The transport continued north through the morning sky, its engines maintaining a steady, rhythmic hum.
Inside the cargo bay, Gamma Squad sat in silence.
No one had much left to say.
The joking had faded.
The mission ahead occupied everyone's thoughts.
A sharp tone sounded through the cabin.
The pilot's voice followed moments later.
"Approaching H-09."
Everyone instinctively turned toward the reinforced windows.
The landscape below had changed completely.
Gone were the rolling mountain forests surrounding Forward Command.
Below them stretched an immense tropical jungle.
An endless emerald canopy reached toward every horizon, broken only by winding rivers that glimmered beneath the morning sun before disappearing beneath the dense foliage once again.
Towering jungle trees pushed above the rest of the canopy like ancient sentinels, their trunks wrapped in thick vines that climbed hundreds of feet into the air.
Patches of mist drifted lazily between the treetops, while brilliant splashes of crimson, orange, and violet flowers broke through the sea of green.
From above...
The jungle looked untouched.
Alive.
From above...
The jungle looked peaceful.
Beautiful, even.
Yet David couldn't shake the feeling that appearances were deceiving.
The dense canopy hid everything beneath it.
Rivers.
Cliffs.
Creatures.
Every shadow concealed another unknown.
He finally understood why General Hale had described H-09 as one of the last unexplored sectors.
The jungle wasn't inviting.
It was hiding.
The transport banked gently west.
The jungle stretched on for another several minutes before something massive appeared on the horizon.
A mountain range.
Towering gray cliffs rose abruptly from the jungle, their sheer faces climbing hundreds of feet into the clouds.
Waterfalls poured from hidden rivers high above, vanishing into the dense vegetation below.
David immediately recognized them.
"The western range."
Lucian nodded.
"The one from General Hale's briefing."
The transport continued climbing.
As they crossed the first ridgeline...
The plateau came into view.
It jutted from the mountainside like a giant stone fortress overlooking the jungle below.
David leaned slightly toward the window.
It was exactly as General Hale had shown them.
Broad enough to establish a military camp.
Steep cliffs protected two sides of the plateau.
Far below, a river carved through the valley floor, its waters flashing silver beneath the morning sunlight.
To the south...
A single narrow ridge connected the plateau to the rest of the mountain range.
The only natural approach on foot.
Lucian let out a slow breath.
"So that's Drop Zone Eight."
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
Seeing it from the air made General Hale's briefing feel very different.
This wasn't just another point on a holographic map.
This was where they would live.
Where they would patrol.
Where they would fight if something reached the ridge.
The transport circled once above the plateau.
David spotted the landing zone immediately.
The clearing occupied only a small section of the stone plateau.
Landing lights marked its perimeter.
Everything else remained untouched.
Grass pushed through cracks in the stone.
Young trees had begun reclaiming the outer edges.
Nature was already trying to erase the work of the survey teams that had prepared the site months earlier.
The pilot's voice echoed through the cargo bay.
"Beginning final approach."
The transport banked one final time before descending toward the plateau.
The landing gear extended with a heavy metallic clunk.
As they dropped lower, the scale of the surrounding landscape became even more apparent.
The cliffs weren't merely steep.
They were walls.
The jungle below wasn't simply dense.
It was impenetrable.
David remembered General Hale's final words.
"This will become your Forward Operations Camp."
"If..."
"...you can hold it."
Those words carried far more weight now.
This wasn't a temporary campsite.
It was a foothold.
One small position carved into an ocean of wilderness.
The transport settled onto the stone plateau with a gentle bump.
The engines continued humming as dust and loose grass swirled around the aircraft.
No one moved.
For a brief moment...
Everyone simply listened.
The distant roar of waterfalls echoed through the valley.
Wind rolled across the plateau.
Somewhere far below, hidden beneath the jungle canopy, an enormous creature released a deep, resonating call that rolled through the mountains before fading into silence.
No alarms sounded.
No warnings appeared.
Just the untamed sounds of H-09.
The pilot unfastened his harness and stood.
He turned toward Gamma Squad with a small smile.
"Welcome to Drop Zone Eight."
A hydraulic hiss echoed through the cargo bay.
The rear ramp began to lower.
Warm, humid air rushed inside, carrying the scent of rain-soaked stone, rich earth, and dense jungle vegetation.
Bright morning light flooded the compartment.
Beyond the opening...
The stone plateau stretched before them.
And beyond that...
The vast jungle of H-09 waited.
Their mission had begun.
The rear ramp settled onto the stone with a dull metallic thud.
Warm, humid air immediately flooded the cargo bay.
It carried the scent of damp earth, wet stone, and dense jungle vegetation.
David stepped onto the plateau first.
Solid rock met the soles of his boots.
For a moment...
He simply looked.
Drop Zone Eight was larger than it had appeared from the air.
The landing zone occupied only a small portion of the plateau. Beyond it, weathered stone stretched toward the cliffs before giving way to patches of grass, scattered shrubs, and the occasional twisted tree that had managed to take root in cracks throughout the rock.
A cool breeze swept across the plateau.
Far below...
The river thundered through the valley.
June walked down the ramp behind him and stopped.
"...Okay."
He slowly turned in a circle.
"I'll admit it."
Lucian smirked.
"What?"
"This place is incredible."
Even Mira found herself looking toward the valley.
The view stretched for miles.
Dense jungle filled the landscape below, interrupted only by winding rivers and distant waterfalls spilling from the surrounding mountains.
It was beautiful.
And isolated.
The pilot stepped aside as the rear ramp locked into place against the stone.
"Everything on this transport stays here."
David nodded.
"We'll take it from here."
The pilot handed him a ruggedized data tablet.
A cargo manifest filled the screen.
David quickly scanned the list before looking back at the squad.
"We unload first."
"After everything's on the ground, we'll divide the work."
Everyone nodded.
"Let's move."
Without another word, Gamma Squad climbed back into the cargo bay.
The first crate sat nearest the ramp.
David crouched beside it.
"Castiel."
His roommate stepped over immediately.
Together they released the locking clamps securing the container to the deck.
"Lift."
Both grabbed the reinforced handles.
The crate barely cleared the floor before they carried it down the ramp and set it on the stone beside the landing zone.
Another followed.
Then another.
Lucian and Nyra worked beside them, each carrying equipment cases nearly as large as themselves.
June stopped in front of a particularly large cargo container.
He stared at it for several seconds.
"...Tell me this one's empty."
Mira glanced at the shipping label.
"It contains the modular shelters."
June looked hopeful.
"So..."
"They're inflatable?"
"No."
He sighed.
"I knew that was too much to ask."
Lucian walked past carrying another equipment case.
"You'll survive."
"I know."
June slipped his hands beneath the crate's handles.
"I'm just trying to make sure the crate survives too."
David laughed quietly.
"Less talking."
"More lifting."
"Yes, sir."
One by one...
The transport slowly emptied.
Communications equipment.
Shelter modules.
Power cells.
Motion sensors.
Water purification units.
Ration containers.
Medical supplies.
Engineering tools.
Every crate was carried onto the plateau and stacked neatly near the center of the future camp.
By the time the last container reached the ground, sweat clung to everyone's uniforms despite the cool mountain breeze.
June rolled his shoulders.
"...I officially miss the Academy."
Castiel smirked.
"Because of the training?"
"No."
June looked back at the now-empty cargo bay.
"Because someone else unloaded the trucks."
That earned a laugh from the rest of the squad.
Even the pilot smiled.
He looked around at the neatly stacked equipment before giving an approving nod.
"Not bad."
"You unloaded everything in under forty minutes."
David glanced over the growing pile of supplies.
It was difficult to imagine...
That within a few hours, every crate would become part of a functioning forward operating camp.
For now...
It was simply a mountain of equipment waiting to be assembled.
David looked over the growing stacks of equipment spread across the plateau.
Everything they needed for the next several weeks...
Was now sitting in front of them.
The pilot climbed the transport's loading ramp one final time before turning back toward Gamma Squad.
"This is where we part ways."
David stepped forward.
"How long before another transport comes through?"
The pilot shrugged.
"Depends."
"If everything goes according to schedule..."
"A supply run every two weeks."
"And if it doesn't..."
He smiled faintly.
"You'll hear Commander Vance's voice before you see another aircraft."
June didn't find that particularly comforting.
The pilot extended his hand.
"Good luck."
David accepted the handshake.
"Thank you."
The pilot nodded toward the rest of Gamma.
"Stay alive."
Without another word, he turned and disappeared back into the cockpit.
Moments later...
The engines began to roar.
Everyone stepped back as the transport slowly lifted from the plateau.
Dust, loose grass, and scattered leaves exploded outward beneath the powerful engines.
The aircraft climbed steadily into the morning sky.
Within moments...
It banked south.
Then disappeared beyond the mountains.
Silence settled over Drop Zone Eight.
A different kind of silence.
Forward Command was gone.
The instructors were gone.
There wasn't another soldier for miles.
For the first time since arriving on Kharos Vale...
They were completely on their own.
David slowly looked around the plateau.
Stacks of crates.
A defensible position.
An unexplored jungle surrounding them on every side.
He took a slow breath.
"Alright."
Everyone looked toward him.
"This is home now."
He glanced down at the data tablet the pilot had handed him before looking back at the squad.
"We already know our assignments."
He pointed toward Nyra.
"Communications mast."
"We need a link with Forward Command before anything else."
Nyra nodded.
"Understood."
He looked toward Lucian.
"Take the perimeter equipment."
"Set the warning beacons along the ridge."
"I want early warning if anything comes up the mountain."
Lucian picked up one of the beacon cases.
"I'll get it done."
David turned toward June and Mira.
"You two have the shelters."
June looked at the massive shelter containers.
"...I was hoping you'd forgotten."
"No such luck."
Mira picked up one end of the first crate.
"We should have them assembled before lunch."
June sighed as he grabbed the other handle.
"I miss my dorm room already."
A few quiet laughs spread through the group.
David looked toward Castiel.
"You and I are on defensive setup."
Castiel nodded.
"Motion sensors first."
Castiel nodded.
"Then?"
David scanned the plateau before pointing toward the narrow ridge connecting Drop Zone Eight to the mountain.
"We map every approach into camp."
"If creatures attack..."
"...I want them fighting us where we choose, not where they choose."
A faint smile crossed Castiel's face.
"Commander Vance would approve."
David looked around once more.
The plateau no longer felt empty.
In his mind...
He could already picture it.
Shelters.
The communications mast.
Sensor arrays.
Supply storage.
A command post.
Everything they needed to survive.
He closed the tablet.
"Let's build ourselves a camp."
Without another word...
Gamma Squad split off in different directions.
The quiet stone plateau slowly came to life as crates were opened and equipment was moved into position.
Before the day was over...
Drop Zone Eight would become Gamma Squad's home.