Chapter 38
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Ekalsaume Battle (3)
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– Boom!
The bulkhead exploded, flames shooting up.
Soon after, accompanied by a deafening noise, robots burst out.
"Uwaaaah!"
"The enemy has invaded!"
"Requesting support! Requesting support!"
The Karaderi spotted me and fled in a panic.
Paradoxically, the Imperials were the ones standing their ground and fighting.
"Commander, over here."
It seemed we'd succeeded to some extent in instilling fear in the enemy, just as planned.
We ignored the fleeing foes and began moving toward the core room.
"But doesn't something feel off?"
At that moment, one of the squad members, Bokaram, voiced his doubts.
His question was simple.
"After all this chaos, alarms should've blared and pandemonium should've erupted by now, but this place is eerily quiet."
He had a point. It was strange.
We'd caused a bit of a ruckus.
For us to smash through so openly without seeing the enemy's main force was suspicious.
Rakshyatoom seemed to share the sentiment.
"It is odd. We should proceed with caution."
I agreed.
The core room was like the heart of this artificial planet.
No fools would let us waltz right in.
They surely had countermeasures prepared to stop us.
"There might be traps, so from now on, move carefully."
"Understood, Commander."
We advanced with heightened vigilance around us.
The path to the core room from here was a single straight route, so unlike before, we didn't have to worry about finding the way.
We descended deep underground toward the planet's inner core along the path.
"Commander, the paths start getting complicated from here."
Finally, we arrived at a fork splitting into multiple branches.
Having encountered such forks before, I immediately issued orders.
"Split into three teams for scouting. Team 1 takes the left path, Team 2 the right, and Team 3 the center."
I divided the squad into three.
My group with Rakshyatoom took the center.
We slowly advanced into the three paths shrouded in darkness.
Unlike other areas, the lights here were off.
Thus, we were forced to rely on radar visualization instead of visual sensors and move slowly.
About 30 minutes passed.
Based on past experience,
a gate should appear around now.
But the path stretched on endlessly.
No sign of it ending.
I activated the short-range communicator.
"This is the Commander. Report your status."
"Team 1 here. No path found yet."
"Team 2 reporting. No path in sight. This doesn't seem to be it."
From the reports, the other teams hadn't found an exit either.
We should've reached one by now.
Did we take a wrong turn?
"The direction is definitely correct."
But the radar confirmed this was the right way.
They wouldn't make a dead-end path, surely.
So the direction was right,
but why no gate?
"How about Team 3? Found a path?"
"Same here."
"It's strange. Radar distance measurements show we should've hit a gate 10 minutes ago."
We double-checked the radar systems.
Ten more minutes had passed since the last check,
but the radar readings hadn't changed at all.
Rakshyatoom activated his communicator.
"Our radar seems faulty. It's stuck at the position from 10 minutes ago. The phase data collection system must be broken."
Right then,
the other teams chimed in, startled.
"Whoa? Same thing happening on our radars."
"Team 2 here. Checked ours too—it's showing the position from 10 minutes ago."
"...What?"
I said, flustered.
"So all squad members' gear is showing the same error?"
"Team 1. All our radars are busted. All three."
"Team 2 leader here. Our three radars are all down too. Team 3 experiencing the same?"
As I listened to the reports,
one possibility dawned on me.
"Hold position there."
I cut the comms and pulled Rakshyatoom aside privately.
He tilted his head and followed.
"What's up?"
"Doesn't something feel wrong to you?"
The squad had 10 members including me.
What were the odds all 10 pieces of gear failed with the exact same error?
I hadn't calculated it, but probably minuscule.
Rakshyatoom nodded, grasping my implication.
"You're considering the possibility that our gear has been tampered with by the enemy."
"Could be, or the opposite."
"Opposite?"
"The machines might be telling the truth, and our minds are being manipulated by the enemy."
Rakshyatoom's face grew grave.
"Electronic interference is headache enough. If it's the latter, we're truly screwed."
"That's why I'm discussing this with just you."
If this got out, the squad might panic.
So I consulted only my adjutant, Rakshyatoom, first.
After pondering, he said,
"How about this?"
There were two possibilities.
Our gear was being manipulated,
or our senses were.
He had an idea from that.
"First, we need to figure out what's wrong. Confirm if it's our senses or the gear being messed with."
Indeed, that seemed necessary now.
I immediately activated the communicator.
"This is the Commander. The enemy seems to be interfering with us. Therefore, new orders."
We split the teams into three types.
Team 1: scouting using only gear.
Team 2: relying solely on senses.
Team 3—us: control group, using both as before.
"Sounds good."
"We'll follow."
We resumed walking into the darkness.
Our pace slowed dramatically.
But we moved cautiously.
About another 10 minutes passed.
"Huh?"
A lead squad member spotted something.
"Commander, there's someone collapsed up ahead."
"A Utrumaher?"
"No. Different species."
We hurried over.
With each step, the shape grew clearer.
Finally, close enough to make it out.
"What?"
We all froze in place.
"That's one of ours?"
The corpse wore a familiar battlesuit.
A suit emitting a blue glow.
Caked in dust, the light nearly gone,
but it was unmistakably Chiltoom battlesuit.
"What happened?"
"Check it out, quick!"
"Yes, sir."
The youngest soldier scurried over and flipped the body.
A skeleton was revealed.
"Wh-what?"
He looked long dead.
We immediately checked his identity.
He was Team 1 leader, Armaton.
I activated the communicator at once.
"Team 1 leader, you there?"
Then, something astonishing happened.
"Yes, I hear you. What's going on?"
His voice came through the comms, and the squad members clamped their mouths shut.
I suppressed my surging shock and stayed calm.
"Nothing much. Any anomalies?"
"Yeah. We've been walking over three hours, and this damn facility hasn't shown an exit or anything."
"Hold on—what? Three hours?"
What was this now?
Three hours?
"Isn't your timer busted?"
"Why?"
"It's not three hours—only 10 minutes since last contact."
"Huh?"
Then Team 1 leader Armaton let out a hollow laugh.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you ask three hours ago if there were any injured or missing?"
"What?"
The conversation plunged deeper into confusion.
The squad's faces soured.
What the hell was going on?
That was all anyone could think.
"What about your gear? Still stuck in place?"
"No. It started moving when we followed it. Anyway, don't you remember? I reported three hours ago."
"You reported three hours ago?"
"Yes."
The squad stared at me in horror.
Soon, without a word,
our gazes turned to the corpse on the ground.
"Got it. Report any anomalies."
"Yes, sir."
I hurriedly ended the call.
Rakshyatoom moved first.
He began examining the body carefully.
"Commander, look at this."
He pointed to the corpse's abdomen.
A clear puncture wound, as if run through by something.
"See this wound? It's from a piercing injury."
The mark showed he'd been killed by something.
The body told more.
Dust piled thick.
Skeletonized remains.
The battlesuit looked weathered by ages.
As if dead long ago.
Right then,
the communicator crackled.
"Commander, you there? Team 1 leader."
It was Armaton's voice.
Slightly fatigued.
"Following the gear, coordinates started changing. We're halted for a break now."
He threw me again.
I asked,
"Do you remember our last conversation?"
"Why ask that suddenly?"
"Enemy might've infiltrated our channels, impersonating friendlies. So I'm verifying."
"Oh, smart thinking."
Then he said,
"Two hours ago, you split us into three types, right? To check if it's the gear or our senses being disrupted. That's why we got the gear-only team."
That was what I'd said 10 minutes ago.
Not two hours.
Rakshyatoom, eavesdropping, interjected.
"Cut it off for now. Time sequence is all jumbled."
I nodded in agreement.
"Got it. Any injured or missing?"
"No."
"Report anomalies."
"Yes, sir."
Right after the line went dead,
seeing my subordinates' wide-eyed stares,
I recalled my recent chat with Armaton.
A chill ran down my spine.
Rakshyatoom said to me,
"Commander, we need to consider new possibilities from here on."