Location: Orbital region of 5680-C, Battleship Galaxia.
Time: [REDACTED] - approx. 120 hours before the raid.
The doors leading to the bridge opened, where Kenya, Naofa and Tobias walked passed [https://img.wattpad.com/54c1ab0de047e0e012bb9e1ca6617b6d132ffa74/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f52425534564356513264794a30513d3d2d3936353430363532302e313633636631363833343166363264633837373536393333333538392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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The doors leading to the bridge opened, allowing Kenya, Naofa, Jock, and Tobias to walk through. Kenya and Tobi chatting to each other idly - Naofa brought up their rear, a placid smile on her face, Jock’s eyes kept darting to her face.
“You’ve been reassigned to the… ‘Inquisition Team’?” Tobi yawned, stretching his arms, “You got any idea what it’s for?” Naofa maintained her vacant demeanour. Kenya, who had assumed he could just let her answer for him, sighed - saying;
"Not a scooby, must be important though - Seen as it’s related to the Administrators most beloved planet.”
Tobias laughed to himself, before saying, “You don’t think it's related to the stuff we’ve been facing so far right? Like the militia’n’what not,” he rubbed his eyes, the laugh dying, “has it really come to a point that we need a special unit to wipe them out…”
Kenya tried to find an answer for his friend, but could only come up with fumbled words and dead air.
Naofa blinked, her cloudy eyes clearing, “I would assume we’ve reached that point. I can only imagine that it’ll get worse from here,” She turned to Jock, “I heard that you look up to me frenchman, I decided to go out of my way and pull a few strings.”
Jock stopped walking, holding them at the door, “What’d you do?”
“You commanded the 101st right? Well, Fleet Admiral Larsson owed me a favourrrr, so I pulled them into the Oppressor fleet to act as my official ground force. You’re gonna lead them - Sorta.” Naofa sighed, her mind still seemed elsewhere.
“Sorta…?” Jock said, his face a mixture of disbelief and confusion. Kenya giggled to himself, Tobi elbowing him in the ribs.
“Yeaaaaaahhhh sorta,” Naofa scratched a blonde eyebrow, “You’re gonna serve as my official second in command. Aboard the absolution. Well, I suppose you’re now second in command of the entire Oppressor fleet - isn’t that funny.” Naofa said, giving herself a little, ‘haha’.
“Ma’am with all due respect, I know we’ve been spending more time together bu-” Naofa cut him off with a look.
“I read your file. I’ve seen men of your calibre be corrupted by the machine of war one too many times.” She walked ahead of the group, that absent expression creeping back over her face. Jock stood still for a moment to take in the information, his face flush with colour. She had flustered him.
Kenya bumped past him, then turned around to face him while he kept walking backwards, “Hey, look sharp now, vice-commander - you’ll wanna set a good first impression.” Kenya smiled, Tobias chuckling alongside him.
Jock caught up to them, straightening himself, “Obviously…” he murmured as he kept blushing.
Naofa thought back to her fight with Death. On her world, words could hold power - in accordance with the faith, or general beliefs, behind them. When… that corpse had said the word ‘him’ Naofa felt the very air change - a scent she had only ever experienced once had filled her nose. Her home - The City of the forlorn, on planet 0005-B - housed The Sky Cardinals Church. Their faith revolved around… an elder, of some sort. She couldn’t place the details, couldn’t figure it out. But the smell of the word - reminded her of the church.
Tobias gave her a bemused, if not shyly hidden, smile - before the rest of the group entered the bridge proper.. Naofa made a noise of pleasant surprise as she locked eyes with the figure by the ship's main Holo-Table. His appearance took Tobias by surprise. He was a tall man, with the left side of his face covered with cybernetic implants, marking him as one of OverWatch's rare cyborg officers. He had streaked brown and unkempt hair, with a white colored cybernetic eye in place of his right eye, wearing his military uniform. Tobi noticed that he appeared to bear the rank of Major General.
“My oh my!” Naofa said, her hands together , her voice unusually chirpy, “I haven’t seen you since the war! Goodness if it hasn’t been awhile.” Kenya gave his partner a confused, and cringe laden, face - Naofa gave him a little smile in return. Her tone of voice had put him on the back foot.
"Agent Alexandria, it has indeed," he replied. Kenya and Tobias stood back a bit.
Kenya yawned, “Care to introduce us to your friend, Alexxxxxandriaaaaa,” Naofa shot him a glare over her shoulder, “this an ex?” The figure laughed.
"No, no, no. It's nothing like that. I'm major general Reiaan Fiquel, but you may call me Rei. You see, I’ve known Naofa since the initial insurrectionist conflicts that led to the Sector C Civil war, she served under me for a time.” Rei said, crossing his metal arms.
"Hey... I recognise that name. You're in command of the Cybernetic Warfare Division, right?" Tobias said.
Naofa seemed to calm down once more, “Yes he most certainly is, although last time I saw you, you were a Brigadier General, my, how you have climbed.”
“Yes my friend, and the last time I saw you, you were a Colonel in an entirely different branch. Now you are my old selves equal. I would say we have both climbed.” Rei gave her a charming smile, Naofa ducking her head.
"What's with this reunion General? Last I checked it wasn’t your job to make friends with non-human filth.” came a dark, rough sounding voice from behind them. Kenya turned, fists clenched. He saw a tall, bulky officer in his combat gear, sporting black unkempt hair, a pair of white colored eyes and blood red scars all over his face - Tobias could feel his hands shaking slightly.
"Yeah? Non-human filth h-” Kenya found a hand over his mouth. Naofa turned his head towards her, and gave him a blank stare that he knew meant trouble, should he keep running his mouth.
"Friends, this is Commander Fox. I believe this is our first time seeing him since the war also.” Rei said, he looked at Naofa, her face now reserved.
"No way, Epsilon-2’s Commander?” Tobias exclaimed, before covering his mouth.
Fox smirked, "Looks like someone did their homework."
"Well I- er, I'm up to date with many units in Sector C and the military!" Tobias nervously replied.
Naofa giggled, “Oh? I hadn’t been made aware of your appointment. I didn’t know people of your,” she looked down, towards the lower half of his body, “calibre were given such prestigious positions.” Naofa tilted her head sideways, her hair falling in loose strands around her shoulders.
"Wanna fucking repeat that you snivelling little cunt?” Fox towered over Naofa, but Kenya felt like he was the small one here, even if he didn’t realise it.
Naofa slashed him a toothy grin, “Make. Me.”
The entire bridge grew tense, both Fox and Naofa’s knuckles gleamed white in the light as they clench their fists at their sides.
“That’ll be PLENTY, officers!” Kenya turned to watch Commander Fish entering with Admiral Kirsk, each looking especially displeased.
Fox rolled his eyes, leaning on the holo-table. Naofa reclaimed her spot next to Kenya and Jock, rubbing her pointer finger and thumb together absentmindedly.
"I'll 'ave no fighting on ma bridge, thank you very much." Fish said, his voice a thick growl.
Jock leaned into Naofa, whispering into her ear, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing... Fox is just,” she sighed, “Not a fan of anyone with any form of power he doesn’t have. Makes him feel small, I think." Naofa replied, making it obvious that there was probably some bad blood between the two.
Kirsk looked towards her, “I hope you can just chalk this up to a simple disagreement. I want you all to be working efficiently as a squad. This team was commissioned by the Administrator himself!” he paused, “so I highly recommend getting to know each other. I wont have you killing one another,” Kirsk sighed, “we have a special guest from the Naval Offices, he wishes to speak to All of you, and your subordinates.”
Fish stepped up towards the holographic table with a smile, “In the meantime I’ll need to inspect all available resources… SIGMA company, The Oppressor fleet, Mesa Squad… Maybe Epsilon-2 as well…” Fish looked around, “Where are Colonel Velstin and Lieutenant Grant?” he asked.
"Grant's down by the hangar, classic cosmic-sickness.” Fox chuckled to himself, earning a not-so subtle eye roll from Kenya.
“As for my Colonel,” Rei began, “He’s - just now told me - volunteering to abstain from this meeting on account of having better things to be doing.” Rei sighed to himself, giving the Admiral an apologetic look.
“That’s… fine, General. Naofa, Kenya - with me please, bring your lowers. You two, stay here and fill in for your Lieutenants, I suppose just these two will work. ”
Kirsk escorted the pair, and their subordinates, into another room - Rei and Fox staying behind to help Fish run numbers. Naofa maintained a close formation with Kenya, their two friends flanking them. Kenya had a sinking feeling that neither one of them would enjoy this.
High Admiral Marude sat at the short end of a long table, his arms crossed as the group entered the conference room, “You took your time, I was starting to get lonely.” he jokingly said as he stood up.
Kenya and Naofa shared a very quiet sigh. Marude was known to be… abrasive, perhaps even shrewd. Neither liked him particularly much.
"You seem awfully happy." Admiral Kirsk said, the remark causing Marude to frown.
“Ofcourse I am! The Administrator himself has decided to put me in charge of this entire operation,” he grinned excitedly, “we’ve named it - ‘Resquis Elimination.’ This is a massive opportunity for me to show the Brass I am worthy of higher responsibilities!” Marude shouted, pride filling his voice.
He continued;
“If this goes well, taking the position of Grand Admiral would be a real possibility! Hurray for me indeed,” his smile dimmed, as he took in the two Officers, “I suppose it’s good that you’re here. The problem child, and the Princess. You two are given too much leeway, especially you Miss. Niro. An intelligence officer leading her own fleet? Practically unheard of. I won’t have you screwing around and improvising like you usually do.”
Kenya sighed, rolling his eyes once more. Naofa simply grinned, she knew that she was a special case, and she truly revelled in it.
The realisation dawned on Kenya a second later, causing him to blink - he hadn’t been aware of the fact that they had been selected to take part in the Raid.
"Anyways..." Kirsk said with a grunt, “what compelled you to pay us a personal visit.”
Marude gave Kirsk a dumbfounded look, “What else for, old chum? This is the biggest case of my career, so I’m pulling in every available resource.” he leaned back, smiling, “Your Inquisition team will be helping.” He placed his hands behind his back, a smug look on his face.
Kirsk himself blinked, “Eh?”
“Great, going back there’s going to be absolutely fucking thrilling.” Kenya groaned. Naofa yawned, nudging him - she already knew about this, it seemed.
They all turned to leave, seemingly ignoring the fact they needed to wait to be dismissed, Marude stood, "Don’t forget about the mission briefing! 21:00 on 0001-C! One planetary rotation from now.” he yelled, bringing up his tablet to update the operation’s roster. Kirsk waved an idle hand over his shoulder, ushering the rest of them out.
Kirsk turned to them as they reentered the bridge, “I’ll be meeting you there it seems. I expect all of you in one piece.” he said with a pointed glance at Naofa, “You’re free to spend the rest of your time as you wish until then. Do not be late.” He walked off.
Tobias stretched his arms, “I’m starving Ken - may as well ‘beat the traffic’ and head to the Capital now. I heard the commerce precinct has a new…” Tobi struggled for the OverWatch Standard word, and switched to Native, “‘Yakitori’?” He threw his hands up, “place’n’it’s really good,” he sighed to himself, “Whaddya say?”
"Sure. Jock, Nao - You’re coming with yeah?”
Jock looked to Naofa, who nodded, her eyes vacant.
“The more the merrier!” Tobi said, walking off with Jock in tow, the two chatting happily. Kenya looked back to his partner. They had always acted as if they were close, a tightly knit unit. But truth be told, Kenya didn’t really get Naofa. He’d always viewed their relationship as a living band of lightning; always too afraid to touch it.
Naofa finally looked at him, biting her lip, “Something big’s coming Kenya.”
“I know,” he said with a shrug, “come talk about it over food yeah?”
Naofa sighed, tugging Kenya along to catch up with the rest of their group.
Yet, worry still ate at her soul.
https://i.imgur.com/mA3AY5I.png [https://i.imgur.com/mA3AY5I.png]
Planet: 5687-C
Location: Western Region; “Resquis” - Oregon, United States of America.
Time: 23:00 - PST - Two hours pre-raid.
Wanting to find answers as soon as she could, she decided to prepare herself for this upcoming raid, by pushing to her limits [https://img.wattpad.com/491145becdceef7fe6a3066cf6c9752c0e3f34d7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7945414956373332744e423334513d3d2d3936353430363532302e313633636631366335336338626238323433383739343131333434342e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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Jeremiah watched as the stormwall consumed all there was around him, plunging the region into near complete darkness. With only the distant clashes of thunder and lightning to light the area, he took the time to ponder their immediate next steps. He stood amongst the students, having decided that, if they were willing to put their lives on the line for the school then he would be willing to deal with a little rain.
He had never seen a storm of this magnitude, if he was being honest. Every now and again, he would stare out further, the lightning turning purple - distant shapes shifting and colluding in the darkness. The hair on his arms was raised, the atmosphere charged to bursting. The rain buffeted them with unrelenting rage, it stung his skin - clinging to his eyes as if trying to wrench away his vision. It was oppressive, and heavy.
He would endure.
Jeremiah roared over the storm to the students, “We will defend this school with everything we have, I promise you! I hope you all know what you’re doing, putting your lives on the line like this!”
A familiar purple eyed student approached his right side, “I hope you mean that director!”
“I told you, Loniu will have the entirety of our Initiative at her back! The four Horsemen will not fail us now!” He turned towards them all, standing tall against the vicious winds, “You can trust them! You can trust me!”
Ace materialised from soot and dead air, the space he would come to occupy briefly outlined. Serving as Jeremiah's only indication of his appearance.
“He approaches, director,” Ace’s voice cut through the wind - clear and defined, “Death says to be ready.”
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Aaron, who had been to the directors left, turned with wide eyes - dropping his binoculars.
"The Butcher comes?” Jeremiah asked, his breath snagging in his throat. His voice now also seemed clearer, the rain no longer able to snatch away the sounds.
"Yes. The storm is his doing, it heralds his appearance.” Ace began to search the sky with uncharacteristic zeal, before pointing up towards a barely visible purple light - miles into the sky, “THERE,” he turned towards the purple eyed boy, “MOVE.” he dove, slamming into him.
It all went white.
Jeremiah reeled, his head blaring. He grabbed for Aaron, who held onto him with a grip like iron. He rubbed at his eyes, his vision swimming back into focus. The space that the boy had occupied was a charred mess, the white light had been lightning - the space had been decimated by hundreds of bolts of lightning.
Aaron felt at his face, realising that… the rain had stopped.
He looked up to see that the storm had been cleaved in half, the clouds still moving in opposite directions at a rapid pace. He could make out the residual energy that continued to push the clouds apart. It was wrong, it all felt wrong. The air felt dead - he looked to Ace, who mouthed the words ‘No AuraCells’. Aaron put a hand on his hip, feeling for his pistols.
Yet they were nowhere to be seen. His hands came away covered in dust.
Jermiah roared against the weight on his body, every fibre of his being fighting him - trying to keep him down.
The scent of fear filled all their noses, the purple eyed boy frowned deeply.
“The Butcher? I had hoped that name died well before the Second Era, but I suppose these things tend to permeate.” The voice was dark, the sound like boulders smashing, mountains collapsing. It ate at his senses. Yet it sounded… Oddly human. Its accent was soft and earthy, the r’s were… rolled?
Jeremiah stood, seemingly fighting that impossible weight. He looked at the figure.
Swirling tides of blackened cloth wreathed a pale white body, the silken swaths pooled at its feet covering all but an arm and a shoulder. Each piece of fabric emanated a deep purple smog, rolling around the surrounding area. It lifted its hand, pulling back the hood that had previously concealed the face. Jeremiah struggled once more against the weight being placed upon his body. It had vaguely angled features, beautifully so, almost. Long strands of unkempt red hair rested on its shoulders, pointed ears peaking through. A bloody strip of linen covered the eyes. Judging by the arm alone, this being was pure muscle, he could see the entire arm flex as it clenched and unclenched its fist.
It sighed and the rain returned - the weight dissipated - the smog cleared. Its entire form seemed to shift, the cloth condensing, the hair tying itself up into a loose bun. Casual clothes replaced its former attire, tight jeans, and a simple white button-down, the sleeves short, open at the chest. The linen across the eyes remained. His arms looked to be tanning rapidly, his skin taking on a golden hue, scars now stark against it.
It tilted its head up, letting the rain wash over it, “I answer the summons of those… not present, but I sense it is you that wanted me here,” It pointed at Jerimiah, “Director Rythian Jeremiah.”
Jeremiah steeled himself, the presence of this being was overpowering, “You have been summoned to help us fight - Butcher. I don’t know where your… heralds are.”
It frowned, “Please, enough of this Butcher,” it waved an idle hand, “shit. I am Equinox, I would prefer it if I was referred to with less… abstract formality.” he sighed once more, “It’s true then, OverWatch returns in earnest?”
Jeremiah heard several sets of footsteps coming from the stairwell behind the figure.
“They do dad,” Cassian called, “welcome back to reality,” he looked at Filianore, then back at the figure, “you look… casual…?”
“Thought it would be best to set a good first impression, deity or no deity, always good to respect authority.” Equinox gave his ‘son’ a smile, crossing his arms.
The oppressive weight of his voice had alleviated somewhat, although the accent remained.
The purple eyed boy scoffed, “You’re supposed to be a God?” he laughed, “why haven’t you destroyed their Homeworld or whatever already?”
Aaron had forgotten that the students were still here.
“Watch your tone boy!” Filianore said, reaching for the boy.
Equinox, the figure, grabbed her wrist, calming her with a look.
He tilted his head, “What’s your name, child?” Equinox said.
“Jacob.” The boy said, staring him down.
“I see…Well Jacob, to a certain extent you are right, If I really wanted to I suppose It would be in the realm of possibility for me, to simply destroy their bases, their fleets. But this is not my realm. Where I am from, I govern with absolute authority, I am the realm I inhabit. A physical representation of the limitless power of the antithesis of reality, but this place,” he waved around him, “belongs to another, so the way I exert my will is much smaller, less fundamental.” he paused, smiling, “there are… rulessss, I cannot break them.” He dragged the word out, continuing, “OverWatch has existed in this dimension for at least two hunnnnndred years. This universe is vast, full of AuraCells - I am a ‘God’ because of the domain I rule - what I represent - It is a title that I earned through power. But here, all I do is exhibit God-like abilities.”
Jacob gave him a quizzical look, Nox sighed, saying:
“Do you think that there aren’t beings like that already in this realm? Where do you think they went?” He crossed his arms,
“I… OverWatch can kill God’s..?” Jacob stammered, clenching and unclenching his hands.
“No. They're capable of killing beings with God-Like abilities. I am a different story. It would take the full might of their army to truly kill me I think.” Equinox said, before he turned to Jerimiah and said:
“I will join you in this petty war, at least until I can fully come to my senses. Returning to reality is always troublesome. For this fight however, I guarantee my help,” he smiled, “and my advice on how best to lead an armed rebellion.”
“As long as you respect that this is my initiative, we won’t have any problems.” Jeremiah said, straightening out his uniform.
Equinox gave him a sympathetic pout, “This is your initiative, Yes. I have no interest in leading another failed rebellion,” Nox scratched his face, “They’ve evolved over the last few centuries, I should have been keeping a better eye on them.”
Aaron watched the dust around them swirl, coalescing into a thick black robe - Death had joined the party.
"I had hoped your appearance would drag the others out of hiding, Nox. It seems I was mistaken.” Death said, his hands hidden within the sleeves of his robes.
"Father." Ace quietly said, bowing his head.
"It has been a while, hasn’t it.” Death continued. Nox sighed, cracking his neck as he turned to face him.
“This call had better be for good reason Death. My jaunts into reality weren’t an invitation for you to call me back here ad infinitum. Or for you to strongarm my kids into it.” Nox chewed on his jaw for a moment, anger creeping into his eyes.
Death seemed unphased, “I simply follow the path.”
"Death, you know this guy personally?” Aaron asked.
But Nox answered for him.
“He has the ability to see the unseen,” Nox bent down, gathering the dust Aarons holsters into his hands. He clenched them together, and blew into a little hole at the top of his fingers.
He handed Aaron back two reconstructed pistols, although purple cracks seemed to run through them.
Aaron gave him a confused look, “Is this one of those ‘God-Like’ abilities?”
“No that’s basic cell-deconstruction, anyone with a high enough AuraCell count is capable of exciting the cells within an object an-” Nox was cut off.
"Moving on..." Another familiar voice said - War. He gave Nox an apologetic look, “This is important.”
The Horsemen approached.
"Our branches are ready for combat." Pestilence said.
"Well, except mine,” Famine said, “The airstrikers are still being prepared.”
"Death... you said there were others you were trying to contact?” Jeremiah asked.
“The pirate went quiet - I couldn’t get a response. The others… I had hoped Nox would drag them out, as I said, but it didn’t work. I will have to replan. This is all we have for now.”
Nox pointedly glanced towards his kids, silent words passing between them.
War sighed, “We came up here for more than a simple status check. OverWatch is making their approach, they’re looking to set up a barricade before they begin.”
Jeremiah huffed. "Then there’s no time to lose. Prepare all available defences, quickly! Send out a message, All hands are to report to their stations. We prepare for war." Jeremiah ordered, having the group of students rush into the building. Famine and Pestilence rushed to prepare while War rounded up his soldiers. Death nodded towards Jeremiah, as he vanished through smoke.
Aaron and Jeremiah then walked into the building, leaving Ace and Nox, and his kids on the roof.
"Any idea how long they'll last?" Ace asked, his head tilted.
“I will ensure our victory today, other than that I could not say. It’s about time OverWatch started taking you all seriously.”
“You will?” Ace asked again.
Nox gave him a frightening grin, as both he and his kids vanished to purple smog.
https://i.imgur.com/mA3AY5I.png [https://i.imgur.com/mA3AY5I.png]
Planet: 0001-C.
Location: Capital City, Nexus-Embla.
Time: 21:00 - Universal Cosmic Time - 26 hours Pre-Raid.
Planet: 0001-C; Nexus-Embla [https://img.wattpad.com/47d83f4ba1071b77ca1648428306fe4bf99e7e75/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4d7164335f42372d304c554236773d3d2d3936353430363532302e313633636631373137366133643130653832313839343837343636352e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
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Tobias and Kenya entered a large, and packed, conference hall. The meeting had yet to begin. Officers of every branch were in attendance, all discussing their various assigned roles or - as far as Kenya could tell - simply gossiping to one another. Kenya could see Marude, Kirsk, and Matthew, sitting behind the panel at the front of the room. Matthew was busy shuffling through Marude’s papers, the other two talking amongst one another. The remnants of a half smoked cigar sat in front of Kirsk.
Tobias pointed to the tables at the very front of the room. General Rei sat among a group of two officers, each bore an armband - Signifying their allegiance to Mesa Squad, the symbol being a small Mesa Formation. A similar brand sat on a plaque in the centre of the table. The first seemed younger than Tobi himself was, dirt caked his face and brown hair, a singular bandage over his nose, along with a gap between his front teeth that were visible whenever he was grinning. The second seemed larger, dark hair braided backwards, his face marred by burn scars. The black uniforms indicated them as a part of the OWISCB, the fact that he could see Naofa having a hushed conversation with the three of them confirmed this however. It must have been a special occasion, because Naofa was in uniform today. A well kept black First Class Agents uniform replaced her usual dress. A cap replacing the bow in her hair.
Tobi saw Naofa lock eyes with Kenya. She pointed to her right, at the far table in the front row. He could see the table for The Inquisition Team just before it, Fox sitting with his Lieutenant, and the rest of Epsilon-2. They must have given Naofa her own table to accommodate for the large size of the Inquisition Team.. He began to pull Tobi in the direction of the table as the boy was scanning the room.
“That’s Rei’s Mesa Squad that Naofa is talking to… It’s made up of his most trusted men, from what I’ve heard. Most notable among them is Rank Three Agent Zachary Calsin, and Rank One Agent Zhar Kronicus.” He muttered quietly to Kenya as they passed, Naofa nudging them both as they walked.
"They're allowing personally formed squads to participate then?" Kenya asked.
“Well… no. But Rei is a High Commander, so they’ve probably made an exception.” Tobi replied. He glanced to a woman among the outermost tables of the second row, and blushed a little. She was slim, her white hair braided down her back with bangs tucked behind her left ear while a strand of her hair hanging on the right - grey eyes on the tablet in front of her.
"N-No way!” he stammered, “It's Admiral Kuruya Remi..." Tobias again whispered under his breath. "She's participating too?" he then said, awe coating his words.
"How many Officers do you have a crush on Tobi?” Kenya teased.
"I-It's not like that!" Tobias raised his voice, blushing even more.
"Seriously though, what’s important about her being here.” Kenya continued.
“She’s Sector C’s border defence commission director, one of OverWatch's top combatants next to people like yourself and Naofa. She… has a stellar reputation, according to her reports. She was elevated to her post based on her combat ability alone, I heard.” Tobi finished gushing as Kenya dragged him past Fox and his squad.
The table they were supposed to sit at had a plaque in the middle, displaying a stylised joint insignia. He recognised the capitalised Sigma, that represented his company - but it had two carved… streaks through it? Kenya couldn’t exactly tell. Tobi stopped him short of the table, looking at the Two men sitting on either side of Jock at their table.
“Kenya that’s the commander of the fucking Notches,” he pointed at the first. Short blonde hair framed a freckled face, his pale white skin bringing out the golden hue of his eyes, “That’s Dorian Macarae, Kenya.” Tobi gushed once more, Kenya giving him a quizzical look.
“I have no idea who the Notches are, Tobi.” Kenya said, spying an approaching Naofa.
“Top secret unit of OverWatch's best snipers. They’re known by name alone - all of their missions are highly classified. Only… god I don’t even know what rank you would have to be to pull them into this… Rear Admiral maybe?” Tobi sighed, “I can’t believe there’s so many talented people in this room right now.”
“Tobi, how do you even know about the Notches, can’t be that secret can they.” Kenya asked, his eyebrow raised.
“Naofa told me about them last night when we all went for dinner, I’d heard mentions of them already but… seeing them in the flesh is actually kinda scary.”
Naofa placed her hands on their backs, pushing them towards the table, “I had them pulled in as a personal favour. Dorian’s a distant cousin, we enlisted together.”
Kenya asked as they sat down, “Why is their insignia over mine then?”
“I don’t lead an Official groundforce outside of the 101st, so I had them requisitioned under SIGMA Company's name, they’ll be split in half, between both of us.” Naofa said as she claimed her seat next to Dorian. A 101st Lieutenant to her right.
Dorian reached his hand out towards Kenya, “It’ll be my vice-commander working with you on the Raid, but it’s good to establish a working relationship. Dorian Macarae, at your service.” His accent was… aristocratic to say the least, it really put the ‘distant’ in distant cousin.
“You know you look familiar, not just to Naofa,” Kenya said as he waved to their pointed ears, “but..” He looked at the man’s uniform, the exact same one Naofa was wearing.
“You’ll likely have met my Sister, Sera. Head Medic in Naofa’s fleet.” Dorian said, his hand still out.
Kenya shook his hand, He could get along with this man just fine.
Marude stood and coughed loudly, the room quieting down.
“Alright people,” he began as he took his seat once more behind the panel. Every other officer in the room sat down as he did, “As all of you already know, Site-88 has been reporting anomalous activity from Resquis Academy,” the screen lit up behind him - several overhead pictures of the school were shown, “Three weeks ago, our preliminary strike team was decimated. The survivors number only two,” he said with a glance towards Naofa, whose face remained stoic, “This organised militia calls themselves ‘The Resistance Initiviate,’.” A stylized version of their insignia was shown on screen, a blue cross over a metallic cog in front of a white banner.
“They were a militia consisting of an estimated one hundred thousand members; according to the offices they grow more numerous by the day.” Marude continued, “In recent times, the Intelligence and Combats bureau acquired information about these rebels raiding ship-yards, housing old airstrikers, corvettes, the like. They’ve been seen stealing weapons and firearms of all types, we believe they are fully armed for this assault. This morning on homebase, the UoD announced that they’re reclassifying the Initiative from a ‘Militia’ to an ‘Army’.” He finished, the room growing more and more tense.
"What is their suspected objective sir?” Rei asked.
"Their purpose is unclear, although they seem to resemble the Council of Era One. One could only assume that they’re fighting for total anarchy.”
"The complete abolition of the entire state? That’s insane!" an Officer yelled.
“Not only insane, but extremely concerning. If their goals are to abolish our government it must mean that they want to plunge every one of our lives into total chaos!” Marude yelled, “and so far, very little has been done. At this point they’ve seized control of the entire western region!” Marude yelled again, the picture changing to show a map of Resquis. He stood, moving throughout the tables, “I’m not one for war, people. I desperately hope that we don’t have to face another civil war. But if push comes to shove I will be prepared to annihilate those that stand in the way of peace!” his voice boomed out, “the 5th Army’s military will be a glorious shield! WE WILL GIVE OUR LIVES FOR THIS CAUSE,” he began to scream, “PEACE OR DEATH. THAT IS AN ORDER.”
The room exploded into bouts of claps and cheers. Naofa gave Kenya a wincing glance, she had sensitive ears.
Marude raised his hands, silencing the room.
“So far we’ve counted over one thousand rebels on site. A couple of days ago, I ordered several additional marine trooper squads to be stationed at Site-88 in preparation of this operation.” he paused, “We can also expect the quartet, The Four Horsemen, to be on site.” He continued.
“The defecting Officer from 3012-C, calls himself ‘War’.” Kirsk took over, “Our inside sources tell us that he commands the Resistance's most versatile force; Their foot soldiers. War himself possesses prototype tech that appears to have been completely wiped from OverWatch data banks. The OWGRO has decided to open their own investigation regarding the said tech.”
“Famine, the coal miner that started the revolt in Sector B, was responsible for conducting the shipyard raids. From what we’ve been told, the SFC’s C-Branch lost over a thousand air-strikers and two corvettes. We can safely assume that Famine is the Resistance’s aerial combat branch leader, although we don’t know if this is purely atmospheric or not.” he continued.
Marude began to pace the room once more, “Maplewood. That’s where we first encountered the figure Pestilence. Pretty fitting name, seen as he’s managed to engineer biological pathogens and deadly chemicals that effectively decommissioned the Elite-9,” Jock winced, Dorian pat his back, “It is now assumed that he heads their chemical warfare branch, according to inside sources, again. Although it could also be something as passive as a Medical Branch. The last, is Death. We have no idea what he does within their initiative, but it cannot be good.”
Kenya spoke up, “Do we have any idea of what he is?”
“His race matches none on record. We believe that he is an old malevolent force given form. Perhaps as old as this entire dimension. We, however, have nothing concrete. Other than the fact that he was able to fight our Agent Niro, and walk away almost untouched.” Marude said, and then continued, “These Four Horsemen are considered high commanders within the initiative, according to intel. Second only to the Director, and his protege.”
“Lastly, we have recently picked up a power spike on a scale that hasn’t ever been seen, in the entire history of our empire. When you approach the academy, you are to be on your guard, we have no idea what this power spike relates to.”
A Naval Command officer burst into the room, a tablet in his hands.
"Mr. Marude, Sir! Site-88 reports that the area is clear for injection. The NCOs are on site and awaiting further orders." he said. Marude smirked to himself, grabbing the microphone at his seat.
“THEN LET’S GO KICK SOME FUCKING ASS KIDS!” he roared, then ordering Matthew to "prepare his car as soon as they arrive to 5687-C".
Everyone got up, “PEACE OR DEATH! P.O.D.!” the officers chanted, as the room emptied rapidly. Kenya stood - looking at Tobias, who trembled slightly.
"You good?" he asked.
"I'm gonna be honest, not really." Tobias said in a shaky voice. He froze as a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Keep shaking like that, and your enemies might find it harder to shoot ya." Fox said as he walked away, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yeah... Thanks, I guess..." Tobias replied. Jock chuckled, looking at his commander.
“You ready Ma’am?”
“Ofcourse Jock,” she turned to her cousin, “Dorian take the Notches and disperse yourselves throughout the discussed locations, I want you to meet me at my designated drop site. You’ll be injecting with me.” She said, looking at her tablet. And then continued.
“Kenya I’ll see you inside, if we end up crossing paths. If not, please look after the Notches - I would hate to have to file their death reports.”
“Obviously Nao, c’mon Tobi, we need to get a move on.” Kenya grabbed his subordinate, leaving the room.
Naofa looked out towards the skyline of 0001-C. This raid would make or break this conflict.
Jock gave her a small smile, leaving with the rest of Naofa’s men.
She hoped she was up to the task.