Chapter 244: The Cocoon
“Perhaps it’s because we’ve reached their core!” Dr. Balt suggested.
The room fell silent as everyone mulled over the possibility. It seemed highly likely.
“Send in more personnel. We’ll take this underground nest today!” ordered General Masai, the expedition fleet’s supreme commander.
Following the general’s directive, Lieutenant Colonel Cross, the officer in charge of the battlefield’s regional base, deployed nearly all her forces, leaving only a skeleton crew to maintain base operations.
Lieutenant Colonel Cross was an exceptionally young female Riken, a top graduate of the military academy’s command program, and the youngest captain in the expedition fleet. Ordinarily, such a position would be out of reach for someone with her limited experience. However, her twin sister worked in a classified research institute, and their family wielded considerable influence. With such backing, her appointment was not entirely surprising.
Even so, managing the base as the commanding officer had left her overwhelmed. First, a patrol team mysteriously disappeared, almost costing her a court-martial. Fortunately, she had been the first to detect enemy activity, and with the intervention of Major General Porter—a family friend of her superior—she not only escaped punishment but also received reinforcements.
However, her sector soon became the focal point for the enemy threat. The first underground cavern to trigger an alarm was chosen as the main breakthrough site, drawing a massive influx of engineering and combat personnel, most of whom were beyond her direct control. The situation turned her position into a logistical and political nightmare.
After the recent meeting, Major General Porter urged her to seize the opportunity. Since the battlefield was in her jurisdiction, her leadership in capturing the underground nest would earn her enough credit for a promotion.
Determined to succeed, she gambled everything, mobilizing all available forces. Had she not feared ridicule, she might have deployed the base’s cooks as well.