Chapter 200 - Expedition Preparations

Raiding the Keru Forest Dungeon was not going to be easy. Kyle was already well aware of the perils and dangers lurking within, especially now that he has ascertained that it was a Galactic Era ruin.

While much of what remained was derelict and no longer functioning, he did not automatically assume that everything was defunct. On the off chance that the power supplies and traps were still functioning, Kyle had to keep an open mind for any form of ambush, attack or enemy.

It wouldn’t be Kyle’s first time assaulting a Galactic Era installation – he done it all the time when he raided D-class states for human trafficking, exotics and more. Underground moon fortresses, expansive ocean cities and even gas giant harbours lurking in the depths of sulfur dioxide were all commonplace to him.

That was not to say that Kyle would automatically have a plan to assault and clear out the entire dungeon. For one, he did not know the true size and scale, as well as the layout of the dungeon, even with the mapping performed in the last two weeks. The mapping was done by tracing along the length of the tunnels that the mineral ants had dug out previously instead of following the predefined walkways that Kyle and Feldon took. This allowed them to slowly mark important locations as well as other openings the expedition could potentially exploit.

Furthermore, the mapping by initial scouts were not inclusive of the trials nor were they fully comprehensive. Gaping chasms and large ravines made it hard for the scouts to see what laid beyond. He had already nearly died when he was forced to enter the two trials, and not just to Soren and Rayner. Even the trials themselves were fairly perilous.

However, thanks to his initial testing and subsequent minor raids on the Trial of Persistence, he now knew that humans without the system were not considered ‘trial-takers’ persay, and the enemies would ignore such humans unless directly aggravated or attacked by them. This made it possible for Kyle to plan a large force to attack the trial en masse. No reason not to bring as much combat potential as possible.

The first step before beginning the expedition proper would be to begin preliminary relocation of the forward operating base towards the Trial of Persistence. Up to this point, ADCON had been using it as a training ground for both new recruits and veterans, honing their battle skills against rock spiders. As such, the Trial has never been properly cleared unlike the Trial of the Horde, where Kyle completed all requirements.

Kyle still did not know what the hidden requirement was to complete the Trial of Persistence. He recalled the large rock spikes that jutted out of the ground near the end when they cracked the large outcrop in the centre, wondering if there was something to do with it. Perhaps a boss monster of sorts as well.

Currently, there was simply not enough information to get a good grasp of the steps moving forward. Kyle also remained wary that there may be various types of enemies in the dungeon, something all his troops needed to prepare for.

He called the leaders of the expedition together once again, now situated in the ADCON training headquarters bordering the entrance of the dungeon. “We’re not going to rush this expedition – time allows us to be flexible and fully prepared. Each ADCON soldier will need to be fully equipped with survival gear in the event of isolation, tunnel collapse, loss of air, chemical attacks and so on. If possible, each of them should have a set of armour similar to mine.”

Kyle could already sense Nox and Yona’s stress levels rising from their facial expression. “That’s far more equipment and supplies than we currently have.” Yona pointed out, her being in charge of logistics. “And making a copy of your armour for more than a thousand troops would most certainly break the bank.”

“The armour set should be similar, not exactly the same. A reduced, mass produced version of the armour would help immensely in the expedition.” Kyle replied, drawing out his requirements for the standardized armour set.

The Seven Snakes and ADCON soldiers were currently using separate armour set pieces loosely joined together, with some mixing and matching armour that they personally owned. Kyle needed them to upgrade to a completely sealable suit to prevent vacuum asphyxiation.

“If you’re looking to block chemical attacks, wearing a gas mask should be more than sufficient.” Nox argued, retrieving his own gas mask that he carried around. He was well versed in the utilization of chemical warfare, seeing as he had used it against Kyle before.

“That may not be the only type of chemical attack – other forms could directly interact with exposed skin as well or other orifices. We need to be prepared for anything.” Kyle’s mind was already thinking of all the potent chemical weapons he himself have smuggled and proliferated. The mildest of them could cause extreme irritation and bleeding sores all over any exposed skin – Kyle was hoping that the dungeon didn’t have anything worse than that.

“The new standardized armour set should be able to allow a soldier to hold his ground against at least five rock spiders, both melee or ranged.” Kyle continued drafting the requirements for the armour set. “We can make it modular for the finer articulation of digits to allow for better firing precision, but that’s the extent of the modularization.”

The discussion went on for a while, as they tried to cover every possible risk to the soldiers. Kyle did not want his best soldiers to die to an edge case that they had frivolously left out, so the discussion was rigorous and thorough.

Soon, a list of advanced requirements for the armour set was formulated:

1. Armour should be able to be sealed.

2. Armour must have the requisite ability to store repair material to seal any airflow gaps.

3. Armour must allow for combat movement

4. Armour must have slots for ingestion of food and liquids without compromising air seal. Includes slots for medical treatment in the form of potions and syringes.

5. Armour must have inbuilt slot for three basic arcia crystal to power arctech radio and supplement engraving activation.

Of course, the list was far from exhaustive – things like ammo carrying potential as well as weight were things that had to be tailored as well. Kyle did not have enough Sturore from the Trial of the Horde to fully enhance the standardized armour set. They would have to make do with a basic steel alloy for now.

“This doesn’t make sense. Requirement number four specifically. How are we going to allow them to eat while in a vacuum suit?” Nox pondered, wondering how someone could stuff a sandwich into the limited gaps.

“I’ll handle that, don’t worry about it. Now, ontop of this, we will require proper training of the group to simulate tunnel collapses and emergencies.” Kyle continued explaining. Dungeon raiding was an entirely different ball game from open field warfare that the ADCON soldiers were used to, though there were many parallels that could be drawn.

He worked with Nox and Yona to arrange the troops into self-sustaining squads that could act independently, similar in manner to how the elite soldiers had been arranged. However, this time the squads were far bigger, being a ten-man team instead of five.

Kyle made sure each squad at least had one soldier competent in performing arctech repairs on the spot, while having two medics as well to ensure self-sufficiency.

“It would take close to a month to get everything ready. We will need to do some test runs as well.” Nox summarized, already beginning to plan out the training regime.

As the meeting was adjourned, Kyle had Sasha , Mari and Ollie remain behind. “Sasha, I need you to ensure no one leaks any critical information out of this camp. We cannot afford any potential disturbances to the expedition. Keep a close eye on everyone.”

[Understood]

Now, only Mari and Ollie were left behind with Kyle. “Ollie, I will need to give you a crash course this month on Galactic Era relics and their potential use cases. As you will be the lead engineer, it is critical that you understand their applications and inner workings as much as possible. If anything, you are the most important person this expedition by far. Apart from me, of course.”

The originally slacking Mari was slightly stunned at what she heard, sitting upright at rapt attention. He is the most important? What about me?!

“I understand.” Ollie nodded his head in response. Kyle had specifically chosen him due to his competency as well as skill with arctech engineering, acing the one-month school course with flying colours and already a few designs being used frequently by the Golden Snakes Construction Company.

Kyle knew talent when he saw one, and with Ollie maturing faster than his peers due to the war, he felt that Ollie would be the right target to invest in.

Of course, Reese and Gordon were still leagues ahead in capabilities, but Kyle needed them to manage the reconstruction. Over here, Kyle could still make up for what Ollie lacked in experience. Naturally, Kyle was not planning to leave everything to Ollie – it was a fallback in case a similar situation to Kyle being isolated away from the expedition again.

“Good. We begin tomorrow. You will also be involved in the design of the standardized armour set as well. Get some rest now.”

It had been less than a day since they arrived at the Keru Forest Dungeon, with hovercrafts and wagons continuously bringing in supplies, stocking up for the expedition. An air of excitement and expectation could be felt throughout ADCON Central.

While everyone else took a break, Kyle did not, continuing to work on the idea of ingesting food through an air-tight armour.

It was not a new problem – Ancient Earth had issues when performing spacewalks, unable to eat while they were in their mobility suit.

Luckily for Kyle, such a simple problem had already been solved long before he was born: nutri-paste pods.

Bulbous forms of irredeemable tasteless paste wrapped into a biodegradable pod fit for human consumption. Kyle hated their tastelessness with a passion but could not deny the few times that he had survived solely because of them. They were akin to the standard combat ration issued to every Galactic Era force. Easy to manufacture, easy to store for an indefinite amount of time, and easy to eat.

The pod could be entered through an ‘airlock’ on the side of the exosuit, where the pods would then be extended outwards towards the pilot’s mouth to aid in consumption. Kyle was not entirely sure if the standardized armour set could have enough room for such a contraption, but it was a trivial solution to get the pod to the wearer’s mouth.

The hardest part of implementing this concept was the creation of the pod itself. This planet’s technology level had yet to reach a level of selective compound modification necessary to engineer the pod – doing so would take Kyle more than a year to even establish a rudimentary proof of concept.

He would have to make do with what he had on hand. Perhaps the potions could be a replacement. He tried to recall if there was a potion that could restore satiety and whether it could be injected through a syringe instead of feeding it through the mouth.

Kyle began to work out the potential of a liquid supplement that could replace food in a short-term emergency measure. Nothing like this existed nearby as far as he could tell – and it was not just as simple as making a slushie out of cooked food, fruits and vegetables.

It would need to be long-lasting, able to be preserved for a long time where necessary.  Salt and preservatives were an option, but again, Kyle had no such production lines. He could indeed buy salt and simply salt the resulting mixture of food, but a salty slurry was far from ideal.

[Sir? Diya of Desham is requesting your presence at the town hall for a meeting.]

Kyle realized it’s been quite a while since he met Diya ever since he installed her as regent of Desham. It was this thought that finally made everything click together, giving Kyle a clear path ahead to create the combat rations he envisioned.

MG404: [Plant | Desham Tuff | A domesticated strain from the wild ones found in the Keru Forest, the spice provides a pungent aroma coupled with a slightly spicy taste when paired with meat. | Kills bacteria and mould and allows for a longer duration of perishable food.]