Chapter 74 - Operation Marea Alpha

- John York -

"I apologize on behalf of my colleague, John." Wiz bowed his head before continuing to speak. "Sir, we've found signs that seem to be what you're looking for."

"John, I believe the Blue Division has found the planet where your sister is being held captive. However, it's only a hypothesis at the moment," Wiz explained.

"How did you discover the planet, and why do you believe it's the right one?" John asked.

Before explaining, Wiz started a small projection of the planet and the surrounding region.

"First, it's a planet within Ork territory, but it's not too far from our border," Wiz explained. "Furthermore, there's no trace of teleportation or any kind of faster-than-light travel being used. Because of that, for a long time, we thought it was some kind of abandoned planet."

Wiz changed the displayed images to more recent records. "However, a few weeks ago, we started to see movements near the planet, made by ships traveling below the speed of light. After that, we attempted several infiltration and espionage missions; of the three spies sent, only one returned. However, he brought promising news."

Wiz presented some photos of a huge fortress built in the middle of the desert. The golden sun seemed like it would melt anything that set foot on that land. Even so, the fortress remained standing, with some towers resembling spears and some white domes scattered throughout the fortress.

However, it was in poor condition. It was possible to see corridors and walls falling apart. What was once a critical part of Ork infrastructure, to an amateur eye, seemed utterly abandoned.

John could understand how several analysts examined this planet and didn't point out any irregularities.

"I get it, but what indicates that there are prisoners in this fortress?" the Heir asked.

"Our infiltrator managed to capture some images of captured humans being taken inside the fortress," Wiz explained, presenting the latest images.

"Alright." John had no more questions; among all the information he had obtained in recent months, this was the most concrete.

‘No wonder Wiz had remained a General for decades; he was undoubtedly the best in his field.’ John thought

"I imagine you already have a mission planned?" John asked.

"Yes, we intend to carry out a small-scale invasion of the fortress, not allowing the Orks time to request support. Even though they haven't used teleportation in recent years, it doesn't mean they don't have some equipment built in the ruins," Wiz explained.

"Right. What would be the team's size and the invasion method?" John asked.

It was Quinn's turn to rejoin the conversation, as her division specialized in this type of mission. "It will be a team of twenty rangers. They will perform a stratospheric jump with direct descent onto the fortress. The priority will be the rescue of the princess, with the secondary objective of obtaining critical information on the Orks' movements."

She had already calmed down, especially after receiving a reprimand from Wiz; Quinn had understood that she needed to be careful with her interactions with John York.

"Jump with landing or without landing?" John asked.

"With landing, we don't have a team trained in stratospheric jumps without landing," Quinn replied in a tone as if it were obvious.

"Alright. I will participate in the action. Also, I will bring four Rangers from House York. Lastly, this jump will be without landing," John explained.

"Impossible, we can't carry out such an operation like this," Quinn retorted.

"I will ensure the safety of your Rangers. Don't worry," John explained. Although the General wished to counter-argue, when she looked at the other partners at the table, she could see there was no support for her cause.

"Alright." She sighed and accepted the Heir's demands.

"When will the action take place?" John asked.

"Immediately; we can't risk any delays," Quinn explained. "We don't know when they will discover that someone has been watching them."

John concluded the meeting by confirming the operation. "Perfect, that's exactly what I was going to propose."

--

--

A few hours later, the York and NEA ships met. The operation would use only a smaller ship to avoid being detected when entering Ork territory.

Both the 20 NEA Rangers and the 5 York Rangers were transferred to the infiltration and escape ship.

While waiting for the operation to begin, all Rangers had to remain in the ship's cargo area. The only one who would stay was a pilot who would need to keep the vessel intact while the mission was carried out. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.

At the moment the jump was made, several other ships would start searching for it to shoot it down before the infiltrators could escape.

The Rangers could hear the captain's information through their communicators, "We are approaching the planet Merea Alpha. In 30 seconds, the cargo bay will open. You will have 60 seconds to perform the jump. Your mission should last a maximum of thirty minutes; after that, it's impossible to guarantee the safety of the evacuation ship. Understood?"

"Yes!" all the Rangers confirmed.

It was possible to see twenty-four red Rangers preparing for the landing inside the ship, except for one person. John wore the Golden Ranger's armor. He would be the first to jump, as his powers would be needed to ensure the others' safety.

A few seconds later came the captain's final confirmation: "Ready? I'm opening the cargo bay. Start the operation!"

As soon as the Rangers received the information, John ran to the opening and made his jump.

A stratospheric jump was one of the actions performed by Rangers to ensure a quick assault on a point of interest before the Orks could detect them. This meant that the ship only needed to pass approximately 50 kilometers from the ground before jumping.

After a few seconds of the silence of space, the Rangers began to free fall, accelerating to around 200 km/h in their descent. However, none of them carried parachutes.

After some time, John could already see the ground. His armor, which was already golden, shone and sparkled with the fire of his entry into the planet's atmosphere. However, his intention was not to decelerate.

As soon as he could spot the fort, John crossed his arms over his body, accelerating his fall even more.

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1." John counted the seconds before finally landing.

Boom

What many would consider the force of a missile was simply the landing of the Golden Ranger. The Orks who had been walking inside the fortress were quickly reduced to ashes, and around the Heir, there was now a huge crater and dozens of buildings reduced to rubble.

A few meters above John were the other 24 Rangers. However, unlike the Heir, they did not have equipment or even training for this type of landing—something usually only performed by the daredevils of the Yellow Division.

To ensure some safety, the Heir let all his Energy flow, flooding the area around him.

The Orks who saw the Ranger ran to attack him, only to faint a few steps before reaching their target.

John closed his eyes and let his energy continue expanding until he found each of the twenty-four Rangers who were preparing to land. He moved his hands as if he were controlling marionettes and quickly pulled their strings.

For those watching from the outside, everything seemed absurd. However, Quinn could feel almost immediately her body rapidly slowing down in the air, a few meters before hitting the ground.

However, as soon as she could set her first foot in the fortress, she could feel the dense field of Energy that had spread.

‘It's not possible that it's all from him?’ She looked incredulously at the Heir.

"Did everyone arrive safely?" John asked the companions who had just landed.

"Yes, sir," the Rangers confirmed.

"Start searching," he ordered.

However, he was not yet finished.

"This is for having the audacity to take my sister," the Golden Ranger uttered.

Amidst the chaos of his landing in the fortress, John, with his armor gleaming under the scorching sun, walked, trying to get as close as possible to the center of the fortress city. With an infuriated look, he brought both hands forward, clapping his palms in a simple yet powerful gesture.

At the instant his hands met, a colossal wave of Energy was expelled, vibrating at such an intense frequency that it was almost tangible. The wave of energy continued to expand rapidly, traversing the city like an invisible force. However, wherever it touched, the impact was immediate.

A deafening roar broke the remaining silence in parts of the city. Huge fissures spread like spider webs among buildings, walls, and towers. 

In a matter of seconds, one of the towers began to crumble, cracking in half under the overwhelming power released.