(POV Captain of the intruders)
I don't like crawling around in these alien ruins. Who knows what is lurking down here? I'm surprised there are no automatic defense systems, although there is electricity in this part of the facility. Dr. Hendriks, our expert on the alien ruins, says it's unusual to see any part of the facility still in an active state in this age. On the other hand, Aelliri ruins in general are known for their lack of robotic defense. However, this does not reassure me at all, since I am responsible for security here. Who knows what will happen when we cut through that heavy armored bulkhead in front of us ....
I let my gaze wander over the other soldiers in my team. On the opposite side of the room is Sergeant Mike, sitting bored on one of the equipment boxes. He is wearing a standard UNF combat suit, just like me and all the other soldiers, with the blue UNF logo on his shoulder and chest. The other 19 soldiers with the rank of Private are standing at their posts at the three entrances to the room we are in. I am more in the back with the scientists under Dr. Hendriks and the engineers.
One of the soldiers at the main entrance has spotted something and reports over helmet radio: "Sir, there is something coming towards us. It looks like a small flying drone." He shines the flashlight mounted on his weapon into the large hallway and takes cover at the edge, as do his comrades. In the main hallway illuminated by the lamp, a flying drone with an oval screen in the center becomes visible. I give the order to continue in combat readiness and wait for now. Then I turn to Dr. Hendriks, show him a picture of the drone from the view of a helmet camera and ask, "What kind of drone is that? Is it dangerous?" The doctor is still looking confused at the screen I'm holding in front of him when the oval screen of the flying drone activates as it stops its approach a few dozen meters away from us.
(POV Ise’lya)
The data we have collected with the infiltration team is ready for analysis. The intruders do not seem to have noticed the approach of the infiltration team, so it is now getting ready to provide support from within, in case of a conflict. Everything is prepared and time is now running out. I give the order for the flying drone, whereupon it flies into the main corridor from one of the side corridors, which leads to the room with the armored bulkhead and the intruders in front of it. After approaching far enough to be easily visible, but not too close to pose a threat, it activates its screen with the prepared sequence of images for the communication attempt.
For such a small drone with no discernible weapons that maintains a respectable distance, the intruders are quite alarmed. They don't seem to have counted on anything being able to move independently in this installation. This is a very bad sign for the rest of the installation, which is further up. I think about it later and concentrate on the task in front of me. The intruders see the drone, but do not stop their work. I can wait a little longer and display the video streams of the infiltration team. I try to see on these how the intruders react to my attempt of communication. Lie'vara supports me by telepathically transmitting information about the persons I am watching in the video transmission. She has already gained some information, making it easier for me to find the military and scientific leader among the intruders.
They are standing together right now, with the military leader showing the scientific leader some sort of tablet with a picture of my drone. I ask Lie'vara why the intruders are moving so slowly and why the scientific leader is looking spellbound at the image of my drone without reacting. Over the telepathic link, my growing confusion is conveyed and I am informed in return that Lie'vara has theorized that the intruders are reacting much more slowly than we are. They seem to have no psionic communication and slow decision-making processes. I am puzzled, but my confusion subsides. So I wait patiently for the invaders to come to a decision.
(POV Dr. Hendriks of the UNF)
This flying drone should not be active. In Aelliri facilities, no robots, which are not intended for pure maintenance tasks, should be active. Also, this drone seems to have been equipped with a tablet on which a rapid sequence of images can be seen. I need a moment to collect myself and then answer the captain: "The flying drone has no weapons, it is not dangerous. Can you rewind the video a few seconds and play it at half speed?"
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He complies with my request and I can better observe the sequence of images. Behind me, the engineers continue to cut through the armored bulkhead. They should be done in a moment. After a few seconds, I get an idea what is being displayed there. The images from the drone seem to represent our expedition team. The sequence shows us stopping our work and moving away from the armored bulkhead. That's odd, since we're not doing that at all. How could a purely robotic drone even think of showing us something like that? I am quite sure that the Aelliri do not let mobile robotic systems be controlled by an A.I. The central A.I. system behind the armored bulkhead we are working on should be the only functional, intelligent system that could try to communicate with us. However, based on what we know about the Aelliri so far, the A.I. cannot possibly have sent this drone. While I am still thinking about this anomaly, the engineers are successful in cutting through the armored bulkhead. With a loud roar, an oval section of the heavy armored bulkhead falls inward onto the floor.
(POV Ise’lya)
Nothing happens, nothing at all! The intruders just keep cutting their way through the armored bulkhead while the scientific leader of the intruders ponders over my drone. Seconds pass and then after a total of one minute after the drone started moving, the intruders are successful in cutting their way through the armored bulkhead. Sooner than previously thought, an oval cutout of the heavy armor material falls inward with a loud roar. This is a clear response to my attempt at communication. Even with the slow decision making of the intruders, they had enough time to stop their work on the armored bulkhead. I cannot risk them entering the space of the central A.I. system and damaging it. The failure of this in the current state of the installation, with many Aelliri in cryostasis, could result in a lot of dead Aelliri. I give the deployment order for the troops with the order to capture some of the unarmed intruders alive if possible and observe the further procedure.
The Attonarch team along with a Fleet Trooper team attack from the main corridor while the remaining soldiers split up between the other two corridors. The Aellirian elite soldiers move extremely fast and fire their weapons before the intruders can react. Highly concentrated energetic fire from Melter and Disintegrator weapons hits the enemies, while simultaneously the infiltration team takes out the military commander and deploys grenades to the side of the main corridor. The intruder’s shields are instantly overloaded and collapse, causing glowing holes to open up in their combat suits and cooking the beings inside while turning them to dust elsewhere. Cover around the corner from the corridor is dubious protection, as the Focus Disintegrator weapons eat through the walls straight to the target. The grenades hit the ground and create two implosions that drag the few survivors by the main corridor out of cover and crush parts of the dead.
A second has passed and of the 21 soldiers among the intruders, 12 are still alive evenly distributed at the three entrances. The UNF soldiers at the entrances return fire, firing projectiles down the side corridors; the soldiers in the main entrance are unable to do so. The Aelliri soldiers dodge the fire as best they can without slowing down, while the projectiles that hit them are neutralized by their individual shields. Then the next heavy weapon systems are fired by the Aelliri and the Antimatter Particle Converters (APC) create huge explosions at the three entrances, engulfing the remaining UNF soldiers.
Black smoke clouds visibility, and the air in the corridors and the space in front of the armored bulkhead is boiling hot from the Melter fire and explosions. Unarmed UNF personnel not caught in the explosions cower on the floor in horror. The Aelliri soldiers penetrate the black smoke shortly thereafter and quickly disperse throughout the room. The infiltration team remains hidden, warding against unforeseen contingencies. Moments later, the room is secured and the survivors, which consist of two engineers and three scientists, are in custody of the Aelliri soldiers. The armored bulkhead to the A.I. system is makeshift repaired by having the cut-out section lifted back in place by the soldiers and then welded in place with the Melter weapons. The dead intruders are also collected and taken away for studies on their biology. The same applies to an analysis of the technology from the technical equipment of the intruders. In the meantime, the ventilation neutralizes the smoke and boiling hot air. Half a minute after the battle, only the extensive damage indicates a fight.