A series of bright ceiling lights lit the corridor that went down far
beyond his vision. It wasn't very wide, only enough to allow two bodies to
pass through. Various doors were set at regular intervals, as if the
building's architect obsessed over a geometrically perfect building and
lost his mind along the way. The scenery was clean, bland, just like so
many other military run buildings. It had a shine to it along the floor
and walls that made it seem as though a giant cleansing machine had run up
and down the hallway spraying and scrubbing in a demented manner to free
all areas from dust and grime.
Snake was cautious as he made his way down the long horizontal shaft. In this area, he had no cover, no boxes to hide behind. All he had was his M-9 and a quick trigger finger. By luck alone, no other guards showed their faces, though it didn't seem like much of a good omen. Something was terribly wrong… Snake shook his paranoia away as he reached a door half- way down the corridor. He had searched other rooms as he traveled, and by the looks of things, he was in the soldier's quarters. Not much was present in the rooms he peered into, aside from the usual setup of cots and other personal belongings.
Snake instinctively pressed his ear against the door before opening. A sigh of relief followed as no chatter or movement of Rangers could be heard from the other side. Despite this, he turned the knob and pushed against the door slowly, revealing a cluttered room, most likely a low- level CO's office. Nothing stood out in particular. A bookshelf, TV, radio, and a desk with-
"A computer…"
Snake mused with curiosity as he approached the desk, swinging around its corners and plopping himself in the chair conveniently located at the desk itself. Though he was fairly familiar with computers, he knew Otacon would be able to do anything that needed doing in far less time than Snake himself could. A smile spread across his face as he activated his Codec.
"Otacon? I've found a computer."
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat happy, though showed a hint of irritation, as if Otacon was interrupted…
"Great work Snake. Can you find the IP address for me?"
"How would I find something like that?"
Otacon sighed and took a few breaths before continuing. This could take a while…
"Okay, I'll walk you through it, but listen carefully to my instructions…"
Snake sighed with frustration as he began what would be a half-an- hour's effort. Between working through the horribly programmed operating system and hacking through several security levels, it indeed took that amount of time, and possibly a bit more. Otacon's voice was strained with exhaustion, though also relief as the process came to a near end…
"…And just open that file, and read the number off to me. I'll do the rest from here."
"Alright…one-nine-zero dot two-two-zero dot six-five dot eight-zero. That's it."
"Okay…parsing the data…Bingo! Alright, I've got the floor plans of the first level of the Dome. I'll transfer them to you through your Codec, you should be able to integrate it with your Soliton Radar system."
"Damn, you really *do* think of everything."
Otacon chuckled at Snake's praise as Snake himself proceeded to shut the terminal down. Now that he had the floor plans, all he had to do-
His train of thought was cut short as blinding klaxons and deafening sirens blared throughout the entire facility. Snake stood up with a start as his heart leapt into his throat, which had already run dry. Only one word went through his mind as visions of what would certainly come flashed through his mind;
"Shit."
Snake wasn't the only one to hear the sirens however. Running footsteps could be heard outside in the corridor, approaching quickly. Snake grew tense as Otacon nearly yelled through his Codec.
"Snake?! What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything! I swear! Dammit…"
Snake grew frustrated as he made a sorry attempt to defend himself…but what could've gone wrong? Snake's eyes rapidly darted around the room as he recollected the events leading up to the present… He approached through the woods, crawled through the grass, side-stepped along the shell, reached the door…and ran into that guard. Dammit! That must've been it…but how could he have waken up so fast?
In the next instant, more questions were raised as Snake nearly leaped out of his skin at the sound of assault rifle fire originating from farther down the corridor. They weren't striking the door, and they wouldn't attack unless they saw him…why were they firing? His question was answered somewhat as a Ranger barked commands, most likely to his teammates. The voice, though harsh, was muffled between the solidness of the door and the sound of gunfire.
"Wipe them out! We can't let them seize thi-GAAAH!"
A shrill scream was followed by a thick liquid-like gurgle as bullets tore through the Ranger as if he were made of paper. What the hell was going on? Quietly and cautiously as he could, Snake tip-toed towards the door of the room, gently grasping the doorknob as he twisted it around. He pulled the door open just enough to catch a view at what was happening. Army Rangers, armed with M4s were attacking unknown assailants, armed with HK33's. Snake squinted for better clarity as he tried to identify the attackers…they looked…familiar.
As yet another Ranger was torn to bits, it hit him. Though the equipment was different, the uniforms and insignia were the same…four years ago, on the island of Shadow Moses… Somehow, the Genome Soldiers, or what was left of them, were here…but why? Why this base? As if his mind wasn't already flooded with questions, these new ones cropped up.
He had no time to ponder however, as the last of the Rangers fell. The Genome Soldiers continued down the hallway, towards his door. They walked slowly, cautiously, screening the area for any survivors. Closing the door would simply draw attention. Instead, Snake simply walked away, careful not to make too much sound as he brought himself around the back of the desk, crawling underneath its small space, made for leg room. The front of the desk was blocked with a large metal plate that didn't quite touch the floor's surface. Snake tensed as two guards entered the room slowly, turning every which way as was indicated by the movements of their feet. One guard peered over towards the desk and shrugged. Nothing notable.
"Okay, let's check the other rooms, and meet with the Boss afterwards for our orders."
"Right."
The two men plodded off, their boots clattered upon the mesh-like floor of the corridor, slowly fading out of hearing range. Snake sighed in relief as he crawled out from under the desk, more than ready to leave the room. After closing his eyes and taking one last, deep breath, he carefully stepped out into the corridor, looking both ways before proceeding, and kept a steady hand upon his Berretta. A guard patrolled innocently down the end of the hallway Snake he arrived from. With any luck, he wouldn't be turning around as Snake headed down the other way, striding briskly in an attempt to remain mostly silent while keeping a good pace.
A door at then far end of the corridor lay in view as Snake approached, hopefully the exit of the soldier's quarters. Like the door that led him inside The Dome, it was electronically, but its security level was 1, a level Snake himself had. Luckily, the new models of cards didn't require that the user had them in hand upon approach, evident as the door slid open casually, revealing to Snake just how large The Dome truly was. From this view, he could easily see that there were three main buildings, with a central spire along with them. The tower was quite tall, and probably touched the ceiling of The Dome's stealth shell, it's transparency seen as the stealth module only worked on the exterior.
As Snake looked around, something to his right caught his attention. There, descending upon what appeared to be a helipad, through an open portion of the shell, came a Chinook troop carrier, landing next to several others of the same model. It touched down with relative ease, at once releasing men from its massive hollowed interior. Snake quickly grabbed a hold of his digital camera in an attempt to snatch off a photo of the Genome Soldiers on site. Zooming in with its lens, he had caught a hold of something far more interesting as five figures slowly stepped out of the helicopter. Four male, one female, each varying in stature.
The first man was of average height. Short spiky black hair grew from the man's scalp. A good portion of it blocked by a large bandana, covering the eyes. Either this man was a fool, or he was blind. The man's suit was black, vaguely resembling the sneaking suit Snake wore on Shadow Moses. A large katana was slung across his shoulder…a blind ninja? Interesting…
The next man seemed normal enough. A khaki-colored trench coat concealed most of the man's features, though he did notice that his expression was stern, certainly not the kind of man to screw around with. He was fairly tall too, though his bulk was unknown. Gathering by the size of the trench coat he wore however, the man was more than likely built like a brick shit house. Just his luck…
The woman of the group was a bit shorter than the men around her. Definitely a sniper…man was that starting to get a bit cliché. A T-76 Longbow Tactical sniper rifle was slung around the back of her shoulder. Her hair was fiery, crimson. She looked a bit young, but age didn't necessarily make a difference in battle. The suit she wore was a bit tight- fitting. Black, with some patches of hardened armor, possibly made of a thick metal-Kevlar composite…
The fourth man was a bit of wild looking one, young, with a self- assured smirk on his face. Spiked brown hair, higher than that of his ninja-like counterpart, wavered as the copter's rotors slowed to a halt. His clothing was also a bit tight fitting. Somehow, he reminded Snake of a character in a popular fighting game…Jacky? Snake shook his head, somehow embarrassed that he was using a fictional character to identify with one of the enemy…
It was then that the final figure walked out of the chopper. His movements made him seem…menacing. A melancholic, almost grim look upon his face as he stepped forwards to join the rest of his squad. He wore a dark brown trench coat with similarly colored apparel covering the rest of his body. His hair was shoulder length, and blonde. For a moment, Snake almost thought he was seeing Liquid right in front of him, though the man was far younger, and Liquid was, by most means, dead.
An insignia, different from the Genome Soldiers was planted upon each member's left shoulder. Snake was quick to snap a photo of this, immediately transferring it to Otacon as he opened the frequency through his Codec.
"Otacon, we've got a problem…The Dome has been taken over."
Otacon showed much surprise in his voice as he spoke.
"What?"
"Yeah. These guys look like remnants of the Genome army from Shadow Moses, and it looks like they have a new leading squad…I sent the insignia of the leading squad to you through the Codec."
A few clicks of a mouse and the tapping at a keyboard could be heard as Otacon took the subtle hint to check it out.
"Opening the file, and…oh…this isn't good…"
"That was not what I wanted to hear…"
"These men are the Greeks. A Special Operations unit on par with Fox- Hound. Consisting of five members, they've participated in Desert Storm, the Gulf War, and even Enduring Freedom, or at least, the start of the campaign. These guys were also there at Shadow Moses, hired as an elite guard unit by ArmsTech until Fox-Hound arrived. Last I heard they'd gone solo…what they're doing with the Genome soldiers is beyond me…"
"Great…just great…"
"If a group like that is here, and they've taken over, they must be after something valuable. I'll need you to investigate into the matter further while I dig up some info on these guys…"
"Alright, I'll call if any more hell breaks loose."
Otacon chuckled as he said a simple farewell, closing the channel. With a sigh, Snake looked towards the Greeks, now leaving the helipad. He grabbed a hold of his Berretta and continued, very unsure of where to go. Two other buildings remained, perhaps he'd search there. The building the helipad laid upon was a definite no-no, which only left the one to his upper-left. He forced a smile as he brought himself to walk onwards, deeper into The Dome, his mind raging with unanswered questions.
Snake was cautious as he made his way down the long horizontal shaft. In this area, he had no cover, no boxes to hide behind. All he had was his M-9 and a quick trigger finger. By luck alone, no other guards showed their faces, though it didn't seem like much of a good omen. Something was terribly wrong… Snake shook his paranoia away as he reached a door half- way down the corridor. He had searched other rooms as he traveled, and by the looks of things, he was in the soldier's quarters. Not much was present in the rooms he peered into, aside from the usual setup of cots and other personal belongings.
Snake instinctively pressed his ear against the door before opening. A sigh of relief followed as no chatter or movement of Rangers could be heard from the other side. Despite this, he turned the knob and pushed against the door slowly, revealing a cluttered room, most likely a low- level CO's office. Nothing stood out in particular. A bookshelf, TV, radio, and a desk with-
"A computer…"
Snake mused with curiosity as he approached the desk, swinging around its corners and plopping himself in the chair conveniently located at the desk itself. Though he was fairly familiar with computers, he knew Otacon would be able to do anything that needed doing in far less time than Snake himself could. A smile spread across his face as he activated his Codec.
"Otacon? I've found a computer."
The voice on the other end sounded somewhat happy, though showed a hint of irritation, as if Otacon was interrupted…
"Great work Snake. Can you find the IP address for me?"
"How would I find something like that?"
Otacon sighed and took a few breaths before continuing. This could take a while…
"Okay, I'll walk you through it, but listen carefully to my instructions…"
Snake sighed with frustration as he began what would be a half-an- hour's effort. Between working through the horribly programmed operating system and hacking through several security levels, it indeed took that amount of time, and possibly a bit more. Otacon's voice was strained with exhaustion, though also relief as the process came to a near end…
"…And just open that file, and read the number off to me. I'll do the rest from here."
"Alright…one-nine-zero dot two-two-zero dot six-five dot eight-zero. That's it."
"Okay…parsing the data…Bingo! Alright, I've got the floor plans of the first level of the Dome. I'll transfer them to you through your Codec, you should be able to integrate it with your Soliton Radar system."
"Damn, you really *do* think of everything."
Otacon chuckled at Snake's praise as Snake himself proceeded to shut the terminal down. Now that he had the floor plans, all he had to do-
His train of thought was cut short as blinding klaxons and deafening sirens blared throughout the entire facility. Snake stood up with a start as his heart leapt into his throat, which had already run dry. Only one word went through his mind as visions of what would certainly come flashed through his mind;
"Shit."
Snake wasn't the only one to hear the sirens however. Running footsteps could be heard outside in the corridor, approaching quickly. Snake grew tense as Otacon nearly yelled through his Codec.
"Snake?! What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything! I swear! Dammit…"
Snake grew frustrated as he made a sorry attempt to defend himself…but what could've gone wrong? Snake's eyes rapidly darted around the room as he recollected the events leading up to the present… He approached through the woods, crawled through the grass, side-stepped along the shell, reached the door…and ran into that guard. Dammit! That must've been it…but how could he have waken up so fast?
In the next instant, more questions were raised as Snake nearly leaped out of his skin at the sound of assault rifle fire originating from farther down the corridor. They weren't striking the door, and they wouldn't attack unless they saw him…why were they firing? His question was answered somewhat as a Ranger barked commands, most likely to his teammates. The voice, though harsh, was muffled between the solidness of the door and the sound of gunfire.
"Wipe them out! We can't let them seize thi-GAAAH!"
A shrill scream was followed by a thick liquid-like gurgle as bullets tore through the Ranger as if he were made of paper. What the hell was going on? Quietly and cautiously as he could, Snake tip-toed towards the door of the room, gently grasping the doorknob as he twisted it around. He pulled the door open just enough to catch a view at what was happening. Army Rangers, armed with M4s were attacking unknown assailants, armed with HK33's. Snake squinted for better clarity as he tried to identify the attackers…they looked…familiar.
As yet another Ranger was torn to bits, it hit him. Though the equipment was different, the uniforms and insignia were the same…four years ago, on the island of Shadow Moses… Somehow, the Genome Soldiers, or what was left of them, were here…but why? Why this base? As if his mind wasn't already flooded with questions, these new ones cropped up.
He had no time to ponder however, as the last of the Rangers fell. The Genome Soldiers continued down the hallway, towards his door. They walked slowly, cautiously, screening the area for any survivors. Closing the door would simply draw attention. Instead, Snake simply walked away, careful not to make too much sound as he brought himself around the back of the desk, crawling underneath its small space, made for leg room. The front of the desk was blocked with a large metal plate that didn't quite touch the floor's surface. Snake tensed as two guards entered the room slowly, turning every which way as was indicated by the movements of their feet. One guard peered over towards the desk and shrugged. Nothing notable.
"Okay, let's check the other rooms, and meet with the Boss afterwards for our orders."
"Right."
The two men plodded off, their boots clattered upon the mesh-like floor of the corridor, slowly fading out of hearing range. Snake sighed in relief as he crawled out from under the desk, more than ready to leave the room. After closing his eyes and taking one last, deep breath, he carefully stepped out into the corridor, looking both ways before proceeding, and kept a steady hand upon his Berretta. A guard patrolled innocently down the end of the hallway Snake he arrived from. With any luck, he wouldn't be turning around as Snake headed down the other way, striding briskly in an attempt to remain mostly silent while keeping a good pace.
A door at then far end of the corridor lay in view as Snake approached, hopefully the exit of the soldier's quarters. Like the door that led him inside The Dome, it was electronically, but its security level was 1, a level Snake himself had. Luckily, the new models of cards didn't require that the user had them in hand upon approach, evident as the door slid open casually, revealing to Snake just how large The Dome truly was. From this view, he could easily see that there were three main buildings, with a central spire along with them. The tower was quite tall, and probably touched the ceiling of The Dome's stealth shell, it's transparency seen as the stealth module only worked on the exterior.
As Snake looked around, something to his right caught his attention. There, descending upon what appeared to be a helipad, through an open portion of the shell, came a Chinook troop carrier, landing next to several others of the same model. It touched down with relative ease, at once releasing men from its massive hollowed interior. Snake quickly grabbed a hold of his digital camera in an attempt to snatch off a photo of the Genome Soldiers on site. Zooming in with its lens, he had caught a hold of something far more interesting as five figures slowly stepped out of the helicopter. Four male, one female, each varying in stature.
The first man was of average height. Short spiky black hair grew from the man's scalp. A good portion of it blocked by a large bandana, covering the eyes. Either this man was a fool, or he was blind. The man's suit was black, vaguely resembling the sneaking suit Snake wore on Shadow Moses. A large katana was slung across his shoulder…a blind ninja? Interesting…
The next man seemed normal enough. A khaki-colored trench coat concealed most of the man's features, though he did notice that his expression was stern, certainly not the kind of man to screw around with. He was fairly tall too, though his bulk was unknown. Gathering by the size of the trench coat he wore however, the man was more than likely built like a brick shit house. Just his luck…
The woman of the group was a bit shorter than the men around her. Definitely a sniper…man was that starting to get a bit cliché. A T-76 Longbow Tactical sniper rifle was slung around the back of her shoulder. Her hair was fiery, crimson. She looked a bit young, but age didn't necessarily make a difference in battle. The suit she wore was a bit tight- fitting. Black, with some patches of hardened armor, possibly made of a thick metal-Kevlar composite…
The fourth man was a bit of wild looking one, young, with a self- assured smirk on his face. Spiked brown hair, higher than that of his ninja-like counterpart, wavered as the copter's rotors slowed to a halt. His clothing was also a bit tight fitting. Somehow, he reminded Snake of a character in a popular fighting game…Jacky? Snake shook his head, somehow embarrassed that he was using a fictional character to identify with one of the enemy…
It was then that the final figure walked out of the chopper. His movements made him seem…menacing. A melancholic, almost grim look upon his face as he stepped forwards to join the rest of his squad. He wore a dark brown trench coat with similarly colored apparel covering the rest of his body. His hair was shoulder length, and blonde. For a moment, Snake almost thought he was seeing Liquid right in front of him, though the man was far younger, and Liquid was, by most means, dead.
An insignia, different from the Genome Soldiers was planted upon each member's left shoulder. Snake was quick to snap a photo of this, immediately transferring it to Otacon as he opened the frequency through his Codec.
"Otacon, we've got a problem…The Dome has been taken over."
Otacon showed much surprise in his voice as he spoke.
"What?"
"Yeah. These guys look like remnants of the Genome army from Shadow Moses, and it looks like they have a new leading squad…I sent the insignia of the leading squad to you through the Codec."
A few clicks of a mouse and the tapping at a keyboard could be heard as Otacon took the subtle hint to check it out.
"Opening the file, and…oh…this isn't good…"
"That was not what I wanted to hear…"
"These men are the Greeks. A Special Operations unit on par with Fox- Hound. Consisting of five members, they've participated in Desert Storm, the Gulf War, and even Enduring Freedom, or at least, the start of the campaign. These guys were also there at Shadow Moses, hired as an elite guard unit by ArmsTech until Fox-Hound arrived. Last I heard they'd gone solo…what they're doing with the Genome soldiers is beyond me…"
"Great…just great…"
"If a group like that is here, and they've taken over, they must be after something valuable. I'll need you to investigate into the matter further while I dig up some info on these guys…"
"Alright, I'll call if any more hell breaks loose."
Otacon chuckled as he said a simple farewell, closing the channel. With a sigh, Snake looked towards the Greeks, now leaving the helipad. He grabbed a hold of his Berretta and continued, very unsure of where to go. Two other buildings remained, perhaps he'd search there. The building the helipad laid upon was a definite no-no, which only left the one to his upper-left. He forced a smile as he brought himself to walk onwards, deeper into The Dome, his mind raging with unanswered questions.