After the announcement, Albert stepped down from the platform and immediately headed to the office room of the hangar. He wanted to be alone for the moment, especially after that.
For sure, the emotions are high, and the only way for it to cool down was to let things settle naturally. There was no reasoning with adrenaline, fear, and greed all mixed together. He had said what he needed to say — what they needed to hear.
The door to the office shut behind him with a metallic clang, muffling the fading noise of the hangar outside. For the first time in what felt like hours, the world went quiet.
Albert leaned against the wall, exhaling a long, heavy breath. He could still hear faint echoes of the men cheering, laughing, trying to convince themselves everything would be fine. It was good for morale — temporary, at least. But he knew the truth: this was only the calm before the storm.
He dropped himself into the office chair and rubbed his temples.
"500 billion dollars," he muttered to himself, staring at nothing. "I can't believe I actually said that out loud."
It was true, of course. The Goddess had offered it. But he couldn't help feeling the weight of the promise. That number — that impossible sum — had just become the fuel for forty thousand men and women now trapped in another world. If this deal went wrong, if they all died out here… their blood would be on his hands.
The door opened softly behind him.
"Commander," Ward's voice came. "I didn't expect that you knew about our circumstances. Why did you feign ignorance earlier?"
"Ah…Ward. I know sooner or later you'd ask me that," Albert chuckled. "Well the reason was that I'm trying to confirm our situation. The moment we saw that scenery from the drone, I knew immediately the Goddess was not joking. We are in another world."
"Commander, you know I don't believe in that Goddess thing or whatever but a little heads up would do…"
"Look, even if I wanted to give you a heads-up, I can't. The Goddess appeared in my dreams before the whole damn thing happened," Albert said, leaning back in his chair. "I thought it was just a hallucination from fatigue, maybe stress from the Afghanistan deployment. You know how the desert does things to your head. But then, next thing I know, I'm standing in her so-called 'realm,' talking to a woman who could read my thoughts and summon a Black Hawk out of thin air."
"Summon a Black Hawk out of thin air?" Ward repeated. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh…I slipped that one out huh?" Albert chuckled. "Well, to put it simply, it's a supernatural power I received from the Goddess. I can summon military hardware from our world into this world."
Ward blinked. "You're kidding."
Albert shook his head, his expression dead serious. "I wish I was. But it's real, Ward. I've seen it with my own eyes. A full UH-60 Black Hawk materialized right in front of me like it was being printed out of thin air. Not some illusion, not a hologram. It was legit."
"Hmm…" Ward pondered for a moment. "How about you show that power to the men? You know, it will help them accept the reality that we are indeed in this world and not some kind of elaborate training simulation or psy-op. They're still shaken, Commander. Half of them don't even believe we've left Earth. The other half think they're losing their minds."
Albert looked down at his hands resting on the desk, his fingers slowly curling into fists. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I've thought about that too."
Then as they were talking, Albert's radio strapped on his shoulder sounded.
"Predator One to Atlas Actual."
Albert grabbed his radio and replied. "This is Actual, send traffic."
"Commander, we have spotted a village. I repeat, we've got eyes on a village, grid northwest of our current position, approximately two-five-zero klicks out,"
Albert straightened immediately, his tone sharpening. "Copy, Predator One. Say again—two-five-zero kilometers, northwest?"
"Affirm, sir. Drone feed confirms settlement. Looks small, maybe fifty structures max. All wooden rooftops, straw and timber type. The whole place is surrounded by a palisade wall, roughly three meters high, circular layout."
"How's the general layout? You see any modern structures? Vehicles?"
"Negative," the pilot replied. "No metallic rooftops, no concrete, no asphalt. Closest thing to a road is a dirt path running east-west out of the gate. Everything looks pre-industrial, definitely medieval, sir. Even the fields around it look hand-plowed. No power grid, no heat signatures beyond campfires."
Albert exchanged a look with Ward — a silent, heavy moment of confirmation. This wasn't Earth.
"Predator One, zoom in and give me a visual on the locals. Any signs of activity?"
"Roger that, Actual. Stand by… switching to optical zoom."
There was a short pause, only the faint hum of the Predator's engines through the radio link. Then, the pilot came back on. "Visual acquired. I count roughly one hundred, maybe one-twenty inhabitants visible. Human silhouettes — bipedal, unarmed for the most part. They're wearing cloaks, tunics, and leather gear. Some look to be carrying bows and spears. No firearms in sight."
"So, primitive by our standards."
"Primitive, but organized," the pilot added. "They've got what looks like a central well, a small chapel-like structure, and market stalls. Smoke rising from at least fifteen chimneys. Looks like an agricultural community. No defensive towers, though — just that palisade and a single wooden gate."
Albert nodded slowly, processing the report. "Any signs of hostile movement? Armed patrols? Cavalry?"
"Negative, Actual. No signs of aggression. The villagers look… normal. Busy.
Ward folded his arms. "That could work to our advantage. First contact scenario. We approach calm, establish communication, gather intel about this world's geography and politics."
Albert gave a small grunt. "Assuming they can even understand English."
Ward smirked faintly. "If not, we'll improvise. We've done worse in worse places."
Albert keyed the mic again. "Predator One, maintain overwatch on that village. We are going in."
"Copy Actual, Predator One out."
"Who's going Commander?" Ward asked.
"Well I'm going. I want to see what we are dealing with here. You are also coming with me along with 20 Atlas soldiers."
"When are we going to leave?"
"What time is it now?"