[ Detailed Fleet Message:
From: Fleet Command — FC-310 "Atlas" (Veyrn)
To: All Fleet Elements, Contracted Mercenary Units, Expedition Personnel
Subject: Imminent Surface Insertion — Hazard Pay & Operational Guidelines
Team,
We are entering final approach to the target ruin. Expect landing waves to commence within the next operational window. Read this message in full... it contains pay, rules, and actions you must follow.
Pay & Compensation Hazard rates have been authorized at five times standard pay for all personnel deployed to the surface for this operation. Deployed personnel will receive hazard pay per month for every full month spent on the planet, paid to your registered Credit account per standard payroll cycle.
Additional compensation will be issued for validated recoveries, salvage, and mission-specific extras. Salvage rates and split percentages are defined in your contract annex... report recoveries through the prescribed salvage channel for verification. Unauthorized black-market sales are a breach of contract and will be prosecuted. Special bonuses and special mission incentives will remain in effect and are separate from regular pay.
Operational Orders Objectives: locate, secure, and mark one or more safe landing zones (LZs) for follow-on forces and logistic pods, reconnaissance, sample retrieval, and mapping. Assume active defenses and environmental hazards.
Avoid prolonged sensor sweeps in a single corridor; use short burst scans and staggered approaches. All teams must maintain comms check-ins at the assigned cadence. If you lose secure comms, switch to emergency relay channel Bravo and transmit status every five minutes until re-establishment.
Rules of Engagement & Salvage Engage hostile lifeforms and active defense systems only when necessary to preserve life and primary objectives. Automated defense systems are a high-risk variable... do not attempt indefinite suppression without fleet authorization.
Salvage policy: all high-value alien technology or unmarked artifacts are to be cataloged and reported immediately. Do not attempt full integration, reverse engineering, or remote network bridging in the field. Forensics teams will process items at secure labs.
Personal property: you may retain a limited amount of low-value gear and consumables. High-value salvage proceeds will be inventoried and distributed per contract.
Medical & Evacuation
Field medical teams and evac slots are limited. Severe cases will be triaged for immediate evac to Atlas or nearest carrier. Do not self-extract without authorization unless under direct threat. Expect contamination checks before re-embarkation. Any evidence of bio-carrying agents will trigger quarantine and decontamination procedures.
Logistics & Reporting Drop payload schedule and LZ coordinates will be published through secure squad channels following the first confirmed LZ report. Only verified LZs will be used for heavy lifts. Submit reconnaissance data, salvage manifests, and casualty lists through your unit's data uplink. Field uplinks must include timestamped geo-coordinates and an attached sensor log for verification.
Conduct & Compliance All contracted personnel remain under Fleet Code while attached to this operation. Violations of salvage policy, theft from other units, or unauthorized contact with local AI/systems will result in immediate disciplinary action, up to and including contract termination and summary detention. If you are a mercenary unit leader... ensure your roster, payroll accounts, and salvage authorization paperwork are filed with Logistics within the hour.
Contact: Tactical Ops Liaison — channel: ATLAS-TAC (secure). For payments and contract clarification... contact Merc Liaison, Officer R. Kade.
Prepare now... move fast... stay sharp. We expect the planet to be hostile and the ruin to be actively defended. Rewards are significant... but so are the risks. Report when ready.
Signed,
Fleet Commander Veyrn
FC-310 "Atlas"]
***
When the announcement came, Orion's pulse spiked. The pay was listed clearly: hazard rates, five times the standard.
'Five times the regular payment is 10,000SC for me… I could pay off my debt in 5 months. Not to talk of extra compensation for salvages.'
Orion didn't pause for a second before reporting that he was ready.
Around him most engineers shifted uncomfortably in their seats, eyes cast down.
Nobody wanted to risk being skewered by alien machinery, but everyone knew refusal wouldn't save them if their name was drawn later.
The summons came through his personal Star Watch:
[Designation OX-6002009. Report to Docking Bay Three for immediate deployment.]
He arrived within minutes, toolbox already slung over his shoulder.
A sergeant at the checkpoint stood with a datapad, rattling off names and numbers like a roll call.
"PG-4643167?"
"Here." A man stepped forward.
"OX-6002009?"
He stepped forward. "Present."
The sergeant gave him a flat look and tapped the screen. "Confirm your protocols. Seal integrity?"
"Stable."
"Power-cell regulator?"
"Calibrated."
"Diagnostic uplink?"
"Functional."
The sergeant nodded. "Good enough." He shoved a heavier toolbox into Orion's arms.
"You'll be working frontline systems. Stick with your squad lead and don't touch anything unless ordered."
Onboard the corvette, the silence was oppressive. Soldiers cleaned rifles, helmets clutched to their chests.
Engineers, like him, hugged their kits tight. Someone coughed; someone else was muttering a prayer.
The landing was rough, metal screeching against the landing struts as they touched down in a half-cleared zone.
The hatch blew open, and humid air slammed into them. The ruins loomed in the distance, jagged walls of alien alloy.
"Engineers, forward!" barked the squad leader. His visor swept the line.
"OX-6002009, that's you. On the array, now."
Orion quickly stepped forward and dropped the toolbox by a defense turret still flickering with unstable energy.
His fingers moved quickly, prying open the casing, eyes scanning the alien tech. Sparks hissed, and his chest tightened.
Behind him, a soldier called out, "Hey, don't fry yourself, Six-twenty nine. Hazard pay doesn't cover ashes." A ripple of nervous laughter followed.
"Focus," the squad lead cut in. "OX-6002009, status?"
"Working... almost there..." He disconnected a final wire, the system powered down with a groan, and the perimeter lights flashed green.
The squad leader didn't miss a beat. "Good. Scan it."
He lifted the scanner over the silent defense node. A short notification appeared on his Smart Glasses:
[Credit Transfer: +1,000 C (Mission Pay)]
The notification hovered across his visor. He smiled despite the sweat on his brow.
First pay.
First win.
"Move to the next one, OX-6002009," the squad lead ordered. "We've got half a dozen of these things, and if you slow down, I don't mind using you as fertilizers."
He closed his toolbox, shifted the weight, and ran to the next node. For the first time, the title OX-6002009 didn't sound like a chain around his neck... it sounded like the start of something bigger.