Chapter 2
Rescue and Recovery
Egidian County, Republic of Artagna
There was no one in the vicinity to see the shimmer in the night sky or the waving of the grass before jets of air seemingly out nowhere blasted the ground. The grass went flat where some unseen weight pressed down on it. There was a hiss and a piece of the sky shifted and bent to reveal a hole about two meters tall and a meter wide. Slick black figures poured out, most of them encircling the area around the crater while two others proceeded directly toward it.
Had there been any outside observers, they would not have been able to hear the conversation between the figures and even if they could, they would not have understood what the figures were saying.
The larger of the two figures said, "Double time on the scanning crew. I want to know exactly what the hell happened here." He then told the smaller figure, "They can handle the scientific analysis, but what can you tell me, Leutnant?"
The smaller figure—the 'Leutnant'—stretched out her hand and a faint blue glow shone from the ground at her feet.
"She was here, Herr Kapitän."
"Is she still alive or are we going to have to pick up the pieces with tweezers?"
"Uncertain, sir," the Leutnant replied. "I can only tell you that she was here."
Four figures then descended carrying an oddly shaped crate. Setting down the crate near the crater, they opened it and pulled out an assortment of curious implements. They walked all over in and around the crater while the two main figures watched on. Once they seemed to finish their work, one of them reported to the larger figure—the Kapitän—, who could safely be assumed to be the leader.
"Sir, scans confirm that these fragments belong to the jettisoned escape pod from the Leo Rugiens and we have picked up traces of Oberleutnant Van Houten's DNA. It is possible she was killed on impact."
"Have you ever heard of an escape pod exploding like this on landing?"
"Not like this, sir. It had to be deliberate. The amount of explosives it would take..."
"It was not explosives," the Leutnant said. "It was Oberleutnant Van Houten's Arcana."
"Then she is alive," the Kapitän said. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Because I have no evidence she is still alive, sir, only that she was here and that she used her Arcana to destroy the escape pod."
The Kapitän cursed under his breath.
"If only they had given us the order to pursue sooner..."
Straightening himself up, he then told the man reporting to him, "Sterilize the site. No evidence. Then we resume our pursuit. The target has about a two-hour advantage and no tracker signal, but she's alone, possibly injured, in unfamiliar territory with no assistance that we're aware of. She can't have gotten too far."
Another man rushed over to the Kapitän and said, "Sir, I think I have something."
"What is it?" the Kapitän asked.
"About a hundred meters from the crash site, footprints. Boot, possibly military issue, Size 42. Owner is assumed to be male, between 170 and 180 centimeters in height, weight approximately 75 kilograms."
Hearing this, the Kapitän mused, "It would seem then that Oberleutnant Van Houten may have some assistance after all."