Welcome to the Prologue of Flames, the story who's title sounds like the name of a romance fanfic despite not being so.
This story will be split into four parts, but, as Fanfiction works, it will be split up in the Chapter section by each individual chapter. I know that this kinda over-complicates things, but in terms of the story, there are 4 major parts.
This particular story began as an idea in my head 3 years ago, in 2011. At the time, I had just got an account on another fanfiction site, for a particular series of books which I shan't name. I'd read some pretty spectacular crossovers and I was inspired to write something of the same sort of writing. This particular iteration of the story is probably the 6-8th. I've COMPLETELY switched between several book series, completely altered the story line, renamed characters, changed characters...and here we are. I hope you enjoy it!
Also, for the record, this is one of my first "Stories" ever published on Fanfiction, and I'm not entirely well acclimated with the publishing methods. The first five chapters were uploaded in one chunk, and they are somewhat difficult to separate. If you see some VERY long chapters, perhaps with multiple chapters, you know why.
THIS IS IN BOLD TO GRAB YOUR ATTENTION. The first upload chunk of this story (the first 5 chapters) and likely the next will not contain Artemis Fowl content, despite that being listed as the book being crossover'ed. There is yet another notice of this at the author's notes at the end of Chapter 5. IT WILL COME. It is not there YET, but it WILL COME. If someone, after having read the whole section and reviewing it, complains to me about this, I will have a fit of rage that will probably result in me writing angrily in the next portion of the story.
Chapter 1: Good Morning, Mr. Mandaiyar…
Joseph Mandaiyar was late. Very much so. As a security officer, that was never good. All it would take was one hostile observer, and the facility could fall.
He could never let that happen. He could never let them win.
He tried to put the thoughts of getting a lecture from Freeman out of his head, but it was difficult to do. Freeman was his employer, but was more so a mentor. Joseph would definitely get an earful over this. He could hear it now: Don't you realize what could happen? What if something went wrong? What if Matarus finally went through with their attack?
Joseph felt empathy for the hero types. He'd heard the whole "discipline is not pleasant at the time" stuff, but he didn't truly believe it. He didn't have a "purpose". His only purpose had been to stay alive. Now it was to get money, get a house, be a contributing member of society, et cetera. None of which included some glorious purpose.
Suddenly, he jumped up in the air and hit the ceiling as the shuttle hit a bump. As he fell back down his arm brushed up against a sharp metal support, and he was cut by it. Several seconds later, he could see it in his head:
Minor laceration detected. Tetanus infection detected: vaccine neutralization implemented. Wrap wound to prevent further infection.
Joseph grinned to himself. Some people had little voices inside their head; he had one that read his medical status. It could even begin treatment of wounds and administration of natural painkilling materials. He seemed to have a heightened immune system: he had been at the forefront of vaccine testing for the first 14 years of his life, and he had little nano-antibodies and nano-macrophages throughout his bodies. Whenever an area of Joseph's body was infected, this voice would tell him where and how to treat it. It could even stop nausea and headaches. In a way, it felt like a special power, though he was confused by how it determined one's quality of life: Overall Health Level: 99%.
On the other aisle of the shuttle sat Dr. Ride, one of the researchers at the facility, who rubbed her head, wincing. "Nothing like a good boulder kiss to wake you up, eh?" Joseph said.
A "boulder kiss" was a term used jokingly by facility personnel referring to when the shuttle, the transit system between dormitories and the facility, would run over a rock, plant, or in some cases animal. Judging by the force of the blow, this one had been a boulder. Odd, since there hadn't been one yesterday. "Looks like you could've used one a little earlier," she retorted. "Playing more video games late at night while you should be sleeping?"
"Hey, I work in the middle of fragging nowhere. I think I deserve having a little Mass Effect 4 marathon every once in a while."
"We all work in the middle of nowhere. And I guess by "once in a while", you mean every night."
"Not every night. Maybe about three per week?"
"Oh, that makes it better. Two days off the schedule. I feel much more secure."
"You know what Fox News says: somehow playing a virtual bit of code and shooting virtual people causes sane human beings to become violent."
"So… you expect to keep us secure by just beating up anyone who enters?"
"Nah. I'll just shoot at 'em."
Dr. Ride did not laugh, however. Though Mandaiyar was joking, the threat of attack was very real. The kidnapping of fellow scientist Marc Newell the previous year had prompted the head of Research, Dr. Freeman, to hire Mandaiyar as security. No attack had come, though. Joseph saw this as a job well done; he knew quite a lot about Dr. Ride's past, and he hoped that he could finally erase the threat from above her head.
"Sector E Biology Labs", the driver said over the intercom. Dr. Ride worked in Sector E, and thus she stood up and left. "Have a good one", Joseph said. Dr. Ride just grunted in response as she left.
The shuttle continued, carrying its only passenger to the Sector C Security Complex. They arrived, and Mandaiyar left. A security guard stood protecting the door, permitting only authorized personnel to enter. "Oh man, Mandaiyar," he said, chuckling, "Freeman's gonna have a fit!"
"Laugh it up, Barnes," Joseph said. "You better let me through."
"'Course, sir," Barnes said. He pressed the door entry button – coded to only his hand – and let Joseph in. He first walked upstairs, to the Annex. Here, a variety of guards prepared for the day. A small group of them headed down to the armory. For the convenience of the security personnel, Sector C was connected to all main facilities by tunnels extending out from the building. Heavy guards were at each end of the tunnel, as for the facilities these were the only entrance points. Several guards walked down to their respective tunnels and facilities. Just a typical day. Mandaiyar, already in uniform, headed to the latter to grab his weapon and armor.
As the Head of Security, Mandaiyar got to choose his own weapon, within reason. He had contemplated taking an assault rifle, possibly a G36C, as were an attack to come he would need firepower, but then decided against it, as lugging around an assault rifle each day would be highly impractical. He instead decided to carry a handgun, a Sig P226, a reliable piece of weaponry. New officers were given the M9 Beretta as their weapon; more experienced officers could carry .44 Magnum handguns and shotguns; the top tier guards, called Heavies by their peers, could be armed with assault rifles, light machine guns, and even fragmentation grenades. These so-called Heavies were limited in number, as the facility could not afford to buy weapons for a lot of them.
Joseph also wore Kevlar body armor, and put this on. He started walking to meet up with Dr. Freeman, but turned around, reopened his locker, and pulled out additional clips for his sidearm. Better safe than sorry.
He then walked to the Office Complex. Connected to the security Annex for safety, the Office Complex housed nearly all of L-150's administrative facilities and personnel. Its only entrance was through the Annex, and the Complex was buried; no windows to allow in intruders. Freeman's office was large, with multiple computer screens and live monitors of the facility all around. He also had a secure door leading to a panic room. Freeman was sitting there, looking surprising happy for someone who had a very important late employee. "Good morning, Joseph," he said.
Joseph, unsure of how to respond, replied "Hello."
He prepared to recite the apology he'd had planned for this occasion when Dr. Freeman cut him off. "I suppose no one briefed you about this, Joseph, but there is a major test going on in Sector A. Evidently, they think they've found some way to make solar panels far more efficient. As such, I'd like for you to oversee the test, and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Sure thing, sir," Mandaiyar replied.
"I've also had reports of an incredibly late security guard. Please discipline whomever he was."
"Uh- yes, sir. I'll…take care of it." Joseph, aware of who the late guard was, replied.
"Good. See you after the test."
"You too."
Somehow Mandaiyar had gotten his neck off the chopping block. He didn't know who it was that had protected him, though. Pierce? Couldn't have been him, he barely saw Mandaiyar come in. Barnes? No, he would have seen him come in. Shephard! Must have been him. No one else could have done it.
He walked up to the main desk, where Shephard was sitting. "Ay, Adam?" He whispered.
"Yeah, Joe?" Shephard responded.
"I owe you. Thanks for not counting my tardiness."
Shephard grinned and said, "No problem. Just save my hind the next time an opportunity arises, eh?."
Mandaiyar waved and walked down to the Sector A Tunnel. The Heavy at the door checked his I.D. and let him threw. He began to walk down to the other end. On a typical day, he would have gone to Sector E or D to aid there, but he had a special assignment today. Just as well, as Dr. Patterson's endless drone about his work in Sector E practically put Joseph back to sleep. He was tired at the moment, and began to contemplate a cup of-
Suddenly, a thunderous boom rocked the tunnel, dust coming down from the ceiling. Several more booms echoed throughout the tunnel. The ceiling began to rumble as rocks fell from above. Mandaiyar began to run back as the ceiling to Sector A began to collapse behind him. A wave of rocks hit him, and he fell. The last thing he could remember hearing was the yelling of the Heavy at the end of the Sector A tunnel as the world turned black.
Then everything became silent.