After the joint elimination of the Remnant of the Jade Queen, all of our cohorts headed to different locations.
It had been quite peaceful for a week or so. Escorting convoys between siege capitals without much trouble. There were only three outbreaks assigned to us.
Right now, I was sitting in the Rhino, which was parked in one of the siege capitals. After carving a few crude statues from the bones of Nightmare Creatures, I was getting better at it.
"Why don't I carve chess pieces? It'll be a good way to kill time. When I'm done, I can even explain the rules to my cohort and beat them. I mean... play with them."
With my newfound inspiration, I started carving the pieces.
I wasn't even done with the first one when my communicator rang.
"Master Jet, how have you been?"
"Good enough. You have new orders."
"Ready for duty." I saluted mockingly.
"Get your cohort and head to Erebus Field. There, you will join a convoy and escort it to Falcon Scott. You are to remain there and help clear the vicinity. The number of Nightmare Creatures is rising, and as the biggest siege capital, Falcon Scott attracts them like a beacon."
"Understood. We will depart immediately."
"Good luck."
With that, she cut the line, and I climbed out of the Rhino.
"Okay, gather around," I said, and my team got up and rushed toward me.
"We have new orders. We are to go to Erebus Field and escort a convoy to Falcon Scott. After that, we will be tasked with clearing the vicinity. Questions?"
"Nothing, sir."
"Good. We depart as soon as possible. Also, make a stop at this place." I pointed to a military warehouse.
"Why do you want to go there, sir?" Veylen asked, recognizing the location.
"Nothing important. Personal business." I dismissed the question.
On the way to the warehouse, I continued carving the chess pieces, making quite good progress.
"What are you doing, Captain?" Orin asked, intrigued by the little figures.
"Oh, this? These are the pieces for a game called chess."
"What is that?"
"It's a strategy board game. Let's just say I learned it in my first Nightmare. I'll teach it to you after I'm done with them."
I continued carving.
"Sir, we are at your desired location," Saria said as she stopped the Rhino.
"Thank you. Remain here and wait for me."
I got off and walked to the large doors. Using my identification, I opened them and stepped inside.
"I don't know if it's already here or not, but I'll leave a message for Sunny. He probably isn't bound to Neph."
Walking deeper into the warehouse, I started carving a short message into the concrete.
STALKER, FIND THE HEART, CUT IT, AND RUN FAST.
"This will do."
I walked back to the Rhino, and we departed toward Erebus Field.
The journey to Falcon Scott was relatively uneventful. Some hordes wanted a piece of us, but nothing the regular soldiers and Awakened couldn't handle. I also finished making the chess pieces and board.
After arriving with the convoy and settling things with my cohort, I went to find Master Jet.
"Master Jet, I see things are holding up well here. We had almost no trouble getting here."
"It's the calm before the storm," she replied. "The diviners and the Spelltech department predict a surge of outbreaks soon."