The days leading up to my departure flew by quickly and before I knew it the clock had ticked down to a single day remaining.

To say I wasn't scared would be an understatement. I'd spoken at length with Cecilia over the phone already but never had the chance to mention my woes.

It wasn't her fault, she was more worried than I was. You'd expect someone who has the temper of a firecracker to jump in joy at the prospect of joining the best Military Academy in the Isles.

But she was never like that, in reality, the thought of dying scares her more than anything. If I remember her words correctly, "I'd rather live a life in tranquillity and protection than live a life in conflict and uncertainty."

I understood that and yet I never once told my mother. It was as much of my fault as it was anyone's else's. I couldn't bear the thought of going alone and so my silence enabled her coming.

Yet, I held no regrets and would do it again in a heartbeat.

The car slowed, coming to a silent stop.

"Lady Valentina, we have arrived at Crossdon Medical Centre. I shall wait in the rear car park till you are ready to depart."

"Thank you Charles, I'll call when I'm finished." I replied as I exited the black Hyper-Sedan.

I stood outside the automatic doors of the medical centre waiting for a movement. I'd chosen a more casual look today and had just thrown together some clothes with an oversized hoodie that I was currently using to hide my face.

The Crossdon Medical Centre was the best private hospital in the country, located just north of Camulodunum and only a two-hour drive away. It was a fairly secluded area but the amount of traffic would make you think overwise.

With my courage gathered, I walked up to the doors and placed my ID on the card reader. After a loud beep, the doors slid open and I was permitted access.

The guards here were different from the other hospitals, carrying low-yield laser sidearms and a white armoured vest with the Crossdon logo stitched to the arm, which was a far cry from the automatic rifles and full black body armour that others used. However, as Crossdon was primarily used by the wealthy and higher-ups of the military and was also located in a safe zone, it was deemed unnecessary to waste high-tier equipment that could be put towards protecting more violent areas.

I mention this because one of those guards is currently eyeing me with caution, which isn't that shocking considering what I'm wearing.

Ignoring his gaze, I walk up to the reception. Pulling down my hood, I call for the nearest nurse who promptly responded.

"Good morning Ma'am, how may I help you?"

Placing my ID on the table, I replied.

"I'm here to see Rufus Octavia, is he awake?"

The nurse took one look at my ID and smiled before pressing a button and connecting to an intercom somewhere.

"Master Octavia, your daughter is here to see you. Shall I send her up?"

"Haven't I said before you don't have to ask for permission, send my girl up now. And don't you dare keep me waiting."

The line cut off and the nurse, who was visibly sweating buckets, stood up and signalled for me to follow him.

We passed through the pristine white hallways, the smell of medical disinfectant lingering on every surface. Finally, we reached the elevator to my father. After verifying I was fine, the nurse left to return to his station.

The elevator was the only way in and out of the VIP floors numbering from the 70th to the 90th floor at the top of this massive facility. Each floor was reserved only for the elite of the elite, so inclusive that every floor has its own personal doctors, staff and defensive squad. The whole VIP section even possessed different heads of staff separate from the main building.

Inside the elevator, I pressed the button for the 82nd floor. A blue light ran over me, scanning my identity. At its completion, a green light flashed and it began to ascend.

The eight floors above my fathers were reserved for the highest members of government and the military, with the 90th being for the Governor himself. As you could probably guess, the 82nd floor is my mothers, but for the last year, it's been used exclusively by my father to treat his progressively worsening illness.

Ding.

The elevator stopped and its doors opened.

I stepped out and was instantly greeted by Doctor Almura, the chief Doctor in charge of the 82nd.

Alarm bells started ringing throughout my head as I prepared for the worst. This wasn't going to be good.

Doctor Almura, seeing that she had my attention, cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Lady Valentina, your father is currently within the holoroom. I've already prepared everything for your entry, however, if you'd prefer to, you can wait till he is finished."

My paranoia faded and I cursed myself for jumping to conclusions so quickly.

"I'll join him now, thank you."

The Doctor nodded and headed back to her work, content with letting me go unescorted.

The holoroom was only a short walk away, each floor had one and they were the most popular recreational activities available. The holoroom was able to recreate nearly any environment and even allow the user to interact with said environment.

To enter the holoroom, I first had to pass through an airlock type structure created to give the room time to adapt to another inhabitant.

With a soft gush of air, the doors opened to reveal a beautiful scene of a picturesque garden filled with all flowers and plants from across the world, many of which I did not recognize.

A gruff male voice spoke out.

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"Took you long enough, were you held up? I swear if one of those guards gave you trouble, I'm going down there right now to give them a piece of my mind. No one messes with my little girl and gets away without a bloodied nose."

Yep, that's my dad, alright.

"Yeah... I wouldn't recommend that, dad, leave the bloodied noses up to mother. She'd do a better job of it anyway." I teased.

"You only say that because you haven't seen me in action." He boasted.

"Oh just shut up you old man." I joked.

"Hahaha, come here you." He spread his arms and embraced me in a hug.

It was a welcome change from mother, she always hid her love behind frosted eyes,

while dad showed it openly. It makes me wonder how these two polar opposites got together in the first place.

He pulled back and flashed me a smile.

"So Atlas Military Academy. Y'know your mother went there when she was your age.... ok, she was a little older but you get the point."

"Yes, yes, thank you dad, it's not like I've been constantly reminded of that the past week. Wait, lemme guess, next you're going to say "You look just like her" or something similar, am I right or what?"

"Well, you clearly didn't get the attitude from her, and now that I think about, it's not mine either. So tell me, who are you because you can't possibly be my lovely and sweet daughter."

"Very funny, I should be grateful you didn't go into an acting career."

"Hey, I'll have you know I was an amazing actor in my youth; won 1st place for best male lead in secondary school."

"You’re joking?" I said seriously.

"Yep." He replied, his face sporting a shit-eating grin.

"You bastard!" I shouted playfully.

"Haha, so what were you saying about my acting skills?"

"Alright, alright. Maybe you’re a little decent."

The two of us laughed for a little longer before dad's caring side popped up.

"Val, level with me. Are you worried about Atlas?"

Yep there it was, I knew this question was bound to come up sooner or later. It was one that I hadn't really asked myself, as it was easier to just ignore it and hope for the best.

"Mother has already taken every step to ensure my safety." I replied, purposely misinterpreting the question.

"Don't play coy with me; that's not what I was asking and you know it."

"Well then, what are you asking? Are you asking if I'm worried about being killed by my old allies? Are you asking if I'm upset about my future being decided for me? Oh, maybe you're asking if I wanted to be forced to follow in mother's footsteps? Or perhaps you’re just wondering if I'm scared of a few washed-up instructors or 3rd-year bullies?" I finished.

Dad was left in silence, not expecting that to be my answer, but he wanted to know and now he does.

"I'll speak to Aurelia and tell her to call the whole thing off. She'll listen to me, she always has."

Using my mother's first name was a plain sign that father was heated up. Yet this time it wasn't necessary.

"You can't... it's not that simple this time, she has a reason and I believe it's a good one, even if she won't say what it is."

"She isn't telling you why?"

"No, but it's something big, that's all I kno-"

A large explosion rocked the building and the holoroom instantly shut off, the garden vanished to reveal the white holoplate tiles and in the next moment, the room was plunged into darkness as the power cut.

"What the hell is going on?" My dad roared.

I grabbed my phone and began searching through my contacts, finding Charles' number, I pressed it but instead of the usual ringing sound, I was met with a no signal symbol.

Instantly I summed it up to be a radio tower blackout. Whatever that explosion was, it clearly wasn't alone.

The lights cut back in thanks to the floor's emergency power. A warning alarm was kicked into life as red lights began flashing.

An automated feminine voice started to broadcast and repeat an announcement over the speakers.

"Alert: all patients and citizens, please stay within your rooms. Military personnel will be with you shortly to begin evacuation."

I instinctively reached for my sidearm but found nothing.

"Shit!" I cursed, I'd left it at home, thinking it'd only attract attention from the guards.

Suddenly two men dressed in the 82nd floor's guard outfit burst into the room, sidearms drawn.

"Master Octavia, are you ok?" One of them called out frantically.

The second guard turned to me with suspicion and spoke.

"Identify yourself now!" He ordered.

My father went to speak for me but I quickly cut him off.

"Special Agent Adams, here under Deputy-Governor Marinelli direct orders. Now who are you, soldier?"

I could have told him my real identity and all would be fine, but I had two reasons not to.

Firstly, I couldn't rule out the chance that whoever is attacking is after me. If it's the King's Guard, and it likely is, then it's awfully coincidental timing to not be for me.

So I needed to avoid carelessly telling others inside the building of my identity, I'm already familiar with the King's Guard infiltration abilities, so telling the wrong person could just as easily inform them.

Secondly, I wanted to know what was going on and for that, the best way was pretending to be some big shot agent. Plus, my mother only told me to stay out of trouble. If I were to do the opposite and help defeat the King's Guard, then it'd quickly dispel any notions that I'm still connected to them, which would get some unneeded attention off my back and possibly earn me a medal or two.

"Sergeant Manius, in charge of Fortune Squad, tasked with the protection of the 82nd Floor."

"I'm attaching myself to your squad, Sergeant, but I'm going to need a weapon."

"The remainder of my squad is loading up in this floor's armoury, we were going to head there after we'd confirmed the safety of the 82nd's VIP, Ma'am."

"Well, his safety is confirmed now, lead the way and have the nurses tend to Master Octavia."

"Roger that."

Sgt Manius, the second soldier and I left the room, leaving the nurses to aid my father, who was still dumbfounded by my act.

We soon reached the armoury, five other men were gearing up, trading their sidearms for low-power laser PDWs and heavier armour kits.

We quickly joined the others in gearing up, slipping on the white armoured vest and padding. Each bit of kit was top class and only the other personal floor squads had access to this stuff.

As I was putting on the gear, I began to speak with Manius.

"Sergeant, do you know the situation out there?"

"Negative, we lost all forms of communication soon after the power was blown. In normal circumstances we'd be able to use the comm centre as a back-up link, but that went dark three minutes ago."

Communication was likely down thanks to a local short-range jammer that'll have to found later. But everything else?

I pondered for a moment before coming to a realisation.

"The main power and the comms centre are in different buildings, meaning we're likely dealing with two squads, one detonated the main generator while the other hijacked the comms centre."

"Exactly what I was thinking. It's also definitely the King's Guard, no other rebel group has the resources to hit us here and this effectively."

"You have a plan?" I asked nervously, the knowledge that I'd be fighting old allies put me on edge more than I'd expected it to.

"Route floor 82nd's emergency power into the elevator and take it down to the 1st floor. From there we perform a break out under the cover of smoke grenades and quickly move towards the comms centre, bring it back online and call for reinforcements."

"No, the 1st floor will be a death trap. They'll have secured it already and have the elevators under guard by now. I recommend we head to floor 5, work our way to floor 2, and then exit out the windows. We might also be able to link up with any remaining guards, which will improve our chances greatly."

"You've done this before?"

"I guess you could say that, what about you?"

"Never been in a firefight outside of training in my life, none of the squad has."

"Here’s to first times!" I yelled out.

The Sgt and the rest of the squad laughed at that.

"To first times!" They repeated.

With my armour now in order, I pulled the white facemask over my head. It now completely concealed my appearance and was specially designed to nullify any disorientation grenades and incoming shrapnel.

Next, I moved to the weapons, the rest of the squad had opted for low-power laser PDWs that were excellent at taking down non-armoured combatants without damaging the structure you are fighting in, the perfect weapon to avoid any collateral damage.

Instead, I chose the only non-laser weapon there was, a 20-round magazine-fed QLS-10 DMR chambered in 5.8x42mm designed and manufactured in China, then sold to us courtesy of our newly founded alliance four years ago.

Why was such a weapon here? I have no idea. But I'll be damned if I wasn't going to use such a destructive weapon.

Plus, I'm betting we'll come up against body armour and in that case those PDWs are going to do absolutely nothing, that is unless this squad is actually a team of highly augmented special forces, which I doubt.

With my weapon chosen, I then holstered the basic laser sidearm everyone else had and added a few flashbangs and decoy grenades to my vest.

I was the last to get ready, which was to be expected considering the rest of the squad was already half geared before they even entered the armoury.

"Alright, listen up!" Sergeant Manius shouted out.

"This lady here is Special Agent Adams, she'll be acting as the second with Fortune Squad until the situation is over. Is that understood?"

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

"Outstanding. Now, as you all probably overheard, our main objective is the comms centre at the top of the most eastern building. We'll be taking the elevator down to the 5th floor and then pushing to the 2nd floor, from there, we'll exit out the windows and move to the comms centre and call for reinforcements."

The Sgt paused for a second before adding on.

"All of our intel is based on guesswork, so we'll be heading in blind, be ready for everything to go tits-up. And if it does, stay on target. Even if only one of us gets the comms back online, then it'll be worth it. Any questions?"

No one answered.

"Good, Private Lumal, Private Jullosa, your task is to bring the elevator back online. Everyone else, double-check your equipment and take whatever you can carry, there are no limits for today."

"Yes, Sir!" Everyone responded.

"Good, All is Beneath the Authority!" The Sgt roared out the Armed Forces motto.

"And All shall stay Beneath!" The squad cried back.

"Dismissed."

With that, the squad got to work. Two soldiers left the room to work on the generator while the rest loaded up on more ordinance.

The Sergeant, on the other hand, looked at my choice of weapon curiously.

"You're taking that?" He questioned.

"Any problems?" I shot back.

"None at all, It's just that I'd forgotten we even had that weapon. Not sure why it was delivered to us in the first place."

"Some dumbass desk jockey at logistics probably made a mistake. You know how they can be." I jokingly replied.

"Haha, I do, but perhaps its fate?"

"If that's the case, she better perform perfectly."

"Oh I wouldn't count on it; Chinese weapons have a habit of shitting the bed when you most need them."

"Great, and here I was looking forward to using her."

"Not too late to put her back."

With that, the two Privates came bursting back into the room, reporting that their task was finished.

"Nevermind, it looks like it is." He said.

"Guess it really must be fate." I replied sarcastically.

"Guess so. Alright, form up! We're heading out, everyone to the elevator now." He ordered.

We piled into the elevator and the Sgt pressed the button for the 5th floor.

The journey down was silent, everyone clutching their weapons in preparation. I was the only one who knew what to expect, which was partly why I was aware of the more obvious tactics the King's Guard used.

However, I’d neglected to inform them of everything I wasn't 100% sure of. Elevator traps were the standard in all tall buildings, but coming across things like mines, snipers or stolen Battlesuits were all dependent on the number of available resources a cell has.

And for this cell, I had no idea.