I walked into the large tent the scientist were using as a makeshift lab and screamed “All of you, out! Now!”
The four that had been assigned to assist the science staff quickly saluted and rushed outside.
“Something wrong, Captain? I hope you found your lost boy.” Opal said, her voice full of mirth.
“You! What the hell did you bring us out here for?!” I screamed, slamming my hoof down on a nearby table, scattering its contents.
Startled, she began to speak “Wha-“ but I cut her off quickly, pinning her to the ground.
“What the fuck are we doing here?! What were you looking for?!”
“C-captain, you’re hurting me” She squeaked out.
“I don’t really give a fuck. We found our man.” I said, glaring at her. “The Sergeant found him out near some structure, half fucking eaten.”
I released her, and she started to stand up. “What are you talking about?” she said, visibly paler.
“I mean they found his mangled body in the woods missing big fucking chunks! The Sergeant said it looked like he was alive when it happened.” I began to calm down, quieting my voice. “Now what the hell are you people doing here.”
Opal looked at her staff for a moment before returning my gaze. “We were sent to recover old-world technology.” She said quietly.
“Excuse me?”
“Old world technology. We weren’t the first ones to live on this planet, you know. There was another before us, far more advanced. We’ve found some artifacts before, but from what we can tell, the bulk of them are here in the Everfree.” She sat down at a desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a small device. It was silver on one half, black on the other, with a glass square at the top and a small grey circle on the bottom.
“And what is that?” I asked.
“No clue. All we know is it’s from the old world, and it’s incredibly complex. We’ve found several of these before. We opened one up, and the whole thing is filled with wires crisscrossing throughout it. We can’t even figure out how to turn it on.”
“So we’re out here for worthless trinkets?” I asked, bitterness returning to my voice.
“Not trinkets, Captain. We’re here to discover the past. An entire civilization, eons more advanced than our own, just… Disappeared. Without a trace. We’re here to figure out what happened.” Opal said quietly, placing the silver object back in the drawer and closing it.
“Look, I’m about ready to pull the plug on this whole thing already. Your little hopes and dreams speech isn’t doing much to change that. I’ve already lost one man, and if I’m understanding you correctly, you want to go into whatever those ruins are?”
“That’s the whole reason we’re here.”
“I can’t in good conscience allow my troops to go into that place. I’ll send a recovery crew for the body shortly. In the meantime, I suggest you start packing up. We leave tomorrow morning.”
I started towards the door, but stopped when Dr. Opal spoke up. “Captain, I don’t think you understand how this is going to work. While we’re out here, you’re not in charge. I am.”
I turned slowly to face her. “Is that so? Well ma’am, whether you believe you’re in charge or not, those are my troops out there, and I will not allow any unnecessary harm to come to them.”
“Captain. Look at me. I’m not just some ditzy scientist trying to make a name for herself. We’re here to change the very course of history. I will not have you standing in the way of that. Got it?”
“Sure thing, ma’am.” I replied, and walked out into the common area.
I grabbed the soldier nearest to me, and said “Gather everyone by the mess table. Wake everyone up. You have five minutes to have everyone waiting at attention.”
The young soldier jumped to action, calling back a quick “Yes sir!”
Within a few minutes, everyone was waiting in formation. The Sergeant fell in next to me, looking out at the remaining 10 before us.
“Alright, everyone. I know there have been rumors flying around, and I’m going to put them to rest. As of now, we are in a hostile territory.” The soldiers eyes widened slightly, and the focused on my every word. “Private Twigs was found dead this morning. It is unknown how he died, but we are assuming enemy action.”
“Sir!” one of the Private spoke up. “Who exactly is the enemy?”
“I don’t know yet, son. All I know is that there is someone or something out there, and it does not want us here. You will all be carrying your weapons at all times. You will sleep with them, you will eat with them, you will bathe with them. They will not leave your side for any reason, am I understood?”
In unison, they replied “Sir, yes sir!”
“Good. Anything out of the ordinary is to be reported to me or the Sergeant immediately.”
“Sir” the same Private spoke “When are we getting out of here?”
“I don’t know. If it were up to me, we’d be leaving right now. As it is, the Doctor is calling the shots for now.”
The Private nodded, and looked around nervously.
“As I stated before, any orders given to you by the science team are to be vetted through myself and the Sergeant. Dismissed.”
The troops returned to their various duties, glancing around every once in a while as a branch rustled or a twig snapped in the distance.
“This isn’t good for morale, Sergeant.” I said after a moment.
“No sir, but it’s better that they stay on the hooves than let them think everything is fine.”
“They’re going to make us go back to the ruins.”
“I know sir. I knew it as soon as I saw them.”
The two of us stood there in silence, surveying the camp for a few minutes before the Sergeant stepped away to admonish one of the troops for improper weapon usage.