Chapter 11[]
September 15th, 2045
"Come on, Juju." I grumble at my little brother. "Just take me to this girl and we'll be done."
I haven't introduced you to my little brother just yet. Meet Junsaku Sugimura. Black hair. Scrawny. Quite withdrawn. Impulsive yet calculated at times. You could say he was an oddball. Yeap, that's our family for you. He takes after mom, or so Dad says. I say he takes after Dad, just like Mom says.
"Hey, I'm working on it." He grumbles back at me as he leads me up the stairs to the second floor of our school.
Our school was located in Osaka. Junsaku wouldn't be here much longer, or so I've heard back at home. It seems another 'prestigious' institute was gunning for him, some place called Shimoda.
Most people in our school avoided Jun. He really was seen as more of an outcast. Well... truth is, we both are seen as outcasts. Only difference is that the guys in this school take quite the interest in a girl like me purely because of my looks, and that's why I'm not seen as an outcast and more like someone who lays down low. Jun... well, he's just avoided completely. Whether it's a male or a female student. Apart from the geeks, of course.
Jun fits in with the geeks just fine. I mean, look at him. Stubbly beard starting to develop ever so slowly, an old beanie with a hole in it, breaking the normal dresscode by rolling up his sleeves and keeping the top three buttons of his now broken white shirt open...
He didn't care though. He never cared for any of that. He only cared for himself, like always. That's the only trait he didn't get from Mom or Dad.
"She didn't want to share her name with me. She only gave me this note." Jun said to me as he pointed me upstairs. We passed the third floor already, this was the way to the roof of the school.
"Uuhm, this is where the janitor holds his breaks." I say as I stop in my tracks, as does Jun.
Jun looks at me, shrugs, and hands me the note. "Good luck from here on out, sis." He grumbles as he adjusts his beanie and walks off, heading for the stairs back down.
"I'll see you at home, right?" I shout after him.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm cooking, Mom is having a lazy day with Dad!" He shouts back, not even looking back over his shoulder. He simply waves two fingers in the air as he stupidly swaggers off. God, that kid. He can be such a pain in the ass most of the times.
I turn my attention back to the stairs leading to the roof. The note was still in my hand, so I decided to unfold it and read the content.
"Knock thrice on the roof's door."
"That's it?!" I blurt out, trying not to laugh all too loudly. Knock thrice? This girl had to be a drama queen, for sure.
I hesitate for a moment as I reach the door. Did I even want to do this? I didn't even have a single clue why I was doing this. This was some random chick I didn't even know who wants to speak with me about something.
"This better not be a waste of my time." I grumble as I knock loudly on the door thrice.
The door swings wide open as rays of sunlight hit my face. I simply narrow my eyes as I step out onto the roof. I hold my breath as I peer around, trying to find the girl.
She was just behind the door. Her raven-black hair fell graciously over half of her face, covering one of her emerald green eyes. She was holding her cellphone, frantically typing away at it. Not even taking the time to greet me.
"So you're the one who gave Jun the note, huh?" I say as I shut the door, taking up a spot directly opposite of the girl.
"Yeap. Sorry I didn't come straight to you. You're... difficult to approach, even for me." She said, her eye now glistening as she looked up at me. Her gaze... it pierced me. There was an aura around this girl. Something peculiar.
"...Do... Do I even know you?" I mutter, confused. "You're in my math class, aren't you?"
"Nope. I'm in none of your classes, I'm afraid." She says with a smile as she focuses back on her cellphone.
"Well, would you mind telling me your name?" I ask her.
"Name's... 'Sylvanas'." She says confidently.
"Pfft. A lie. You're covering up." I snort, folding my arms.
"Well, what are you gonna do about it?" She says, folding her own arms too. "I wish to remain somewhat anonymous."
I grumble, and head for the door. "I'm wasting my time... baaaaaai!" I say sarcastically as I open the door.
"I have some End War Online information for you!" Sylvanas calls after me.
"I don't care, I'm fine on my own, thank you!" I wave without looking back at her, ready to SLAM the door shut.
"It's about the AEP!"
The door was so close to slamming shut. Were it not for that millisecond I wouldn't have heard what she said.
"What did you say there?" I turn around, my face now darkening in mood. I hadn't been busy with the AEP for months now. Not since Jaeger's departure. We left the ISD in Nathaniel's hands, leaving the whole 'Void' ordeal behind us.
"Tell me." I say louder this time.
"For some time now, the AEP took up an interest with me." Sylvanas put away her cellphone in her bag as she ran her hand through her hair. "I was hunted down, same as I hunted my hunters down. It was a very big mess, but eventually they left me alone. I have no clue why they ceased their hunt, but they did."
"...Go on...?" I snarl, clearly impatient.
Sylvanas looked straight back at me. "I've been to dark places, learnt a lot about the past and the future. I've seen... unspeakable things, and I've delved into the dark crevasses of Eden..." She started to move closer to me as her voice started to sound more stern. "I've caught a glimpse of what was and what could be. I've seen him. And all the Void around him."
"Who?!" I almost cry out. What did Sylvanas speak of? More Void?
"I can only say a few things, Laura." Sylvanas was right in front of me. Like, inches away from me. Her deep green eyes were trembling as she tried to control her breathing. "Listen to me. You will have to figure this out someday. We will see eachother soon enough. Not in real life, though."
"W-What?" I stutter in disbelief, getting more confused by the minute. I was still eagerly listening, though coated with worry deep inside, but my mind was slowly switching over to defensive mode.
"I will email you the details soon for you to analyse." Sylvanas continued. "Do not try to track me in real life. It is only a waste of time. Neither in-game. I will find you, I promise. When the time is right, I shall be there."
"You aren't a student at this school at all, are you?" I push Sylvanas away from me, crouching in defense and raising my arms to defend myself. "This is one big ruse."
"Trust me, Laura!" Sylvanas said as she backed away. "This is for your own good. This is all I have to say to you for now."
"No, wait!" I cry out as I see Sylvanas turning around, away from me. I run after her as she starts to dash away from me. "Stop!"
"We'll meet soon enough!" Sylvanas shouts back at me one last time before she masterfully jumps over the edge of the roof. I stop just in time, making sure I don't tip over the edge. I looked over the edge, and I could see Sylvanas making her way down the rooftops all the way to the ground. All the students were looking at her like she was crazy. I could hear the muffled voices down below as she dashed off.
I didn't run after her. No way I could catch up to her by taking the stairs, and no way I was risking my life by taking her 'daring' route.
...I felt so odd.
"Uuuuhm.... what the fuck just happened?" I stuttered at myself as I seated myself on the roof.
---
April, 2046
"Advanced Evolution Project.... Advanced Evolution Project.... argh..." I mumbled to myself in thought. So that is what the AEP stood for. After what seemed eons of searching, I finally knew.
"What a surprise..." I heard Ridley comment as he entered the battle management centre, taking up a chair next to mine. I was letting my feet rest, keeping them up near the window of the emergency exit of the Skyfire. Vincent was in the section next to our station, managing and tinkering away at the mission avionics and the forward observer post simultaneously.
"Huh?- Oh.... yeah, don't even start..." I mutter to Ridley as I keep peering out of the window. My cap was shielding part of my face, making it hard for Ridley to make eye-contact with me.
"It's funny..." I finally comment after an uneasy silence amidst the turbulence of the Skyfire. "...no, plain fascinating how much you can pick up on." I gesture towards Vincent. "I swear, Vincent is a fox, an eagle and a few other animals in one. Aren't you, Vincent?"
Vincent's eyes gleam towards me as his fingers keep pounding away at his keyboards, but his mouth remains closed.
"Tsch." Ridley shook his head. "He came across that all by pure luck. And besides, Maverick would have surely informed us anyway."
"I guess." I puff. "But still. Vincent played his part excellently. We extracted all we needed to know under their very noses."
"Not surprised there, Laura." Ridley rolled his eyes as I peered up at him from under my cap. "C'mon, the guy's hacked and broken military systems in mere seconds. Of course he'd get this done."
I wanted to lean back and resume my thought process, were it not for Vincent signing at me. I narrow my eyes as I spin around, grabbing hold of my ISD case. Opening up a table for myself, I lay the ISD infront of myself and swipe up the screen link with that of Vincent.
"You're in, 'thank you'..." Vincent huffed, his sarcasm highlighting his impatience.
"Shut it, not all of us are as 'gifted' as you are, Vincent." I scoffed as I turned my eyes to the screen.
"I disposed of all unnecesary information. It's been safely stored in their respective data files. The first sweep covered all data extracted, and eliminated 87% of it. The second sweep covered the remaining files, and eliminated another 11%, leaving the valuable documents behind for you." Vincent said in a monotome voice.
"Thank you." I nod at him as I open up the remaining files. Logbooks, camera files, mails... diverse data to uncover. I had my work cut out for me.
I crack my knuckles, relax my shoulders, and take a giant sip of coffee before diving into-.
"Done." Vincent says extremely dull as I almost blurt back out my coffee in surprise.
"Just TALK to me next time, how many times do I need to repeat myself?!" I scold at Vincent as he ignores me blatantly.
"You know he'll just keep doing stuff like that, even if you don't want him... to.... ooookay I'll shut up already, captain." Ridley laughed nervously as I shot a red glare of death at him.
I return my gaze to my ISD, and open up the first few files and I add in my already existing stored data from various other sources I acquired over time. Then, after some needed swiping and merging of files, I started typing up my report. Didn't take long for me to cover the subjects I was interested in.
During the process, I see Ridley leaning in to take a peek. "You're covering the Nephilim?"
"I need to update my report on him." I sigh deeply. "He is the centre of this whole mess."
"You're... adamant about Void, aren't you..." Ridley raises an eyebrow.
"Always been, you know that." I turn to face him. "Post-Loeganask. Post-Jäger."
"Why?"
"I don't... I don't know..." I sighed once more. "I guess I was curious as to what Nathaniel was hiding. What Cromnik was hiding. Simple 'One Shot, One Kill' missions were boring me anyway..."
"So you devote your time to this... 'Yamato'." Ridley asked. "Why not just ask Jäger instead?"
"I won't get the whole truth, you know that." I said. "I need to know as much as I can before our cooperation ends."
I click away the Yamato report and add the information to the 'Void' report. My files on Void had grown huge over the past few months. Especially after a dangerous solo mission in which I infiltrated a so-called 'Tundra Trading Company'. Pffft, it was one huge covert-ops from the remainders of Cromnik's loyalists. Working under the AEP, the trading facility hosted much more than trade goods and gun components. It was there were I got my hands on what seemed the only true piece of valuable info I ever could find. Most info I accumulated was corrupt, incomplete or just scraps of text. No... what I plucked from that mission was considered the motherload for me.
I open up the last remaining window, which had a single video file attached plus a small historical account. I furrow my brows as I click to watch the footage.
It... was... gruesome. It depicted the Hellguard, even the Queen... Yamato was there too. And this strange, demonic looking entity. It had horns, wings... cloven hoofs, sharp claws. But it was eerily coloured, this pale ash-grey skin tone. And this faint aura around him... strange.
The footage was all mixed up, showing me different scenes that accounted for the specific event on the 29th of December, 2045. The video flashed back to two induviduals- No, three. Yamato just entered the scene alongside the Queen, and another Nephilim... Amanda.
I open up a sound clearance program which filters out the unnecesary noises during the scenes and highlights their voices. They were talking about Yamato... 'Void Avatar'? And this demon... 'Samael'. Former Archdemon of Hell... He was kept alive? How?
All these questions rushed to my head as the screen continued to display footage of the battle raging in Hell. I closed the video and enlarged the last file, which detailed the demon, Samael. It was true... last Archdemon before Rozalin. The file accounted for his role in what was called the 'First Void Insurrection', the 'Nephilim Purge', about a nephilim who 'bound' him... 'Tyrael'...?
"This isn't making much sense..." I puffed as I saved my progress and closed the ISD. I looked at my watch as I realised I'd been sitting in darkness for the past two hours. Was it that long?!
I looked around. Ridley had fallen asleep in his chair, slouching far back into his cushion. Vincent had vanished from sight.
I closed my ISD and stored it safely back into the Skyfire.
I'd continue my work another time, I could sort out the info I so dearly wanted later. First order of business now was Maverick, Yamato... and Jäger.
---
I hear my com buzz. Vincent and I were both set up in our own outhouse, monitoring various screens that were tracking the teams in play. Yamato was paired with Rena, Jäger with Scordato. Brilliant. And I... I was stuck with the most anti-social being in the game. Whoop.
I hear my com buzz again.
"Aren't you gonna pick that up?" I quip at Kennedy, as he stares blankly at me while typing.
Hmpf. Today wasn't gonna be any better, huh Kennedy...
"Come in." I reply as I answer my com.
"What's the word?" I hear Yamato reporting in.
I spin back around to my control panel as I swipe my screens larger. "Still monitoring, though they should be here soon." I tap my com to reach out to Dimitri. "Jäger, have you got anything?"
"Not yet." I hear Jäger hum with a deep voice. "But we're keeping our eyes out-"
"Wait..." I hear Scordato interrupt. I could practically hear Vincent's mind going to work as he immediatly had his screens light up and fixate. "I got something. Three vehicles coming up from the southeast."
Vincent's screen narrow down the vehicles as the tracking programs start blowing an immense stream of data Vincent's way. After a second, Vincent replies. "I just got visual through the clouds, three vehicles coming towards you."
I didn't waste a moment to ponder. "Blow the charges." I order.
I follow the main screen, which Vincent opened up for both of us to keep track of the operations from here on out.
"All going to plan, Captain." Kennedy states dryly.
"Seems so, yeah." I grunt as I tap my com for all teams to answer. "Vehicles stopped and surrounded. All teams move in."
"Laura..." Kennedy says in between as we keep track of the operations. All teams had moved in and were about to confront the passengers of the convoy.
"What?" I grumble as Kennedy and I peer at the screen.
"...it's a trap... isn't it." We both state, caught off guard. Mere milliseconds later we witness all three vehicles blow up, our entire visual blocked by a gigantic shockwave of snow and dust.
"Shit!" I almost scream through my com as Kennedy immediatly starts working on a clear visual and radar tracking. "What the hell happened?!"
"They were rigged to blow..." I hear Yamato come in slowly and shaken. "Damnit... there was nobody in the vehicles, they were just filled with explosives!”
"Jäger, Scordato, come in!" I desperately try to contact them, in hope they would have any intel for me.
"This is Delta Team!" I hear my com scramble. "Do you copy?!"
"Kennedy, secure the voicecom line!" I order hastly as I tap to reply. "Delta Team, report."
“We got hostiles on the westward mountain pass!” The man says amid gunfire and explosions. “They came out of nowhere! We need hel-”
“Dammit!” I SLAM my fist into the control panel. “Yamato! Rena! Get over to the westward pass, you aren’t far! Take a squad with you!” I tap my com once more. "JÄGER! Report!"
Still no reply.
"Kennedy, status on our com with Jäger and Scordato?" I turn to Vincent. He was monitoring Yamato and Rena moving up to the westward pass while trying to locate Delta Team's scattered remains.
"They're coming up, hold on." He replies. Damn you, why so calm?
The static on the end of their com slowly stabilizes as I finally recieve them once more. "...-Aura! We were targeted from the start..." I hear Scordato report.
Jäger, on the other hand, rumbles in onto the line with a laugh. "Lucky sukas LEMPE'd us fair and square. Unlucky for most of them, Surkov ripped right through them. Didn't stand a chance."
"Hence the line distortion." I sigh. 'LEMPE' stands for Localized Electro Magnetic Pulse Explosion, caused by a military-grade explosive which is regularly shot from a blaster of launcher. It cuts all electronics in the area for a short while with a powerful shockwave.
"Status report?" I huff as I track their position on the world map.
"We're moving in pursuit of the team that got away, they're north-bound, heading down the mountain-side."
"I have no visual, we'll have to move around."
"Your terrain is dangerous." Kennedy zooms in on the designated mountainside. "The slope is steep with lots of cover, so moving in from above seems like a good move but ultimately it isn't."
"Keep pursuit untill you reach a clear point from which to eliminate them." I order as I point out a clearance two hundred meters down the slope. "You have a small window of time, I'll have Kennedy guide you through it."
"Copy that."
"Da!"
I focus my attention back on Yamato and Rena as they caught up to their targets one by one, tactically elmiinating all on their path. From time to time, I shift my gaze over to Kennedy, who was mountaineering Jäger and Scordato through difficult terrain. Scordato was more skillfully traversing the slope, easily hopping from rock to rock and sliding through small openings on the hillside. Jäger was taking more time to follow Kennedy's orders, firmly but swiftly making his way forward. The team they were tracking were having more difficulty, though.
"Make sure they don't reach their extraction point." I hear Kennedy talk over his com. I've got Big Bird coming in from the northeast, current designation is..." I hear him blurt out a series of codes detailing the location of extraction, as Yamato reports in all the sudden.
“Hey, Laura. I’m gonna send you something.”
"Alright." I reply as I recieve a stream of data from Yamato. I swipe up a seperate screen, which immediately pops up a few snapshot photographs and key sentences from several reports. Nifty Kennedy's invention worked like a miracle.
"Ooh, you struck gold here." I grin as I swipe away the transferred data for later use.
"Oh yeah?"
“Yeah. This looks like the data they took out from the site they left. It’s got a lot of good information on it.” I smirk as I explain the contents quickly.
"So we know where Shaw is?" Yamato asks hastly.
“Not exactly, but with this it shouldn’t be too hard to find him.”
"Great." I hear Yamato answer. I tap my com to connect with Jäger and Scordato. "What's your status?"
"We've got a few of them, but they're nearing the extraction point... I don't think we can kill 'em in time."
"Leave it to us." I reply. "Skyfire status, Kennedy?"
"Out of range. We'll need to think of something, and fast." Kennedy replies.
I get up out of my seat and select the Valkyrie M115. "Oh, don't you worry about that... I think I have a solution."
I race out of the outpost and take up position on the edge of the overlook. I could spot the Big Bird approaching from the north-east too... just needed my spotter to help guide my trajectory.
"Kennedy?"
"You've got a clutch shot. Range is respectively 4.2 kilometers, but within another kilometer they'll be shielded by the mountainside. Either you take it out now, or risk having to take it out while they fly off..."
"Copy that..." I grumble as I set up a tripod for stability. I scope in as far as I can, adjusting the settings on my calibrator. It would take a little over 4 seconds for the bullet to hit the target. Either I kill the driver, or blow up the enige, or cause the propellor to malfunction... there were many outs. Only problem was the damn wind... if I could time my shot correctly or not would determine a heck of a lot.
"Big Bird at 3.6 kilometers." I hear Kennedy over the com. "Decision time, Captain."
I breathe in, and adjust my aim above the Big Bird.
Sweat drips down my brow.
*BOOOOM*
I exhale and start counting. 1... 2... 3... 4-.
In the distance, I hear a loud explosion bouldering atop the artic winds. Through my scope, I watch the Big Bird spin out of control as the explosion ripped off a great part of the hull and shattered the tail and its propellor, rendering them useless.
"Tango down." I switch my com to Jäger and Scordato. "You should have little problem ending this horrid mission..."
I pack up my gear and move back to Kennedy.
We might have retrieved valuable data after all, but damn did this set-up feel horrible...
---
April 14th
"Kennedy, send in Yamato, and bring yourself in as well if you would. Gear and all, you know the drill."
"Roger that."
It took a few minutes for Yamato to arrive alongside Kennedy. The team was preparing our future operations well enough through my guidance, and the necessary steps were almost all taken. I tasked Jäger and Scordato to set up contact with Althern and Renskr Military Forces in order to properly brief them, arm them and instruct them of their role in the coming weeks. All we needed was to round off our current knowledge base, which could use some finishing touches.
"Ah, there you two are." I smiled as they both silently took a seat across the table. I spun my chair around, as to face the giant monitor behind me. I had prepared- Well, Vincent had prepared a set-up for me, which allowed me to connect large quantities of ISD's to a single processor, which was programmed to filter in and out the necessary data I needed via voicecom. Nifty work.
"I brought Vincent in just to clarify any difficult specs if need be..." I began, as I kept my gaze on the screen. "But ultimately, I'll be needing you, Yamato, for this next mission."
"Oowh, that'll be interesting..." Yamato said as he looked at Vincent briefly, though not getting any respone out of Vincent.
"I have... 'analysed' the current team, and while Scordato and Jäger are already occupied, I deemed you the best choice to bring along." I cleared my throat, and locked eyes with the centre of the screen. "System login, 'Captain Schwarzerfeld'."
The screen blinked and the emblem of Hotel November flashed bright red for a few seconds, before dissappearing.
"System Command, I need all available data on the Nymlath Nuclear Power Facility."
"The... what-now?" I heard Yamato say quietly as the screen started popping up my reports, video footage and leaked images of the Powerplant.
"See here, Yamato, the Nymlath Facility..." I started out slowly. "This used to be one of the core energy sources of the Osia district, which was initially used for the construction of the superweapon Rapture..." The screen briefly showed old images of the superweapon as it was under construction, and also detailing the launch of the Rapture project under water.
"Soon enough, the numerous powerplants like Nymlath were labelled obsolete, until other units took an interest to them. First, the military redirected their original purpose to a more general purpose: that of supplying nearby facilities with the necessary feed of energy required for the manufacturing of weaponry, vehicles, and so forth."
"And now...?" Yamato asked.
"Most have been closed down, all but one. Nymlath was the last, yet it didn't close down." I replied as I cleared my throat once more. "System Command, roll the video on Nymlath Disaster."
A video started playing, a online game report on the Nymlath Nuclear Disaster that took place sometime before almost the entire majority of the playerbase couldn't log out any longer. It showed the collapse of the centre complex, aswell as the radiation poisoning of the entire region around it.
"Wait, what is that in the background?" Yamato pointed out quickly, "No, rewind it a little."
"That? Owh, those are old submarines. During the construction of the Rapture, the powerplants needed to be close to the Norantic Ocean. After the completion of the superweapon and the needed redirection of the plants, Nymlath expanded partially into a submarine base for the Osia Military." I explained.
"So the plant could more easily power the submarines... must've been quite the powerful base." Yamato contemplated.
"All aquatic military assets were abandoned during the Nymlath Disaster." Vincent suddenly spoke, bringing up several photos without using the voicecom. "And have since decayed and are currently disfunctional."
"That's right." I nodded in agreement. "Those submarines would have been quite useful, and we have multiple reports on illegal bargains struck for those machineries in the past, though none of those deals were ever completed. A small sect of the Osia Military guards the region, patrolling the outskirts of the safe areas. They make sure nothing enters without them knowing."
"And how dangerous is it inside the region?" Yamato asked.
I shrugged. "Vincent?"
"We can't know for sure. Nobody except for Osia High Command would have been informed, and they will not share their exclusive research of the damage done in and around Nymlath."
Yamato reared his head towards Vincent. "Let me guess... you found something out anyway?"
Vincent's eyes flashed. "Of course I did."
"Vincent cleverly linked classified AEP files with some very, very sneaky field research he performed some time ago." I said while turning back around to face Yamato. "We always knew of the disaster, and took interest in the matter, but only till recent events were we unable to complete our analysis."
A few images popped up on screen, showing some pictures of the local flora and fauna. They were tainted with abiotic black patches and hues.
"Void." Yamato pointed out. "Hell yeah, that's certainly Void, unmistakably."
"Precisely." I said, closing the system down and turning the lights back on in the room. "We know for a fact that our old contractor of Renskr Military, Cromnik, had the files in his possession, linking the AEP to the Nymlath Facility."
"So there could be anything inside that plant... powerfull enough to blow up the place." Yamato said. "Yet it was prior to the logout failing in EWO."
"Are you thinking the same as we are, Yamato?" I sharply asked Yamato.
Yamato pondered for a moment. "I could guess?"
"It could be one of the earliest portals, or maybe one of the failed experiments of the AEP." Vincent mentioned. "Whatever it is, we hope that we can find any available data on the AEP. The place hasn't been accessed since the explosion, and as far as we know this whole situation has been a giant coverup to conceal any traces to the AEP."
"Which, as we are aware, they could not fully achieve." I jumped in. "The traces of Void could never fully be removed, hence why they patrol the area. It was never about the submarine base, or the plant itself."
"Okay... so what's the plan?" Yamato continued.
"The plan is for us two to infiltrate the plant and see what's been safeguarded inside all this time."
"I don't think that's real smart." Yamato stated with a sigh. "I mean, sure, I can survive in there, but you can't."
"Well you're too valuable to go in alone now. I'm going with you to protect you. Vincent has made proper arrangements for me to work around the poisoned areas. And once inside the plant... that's where you will have to do most of the work."
"Hrmn." Yamato grunted as shrugged. "I guess."
I walked over to the exit. "Vincent will brief you further on the tactics and specs of the operation. I expect you to be ready in two hours max, The Skyfire will take us there. Any gear you need will be adequately be supplied, plus we can arm you with a modified sniper rifle if you want."
With that closing remark, I exit the building and make for my own quarters...
Chapter 12[]
I was in my own personal quarters, looking after my rifle. My entire inventory list was cleaned up. Needed to happen from time to time.
I took another glance at the Valkyrie. I remember exactly when I finished modifying it. Took me some time to round that project off. I sigh deeply. I recalled my father taking up quite the interest in my progress as I showed him the ingame footage of me firing the rifle. He was the one who inspired me to name it the 'Valkyrie'.
Suddenly, I am interrupted by a stack of paperwork dropped in front of me.
"Prego." I hear Ridley puff as he nods at me, gesturing outside. I leave Valkyrie on the table, shove the paperwork to the side and get up.
"Thanks... it's the status report, right?" I ask him as we step outside. "I've lost track these days, so much work."
"Yeap!" Ridley said quite optimistic. "No worries, you'll be through it in no time. Me and Jäger made sure you'd have an easy time on that one."
We keep quiet for some time as we peer out at the people in the distance. A maintenance team was going over the Skyfire one more time before I was sent off alongside Yamato. Speaking of, I couldn't see him anywhere near us. Must've been pretty occupied with one of his girlsquad members.
I could see some of Maverick's guys around, being about their own business.
"So..." Scordato cleared his throat loudly. "What were you busy with?"
"Oh... nothing particularly." I say nonchalantly. "Just reminiscing."
"You miss home, don't you."
"Yeah."
Ridley hums. "Me too..."
"I was just thinking about my parents... and my brother." I say as I pull pull up a chair for us both. "Especially Dad."
"Why's that?"
"I do everytime when I take care of the Valkyrie." I explain. "He's the one who helped me fix the name. He was as giddy as a schoolboy the day we came up with that."
"Sounds like quite a nice guy." Ridley nods at me. "What's he like?"
"I dunno..." I sigh. "He's like me-."
"I refuse to believe he's as stone-cold as you can be from time to time." Ridley quips at me, grinning broadly. "What's he -really- like."
I crack half a smile. "Goofball, really. He used to play games before I came along."
"Hrmn, I've had family who were some real gamers too." Ridley laughed. "Though I thought one of my uncles or aunts got pretty messed up back in their day."
I perked my brow. "...You too, huh?"
"Me 'what' too?" Ridley raised his eyebrow at me questioningly.
"My Dad, -and Mom too, for that matter, both played the Death Game... They never were open about their time in that game. It messed my Dad up good." I hum slowly. "Miracle that he made it out."
"Quite the feat, yeah." Ridley hummed in agreement.
I shake my head. "No, not just that he survived... Mom had hidden the medical reports, but I have my way around my house. I tend to find... 'stuff'."
"More like you were pretty damn nosy it seems."
We share a brief laugh. "I guess..."
"So what was so miraculous if it wasn't purely the fact that he made it out?"
"When almost all the surviving players logged out... he was still connected to his gear." I dip my head. "He remained trapped for an extra month, before finally breaking free from its hold. God knows what happened during that time, but all we know is that it caused lasting, severe mental scars, burrowed deep in the recesses of his mind..."
Ridley whistles softly... "Damn, that's heavy."
"What about your relative?" I quickly try to guide the conversation his way.
He shrugged at me. "I have a hard time remembering... I've got something else on my mind anyway..."
I furrow my brows and fold my arms. "Liar, you simply don't want to talk about it."
Ridley rubs his neck as he sheepishly smiles at me. "Naah, I'll leave my dark stuff to the side... I was wondering, how's stuff between Jäger and you now?"
"I...I-I.... uhhhh...." I look away. "I have no clue."
Ridley raises his eyebrow again. "...You don't? Sounds like you do to me though."
"Knock it off." I snap at him. "I really don't."
"Laura-"
"Schwarzerfeld." I say coldly.
Ridley sighs. "Like that huh... still the wall? I thought you moved past that after all that happened..."
"I did."
"Yet still the charade." He got up from his chair. "You talked out the stuff concerning Lawton, right?"
"Mhm."
"And the event at Loeganask?"
"Right."
"And you even said goodbye on good terms."
"Yeah."
Ridley huffed at me. "Then I just don't get it..."
I blink at him. "What's the matter, wrong expectations?"
"No, I-"
"We weren't gonna be 'buddy-buddy'- Excuse me, 'drinking buddies' again all the sudden." I said clearly. "We got back to being... normal. That's it."
"Not what I heard." Ridley said softly.
I look up at him. "What's that?"
"You heard me." Scordato grinned, and signed off as he walked away. "For old times sake, take him out for a drink. Maybe join in Yamato after your mission with him too, let him in on the fun!"
I shook my head. The most weird cocktail of awkwardness ever, meeting with Yamato and Jäger for a drink.
I tapped my chin though. Maybe after the mission I'd meet up with Jäger.
---
"....okay, now memorize the coördinates I've sent you two. Possibilities are that your UIP's will suffer heavy communicational jamming once you start. Scans have shown multiple jamming stations around the outskirts of the region, which we could not disable without further raising alarm. Package will arrive in 30."
"Solid copy, Kennedy." Yamato answers while I close my inventory screen and scan the area up ahead. This scrap of wasteland was... eerie. Nothing seemed to grow here. The grass had turned dark gray, hardly recognisable against the soil which it grew upon. It made the slim layer of snow stick out even more. The trees were nothing but a shrivelled husk. The bushes which surely once had held verdant leaves had shrinked to loose frameworks of brittle twigs.
Nothing seemed alive. Nothing seemed to even exist.
Good thing we adjusted our ghillie suits to match our enviroment. The colour pallet was tough to match, but luckily we're a creative bunch.
"You set?" I ask Yamato while I activate the timer on my wristwatch.
"Yeap." He replies plainly as I start moving. He was carrying the exact same suit as mine, plus we had him outfitted with a rifle of Kennedy's own design. Well, mostly Kennedy's design. Scordato saw fit to temper with some of the weapon's specifications, as to more 'suit' Yamato's style. It would do the trick for this mission, I guess.
We cut a path across a number of open fields, heading towards the coast as we swept the landscape for any sign of activity. We came across two dirt roads, which had semi-fresh tracks of four-wheel vehicles, indicating Osia Military was in fact very actively patrolling. Sheer luck that we did not encouter them this far.
"Stop." Yamato raises his hand.
"What is it?" I sigh as I sweep Valkyrie onto my shoulder.
"We need to go around." Yamato says as he kneels to the ground. His fingers briefly touch the soil as his eyes peer into the distance, before rising again and signing towards the road we just crossed. "We'll need to move up the road untill I sense a more clean path ahead."
"Very well. Won't be far, the facility is just a few more miles away." I point out. In the distance, we could already see a few outlining buildings. I bring up the Valkyrie once more, and scope in. A number of residential homes shielded part of the facility, and in turn the facility obscurred my vision on the submarine base.
I gesture Yamato to take the lead, which he silently does. He chose to keep up the pace, trailing the side of the dirt road. It was risky, since the patrol was headed into the direction where we moved, and there was no telling yet when it would come back our way. No telling where their patrol would-.
"Down." Yamato suddenly shrieked, and we both plummit towards the ground. Our suits automatically start to shift colours, to perfectly match. Yet there was one issue. If even one of the men in the convoy would notice our tracks, they would go searching. And chances were that we'd be spotted.
"Whatever happens-."
"Don't move. I get it." Yamato grumbled as we both finally see the vehicles pulling up. The convoy consisted of two military grade, heavily armoured jeeps, which was sided by two men on each side of the jeeps. A gunner popped up from the top of the back jeep, armed with what seemed quite the powerful light machine gun.
Just as we thought we were in the clear, they stopped. I could notice several men stepping out of the jeeps, one of them seemed to have noticed something.
"Get ready!" I whisper after cursing beneath my breath. If we were comprimised, our entire operation would have gone to shreds. There would be no possibility of even reaching the damn facility in the first place, and we would not get another shot at this.
But how would we even shoot our way out of this one? Of course, Yamato would be fine on his own, with his whole 'Void Avatar' thingie going for him.
Just as I was going to call it, one of the men inspecting the road signalled his troops to return to their posts. Within the minute, the convoy was up and running once more. We waited a set of five minutes before breaking our camouflage. "That was waaaaay too close." Yamato scoffed as he wiped the snow from his suit.
"We got lucky." I huffed. "That's all. We can't keep going down the road much longer. We'll need to cut across the fields if we want to make it in time. Those packages will arrive shortly, just near the eastern side of those houses if I'm correct."
"Hrmn..." Yamato taps his chin. "It's doable."
"Let's get going then." I say as I double my pace once more.
"What's -inside- those packages anyway?" Yamato asks as he rushes up alongside me.
"Nothing special." I reply. "You remember the layout of the place, right?"
"Mhm. And...?"
"One part of the facility is submerged." I explain. "To reach it, we'd either need to dive down, or..."
"We use the pipelines which directly run down towards it." Yamato finishes my sentence. "Avoiding the need to cut our way through the thick ice."
"Precisely." I nod. "The packages contain a set of mole machines, which will drill their way through any piece of the pipelines which might contain ice."
"Plus we won't alert any military in the region, since the ice above the lines will nullify the sound the machines make. Nifty." Yamato says. "But those pipelines are inside the reactor."
"Mhm." My gaze briefly meets his. "If the main access point is infected... well, we'll deal with that then."
---[]
Yamato had taken roughly ten minutes to scope out the reactor for any infected areas or liabilities while I set up the mole machines outside. Once I had finished putting them together, I placed them inside and took point on the first floor. The barrel of the Valkyrie stuck out a few centimeters from the broken glass window, barely visible. It was rough, trying to scope out the landscape through the glass, but I wasn't planning on deconstruction the whole damn window. Might give us away.
"You almost done?" I tap my com.
"Yeah, we're good." Yamato replies as I hear his footsteps in the background. "I'm coming back to you. Mole machines done?"
"Sure are. You'll find them in the hallway. Get them to the access point and they'll do the rest. It'll take... roughly an hour, I suppose?" I sigh. Was a hell of a long time to wait for a bit of ice drilling.
"Right. I'll rendez-vous once they're in position."
"You might want to hurry...." I slowly reply as I scope further in. "We might have a visit in a bit."
"Ugh." I hear Yamato grunt before his com dies out.
I follow my crosshairs across the visable surface of the hillsides. A returning patrol, some twenty men strong, were making their way towards our location. Not quite what we wanted. I adjust the sensitivity on my optical zoom while calculating my shots.
"Back, what's the big whoop?" Yamato's rifle slides into the window to my right as he lies down, zooming in too.
"11 o'clock, eight hundred meters. Wind condition is decent. Visibility... well, eh, could be better." I state dryly.
"Let's see what they'll do." Yamato suggests. "We can always blow their brains out later."
"Copy that."
We track their movements for the next fifteen minutes straight, not losing our crosshairs as they traverse the dried-out countryside. They were a common bunch of soldiers, all standard equipped. Nothing too shabby. There was no chance they even knew a pair of guns were aimed at their heads, ready to obliterate them. And without too much commotion, the patrol party stopped for a minute, seemingly changing their coördinates, and moved out away from the reactor.
"Thank fuck." I let out a sigh of relief as I withdraw the Valkyrie.
"Wait up!" Yamato grabs a hold of my arm without warning and practically holds me completely still. "I've got movement."
I freeze up. I had no clue who or what he had spotted, but by the looks of things I couldn't do jack shit. "Fuck. Yeah, I've got eyes on something creeping over the top of the hill.... the fuck is-."
"What is it?!" I hiss back at him as I try to jank myself free, but his icy grip keeps me locked in place.
"It's a sniper." Yamato calmly replies. "Don't. Move. A muscle. He's scoped in."
"Argh- Fuck, fine." I comply as I hold myself perfectly still. From what I gathered, the sniper was scanning the reactor, and luckily Yamato hadn't gotten up yet too, otherwise we would've missed him. The good news was that the sniper couldn't possibly have eyes on me, since I was standing just behind a piece of wall that seperated our two windows. The bad news was that I couldn't help Yamato out, and there was no way for me to tell in what type of danger Yamato was right now.
Or was there a way?
"Okay, I'll talk you through this." I remove the Valkyrie from my shoulder and place it gently on the floor next to Yamato. "Scan the entire hillside, observe each target you find carefully and try to determine what gear he's packing."
"Alright... uuhm, so far just that one guy... further, no one." Yamato slowly drags his scope along the hillside. "There's a really faint shimmer around him."
"Soul Vision it."
"Ah, yeah. Well, that's a shield of some sorts." Yamato sighs. "He's certainly aware someone's here, but it seems he doesn't know what or where."
"Okay...uuhm... gimme a second." I pinch the bridge of my nose. I wasn't gonna count on Yamato's knowledge of the rifle he was given. The guy fired a few test shots down at the target practice range with Scordato and Jäger, that's it. He wouldn't know much about what his true capabilities or limitations would be with the gun, let alone his capabilities with sniping in general. Atleast, that's what I assumed.
With his gun, he wouldn't stand a chance.
"Okay, just- Do as I say, and we'll get out of this without any trouble." I instruct him clearly. "Swap your rifle out for the Valkyrie."
"What-"
"Do it." I snarl at him. He glanced over at me, eyebrows furrowed, but hastly does it anyway.
"Jezus, this thing..." He groans. "How do you-"
"No time. If he's a capable marksman, he must've picked up on your motions by now. Our scopes glisten ever so slightly against the sunlight, especially when moved a lot. The Valkyrie has superior qualities which will enable you to penetrate his shields, effectively taking him out. I'm gonna walk you through the shot."
"Okay, okay, zooming in... Got him in the crosshairs." Yamato says as his finger tightens against the trigger.
"Now... Check the chamber before you do anything else. Then, screw on the silencer next. You'll need to calculate the distance with the scope and calibrate by turning the knob on the side of the scope. Steadily brace your shoulder and take a deep breath when you're ready to fire. The wind won't affect the bullet's flightpath too much, but if you're unsure, adjust the centre slightly north-east above his body." I explain as I await Yamato's shot.
"...Hrmpf. He's down." The smoke from the barrel trails upwards past me as Yamato dusts himself off.
"Nicely done." I nod firmly at him as he hands back the Valkyrie back to me. "Let's get a move on. Won't be long before they'll notice. We've got quite a good time window to work with. Let's conceal our traces from the reactor up till the access point, so they won't track us into the pipes. Meet up in ten."
"Right."
---