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O’NEILL
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The lights in the Op-Center were dimmed as usual, with the controllers looking at their screens, not wanting any glare.
“What happened?” the man who had just arrived asked. “And why was it so important that I needed to come here immediately?”
The Officer of the Day sighed, “We just received a Cat Orange Notice, sir. Complete loss of asset, body unreclaimable.”
The new arrival nodded, “One of the scouts?”
“No sir, the Warlord Malcolm. Class Five Enhanced, full armor.”
“A Class Five? What killed him?”
“Unclear. Apparently, a few months ago, a group of individuals attacked his strong point, freed all the slaves, and destroyed Malcolm and his complete power structure.”
“How did they do that? He had top-of-the-line kit for his thugs…Current tech, but still it was as good as it gets.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“The reports are sketchy. We just received them, as I said.
“How had we not noticed he’d gone dark?”
“As you know, sir, for these assets, the general op-plan has been not to push them into following any sort of orders. Simply by existing, they weaken the surrounding social structures and make them more scattered. He had been calling in every two months, but since he had been silent for three and we had a scout close by, they were directed that way just to see what had happened.
“So what did happen?”
“We’re not exactly sure, sir. It’s been a while since the event, but all the indications are that the assault was performed by a small group of individuals with standard CDO load-outs.”
“CDO! Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir, there were descriptions of General Use Transports, Mark VII Helmets, and L70 rifles. In addition, the scout who reported this stated that all advanced technology had been removed from the area, including his secure comm.”
“The transceiver is gone?”
“Yes, sir. I immediately tried pinging it, but no response, so it’s either destroyed or at the bottom of a mine or the ocean. I believe it was destroyed.”
“Why is that?”
“The safe was completely gone from the town, apparently ripped free from its location, and to get one of those open without the code, you need to blow it open. The composites that are made of are effectively indestructible without a serious cutting charge, and the transceiver would not be able to take the shockwave from a blast like that. They’re tough, but that? No sir.”
“Any idea who the raiders were?”
“Actually, yes sir…and they’re not shy about revealing themselves, “They came from the Duchy of Ceedo.”
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END PART I
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