146: Bathed in Moonlight

Contrary to most plane rides Nyssa had been a part of, this one remained near dead-silent the entire time. Given the packed schedule, everyone chose to rest as the plane soared through the sky—only the faintest murmur from someone on a call would spread through the air every once and a while.

Even the chatterbox Roxanne stayed quiet.

Though Nyssa felt it may have been correlated to the intense air of depression around her. For the first time in months, she had to separate from her lover after all...

How did I not realize she was such a love-brain...? She really fawns over her wife...

---

After the plane landed at a beaten, makeshift airstrip, everyone disembarked. A ground crew unloaded supplies from the plane as everyone walked over to the transportation stop. Here, trucks took people in small groups to the nearby campsite. Everything here had been assembled by the auxiliary scout crew filled with people whose abilities allowed them to fall into production roles.

Nyssa and Celeste, tentmates, found their assigned tent, set down their stuff, and changed into battle gear. As they left their tent to walk around, they noticed another new batch of fighters. Nodding to whoever she made eye contact with, Nyssa couldn’t help but admire the streamlined process.

It seems like another group landed just after us. It’s so efficient.

“Operation starts tonight,” Celeste murmured to herself and she looked into the distance. A forest of trees greeted her. The furthest ones had been shrouded in fog, and the afternoon sun had just begun to near the horizon. Soon, sunset would come, and when the last light disappeared, they’d attack.

“Do you think the moon will be bright tonight?” Nyssa hooked her arm with Celeste’s. “Come on, let’s get some food before the operation starts. Early dinner. Uh... not very romantic though...”

“I’d say let’s sit in nature to eat but that’s not very safe, yeah...” Celeste sighed. “I have no idea how bright the moon will be. I hope the stars are visible though. It doesn’t help my powers... but you know. I think it helps, and maybe that’s what matters...”

---

That night, stars glittered in the sky. The moon gleamed, casting the world in its pale, silver rays.

Each of the teams, after setting down their belongings, had nabbed a quick dinner before heading into the woods and taking their positions. In the forest, they had found the main lab—and confirmed its location—in a strange plain in the center of the forest. Formed in a near perfect circle, the barren circle had a huge diameter, where some mild fog could obscure the other side.

“We’re totally about to wreck the ecosystem around here...” Ryker put his hand on the ground, brushing the grass as they waited. As he opened his mouth to continue whispering though, the earpiece in Conrad’s ear flashed green.

Everyone fell quiet. Everyone held their breaths. Nyssa felt her heart clench.

“... They gave the go ahead, Nyssa you’re free to go whenever you’re ready,” Conrad repeated with a rare somber expression.

Nyssa sighed. Her hands clammed up. Half-frozen, she took slow breaths as she looked out into the plains.

I-

Am I ready? Even if I’m not, I have to be...

The whole operation can only start after I lure them out.

Come on Nyssa. Come on. Come on.

Her thoughts, though, came to a screeching halt as she felt a warm hand grasp hers. A second later, she felt a soft voice tickle her ear. “Stay calm Nyssa. It’s going to be okay.”

Nyssa, flinching, turned to see Celeste. She squeezed Celeste’s hand. Celeste, in turn, squeezed back and used her other hand to push Nyssa forward. “As much as I don’t want you to go. You got this. Stay safe.”

“... mn, I will,” Nyssa’s shoulders relaxed. She turned, letting go of Celeste’s hand and walking forward. Step-by-step, she sped up, from walking to jogging. Just before she got to a full run, she transformed into a deer.

Unlike the usual, she flaunted her energy. It filled the air around her as she strutted through the center of the plains—as if searching for something.

Lure them out into trying to capture you. Fight them off until they open their gates and start sending in the big things. Then retreat as everyone else pours in...

After running through the battle process in her mind, she refocused on the grass beneath her hooves. It gave way with every step she took. As far as she could tell, it seemed natural—she couldn’t fathom how a massive laboratory stayed hidden under the plains...

On other parts of the circle, the rest of the frontal assault team stood on the circle’s inner edge. Backup teams stood in waves just a bit further back in the forest. Reconnaissance teams had taken positions in the trees. Infiltration teams stood ready in the shadows, and medic teams stood in the back with their tents set up.

Everyone watched as the lone deer wandered through the clearing.

And as they watched, only one thought ran through their minds:

Beautiful.

The moonlight seemed to cast a spotlight on the deer. Shrouding some parts in shadow while wreathing others in an ethereal glow. As Nyssa looked upward, the stars seemed to caress her face, as if protecting their dearest child.

The world, as if it had just as much anticipation as the rest of the strike force, also seemed to hold its breath. The wind came to a stop. The animals in the vicinity quieted.

A second later, a second deer appeared. Everyone at the edges did a double take. Agents began whispering, and the previous peace disappeared as a sense of unease filled the air.”

“How did that deer get past us?”

“What’s going on?”

“Why is there a third deer?”

The two deer, having appeared out of Nyssa vision, now walked towards her. Nyssa, having noticed them after a second, still went on guard. They seemed like normal deer... but the fact both had appeared in her blind spots, and somehow avoided detection from the rest of the strike force worried her.

As they neared, Nyssa shifted her position. She backtracked to have both in her vision. Somehow, they seemed curious about only her, and ignored the other while meandering towards her.

Step-by-step they neared. Having done a full loop with them, Nyssa stood back in the middle of the clearing. This time, tense as the two deer came within a body length of her.

They stopped.

She stopped.

They stared.

She stared.

Nyssa tensed her legs, ready to leap back whenever.

Then, from under her, a giant metal worm burst through the ground, intending to swallow her and the two deer whole.