NOVEL WEB Chapter 2: Reconnaissance.
September 2184. Copper 9 Surface. Helldiver Jason.
Jason scanned the terrain. The planet was a husk. What few trees remained seemed to be barely clinging to life, with snow smothering the land in a blanket of white. Overhead, thick clouds blotted out the stars, and the fleet in orbit was completely hidden from view.
"Comms check. Jason, do you read me?"
After a brief delay, static crackled in his helmet before a voice finally came through.
"Affirmative, Jason. We've got you, but there's interference. Shouldn't be an issue. Do you have eyes on anything yet?"
He glanced at his map, an outdated piece of tech that hadn't seen a real update in over a century. "The map's ancient. No telling what's still accurate." Jason raised his left wrist, activating the holomap. A small, grainy display hovered above his forearm as he scanned the area.
"Hold on… Got something."
"What's the read?"
"Looks like a bunker, roughly a hundred meters from my position. Could be what we're after. Prep the other Helldivers for a drop. If this thing's defenses are still hot, I'll need backup."
"Copy that. Radio silence until needed. Good hunting."
Jason slung his AR-23P Liberator Penetrator into a ready position, chambering a round with a sharp click. Communications could trip hostile systems if any were still active, and he wasn't about to test the theory until he knew what they were dealing with.
With his weapon raised, he moved forward, cutting through the skeletal remains of dead trees. The battlefield bore its scars—craters, mangled artillery pieces, and SEAF positions long abandoned. Snow had filled many of the trenches, but a few still gaped open, ready to swallow anyone not paying attention. He passed bodies frozen in place, skeletons still wearing SEAF uniforms—ghosts of a battle long lost.
The Geiger counter strapped to his suit began clicking softly. Radiation levels were spiking, but not to lethal levels.
"Command, picking up radiation traces. Nothing serious. You seeing anything up there?"
"Copy that. We've got readings on large radiation pockets, some megaton-level. Looks like multiple nukes went off here. Planet's been torn apart."
"Strange... We used nukes, but not on that scale. Not unless we captured enemy warheads." Jason shook his head, the level of devastation unnerving even for him. "Deploy the Eagles. I want sweeps around my location. Let's make sure we don't stumble into something nasty."
"Roger that, Eagles are armed and prepped."
He continued through the snow-laden wasteland, nearing the bunker's location. Just fifty meters now. He could see the outline of the structure through a broken line of burned trees and stumps. The blast door stood open, twisted metal littering the entrance.
"Command, I've located the bunker. No movement so far. Proceeding with caution."
Jason pressed forward, taking cover behind a tree, his eyes locked on the dark entrance. The remnants of a communications tower lay in the snow, a mangled mess of metal. He moved swiftly, keeping his rifle trained on the open blast door. His boots crunched against the concrete as he closed the distance.
Suddenly, a noise broke the silence. Something quick, skittering in the distance. Jason whipped his weapon to the right, scanning the treeline.
"Command, I've got movement. Could be nothing... You got the Eagles in the air?"
"Affirmative. Helldivers are also on standby."
Jason paused at the entrance of the bunker, his flashlight slicing through the darkness inside. No signs of life yet. He dropped to one knee and peeked through the door. The interior was silent. Too silent.
"I'm going in. If you don't hear from me in an hour, send reinforcements."
With a grunt, he slid under the half-open door and rose quickly, sweeping the room with his rifle. Nothing stirred. The air was still, the only sound coming from the wind outside. He advanced cautiously, boots clicking on the concrete.
Further inside, another door loomed, slightly ajar. Jason yanked it open, the creak of metal echoing down a dark hallway. His light flickered over rows of monitors and consoles. A skeleton slumped in a chair, greeted him—its skull dislodged and resting on the floor.
"Command, I've got a body here. Odd... This place should've had at least twenty personnel."
Jason moved closer, his light dancing over the monitors. He flipped a few switches, and to his surprise, one of the screens sputtered to life, flashing with static. A few garbled words struggled through the noise.
"This... is... nuke it..."
Jason frowned, trying to make sense of the fragmented transmission.
"Command looks like there's still some power here. I doubt we'll get much out of it, though. Think we can get a SEAF tech team down here?"
"Possible, but it'll take time."
"Right. For now, this is our primary site. There might be other facilities still online. If there's even a shred of usable tech left, we'll find it."
Jason turned his gaze back to the bunker's interior. The maps were a mess, corrupted by a century of neglect and whatever horrors this planet had endured. But if this bunker still had power, there was a chance others did too. And if they could find one intact system... it could change everything.
Edited thanks to ELE73CH.