It was nearly three in the morning. Thick storm clouds obscured the light of Turaxis II's three moons.
Power had been cut to most areas of Fort Howe, and the lights on the landing platform had gone out. Aside from the dense, continuous muzzle flashes of Gauss Rifles, bursts of explosions, and the icy blue flames of Electromagnetic Grenades, Augustus could barely make out the exact situation on the platform.
"Carry out my original orders. 1st Squad and 2nd Squad, come with me," Augustus ordered. "We'll disguise ourselves as a Haigolong unit heading in as reinforcements, get as close to the enemy as possible without firing a shot, then blend in among them. Once they realize their own men are shooting at them, they'll definitely fall into chaos."
"Disable the color identification function on your visor HUDs. Activate the radio-response identification in your armor's onboard computers," he said.
"Reagan, tell Warfield our plan. Have them prepare to attack from both front and rear."
After receiving an affirmative reply, Augustus led the twenty-five men of the two squads forward at a run along the road.
Augustus and Reagan ran at the front, with the men of 1st Squad behind them. Rather than conceal themselves, they switched on the searchlights mounted on the chests of their Power Armor and marched straight onto the asphalt runway of the landing platform.
Along the way, Augustus encountered two Haigolong Legion soldiers carrying wounded men past them. Neither side spoke. By now, no one bothered asking which unit they belonged to.
More than one retreating Haigolong Legion unit crossed paths with them, but those exhausted soldiers naturally assumed they were reinforcements arriving to help.
Muzzle flashes from Electromagnetic Rifles lit up the landing platform everywhere. The platform covered a vast area, with several elevators leading down