Daemon Impact: Chapter 5

 Daemon Impact

Chapter 5

“Mom, what do you do on the Osiris?” Being the son of two Salvagers, the young boy had all but decided to follow in their footsteps. Wanting to learn more, he approached his mother with this question one day.

“I’m a member of the Osiris’ Resource Unit.” The woman answered her child’s curiosity with a smile. In response to her answer, the boy tilted his head.

“Resource Unit? What is that? Is it different from what dad does?”

“The Resource Unit does a lot of things. We make sure there’s enough stuff for everyone to do their jobs, we find all kinds of things that can’t be found in the city, and we take apart all the machines when we wake people up.” There was pride in the woman’s response.

“But there is one duty our unit has that is more important than anything else.”

“What is it? What is it?” The boy asked excitedly.

“Do you know what “azurilium is?” When the boy shook his head, she pointed up to the lights in the ceiling.

“Azurilium is what powers everything in the city. The lights, the cars, the tv, it’s a very important thing for our city.” The boy's eyes went wide.

“And it’s your job to get this stuff for the city?”

“Almost. Azurilium is made from a mineral called “azurous.” The Resource Unit mines azurous to bring back to the city to turn into azurilium.”

“Sounds like a very important job.” The boy pondered on what his mother had told him. 

“It is. If we come across a large amount of azurous, we’ll drop everything to mine it.”

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“...this is point Charlie, nothing to report Commander, over.” The voice of Melissa came from the radio I was holding. 

“Roger that, keep an eye out for any activity, over. Point Delta, this is Command contacting you for the regular check-in, over.” 

“This is point Delta, nothing to report, over.” This time the voice belonged to Travis Scott from Squad 1. Currently the entire Reconnaissance Unit is engaged in a critical mission outside of the Osiris. A large deposit of azurous was detected, and a mining operation is underway. These kinds of operations always pose a high risk, so the deployment of our unit is integral to success. Spreading out in a semi-circle to the north of the digsite, we are keeping an eye out for Daemons that may attack the Resource Unit. If any of the 6 teams detect a large movement of Daemons approaching the digsite, they contact me at the center. Normally I’d have Marco here helping to manage both our squads, but since the Medical Unit wouldn’t clear him, it’s up to me to take command of both squads. So far there had been no major Daemon movements toward the digsite, which is a welcome development. Things continued to proceed slowly in between the regular check-in intervals, until a voice came over the radio. 

“Point Zeta to Commander, do you copy?” The voice belonged to Crysta Willaims. She and her brother Ryan were the rookies of Squad 2, and I had placed the two of them in charge of point Zeta.

“Affirmative Zeta, go ahead.”

“We have detected a large number of Class 1’s and 2’s approaching the dig site. Requesting orders, over.” She didn’t report there being any Class 3’s among them. 

“Roger that, standby for orders.” Picking up the secondary radio, I press the call button.

“This is Recon to Osiris, do you copy?”

“Affirmative Recon, go ahead.” The voice of Bridge Commander Chuu responded to my call.

“Multiple lower-classes approaching point Zeta. Awaiting orders, over.” 

“Copy that, standby for orders.” A few moments passed before the Bridge Commander’s voice came from the radio again.

“Osiris to Recon, Squad 3 has been dispatched to point Zeta. Instruct Zeta to await their arrival. Do you copy?”

“Roger that, over.” Picking up the first radio again, I called point Zeta to relay the orders. With a “Roger that”, the radio went quiet again. Before long, I could hear the sounds of gunfire coming from the direction of point Zeta. The Combat Unit must have arrived and begun engaging the Daemons right now. I began to hail the other teams to receive updates on their status when suddenly a male voice came over the radio.

“BREAK BREAK BREAK! CLASS 3 DETECTED AT POINT ZETA! I REPEAT! CLASS 3 DETECTED AT-” A loud crashing sound could be heard before the radio turned to static. My heart began to beat faster as I pressed the call button.

“Zeta! Do you copy?” There was no immediate response, so I quickly grabbed the second radio and called the Osiris.

“MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY! CLASS 3 DETECTED AT POINT ZETA. I REPEAT! CLASS 3 DETECTED AT POINT ZETA!” Neither of the Williams had responded as I relayed their message to the Osiris.”

“Roger that Recon, standby for orders.” The Bridge Commander’s voice was noticeably shaken by the report. After another short moment, a new voice sounded over the radio.

“BREAK BREAK BREAK! ALL UNITS RETREAT! I REPEAT! ALL UNITS RETREAT!” The Captain’s voice came loud and clear. I quickly relayed the retreat order, and continued trying to call Zeta. However, nothing but static returned my frantic calls. An overwhelming sense of dread was beginning to take hold, but I have to fight it! Without Marco here, I’m in charge and must not let the other squad members see me panic. Taking deep breaths, I continued hailing Zeta, hoping, praying for them to respond. But no response would come as the rest of the Recon Unit arrived. Keeping myself together, we packed up the radios and returned to the Osiris…

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“Approximately 43 minutes after the beginning of the operation, the Reconnaissance Unit reported a mass movement of Daemons from the direction of point Zeta. In response, the Combat Unit dispatched the 3rd Squadron to intercept and exterminate. 5 minutes after they made contact, a Class 3 had arrived and attacked all units present at point Zeta. According to one of the surviving Combat Unit members, the Williams siblings distracted the Class 3 and led it away from the Combat Unit, where the remaining units retreated with the wounded. That concludes the combat unit’s report.” Second Commander Volkov stated gruffly. Both him and Commander Sakai were standing on the bridge to give their reports on what had occurred at point Zeta. I couldn’t get a good read on Volkov’s face, but Anri I could read like a book. Even if he tried to hide it, I can see the fear in his eyes.

“I see, casualties?”

“4 heavily injured, 8 deceased, and 2 MIA.” The Combat Unit was struck hard by this disaster.

“Why was the presence of the Class 3 not detected earlier?” Anri stepped forward.

“We believe the Williams siblings confused a Class 3 reading with a large number of lower-class Daemons.” He was doing a good job holding himself together. I took a moment to process the report. 8 soldiers are dead, and 4 are in critical condition. There were also the other members who came back with minor to no injuries. They will require psychiatric screenings. Finally there were the 2 MIAs…the Willaims siblings. A decision has to be made on them, and there really is only one…

“We can not risk the lives of any more soldiers in searching for the Williams siblings or retrieving the bodies of the fallen. The Osiris will continue on its path towards the Cocoon.” I could see Anri’s face droop, but he did not raise a complaint. He knows that searching for the Williams siblings would put more lives at danger, but there was a part of him hoping I would give the order to search for them. Part of being a leader is to make hard decisions, and as the Captain of the Osiris, I often have to make the hardest. 

“Commanders Sakai and Volkov, go debrief your squads on what had transpired. Reflect on the disaster that transpired today to ensure it doesn’t happen again. You are dismissed.” Both men offered a salute, and left the bridge. 

“Do you think he’ll be ok?” Bridge Commander Chuu had turned to ask me.

“I’ve known him for most of his life. He’ll bounce back.” There was no doubt in my mind. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. He’d eventually have to learn how to cope with the loss of comrades under his command…

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She was lying in a bed in the same room she had woken up in earlier. The lights were off and all she could hear was a low hum that was present everywhere inside the Freighter. She was not alone, as Anri was lying down on a bed on the other side of the room; his back towards her.

 She had been in the infirmary talking with Marco while Anri and the rest of the Recon Unit were out helping with some mining thing. When Captain Adaeh came to the infirmary to see Marco, she learned what had happened outside. The Captain knelt in front of her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Listen to me sweetie. Anri is going through a hard time right now. He needs someone to be there by his side. I want you to be there for him.” Staring at his back, she was unsure of what she could do.

“..are you ok?” That was the only thing she could think of, but the man did not respond to the question. She needed to think of something else.

“...I heard they risked their lives to lure the Daemon away.” She saw him shift in response and kept going.

“And you know, it reminds me of what you and Marco did for me back in the Cocoon. You were willing to die to keep me safe. I think they were very brave for caring about their comrades' lives, just like you two were with me.” The man remained silent for a few moments before turning towards her.

“Oh I almost forgot, the Captain told me what would happen to you once we made it back to the city. You will officially be adopted into the Sakai family. So until you remember your real last name, you will be Elda Sakai.”

“So you’ll be like my father?” The man sat up suddenly.

“Hey hey hey! I’m way too young to be your father! You can think of me as an older brother!” 

“Do I have any other family members besides you, big brother Anri?” She asked in a manner poking fun at him.

“As a matter of fact, you’ll have an older sister as well. Her name is Rena and you’d better watch out! She is going to dote on you the second she sees you!” A small smile had formed on the man’s face as he described his sister.

“So can I expect delicious home cooked meals and a roof over my head in the Sakai household.” She was now smiling herself.

“Uh, I don’t know about home cooked meals…neither of us seem to have taken after our mother’s cooking expertise.” She laughed at that and he soon followed suit.

“Ok, it’s been a long day so we should get some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” As she closed her eyes and was about to drift off to sleep, she could hear a faint voice from the other side of the room.

“Thank you…”

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“Come on Ryan, we can’t stay here for long!” The woman, Christa Willaims was kneeling by her brother. Both had been exhausted after escaping from the Class 3 they drew away, and were now hiding in a ravine somewhere to the North East of point Zeta. 

“We need to get back to the Osiris before it departs.” As she said this, a sound came from directly behind them. The two of them quickly turned with their weapons at the ready and gaped at what stood behind them.

“What-” And before that terrified question could be finished, a shadowy figure descended on the siblings…

 

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