NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74 - Landing Zone
Red dwarf light spilled through the Peregrine's window, warm but dim, barely touching the walls.
The forest, still heavy with the scent of rain, felt muffled and still, the morning silence broken only by the occasional drip of water from the massive trees above. At least it's stopped raining.
Inside, the scent of bacon sizzled quietly in the kitchenette, mixing with the familiar, earthy smell of the crew.
Luca shifted on the dinette bench, blinking away the sleep as he straightened. Damn, I'm stiff. Emily was still curled up on his lap, her head nestled against his shoulder. Her breath was warm and even, her face softened in sleep, a rare sight he allowed himself a moment to appreciate. She looked so peaceful. But his legs were completely numb, and he had a serious cramp in his left calf. Time to move. He stretched and shifted slightly, careful not to jostle her too much.
The movement stirred her, and her eyes fluttered open, her gaze a bit startled before it settled, a slow smile spreading across her lips.
"Good morning, Captain," she murmured, her voice drowsy as she rubbed her eyes.
"Morning," Luca replied, a grin tugging at his mouth. "Next time, you get the bench."
Emily laughed softly, sliding off his lap and stretching her arms overhead. She gave him a playful nudge as she headed over to the larger bed, where Danny lay propped up.
They were tangled up comfortably, Zoe's arm looped loosely around Danny's waist, her face relaxed, pressed against his side as if she belonged there. Danny's hand rested lightly on her back, his thumb tracing idle patterns along the fabric of her shirt. Looks like someone had a good night.
Emily slipped into the bed beside Zoe, curling up as she closed her eyes, the warmth of the moment settling over the cabin like an unspoken truce.
Luca stood and stretched, his joints popping in protest from having fallen asleep on the bench. He rubbed the back of his neck, wincing a little, and wandered over to the small kitchenette, where the smell of bacon was making his stomach rumble.
They needed better gear; that much was clear. They needed to hit more portals, take on more risks, if they wanted to survive this damned planet.
One step at a time, he told himself.
Joey was flipping the strips in the skillet, the soft sizzle and pop of bacon filling the quiet space. "Hope everyone's hungry," he said, casting Luca a quick grin. "I had to use the last of our bacon to make this. Figured we earned it."
"You figured right," Luca replied, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Joey's coffee? Absolutely perfect.
Outside, the forest was brightening slowly under the glow of the red dwarf, the rich, damp earth steaming slightly in the cool morning air, the ground softened by last night's rain. Luca took a sip of coffee, his mind already turning over the plan that had crept into his dreams. A plan that hopefully wouldn't get them all killed.
They were close now, within reach of the energy signal they'd been tracking, a few portals dotted the area around them. But the Peregrine was overloaded, weighed down with samples and gear from their excursions, the load pushing it to its limits. If they were going to reach the signal site in one piece, they needed to lighten the Peregrine's load. And maybe make a few upgrades along the way.
Luca's gaze drifted to the plasma chainsaw strapped into the storage compartment. The solution was simple. They'd clear a landing spot for the Percival and call it in, offloading the equipment they didn't need to carry with them.
With the dropship's storage at their disposal, they could finally take the weight off the Peregrine and push forward. And maybe hit a few more portals along the way.
He looked around. "Guys, rise and shine, I've got a plan to clear us a path and lighten our load."
Complaints filtered back as the crew began getting up, the promise of a real breakfast bringing them out of their slumber. Ryan and Chris shuffled out of the bunks, stretching and reaching for the coffee pot with bleary eyes.
Zoe stretched like a cat as she untangled herself from Danny. "So what's this plan, Cap?" she asked, checking her gear.
When everyone was gathered, Luca outlined the plan, explaining how they'd use the plasma chainsaw to cut a wide enough clearing for the Percival to land.
"A landing zone, huh?" Ryan rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing out the window at the dense, ancient trees surrounding them. "It's thick out there, but it's doable."
Luca nodded. "It'll take some work, but the chainsaw will help. Once we offload the samples and the extra equipment, we can move faster and see about running a couple more portals before we get to the signal. Maybe we can complete an armor set or two."
Danny perked up, his hand hovering over the chainsaw. "So, I get to use this thing already?" he asked.
"Depends on your leg. If you can walk, sure," Luca replied with a grin, clapping him on the shoulder.
Danny chuckled, hefting the chainsaw with a grin as Zoe nudged him. "Just don't get too carried away," she murmured.
Joey stashed the last of the supplies and wiped his hands. "Alright, I'll check the gear for the offload list. Let's get this clearing started." And get this show on the road.
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They worked tirelessly as they chipped away at the dense forest. Ryan guided the Specter, the hovercraft's engines humming as it pulled enormous felled trees away, clearing the ground bit by bit as they carved a path for the Percival.
Their progress was interrupted when the first attack came.
From the shadows of the surrounding forest, six of the Varnathi skirmishers appeared. Plasma fire erupted, and the crew sprang into action. Emily's blasters were the first to fire, her shots bright and sharp, catching two of the weasels squarely. Danny wielded the plasma chainsaw with surprising finesse, bringing it down in an arc that cut through a third.
Luca dropped to one knee, his own plasma rifle snapping up to his shoulder. His HUD flared to life, tagging the remaining three hostiles as they scattered for cover. He tracked the first, exhaled slowly, and sent a bolt of superheated plasma through its chest. One down.
The other two laid down a barrage of suppressive fire, forcing him to hug the dirt. A bolt seared the air over his head. He shifted, leading the second weasel by a hair, and fired. Another clean shot. The final skirmisher ducked behind a massive root. Luca held his breath, waiting. The weasel popped up, and Luca's rifle cracked, catching it square in the helmet.
But just as the last one fell, the real threat made itself known. A sniper bolt whizzed past, leaving a searing trail of plasma against a nearby tree. The shot had come from deep in the forest, where their HUD couldn't pinpoint it. Shit.
"Sniper!" Zoe shouted, her voice loud as she crouched low, eyes scanning the distant shadows. "I can't get a lock. They're too well-hidden."
Ryan's voice crackled over the comms. "Leave it to us."
He leaped into the Specter's driver's seat, powering up the hovercraft as Chris clambered onto the back, taking hold of the mounted plasma cannon. The Specter hummed to life, and within seconds, they were hovering over the forest floor, weaving between the trees as they closed in on the sniper's position.
Zoe guided them over comms, directing them through the dense undergrowth toward the sniper's last shot.
The sniper fired again, narrowly missing the Specter as Ryan accelerated. Chris steadied himself, waiting until they were within range, then squeezed the trigger.
The plasma cannon let out a deafening roar, the blast so powerful it momentarily pushed the Specter back. The sniper's position erupted in a flash of green flame, then went silent.
"Got him!" Chris yelled over the comms, pumping his fist as they slowed to a halt, the charred remains of the weasel sniper barely visible among the debris.
Hell yeah.
[+87,030 XP]
[+31,500 credits]
[Skill level up! Precision Shots Proficiency Level 9 --> Level 10]
[Ability Unlocked: Steady Aim: Temporarily stabilize aim for 10 seconds, removing weapon sway and increasing critical hit chance by 25%. +10 seconds per level. Cooldown: 5 minutes, -10% per level.]
[Skill level up! Light Armor Mastery Level 11 --> Level 12]
[Ability upgrade! Ghost Protocol Level 2 --> Level 3]
[Item acquired: Centauri Guardian Mk-64 Tactile Gauntlets]
Wait, what? Already?
Luca blinked at the interface, then grinned.
Steady Aim? That was sniper candy. Ten seconds of no sway, dead-center tracking, and a fat critical boost. But Ghost Protocol at level 3? That was…
Nine minutes of invisibility. Cooldown just over eight. That's longer than most firefights.
Hell, I could stay invisible for the entire fight. Slide through chaos, pick off targets, all while under active camouflage, and no one would see me coming. No one would know where I'd gone.
But the forest had one more surprise for them.
Just as they neared the last loot box, a new sound filled the air, a loud, high-pitched buzzing, sharp and unnatural. It cut through the rain and static like a blade, and Luca felt the hairs on his neck rise.
From the tree line, three massive insectoids burst into the clearing. Each one was the size of a motorcycle, wings blurring, compound eyes glowing an eerie green. Their mandibles clicked as they hovered above them, spewing streams of acid like pressurized fire hoses.
What the fuck are those?
"Get down!" Emily shouted, ducking as a stream of acid splattered against a nearby tree, sizzling as it ate through the bark. They scattered, firing plasma bolts as they tried to keep the creatures at bay.
The insectoids moved fast, dipping and weaving between shots. Zoe broke right, her movements fluid and confident as she melted into the shadows. She activated her ghost protocol and took aim, her rifle trained on the lead flyer.
"I've got this," Zoe called out.
One clean shot. Dead center thorax, and she blasted one of them out of the sky.
The other two turned to her instantly, tracking her like she was lit up in neon.
Luca's heart lurched.
"Shit, shit, they see me!" Zoe's voice cracked over comms, the confidence draining from her tone as a ribbon of acid arced through the air and caught her across the shoulder. Her scout suit's camouflage shimmered, then fizzled out entirely in a burst of static as the acid began eating straight through the armor.
"Zoe!" Luca shouted, already moving, but it was chaos, bolts flying, acid spraying, everyone shouting.
She hit the ground hard, rolled, yanked out her sidearm, and started firing. Her suit was melting, the fibers hissing and sloughing off in chunks. "I'm exposed! Cover me, now!"
Danny was the first to react, charging forward with the plasma chainsaw in hand. He swung it in a tight arc, the buzzing blade cutting through one of the insectoids as it flew low, its screech silenced in an instant.
"Are you okay, Zoe?" he called out, worry evident in his voice as he glanced over his shoulder.
Zoe gritted her teeth, quickly pulling herself out of the remnants of her scout suit. "I'm fine, but my suit's toast. Guess invisibility isn't enough for these things."
Joey rushed to her side, holding his portable shield up to block another acid spray as he guided her back to cover. "Stay low, Zoe. We'll figure something out for the next run."
Ryan and Chris finished off the last of the insectoids, their combined plasma fire lighting up the clearing as the final creature disintegrated, leaving a few splatters of acid and shredded bits of wings behind. What a mess.
[+37,298 XP]
[+13,500 credits]
[Item acquired: Power Cell]
[Item acquired: Kinetic Pain Gel]
"Alright," Luca said. "We're done here. Let's regroup and finish up the clearing. We'll figure out new armor options when we're back at the Peregrine."
Luca gave Zoe her space. She was staring at the remains of her armor like she'd just lost a limb. Her eyes stayed locked on the acid-eaten heap, her expression unreadable. But he could feel it. That ache. That crack in her shell. She wasn't saying a word, and that said everything.
The confident, predatory grace from this morning was gone. In its place stood someone who looked... lost. Vulnerable in a way Luca hadn't seen from her in years.
Danny approached slowly, his expression gentle. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out to touch her arm. "We'll get you new gear. Better gear."
Zoe looked up at him, and for a moment, Luca saw something crack in her composure. A flash of vulnerability, of fear, before she quickly looked away.
"It's not just the gear," she whispered, so quietly Luca almost missed it. "That suit... it was me. Without it, I'm just..."
She leaned into him then, just slightly, and Luca saw her shoulders shake once before she steadied herself.