It was exactly 3:35 in the morning and the hangar thrived with activity, from maintenance units clearing floors and checking the aircraft's systems, to the operation room managing the correct arrival and take off of missions established along the incoming day.

It was an endearing sight to see those many people working together, wasn't it?

[Closing doors.]

The orange-colored lights of the aircraft started flashing as the robotic voice spoke, with a loud mechanic thumbing the back door of the aircraft closed. There were no windows to the outside whatsoever, the small room submitted to darkness before the lights turned on a couple of seconds later. The only constant was the sounds of breathing filters.

- Achilles permission for takeoff forwarded, proceed through ramp 3. Mind subtle winds coming north, reaching 9 M/H, 1.06 Atmospheric pressure. Scanners don't pick on Steamers, the sky's clear. Good flight. -

The control unit gave a green card for takeoff, ordering the refueler bot to undock. The turbines started without an issue, suppressed vibrations reached the cabin as the lights restarted.

The camel-colored plane started moving through the massive underground hangar following each one of the procedures despite the absence of obstacles. The plane's cockpit aimed toward a broad tunnel that spanned forwards into an unending line of wide steel corridors.

Breaks on, the hydrogen-powered turbines started burning fuel, accelerating in seconds, and a faint column of purple exhaust escaped the motor.

- Achilles to control unit. Received, taking off. -

Breaks off, the aircraft started accelerating, entering the tunnel. The flat surface of its landing gears traveled on picking inclination exponentially. In a matter of seconds the plane was traveling through the air, now freed from the ground and already nearing subsonic speeds. The plane's crew, however, remained unmoving as if the brutal acceleration they had just experienced had been a joke to them.

- Expected time for reaching Sector W is 17.31 minutes. -

The pilot informed the crew before cutting communication.

Cut from the outside, each member of the squad sat on benches placed at the sides of the wall. Loading their firearms, equipping tools, or sharpening their swords, some simply relaxing and trying to enjoy the simple moments of peace.

Others though...

"Acknowledged in 2354 as [A-] rank anomaly. That's bullshit."

A large watermark covered the monitor of the screen embedded onto the wall acknowledging the fact that classified information was being accessed. Entering the forwarded ping the file decompressed and revealed the content.

A text summary of all compiled information on SF-W208, which didn't even encompass more than a few dozen pages. Not helpful either, just a long list of the lame, failed attempts at breaching its perimeter.

|Tssk|

Very small information had been gathered on the subject, and little information meant many questions unanswered. Which was in itself, the Unknown. More than any fearsome calamity they might have to face, each of the people present in that flying steel can knew ignorance was an opponent not to be messed with.

"Just for that thing's size alone, it should be classified as [S-] rank. Never mind the fact it has magically disappeared in such an unexplainable way."

...

No one answered.

Although most of them would like to retaliate in some way, what he said made sense. It was a necessary expedition, but the fact their higher-ups had sent them in a hurry instead of organizing a broader expedition spoke for itself.

"I'm telling you, Armstrong and S.Grant will end up getting us ki-"

The tall, skinny man stopped speaking as an asphyxiating pressure crawled through his veins.

"Not in my presence, Oliva."

A burly man said, his body fully covered in thick mechanical armor. A magnetized single-edged sword glued onto his back.

"Sure caps."

He answered, putting in place the green goggles covering his eyes, his attention back to the screen rereading the same information he highlighted a few hours prior, just in case he missed something. The armored man didn't pursue the issue further, his gaze falling to the floor, waiting for the pilot's update.

Everything checked... no surprises. Oliva opened the second file, an image, though not any image.

It was a long-range x-ray scan performed about three decades prior. That type of camera was a prototype in its time, resulting in a rather lacking visual quality, still, the intended objective had been achieved. The series of black and white images revealed the existence of something... big. The report noted the titanic entity hidden behind the tall structures of steel and glass stared back at them, signaling the possibility of extended perception and intelligence.

"Creepy."

He whispered to himself. If only it was all...

There were a few more problems with anomaly SF-W208. The thing was, apart from the outstanding lack of information on its nature, this anomaly had shown throughout history an unexplainable disinterest in expansion. Despite the high level of activity in Sector W, it had never once since its discovery breached its perimetre. Normally, this would mean it was either weakened by some kind of lethargy or struggling against another hostile anomaly.

Weakened was of course a relative term.

The nature of its arealm remained as Unclassified too. Described as a slightly flattened sphere, the pitch-black dome covered almost three dozen miles in radius. The dark layer of miasma had been measured and studied from the outside on various occasions. Averaged around a hundred yards in width, blocked any kind of visual contact with the inside, and messed with all wireless communication.

Only thanks to the before-mentioned x-ray scans had The Coalition come to realize the existence of a well-preserved lost city behind its shadow. After that, the rest made enough sense. The main reason why they had been sent in such a hurry was simple as human greed itself. Ancient cities meant resources, and the Southern Frontier was starving for them.

- We entered W, we'll proceed with caution from here on, prepare for the worse. -

They had already arrived.

Mouths dried the moment communication cut. It wouldn't be the first time they'd seen someone die minutes after hearing similar words. The fact that the jet flew high or fast didn't mean the few marauders below couldn't reach them.

Under pressure, minutes seemed to lengthen but eventually, the confirmation reached them.

- Aerial scanning is done. The radar doesn't pick on anything strange, and neither do the thermal scanners. I'll be initiating the jump sequence. -

Beeping, then silence again.

A panel above the cabin's door displayed the countdown. Time flowed, and each of them knew what to do. Picking the backpacks under their feet in an almost automated fashion they strapped themselves in a few seconds.

The tension in the air was palpable, almost.

The captain's visor glinted as the timer descended down the single digits, his head rose to face his squad.

"Our mission is simple."

His team listened carefully.

"First. Confirm the annihilation of SF-W208 and return the requested biological samples."

"Second. Secure the city of any major threat for the scavenger fleet to be deployed asap."

"Third... Report on the cause behind its disappearance."

Silence... Everyone's mouths remained shut, orders were orders, despite the danger it may pose for their individual lives.

After a long pause, the man resumed talking.

"We'll remain close down there. We know SF-W208 is able to mess with coms so don't risk it."

They all nodded slightly before standing up. The countdown had reached its end.

- Good luck down there. -

With a loud clank, the door's lock disabled and hydraulic pistons pushed the gate open.

[Opening doors. Mind decompression.]

The pre-recorded warning was instantaneously absorbed by the gusts of wind caused by the difference in pressure and subsonic speeds the plane traveled at. One by one, each of the members jumped out of the plane in rapid succession to avoid dispersion. The plane grew tiny in the sky before it faded into the night horizon.

| BOOM |

A loud impact shook the ground, a dense cloud of dust and ash lifting into the air. Following the thunder, another five shadows could be seen gently descending towards the ground. The captain's voice resounded as the rest of the squadron successfully touched down.

"Keep your eyes open out here. A monster that big can't disappear without a reason. Whatever killed it must still be around."

The armored tank made a signal with his hands. Nodding, two of their members repositioned atop a pile of rubble to establish a clear vision of their surroundings. Both of them were equipped with laser rifles, ready to eliminate on sight.

Eliminate what? There was nothing to eliminate... Only an eerie, abandoned, nameless city.

The hooded soldier made a signal from the top of the hill indicating no menaces were found. Acknowledging that fact, the captain activated the hologram equipped on his wrist. A third-dimensional representation of the sector manifested, his fingers zoomed in for more detail.

"Sixty-five degrees southeast, we got about two whole miles to cover."

Assuming a reinforced hexagonal formation, the six of them advanced towards the interior of the desolate city, or what remained of it. A tall column of grey smoke extended towards the sky, not big enough to bring problems, but large enough to raise suspicion. Though the anomaly that spawned at the center of the city was no longer there, a deep crater of equally colossal scale remained, in the epicenter of destruction, a deep pool of crimson-colored goo.

A hasty metallic smell emanated from the boiling substance.

"Smells like rotting corpses-"

Oliva stopped speaking abruptly, raising the other's attention, his hand raised in the air.

"I picked on something heading for us, caps! Coming from our five."

Without a second of hesitation, each member picked up their weapons and assumed a defensive position, all of them facing the now audible rumbling.

"Tskk, how is this possible, we came from that same direction..."

Gunners stayed on the flanks, warriors on front. The captain's hand locked onto his sword.

| SkCRECH!! |

The squeaks in the distance got louder with each passing second. The crazed abomination makes its way through a building standing a couple of hundred feet from them, collaspsing it on impact and sending forwards a cascade of rubble. Seemingly without a care in the world for its own safety, the creature had lost any semblance of itself.

"A hive minion?..."

Oliva muttered to himself, his hands tightly gripping a pair of chainsaw knives.

Battle stance ready, red plasma beams shook the air in search of a target, bursting open its appendages. A barrage of bullets rain upon its various eyes cutting its senses. After a few instants of deafening screeches the rumbling comes to a halt, with one last cry of agony, the anomaly falls to the ground unmoving like a puppet, a single splash of freshly drawn blood painting the air.

...

Though that victory couldn't be celebrated.

"That bastard shouldn't be alive anymore."

The looks on each of their faces were that of uncertainty and doubt. The simple violation of rule one-o-one when dealing with the much common hive types. If you kill the head, the minions die in the act, very rarely surviving with some major disability.

The head was gone, the empty crater confirmed that fact... And yet somehow, that damn walking tumor was freely roaming around without a care in the world. To run around in a berserker state wasn't in the book... And if it wasn't in the book, it meant it was unknown.

All eyes affixed on the armored man, his sword perfectly clean despite the multiple slashes he had just performed. He now sat on top of the calamity, carefully examining their options. After all, every decision involved risk which couldn't be overlooked.

If they stayed, it was a possibility they might encounter more of those. Dealing with one shouldn't pose a problem, but if the next attack came coordinated and their forces split, their advantage would be shattered. On the other hand, retreating would mean failure. They would return with empty hands and he would have to answer to his superiors. Of course, that wasn't... desirable.

He sighted before voicing his verdict.

"The mission will continue. Stay prepared for another possible assault, these things probably have good hearing."

Their reason for following the original plan? Just an objective risk-reward comparison.

Retreating now, refusing to put their lives on the line right now would mean giving up on a new mine of resources. They could change opinions later and send a larger unit to secure the area, but he doubted the other nearby bases would stay idle until then. Not to mention pirates... The fact that this exact location was within their base's jurisdiction didn't mean jack shit when there were resources at stake.

Their only advantage was time, and they were losing it second by second.

Although the silence after the battle was chilling in nature, no hostile entities acted, not even after the battle.

...

It seemed the new guys had to take the nastiest tasks. Oliva and another member descended down to the bottom of the crater, his features vague, both his nose and mouth covered in an orange metallic mask.

It was not the first time he had done something similar, but it was certainly the most disgusting. Taking samples...

"Eww."

Not standing the smell anymore, Oliva activated his smell inhibitor. It was hot, uncomfortable, and utterly gruesome, but someone had to do it. Obtaining biological remains from a recently killed anomaly was an important source of scientifical progress... Also, they sold well. Very, very well.

Reusable materials? Untouched infrastructure? Working machinery? Those were nothing more than mere physical utensils. Nothing more than a mere cover-up for the folk back at the bases. Everything that mattered in this age was knowledge, even meatheads like them knew such a fact.

"Done here."

His companion said, his voice modulated and altered, his cyan eyes greedily staring at the five vacuum containers full of red gooey substance. His hands moved to store them in the absolute-zero container on the floor.

"Same."

Said Oliva, his hands closing four smaller containers storing complex tissues, such as eyes, teeth, and organs. Only after making sure all samples had been secured, the two of them climbed back from the crater.

"Is it done?"

Said caps as he finished activating the beacon. Both subordinates nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

Cap's helmet faced the direction of the unmoving figure standing near them, his black mask featuring a beak, only covering his face from the nose upwards. His lower face unbudging, as if carved out of marble.

The sculpted side of his face absolutely paralyzed to the point of being unable to talk.

"Burn it."