https://youtu.be/VRgcXB_B1_I

ONE MONTH LATER

The vast blue pressed in on all sides.

Dea gazed out of the porthole window inside the Mizukami submarine. They were speeding through the high seas of the Indian Ocean, drawing inexorably closer to Kadol Doova.

This was Operation Maduva. The name was derived from the Sinhalese term for a stingray. After all, this was a stealth mission carried out by an elite strike force of Stingrays.

Screens glowed from the cockpit, visible from her vantage point. In the gloomy interior, four soldiers sat side by side. They were a daunting sight in exoskeletons in the form of bulletproof carapaces and battle helmets. Dea turned to the window again.

The glass reflected her face, unhelmeted for the moment. Wisps of hair peeked out of the headband. Her hair was not the pink from a month ago—it had paled to a faint blush. Her diet wasn't all that had changed. The combat simulations had made a novice fighter out of her, though she had only done well with target practice and gear-handling—probably thanks to improved hand-eye coordination from years of gaming.

Sagari's voice cut into her thoughts, "You okay there, Butterfly?"

Dea started, the code name sounding odd to her ears. The butterfly ray, with its muddy hue, was nothing like the colorful butterflyfish, and that appealed to her. As she sensed the merwoman's scrutiny, she nodded.

"Alright."

The tension sizzled in the stillness. The mission was even more urgent after the incident the day before. She tapped on her ogi and replayed the news video for what felt like the hundredth time.

It showed a demolished building bordering the seagrass meadows—the very house where she met her sea cow for the first time. Breaking news had resounded in every TV, sending shockwaves across the city. A human vessel had ventured to the very walls of Calliathron. The resultant skirmish had sunk the ship and caused property damage as well as two merman casualties—a grim omen on the eve of the military offensive.

"Bull," Sagari said. "ETA?"

"Sixteen minutes."

The response issued from the cockpit, where the pilot sat—a heavily-built merman who certainly resembled a bull ray.

"Alright, team, we go through this one more time." Sagari projected the map onto a patch of inner hull. "When Bull brings the sub near the anchor location, we swim to this spot here and stay under mangrove cover. The map is uploaded to your system—so use visor augmentation. Targets will update real-time with sonar and bot input. Humans primarily use visual surveillance, so we don't have to worry about sonar. Use your sonar to navigate at all times, though remember it's not as good as underwater transmission."

A chorus of affirmatives echoed off the curving walls of the cabin.

"Enemy patrol at this point, so we wait for Bull to send out the scuds. Bull, ten scuds for scouting and the rest to disable these units here. You got that?"

"Loud and clear."

"Alright, our primary objective is to capture Dilip Goonewardane. His aircraft will touch down in ten. Eagle, once you receive the signal, you move to your position behind this rock. Take out this unit on the roof, so the ground units are wide open for the scuds. Make sure you snipe him when he gets to this section—don't shoot anywhere near the helipad under any circumstances. Non-lethal setting—we avoid unnecessary casualties."

"Understood," the sniper said in a quiet baritone.

"The scuds will do their job, and then the coast is clear for Manta, Ribbontail and I to storm through this secondary entrance. Beware the surveillance cameras—wait for your systems to mark out the red zones. Ribbontail, once we're in, finish sonar mapping the building. Then redirect the scuds through the vents. We clear the way to the control room and disable the cameras in this section. The general comms channel is active at all times. Bull, you know what to do."

"Yes, ma'am."

Sagari's helmeted head turned to Dea. "Once the infiltration is complete, we will give you the signal. Follow the safe route marked out to you. Is that clear, Butterfly?"

Dea nodded. "Got it."

"According to the scout intel we have," the merwoman went on, flicking at an ogi, which shifted the projected display to a map of the facility's interior, "the captives are held in this central area."

The sonar map of the area showed three pockets of space, each the size of a mid-range hangar. Several antechambers were attached to them like polyps. A confusing network of piping, hallways and utility corridors branched out.

"These three large spaces are undoubtedly the prison tanks. The antechambers might be storage rooms and warden offices." Sagari's voice took on an ominous quality. "Notice these barriers—and the fuzzy human form here. They evidently require authorization to enter. The enemy will converge in this area due to Goonewardane's arrival. We have to proceed with caution from this point. We secure these rooms one by one and assess the situation for an opportune moment to strike. Once Goonewardane is in our hands, Bull, you immediately call in the amphibious APC to evacuate the captives."

Bull's reply fired out, "Affirmative."

They made ready to set off, doing last minute checks. Manta reached for the inky black Cypods that lay to one side, folded into their compact form.

Dea frowned, pushing back the memories they evoked. While the troops mobilized during the course of the month, the state had worked with the deep-sea colony to manufacture the land gear. Muda was the face of the mysterious "Sea Witch", and the exiles were pardoned now that they were serving Calliathron in its time of need. It was all done at record speed. Unbeknownst to the Callians but herself, a human robotics engineer worked in the shadows, leading his team and making it all happen—forced into the impossible situation of weaponizing his inventions to wage war against his own country.

Something stirred inside. She gritted her teeth.

"Ten minutes to anchor location," Bull announced from the cockpit. "I also have a visual of Goonewardane's aircraft."

Dea's gloved fists tightened against the seat, but the screen was beyond view. Sagari opened a comms link and issued a status report to Mora while the other three soldiers attached their Cypods to holders installed on their backs.

The Mizukami altered its course and ascended, peeking above the waves. An innocuous splotch of green was visible on the horizon. Dea stared at it, trying to reinforce her inner force field. Yet, the sight of Kadol Doova agitated her further, sending tremors all the way down to her tail.

"Deploying scuds," Bull called out.

The submarine emitted a low groan as the side-load opened to release the bots. Dea craned her neck next to the window. For a fleeting instant, she glimpsed a mini swarm whizzing up into the air like tiny flying fish, emitting sparks of light that made her squint.

"Eagle, Manta, Ribbontail," Sagari barked, looking at each of them in turn, "Ready for action?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" they said in unison.

"For Calliathron."

"For Calliathron."

The subdued swash of waves vied with the steady vibration of the craft. The island inched ever closer, the green growing more vibrant. Tall mangroves stood watch like natural sentinels while craggy rocks made it impossible to go anywhere near.

"It's showtime," Sagari growled, more like a game character than ever in her matte black carapace, complete with holstered guns and sheathed knives.

The top hatch beeped open, unveiling a patch of blue sky. A ramp unfurled down to the cabin. The Stingrays unbuckled the safety belts and splashed to their tails.

Sagari gripped the handrail, scaled up the ramp and leaped out. "Go, go, go!"

The others followed suit.

Splashes sounded above the rushing waves. The submarine dipped back under, and Dea's view reverted to a uniform blue. The Mizukami droned onward and eased to a stop in sight of an overgrown tangle of mangroves.

There was nothing left to do but wait. The screens in her line of vision played video feeds from both the scud bots and the Stingrays. Sagari's feed showed submerged mangrove roots as she lay in wait for Bull's all-clear. This initial phase was too delicate a task to entrust to AIs.

Clicks carried in the silence of the interior. Dea observed Bull maneuvering a scud bot, eyes glued to the screen. It was hardly different from watching someone play a VR game in the arcade she used to visit.

The view tilted and panned as the scud streaked over to its first target. The human soldier was patrolling near the dock, which was built into a cove, safe from the jagged rocks. In the background, the ground sloped up to the grey facade of the facility.

When the bot locked on to the target, the screen stilled and zoomed in on the soldier. Bull rotated the camera and observed the other two humans in the vicinity.

A painstaking minute elapsed as the merman waited for the human to approach the farthest point of his patrol route. Judging by the data on the corner of the screen, it was a blind spot that allowed a three second window to strike without alerting the other guards.

"Three," the merman muttered under his breath.

Dea fixated her stare on the human, who was about to retrace his steps.

"Two." Bull's hand tightened on the complicated-looking controller. "One."

The video streaked in a psychedelic motion blur as the scud bot shot forward. The human blew up in size, filling the screen.

It was over in the blink of an eye.

As the camera zoomed out again, the human swatted at his neck—too sluggish for the dizzying speed of the bot. Then he teetered and fell down in a heap.

"How long does he stay down?" Dea asked.

Bull started as if he noticed her presence for the first time. "An hour and a half. Two at most."

Another human soldier went down within minutes. The AI took care of the rest.

"Devil," Bull said into his mouthpiece, calling Sagari by her code name, "all clear."

"Copy that," she whispered. "Eagle?"

The sniper's reply issued out immediately, "On my way."

Eagle apparently breezed through his task, since his signal arrived sooner than Dea expected.

Soon after, she watched Sagari's team emerge onto land and unfold the Cypods. It was hard to believe this was a real-life scenario and not a first-person shooter. Despite how well the mission was playing out, the sense of danger escalated, and the inchoate form of doubt started prowling at the edges of her mind.

"All units, check your visor updates. Scud data received," Bull called out. "I've keyed in the areas under surveillance."

"I see them," the merwoman said. "We're moving in."

The team advanced past the dock and onto a road that wound through low-lying vegetation. Manta, a buff merman in a large carapace, picked up the unconscious humans and hid them behind bushes. Meanwhile, Ribbontail went about getting a human's fingerprint onto a fake finger with blinding efficiency. Then the team sped up the incline towards the facility, which towered up in a collection of concrete blocks.

Multiple screens allowed Dea to follow their progress. Her stare latched onto the bird's eye view of a hovering scud bot.

The building's facade was featureless except for a massive entrance, sealed shut. Next to it was a smaller steel door. Sagari's team skirted invisible danger zones and arrived at this point of entry. Manta used the fake finger on the panel.

As soon as the door opened, Bull sent in the scud bots ahead of Sagari's team.

The rest of the action was harder to follow for Dea's untrained eyes. Concrete blurred by on the screens, as well as extreme close-ups of the facility's drab interior, illuminated under stark LEDs. Even with built-in stabilization, the footage was also jerky. More human guards were incapacitated as the team made its way to the control room.

Sagari finally barked out a command to Bull, "Entrance is secure. Let Butterfly out."

"All good, Butterfly?" Bull asked as the hatch opened again.

The pressure that had accumulated with each passing day now approached a boiling point.

Dea focused on the daylight that streamed in while her hands undid the safety buckle. "I'm ready to go."

"Very well."

She donned the helmet and clambered up the ramp. Water dripped down into the cabin's shallow pool. The second her head emerged into the open, wind smacked her face, the spray cool on her skin.

Then Dea leaped into the waves.

Quick Note: I had fun with the sci-fi battle scenes! And these have been inspired by the military strategy games I've been crazy about as a kid! Especially Tiberian Sun, Commandos, StarCraft and Red Alert!

Animal: Eagle Ray

https://youtu.be/fuClQDHTPcI