As expected, Kazuki gave a nonchalant nod. Eliza continued to coordinate forces as she felt the thousands of datastreams pour into her mind. Armed with an upgraded mil-uplink that dug down onto her cheek and ear, stretching up to above her ear-lobe, she twisted to look at the thousands of monitors at her station.
"Thanks," whispered Eliza, glancing over at Sato.
Sato glanced over towards her, looking more sluggish than usual from having to organise a large force. "No problem…" Her eyes then scanned over the amount of work she'd already looked over. "Fucking hell… You're fired up for this. Don't worry, when Archius started it took him a year to get good; you'll make it in a tenth of that!"
A small smirk curled onto Eliza's lips.
"Yeah…" said Eliza. She has a commitment, she doesn't know if she can; and compared to Sato or Archius, she's an inexperienced newbie.
"Hey!" Archius snapped his head over. His eyes skimmed over Eliza, and for a moment she swore she saw him glare at her… She shook her head, clearing her mind. Tired… She must be tired, Eliza thought. "Just relax, m'kay?"
Looking at Lilly's team, she noticed that they were pinned down in a hall. Quinn's fireteam was also present; up ahead was an intersection. 'Vallé, retreat Epsilon to flank around then retreat yourself. Bait them towards the intersection.'
'On it, let's go fuck them up' said Quinn, displaying his fiery shotgun, breaking off from cover as he turned into one of the nearby ventilation shafts. Lilly nodded, her stone-cold discipline ignoring bolts that slammed against her armour.
Quinn got into position, with Lilly's retreating team luring the Loyalists further in. Pushing themselves backwards, they hugged the indents in the wall as an AGENT fell, dragged into cover by Kiri. Lilly stayed calm. Eliza did her best, understanding that they chose this.
'No use! She's dead!' shouted Lilly.
'I'm in position… what's the fucking plan?!' asked Quinn.
'Vallé, attack. Epsilon, flank them and sew chaos.' ordered Eliza. She watched as the unit pushed upwards, cutting down the platoon of Loyalists as Deltastring stormed the intersection.
Another team of Loyalists rushed in to check their advance.
Feeling the salvos from the guns, she looked up at Sato and Archius. She felt a sense of responsibility to Lilly's units… Eliza felt pride, like she was doing something that truly had meaning - not just for herself.
She gritted her teeth, igniting her crimson eyes as she focused on the mission, typing away and accessing the touchscreen. Using the blueprints, she highlighted all methods of access as she overworked herself.
'I've highlighted it,' said Eliza, blinking onto the system as a waypoint for Kazuki to get to the reactor room.
She watched as a battle-map of the whole station whizzed upwards from behind her, sending shockwaves into her eyes with the blaring dots on the monitors. It depicted every agent and level. Explosions, fragments and hull depictions flicked off the station, only to be stopped by the Phoenix's Fury. Sporadic resistance turned the station into a game of whack-a-Loyalist as AGENTs fought in firefights at all levels.
But that didn't stop her. She has to do the best. The best. She repeated the words in her head as she pushed her mind into the fray. She watched as Kazuki's team deep-striked through the facility, beating back all in their way in a frantic blitz.
Highlighting Lilly's team on her uplink, she contacted them. 'Vallé, I'll send support your way.'
'Support?' asked Vallé, 'Sure, more the better.'
Lilly took a bolt to the shoulder as she ducked back into an indent. Eliza watched on the camera system as Kazuki's team pushed through the halls of the given path, eliminating every Loyalist in their way. Her worries were swept away as she watched them fight, knowing full well that they'll beat them back. She stomached their deaths much easier, knowing what they had done. So many civilians dead, this felt like justice - even if crude. Maybe that was the only similarity between her and her dad, she thought: justice.
Anxiety crept in with each bolt that smacked into the team. Kazuki staggered sideways, Amyé shuddered backwards and Claire had to tend to them. As Kazuki grappled, she noticed that he was slower. From what she's seen, he's fast. Even if something was wrong, his exterior never changed. Though, even the slightest of differences spelt out a magnitude of expressions and emotions.
'Keep it up. If you take a few corners you'll reach an intersection and staircase upwards.'
Even though she was never there in person, she could feel the stress seep in. Her mind slowly fatigued itself out, with each action pushing her slowly to her limits. Sato pointed at her own uplink, telling Eliza to keep reclocking it.
"Come on, Eliza." she muttered to herself, "Keep on keeping on"
She pressed her eyes open, watching as Phalanx Team reached the intersection. Kazuki's team rolled up behind Deltastring, firing down the hall as the Loyalists were stopped in their tracks. Amyé and Claire took cover with Lilly's team. 'Blue on six,' he said, ducking below bolts to Lilly's side.
'Arbiter?' Lilly was confused as smaller shockwaves shook the station, 'You're the reinforcements, then, huh?'
'No,' said Kazuki. He paused for a moment. Eliza watched as the team slowly pushed forward, giving Kazuki enough room to ascend upwards on the staff-only stairs. 'Lazarus, Artillerist. Reinforce Vallé. I'll deal with the reactor myself.'
'Eh? Oh, come on! Don't stick us with Vallé!' Amyé jokingly complained.
'Oh, hello fuckwits!' cried Quinn, glancing towards Amyé and Claire.
'Oh, fuck me, is this the mundane part of the mission?' asked Amyé. 'Doing jackshit whilst Mr. Shoot Shoot goes and beheads the enemy?'
The joke seemed to go well between the operatives, but Kazuki didn't seem too bothered. He simply nodded, acknowledging that it was most likely what he was going to do. And he patted her on the back.
Something slowly clicked within Eliza as she thought about it all. The cocktail of emotions clashed with her thoughts. Archius looked up from his station, over at Eliza. She was clearly in mental agony.
"Liz. Keep it together. Kaz will make it through," said Archius. Eliza chose to believe that...
She shot her head towards Kazuki. He started to ascend the staircase. Another explosion rocked the station as another salvo from the dreadnought shattered debris to pieces. All the while, her mind continued to sway in emotions.
But if Kazuki chose this, she'll support him. She accepted him for who he says he is: the Contract-Breaker. But that never mattered for her. To her, Kazuki has always been that air-headed guy in high school. Though times have changed, she reminisced for a moment.
"Maybe this is what they all feel…" Eliza trailed off, realising that she just accepted the thought of him dying. "Maybe…"
"Eliza," Sato said towards her. Archius gave Sato a glare. "Don't try to do everything. I've been doing this for the past decade, let me tell you: not fun. Just do what you can."
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Eliza started to pull herself together as she sat up straight.
Sato looked back at her station, her workaholic fervour permeating an aura in the command room. Eliza's crimson eyes glistened as she spoke, 'Vallé, keep as many Loyalists distracted. Arbiter… survive.'
Lilly chuckled for a moment before she grumbled back to Eliza, 'What do you think we're doing right now?!'
Eliza smiled. Her undertone was far different. She watched Kazuki ascend as he reloaded his weapons. Kazuki was slower, but he had to survive. After all, he's a member of the seven, one of the deadliest mercs in the galaxy. Despite that, her worry seeped in as he pulled the receiver back.
'Eliza. Keep guiding me.' said Kazuki, his voice slurred slightly. She could see small vapours exit from his respirator… She never knew why that happened. But after this is done, she'll fix up his exospine again, something compelled her. Maybe she can fix it, permanently.
'Arbiter, after this, I'll fix up your spine, alright?' said Eliza, gulping down her worries. She wanted an assurance from him.
Kazuki said nothing. He slowly turned away and continued to climb the stairs.
'Liz, don't you know?' asked Quinn.
'Huh?' Eliza trailed off. What was Quinn talking about? Did something happen? Looking across the camera, she could see Quinn, with a strong grip on his shotgun.
'Epsilon…' Lilly started. 'Not now. We'll do this later.'
'She deserves to fucking know… People die all the time, but you never get to say goodbye to them!' Quinn fired away, reminding her of Riharia. If only she could ever say one last word to her. 'This is Arbiter's last op. All or nothing!'
Fuzzy reality set in. Quinn was lying… right? He has to be, right? But already, the doubts slipped by, stabbing her mind. Kazuki was dying. The most irrational thing she had ever done was ignore the evidence to that conclusion. Of course, she would, because she has no idea what to do if he does. The cold demeanour that defined the school years before meeting Kaz and Archius slowly took hold. She should have known, the lack of robustness of his medinetics signalled that it was far from fully operational.
Her face fell blank. While she was having a small crisis, the battle continued, and Kazuki kept marching onwards. She extended her hand out - trying to think of something to say as she watched the key to the Ptolemy-1 Incident walk away from the camera.
No… This cannot be how it ends. Not here, she thought.
He seemed unphased by all the things happening around him as he reached the top of the stairs, exiting out onto another hallway, the doors sealed shut behind him. But then, the pristine vented walls were lit up with plasma as the Loyalists piled forward, trying to eliminate Kazuki. It was an ambush… She led him directly into an ambush. Worry and self-deprecating thoughts bled into her mind.
Despite all the pressures, she maintained her own composure. Her glistening eyes focused shortly after, the freezing logic of the years after Ptolemy-1 rearing its ugly wounds.
"—ocused," said Sato, breaking Eliza's train of thought.
"I… am focused," stated Eliza with a cold voice, not being focused whatsoever as she tried guiding Kazuki towards the reactor, highlighting waypoints incorrectly.
Kazuki kept fighting forward, killing each Loyalist put in his path. There must be a way for him to live, right? Kazuki had an emotionless glare as he continued fighting. She could feel his own acceptance of his fate. Yet she had to do something, if he didn't: who would?! Would Eliza just let the key once again slip from her fingers? Absolutely not. It was just then that she, too, realised that was all she ever saw of him. She saw him as the key. She never truly saw him as Kazuki, because none of that mattered to her. As long as he was the key, she was fine with whatever he was. She felt dead on the inside.
'Eliza.' Kazuki started, 'You there?'
'Alright… Arbiter, keep going forward. You're close.' said Eliza, her voice colder as she still tried to process all the information that was being thrown at her. For all her talk to Lilly about treating them like her comrades, she had overlooked the one person that mattered the most to the investigation.
Eliza tried to focus, highlighting the reactor room whilst frantically removing all the clutter from her screen and mind. Kazuki stuck to the side of a small barricade.
'Thanks.' stated Kazuki, his ICAPAD sprawling up with information.
His cold voice struck her with an unusual sense of dread. Whatever he thought of in those moments, it crashed her down into the ground.
'Eliza. Look, it's going to be hard for you. But keep going.' stated Kazuki, hugging cover as he reloaded his railgun. 'If I make it out, we'll talk, alright?'
'How… Can I stay calm?' asked Eliza, 'You knew this was a one way trip, yet you still promised me… You made a contract with me!?"
'I—'
Kazuki froze in place for a moment, giving a Loyalist enough time to aim at him as his voice cut off. Sporadic uplink chatter filled the gaps as her head twisted to the camera system watching Kazuki. Blood was dripping out of an open wound on his right ear, piercing through his helm-mask. His uplink had been completely severed. Kazuki took cover whilst fighting. He looked back at his bloodied uplink as Eliza's dread increased.
What was he about to say? He was about to say something, right? Was it a clue? What was it?! She wanted to hear his voice, but now she can only ever watch him slowly die. Gritting her teeth, she stood up, coordinating forces with one hand and activating a remote drone panel as she took control of one of the many drone squads in the space station…
∗ ∗ ∗
Unnerving silence filled Kazuki's mind as the uplink was completely severed. His nerves cauterised on his ear, the uplink itself had shattered. The pain was unbearable… Fuck! The injector points on his nerves had completely been fried, sending ripples of searing, burning agony to his spinal column and brain. His whole nervous system was on fire…
Do or die, was now the time to act. He pushed himself out of cover, blood dripping down his face. Each step harrowed another explosion from the Phoenix's Fury, shielding the planet below.
Bolts smacked off his neck guard, and the circuit bolts that hydraulically connected his helm-mask to his vest-plate took damage. Plasma scalded his old Clandestine patent plates as he threw himself into combat, stabbing and shooting a hall full of Loyalists. Slicing the first one in two, placing bolts in heads.
"Shit…" Kazuki trailed off as he took a shotgun blast to his legs, pellets flicking off his armour and pants.
His ANCHOR bracings shattered as he activated it, teleporting before he slit the throat of a Loyalist. Twisting around, he grappled and blasted the rest in the face with his WRIST-SHOT. Blood stained the walls as bodies of both security and Loyalists laid the way. The final Loyalist near the door charged at him. He threw them to the ground before crushing their windpipe, setting eyes on the blast door. He rushed forward, across the hall.
Placing his hand on the blast door's override level, he pulled down. Blaring alarms sounded across the hall. Steam and gas started to vent out of the hydraulic movements. He felt his mind crash with panic as Loyalists turned up behind him. He ducked into cover beside a dead body as the Loyalists fired towards him. Five in total, a whole team of them.
His tongue was burning with steam. His gums burnt with scalding heat. Bolts flew past. Sparks shot off his exospine as he fired back - energy slowly seeping from his slowly withering body. His right leg shuddered as he leaned on his knee.
"You want some of me…" Kazuki trailed off, vaulting over cover. His golden glare pierced their hearts, freezing them in place for a split second.
"SHIT. SHIT!" One Loyalist shouted as Kazuki grappled with them, snapping them out of the confusion. He threw them into the line of fire, watching them be gunned down in the confusion.
He ANCHORed again. Dragging his knives out, he jabbed them into two of the Loyalists, before throwing their corpses towards the two remaining left. Upon collision, Kazuki lobbed a dagger forward. His blades struck true, the Loyalists dropping dead. Casually, Kazuki walked over and kicked his knives back up. He injected stims into his body, knowing his body had taken too much punishment. Blood, cuts and wounds covered him from his arms, legs, torso and his right ear.
He'd be relying on Lilly and Claire's forces to hold back any more reinforcements. Communication was down, and no one was coming. This was less than preferable. He took his helmet-mask off as the oxygen tank fell empty. He dropped the mask and the tank onto the floor. Hot steam scalded his lips.
"Alright…" Kazuki approached the door, placing his hand on the manual opening mechanism. He tugged hard on it, feeling the hydraulics press against his gloved palm as gunshots echoed throughout the facility, constantly reminding him of what was at stake. Success… is non-negotiable.
He must kill Svenn, he has to stop him - at all costs. But he's too injured, his gear and exospine are running on fumes. He can't. But he must try. If he eliminates Svenn, the war will be over. But he knows that the probability of death is high… If he pulled his punches - if he was selfish - then they will all die. He cannot allow that. So he swallowed his dreams and left them all for Eliza.
"Then let justice be done…" Kazuki trailed off, at any cost. At any cost, he repeated it to himself, convincing himself. So be it, he thought.
He was just about to touch his uplink, only to feel the sting of ripped flesh at his earside. It was still painful, but he knew he had to stay calm for someone. He looked towards the camera in the hall, he knew she'd get the message.
"Hey. I'll be seeing you, Eliza." Kazuki bit his tongue, letting every word seep through; he must sacrifice more, all of him if necessary. A second Ptolemy Incident is out of the question. For once, he dropped his memories, every accumulated debt, guilt, want and wishes he's ever had. He dropped it; he'll pick it up later. All his selfish desires were gone… But still, one remained.
He couldn't tell her. How could he tell her that he killed Victoria? It was impossible, it didn't matter if it was a mercy killing - his irrationality spoke. Because the last thing he wants is for her to despise him. He pulled the door's mechanisms aside, the blast-door slammed open to reveal the reactor room.