(MP, Special Weapons and Tactics Unit ,"Radium") Operation Furnace, opening action
Location: National Capital Haven, System Capital Andromeda-II “Andromeda”; Andromedan Military Defensive
Local Date & Time: August 4th, 170 After Colonization; 1528
National Date & Time: August 4th, 170 After Colonization; 1528
Main Unit: Capital Police Corps Alpha, Haven Police Division, Florencia Police Brigade “Florence's Devils”, West Florencia Battalion, 3rd Company, 2nd Platoon
Sergeant Dmitrovna quietly listened to her headset, as she kept her rifle trained on the door, behind Captain Osiris’ ballistic shield. Over the radio, the Captain’s robotic voice could be heard, “Radium, remember that there are possible hostages. Check fire, and secure documents. Team two, how is it looking at your entry?” The voice of First Lieutenant Baker could be heard responding, “Good. We have no contact yet. Stacked and ready to breach.” The Captain’s voice responds again, “Copy. Radium, on Lieutenant Mural’s mark.” First Lieutenant Mural looks at the Captain and nods, readying her battering ram, as she says, “Three, two, o-” Gunshot ring out, and the door begins filling with holes, hitting Lieutenant Mural, who scrambles out of the way letting out a pained yelp. The Captain’s voice calls out, “Contact! Breach, breach, breach!” He then rams himself into the door, breaking it off its hinges, with the Sergeant following close behind. The Captain takes position as Dmitrovna begins to open fire at some sandbags, hitting one of the Rebels and knocking him down to the ground. Captain Osiris takes a moment to pause, as he yells out, “Lieutenant, status!”
Looking over to the face-less helmet of Mural, Osiris can see blood on her left arm, and stomach, as she responds, “Fucked, I need a medic!” Osiris speaks, “Wölfin! Get the Lieutenant out of here! Dmitrovna, stick to my back!” Osiris begins to slowly push up towards the sandbags yelling out to any other Rebels present as they hear more gunshots further in, “Enforcers! On the ground and hands behind your head!” A Rebel could be heard yelling out, “DIE LOYALIST!” Almost immediately as the man stands, he drops dead from a round from Dmitrovna. Captain Osiris speaks into his radio quickly, “Staff Sergeant Hirsch, Private First Class Elliot, enter into the building, take the left door. Clear it, then report.” He glances back to Dmitrovna, and speaks, “Keep on me, hold the hall.” Dmitrovna remains still, rifle aimed past the ballistic shield, while two more Enforcers push up behind the two, one with another ballistic shield.
The one with the shield speaks in his gravelly voice, “Breach it, Elliot.” Elliot slings his rifle over his shoulder, and speaks, “Captain, permission to swap to buckshot after breach?” The answer was quick from Osiris, “Denied. Breach and clear, Private.” Elliot pulls the shotgun off his lumbar, and places the barrel beside the door knob. He fires, then backs up again, putting the shotgun away as he pulls his rifle into his hands and the Staff Sergeant slams into the door with his shield and aims a pistol through a small slot, firing at a group of rebels inside. Elliot enters behind Hirsch, and clears the sides of the room as they push forward. Looking around the room, they can see smoke starting to billow from a stack of papers. A dead rebel lays motionless on top of a metallic object, with a sidearm on the floor beside it, and under his hand. Several other metal objects sit, with glass viewing windows. Elliot realizes what they are immediately, as he had once considered going through that medical operation. Looking at the ones without a rebel on them, they are all shattered, with the child inside dead by a bullet to the brain.
Each looked the same, a young girl, around the age of seven, with long silver hair and feline-like ears, though their facial shapes were different in some cases. Hirsch was attempting to put out the fire, and was failing, while Elliot pushed the corpse off the last machine, and saw a still living child. Pressing the button to open it, he hears Hirsch speak, “What the hell are you doing!” Elliot responds, “Saving a life!” He quickly picks up the child and rushes her out of the room, as it begins to go up in flames. He’s followed by Hirsch, who was about to start berating the Private. As they enter the hall, Hirsch speaks, “Building’s going up in flames, let’s move fast!” The three push forward as Elliot exits the building and rushes towards the line of Enforcer vehicles. As he gets to safety, he calls out, “I need a blanket and a medic, stat! A nearby paramedic rushes back to his ambulance, before running over with a blanket, and taking the child away from the Private.
Elliot stands, and begins to rush back to the building, only for a beam to collapse and nearly crush him as he tries to enter. Backing off he begins to think of how to get in to help the rest of Radium. But before he begins to try kicking the flaming beam so he can enter, he hears a voice over the radio, the Captain, “Mission complete, get out through the back entrance, and begin secondaries. Staff Sergeant Hirsch and Private First Class Elliot, return to the vics.” Elliot begins to back away from the burning building, following his orders, knowing he’s probably about to be chewed out for saving a possible threat.
After a few minutes, Staff Sergeant Hirsch and Captain Osiris approach him, and the Sergeant begins to yell, “What the hell were you thinking!? That girl was in a Rebel Genetic Engineering Pod! She’s a damn threat to everyone out here!” Elliot remains silent, holding his posture at attention. Captain Osiris speaks, “Calm down, Hirsch. Elliot, explain the situation. Your full thoughts in the moment.” Elliot begins to speak, “I saw that all of the pods except the last one had been killed. The Rebels clearly didn’t want us to be able to have them, but we managed to save one. At the moment, I was not thinking clearly, and I saw a child who had just been in danger. My instincts as a father kicked in. She may not be my own child, but no child deserves to die.” Hirsch was about to go ballistic, yelling at him about how he can’t let his fatherly instincts take over in a fight, but Osiris cuts the Sergeant off, as he says, “Good work, Elliot. You saved a life, but at the same time, are you willing to bear the responsibilities if she turns out to be a danger to the Defensive?”
Elliot is silent, now thinking about it, as Osiris speaks, “You can take a moment to think about it. Depending on your answer, we will be making a choice. One you may not like. Go check on the kid, I’ll start dismissing some Enforcers. Hirsch, keep watch over the area.” Hirsch walks off, clearly still pissed off, while Elliot walks to the ambulance where the kid is. Elliot arrives to find the paramedic checking the child over, he speaks to the medic, asking, “How is she?” The paramedic speaks in a worried tone as he begins to dispose of a syringe, “What model of pod was she in?” Elliot raises an eyebrow at that, and asks, “How did you know she was in a pod?” The paramedic shoots him a glance, “Answer the damn question, Sir.” Elliot raises his arms in an unknowing gesture, “A Nexus of some kind. It was metal with a glass viewing port. I didn’t get a good look, since I was just doing a cursory glance, until I grabbed her.” The paramedic speaks, questioning the SWAT Enforcer still, “Was there a full control panel?” Elliot nods in response, and the paramedic sighs sadly as he puts away a small vial of blood taken from her, “Scarlet variant. Which means this girl is about to open her eyes for the first time, with full English capabilities equivalent to her age, and perhaps some memories that aren’t her own. We should keep an eye on her, do you know anyone who will take her in?”
Elliot is silent for a second, then frowns as he says, “I guess I have my answer for the Captain. Say, Doc, do you know how I can make sure my girl doesn’t get jealous that I’m adopting her a younger sister?” The paramedic looks at him, then says, “Well, good luck. I have no clue. I’m not a father, and I’m a lone child. I’ll leave you two for now. She’s healthy, aside from being underweight.” The paramedic walks away, leaving Elliot to his new soon-to-be adopted daughter. He watches the paramedic walk away, as the child’s eyes slowly open. She sees the world around her, and in her daze sees the dark armor of the Enforcer. It only takes a second, before he is on the ground, and a large burst of darkness engulfs the area. Elliot, dazed and confused for a second, scrambles to his feet, and turns around, finding pinpricks of red staring at him in the darkness. He slowly raises his hands to show he has no weapon, and means no harm. He slowly starts to approach, as he says, “You’re alright. You’re safe. No one here will hurt you, just calm down. We’re here to help.”
The red eyes look down, and then the darkness begins to fade back into the ambulance. Elliot speaks, as he approaches slowly, “You’re probably confused, suffering from memories of a Rebel who has nothing to do with you.” The child can barely be seen shaking, and looking down at her hands. He begins taking off his helmet, letting his short chestnut hair be seen, along with his warm and kind brown eyes, “Focus on me, not your memories.” A sniffle could be heard, and the darkness fades away completely, as Elliot can now see the girl crying while looking with panicked eyes at her small hands. Softly and carefully, he pulls her into a hug, as he says, “It's okay. You’re safe. You are free. You are your own person now. Whatever memories are playing in your head, forget them. Start anew in a safe home. We will protect you. Focus on me." The teary red eyes glance up, and he speaks, “Good, good. Just keep looking at me. Focus on me, nothing else. No one’s here to hurt you. You’re safe.”
A group of Enforcers were rushing over, and slowed down as they realized the situation was under control again. They keep around to monitor, while the paramedic rushes back over, and watches silently. The child speaks, fear and confusion evident in her cracking voice, “Am I going to jail?” Elliot speaks softly, “Yes, but you won’t be staying. You just need to stay away from those memories. Stay calm, and let the kind paramedic tend to you. You’re safe, okay?” A silent nod, with a small sniffle in it, is all he gets, causing him to speak, “I’ll be letting go in a second. Are you sure you are okay? Do you need me to stay with you?” She nods in response, and he speaks, “Okay, I’ll be right back soon. I just need to talk to someone. Lay down and rest.” He lets go and begins to stand up, heading for Captain Elliot, as he passes the normal Enforcers, they begin moving away as well, realizing the situation is fine now. The Paramedic walks over to check on the girl, who scoots away as he nears.
The Private soon locates and approaches his Captain. He stands still nearby as he waits for the Captain to get off the radio. Soon the Captain looks over, and asks, “What, Elliot?” Elliot smirks, feeling like lightening his Commanding Officer’s mood with a semi-serious joke that he’s already said today, “Sir, do you know how I can make sure my girl doesn’t get jealous that I’m adopting her a younger sister?” The Captain sounds happier as he answers, “Not at all, I wish you luck. Girl’s under your care now. She randomly explodes somewhere with her abilities as a Mage, you’re the one getting yelled at. Not me.” Elliot nods, understanding his situation, and not liking it as much anymore.
(New Andromedan Civilian) Elise Elliot
Location: National Capital Haven, System Capital Andromeda-II “Andromeda”; Andromedan Military Defensive
Local Date & Time: August 4th, 170 After Colonization; 1722
National Date & Time: August 4th, 170 After Colonization; 1722
Race: Genetically Engineered Human
Voidic Mage: Y/N
Mage Variant: (Possible) Evoker (Unknown Sub-variant)
Age: 7 (0)
Sex: Female
Gender: Female
She had been given clothes, which had a slight ill-fit to them, but still covered her anyway, so she did not mind. The surroundings were getting darker, but it was still light out as she was being carried by the man known as Elliot. She still didn’t know his first name, but that was fine. She didn’t get to see the document, and she didn’t care. She was Elise Elliot now. A clone of a rebel who was powerful and a terror. She could understand what was going on, despite today being her first day conscious. She knew she was unnatural. She was dreading meeting her new sister, since she was so unnatural. She had cat ears instead of human ones, her iris was an unnatural red and glow in the dark, and she could manipulate her surroundings. She was a freak, and she knew it. She wouldn’t be surprised if her new sister hates her for taking away her spotlight. She then heard a new voice, a woman’s, “Hey there, Ty.” Elliot speaks, “Hello, Stella. How are you? Did you get hurt or anything during Furnace?” Stella speaks, and Elise tries to turn to look at who it is, finding a tall woman with gray hair and cat-like ears as well, “Nah. The Captain’s shield took all the hits for me. Want me to go in and tell her about the kid? What’s her name by the way?”
Stolen novel; please report.
Elliot smiles, and Elise looks up at him, as he says, “Yes, please do. Tell the babysitter I’m here too, and that her pay might be doubling if she requires it.” Stella chuckles, then pulls out a key, “I’ll be right back with her then.” Elliot nods, then looks down at Elise, and softly smiles, “You’ll be fine. I got Auntie Dmitrovna to come over to show you that you’re not going to be hated for your looks. Nor will it be because of your abilities.” Elise is silent, and slightly shocked, but she hears Stella enter the building and then the sound of running. As the two stand silently outside, Elise hears Stella let out a pained noise, then say, “You have got to slow down, you almost took me out.” A young girl’s voice is heard after, maybe a little upset at herself, but happy nonetheless, “I’m sorry.” Stella chuckles, “It's alright, I need to talk to you before your Daddy gets home. It's about something coming here to stay with you two.” The child sounds excited as she asks, “Is it a kitty!?” Stella answers quickly, but still happily, “Not quite. But remember, you need to help her just as much as she’ll help you. After all, you and your Daddy will be responsible for taking care of her. So make sure you take your medicine. That’ll be a lot of worry off Daddy’s shoulders.” The child sounds upset as she answers, “But it's so bitter!” Stella answers with a small chuckle, “Sometimes the worst tasting things are the best for you, but that’s for you to worry about later. Daddy’s just outside, let's go greet him, yeah?” Stella exits again, with a young girl in her arms. She has short chestnut hair, and warm deep brown eyes. She looks very happy to see her father, but looks confused at seeing another kid in his arms. Elliot speaks, “Say hello to your new little sister, Isabel. Her name’s Elise.” With a sudden warm smile, Isabel was already grinning at her new sister, causing Elise to realize that it wasn’t going to be as bad as she imagined.
(Andromedan Civilian) Elise Elliot
Location: National Capital Haven, System Capital Andromeda-II “Andromeda”; Andromedan Military Defensive
Local Date & Time: January 10th, 173 After Colonization; 1629
National Date & Time: January 10th, 173 After Colonization; 1629
Race: Genetically Engineered Human
Voidic Mage: Y/N
Mage Variant: (Possible) Evoker (Unknown Sub-variant)
Age: 10 (3)
Sex: Female
Gender: Female
Elise was sitting quietly on the bench, watching the park silently. She mostly didn’t want to interact with the other kids, and it was nice to just watch and listen to them all having fun. Of course, Isabel wasn’t playing in the park, and instead was working on homework beside her, since she is four years older than her. Elise was just happy to be with her family at the moment, even if the cold air was making her a bit chilly, without something to keep her ears and head warm. Isabel stretches, causing Elise to look over, only to hear her sister speak, “Are you ready to head back home?” Elise smiles and nods, ready to get out of the cold as soon as possible.
The two start to stand up, and begin walking away. Isabel speaks, “It's so cold out today. Let's take a shorter route.” Isabel was looking at the buildings, and then a specific alley, as she says, “That should be the closest.” She begins walking that direction, while Elise starts to feel nervous about going into an alleyway, even with the sun out in full force. As they walk, she thinks she hears something and turns her head to look at a dumpster. Seeing nothing, she keeps walking, her worry only increasing with each step and noise. Around halfway, she hears something again, and then grabs Isabel’s hand tightly. Isabel looks down at her and smiles, clearly not feeling as stressed as her little sister.
That worry would soon be proven deadly serious, as a few seconds later, the two hear something louder, a voice, “A’ight you two, stop moving. Stay still, and no funny business.” Both freeze, and Isabel clearly starts to panic, not having expected this, while the memories of the Rebel begin flooding into Elise’s mind, explaining to herself how to get out of this situation in multiple ways. She quickly decides on one course of action, as the steps begin approaching. Suddenly, she releases a darkness around the area, and uses the wind to separate Isabel and herself, as a yell of panic and then gunshot sound out. She looked towards where the man is standing, baffled and confused. She runs forward as he clearly notices her red eyes, and panics even more, firing again and again towards her. She simply takes her time dodging, and closing the gap. Nearing him, she lunges into the man, punching his throat as dark claws begin to grow from her fingers. Slashing his throat as well, she takes the pistol and backs away, letting the darkness fade, as she holds the pistol, aimed at the man.
The blue markings on the man’s neck begin to stain with red, as Isabel yells out in fear and panic. Putting the gun on safety, Elise drops it and runs over to Isabel, trying her best to seem like a scared little kid who just did something without thinking. It wasn’t too hard, since her brain was still developing, and she really did have the mental capacity of a ten year old. Just with the memories of a Traitor Knight. She grabs onto Isabel as tears begin to stream down both of their faces, Isabel’s because of the wave of fear and relief that Elise is safe, Elise’s because of pain from her ears being blown out by the gunshots. She couldn’t hear at the moment, thanks to the tinnitus she had just gained from this situation. She held on tightly, as Isabel began to take a moment in her panic to organize her thoughts. She quickly grabs her phone and calls the emergency help number.
After a few minutes, an Enforcer was running down the alleyway, his vehicle already parked. As he neared the two, he found Elise being held close by Isabel, while still crying. The Enforcer quickly handcuffs the now corpse, and then speed-walks over, and crouches, speaking something that Elise cannot hear. After she calms down, the two seem to be trying to talk to her, and the Enforcer puts a hand to his helmet. Another ten minutes passed, and Isabel had already taken Elise away from the scene and to the Enforcer’s vehicle. There they were waiting for an ambulance, and as it arrived, a paramedic stepped out and came over, checking on Elise. The ringing drowned out all things he was saying, but as the Paramedic realizes this, he says something to Isabel. Isabel thanks the Enforcer who had stuck with them the whole time, and the Paramedic takes Isabel and Elise to the ambulance.
Once in, the two were taken to the hospital. Elise was concerned at this point. Not about her being unable to hear, but about Isabel’s well being. She wanted to speak with her, and ask if she was okay, but she didn't even know if she could say the words correctly. She took a second, before deciding to say, “It’ll be alright.” Then she smiled calmly, which clearly worried Isabel more. She began to frown too as she saw her words did not give the intended alleviation of worry, which started a feedback loop of getting sadder on both sides. It had been half an hour since the fight, and she still could not hear. This was a very concerning situation. Soon she would find herself in a state of the art hospital room, being ushered to a medical pod. Being sat down a nurse begins trying to put a small mask on her mouth, which she of course fights, not knowing what it is. A doctor comes over, and helps hold her still for the mask. After a few seconds, her mind was hazy, and then she was asleep.
One surreal dream later, she began to open her eyes, finding Isabel asleep, laying her head on her crossed arms, beside her. Blinking a little, and attempting to sit up, she hears a voice. One she recognizes well, Tyler Elliot, her adoptive father, “Nono, no sitting up yet.” He stands up quickly, and makes sure Elise can’t sit up yet. Elise smiles and begins to cry again as she says, “I thought I wouldn’t hear again.” Elliot softly takes her into a hug, as he says, “My poor baby. You’re okay. You’re safe and healthy again. The doctors were able to help.” He softly rubs the back of her head, as she hugs him to the best of her semi-drowsy abilities. Tyler smiles happily as he says, "I'll let you rest. I already asked your sister about what happened, and how the assailant looked, so just get some sleep, alright? Let yourself rest." Elise frowns as he slowly lets her back down onto the bed, and then she speaks, "He had rebel tattoos on his neck. I cut them." Tyler is silent, as he just stares for a second, before he says, "Just get some sleep, you did what you had to." He puts his hand on her head and softly rubs. Something he tends to do when she is winding down for bed, or did something he approves of. As she begins to drift off, she hears Isabel stirring, but as her sister awakens, it was already too late for conversation, as Elise falls asleep.
(Andromedan Civilian) Elise Elliot
Location: National Capital Haven, System Capital Andromeda-II “Andromeda”; Andromedan Military Defensive
Local Date & Time: January 13th, 173 After Colonization; 1444
National Date & Time: January 13th, 173 After Colonization; 1444
Race: Genetically Engineered Human
Voidic Mage: Y/N
Mage Variant: (Possible) Evoker (Unknown Sub-variant)
Age: 9 (2)
Sex: Female
Gender: Female
“Come up to the front when your name is called,” Mr. Daniel said in his calm and tired voice. The classroom went completely silent, as he began calling names. Soon he was nearing Elise’s name in the list, and she knew it, causing her to sit up in excitement and curiosity in what her paper will say. But he skips her name, confusing and concerning the child. As the list ends, she begins to panic and fear why she had not been called. She could feel the eyes of her classmates, each a pinprick looking at her like she were a monster of some kind. Then Mr. Daniel continues, "Elise Elliot. I was told to leave your paper with the Principal. You will need your parents or guardian with you when you go to see it tomorrow, after school. Not because of something bad, but something interesting." Elise was concerned even more, but at least she felt the eyes on her were now curious, instead of screaming out "monster".
Local Date & Time: January 14th, 173 After Colonization; 1612
National Date & Time: January 14th, 173 After Colonization; 1612
Elise was standing nervously beside Tyler, who looked down to see her shifting her weight. He spoke with a smile, “It’ll be alright. I highly doubt you’re in trouble. It's more likely that you got a perfect score, knowing how brilliant you are.” This didn't help Elise, and soon enough, the two were called into the office. Inside they find two seats set out in front of a desk, behind which sat a large old man with a massive beard. Though he looked dangerous, Tyler was clearly undeterred, allowing Elise some more confidence. The old man speaks, “Welcome, Mr. Elliot, and little Elise. Please take a seat, while I get the papers.” Tyler takes a seat, and Elise has a moment of wanting to sit in his lap, but decides to sit on the other chair. The Principal opens a drawer and then pulls out a small set of paper, that Elise recognizes as her tests from the week, including a written examination of her physical education test. The Principal speaks, “As you know, we are only halfway through the school year. Florencia Schools has their students within their 6th Grade, at the end of their elementary schooling, take the Union Examination Test. This is different from most elementaries, who do not test their students with the Union Exam. As you likely know, Mr. Elliot, it is kept for the end of High School. As you both know, Elise was capable of skipping her 2nd and 5th Grades, causing her to be the youngest in our current 6th Grade.”
He places one of the Union Exams before them, the Physical Education marker. “It is curious that she surpassed, by double mind you, the most physically fit of her grade.” Tyler takes the paper, and nods silently, looking it over, as the Principal asks a question, “Do you happen to know why?” Tyler nods in response, “She does have a special circumstance. However, that is for the MPs to know, not the school system. Treat her like a student, that’s all we ask.” The Principal nods smiling, “Now I see why I recognized you, Master Sergeant Elliot. I will refrain from asking, and assume she’s under a form of protective custody. This news will not leave this room. I will say one thing, however, she is leagues ahead of her classmates. By her sophomore year in highschool she may well be able to surpass the senior class, in all aspects.” He looks to her, smiling warmly, “I wish you luck in your following years, young lady. Make sure you do your best during your schooling.”
He then slides the rest of the papers to Tyler, as he asks, “Are you not going to keep these Exams?” The Principal shakes his head, “We’re not the final benchmark. We’re just marking down a small idea, and giving it to the parents to wonder where their child might find themselves. That’s all I have to talk about, thank you for your time, Enforcer.” Tyler nods, and then looks at Elise while he takes the papers, “Let's get home now. The Captain will be upset with me if I try going back to work, so let's surprise your sister before we go home.” Elise stands up, while Tyler also stands, continuing on, “She should still be in her club, want to call her and tell her the babysitter’s coming to pick her up?” Elise smiles and nods, feeling a little excited now that she knows the situation wasn’t bad. She pulls out her small phone, and begins typing in the number as they walk.