Squad O3 has regrouped on floor thirty after finding a tier three Krix on the thirty-seventh floor. Currently, they aren't sure what it is doing here or why it is alone. At present, their squad consists of two Zo’ans. Prodigy and Julz. She is a specialized Zo’an who was trained to be an operator at the Academy and had a weapon specially designed to channel her energy.
_RANK: SECOND TIER ZO'AN (SNIPER)
_ID: PRODIGY
_AGE: 27
_ABILITY: ENERGY BEAM
_SCORE: 2.66
_EXPAND FOR STATS_
As for the others, they’re just soldiers- highly exceptional ones at that. Not just anyone gets chosen to be an operator. You’d have to be exceptional at all disciplines to qualify- undergoing similar tests to the Zo’ans, they are as close to a Zo’an as a regular soldier can be. Their tests just excluded the use of powers.
“We’re taking it out, right?” Thunder asks.
“Hmm,” Captain Eddy grunts.
“How?” Julz asks in shock of Thunder’s eagerness.
“We fucking shoot it,” Thunder grunts.
“What a well-thought-out plan,” Prodigy says over comms.
“Wow,” Atari chuckles.
At first, Julz thought Atari was a Zo’an too because of his profile-
_RANK: GOD TIER ZO'AN (SAVIOR)
_ID: ATARI
_AGE: 31
_ABILITY: BIG BRAIN
_SCORE: ∞
_EXPAND FOR STATS_
But it turns out he’s just a really good hacker, and somehow managed to hack the OWS. As far as Julz is aware, that isn't supposed to be possible.
“O1 isn't available,” The Captain says, “They’re pre-occupied,”
“So?” Thunder says in frustration.
“So, the risk is much higher,” Captain Eddy raises an eyebrow as he glares at Thunder, “Why is my whole squad in a rush to go Zo’an?” He sighs.
“Not me, Sir,” Atari says as he wires up three small monitors on a desk in the room they're in, “I’ll never die,”
“Your god complex is showing,” Prodigy says.
“I can't help it,” He says before grinning, “Can’t hide my true nature,”
“I know it’s dangerous,” Thunder says, “But we have to destroy it, and you know that, Sir,”
“Yes, the best course of action is to destroy the humanoid,” He answers before rubbing his chin, “But I don't want any of you dying, so we’ll need to play this out like a guerilla tactic. Minimal contact, quick burst,”
“I like the sound of that,” Prodigy says.
“Thirty percent charge,” The Captain responds to Prodigy.
“Only?!” She grunts.
“That should do about twenty percent damage to the machine. If there’s more of them I’d prefer you still had mana left over,”
“Understood, Sir,” She sighs.
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“What’s its movement pattern?”
“West to East, East to West. On repeat. It kind of looks stressed,” Prodigy says.
“It’s just pacing up and down the halls?” Thunder asks.
“Yeah, although I can't exactly see it, I’m still picking up its electro-field. If you need me to take a shot, I’m going to need it to be on the Southern side of the building,”
“How do we get it there?” Julz asks.
“We might need some bait,” The Captain thinks deeply before looking at Julz, “Still want to run?”
“Uhh-” She stammers, looking at his nonchalant glare.
“I think you're quick enough to not die,” He grins. “If you lead it to the Southern side of the building, we can destroy the floor below it after Prodigy’s shot, and deal about sixty points worth of burst damage by catching it off guard. Leaving us with forty percent to deal with,”
“I love it when you crunch the numbers, Sir,” Atari gawks before him, Thunder and the Captain all turn their gazes to Julz.
“Well?” Thunder grunts.
“You can always say no,” The Captain nods.
“Nah, Nah- She can’t say no. Newbie has to prove herself,” Thunder crosses his arms.
“I second that,” Prodigy adds.
“Harsh, guys,” Atari comments as the screens light up.
“I’ll do it,” Julz says, taking a large gulp before strengthening her resolve. “It’s just some running,”
“Alright then,” Captain Eddy confirms, holding a glare with Julz as though he can read the semi-confidence on her face, “Looks like we have a plan,”
“Atari, Thunder- the two of you will get those charges set up on the Southern side of floor thirty-six,”
A waypoint appears on everyone’s HUD from Prodigy before she adds, “Here would be ideal,”
“Copy that,” Atari confirms.
“Get prepped,” Eddy says to Julz.
“What do you mean?” She asks.
“Do what you need to do to get your head in the game,” He responds sternly, “All you need to do is get its attention and move to the waypoint. Once it’s in position, you need to get over here,”
Another waypoint appears a few meters away from the first, “You need to be at least 15 meters away from the blast, understood?”
Julz nods her head, feeling the weight of anxiety in her throat when she shakily responds, “Yes, Sir,”
“You’ll be okay,” He smiles and places a hand on Julz’s shoulder, “Just don't let it catch you, they're quicker than you think,”
She manages to put on a half-baked smile, knowing that she isn't really excited for this- but aware that she has to. The plan is solid and doesn't require her to fight. There’s no way she could take on a tier-three Krix so she needs to be careful.
She doesn't exactly have a pre-running routine, but every fibre in her body is telling her to do the stretches and yoga the Academy taught her. She should be doing those more often, daily if possible- Especially if she’s going to be running from high-tier Krix all the time.
“How many thump charges have you got, Thunder?” Eddy asks.
“Three,” He responds over comms.
“Think you can get all three shots off before it kills us?” The Captain chuckles.
Thunder grins, placing his backpack on the ground to remove his rifle modifications, “I don't know, Sir. But, let’s find out,”
“Give me an update, Prodigy,”
“Still a whole lotta nothing,” She sighs, “Same pace, same pattern,”
“The drones pick anything up?” Eddy asks Atari.
“No, Sir. They're almost done with Floor Seven. They’ll be at the bottom in approximately ten minutes,”
“Good, we'll execute the plan once the drones finish up. The last thing we need is more Krix showing up,”
The stretching has managed to calm Julz’s heart rate, and her body feels slightly lighter. Immediately expressing the value of itself, this is best if it becomes a habit. She's actually a little surprised by how calm she is, either that or she’s just embraced death.
Honestly, it isn't her own death Julz fears. It’s the death of others, the people that she cares about… Dante. She doesn't want to be the reason anyone gets killed or be the one who fails to save someone.
Shut up, brain. Her mind snaps at itself, Dante’s usually the overthinker, and meditation is her strong suit. She takes a deep breath and reaches for her toes. Closing her eyes as she focuses on the sensation of her muscles tightening as she reaches further down.
“You know, we might all die trying to pull this off,” Atari snickers.
“Speak for yourselves,” Prodigy responds, “I’m nice and safe out here,”
“This is why snipers have commitment issues,” Thunder chuckles.
“Are you like, even part of the squad if you don't die with it?” Atari jests.
“Yeah yeah, you’ll be happy I'm not there when I save your life again,”
“Again?” Thunder asks, raising an eyebrow at Atari.
“We said we would keep that a secret,” Atari sighs.
“If you’re going to be a big mouth, I will too,” Prodigy chuckles, “You won't be seen as the ‘big brain’ you claim to be after they hear this story,”
“Okay fine, I’ll shut up,” He rolls his eyes.
Prodigy chuckles before seductively whispering, “Good boy,”