Chapter 23: Though Thick and Thin
June 9th, 3239, 0911 hours
Earth
En route to Shinjuku District, Japan

The Black Bat sure felt like it was a civilian model. These ships were designed for absolute comfort while allowing a vast amount of maneuverability. While ships like these were indeed rare, they offered some of the best rides in the world. Rouge guided her baby through the atmosphere. With most of the traffic around Earth heading to travel hubs such as Japan, their approach would probably go unnoticed. Rouge set her craft on an approach vector into the atmosphere.

"Hang on, gentlemen. This is going to get a bit rocky."

Chris, Reyes and Konstantinos held on tight as the Black Bat entered the atmosphere. The ship rocked about like it was a toy. They all jumped in their seats. Outside, the black hull was lit up by the orange glow of atmospheric reentry. The Marines were well used to this sort of reentry thanks to Pelican dropships frequently making the trip through a planet's atmosphere. Rouge's journey on the Phoenix a few years ago did not seem to dampen her quest for style and comfort. No doubt she was still living off her riches obtained in that little adventure.

"This thing has Slipspace drive on it?" Chris asked.

"It wouldn't be much of a starship if it didn't, handsome." The bat replied.

"Why would ONI give you your own bird?"

"I'm Section Zero, Chris. I'm sent out to do high profile government missions."

"Oh yeah? Like what? Assassinations?"

"If I tell you I have to kill you, handsome."

"I'm already a dead man." The Human replied.

Rouge sighed. "Alright. I did my share of wetwork over the years. I was given names of targets and was told to deal with them in any way that I could."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"The usual: long range sniper kills, poison, sabotage… among other things."

"You were never up close and personal?" Konstantinos asked.

"Not until about a couple years ago… when I was forced to strip and step into a Marine uniform. I'm sure you remember that one, Captain."

Reyes raised an eyebrow. Chris smiled slightly, he wasn't particularly proud of that moment, but Rouge had been a valuable asset to the team during the time she stowed away on the Phoenix.

"Wasn't it fun though?" the Human asked.

"'Fun' wouldn't have been the word I would use. I still remember the Krayt Dragon, Human."

"A What?" Konstantinos said. "Dragon?"

"A very long story." Chris said.

Nobody asked any more questions on that subject.

The Black Bat broke through the cloud layer and blasted over the ocean. Along with her, large cargo craft coasted along traffic routes with fat containers held by clamps. They presence of such large craft meant that they were coming towards a metropolitan center. The first of the skyscrapers came into view. They were massive, just as large as the ones in the US, but they followed much more angular designs. Some resembled pyramids, others resembled inverted tops, and many other designs that made cities in the United North American Federation. It seemed almost alien, but this was very much a Human city.

"Take a look out the windows, guys." Rouge said.

The buildings were covered in kanji characters, advertisements and video screens broadcasting Japanese news.

"Would you look at this place!" Reyes said. "Hell, I grew up in a town where nothing went higher than five stories!"

Rouge chimed in, "There's a bit of an issue: I can't get you in to the area where you need to go directly. I'll have to drop you off at a cargo dock momentarily."

"Won't they think it's odd that you're dropping off military personnel?" the Captain asked.

"An astute observation, Chris." NICOLE responded over the COM. "I've taken the liberty of altering the landing schedules to include the Black Bat. This will give you a quick window to get off the ship and blend into the general public."

"That means weapons disassembled." Konstantinos said.

"Correct." NICOLE said. "We'll have to try and pin a way to get into the secure location where Hera, Jackson, and Roan are located."

"Jackson and Roan are our primary marks. If you find Hera, bonus."

NICOLE whispered into Chris' ear, "I think you're starting to take this way too seriously. Cool it."

Chris didn't respond and just sat tighter in his seat. "When do we land?"

Rouge checked the computer. "Seven minutes. Get those weapons stored in bags and be ready to move."

Chris, Reyes, and Konstantinos. Pulled apart their weapons and stored them within duffel bags. It took less than ten seconds to store the rifles. For Chris, it took close to thirteen as he quickly learned how the gun was put together. If everything went smoothly, he would not have to use it.

"Anything else we should be preparing for?"

"We have a man on the ground."

"We do?"

"Andsworth called him in right away. We got lucky as he happened to be on another assignment at the time. His name is Borne."

"Should I know that name?" Chris said, brow furrowed in thought.

"Looking it up: Ah, here it is. William Borne, a candidate for OMEGA."

"What happened? He obviously didn't get in. If he was, he would have been with us."

"He was trying." NICOLE said. "Things were a lot more difficult back then. Sally demanded a high level of experience to anyone hoping to gain access to OMEGA. She recommended he serve a tour of duty in the ODSTs to show he was ready for the heavy missions."

"ODSTs?" Reyes said, aghast. "Good Lord, was she trying to get rid of him?"

"In hindsight, I think Her Highness had no idea what she was signing him on for. However, that isn't the juicy part. The best part is that Borne went on to win himself a Bronze Star, a Legion of Merit, PLUS an officer's commission right on the spot."

"This guy seemed perfect!" Chris said. "Why didn't we hire him on?"

"Borne didn't want to leave. He loved his outfit and was loyal to it… however, he started to voice his political opinions following the mysterious death of John LaFarge."

"Uh oh… not a smart thing to do." Chris said.

"Oh you got that right." The AI said. "They were lucky they didn't shoot him. He was thrown out but was lucky enough to keep his awards. Probably to shut him up."

Konstantinos said, "So how does this guy connect the dots with the Admiral?"

"Simple!" NICOLE said, "He's simply tired of it all and wants it to end!"

Rouge nodded over the controls. "I noticed he was making all the wrong calls and put him in touch with Andsworth. Borne was already on Earth, and as soon as he got the word, he was on the first flight here."

"Well, I'm not complaining. The more hands, the better."

"Amen." Reyes nodded.

"We're coming up on the cargo dock. I'll touch down briefly to let you off, but I'm back in orbit after that. No sense in me sticking around to get caught."

"Good idea." Chris said. "We'll keep in contact."

"I'll coordinate with NICOLE to get you files or codes to get you past doors. Good luck, handsome."

"Thanks. We'll need it."

The Black Bat swooped over a small building and dropped onto a lightly populated cargo deck. At the sign of the black ship hitting the metal pad, a couple of surprised workers looked at their datapads to make sure that the ship landing was one of the company models. Dumbstruck, the dock workers gazed as the vessel briefly touched down, dropped off three men wearing caps, baggy jackets and duffel bags. At once, the foreman, a tall and thin man, ran forward and demanded an explanation.

"Chotto, chotto! Nani o yaru ndesu ka?"

Chris' Interpreter read the sentence and spoke it into his ear in Japanese-accented English: "Hey, Hey! What are you doing here?"

Chris spoke back to the dockworker, trusting that the Japanese man had the same device on his ear. "Don't worry; we're just on our way through."

"Jigoku wa nanidatta ka. Ikutsu ka no ID misete!"

"What the hell was that? Show me some ID!"

Chris exhaled, "Look, your chart will show us as being cleared to land. We simply didn't have any room at the government sanctioned sites so we had to use an empty one."

"Shikashi..."

"But…"

"Go ahead and look! If you hold us up, I will personally inform your superior! You want that?"

The dockworker gulped and backed away from him. The man backed away and went to take inventory of the cargo containers that were there.

"Smooth." Reyes said.

"I try. Let's walk."

The three men made their way to the exit of the cargo dock. Chris tapped his ear communicator. "We're in the city."

"Acknowledged." NICOLE said. "You should be emerging near a pedestrian side road. If you continue down that path, you should be on Imosho Street, a raised road."

"Can you tell us where we are supposed to meet Borne?"

"His last known position was near a bar a few blocks from your position. Move towards the NAV point I'm putting down and try to remain inconspicuous. If you feel you might get searched, I can cover as your dispatcher."

"Thanks, NICOLE." The Captain said. "Alright boys: we have a NAV point on where we are meeting Mister Borne. Try not to get arrested."

"Perish the thought." Konstantinos laughed.

The men went down the service road where people went past them on pedal bikes, mopeds and small hovercraft as well. Vendors were on the side of the road trying to sell things like food, drinks, and jewellery. Even with the Interpreters, the Marines found it difficult to understand just what was going on.

"Fresh fish from the docks!"

"You! Are you American? I have many American goods just for you! Price is negotiable!"

"Darling-chan! Your neck would look beautiful with a string of beautiful beads around it!"

"Gentlemen! How are you, yes? You want electronic equipment? I have the best tech for vehicles and aircraft this side of Shinjuku!"

This was a much more hard-living city than many others. The three gazed at the street vendors, the animals and the children that ran all over the place, and suddenly felt very disconnected with the rest of the world.

"So, this is how the cities really are, huh?" Reyes said.

"Only the less fortunate parts." Chris responded. "We have areas like these in New York. Even though most of the population is generally well off, there are those that scrape a meager living. Sure doesn't feel like the 33rd Century here."

"More like the 19th, maybe." Konstantinos said.

They had arrived at the main road. This was a wide avenue. People walked on pedestrian roads that hugged the sides of buildings. In the middle of the 'road', vehicles coasted between the walkways. Konstantinos leaned over the railing to look what was down below. His face turned a slight shade of green and he quickly made his way back.

"That is a long way down. Christ, I was never comfortable with heights. I grew up on sea-level ground!"

"You and me both." Reyes agreed.

"Nah, I was pretty comfortable with heights. Although every time when I was a kid, there was a little voice that came into my head every time I looked over a railing. It told me…'

JUMP.

"What?" Reyes said. It told you what?

JUMP.

"Captain." Konstantinos said. "Captain!"

Chris was staring over the railing. He was suddenly struck with an uncharacteristic bout of vertigo. His head spun and he wandered back from the edge. He blinked rapidly, and suddenly he saw something across the walkway. A young Japanese man, probably around 25, was climbing over the railing with a depressed look on his face.

"Look! Over there!" He stammered, pointing a finger while moving immediately. Both Konstantinos and Reyes looked confused. He still moved to the closest bridge that would take him to the other side of the street. He tried to get the person to stop his suicide attempt while breaking into a run. "MATTE!" he shouted, as prompted by his Interpreter. "TEISHI!"

Reyes and Konstantinos were behind him trying to get the Captain to slow down. They were half-way over the bridge when they caught up to him.

"What the FUCK are you doing? We're trying not to draw attention to ourselves, and you go shouting and running!" Reyes hissed.

"Get off me!" The young man shouted and ran ahead over the chasm. He was out of breath when he reached the man, who hadn't jumped yet."

"Teishi!" Chris breathed. "Stop." He coughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you speak English?"

"Yes." He heard the man say, but it wasn't in a tone he was expecting to hear. The Japanese man's face turned to face Chris, and he started to sweat in fright as he saw his own face looking back, but with an insane smile on his face.

"Jump." The mirror image cooed. It reached to grab Chris' shirt, and then let go of the railing to fall to its death. Chris lost his footing and followed the hellish apparition, when Reyes' powerful hand reached out and grabbed his collar. Chris looked down and saw the body spinning into the darkness. He blinked once and it was gone; just vanished into thin air.

Reyes grunted and pulled Chris back over. "You alright?"

Chris sank down and sat against the railing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm OK."

"What the fuck just happened?" Konstantinos asked. "You nearly took a base jump!"

Chris shook his head. "You didn't see the man?"

"What man?" Reyes asked.

"The man who was about to jump… oh no, not again."

"Is there something you should be telling us?" Reyes asked, in an almost threatening way. His dark brown eyes stared inquisitively into Chris'.

"My head hasn't been right recently… I'm a bit… damaged."

"You're seeing things." Reyes concluded.

Chris wondered why NICOLE didn't butt into the conversation by this point, but it was probably because she felt Chris didn't need someone diagnosing him.

The Marines asked if it was going to always happen like this. He assured them that this was only a rare thing that would only come up every now and again. Chris requested that he be slapped or shook back to reality should it happen again.

"Slapping my commanding officer? Hell, you don't need to ask me twice." Reyes smiled.

"Don't get used to it." Chris scoffed. He looked around and saw a few people shooting him glances. They shook their heads, raised their eyebrows slightly or just quickly glanced at the strange-acting foreigner. "Did I make a scene?"

"By trying to kill yourself? Strangely enough, not as big of one as you would expect. There were a couple of odd glances as you were shouting to thin air, but once the big guy pulled you over, everything was back to normal. One guy on a bike was looking for a police officer though." Konstantinos explained while glancing around.

"We'd best get out of here." Chris concluded.

"You'll need to find Borne's location." NICOLE said. "I want you to continue northward, take a left at the next major road, and look for a bar called 'The Canadian Goose'."

"We're looking for a Canadian bar in Japan?"

"It's not unlikely to find international references or stores themed around them. It's still as Japanese as you can get; they just have a Canadian theme to it."

"Great. I could use a beer." Konstantinos said.

The road went on for close to a mile or so. They passed quite a few buildings as they went and decided to watch the advertisements as they went. They were mostly animes that were either showing off upcoming movies or endorsing a product.

"Are you a fan of anime, Captain?" Reyes asked.

"Honestly, no. Can't follow it."

"I have a little brother who can't get over it. Can't believe he gets them all the way out on Ceta Centauri!"

Chris racked his head, "That's the water moon of Alpha Centauri II, right?"

"Yeah. Have you ever been there?"

"I was on Alpha Centauri II when the Terrans attacked."

Reyes looked surprised. "Shit, you were in on that?"

"Yeah. I was in Huron, the northernmost city."

"My grandma lives in Huron! I was slugging it out in Lafayette! That's on the other side of the planet!"

"What happened?" Konstantinos asked. "I didn't enlist until '36."

Reyes decided to explain it to his removed colleague as they rounded the corner. The separated road became one as the flow of traffic continued to head in another direction. Like the street they were just on, it was totally congested with people that were riding bikes, driving small land vehicles, selling things and just going about their business. Chris in particular never saw this many people in one place before. He squinted and looked for the bar. He couldn't read Japanese katakana, which seemed to be what most of the storefront signs were written in. He saw a maple leaf under a sign reading 'Canadian Goose' in the local script.

"That looks like the place." The Captain said.

"So THAT's what a Canadian goose looks like." Reyes said. "Never saw any in Lafayette."

"Before anything else happens, I noticed a spike in your blood pressure, Chris." NICOLE whispered in his ear. "It almost happened again, didn't it? Don't speak. We need to finish this now. Once all this is over, you're getting intensive treatment. Maybe they can find a way to get the Cipher out of your head."

The bar was crowded with people drinking and spilling their beverages while laughing. Rock music was playing in the background too. This seemed like a lively bar in this neighborhood. Chris walked up to the bar and hoped that the bartender spoke English.

"Excuse me."

"Mama ni shite, gaijin."

"Get out of here. Outsider."

The translation device offered up a series of responses in Japanese. Chris selected one: Watashi wa nani o itte iru o kiku koto ga dekirushi, watashi wa kibun o gaisuru.

"I can hear what you are saying and I am offended."

Suddenly, the bartender, a mid-aged man with a balding head, piercing eyes and a moustache spoke in English. "You have a translator. That is hardly sporting, gaijin."

"I want to ask you something."

"It better not be for a drink."

"No." Chris said containing his rage. "I'm looking for a Mobian. You wouldn't have happened to have seen one?"

The bartender turned his head. "That's him." He pointed to a man sitting on a bar knocking back drink after drink.

"You're letting him drink." Reyes noted.

"He's interesting and amuses me. You on the other hand are taking up my time."

Chris knew this one right off the top of his head: "Baka ka!"

The bartender huffed. "Alright, I wasn't expecting that. What will you have?"

Reyes did a double take. "A minute ago you were ready to throw us out. Now you're going to serve us?"

The bartender said, "At least you know the curses; more than most of the gaijin coming in here. What will you have?"

Chris wasn't going to fool around anymore. "What's the strongest thing you have?"

The man laughed. "I didn't think you would be so quick to prove your worth, foreigner. I have hot sake; unfiltered. This is as raw as it will get." He brought out a bottle and poured a glass. The liquid sat there in a somewhat milky state. Chris grabbed the glass, and without hesitation, downed it in one gulp. Even the bartender and a couple of his assistants leaned forward.

The burning sensation was almost unparalleled. He did not expect this. He thought that sake was a smooth drink that would go down easily. Evidently what was in his esophagus was not the case. First of all it was hot, almost steaming. Secondly it was as strong as grappa. Thirdly, his throat was constricted to the point where breathing was almost impossible. The other bartenders started to laugh at the man who was gripping the bar in a white knuckle hold.

"Kare wo mite! Kare wa aka wo mawashite!"

When the liquid finally set in his stomach, the Marine cleared the mist from his eyes and stood up strong. "Another." He said calmly. Even this surprised the bartender.

"You want another? Do you have something to prove?"

"I guess so. I will pay this time." Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out credit bills. He took a good fifty Credits and passed them to the bartender.

"Can you count? The shot costs 10 Credits!"

"Consider the rest a wager." Chris said. "If I can drink this without doubling over at all, I win the bet. If I cave, you get the money."

"Drawing attention…" NICOLE warned. Chris told her to shut up.

A couple heads turned as they watched the foreigner receive another glass of this steaming spicy sake. Chris gripped the glass tightly. There was 40 Credits on the line after all, not to mention his honor. Konstantinos and Reyes waited patiently. Reyes himself had his two index fingers pressed to his lips.

Chris downed the drink again and was immediately reeling from the effects of the sake. He tried his hardest not to double over and admit defeat, but even the strongest will could not withstand the effect of this particular drink, and he placed his forehead to the bar. The bartenders laughed and scooped up the credits. To his surprise though, the bartender smiled. "I didn't think you would do that twice."

"I had a point to prove."

"Well it got across. You drink like a man. What do you two want?"

As Reyes and Konstantinos got their beers, Chris felt a grip on his shoulder. Fearing it to be an ONI agent, he wheeled around to see the face of their contact, William Borne, staring back at him. He was smiling, which revealed his canine teeth. He spoke with an accent that made him think he was Southern or maybe Appalachian in a way.

"I heard all the commotion and I decided to see what was up. You must be the guy I was trying to meet." The Mobian German Shepard extended a hand. "Sergeant Major Borne."

Chris introduced himself.

"Why don't we have a seat, Captain. You can brief me on what we're supposed to be after."

Chris bowed his head quickly to the bartender who returned the gesture. He then followed Borne to his seat and made himself comfortable. There was a framed picture of a group of hockey players in the middle of a frozen lake.

"You know, for a bar themed on Canada, the bartender strikes me as a little bit racist."

Borne shrugged. "He's just a throwback from a time when it was OK to bash different people. Take it from a Mobian, sir." Borne looped his arm over the back of the booth. "What the hell were you thinking taking on that sake?"

"To be honest, I wasn't. I needed to prove I wasn't weak."

"Well, a foreigner managed to do twice what sent a man to the hospital the other day."

"No kidding."

"The guy actually happened to be Canadian. Jumped on one of the tables and shouted 'VANCOUVER ROCKS YOUR SOCKS'. Some guy challenges him to a drinking contest, orders up the special sake, and on the first shot of the round, the Canadian guy slumps over and shakes violently. Some of the locals thought he was having a seizure. They weren't that far off.'

"You were here when that happened?"

"No, I was just chatting up the people here."

"You speak Japanese?" Chris asked; he was a bit surprised at Borne.

"No, but some people here speak damn good English, if you prove that you're amusing enough to talk to that is." He smiled, but then straightened out. "Things are really going bad on the homeworld based on what I'm hearing."

Chris shook his head. "Not good. Personally I've been detached as well, given that I was on the run and all that."

"The kingdom under new management, suspicious new sanctions passed by majority vote in the UN, and if I heard the reports correctly, Her Highness the Princess has gone missing."

Chris' heart sank. He wouldn't breathe a word of Sally to Borne, but he would show that he was troubled. "It's all bullshit. Marshall's behind it, but we need to prove it."

"…And that proof lies within an ONI facility that I can help you locate."

Chris was now curious. "OK, how can you do that? You're a bit of an unreal Godsend if you don't mind me saying so."

Borne took a drink from his beer, sighed appreciatively, and leaned closer to Chris. "You see these?" He grabbed his dogtags and dangled them in front of the Captain's nose.

"ODST tags."

"Damn right they are. Do you remember when I wanted to submit my application to join OMEGA back when you guys first formed?"

"Not personally. Paperwork and logistics were handled by the Princess."

"Well then, let me sum it up for you: she told me to get experience by going out there and 'doing stuff'. I decided the best way to impress a princess was to go do daring work. So I joined the ODSTs."

"You mean you committed suicide."

Borne scoffed; his cheeks puffed up when he did this, which revealed his large canines. It made him rather distinctive, aside from eyes greener than Chris'. "If you want to put it like that, I was actually a Parajumper. What I did basically was I was shot from the ship in the pod, right? As soon as I cleared reentry, the thing basically was designed to disintegrate. I would HAHO from there."

"That means High Altitude, High Opening, right?"

"Yeah, I did. Most of my missions were confidential under ONI, so I got a bit of exposure backstage if you catch my drift. But… erm… that's another story entirely. Long story short, I made the connections, impressed the right people, and in the end, I did get to join OMEGA, just a couple members short, I suppose." He laughed again.

"So you have clearance to get into ONI areas."

"Sure do." He took a drink of beer. "ONI hasn't had a reason to liquidate me yet. However, talking to one of the most wanted men on Earth might put me on the chopping block."

"Look… I didn't do any of the shit they said on the news."

"I know; I believe you. Andsworth tried to pull me over even though I was already on your side. I mean, I knew you were crazy, but I also knew you weren't a murderer."

"Thanks, Borne."

"Not a problem. Now, who are we trying to locate, exactly?"

Chris took nearly half an hour explaining the full story to their contact. He spoke of Abigail Hera, the mysterious woman who had a vested interest in the Human's survival, and then he brought in the mercenaries Roan and Jackson who were paid by a mysterious source. Borne brought up the question of if the mercenaries knew who hired them in the first place. Chris responded that he was adamant that Roan and Jackson themselves had no idea, as the deal was probably conducted through agents or had a high enough reward that no questions were asked.

Borne became interested with his tales of Talahan and later the adventure on Installation 05 in a constant effort to escape his pursuers. By this time, Reyes and Konstantinos sat down at the booth, but made glances to the door, as if expecting trouble. Chris realized that the other two Marines did not hear this tale and were very interested. By the time he finished with his arrival back on Earth, the other two Humans said, 'So it all makes sense now."

"What?" Chris asked.

Konstantinos spoke up, "You know Reyes and I never worked together before. We were both brought aboard the Burro by Andsworth. I never knew why."

"Why then?" Borne asked, flicking his hands.

Reyes finished the thought. "Both Konstantinos and I… must have had contact with a Chaos Emerald."

"How is that possible?" Chris asked.

Reyes said, "I was on a rock… God, I don't even remember the name. Me and my unit, we were asked to remove a… 'Tier 1 Geological Asset', but that ONI bullshit and I knew it. I found it. I held it in my hand. It was blood red. But… they wanted me dead for it?" Reyes slumped back in his seat. "Jesus Christ."

"And what's your story?" Borne asked Konstantinos. The Greek Marine swallowed. "I… was just a transporter for one. It was planned as a power source on Constance… my home actually. I just wanted a look. I knew it was against regulation, but I held it in my hand. It was lighter than I thought…"

Borne interjected. "I thought there were only 7 Chaos Emeralds."

"You haven't gone as far as some of us have, Borne." Chris said with arms folded. "There could be hundreds out there."

"This is total BULLSHIT!" Reyes shouted, probably a little louder than he should have. A couple curious patrons turned around, but a quick glance from the Captain later, they twisted around. "Bullshit. Bullshit! What aren't we being told?"

"It's a code." Chris revealed. "A way to stop… something terrible."

Even Reyes went pale. "Like what?"

Chris raised his eyebrows. "I don't know. I really, truly, honest to God don't know what it is we're trying to stop. It looked like a ship or a station, but I think it's beyond anything we have ever seen."

Borne shivered. Normally a bad sign with a tough Mobian like him. This was creepy. NICOLE cut in.

"Captain! You have five foot-mobiles heading your way! Captain! HUNTERS!"

"Shit!" Chris shouted. Everyone got up and got ready to leave. The bartender noticed this and walked towards them.

"Who are you people?"

Borne made eye contact with the Japanese man. "People you really shouldn't be messing with. Is there a back exit?"

"Why?"

"Oh for Christ's sake!" Will grunted and pulled another fifty credits out of his pocket. "You see this? Is there a back exit, or should we show you what's in our bags?"

The man didn't say anything, but took the money, nodded and pointed to a hinged door at the back of the bar. "There. Go. Leave."

The Marines made haste to exit the bar into a shipping alley. It looked like some sort of tram brought goods to the shops in this neighborhood.

"How long do you think until they find us?" Reyes asked. They opened their bags and began to assemble their weapons.

"Not long." Chris said. "They found us here; they'll find us anywhere in the city. Our best bet is to go to the ground levels.

"Good plan." NICOLE said. "I'm also getting some suspicious military COM pings from the lower levels. They're encrypted too. Difficult, but not difficult enough to stop me. Looks like our ONI facility is on street level."

Chris built his gun up with care. He screwed in the barrel, tightened the bolt, and locked it to appreciate the clack the weapon made as it was ready to fire. He squeezed the trigger to unlock the weapon. He reached into his pouch and pulled out an ammunition magazine. Peeling off the lid, he quickly inspected the coffin magazine and inserted it into the rifle. Lastly, he pulled the bolt back, locking the first round into the chamber. The tool of war was now ready.

"This is it, guys." The Captain said. "We're about to engage ONI forces. Rules of Engagement are Fire if Fired Upon."

"Aye-aye." Reyes said. He snapped his weapon together.

"I'll follow your lead." Konstantinos nodded.

Borne grabbed Chris' shoulder though. "There's something else isn't there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This is about more than getting Marshall." Will said.

"There is more." Chris said simply. "It's personal. Now are we going to storm the fortress or sit here while Hunters tear apart the town looking for us?"

Borne pulled out a heavily modified pistol, extended the stock, and loaded an extended magazine into it. "Let's roll, sir!"

The four men sprinted down the alley, pushing aside any people that were in their way. Thankfully it was a sparsely populated service road, and before long, they found a cargo lift.

"This will take you to the street." NICOLE explained. "Follow my directions from there and then Mr. Borne can help you get in the complex."

Reyes reached to press the button. "Here goes nothing boys. We're heading into hell." He tapped the down button. The lift lurched, and then descended into the ancient depths of the city.