Austin's expression grew serious. "You have to understand that machines are just our tools. Humanity is the core of this mission! We are the Federation's soldiers, the tip of the spear, and we can never afford to lose our nerve. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
"I can't hear you!"
"Sir, understood, sir!"
Austin composed himself and continued a few seconds later. "Right now, the surface drones are still conducting their search. We suspect the enemy hiding in the ocean is a type of planetary consciousness—a Gaia entity and we've already bombarded it into hiding. We'll distribute this intel for all of you to review.
"If everything goes according to plan, we will launch a planetary landing operation within a few days. Your mission is to gather enough intel to uncover exactly how the native Dige civilization went extinct.
