Mia paced back and forth on her bridge. Her face was etched with annoyance, impatience, and irritation. The screens all around her and her officers showed live feeds of the area all around them, particularly at the settlement base 5 kilometers below them.
Everything was in great working condition there. Hallowed in power armor and heavy drones patrolled all over. Many teams scoured the area inside the base, while others combed the flatlands beyond it, for dozens of kilometers.
But there was nothing out there, not even a hint of Freya and her team.
Darius appeared on one of the comms displays, and saluted the Crusader. His fleet was a hundred or so kilometers away, and was performing a sweep of the area as well. His frigate, though nowhere near as armed or armored as Mia’s, was still formidable. Over a dozen mecha swarmed around it protectively.
“Crusader Mia,” he said. “No sign of anything out here except animals and their excrement. Just like the last base.”