Chapter 175: Mission Complete

Chapter 175: Mission Complete

The final organized Vraxith concentration on Khelron disappeared three days after Major Cassian Rourke left the planet. What remained afterward were isolated creatures hiding in damaged industrial districts, abandoned biological positions, and scattered groups too small to threaten the surviving defensive lines.

By midday, even those reports had nearly stopped. Khelron patrols continued searching the countryside and industrial outskirts while Eldrathi units handled the last confirmed concentrations inside the regions they had defended.

Noah was in the joint command center when Varek contacted him. The grand marshal sounded tired, though for once there was no artillery or shouting in the background.

"My Lord, the eastern search groups are done. Central and north are reporting the same."

"No organized resistance?"

"None that we can confirm."

Noah looked toward the planetary map, where enemy markers that had covered entire regions only days earlier had been reduced to a handful of isolated warnings and unconfirmed sightings. None represented a force large enough to require an Eldrathi legion.

"Can Khelron handle the rest?"

"They can. We’d just be keeping whole legions here to hunt single creatures."

"Then start preparing them to leave. There’s no reason to keep the expedition here for scattered stragglers."

"I’ll notify the regional commanders."

Noah closed the channel and leaned back slightly. For the first time since the Vraxith fleet arrived, there was nothing on the tactical map that required him to move troops.

His mission terminal activated less than twenty minutes later. A formal Academy channel opened, and the image of a woman in a dark administrative uniform appeared above the display.

Her identification listed her as Evaluator Helena Ward, attached to the Academy’s mission office. She glanced toward something outside the projection before addressing Noah.

"Noah?"

"I’m here."

"I’ll keep this short. We’ve received the final confirmation from Khelron and the Imperial records."

Noah remained facing the projection while Ward checked the information in front of her. Her tone suggested that she was delivering a completed decision rather than asking him for anything further.

"Defense of Khelron is complete. Your mission has been closed."

The terminal changed almost immediately. The active mission notice disappeared from the main page and moved into completed records while a finalized reward notification appeared beneath it.

No additional review notice appeared, and no pending objectives remained attached to the mission. The Academy had already completed whatever checks it required before Ward contacted him.

Noah opened the reward summary long enough to confirm that his Mission Point balance had changed. He closed it again before reading through the entire breakdown.

Ward noticed the movement.

"You can go through the details when you’re back at camp."

"When do I leave?"

"Four days, assuming the transport schedule stays the same."

"That gives me time to finish the withdrawal."

"That’s why we left the departure window open. Pull your forces out, finish the handover with Khelron, and be ready when the transport arrives."

Noah nodded.

Ward gave him a small smile. "You had a rough first mission month."

"That’s one way to describe it."

"I’ve read worse descriptions in student reports. I’ll leave you to the withdrawal."

The communication ended shortly afterward. Noah remained seated for a moment before standing and leaving the operations room.

Around him, parts of the command center were already being cleared. Khelron officers were shifting from emergency defense toward recovery work, and several displays that had once tracked Vraxith movements now showed repair zones and transportation routes.

Governor Marcus Halden and Colonel Adrian Voss were in a smaller conference room when Noah reached them. Halden had restoration reports spread across the table while Voss was reading through troop assignments for the continuing searches.

"The Academy closed my mission," Noah said.

Halden looked up. "So you’re finally free of us."

"In a few days. I’m starting the Eldrathi withdrawal today."

Voss set his report down. "That means the goblins are leaving?"

"Yes. Varek says your troops can handle the remaining searches."

Halden nodded and looked back at the map in front of him. "We can. Most of the problem now is clearing damaged areas without losing people to something hiding in a warehouse."

"That’s what Varek reported."

Halden leaned back in his chair. "Then I guess we’re at the part where everyone discovers how much rebuilding costs."

Noah looked at the rail and power reports spread across the table. "At least you still have something to rebuild."

Halden gave him a tired smile. "I’ll take that."

Noah opened a channel to Varek from the conference room. The grand marshal answered almost immediately.

"Start bringing everyone home."

"I’ll begin with the outer formations and work inward."

"You decide the order. Recover what’s worth taking, but don’t keep units here for an extra day because someone wants to save a broken truck."

"That saves me from arguing with the mechanics."

"You’ll probably argue with them anyway."

"Probably. I’ll send you the withdrawal timetable once the regional commanders answer."

The return began that afternoon. Military trains that had spent days carrying ammunition, replacements, and equipment toward the fighting now traveled in the opposite direction.

Goblin soldiers filled the cars alongside damaged weapons, recovered vehicles, field equipment, and crates packed with everything worth taking back to Eldrath. Industrial Defense Zone Seven gradually changed from a reinforcement hub into a departure point.

The portal remained open at the center of the staging area, but the flow now moved almost entirely toward Noah’s planet. Wounded soldiers crossed when they were fit to travel, followed by medical personnel and equipment no longer needed on Khelron.

Noah visited the staging zone on the second day of the withdrawal. The returning formations looked noticeably different from the force that had first crossed the portal.

Some companies marched with visible gaps between squads, while several trucks carried mismatched replacement panels taken from damaged vehicles. Artillery pieces returned with scorched barrels, repaired shields, and field modifications added during the fighting.

One armored vehicle crossed with an entire section of its side replaced by welded plating. Noah watched it disappear into Eldrath before turning toward the soldiers waiting behind it.

The condition of the returning army told him more than another casualty report could. Every repaired vehicle and incomplete formation carried evidence of what the expedition had survived.

Khelron personnel had gathered around the edges of the staging area. There was no parade or formal sendoff, and most people simply watched the goblins leave.

A group of railway workers stood near the Stone Legion engineers preparing to cross. One older worker shook hands with a goblin officer before stepping back as the engineering company formed for movement.

Several Khelron soldiers exchanged brief farewells with Green Legion troops who had fought beside them in the north. A human sergeant held out a small metal flask to a goblin corporal.

"Keep it."

The goblin shook the flask once and frowned. "It’s empty."

"That’s why I’m giving it to you."

The goblin laughed and handed it back. "Then you keep it. Maybe you’ll remember to fill it next time."

The sergeant looked at the flask before slipping it back into his coat. "Fair enough."

The two shook hands before the goblin returned to his unit. Neither tried to turn the farewell into anything larger than it needed to be.

By evening, recovery crews were stripping usable parts from several vehicles that could not be returned intact. Radios, optical equipment, ammunition, tools, and engine components were removed before the remaining wrecks were handed over to Khelron for disposal.

Authorized Vraxith samples were packed separately. Noah allowed military researchers to bring back biological armor, weapon structures, and several preserved specimens recovered during the cleanup.

Eldrath had fought the Vraxith at close range for days, and there was no reason to leave useful material behind. Whatever the researchers learned from it could influence future weapons, protection, or battlefield preparation.

The withdrawal continued into the next day. Varek stayed on Khelron while most senior officers crossed with their formations.

He moved between the staging area and Khelron command, checking that no battalion remained scattered across another region without transport. By the third evening, only rear units, portal security personnel, and a small number of recovery teams remained.

Varek met Noah beside the portal as the final heavy vehicles crossed. Behind him, engineers were already clearing temporary Eldrathi equipment from the surrounding warehouses.

"Most of them are home."

"How many are still on this side?"

"Rear security, engineers, and portal crews. Give me an hour and they’ll be ready."

Noah looked through the gateway toward Eldrath’s staging area. Medical teams were moving wounded away from the receiving zone while military trains waited farther back.

"How did we do?"

Varek glanced toward him. "You want the pleasant answer or the truth?"

"The truth."

"We stayed organized, and that kept the army from breaking."

"That doesn’t mean we handled everything well."

"No. Our anti-aircraft guns worked against the early flyers. Once the stronger organisms arrived, we had to put too many weapons on every target."

Noah nodded toward the artillery being moved through the portal. "The heavy ammunition reports were bad."

"They were worse at the front. We were spending shells faster than the trains could comfortably replace them."

"And orbit?"

Varek’s expression hardened slightly. "We couldn’t affect it. If Rourke hadn’t appeared, those carriers could have kept sending forces down until we ran out of soldiers or ammunition."

Noah watched another damaged gun disappear through the gateway. "Then orbital defense goes on the development list."

"So does dealing with powerful individual enemies. Some of those creatures needed artillery just to stop one charge."

"When you get back, finish the full report."

"I’ve already started it."

"Include everything we handled badly. I don’t want the useful failures buried under the parts that worked."

"They won’t be. There’s plenty to write about."

The final withdrawal began soon afterward. Engineers removed temporary equipment from the Khelron side while local personnel took control of the empty warehouses and rail platforms.

Goblin security troops crossed in small groups until only a final platoon remained beside Noah and Varek. The staging area grew quieter every time another group disappeared through the gateway.

Varek looked toward the portal. "I’ll go with the last group."

"No. Go before them."

Varek looked back at him.

"I’m the one closing the portal. You don’t need to stand here just to watch me shut it."

"That’s fair."

He started toward the gateway, then stopped. His gaze moved briefly across the Khelron staging yard they had occupied since the beginning of the mission.

"Khelron exposed a lot of weaknesses."

"We’ll work through them after everyone is home."

"Some will take years."

"Then we start with the ones we can fix now and work toward the rest."

Varek nodded once. "I’ll have the first recommendations ready when you return."

"I’ll read them when I get back."

Varek crossed through the portal. The remaining platoon followed several minutes later until only the officer commanding the rear security group remained with Noah.

The officer checked the staging area one final time before turning toward him. The warehouses behind them were empty of Eldrathi personnel, and Khelron troops had already begun taking over the perimeter.

"That’s everyone, my Lord."

"Head home. Tell the portal staff on the other side I’m closing it as soon as you cross."

"Yes, my Lord."

The officer saluted and stepped through. Noah was left alone on the Khelron side while human workers and soldiers remained well back from the gateway.

Through the opening, Noah could see Eldrath’s receiving field filled with returning soldiers, vehicles, medical personnel, and military trains. Officers were reorganizing formations while medical crews continued moving the wounded away from the crowded staging zone.

Noah released the portal and felt the connection begin to contract. The edges drew inward until the receiving field disappeared behind a shrinking circle.

The last thing he saw was a line of damaged artillery pieces being moved away from the portal area. A moment later, the gateway closed and Eldrath vanished from view.

Khelron and Noah’s planet were separated once again. For the first time since the expedition began, there were no Eldrathi soldiers anywhere on the world around him.

The next several days felt strangely quiet. Noah remained on Khelron while waiting for Imperial transport.

His remaining work consisted of signing handover documents, confirming which temporary facilities had been returned, and answering a few final questions about equipment left behind. None of it required the constant attention.

Outside the command center, the planet was already changing. Repair trains moved through damaged rail districts while workers cleared shattered concrete from refinery approaches.

Temporary barricades disappeared from roads that no longer needed military checkpoints. Several mines resumed limited operations before Noah left, and workers began reopening facilities that had spent days serving military purposes.

The damage was still visible across Khelron. People had already begun treating it as something to repair instead of something to defend.

On the morning of his departure, Halden met Noah near the transport facility. The governor looked more tired than he had when Noah first arrived, though he had finally stopped carrying battlefield reports everywhere he went.

"I’ve been trying to think of something impressive to say before you leave."

"You don’t have to."

"That helps, because everything I came up with sounded terrible."

Noah smiled slightly.

Halden held out his hand. "If Eldrath hadn’t been here, we would’ve lost several regions before Rourke ever showed up."

"Your soldiers were fighting beside mine the whole time."

"I know they were. I’m still thanking you for bringing your people here."

Noah shook his hand. "Then make the time they bought you useful. Get the defenses rebuilt before the Vraxith decide to come back."

"We’ve already started."

Colonel Voss arrived before Halden left. He looked toward the Imperial transport waiting beyond the platform and then back at Noah.

"Next time the Academy sends you to defend a planet, ask how many enemies are coming before you open the portal."

"I’ll ask."

"And if they tell you they don’t know?"

"I’ll bring more ammunition than the estimate says I need."

Voss laughed. "That answer sounds like it came from someone who actually defended Khelron."

He offered his hand. "Try not to end up on another planet like this next month."

"I’m not making that promise."

"That’s probably wise."

Noah boarded shortly afterward. The transport rose from Khelron and carried him away from the planet he had spent weeks defending.

Through the viewing port, the industrial regions gradually disappeared beneath the atmosphere until Khelron became a distant world behind them. His army was home, the mission was closed, and the planet had survived.

Several days later, the military camp came into view. Noah stepped off the transport carrying the same bag he had taken to Khelron, though his understanding of off-world warfare had changed considerably since his departure.

Eldrath had fought a genuine planetary defense and returned with weaknesses Noah could no longer ignore. He walked toward the Academy buildings while the transport departed behind him, already thinking about what would have to change before the next mission.