An Arkham dropship flies above a rocky desert at night. An outside observer would not know the vehicle is there at all due to its silence and the technology allowing it to refract light off its body.
The inside of the vehicle however is the complete opposite. Inside the cabin are anxious, excited, and stoic cadets, strapped on their seats as they wait for the transport to bring them to their destination.
There were 33 cadets in total, 6 foreigners and the rest being numans. All 33 of them had similar combat gear and weapons to Lutrex save for the helmets which all resemble gas masks.
Curiously, the foreigners have placed themselves on the far end of the drop ship while the numans themselves are seated closer to the cockpit and the 4 veteran agents presiding over them as instructors.
The one on the left of the cockpit is an engineer class, identified by his helmet resembling a welding mask with a black tinted visor. On each side of the helmet’s jaw area are cylinders that resemble filters on a gas mask.
His armor consists of a black bodysuit covered with artificial muscle fibers along with several white armor plates with maroon trims attached to it. His weapons consist of two hand cannons magnet locked to his thighs and an assault rifle also maglocked to his back. Between his legs is a large, black rectangle with a shiny surface.
Across him is a sniper identified by his smooth helmet with a single optic in the middle. Like the engineer’s helmet, it too sports the filter like protrusions on his mask. Aside from the orange trims on his armor, he also had a black cloak sporting similar patterns to the bodysuit. Whether by choice or simply because he forgot, his hood is still up.
Resting by his side is a very large “rifle” that resembled more like a cannon mounted on a vehicle rather than a standard small arms weapon. Like the engineer, the sniper had an assault rifle attached to his back. He rested his hands on a sword placed between his legs. The sword itself resembles a katana without a handguard, inside a simple but futuristic sheath.
The third veteran agent towered over the two by two feet due to his power armor. He sat in the middle of the dropship behind the pilot’s cabin, his width nearly covering the entrance. The power armor’s frame resembled a larger version of the muscled bodysuit, covered in very thick plating equal to armored vehicles that protected equipment underneath. Mounted on his left and right shoulders are a laser cannon and railgun respectively while the palms on his hands have two black optics for lasers.
The last veteran agent is the pilot himself, roughly 6’5” and wearing similar armor to the sniper and the engineer with a pistol on his right thigh and an assault rifle resting on the passenger seat beside him. His helmet resembles a sleeker version of a flight helmet, with a built-in oxygen mask with two cylindrical filters on each side. Instead of a traditional glass visor, it was an electronic one that had four small optics to serve as eyes.
The flight was uneventful but not quiet as some of the cadets felt the heavy weight of their final test on their shoulders. Should they fall below expectations or even fail, then the weeks of hell they went through would have been in vain.
To keep their mind off it, some did final checks on their equipment while others reviewed the training they did back at boot camp by themselves or with their friends.
Others were not as bothered by thoughts of failure, either out of cockyness, faith in their training or faith in themselves and their team.
Those cadets chose to pass the time by chatting with their squad or fellow cadets. The rest are either asleep, listening to music or reading before they arrive.
With the cadets occupied with their own thing, they didn’t notice that the power armor leaned back and talked to the pilot of the transport.
The vehicle suddenly shudders mid flight, startling and waking up the cadets within as they tightly hold on to their harnesses. The shaking eventually stops as the sniper stands up to address the cadets.
“Good to see you’re all wide awake. We’re close to the drop-off so pay attention."
The entire cabin went silent but the tension and anxiety in the air had doubled, almost thick enough to be cut with a knife. The agent continues from where he left off.
“I’ve sent the map of the area to your consoles. Open it first before we start.”
The cadets do just that and open their consoles, their screens showing a map of a desert lake. In the middle of the body of water is a large island with a fortress built on it. A bridge connects the large structure with a camp at the end of the bridge.
The cadets notice 4 similar looking camps are placed around the lake, either near the shoreline or on top of cliffs. All of them seem to watch over the fortress.
Each camp is labeled with an alphabet starting from A to E, with two of them on top of plateaus watching over the main base. Despite being small, each one is well defended with mobile guns found on top of the mountains.
What caught all of the cadet’s eyes however is camp E, which is heavily defended by not only power armor units but by a tank as well. Seeing that all of them have opened their devices, the agent continues.
“Okay, I’m starting the briefing now. Our main target is the large Anti-Foreigner base in the center of the lake. Before we take it down, we’ll need to disable all five stations located on the shorelines and the cliffs surrounding the body of water.”
“The platoon is going to be split into four squads, eight people on each team. I’ve sent the groupings to your consoles so when we land you guys better start grouping with your buddies.”
After that, the cadets start looking around to identify or find their teammates. Despite their faces concealed by their helmets, their HUDS show their names.
While everyone is looking around, one of the numan cadets raises her hand to catch the attention of the veteran.
“Sir, I have a question!”
“Say it.”
“Running the numbers in my head, one of us is going to be left out on their own. What’s going to happen to them?”
“They’ll be placed in our fireteam when we attack camp E.”
The mention of the heavily defended camp caused commotion inside the cabin as some of the cadets started murmuring to each other, worried that they would get picked and separated from their teams.
With the cadets getting too noisy, the sniper brings back the attention to him.
“SHUT UP”
And with a single word, the cabin returns to silence and nervousness as the man continues his briefing.
“Moving where I left off, each team will walk towards their target and eliminate every hostile inside. Eliminate means kill in this situation.”
Murmurs started again, this time at the back with the foreigners. Not wanting to yell again, the agent continues.
“Once the four camps are taken care of, you will wait for the dropship to pick you up again. When my team takes down camp E and destroys the anti-air implements at the main base, the rest of you will arrive with the transport and assist us in killing all hostiles. Am I understood?”
“Yes Sir!”
“Good. After securing the fort, we’ll move on to the last stage of the mission. From the docs, we know that this place is where all the captured foreigners end up.”
“We need to know why they need this many foreigners and what they’re using them for. Now, any questions before we arrive?”
A few hands raise up. The agent points to a numan male, who starts asking his question.
“Sir, is the information good?”
“Stupid question. Anyone else?”
The agent picks a foreigner this time, a human male.
“Sir, will the main base be sending reinforcements to assist the camps when we attack them?”
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“No. The poor bastards at the camp are just there to either slow us down or alert the fortress of our location.”
“In the event of an alert, will there be a change of plan?”
“No, the plan stays the same. We kill everything in there.”
“Then what about the captured foreigners?”
“They’re a priority thanks to the information they might hold. Don’t worry about hitting them when we arrive at the fort, they'll be imprisoned down below.”
The agent chooses another foreigner, this time it was a cat girl from what the HUD is showing.
“Sir, how did Arkham get the info?”
“A week ago from a fellow cadet just like you. She and her instructor took down a base somewhere in the forest region of this landmass.”
The answer surprised the cadets present, hearing that only two people were needed to take down a camp. The same girl raises her hand again as she wants to know more about the duo.
Before she was able to ask, the craft landed on solid ground and shook. The ramp at the back of the dropship detaches from the craft and starts lowering itself onto the ground as the agent gives another order, this time inside the comms channel of the platoon.
[WU: “We’re here. Get out and start organizing yourselves.”]
The cadets start removing their safety straps before grabbing their rifles. Some had trouble removing their strap, forcing other cadets to help them while others were shaking as they exited the dropship.
[WU: “Move it, cadets!”]
With the warning given, the remaining cadets frantically remove themselves and their friends from the seats as they grab their guns and run outside.
With the last cadet outside, the 3 vets stood up and started walking towards the exit. As they reached outside, the cadets had already grouped themselves into their respective squads save for a single, short one who stood away from the others.
With no more passengers, the ramp closes back up before the vehicle rises from the ground and flies off into the night, now invisible to its previous passengers as well.
As the cadets look around, they notice many searchlights in the distance, along with individual ones on each camp surrounding the lake. They were placed far enough that the enemy couldn’t see them but close enough that they could walk towards their camps.
As the squads waited for orders, the short cadet walked towards the veterans. She was a numan who had two micro machine guns on her hips and five knives on her person, three throwing knives on her chest and two on her thighs.
The short woman stands in front of the three, gives them a salute and introduces herself to them in the comms.
[KASAO: “Sirs. Cadet Asami Kasao, reporting in.”]
The instructors return the gesture to her before the power armor pilot points to the ground by his side, telling her to stand there. As she gets the memo, the sniper continues to brief them.
[WU: “We good? Okay, let’s start. From my left to my right, you are squad A, B, C and D respectively.”]
[WU: “From here, you walk to your destination. Keep your eyes open for any danger out in the desert, cause the AFs aren’t the only ones here wanting to kill you.”]
[WU: “As soon as you spot the camp and get close enough, engage the hostiles. Lastly, trust the members of your squad. Whatever beef you had with someone during training or before that, stow it.”]
[WU: “Drill what I said in your heads, cause I’m not repeating it.”]
[CADETS: “Sir yes sir!”]
[WU: “Good. Now start walking and good luck.”]
The 4 squads salute before dispersing and walking to their destinations, fading into the darkness of the night. This left the 3 veterans with the vertically challenged cadet.
Kasao receives an invite from one of them to join them in a call. Accepting the invitation, she’s brought into a private group where the large agent starts talking to her.
[WU: “Since you're stuck with us for the time being cadet, I suppose re-introductions are in order. My name’s Wu, the big guy’s Chris and visor face is Sal.”]
Chris nods while Sal waves hello to her. Kasao returns the gestures with another salute.
[KASAO: “It’s a pleasure to work with you, sirs.”]
[WU: “Likewise, cadet. Now let's move.”]
Kasao nods, following the three vets as they turn left and start walking to the direction of camp E. She noticed that the white armor plates of the veterans had changed to black to blend in the darkness.
As they move a few distance away from the landing site, she notices that the engineer started slowing down his walk until he breaks away from his teammates.
He eventually reaches Kasao and keeps pace with the shorter agent. The girl was confused and slightly worried as to the reason for his action but continues to stay quiet for now. She also noticed that he was holding his assault rifle in his hands now and the manufacturer was now attached to his back.
[SAL: “Hey Kasao, you free to talk?”]
She raises an eyebrow within her helmet, wondering what the topic is about.
[KASAO: “Yes. What do you want to discuss, sir?”]
[SAL: “Well, I was curious about your assortment of knives. You like to be up close and personal with your enemies?]
[KASAO: “Well yes, there’s that. But also..."]
Kasao lifts up her right hand, confusing the agent with the action. With the flick of her index finger, the knives flew off her body and started floating around her, to the surprise of the instructor.
[SAL: “Oh, you’re a psion! Telekinesis, right?”]
[KASAO: “Yes sir. I use the karambit to slice and the tri-blade to pierce.”]
[SAL: “Cool. What about the smaller ones?”]
[KASAO: “The tanto-gatos are for non heavily armored enemies. I throw them at a specific body part then introduce an electric current to taze their insides.”]
[SAL: “Damn, that’s pretty brutal. But how do you get the first two to move fast enough to penetrate armor but still go through EM barriers?”]
[KASAO: “I don’t. All of them are oscillating blades so they can go through armor without getting repelled by barriers.”]
[SAL: “Interesting... Back to your psionic abilities though. What kind do you-”]
Before the engineer is able to finish his sentence, Wu’s voice interrupts him.
[WU: “Sal, need to talk to you.”]
[SAL: “What’s up?”]
[WU: “We need to go and set up at the cliff near camp E. Chris gave me a little idea that’ll ease our problem.”]
[SAL: “And that idea is?”]
[CHRIS: “Use the omnifacturer and start printing sticky bombs. The sooner we get there the better.”]
[SAL: “Got it.”]
The engineer stows his assault rifle away as he looks back towards the small cadet he was previously talking to.
[SAL: “Sorry our conversation got cut short. Let’s continue our talk later, alright?”]
[KASAO: “Very well, sir.”]
After giving a small wave goodbye, the boxy agent regroups with the sniper before they both break into a sprint, kicking up clouds of dust and sand before disappearing into the night. That left her alone with the large and imposing agent who was slowing his pace to match hers.
Kasao would be lying if she said she wasn’t apprehensive of him. Not once did she ever hear him speak, not during the first introductions at the ship nor throughout the flight within the dropshuttle.
His power armor was proof of his skill, an agent who’s killed enough enemies to fill a hole the size of the desert lake. She’d rather not embarrass herself in front of the man who was now walking beside her.
[CHRIS: “Cadet, are you good to talk?”]
[KASAO: “W-what do you need sir?”]
[CHRIS: “Relax. I just want to ask some questions about your telekinesis.”]
[KASAO: “I-I'll answer to the best of my abilities, sir.”]
[CHRIS: “Good. Now which type of telekinesis is it? Electromagnetism or Gravity?”
[KASAO: “The former.”]
[CHRIS: “How many small objects can you lift at the same time? And what would be the limitations for lifting that many objects?”
Kasao raised her eyebrows at the very specific questions. Thankfully though, these are questions that she has answers to. Outdated answers anyways.
[KASAO: “Well my limitations for lifting objects relies on the total weight of all of them. My current limit is 60 tons, but I am still trying to see if I can go past that.”]
[KASAO: “As for the first question... I don’t have anything recent but when I was 6, I was able to lift 50 plastic balls simultaneously. I hope that’s good enough.”]
[CHRIS: “And how far can you throw these objects?”]
[KASAO: “It depends on their weight. If it's heavy, only a few meters. If it's a smaller object, about 50 meters before I lose hold of them.”]
[CHRIS: “And accuracy?”]
[KASAO: “Straight as a bullet if I’m concentrated.”]
[CHRIS: “Good to hear.”]
Curious as to what he meant by that, Kasao gets caught by surprise. The large agent walks in front of her, stops, and kneels down with his back facing her. Wondering what he’s doing, she gets her answer from the source himself.
[CHRIS: “Climb on my back. It’ll be faster if I carry you.”]
[KASAO: “Uhhhhh..."]
[CHRIS: “Would you rather I carry you like a shopping bag?”]
[KASAO: “No sir.]
[CHRIS: “The get on.”]
Kasao climbs onto the back of the power armor, using her forearm to hold onto a handle on the vehicle’s back while placing her feet on top of the backside’s plate. After waiting a few seconds, Chris asks Kasao again.
[CHRIS: “You good back there?”]
[KASAO: “Yes sir.”]
[CHRIS: “Great. Don’t let go or you’ll die.”]
Kasao holds on tight as the power armor stands up. The Spear takes a running stance before sprinting towards the same location his teammates went. Holding on for dear life, Kasao could see the world in a blur.
After 2 or so minutes of running, the large agent had spotted the cliffs where he sent his two teammates. Kasao, who was now suffering from nausea, felt the vehicle slowing down.
Chris eventually manages to stop himself, crouching down to let his passenger get off. The small cadet shakily gets off the power armor’s backside, still reeling from the whole ordeal.
[CHRIS: “You alright, Cadet?”]
[KASAO: “I-I’ll be fine, sir. I... I just need to sit down for a bit.”]
[CHRIS: “Do it near the rocks so they can’t see you.”]
With Chris moving out of her view, she could see the destination they arrived at. They were now located on top of an elevated land with rocks on the edge. To her right is an old asphalt road, leading down to what she assumed is the camp if the searchlights are anything to go by.
The vet walks towards the rest of his team who are sitting behind a large rock formation, with Sal waving to Kasao. She could see that he and Wu are sitting between some sort of device that prints out black balls, with many of them already on the floor. She walks towards her teammates, curious as to what her instructors are planning.