* ● ● Enrai Branch Operations Outpost, Belgrano District, Buenos Aires, Argentina, SAU
Sebastian held the mute button on his headset as he turned to the Enrai operator he was stationed with, looking up as he dwarfed in size compared to him. [Does Enrai keep tabs on SAU craft movement?]
[Of course, everyone does. Why?] He responded as he hastily ran his fingers down a set of coordinates on a map connecting the port to Sam’s and the infiltration team’s locations.
Sebastian’s mind continued to race as he struggled to ignore the frantic chatter between his siblings and Sam all the while trying to determine a better course for action than sitting still as Kaylen ordered. [Judging by your reaction, that ship you’re looking at isn’t SAU.]
[No,] he bluntly replied as he kept to his business.
Sebastian, in his own frantic state, paced back the other direction toward a separate communications room; The outpost itself was fairly cramped and dark, nestled away below typical basement level, and was only manned by small handful of operatives, leaving him with little room to wiggle. But upon seeing one monitor on the wall in the next room showing the SAU Assembly still underway, he paused briefly to read the bold text across the bottom.
[Hexa Infinity leaders accused of overreaching in Earth-side matters across multiple nations,] read the marquee as Orsi, now revealed publicly to be Bishop, leader of his own Underground faction, continued to push his case for Argentina to assume the position of SAU central authority.
[This isn’t some false flag op, is it!?] Sebastian burst out as he paced back to where he was, receiving a grimace from the operator.
[How?! The national guard is kept busy watching over the Assembly as you saw, and the police are all tied up! Everything else is parked in Brazil as far as the networks show!] He then pointed to the maps he was looking between as he continued fussing: [That ship we’re worried about is unmarked! Here, help me track this thing’s origin,” he continued fussing as he shoved a pen that interacted with the screens and holographic interfaces into his chest. [If this is isn’t SAU it’s likely to be Reaper’s or something and we need to know its reason to show up!]
Knowing there wasn’t time and Sam was likely waiting for some sense of direction, he shook off his frustration best he could and went back to his own screen to pull up a sea traffic map based off of tapped GPS trackers.
[Ella, Enzo,] he spoke into his now unmuted mic as he got to work. [Nothing yet, right?]
“Nothing, just… not knowing what the hell we’re looking for,” he heard Sam nervously respond as he stopped his hand for a second to think.
“Ella, listen. There is much reason to think that ship has something to do with this mission- like, it was waiting for us. It’s not SAU marked, but I still think this is a trap and has something to do with those Bishop guys at the Assembly.”
“But this whole thing is based on my mother, not the bullshit my brother and them are spouting!” Sam fussed back before Renzo chimed in.
[Wait, no!] Renzo shouted as if having an epiphany. [Reaper is holding your mother here! That means he…]
Sebastian’s mind clicked right at the same time, muting his headset once more to catch what Eryx began pointing to.
[These were the calculated paths!] The operator shouted as he scrambled for his radio and darted off to the next room.
Sebastian knew what he meant as he took over his position, heart racing and sweat now beginning to bead up. [Everyone on the field! Halt your advance! This building is likely Reaper’s headquarters, meaning this is likely a trap! Halt your advance at once and regroup!]
[Remus here, Team One on standby at gates one and two!]
[Eryx with Team Two now standing by at breach point two, what’s the hold up!?]
Sebastian let out a heavy sigh, momentarily relieved by the fact nothing had gone down just then. He then turned around as he heard a commotion going on the room adjacent to him, catching Rex’s name several times. [I think Rex is about to chime in. Remain on standby!] He then took a breather, reorganizing his thoughts. “Ella, Reaper is trying to put blame of everything on Hexa again, right? This means, maybe, that he wants us to do something to get your mother killed, or to cause SOME kind of damage to blame us for, right?!”
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* ● ● North Palermo District, Buenos Aires, Argentina, SAU
“Damn it,” Sam grumbled through her tensed breaths. “I mean, I was already suspicious as it was just being him, but yeah.” Her grip was already beyond sweaty as she kept her eyes darting across the sky to her east all the while checking to make sure her radar stayed clean. She periodically checked the ground situation as well out of fear of some ambush, but each time she looked over the Enrai ground troops surrounding the building, the only things she saw were concerned or fearful passersby as they were diverted by Rex’s men on the ground, as was with the traffic barricades they set up.
Her trigger safety was still on, but just by having her rifle out, she was now more aware than earlier of just how exposed she felt without Antares installed or accessible.
Simulators always go just so far. All I can do is… do what I can. She closed her eyes with a sigh, focusing on what she could do then and there.
“Elijah, what are they saying at the Assembly, now?”
Some time passed before Renzo first interjected: [Ella! What are you imagining over there?]
[They’re voting,] Sebastian responded quickly after with a stiff tone. [They’re… voting on a motion to allow a new vote for commissioner.]
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Sam immediately turned her LTAC to face the eastern sky once more with a keen eye on her scanners.
This timing…
She knew now there was no way her mother wasn’t involved with the current events somehow. The only issue was waiting to see what was going on with the unidentified sea vessel that just surfaced.
[By the way,] Sebastian added while the channel remained silent. [Could someone please explain this whole two-fifty reference? That Orsi guy keeps mentioning it in some kind of ominous tone or so, and it’s a bit disturbing]
And right after that, a clicking sound rang over the channel, signaling what she knew was eventually coming.
“New reports confirm that there is indeed a well-established defense network past breach point three,” Rex’s voice chimed in, both to everyone’s relief and dismay. “All units stand your ground until we get updated information from Enrai’s analysts.”
“But what about that ship?!” Sam blurted out before thinking.
[You heard the man!] Remus snapped back. [All radios silent until Rex or Enrai speaks!]
Another clicking sound joined the channel, signaling another digitally masked voice entry. [Ship hostile! LTAC units, find cover behind a west-facing wall!] Enrai shouted in a raised manner she hadn’t heard thus far.
WHAT?!
[All ground teams, take shelter inside!] He continued as she wasted no time pivoting and placing her back against the building just behind her.
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▽ ▽ ▽
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Isaiah had ducked off from the main hall, and as he approached the men’s room as he intended to pass off for needing to relieve himself, he checked to make sure he wasn’t being tailed. And with a quick glance at his watch, which was quivering from his shaken nerves, he quickly headed past the restroom area and toward one of the connecting hallways that would lead toward an exit.
Sudden panic and distant shouts began echoing through the halls, and through the cacophony he knew his timing was on spot, picking up the pace and walking against the new flow of foot traffic rushing back toward the center of the assembly building.
And as he finally made it out one of the back emergency exits, he looked to the northeastern sky to see a rocket airborne, quickly picking up altitude. “On my way now,” he spoke into his watch before hopping into a small sedan that had just pulled up. And as he hopped into the back seat, he looked to the driver and called out: “Status of the captive?”
The driver shook his head once in a tight-lipped manner before responding: “Bishop gives us orders, now, and I cannot move you safely until we are given a green light.”
Isaiah’s chest instantly suffocatingly tightened up the instant he heard that peculiarly heavy, British-influenced accent and saw the unfamiliar face of the driver. Everyone he monitored in Bishop’s local group was just that, locals who for the most part had very limited English if any at all. But before he could muster up his own response, his mind raced at the thought someone likely from Rex’s latest wave of hires was working for Bishop, pondering the idea of a setup.
But nevertheless, the driver was not the one he called, and he risked being done in even worse if he were to make sudden moves, electing to choose the safer option until he could plan a way out. “You don’t understand. I have to get to my outpost,” he attempted, trying to buy some time.
“Your outpost is surrounded by Enrai and Rex goons. Until it’s safe, I cannot move you.”
“I know that!” Isaiah unintentionally raised his voice, forgetting how rattled he was by his earlier realization that Orsi’s comments about his mother were far too suspicious to let go any longer. “I’m going on foot if I have to,” he added more politely before reaching for the handle. Door locks clicked, triggering his suspicions fully.
“Sorry, orders are to keep you under watch until the green light,” the driver repeated as several men outside emerged to surround the car in a subtle, dubious manner. “We have no intention on hurting you. Just stay seated.”
His mind began to race between what few options he had, realizing his best choice the instant he heard the soft, echoing boom from what he assumed to be missile afterburners amidst a raising of voices in the distance. He quickly tapped his watch to a preset frequency and adjusted his earpiece volume, listening in.
[That’s not a rocket,] a voice shouted through heavy interference. [That’s a cruise missile!]
[And it’s headed northeast of here?!] Another confused voice added. [Get the possible targets pulled up, whatever is in range of that thing!]
[We don’t have time nor the equipment for that!] Shouted a voice Isaiah recognized coming from Sebastian from prior engagements. His head nodded in disappointment, knowing his sister was no longer a probable participant but a confirmed one. He wasn’t surprised, however, as he knew their target was exactly the same.
A sudden, stronger thud was felt, reminding him of what comes from a shockwave.
“They were closer than I calculated,” he spoke aloud, checking to see the driver’s situational awareness before proceeding with his next thought-up plan of action.
“Project Excalibur is no more,” the driver answered as he checked his mobile. He then turned with a slight grin. “That’s both of their prize machines gone. Hexa is in checkmate, now, so why the hurry?”
Isaiah hid his grimace, realizing these men really were paid off by Orsi. He now spent the next moment pondering the chance his current partner had plans to turn on him after all or if this was an insurance policy he took out on him.
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▽ ▽ ▽
Sam breathed easily after realizing the target was far away, but the relief was short-lived. What she heard over the radio afterwards would only further escalate her fears.
[Damn it!] Remus’ voice fussed through increasing interference. [That was the ship Hexa arranged to arrive under cover to our port outpost tonight!]
“Wait, WHAT?!” Sam blurted out unintentionally before carrying the momentum. “That was the target!?” Her heart sank into her stomach. Her last hope she sat on in the back of her mind was the thought that no matter how rough things would get, she could turn the tide on whatever situation once the real Arondight arrived. The much-weakened but well-sensed shockwave that just passed moments ago served as the proof that drove the gut-punch in further.
“Ella!” Sebastian shouted out through so much interference he was almost indistinguishable. “You-”
[Jamming!] Renzo shouted with a heightened sense of urgency over the line-of-sight communications line he kept open. [Aw Hell! You all know what this means!]
[Well, brother! Cruella!] Dani nervously followed suit as she joined in. [If we’re cut, they’re cut, too! Eyes open, safety off!]
Sam knew she couldn’t sit there stunned, taking a quick breath before reaching for a few settings. “Turn your L-Trackers and mass-movement sensors on! They can’t jam our proximity systems at least!” And as she did so, she figured the worst they would see at this rate would be nothing worse than what they saw in Bogota, Dhaka, or Manila.
All three of their hearts skipped a beat in sync, however, that very next second as a spine-chilling screech and a blast of wind roared by, followed by another deafening burst from large-scale retro boosters- ones that Sam knew should only be heard from a full-sized, military-outfitted mech.
[-The fuck is that thing?!] Renzo spat as he looked up and behind them.
[You’re kidding me! Not here- not now! Not again!] Dani screamed out in a mixture of rage and fear.
Sam froze in place, locking gaze with what she used to hear about in history class and saw pictures in passing, staring right into the glaring camera cluster of a wartime mech banned from operation a decade ago. It was this very image that struck terror into the hearts of every Confederacy pilot during that time, and in some cases, even those of the same Akkadian Navy her father served. But she had no time to ponder the puzzling reincarnation of the Harbinger’s most feared weapon flying a few hundred meters overhead, because if there was a chance to live the cliché of her life flashing before her eyes, she knew now might be just that.
image [https://i.imgur.com/7tZEnsI.jpg]