottles, they barely noticed Sam finish the tent, his face nearly in tears. When he was done, he approached Lanada with his arms crossed.
“We’ve got some daylight left. Let’s look at the further camp first, you think?”
“I’m drunk as fuck! I don’t give a grophir’s ass!”
“Of course you are.”
“I’m joking Sam. Only had three bottles.”
“Three? It hasn’t even been ten minutes!”
“Hah! Lightweight.”
“You haven’t seen me drink yet, Lanada. I could definitely handle more than you.”
“Hah, I doubt it. I’ll test you sometime though. Aren’t humans bad at holding liquor?”
“Some are. I’ve had my fair share of drinking on leave though. STAR parties can get pretty rowdy.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“You’ll see one eventually. I’m driving this time though, come on.”
They reached the first camp in no time, Sam contacting the Ahria to give Bofi a short brief. She offered to do a more focused scan on the camp, sending over a detailed aerial photo of the base. When they arrived at a nearby butte, hiding the car behind, Sam was the first to creep out with his binoculars, producing another pair for Lanada.
“We’re looking for anything really. Shift changes, guard positions, people who look like they’re in command, infiltration points, you get the deal. Mainly though we’re looking for guns.”
“Oh I was just going to take a nap. I always get sleepy in a prone position.”
“As long as you don’t snore so loud you alert them.”
“Oof, yeah, you’re right. I’m a loud sleeper.”
“I know.”
“Now we get to share a tent again tonight! This was your idea though, I hate tents.”
“You’re slowly giving me reasons to hate them too.”
He went silent as he peered through his binoculars, inviting Lanada to do the same. The camp was diverse with every species representing families, friends, couples. All people dressed in normal, daily clothes or nothing; not the fittings for the Geldor. No guns were in sight either, most campers enjoying their time with each other or going about their business.
“Haven’t seen a single gun, not even on those lookouts. You got anything?” Lanada pointed out.
“No, I don’t see any either. They could have them stocked in one of those tents though.”
“That means we’re going to have to go in there?”
“Probably. We only just started watching though, keep an eye out.”
As Sam observed, he jotted down a few notes in his Circle, marking positions and other technical bits Lanada wasn’t too concerned with. They really felt like they were along for the ride.
“It’s very open. No way we can get in with light.”
He was very right. The camp was set in a basin, a large cliff standing over its backside. On the sides, rocks raised the elevation up about a meter, the dirt and sand continuing at the same height. The only entrance for a vehicle was near Sam and Lanada, where a subtle hill brought the ground to the camp.
“When we come back, I think we can use that cliff in the back, try sticking to its side. There’s a few rocks past the rear that could give us cover.”
“Wait, we're coming back? I thought we were just getting it over with.”
“We still have two hours of sunlight left, got to scout out the other camp before it gets dark.”
“I hope it’s more exciting than this one.”
Sam said nothing as he continued to study. Lanada tried looking again, but still didn’t really care, so they were more looking for fun at that point. It was about twenty minutes later when Sam finally announced he’d seen all he needed to. He sent his notes to Lanada’s Circle, giving them the same information. What he had was extremely detailed, making points Lanada hadn’t even observed. The various scans and photos from the Ahria had his scribbling all over it too, plotting entrances and patterns. They felt good for not contributing anything though.
With some light chatter, they climbed into the rover and started driving to the other camp’s coordinates. It was roughly an hour and a half away, giving Lanada plenty of time to be bored. In their previous job, they were never bored. Or if they were, it could be easily fixed, especially with Love Dove. With the same red rocks and sand though, it was hard not to feel constrained.
The second camp came into sight nonetheless, a lot larger than the other. It was in a more open space, resting at the end of a canyon that flattened to dunes ahead. All around the perimeter was open ground, not even a boulder to block the way.
“That’s a bad position for us. Definitely have to go in at night here too.”
“Sure we can’t just talk to them?”
“Can’t blow our cover. The Geldor might run before we can stop them. Or they might just use what they’ve got.”
He did the same practice with his binoculars, still taking notes. Lanada followed suit, laying right next to Sam.
This camp was much of the same; normal, unarmed people who looked like they were just living on. Hardly soldiers or especially a terror cell. The scan from the Ahria came again, shedding a bit more light on what was obscured behind the foreground buildings. It took around the same time to observe, Sam changing their position a couple times to get a different angle on the camp.
“Okay, I think that’s it. Let’s recoup at base camp. I also need to write a couple reports.”
“Of course you do. And we’re really going all the way back? I thought you wanted to get this over with?”
“They could all be awake for a couple more hours. It would be best to get some rest then come back in the middle of the night.”
“Wait… You don’t mean…”
“Yup, I was thinking around two or three.”
“That’s how late I usually stay up! I can’t sleep then wake up that early!”
“Then you’ll be very sleepy in the morning. Don’t worry, we’ll try to get you some rest afterwards. Let’s go though.”