Free Temple of S.A.R.A.H. 5: Debug Mode by Ben Winston

mapping. An echo received by another drone could indicate either an area of much softer ground, or another ingress into the hive.
    After only a few moments of mapping, He’rsree could tell the underground was a complex maze of tunnels and chambers. She could also see that they looked to be leading off to the east toward the village of Discovery.
    Her unit, a military grouping roughly the same size as a Terran military company in terms of number of personnel, settled to the ground around the still hidden tunnel.
    “Holy shit! Captain, Sergeant, I think you should see this!” one of the troopers called. He’rsree and Tul-sa moved to where the trooper had called and were surprised by his discovery. In a framework almost like a tent, a tightly woven web of fibers had been built over the entrance. The amazing thing was that the fibers seemed to disrupt light to the point that they completely hid the large hole from anyone not directly on top of it. Even ten feet away, the hole was completely camouflaged.
    “Command, are you seeing this?” He’rsree asked.
    “We’re seeing something, Captain, but we’re not sure of what it is. Can you describe it?” the colonel asked, proving he was online as well.
    Tul-sa looked up at her commander so He’rsree could speak to command through Tul-sa’s vidlink. He’rsree nodded and addressed the Camera. “What we have here seems to be a webbing of some kind. It appears to be disrupting light to the point where it completely hides the entrance. Our suit sensors aren’t getting through it either; according to them, there simply is nothing but more ground there. There is no way Lord Cowan’s sensors drones would see through these.”
    “Now that there is a drone inside the hive they can detect each other, but I believe you are correct; the drones have been fooled by this webbing. Be sure to get a sample for analysis,” Edgigly replied.
    “We’ll do our best Sir,” He’rsree replied.
    “For information purposes, Captain He’rsree. I have sent one of our Lieutenants that was born here into the Terran group in Discovery in an effort to get them to move. We do not believe she will be successful, but we had to at least make the attempt.” Colonel Cren’lith added.
    “Considering the direction these tunnels look to be going, I can only hope she is successful, Colonel. It would be the height of coincidence for the Queen to have taken up residence right under the only village in the area,” He’rsree noted.
    “Agreed, Captain. My advisers believe that when the Terran soldiers begin disappearing, the Terrans will blame us for it. If that happens we must be very careful. The Terrans will redouble their efforts against us at that point.” Edgigly said. “It is truly a sad thing that Terran greed would not keep this from happening.” 
    “Captain, Colonel,” AI Honor interrupted. “Excuse my interruption, but I am receiving resonant echoes from inside the village of Discovery.”
    “How many echoes are you detecting, AI Honor?” Colonel Cren’lith asked.
    “Six spread through the village. All appear to be under or very near buildings,” the AI replied.
    “Blessed Grathis, those Terrans don’t stand a chance!” Colonel Cren’lith said.
    “Agreed, Colonel. I would advise that you move in and dislodge the Terrans from the village, if they still do not relocate, you may have to take measure to save as many as you can. I will contact Admiral Vance, inform him of the situation and get permission for you to use force to get them out of there,” Edgigly said.
    “I agree, Captain. I will move my command post to the village and prepare to make our assault. There are several Terran aircraft at the village that will need to be removed as well. Perhaps the pilots of those transports can be persuaded to take their brethren to a safe distance.
    “I show night-fall to be a little more than an hour from now. We will need to be in place with our defenses set by the time the sun goes