Genesis Crisis: Resurgence IC

Ergo Research
- Lenka -

“I wish I was that cool,” Lenka replied to Keynes with a grin.

Her expression became a little more serious when she heard the acute danger that potentially any magic user was in. Her eyes drifted over to Rise. She didn’t look very happy either.

“Well, maybe Kokonoe can develop a vaccine or something to keep you guys safe?” Lenka asked, still sounding positive. “Why don’t we go see her? I’m sure they are already working on something.”

She didn’t really like the idea of having to go home before any of this was over and properly solved.

---------------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Ehlana stood in the room next to the Redcape. The room was empty right now and she watched on the monitor how it fought against the bonds. Her hands tightened. She was so close.

Suddenly the intercom buzzed. It was Kokonoe, ordering an IV for the Redcape. A smile played around Ehlana’s lips. This was just the chance she needed.

“We’re on it,” she replied through the intercom, keeping her voice quiet and soft to mask her accent.

A swift look around the lab revealed enough equipment that would pass for an IV if no one looked too closely. It shouldn’t be too difficult, the Redcape was already hooked up with several needles and tubes.

Ehlana walked into the Redcape containment room and pretended to set up the equipment for an IV. She had walked in from the far side, keeping her face away from the cameras.

“Alexei,” she said calmly into the com. “I have a shot at taking the Redcape down. I need that distraction now.”

The IV was in place. She only needed to inject the Redcape with the syringe directly into its bloodstream. Her hand tightened around the syringe in her pocket in anticipation.

---------------------------------------

Ergo Research Lab
- James -

James sat down at a computer and pulled up the files on the Redcapes.

“Fortunately there aren’t that many confirmed cases,” he said. “I had Jax check if we could locate any of them through their Bio bands, but it was only partly successful.” James shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know how else we can locate them after they took off.”

He sighed. “Let’s try the IV first and see if that works,” James said and watched as some researcher walked into the containment room, carrying equipment to hook the IV to the Redcape. "And let's focus on adapting the strain silencer. I feel like that's the best we can do for now."

Aegis

- Keynes -

"Oh, I agree." Keynes responded to Rise's statement. "But that doesn't mean you all have to be the vanguard."

He reached out and snatched Millie back into his arms, and she snuggled against his chest.

"I, more than anyone, know what you lot are capable of, but that's no reason to unnecessarily place you in harm's way." He paused for a moment, letting out a weary sigh.

"At the end of the day, it's neither your decision, nor mine though. The Council will be the ones that have to decide now..."


"Speaking of which," He glanced at his watch with a frown, "I should be saying goodbye to the missus. It'll take me some time to prepare all this information once I get back to my office. So, I'd better get to it."

------------------------------------------------

High General's Office

"I know, I know..." Alina groaned, leaning her head back to look up at the ceiling.

"Why in the world did I ever let you convince me that being the High General was a good idea?" She asked with a smirk, trying to add some levity to the situation.

"In any case, we'll have to make sure Luke Jaron is properly documented." She sighed, reaching for his file and scribbling a note on it. "Call security at Ergo, and alert them that he's not allowed to leave the premises until we've had a discussion concerning his strain."

Ergo Research Lab
Luke Jaron

"I am not trying to say that others are not important as my friend here... the war had cost me enough... enough to lose what I used to have. He is the very person help me to find new beginning .... If I lose him here, like this, without doing anything... I don't know if I would have strength to live on..."

Luke commented at Kokonoe's cold remark of existence of other Redcape and they all share the same fate as his friend.

Luke bite his lips, "I know I sound dramatic... But weren't you all in my position once...?" He looked at Kokonoe and James, his eyes steady, but voice gave away that he was scared of what was going to happen to his friend.

Luke stayed silent as James talked of what was going through with other redcapes and what they were going to do with his friend.

A new researcher came in, Luke's eyes were on the researcher who just came in. He could not help it, but notice that something was off about that researcher. The way how she was trying to hide her face...

Or perhaps he is being too paranoid.

"Wait." Said Luke, looking at James and Kokonoe. "If it's okay, could one of you teach me how to insert IV...? Maybe that would make me feel better..... please?" Luke asked in pleading manner.

Ergo Research - Mess Hall

It seemed both Lenka and Keynes were eager to get to the lab and talk to Kokonoe, so the three of them - with Millie cradled in Keynes' arms - got up from the table and left the mess hall.

They had made it down the hallway when suddenly a faint tremor shook the building and the power seemed to go out in most places.

"What was that?" Rise asked, biting her lip and looking at Keynes.

---------------------------------------

Ergo Research - Lab

Kokonoe nodded at James, giving the IV cart only a passing glance.

"Yeah, I'm going to need to focus on the cure. Keynes and Jax will have to focus on recovering those other Redcapes if they can. If they can't, well..."

She shrugged. She couldn't afford to get emotional about it with so much riding on her shoulders. All she could do was her best.

Luke seemed to have a different view, though, and Kokonoe couldn't help but be a bit annoyed. Pep talks weren't really her thing.

"Being scared is natural. Feeling helpless is natural," she said. "But if you really want to help your friend, the best thing you can do is trust people who actually know what they're doing."

She shot him a withering look.

"Which is why I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you asking to teach you to prepare an IV. Honestly..."

She turned away from Luke and James to give the assistant the go-ahead. She didn't look familiar, but then again, Kokonoe had a bad habit of forgetting most of her staff anyway. Useless, the whole lot...

"Well, we're not getting any younger," she said to the technician. "Go ahead and-"

The building gave a gentle tremor, and the hallway lights went out. Kokonoe's equipment and computer remained on, however, supplied by a backup generator.'

"The hell was that?" she said, just as Rise, Lenka, and Keynes burst into the lab.

[OOC: Noin, don't have Ehlana make an attempt until everyone else leaves the lab to go after Alexei.]

------------------------------------------------

High General's Office

Jax smiled at Alina. She might groan at the burdens of office, but he knew she could never pass off the responsibility to someone else unless she felt they would do a better job.

"You've never needed me to persuade you to do anything," he said, laughing. "Just to assure you that I'd be there to back you up."

It took him back to their first days together in the bunker. It was hard to imagine how he'd lived so many years without her.

Jax shook off the thought and pulled out his com to reach Keynes at Ergo. Something seemed to be interfering with the signal, however.

"Communications at Ergo are down," he said, frowning. "You don't think...?"

Ergo Research Lab
- James & Lenka -

"What the hell was that?" James asked when suddenly the lights turned off and only back up power kept a few things running.

He turned to one of the computers and pulled up the system report.

"There seems to be a problem with the power source," he said, answering the unasked questions in the room. "Ehm...how long will that containment field last?" he asked Kokonoe slightly worried.

Just then Rise, Lenka and Keynes came into the lab, looking equally alarmed.

"Did you guys do this?" Lenka asked, seemingly not worried.

"No, we didn't. It either came from outside or the power room," James replied and brought up the feed from the security cameras of the facility.

Ergo Research Lab
Luke Jaron

"It must be them" Said Luke, the fear of losing his friend now replaced by the hatred of those who turned his friend to such state.

"They must be here to prevent us from discovering the cure." Luke looked at the direction of his friend.

He wanted to stay and guard his friend, but he knew that would not do any good when the threat was out there.

"I will leave my friend to you, James." Said Luke rushing out quickly out of the lab to find out what exactly happen.

Ergo Research Lab

"Mamma!" Millie squirmed in Keynes' arms, but he held her firmly. The fact that no one seemed to know what was going on bothered him. "Mommy is busy, pumpkin." He whispered over her, meeting Kokonoe's gaze with his own.

"Finish what you were working on. I'll look into the power." Taking a quick glance around the room, Keynes deposited his daughter into Lenka's arms. "The nursery is the third door down the south hall. Keep her occupied for me?"

He gave the squirming child a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Rise, come with me. Let's see what's going on."

As he turned to step out the door, Lisa burst through it, crashing right into his chest.

"Perfect. You come with me too."

"I..." Lisa looked up at him, confused for a second. "What?"


"Right. Whatever. I assume you know what's going on?"

"No idea." Keynes growled as he moved past her and through the door. "But we're going to find out!"

Lisa blinked a few times, glancing back at the others and then at the open door, before shrugging and following him. "Well, okay then..."

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ergo Research

Marcus sat up, eyes wide open. He'd just almost been asleep when the building had shaken, jostling him back to consciousness.

After taking a moment to weigh his options, he threw the sheets aside and pulled on his boots, heading out into the hallway. Something weird was going on, and he needed to know that everyone was safe.

-----------------------------------------------------------

High General's Office

"Lambda is at Ergo." Alina said, waving off his comment. "Attacking that place would be suicide."

Still, something about the whole situation didn't sit right with her.

"Keep trying to reach them though. It's highly abnormal for them to suffer a communication outage."

Could this have come at a worse time? If she could check on the situation herself, she would, just for a little peace of mind. Only Lambda had the capability to teleport now though. All of the other research on the project had been destroyed during the uprising. If something was going wrong at Ergo, they were on their own.

Ergo Research Lab
- James -

“Ah crap,” James said when Luke darted off before anyone else had moved. He grabbed his tablet. “I’ll stay with him.” Without hesitating, he ran out after him. James shook his head, that guy was even more impulsive than Alex.

-------------------------------------
- Lenka -

“What?” Lenka asked perplexed, but automatically cradled Millie in her arms. She shot Keynes a glare, but began to move towards the nursery. Once inside, she placed Millie gently in her bed.

“What am I doing here?” she whispered to herself and began pacing up an down the room, her eyes darting between Millie and the door. She was torn between wanting to go back to the lab, go to the power room or simply stay here.

-------------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Ehlana inhaled slowly, preparing herself when the power surged. It was now or never. The room cleared out quickly and only Kokonoe remained.

She pulled the syringe out her pocket and injected it into the IV line that lead directly to the Redcape. It turned the liquid into a light champagne color and she watched as it reached the bloodstream. In a few minutes the Redcape would be beyond saving.

“Alexei, the Redcape is injected. I have a chance to take down Kokonoe and I’m going to take it.” There was a finite edge in her voice.

Ehlana grabbed a printout from nearby and walked over to Kokonoe, giving her steps a hasty shuffle. “Kokonoe, I think something is wrong. Look at these values,” she said, masking her accent by sounding panicked.

When Kokonoe turned around, Ehlana looked at her for one second and then shoved the clipboard hard at her throat and windpipe. Not giving her time to recover, she then grabbed her hair, slamming Kokonoe’s head down hard on the table.

Slowly, she took out the second syringe from her bag.

“It's nothing personal.”

Aegis

Rise hurried behind Keynes with Lisa in tow. Luke and James had a head start on them, but it shouldn't take long to catch up.

They made it to the entrance of the research facility and found Luke and James, who had stopped at the sight of Lambda outside the entrance.

"Your response was slower than anticipated," she said, regarding them. "Unfortunately, I appear to be suffering side-effects from whatever is causing the signal jamming. My sensors are not picking up any activity."

She surveyed the area, lips set. Rise approached her and looked around as well.

"They could be hiding around here," she said. "Should we split up and search?"

-------------------------

Kokonoe watched the others go, then turned to the Redcape. Her lab was protected by a private power source and anti-jamming insulation, but unless they got the main power back on, it would run out eventually. That would make things very ugly.

There was a split second where she stared at the IV and knew something was instinctively wrong before the technician that had come in drew her attention away. Kokonoe looked at her, and she looked back. In that split second, Kokonoe realized how badly they'd screwed up.

Too late. The woman shoved a clipboard into her throat, and Kokonoe gagged and staggered back against the nearby table. The woman seized onto her hair and slammed her head down on the table, and Kokonoe slumped down to the floor. Blood was running down her temple, and every breath was agony.

"It's nothing personal," she heard the woman say. Kokonoe forced herself past the pain, forced herself to sit up. She'd stared down a Majin before and beat it aside. No way in hell was she going to go down this easily.

The woman approached with a syringe, and Kokonoe only had a moment to latch onto the table and pull herself up. Her hand closed around the handle of her metal briefcase as the woman bore down on her. Kokonoe swung with all her might and bashed the briefcase into the woman's shoulder, knocking her away, the syringe rolling across the ground.

"It's personal now, bitch," Kokonoe growled, staggering toward her stash of strain crystals.

-------------------------

Arusians

Alexei felt a surge of relief at Ehlana's call. They'd actually pulled it off.

But then Ehlana hung up after declaring her intention to take out Kokonoe as well.

"Ehlana, wait-" he said, but too late. He swore and shoved his com back into his pocket. He knew Kokonoe had labeled a problem as well, but staying to deal with her now seemed like pushing their luck.

Even worse, Aegis had arrived outside. Alexei cursed under his breath and weighed out his options. Laying low was best for now, but that wouldn't last if he kept up the jammer. If he didn't, however, they would stumble across Ehlana and either capture or kill her.

Alexei closed his eyes, willing Ehlana to call back quickly and report good news.

-------------------------

Old Guard

"So, your efforts to amend your previous blunder are now underway?" Farrington demanded as he, Arianna, Kurik, and Maxim met once more in the conference hall. If Maxim took offense to this, he certainly didn't show it.

"My agents are dealing with things as we speak," he said calmly. "I think it best, however, to layer as many distractions as possible to keep them guessing. Is everything prepared?"

Farrington looked annoyed at the mere implication that he was not upholding his responsibilities.

"The first distribution wave is ready," the commander said. Maxim smiled at him, then Arianna.

"Well, then," he replied. "Shall we?"

-------------------------

High General's Office

Jax nodded at Alina and attempted to get through to Ergo, but to no avail. However, this became a secondary concern when Raidon entered the office without even knocking, looking paler than usual.

"We have an issue," he said tersely. "The information of the Redcape situation has just been publicly outed by an unknown source. Every device in the Imperial Palace received it, and reports are coming in from the rest of the Capital and other locations as well."

He gave Alina a measured look.

"Minister Winters and the rest of the Electorate are reviewing it now. They will come to demand answers. I wanted to give you at least a moment of preparation before they arrive."

Jax stared from Raidon to Alina, dumbfounded. This was the worst possible scenario.

Barracks
Nadenka Orlov

"Are you sure?" Nadenka asked being skeptical of what she had heard; no weapons were stolen, in fact, no weapon like Nadenka had asked existed.

"You could ask weapon facility, if you want. Want to change your department, doc?"

The officer smirked, and asked her jokingly, however, Nadenka ignored him and did not even react to his joke.

Nadenka shook her head, "Maybe I imagined it...." She muttered to herself and left.

___________________________________________________-

Nadenka's Residence
Nadenka & Belobog

Nadenka entered her residence unguarded, the stranger must have left if he had a brain. But she was wrong, the stranger did not leave and he was there with his weapons.

"You are stupid than you look." Said Nadenka, but the stranger smirked. "Oh, don't worry. I am going to leave, but I want to know."

Nadenka's eyes narrowed, 'Did he discover I am an officer?' thought Nadenka.

"My name is Belobog, what is yours?" Nadenka looked at the man with surprise. An information she wanted to ask and he gave it to her just like that...

"Nadenka.... That's my name."

Then the man who revealed as Belobog aimed his gun at Nadenka, "I have a proposition for you. Take me to the research lab."

"Ergo Research Lab?"

Belobog smirked, "Yes, that one. It's not too far isn't it?"

"Fine. I will take you there." Said Nadenka.

Why? She did not know, but he definitely sparked her curiosity.

Aegis

- Keynes, Lisa -

"You're sure it's some kind of sabotage then?" Keynes asked, waiting for Lambda's nod before moving into action.

"I'll take the south side. James and Rise will go north." He gave Lisa a wry grin, which caused her to instantly tense.

"Lambda and Lisa will provide an aerial scan."


"I really don't like you right now." Lisa grumbled, but placed her palms over her thighs anyway. A moment later, she lifted into the air.

"Lambda is faster than I am. She can provide cover for anyone that gets ambushed while I spread the search grid from above."

----------------------------------------------------------

- Marcus -

A crashing sound from down the hall drew his attention, and Marcus sped up his pace. It had come from the lab. Had the Redcape gotten loose? What if Lenka was in there with it?

He crashed through the door, letting out a sigh of relief when he noticed the Redcape still restrained. That relief vanished quickly in light of the scene before him though. The head researcher appeared to be locked in a fight with one of her technicians.

What. The. Heck.

----------------------------------------------------------


High General's Office

"Thank you, Raidon." Alina responded, her stare completely blank. This was probably the worst case, but it wasn't one she had been caught unprepared for. "If you would be so kind, tell them to wait in the Council Chamber. Jax and I will be there as soon as we hear from Ergo. They appear to be experiencing a communications issue at the moment."

She slowly flexed her fingers, realizing only now that she'd left behind a frozen imprint of her hand on the hardwood. There wasn't time to address that though. They needed to move on this quickly.

"Jax. I need to know how much information was made public and how accurate it is." Alina took a deep breath, pushing herself from her seat. "I also need to know who leaked it. Make your force aware that this is top priority, beyond controlling whatever public chaos may ensue."

She gave him a tense smile as she fished out her communicator. "Sorry, but I'll be back in a second."

Stepping out of the office, Alina punched in a number that she hadn't used since becoming High General. A moment later, she let out a sigh of relief when Lecarde's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, old friend. I'm finally calling in that favor you owe me."


"How fast can you get to the Capitol?"

Ergo Research Lab
- James -

“Yes,” James agreed. He looked around. The source of the disturbance had to come from close by. “Be careful. We don’t know how many there could be.”

“As soon as we can shut off the disturbance, we need to restart the main power source. And quickly,” he added, looking at his tablet.

He offered his hand to Rise in a slightly exaggerated gesture, giving her a wink and a smile. “Shall we?”

They headed to the left, along the building to the north. James scanned the surrounding area, looking for an anomaly.

--------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Kokonoe’s sudden attack with the briefcase threw her off balance. The syringe rolled away and Kokonoe attempted to get away. Despite looking a bit dazed, she was quite angry, reaching for something on the table.

Ehlana wasn’t having any of that. Quickly, she grabbed Kokonoe’s wrist before she could get too far away and jerked her away from the table. Her grip was surprisingly strong for such a small person. She spun Kokonoe around and kicked her in the side, sending her sprawling over the floor.

Only now did she turn around to retrieve the syringe. Her movements were hurried now. She knew she was running out of time when she heard the door open. In a matter of seconds, she was over Kokonoe, ready to inject her.

Ergo Research Lab
Luke Jaron

Luke was surprised that everyone left the lab and followed after him. However, he did not like the idea that everyone left the lab....

As everyone got assigned what to do, Luke was left with the army officer. Luke was suddenly concerned with his fake bio-band and the tie with the old army, but he shook that kind of thought. 'Not now, I will worry about that later.'

"But wait, no one is guarding the lab?" Luke asked the man, the sudden horror popping up in his head. "We do not know how many of them are and we are going to left the lab unguarded?"

He hoped he was worrying over nothing, but as his friend's life was on the line, he could not help, but to think about the worse possibility if no one guards the lab.

"Never mind..." Said Luke, rushing to the southern part. Trying to think too much was never how Luke did things.

_____________________________________________-

Way to Ergo
Nadenka & Belobog

"So, you are an officer? You almost fooled me back there." Said Belobog, Nadenka shrugged. "Well, I was not lying that I am a doctor." Said Nadenka coldly. "So what's your story?" She asked casually, Belobog smirked, "You are a funny woman. Well, since we still have time, why not?" Said Belobog, and continued. "We are going to take back what is rightfully ours." Belobog pointed at the sunlight.

Nadenka curled her lips, not so sure if she gets what he meant. "Sunlight? Is your head alright? Sunlight is for everyone." Belobog crossed his arms, "It's interesting how you believe that. I lost my family thanks to your empire." Nadenka sighed, still keeping her eyes on the road. "Many people lost their family two years ago. You are not the only one."

Belobog chuckled, "You think I am talking about the two years ago? I lost my family because of your Empire did not want to share the sunlight with us."


Nadenka was not so sure what he was talking about... She decided to change the subject...

"So why are you going to Ergo?" She asked, Belobog grinned. "I looked at your files. You were studying strains. You were thinking of how to remove strain from everyone by using your own, you want to remove strain from all kaddath. And well, through the files, research lab kept on appearing. So if I want my team to be successful with their mission, I got the feeling I have to cripple that system to make it easy for us to ruin Kaddath.."

"How did you...?" She was surprised by how inform Belobog was. She was sure she had made them hidden and also locked them with security password... Belobog shrugged it off as if it was too easy for him. "In any case, if you are, maybe I could introduce you to my people. They might be interested in hearing your theories."

She felt like she was missing an vital information of what he was saying. "Okay... I am not following you. You sound like your loyalty is not with Kaddath... Are you remaining member of Legion?" The man chuckled, "Oh no, I am from Arusia. A country that was forced by your empire to live underground for many years. Well, your ignorance is forgiven, but that's why we are striking you all down."

Nadenka bite her lips, shocked that there was another country, another culture, and another innocents were being tortured by her own people... "Tell me more about your country." She said to Belobog, Belobog looked at her, surprised. He shrugged, and smiled "Fine, I am not even sure if I am going to be alive in next few hours... why not?"

Ergo Research Lab

Rise rolled her eyes at James' cheesy display, even in the middle of all this chaos, but it brought a smile to her lips nonetheless. She took his hand and followed him to the left. After they'd walked a little ways, Rise stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, let's think about this," she said. "This is an island, right? They had to have gotten here somehow. Maybe instead of looking for the person, we should try looking for whatever they used to get here."

----------------------------------------------------------

Lambda took to the air beside Lisa, her optical engine scanning the environment for any signs of movement.

"Have you found anything?" she asked.

----------------------------------------------------------

Kokonoe was wrenched back away just as she reached the table, the jar of strain crystals slipping out of her grasp and rolling across the surface before smashing onto the ground. Kokonoe tried to get loose, but a well-aimed to the side sent her sprawling to the ground with a cry.

The woman had retrieved her syringe. Kokonoe knew she didn't have the strength to fight her off again. With a last-ditch effort, she frantically dragged herself several inches across the floor and snatched the nearest crystal up. There was no time to throw, for that woman was already on top of her, pinning her down with hard knees. Kokonoe took a chance and snapped the crystal point-blank.

Instantly, both were thrown apart by a burst of wind. The woman tumbled across the floor, while Kokonoe crashed into the Redcape's table, where she curled up in pain. She spotted Marcus hovering uselessly by the door and growled.

"Don't just stand there... you idiot!" she groaned.

----------------------------------------------------------

High General's Office

Raidon gave a stiff nod and swept from the office. Jax turned back to Alina, his eyes drifting to the frozen handprint on the wood of her desk. Never a good sign.

"Jax. I need to know how much information was made public and how accurate it is." Alina took a deep breath, pushing herself from her seat. "I also need to know who leaked it. Make your force aware that this is top priority, beyond controlling whatever public chaos may ensue."

Jax nodded, gave her a brief, reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, then hurried out as well.

Once Alina was alone, she put in her call. A few moments later, Lecarde reappeared. Though his features had changed little in the couple years since his departure, something in his demeanor had changed.

"High General Grey," he said, smiling. "Straight to the point, as always. Some things don't change."

It wasn't the smile she had seen so often during their days as Commanders - a plastic, unmoving smile like a doll's. No, this was much more real and raw, one from someone who had felt great joy and great pain, and finally learned to truly smile through both.

"If you're calling in that favor, I assume it's serious. I'll leave immediately."

Aegis

- Marcus -

"Sukukaja..."

Time seemed to slow down as Marcus stepped forward into the room. This was familiar. Unlike the muddy visions of his fight with the Redcape, his eyes were drawn to every motion, constantly calculating.

As the two women were blasted apart, Marcus rushed towards the apparent assailant. Her hand moved towards the syringe that had landed on the floor beside her, but his fingers wrapped around her wrist first, and the sound of glass shattering signaled the tube shattering beneath his boot.

"Now, why would you want to inject her with that, I wonder?" He asked, twisting the woman's wrist in an attempt to pin her arm to the small of her back and consequently, keep her from getting back to her feet.

----------------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa -

"No." Lisa shook her head, still scanning the ground beneath her. "There are too many trees. You could hide a dozen people in there." She waved towards the forest surrounding the facility.

"Maybe I can flush someone out though."

Taking a deep breath, she crossed her arms over her chest, then threw them apart.

"Magarudyne!"

The air rippled between her and the ground. A moment later, three sections of forest exploded with swirling winds, blasting up dust and knocking aside trees as the vortexes carved a path through everything in their path.

----------------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes -

"Don't worry." Keynes barked in response to Luke. "Ergo is one of the most secure facilities in Kaddath."

A moment later, the sound of a explosion drew his attention to the forest, which appeared to be getting turned upside down in places. He shook his head, letting out a low whistle.

"Sometimes I wonder if that girl knows what the word subtle means..."

----------------------------------------------------------------

High General's Office

"Unfortunately, it is serious, but hopefully, we can get things straightened out fairly quickly." Alina sighed, leaning against the wall behind her. "I've got to meet with the Council in about twenty minutes. If you arrive before we're out of session, your presence would be appreciated, by a few of us at least. Otherwise, I'll brief you on the situation once you arrive."

She offered him the closest thing she could get to a smile under the current circumstances. "Travel safely, old friend."

Now, if only Keynes would report in...

Ergo Research Lab
- James -

He stopped and looked around. Rise made a good point. If you wanted to get to an island, you usually needed a boat. And the research facility was actually located quite close to the shore, so another vehicle wasn’t really necessary.

“Well the easiest way to get to the facility would be to take the ferry from the Salicia Harbour,” James mused. “Most researchers live in or near the facility, but some have family on the mainland and there is always some civilian researchers or military personnel coming and going.”

“I suppose it depends on the equipment they are carrying, but if it’s not too suspicious…” he rambled on. “Then again, to create such a disturbance in the power for the entire facility, you need something big, heavy and loud…And that’s not something you just carry in your pocket. So maybe they had a boat and a car?”

He sounded doubtful. That was a lot of effort just to sabotage the research facility. But why? Why come here and crash the power. What would they gain from that?

“I don’t understand,” he said frustrated. “I feel like we’re missing something. What do they, whoever they are, gain by shutting down the power?”

“Well, if they did transport it here, they would’ve used a vehicle,” James finally said. “Why don’t we check the parking lot?”

In the next moment a section of the forest exploded and strong winds blasted up dust, debris…and trees.

“Lisa,” he groaned. “Maybe we should leave the search of the forest to her.”

--------------------------------------------

Arusians
- Ehlana -

She had pinned Kokonoe down. Ehlana couldn’t believe it. Would she actually succeed? The syringe touched Kokonoe’s neck and Ehlana was just about to inject her, when she saw the crystal in the researcher’s hand.

What was that?

Kokonoe snapped the crystal and Ehlana instinctively used one hand to shield her face. In the next moment, she was thrown back by a gust of wind. She landed hard on her side and rolled off.

Ehlana cursed under her breath. That was unexpected. All the intel had suggested that Kokonoe didn’t use magic, but apparently they had found a way to weaponize their magic. Well, there was no time to be confused about it, she just had to adapt quickly.

“Sukukaja.”

Ehlana froze for a moment when she heard the words and that moment was all it took for Marcus to grab her wrist and shatter the syringe.

He was trying to restrain her, but she twisted to her side and used her free hand to grab a hold of his boots to keep him from moving away. Then she brought her legs around and kicked him squarely in the chest to push him back.

Giving her room to move, she quickly got to her feet, threw off the lab coat and grabbed her batons from her bag. She knew she didn’t have much time. The person who had just interfered had at least the Kaja strain. So did Kurik. At least that meant she knew somewhat what she was up against.

A crackle of electricity surged through the batons.

He was standing between her and Kokonoe now. Ehlana didn’t hesitate and charged at Marcus, aiming for his right shoulder, then his right side and finally his leg. She knew he was still faster than her and the attacks would most likely not connect. They didn’t need to. She dove around his side in an attempt to attack Kokonoe again.

Ergo
Luke Jaron

Luke did not responded at Keynes, he was too focus on searching for the target. Besides, Luke decided not to worry about it as such worries won't help him in up coming battle.

However, he stopped his search as the explosion was heard, Luke sighed in relief that it was not the enemies, well, at least according to this army officer, it looked like it was Lisa's doing.

"After an encounter we had to go through, I don't think her approach is bad at all..." Luke did not complete his sentence. If he had he might have given a wrong vibe to this new stranger. Luke was about to say 'They were trained to kill, and so am I. I am not going to let them get away alive.'

Perhaps, it was the right move for Luke to have given up the inheritance. The new hatred towards these group of unknown... It was turning him back who he was... who he was two years ago...

____________________________________________________

Ergo
Nadenka & Belobog

"Thank you for your support." Said Belobog as they have reached the island. Then he pointed his gun at Nadenka. "Your service was remarkable. As now you know my country, I finally have a reason to kill you." Nadenka looked at Belobog, she shrugged. "I thought as much."

Belobog's finger was ready and the gun point was steady, then the sound of explosion rang through the forest.

Nadenka looked at the direction with surprise and so did Belobog. "Your friends?" Nadenka asked carefully, Belobog gave subtle shake. "No, that isn't my comrades' doing." Belobog quickly shifted his gaze at Nadenka again.

"Enough. I need to quickly find out what's happening here."

"You are letting me breathe again?" Nadenka asked Belobog, Belobog answered coldly. "I have no bullet and no time to waste on you."

And Belobog took off.

As Belobog disappeared from her sight, Nadenka started rented car's engine. Her gaze drifted to once again to the place where Belobog disappeared, she curled her lips.

For some reason, she was hesitating to leave this place...

Ergo Research

"Parking lot sounds like a start," Rise said, nodding to James. Before they could take a step, the woods errupted in the crackling and crashing of trees by a mighty gust of wind.

"Lisa. Always so subtle," she sighed. She took James' hand and took off for the parking lot.

-------------------------

Alexei flinched at the sudden decimation of the woods, but was relieved to see that they still had no idea where he was. With any luck, even if they did suspect the parking lot, they wouldn't try such a large-scale attack that could hurt others.

"Dammit, Ehlana, where are you?" he growled to himself, starting to suspect the worst.

-------------------------

Kokonoe staggered to her feet as Marcus leaped into action to take on the intruder. Kokonoe didn't know if that kid alone could take her and decided to help out as much as she could, when suddenly the indicators over the Redcape began to beep in alarm. The Redcape itself began to thrash and shriek. Kokonoe swore and circled around the table to look.

"Not good," she murmured. Had she injected it with whatever she'd try to use on Kokonoe?

"Kid, I need you to hold her off. We have a serious issue here!" Kokonoe cried, her fingers flying over the keyboard to diagnose the issue.

Outside Ergo Research
- James -

They arrived at the parking lot. James sighed, it was huge. He had hoped that most people would prefer the bus to get from the ferry to the facility, but apparently more people lived on the island than he thought.

“I’ll start with the cars, seeing which ones are registered,” he said, pulling up his tablet only to realise that while the jammer was on, he couldn’t access the network. “Ugh…never mind,” he said and grimaced. “I guess we’ll have to just check manually for anything suspicious.”

They started walking along the first row of cars. It was close to the forest edge they had come from. They were checking windows and trunks, sometimes even looking under the cars. It was a slow process.

The first row of cars didn’t reveal anything suspicious, so they continued with the next row from the back. Unfortunately, they were now within viewing distance of Alexei, who was still laying low with a more direct view of the facility.

Unbeknownst to them, they were slowly closing in on him from behind. Ten cars. Five cars.

“This is pointless,” James eventually said. “Do you really think someone would hide in a car?”

-----------------------------------------
Ergo Research Lab
- Lenka -

Lenka stopped the song when Millie’s eyes closed.

She’d spent a few minutes pacing impatiently up and down until Millie had become restless. Putting her own wishes aside, she sat beside the bed and occupied the young girl with a toy. Absentmindedly she began singing, which calmed Millie down.

Eventually she fell asleep.

Lenka looked around, the lights on the hallway were still dark so whatever happened was still in effect.

Aegis

- Marcus - 

Marcus grunted in a combination of pain and surprise when the woman slipped from his grasp, planting her foot into the center of his chest. He staggered back a step or two, taking a second to correct his now erratic breathing. This woman was not to be underestimated...

As if to prove his point, she suddenly charged at him, holding weapons he hadn't noticed a moment before. He brought his arm up to block the first blow, as an alarm went off behind him somewhere. That couldn't be good, but he didn't have time to think about it. Electricity surged from his fingertips to his shoulder as the current entered his forearm. Almost immediately after, another shot hit him in the ribs, which he'd left undefended when he flinched from the shock.

His body seemed to get with the program after the second shock sent a spasm through his lungs though. Pivoting on his left foot, he spun around behind his attacker, avoiding her third strike as his right leg came all the way around, planting his knee into her ribcage. If it connected properly, there would be enough force to send her flying into the table beside them, and possibly tumbling over it into the wall.

-------------------------------------------------------------

- Keynes - 

"I didn't say it was a bad approach." Keynes chuckled, seemingly unaware of Luke's state of mind. "Although it might not be the most effective in the current situation."


"I think she'll have realized that after the first shot though."

His eyes scanned the horizon again before moving back in the direction Rise and James were headed. Where were they off to? The front lot? Probably not the worst idea.

"Let's check out the main power hub." He gestured towards the other side of the building. "If we can get the power back up, we can use the defense grid on the island to help track down our intruders."

-------------------------------------------------------------

- Lisa - 

As the cloud of debris rose into the air, Lisa sighed. "Okay, maybe not the best idea for visibility..."

She turned to Lambda with a crooked smile. "Worth a try though, right?"

Ergo
Luke Jaron

"Good idea." Said Luke, "Perhaps, that would be the most effective way."

Luke let Keynes lead the way as he was much familiar with the place.

___________________________________________________

Belobog Volkov, "Belo"

Belobog stared at the ear-piece he got it fixed while he was in Nadenka's house. To be fair, it was the repairing job that had prevented him to leave.

He wanted to at least say final words to his comrades... However, who would have known this would come in handy.

He got to hope that his comrades are still alive and still using the same frequency as before.

"This is Belo. Do you read?" Said Belobog through his ear-piece, hoping his comrades would answer him.

Belobog quickly moved through the forest, he was trying to get to ergo research facility as soon as possible, and he hoped he was going to make it in time before his comrades fall.

The dead man was him and it should end it as him alone. He was not going to make his comrades lose their life.

Arusians
- Ehlana -

Apparently she wasn’t fast enough to get past him. Just as she was taking the final step, he spun around. Ehlana saw the kick coming, but it was too late to avoid it completely.

With a loud crashing sound, she landed on the table behind her. The momentum carried her over and she rolled backwards to cushion her fall to the ground.

Her breath came in short bursts when a stinging pain in her side began. Reality sunk it. She was probably not getting out of here. She took a second to connect her two batons, engaging the lock to form her bo staff, even if that meant the electricity output was gone. Using it as support, she stood up and activated the com in her ear.

“Alexei!?” she said, her voice breathless. “I couldn’t complete the mission and I won’t make it out to the extraction point. You need to get out! Get out now!” For a few heartbeats there was a pause. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

She pulled the com from her ear and crushed it with her heel.

Not giving up, she headed towards Marcus again. It was clear, he wouldn’t simply let her pass. She would need to take him out before she could deal with Kokonoe.

She took a deep breath and charged at him. This time she unleashed a barrage of hits with her bo staff, alternating between left and right, targeting his arms and legs. Finally she spun around, swinging the staff with one hand to give her a wide arc and more force and aimed for his right side.

Ergo Research

- Rise -

Rise could feel her frustration mounting as they searched fruitlessly through the parking lot. With each row they passed, anxiety began to build.

"I don't know," she said as James stopped. "But we-"

She stopped short as she saw a large device hidden between two rows of cars. She titled her head, hardly believing the possibility.

"Is... is that it?" she asked, pointing. They both moved closer and knelt beside it. Rise hadn't seen anything quite like it before, but it had to be the jamming device. It was the only thing that made sense.

-------------------------

- Alexei -

Alexei might look like a dumb brute, but nothing could be further from the truth. Hiding next to the jamming device would have been completely foolish. Keeping separated from it gave him two opportunities. If they found him first, the device could be ensured some extra time to work. If they found it first-

He was perfectly set up to ambush.

The two Aegis members barely had time to gawk at the jammer before Alexei leaped from his hiding place, slamming James in the side with one of his batons. James went crashing back into a car as Rise got to her feet, backpedaling quickly as she pulled her fans out. Alexei twirled the batons in his hands and lunged for her.

“Alexei!?”

His foot faltered. It was Ehlana, sounding breathless.

“I couldn’t complete the mission and I won’t make it out to the extraction point. You need to get out! Get out now!” For a few heartbeats there was a pause. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

Alexei's blood ran cold.

"Ehlana, wait-!" he tried to say, but the line went dead.

"Ugh!"

Alexei cried out as a fireball slammed into his stomach, knocking him to the ground. Rise was lowering her fans from casting, eyes narrowed and bristling with anger.

"You again? What do you want with us?" she demanded. Words were wasted on these people, however, and Alexei was not a wasteful man.

He sprang to his feet, and the girl brought up her fans to defend herself as he swung the batons at her in a series of rapid strikes. She was getting better, losing some of that rust she'd picked up. Not good enough though. Drawing on his mounting fury, he brought both batons up and slammed down hard, causing her legs to buckle. He was losing Ehlana, after he'd already lost-

A new transmission came through the com, and Alexei couldn't believe his ears.

"Belo?"

Pain shot up his leg. Rise had sliced across it with her fan, then rolled out of his range. Too much was happening at once, and Alexei was losing his focus - something he could not afford to do.

"Belo, where the hell are you?" he demanded.

-------------------------

- Lambda -

Lambda turned her cold red eye to Lisa and pondered her for a moment.

"Would it be helpful if I agreed with you despite evidence to the contrary?" she asked. Before Lisa could say anything, Lambda turned her head aside and focused her gaze on the parking lot.

"I'm detecting activity in the parking lot," she reported.

Belobog Volkov

"Heading to Ergo research lab, where are you?" Belobog asked, in his heart, he wished they were not there.

He did not want to lose his comrades because he had been missing in action for long hours... He actually wanted to believe that his comrades are waiting for support from the empire and this incident is happening because of civil unrest...

But then again, in his heart, he knew so well that probably unlikely because of his failure.

Outside Ergo Research
- James -

“Oh wow,” James said and kneeled down to take a closer to look at the jamming device. “That’s it.”

Before he could even move, Alexei was upon them. His attack was so sudden, James had no time to dodge and the force slammed him into the car behind him, cracking the windshield and leaving him breathless. He recognised the man from their battle in the gorge and that sent a slight panic through him. He hadn’t worked alone last time.

With a groan he got up and looked around for a weapon. He needed to help Rise. There was no way either of them could defeat Alexei on their own. From a nearby maintenance truck, he grabbed a pipe wrench.

Using the hood of the car, he gained some higher ground and struck Alexei in the back with the pipe wrench. James then jumped down, landing behind Alexei, so that he now was between him and Rise.

"Rise, you good?"