Volume 2, Chapter 3 – The Silent Silence. Booklets and a Tomahawk
I stepped onto the ground with Paladin's help. It was unusual — I'd spent more time in the air than on the ground. And the ground looked like a dead desert: cracks, pale color. The sun was at its zenith, perfectly illuminating and heating this entire expanse.
And in front of me was a corridor — two tanks on each side, leading me inward. It's unnerving — such intense overprotection. Although... considering I've already met God twice and died twice, why not, especially now when my muscles aren't even toned yet.
I headed toward the headquarters tent, which already had a field of antennas on top.
(I hope... no one here loses a part of themselves... I need to find out what lives here, since I couldn't see anything, even from the air. To try to kill all the bad things in advance. Though now it looks like overprotection on my part.)
"GOOD DAY TO YOU!" shouted 27 officers.
"Quiet..." I grabbed my ears. (Some deja vu...)
And the headquarters looks the same as the last one — already there's a map hanging with this endless field.
"What kind of wildlife is here?" I headed toward the briefing and finally sat down on a chair, fully feeling the bliss of it.
The Strategist walked up to the map.
"According to survey data," he turned off the light and turned on the projector, "this entire desert has multi-level caves. [Slide: 'anthill in cross-section']. Wildlife has also been spotted at night. [Satellite image: something black emerging from a cave]."
(I have a deep sense of deja vu — all that's missing is Paladin to my right on a chair.)
I turned my head.
He was there. Just like last time. But now the war isn't with people — it's with what kills people. I don't want to take on the title of world defender — after all, people here somehow lived with this danger. Just defender of a new home. Where I plan to live and don't want to move again.
"Also, repeated surveying gave a new map, which may indicate dense moving creatures. [Switching slides where caves either narrowed or widened]. We have several proposals: fire a Tomahawk into one of the caves to study creature activity during the daytime," the Strategist added calmly, clicking through slides. [Slide: photo and specs of the Tomahawk], next [Assumed strike zone of the cave].
(Fire missiles into holes? Would it even hit? Although, what am I thinking. That's on CUB's shoulders — I don't have to know everything. But firing...)
I started rocking on my chair, drifting into thought.
(If we blow it up, could it be like a beehive — and all the wildlife will fly out of all the caves? Can we handle it? I don't know... But what if we get information that will help us at night — and our lives here depend on it?)
"Fire," I waved my hand.
"Arleigh," the Strategist addressed her.
She jumped up from her chair and started frantically fixing her appearance.
"Yes, sir! One vessel is on patrol, one thousand kilometers from headquarters. Target?" Arleigh said confidently and walked up to the Strategist — and I watched in surprise, like I was in school and had slept through half the lesson.
"Deploy the second vessel. In case of emergency — massed attack on targets. Target for the first shot [coordinates]," the Strategist finished, and a drone feed appeared on the screen, flying from headquarters toward the caves.
Arleigh disappeared.
And reappeared.
"The second vessel is currently next to the first. My plan is to move it to a distance of two thousand kilometers. Launch completed," Arleigh reported and sprawled on her chair, messing with her hair.
I tensed up and stared at the screen.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
"When will it arrive?" I couldn't hold back.
"One hour and twelve minutes," the Strategist reported calmly.
(Really? And it has to be a Tomahawk? We could just use Paladin. Why wait so long? The caves are right next to us, and Paladin with his equipment is also here — we could blast them from a distance... Well, fine... I just want this moment of revealing the enemies to be over quickly and not fantasize about the worst.)
"I have a question," I raised my hand for some reason.
"Yes, Commander," the Strategist turned to me. And all the officers turned their gazes on me, like a student asking a question in a lecture for the first time.
"Why not use Paladin?"
"Distance. CUB chose the farthest cave from us — one hundred and fifteen kilometers away. This increases safety. Paladin needs a range of up to forty kilometers, and he produces sound that the creatures might notice. We don't know the sensitivity of their hearing," the Strategist explained. The picture on screen changed, but it was still the same wasteland.
(The main thing is that CUB is smarter than me. If they did everything the way I want, we'd definitely have been lost already. Good thing they can handle things on their own and don't ask me about things I've never even heard of.)
(Maybe shoot? Distract myself. I liked it. Although, is it safe? Maybe read a book from my reference guide? Physically I can't train, but mentally — I can lie down for an hour and read, even if I don't want to.)
"Is there some place to rest here?" I asked Paladin, not wanting to distract the Strategist from his dialogue with the other officers.
"Of course. Heh. Your tent is ready. It's also dug in and surrounded by HESCO," Paladin said with a smile.
And with heaviness in my legs, I headed toward it — saying goodbye to all the officers on the way and asking them to call me when the missile arrives.
Outside was quiet. Not a soul — even the Soldier-functions only walk on the HESCO walls. No wind, nothing — like I'd stepped onto a weapons testing ground. Though in essence, that's what it is now. But it was unbearably hot — the air was burning, and the equipment radiated heat like a frying pan. The air shimmered from the temperature, creating a wavy effect.
And silence... Only my heavy breathing. Equipment is off. Nothing moves, nothing makes noise, nothing breathes. Only me... The only living thing on this range.
I entered my tent. It was quite cozy and cool because it was dug into the ground. Bed, table, water barrel — everything.
I immediately kicked off my shoes.
"Oooooh..." I exhaled, lying down on the ground.
(Good... I'm alive... Now I understand. I got everything, absolutely everything. Friends, strength, intelligence, eccentricity, joy, and arrogance. All the officers are pieces of me — who I wanted to become in certain moments. That's why they appeared this way. God said I wanted them to look like this myself. So now I'm a complete person who holds their own life.)
(And now they're not friends — they're family. And if I'm going to fight someone — I'll be in the front lines. If I know something can be lost — I'll feel it from the front lines, not hide and learn about it from reports. I will become strong. We will all become strong. And we'll live this life in peace.)
I propped myself up on my elbows.
"Reference guide... About this place..." I decided to try. (Maybe there's something about it in my reference guide.)
A booklet fell next to me. Unknown language.
"Reference guide — translation to French?"
A new one fell on top of the previous one, with "translation to French" written on it.
"Tha...nks...?" I said uncertainly into the air.
—
Title: [literal translation] The Silent Silence. Area: 4 million square kilometers. Has a mountain range along the entire western line, and beyond it the ocean [literally] Ocean Sea. On the other side is the central continent, which falls under the control of the Duchy of Malevych, the Kingdom of Ruma, and the Duchy of Firkun.
In the Silent Silence live monsters that absorb any magic, and there is no data on them. Habitat during the day — unknown. Everyone who came — death. Therefore, the Kingdom of Ruma has walled off the entire adjacent territory of the Silent Silence from the mainland.
According to data from states that sent expeditions led by Archmages, it can be noted that any magic will not kill the monster. The Archmages did not return, nor did their entire force.
Legends:
Monsters are the counterbalance to mages.
The core of magic lies in the Silent Silence.
There was a war between two Archons here, which led to a backlash from nature.
—
I pulled away from the book and looked up at the tent ceiling.
(It all sounds like these monsters set up a counter to mages — and metal and gunpowder are their needle in the egg. Whoa, I really spun that into some Russian epic.)
(But now it's getting more interesting — what will happen when the Tomahawk flies into their home?! Will they shake it off and run at us, or hide even deeper in the caves?)
(Fine, I'll read more about these legends. What else is there to do — as long as I don't move, my body stops hurting and recovers. So let's get to work.)
—
Tomahawk Block V. Flying over the desert, basking in the sun and weaving in different directions, dodging high ridges that look like anthills, dipping and rising. Flying and feeling the wind, taking it onto its red little wings, calmly spinning at 890 km/h, completely confident in its power and destructiveness. It flies and says to everyone: "Who wants some democracy?" — flying over the caves.
—
—
"Commander! Five minutes," Paladin reported, entering my tent.
(Whoa... I really got into reading — did I actually enjoy it? I would've never believed it. Well, now everything will be decided. But my muscles really don't want to go out there — the pain is gone, replaced by soreness.)
I got up, poured myself some water from the barrel, and drank, then for good measure, poured some over my hair. I stepped outside — and didn't regret it. Nothing had changed, only it felt hotter, as if from all this tank metal. I didn't even want to linger in this soulless silence in a place called Silent Silence. (Terrible... Why does it translate so literally?)
List:
— Get into sports. (In progress)
— Buy or build my own house.
— Start some kind of business.
— Find a partner.
— Plant a tree.
— Learn a new craft.
From this world:
— Try to learn magic.
— Learn the language.
— Become independent and not rely on the officers. (In progress.)
— Become proficient with weapons.
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