Chapter V: Ripples

23rd of Month Seven, 2979 GST – CDF General Headquarters, 'Conference Chamber'

Almost a week after the attacks at Corneria, the entire system already had received word of the unknown force that attempted to invade the core world. Despite incessant efforts of the government with damage control, wild rumors and speculation ran unchecked through the entire system.

Be it through the news reports, messaging across acquaintances, some internet meme or simply word of mouth, everyone had heard of or seen something about the mysterious hostile fleet and the powerful dreadnought that was bested over the capital; several 'leaked' images of 'alien pilots' who had ejected during the battle circled around the media depicting clear intervention of high-ranking CDF officials in the search and arrest of the attackers; videos showing heavy activity as military transports mobilize and salvage technology from several 'UFO' crash sites around the globe and the large wreckage at Corneria City's Aurum Bay; reports about a shadow organization referred to as "The Initiative"…

At that point, the existence of another spacefaring civilization was outright impossible to deny. More damning, however, was how the populace's impression of the 'visitors' was not one of wonder or curiosity but instead, one of fear, given how the first public encounter's events went.


An assembly of high-ranking officers was being held in the wide, large conference room of the headquarters. The strip lights placed close to the walls gave the room a dark, bluish tint look, save for the white, round ceiling holoprojector in the middle of the room. A number of representatives of Cornerian and other Lylatian planets were present at the meeting alike, spanning their various ranks and roles in the government heads of several planets of Lylat.

All of the StarFox team members were at this meeting. James was sitting near to the middle of the table, with Aldo and Krystal by his sides, Sully sitting to the right of where Krystal was. James' anxiety was visible—furrowed brows, shifty eyes and an impatient muffled tapping of his foot against the carpeted floor.

Around them, some military, political leaders and representatives of Lylat's worlds were present. Admiral Fletcher, from the battle at Corneria's orbit, was sitting near the end of the table at the far side of the room. At the same time, a few of the foreign representatives muttered to each other. Even one of the Saurian Development Institute directors was in the meeting. All eyes in Lylat were looking at Corneria, and they all wanted to know what was happening.

The doors to the room slide open and then close as another figure walks in. Major General Ronald Pepper is seen adjusting his uniform and cap before taking a few steps. The aging, bearded spaniel hound of light brown fur and green eyes pulls his chair at the end of the table and sits down.

He takes a deep breath before speaking.

"You haven't made this one easy on our side, StarFox. The Council will give us a massive migraine about this…" Pepper says, placing his arms on the table. "First, you were just at the time an explosion beneath the restricted research complex happened. Now, the place is under lockdown. Then your ship goes completely off the grid, only to appear just in time to catch up with an unknown hostile fleet."

"And now when we press the people there, they'll only say footnotes about this 'Division Omega' and 'Joint Initiative' groups that keep setting off all sorts of bells and whistles when we try searching up on the databases. All information restricted to a few select people." He continues. "I'm not trying to point fingers at anyone here, it's just… What in the bloody hell happened?"

"I object again to this meeting, General. They shouldn't be allowed to be here. Those people were clearly conducting an illegal operation—and whoever they provoked; they brought back to our homeworld." One of the attendees says; a captain of a Defense Force fleet of vulpine kind, steel grey eyes and short, wavy hair. "You can't entrust some mercenary with a soldier's task, they should be under custody or investigation—"

"For helping defend our world more than once and stopping whoever just came after us?" The general says, cutting the other officer. "Speak when spoken to, Julian; McCloud and his team are in our debt for more than just what they did last week. We don't know what's happening yet, but his team is not some tribal militia, they're regulars affiliated with the private task-force under our services, same for the other teams that assisted him in combat."

"I can vouch for them as well. We suffered losses, but without Captain McCloud's private team to coordinate our attack on the flagship and the other allies that came in to help, the invaders probably wouldn't have surrendered. It could have been a lot worse." Admiral Fletcher comments, raising his hand.

"…Objection withdrawn." Captain Julian says, after exchanging glances with James.

"My apologies, McCloud. Captain Julian was never in favor of the creation of a division comprised entirely of private forces." Pepper resumes, looking back at James. "But this isn't the purpose of this meeting. We're in the dark out here, and we need to know what you can tell us about what's going on."

James sighs and rubs his hands at his face, leaning forth as he rests his arms on the table afterwards.

"I'm afraid there aren't many details we can share, General. While it's true we've been under orders of another group as well, none of us is responsible for this attack." James says reluctantly. "We were on a mission for this Division Omega. They are a task-force responsible with establishing peaceful first contact between their people and Lylat. Obviously, someone didn't want that to happen…"

"That much we all can see." Captain Julian remarks. "And another interesting detail is your ship, Captain McCloud. Upon closer examination, it is incredibly advanced, despite not being one of our bulkier designs—and yet few of those technologies are in our hands at the moment. I'm assuming this Division Omega you speak of was responsible for these advances."

"Yes, Captain. Space Dynamics was responsible for the base design and assembly of the ship, but the technology was provided by Division Omega… More specifically, it was 'a vote of trust' from the Joint Initiative." James replies.

"Another organization we'll have to interview you and your crew about later on, I presume." The other vulpine says.

"You mean 'interrogate'. You certainly don't seem to be fond of us." Aldo cuts in, arms crossed.

"Oh, please. Mr. Lombardi, I may not approve of some… unorthodox tactics and unpredictable attitudes of private military companies and contractors, but I'm no barbarian." Julian replies. "My biggest concern is about how 'regularized' your actions can be considered."

At the door behind Pepper's chair, another officer enters the room saluting Pepper and speaking up:

"Major General, sir. Professor Lopez has arrived with our VIP."

"Let them in, we have much to discuss." The general says, looking back over his shoulder.

The other officer walks steps away from the door, allowing passage for two more people; Professor Beltino and presumably Commander Ford, whose identity was concealed behind a full-face helmet. Beltino took a seat a few chairs away from General Pepper, while Ford sat down just at his right.

"Professor Beltino, Commander Ford." General Pepper greets the two. "I appreciate you could partake in this meeting. I know you are taking a large risk with your participation, so let us not allow it to go to waste. Commander Ford, your helmet, please."

The human unlocks his helmet from his suit, taking it off, placing it on top of the table afterwards. With a sigh, he rubs his forehead with the right hand, looking around the room.

The representatives and military members murmur to each other upon seeing the human's face revealed, with some discussing for a few moments.

"So it is really true." Pepper says, stroking his chin as he sees Markus' face, looking at the others present in the room afterwards. "Gentlemen, it's needless to say that everything you're learning during this meeting is classified. But, let us continue."

"Greetings to all of you. As General Pepper just said, I am Commander Markus Ford. I will speak in behalf of the Joint Initiative of Interspecies Defense, Diplomacy and Trade, the organization responsible for the creation of Division Omega."

"What can you tell us about this Joint Initiative of yours, Commander Ford?" General Pepper inquiries, opening up a file to take notes on his computer at the table.

Commander Ford promptly begins to explain the history of the Joint Initiative, its goals and its resources, their means of transport between galaxies, and some highlights about The Endless and the other major nations of his galaxy. He continues his explanation by retelling the events from the previous week, his report from James at the other side of the Gateway, and the mission given to James while at that. Lastly, he places datapads on top of the table, containing technical specifications and a detailed overview of the CCV Enurance.

Some of the representatives ask detailed questions, minor and major alike. With the reunion drawing longer, the General listened attentively to Ford's statements until all main representatives are finished with their questions.


"I see, Commander… This is definitely a lot to consider." The general says, thoughtful.

"From what I understood, however, this seems like a somewhat presumptuous view. Your organization seems to hold itself responsible for 'uplifting' species, as you call this process." Julian remarks. "Aren't there high risks involved in changing a civilization this drastically? Isn't it possible that those changes may harm a world's culture or people?"

"Excuse me, Captain Julian. If I may, I believe this is possibly within my area of expertise." A female voice is heard across the table—from the Sauria representative of the calico cat kin with a tied-back hair bun, wearing half-framed reading glasses.

"My name is Melissa Adams; Executive Director and overseer of the Saurian Development Institute." She says, introducing herself. "After the incident six years ago perpetrated by the 'Crimson Sharpclaws' faction of the Saurian natives, a decree from the Cornerian Confederacy established that in order to prevent the planet's unique superstructures from being exposed to further risks—to avoid its destruction and the danger of creating a debris field across the system—direct intervention was necessary."

"After the first year, a basic infrastructure for communications and services was created across our outposts near the capitals of their nations and the Krazoa Nexus structures holding the so-called 'Pillars of Sauria'. While the Development Institute has no plans for more… pervasive changes to their world, a significant change across the cultures we directly contacted was observed." She continues, adjusting her glasses. "Despite initial hostilities and fear towards an ever-growing number of the 'people of the stars' in their world, they substantially decreased over the years, and their culture is progressively adapting to our presence. Especially considering Captain McCloud's personal history in helping their world, most now are sympathetic towards us."

"What is your point, Miss Adams?" Julian questions.

"We didn't come down on their people to ensure safety through oppression and tight military control. But despite that, we're still 'holding their hand' in a manner of saying, just enough so their world is preserved." She says, explaining her view. "As with their case, we might not be entirely prepared to independently interact with other nations from this Joint Initiative that Commander Ford is aligned with."

"Although you make a fair point, I personally do not feel the same way. Even if we still are decades—if not centuries—lagging behind in technology, I'm sure we're more than civil enough to be independent in a galactic scene."

"Are we? Let's face it, Julian—we're on a fragile peace as-is. More than once we've faced interplanetary wars, and we even turned one of our own worlds into a gelid wasteland during one of them. Have you ever been to Zoness before it was taken by the Venomian Empire? Or rather, before the bombings back in 2945?" Pepper says. "I take no pride in what Corneria did as a nation back then."

"I've… read about it, sir." Julian says reluctantly.

"Besides, the bigger issue at hand is more than obvious: our worlds are rich in resources, and some of the more unscrupulous elements of their worlds are definitely watching us." Pepper remarks. "Though, we are straying off our goal here. What is your say on the recent attacks, Commander Ford? The forces that attacked our planet are definitely not pirates from our worlds, and we still have no idea who they are."

"I sadly can't tell you more than you already might have found out by now; we've discovered that they are private contractors from an illegal shadow operations network. We still have to track down who hired them—and more importantly, find out why did they target Corneria, or how they even knew about you at all." Ford replies.

"However, according to our reports, several of their men were taken under custody by three distinct groups after their forces surrendered." Ford continues. "One is reportedly your XCOD military organization, and the other was Division Omega. The third group, however…"

"Indeed, we have been unable to pinpoint what group was responsible for the capture of some of those people…" Pepper says. "We're unsure whether it was some insurgent militia, a criminal organization, or…"

"…Or one of our cells has gone rogue." James completes the general's statement.

"Yes, it's a possibility." The general concludes.

"My advice is to be careful with what treatment is given to these prisoners, General. If they are under contract from a splinter group from our side, this could be a major diplomatic incident waiting to happen." Ford says.

"Duly noted. However, I'm more than willing to turn those prisoners over to your Omega Division, with one condition." Pepper says.

"While the indubitably sensitive nature of the operation your task-force was conducting makes its low profile defendable, we would feel more encouraged to further cooperation were it not so… irregularly tied to our own chain of command." The general states.

"I understand, General. Originally we had planned that the transfer of Division Omega into operating fully under Cornerian authority would happen after official contact was established. However, given the current circumstances…" Ford replies. "I'll contact the Joint Initiative about this matter after this meeting is over and make the necessary changes."

"We appreciate your understanding. And while we're at this matter…" General Pepper says, before looking towards James. "James, we apologize for our overzealous attitude regarding what happened. Now that I can understand the situation clearly, I can say that you've performed admirably both as soldier and commanding officer."

"Thank you, General. It's not an easy task, but we've been doing our best to further Corneria's interests." James replies, calmer now as the situation seems to be settling.

"I can see that is indeed the case." Pepper remarks. "…Mr. Ford, would it be possible to put Captain McCloud's name forward as a recommendation for the CO role of Division Omega?"

"...An interesting suggestion, General Pepper." Ford comments, unusually expressing a faint smirk. "Considering McCloud's service history, I'm sure that might be a noteworthy recommendation."

"That is much appreciated. With all of this said, we'll be sure to provide whatever cooperation is required to the Joint Initiative. As for any other pending matters, we shall discuss them at another occasion." Pepper says in conclusion. "Congratulations... Commander McCloud."

After the General's words, the other officials stand up from their chairs, conversing to each other and discussing the possible repercussions. James' team takes their leave as well, though James himself is stopped by General Pepper as he places his right hand on James' left shoulder.

"Also, if you could spare the time at some point, come pay a visit to my main office." He says, walking ahead afterwards. "We shall meet again later, McCloud."


"It appears the operations are proceeding smoothly now, Major."

"Sir?" The officer replies, a tone of confusion as he approaches his superior. "I'm sorry, but I believe you've been misinformed. I'm actually here to give the full report on… our losses."

"I'm not misinformed, Major. I know full well that the CDF repelled the attacks flawlessly."

"And was that part of your plan…?"

"A massive underestimation of local forces is what encouraged the contractors to accept the task in the first place. It might seem cold, considering the lives on the line, but now we've got the full attention of the Initiative focused elsewhere. Now, they'll be busy with investigation and first contact talks for the next few years, and we will have plenty of time to proceed with our goals." The man says, a tone of confidence as he reads through the reports. "Also, I hear this 'Division Omega' of the Initiative had an unusual recommendation for a commanding officer."

"Apparently they are arranging an early transfer of the division into Cornerian control." The major continues. "But, what about McCloud? He seems to sympathize with the Initiative. Isn't it possible he might become a problem or get in our way?"

"Then we'll see to it that he doesn't."


10th of Month Eight, 2979 GST – CDF General Headquarters, Maj. General Pepper's Office

The towering building in front of Mainland Garden and the Unification Day Monument stood tall, its platinum-white plating shining from the daylight. James was visiting General Pepper a few days after the meeting with the Lylatian representatives.

Leaving the elevator, James walked through a small corridor and entered a sliding door at the end, into the Major General's office. It was decorated in a classy, ornate look, with a few paintings and historical photographs at the walls, red velvet carpet, and a stylish, modern chandelier overhead. The clear glass window overlooking the Unification Day Monument and its surroundings provided a rather privileged view of the upper city.

"General Pepper." James' voice is heard as he enters the room, greeting Pepper.

"Commander McCloud. I was hoping you'd come by." He replies. "There are a few things I was hoping we could discuss in private. I'm glad you could spare the time."

"Always willing to hear out an old friend. What did you need to talk about, General?" James asks, stepping close to Pepper's desk and stopping in front of it.

The General pushes his chair back from his desk, opening a drawer and taking a small case from it. Standing up, Pepper steps towards the window while holding the container with his hands in front of him.

"These are interesting times, McCloud. Definitely times of change." Pepper begins. "While I can't say I'm fully confident that they will be peaceful, I know that we need more men like you to entrust the future with."

"What are you getting at, sir?" James asks.

"With last month's mission for the Initiative, it is roughly the third time you go through amazing lengths to help the Cornerian Confederacy. In your own way, surely, but never failing to accomplish whatever mission with impeccable results. Do you understand?"

"I understand what you're saying, but I'm just doing my job." James answers.

"I wish more men had your definition of 'just doing your job'." The general says after a short laugh. "What I'm saying is that we need people who are not just able, but also willing to be more than just soldiers."

"You know full well that the CDF isn't just a band of gunmen who make use of military bravado and a hail of bullets to perform their tasks." He continues. "Doctors, engineers, scientists, diplomats, yet, anyone can see... Although the Confederacy is strong at the sword, we're not invincible. But there are always alternatives. I can see that you're a young man of many talents, McCloud. Hopefully, they will not go to waste on our hands."

"Another thing... James—your father, I mean... He clearly passed a lot of himself down to you." Pepper says, turning to face James. "Always a free spirit, always thinking outside of the box... It's one of the reasons I put his name forward to spearhead the fleets during the Lylat Wars. He knew how to turn the tide of battle towards him and his allies, and more importantly, he knew his comrades."

"I hear he was a friend of yours back in the day, General." James says, taking a step closer.

"Indeed... Your father was a good man. We've seen a lot together, but he always had a reassuring attitude and a smile on his face." The general comments. "And you... They just don't make them like the two of you anymore... Pragmatic, amicable, and natural leaders, both of you."

"There is another thing I have to say." Pepper says, handing over the small case to James. "I wanted to give you this. Here, take it."

James holds the thin container on his hands, opening it to find a medal stored inside. He didn't recognize it, however: A silvery, shield-shaped medal, two wings with the Confederacy's colors of white and royal blue, and the engraved orbits of the Lylatian planets behind them. Near the top of the shield, an engraving was present with the words 'CONFIDO AD ASTRA'.

"The 'Shield of Lylat', they call it…" The general says. "I was going to give this medal to your father once he had been promoted from the rank of Captain… I'd say you're well deserving of this, James."

James seemed rather speechless, looking at the medal with a distant expression on his face. More than just a medal, this was a symbol that meant he had not only equaled but maybe even surpassed the feats of his father. What was he supposed to feel? Joy? Closure? Pride?

"General, I…"

"No need to thank me, James. A medal is the least we can do." Pepper interrupts James, giving him a pat on the left shoulder.

James quietly smiles, saluting the General, who does the same in return. He walks away from Pepper, pacing out of his office and bidding him farewell before going through the door:

"Goodbye, General. I look forward to meeting you again." James says, closing the door behind him and walking back to the elevator.


Five years later…

Over the next few years, relatively little disturbed the peace in Lylat. However, different issues crept into life.

After the first contact incident in 2979, the existence of organizations such as Division Omega and the Joint Initiative became public. With these events, the latter publicly declared its intentions and arranged a high-profile diplomatic envoy to Lylat, with representatives of the major nations and factions of their galaxy.

However, with the conflict that set all of this in motion still fresh in the collective memory of the Lylatian people, initial hostility was an unfortunate constant. The major sympathizers included Division Omega and several scholars from the Cornerian Science Academy, in addition to some members of the military. However, the more outspoken and militant opposition members insisted that the government was giving in to fear and was being controlled. From corporate executives to self-proclaimed ex-military 'nationalists', a number of vocal groups clearly had set in stone their conceptions against the outsiders.

Not that their claims were completely invalid, however; by the first year, the Confederacy had agreed to co-develop in the construction of Initiative science stations across the system, as well an embassy in Corneria.

In the second year, an official Joint Initiative military outpost was built in Fortuna, with the major industrial players of their worlds arriving soon after. With them, arrived the backbone of their civilizations—the Dust—as an initial proposal to jumpstart trading and friendly relations.

Over time, security forces began to be contracted to operate within the system, important private clients and high-risk companies being among some of the groups hiring these security consultants. By the fourth year, Dust was relatively widespread in usage across the system, gradually being integrated into Lylatian technology.

The presence of aliens became a lesser rarity by the fifth year—for better or worse. Though open cooperation was preferred from the heads of both parties, insurgent Lylatian groups began to band together in malcontent. Protests by self-proclaimed 'nationalists' occurred far and wide across the system after the first month of 2984, especially so in the worlds where aliens were part of military-grade security forces.

The claims made by those insurgents were dismissed by the Confederacy as 'wild speculation' and 'ravings from racist anarchists'. In reality, the Confederacy eventually became a major sympathizer for cooperation with the Joint Initiative.

Even with signs of disapproval from some parts of society, the Joint Initiative became a valuable ally in the Confederacy's development for the exploration of the interstellar neighborhood, as well as a means of training experts in all matters regarding Dust and their technologies.

The Confederacy outposts Miriam, Rockwell Landing, Century and Progress were founded across hospitable planets in the systems previously charted as colonization candidates—Clavis, Decem, Taurus and Ysdrall respectively. Substantial Joint Initiative participation aided in this endeavor, giving a strong argument for sympathizing supporters.

By that time, whatever wounds Lylat had from previous wars already had been healed. But that did not mean it was the last conflict seen by its people…


19th of Month Two, 2984 GST – Corneria City, Eastern Commercial District, 'Elanus Industries HQ'

The morning sun painted the cityscape in a reddish-golden hue. The highly-developed vista of Corneria City's Eastern Commercial District teemed with activity, uncountable vehicles down at the skyways, many shuttles and transports seen overhead. The winter was almost at its end, with the air blowing no more than a comfortable chilly wind through the skyscrapers.

At the rooftops, a figure was seen standing with its right knee on the floor. The one agent known through the alias 'Mirage' was watching activity over a cargo shuttle landing area from above. She activates holo-targeting systems in her suit, zooming in with the AR-visor's enhanced sighting to examine the activity closely.

"This is Mirage—you were right; the shipments arrived just as you told me." She says, standing up and examining the tall skyscraper ahead.

"Good, sounds like we're on the right track then. You should get moving if you want to be able to reach the target; he'll probably be leaving to Fortuna tomorrow for a seminar on major biotech pioneer corporations. Better not waste this shot." A male voice is heard over Mirage's earpiece.

"Elanus and I are going to have a little chat soon. I'm on my way right now." She says, running and leaping across rooftops, holding onto a coolant pipe of a nearby building afterwards to climb back up.

The agent continues on the run, sliding down a metal slope in one of the buildings and propelling herself further ahead with her legs, landing with a roll and glancing at the surroundings to make sure she isn't being followed.

"By the way, are you sure this time he'll cooperate?" Mirage hears the voice again in the earpiece.

"He will. Dean might play the tough guy act, but he breaks easily." She replies.

"Sounds like you've been doing your homework about him. But we need him alive, Mirage." The man on the radio continues saying. "And I'm worried about the security on the HQ… Isn't it an elite private military unit? Some former United Empire troopers if my intel is good. These guys are trigger-happy, and won't take casually to an intruder, so stay sharp."

"I know. I'm not going to plant a bomb in the place or anything—and if this goes well, I won't even need to deal with his security." Mirage replies, sprinting and using some crates for a higher jump, climbing up a wall and moving to the next rooftop.

She stops a few steps away from the edge, with the E. Industries tower right ahead. It's too far for a jump, but she can see a crane, right below a helipad in the tower.

She takes a deep breath and a few steps back, dashing off and leaping towards the crane. Mirage holds onto the crane's hook cable with her hands and legs after the leap, tightening the grip to stop sliding down. After climbing to the top of the crane, she looks upwards, with a platform a few meters above.

"I think I found an entrance. The grappling hook should do it from here." She says over the earpiece.

Mirage stretches her right arm upwards, aiming at a handrail on the platform. A grappling hook is fired from her arm by the suit, tangling with the handrail. She tugs the cable with both arms, checking if it's fixed in place. Afterwards, she starts climbing the cable with her hands, and after a couple minutes climbing, she reaches the handrail and vaults over it, stepping onto the platform.

To her left, Mirage can see a simple steel door. She walks into the building, entering at the bottom of a stairwell.

"Okay, I'm in. Looks like I just left helipad two." She says, looking at the text above the door she just went through. "Where do I need to go from here?"

"Take the stairs and go up three floors. Leave the stairwell, go through the corridor and make your way through it, then take the right at the end and go up the stairs; the cargo elevator is at the northern side of the building along one of the main structural support pillars, just a couple floors above you now." Mirage's collaborator says.

"Got it." She says, using the grappling hook to cut the path short, climbing and entering the corridor.


Near the top of the building, a darkened office room only had thin strips of sunshine for lighting, most of the light obscured by closed window blinds. A suited figure was seen standing in front of a holoprojector: Dean Elanus, the CEO of Elanus Industries. The fennec fox had brown eyes, and stylish, groomed-back hair, wearing a scouter on his right eye.

"…I know, I know; we did say that the deadline would be comfortable for the third month, but it's been difficult to work with our current resources." He was speaking in a coded channel—likewise, the man he was talking to was not seen as a holoprojection. "Right now, we're on the verge of creating a seamless link with our current neural interfaces. We just need more time, and Dust."

"Resources can be arranged, Mr. Elanus, but time is short." A voice is heard from the speakers in the room. "If you really insist in having more time, that'll come at a cost."

"…Fine, how many will you need this time, and where to?" Elanus replies.

"Eighty more volunteers; thirty male, fifty female." The request is heard over the speakers. "I've sent you the medical profiles you'll be looking for. They'll be sent to Rockwell Landing."

"Someone's eventually going to notice these people are going somewhere and not coming back, you know." Elanus says.

"Under the guise of being volunteers for space exploration, it'll be hard to notice. We'll fabricate reasons for their lack of contact and take care of any necessary damage control."

"Okay, look; I've been cooperating here for long enough. I don't like being kept in the dark, and I know you said that a low profile on this is crucial, but I need to know one thing." Elanus raises his tone while talking. "I need to know if these people are alright. I don't need blood on my hands."

"Mr. Elanus, despite our initial setbacks, I can assure you that we are taking the proper measures to ensure the safety of every volunteer." The reply is heard.

"It better be worth it. I've received a number of concerned messages from families already—they want to know why they can't reach their people." Elanus says.

"Tell them that their family members are on a task of utmost importance. They're with us to ensure the lasting presence of the Lylatian people among the stars. They all knew of the risks when they volunteered." The man continues.

"That might work for the actual volunteers. But the… 'specimens' you're looking for—they are very specific. We had more than a few 'being volunteered' already." Elanus replies.

"Don't concern yourself with that. We'll make sure no issues stem from those cases. We will speak again once we confirm the arrival of the subjects."


The interior of Elanus HQ had an orange tint from its decorative wall lights, with granite floor and simple beige carpets in the middle of corridors. The color scheme of the interior consisted mostly of pastel tones; however, there was no time for appreciating the sight. Mirage was close to the elevator, and its cargo.

Walking down the corridor and staying close to the wall at her right, Mirage stops at the four-way corridor junctions, peeking around the wall corner to make sure she isn't spotted. The agent sneaks past some technicians at one of the corridors, too busy to notice her presence. Reaching the end of the corridor, she can hear someone talking around the left corner of a T-junction, with a large glass-pane window at the front.

"Hold on, I think there's someone up ahead." Mirage says, staying close to the left wall and peeking around its corner.

"…So I was trying to get this beer can loose, right? And then the thing gets stuck." A human trooper is seen leaning back against a wall, arms crossed, sidearm holstered and rifle locked at his back. He's wearing a medium set of armor, colored in dark gray with orange trim, with a full-face helmet.

"Uh-huh." The short is response heard from the other guard—a Cornerian wolf wearing a light security vest, with a light machine pistol on his holster.

"So I give the vending machine a tug, and suddenly the thing starts tipping." The human continues.

"Oh, shit." The wolf says, surprised.

"Yeah, 'oh shit' is right—but I got lucky; that one was lighter than most vending machines." The human continues with the idle chatter. "Almost thought it was the end for a second… Death by vending machine, heh."

"I can just see the workplace PSAs coming up." The other guard muses. "Anyway, I got word from the admin staff earlier; looks like some new people…"

Mirage backs off a few steps from the corner, keeping her voice down as she speaks on the radio.

"Those two probably aren't going to just let me pass by. Can you make a diversion?" She says, one hand at the side of her visor.

"I'll try to, but I can't make any promises. Their systems are well-protected."

After hearing the voice over her earpiece, Mirage can hear a beeping sound from afar, around the corner. Her collaborator was seemingly able to divert the guards' attention by jamming a door down the corridor.

"Aw man, that damn door is on the fritz again. I thought we had the techs fix it yesterday." The wolf says while walking towards the door, followed by the trooper. "Let me see if I can stop the alarm now."

Mirage looks around the left of the T-junction again, hearing her collaborator on the earpiece afterwards:

"There's your chance—get to the right and take the stairs."

Mirage walks off, going to the right in the junction and pacing faster through the corridor.

However, the beeping stops before she can reach the stairs to get out of sight. The guards shrug at the other end of the corridor, and after turning around, they see Mirage.

"…Hey, who's that over there?" The wolf says.

"Hey, you—stop right there!" The human shouts across the corridor. Mirage stops in place, the two guards approaching from behind.

It was at that moment Mirage slowly unsheathed her blade from her back.

"…Sound the alarm. Sound the alarm!" The trooper exclaims, pulling the rifle from his back as the wolf runs off to alert the building.

"Hostile spotted!" The first salvo of shots breaks the peace inside the building as the trooper begins his attack against Mirage, alarms going off across the building.

This is proven of no use at first, however, as Mirage uses her blade to deflect the bullet salvo, almost too quick for the eye to see. She dodges more shots with a roll to the right, and then sprints up the stairs before she can be fired upon again.

"Dammit, they've spotted me! Please tell me Elanus is still in the building!" Mirage says over her earpiece while pacing up the stairs.

"He's at his office near the top—but it just went into lockdown. I don't think he's leaving during an emergency." The answer is heard.

"Right, that's one thing working on my side then. But now I'll have to deal with the security on my way first." She replies.

With the building on alert, Mirage speeds up on her run through the corridors, her exosuit making the steps stomp against the floor on her sprint. Some security men try to ambush her by coming out of the doors at the corridor, but are taken down with swift, crippling blade slashes to the legs and arms. She brandishes the blade to clean off some blood on it, running with the sword at her right hand.

"Okay Mirage, change of plans; you're going through this floor's lobby. It's faster than going around the guards—and sneaking past them is useless now that they're on alert." She hears the male voice on the earpiece again.

"And it also means they'll be crowding the place. I hope you know what you're doing." Mirage replies taking a left turn and tackling at a steel door to the lobby.

Breaking through the door proves to be a bad decision, however; three troopers and two security men were ready at the room, with the troopers taking cover behind furniture and pillars, and the security at the balcony overpass.

"Over there—open fire!" The trooper at the front exclaims, with a hail of rounds being fired upon Mirage.

She deflects the first few rounds, expertly moving her blade with lightning-quick speed. Her defense proves inefficient, however, as the continuous fire causes her to stress and tire. Mirage tries dodging the incoming bullets by dashing away to behind a pillar, but is shot through her left shoulder, twice at her right leg and grazed by the bullets two times at the hips.

"Suppressing fire, now!" One of the soldiers exclaims to the rest of his group, a multitude of shots bouncing off the far side of the pillar and flying past its sides as Mirage hides behind it.

"Agh! Dammit, are you trying to get me killed!?" Mirage exclaims, panting from the pain and adrenaline rush of being shot, her back against the pillar she's using as cover. "I'm pinned down here, by the way, ngh!"

Mirage peeks beyond the edge of the pillar, assessing her threats with the AR visor. She then goes back into hiding after a shot grazes the pillar, holding up a rifle from her hip and unlocking its safeties. Looking down at her shoulder and her legs, she can see some blood staining her gray armor suit from bullet wounds at the shoulder, hips and leg.

"Mirage, are you okay? Are you still able to run?" Her assistant says.

"I just got shot five times—I think you can guess how I am. Looks like they didn't hit anything vital, though, so I'll walk this one off." She replies after a sigh.

"Don't play tough—you really should heal up if you want to make a run for it." The man says again over the radio, with some concern in his voice. "The nano-medpacks are for this kind of thing anyway; use them."

"Fine. Just no more surprises." Mirage reluctantly says in accord.

She retrieves a small stimpack from one of her hip pouches, tiny glass bits in the vial emitting a glow in the same golden hue of Dust. Mirage removes its cap and presses its needle end into her leg wound. She lets out a short grunt of discomfort, biting her lower lip as the nanomachines heal her gunshot wounds, glowing through her exposed skin and fur. After the stimpak empties, she plucks it off from her leg, throwing it to the side.

The agent waits for an opportunity to shoot back, carefully listening to the gunfire and then peeking out of cover just long enough to place some precise shots at the two lightly-armored securities on the balcony above. The short bursts of fire are just enough to wound them beyond standing.

"Cover me, reloading!" One of the troopers says after Mirage hides, with a break in the sound of gunfire for a moment. "Check your ammo!"

"Alright, I'm getting out of here. How much until the elevator?" She asks over the radio, grabbing a flash grenade from one of her leg pouches, readying it for a throw.

"It's getting close, but still slow. Just one more floor and you'll be right over it." The reply is heard.

"Got it, I'm on my way." She quickly throws the grenade around the edge of the pillar.

"Ah! Grenade—!" One of the soldiers exclaims just before the blast, the bright flash and the loud explosion disorienting all three and giving Mirage a chance to run past them.

Mirage runs from behind the pillar, jumping onto a nearby pillar and leaping from it onto the balcony, sprinting past the wounded securities.

"There you are! You're gonna regret coming here today!" Ahead of her, a trooper with a combat machete walks out of a side room, charging towards her direction. The agent unsheathes her blade again, holding it blade with both arms and striking with full force at the bladesman with a horizontal sweep.

The trooper parries Mirage's attack with his machete, the sound of clashing metal echoing and sparks flying around as the two blades meet. He pushes her blade to the side, trying to slash at her diagonally from below instead.

The blade duel continues with the two pushing each other around, slashes and parries being made by both of them. The guard kicks Mirage back after another parry, and then charges at her for a direct stab.

Mirage gets back into balance just in time hit the guard with an upwards sweep of her blade, severing his right hand in the process.

"Agh, you bitch! Dammit, I'll still kick your ass!" The guard swears in rage, clutching at his right arm with the left hand as he tries kicking Mirage at her midriff. She stops his leg with her right arm, and punches him in the face with the left hand.

The agent continues on the run, breaking through another door at the end of the corridor, now at a balcony above the northern lobby of this floor. A series of glass panes make up the window overlooking the neighboring commercial district area. Mirage can see the elevator down below, not too far from the floor now.

To her right, she can hear another security rushing into the balcony from nearby room. He fires some rounds at her, who in turn deflects them with the sword again.

"Dammit!" The security exclaims as he tries reloading his pistol, out of ammo. Mirage pulls her SMG from her left hip holster, shooting at the guard's legs and causing him to fall over in pain.

She proceeds by holstering her sidearm, sheathing her blade and vaulting over the handrail, landing on the floor below and crouching to dampen the landing's force. After standing up, she can hear two more men approaching, looking back to see a couple more troopers with machetes.

Mirage continues running alongside the balcony with the wall at her left, looking down at the cargo elevator out of the window to the right; Dust canisters and industrial power cells on top of it, she's certain that after getting there, things will be much easier.

To the front, Mirage spots two more guards with pistols at a door in the end of the corridor, while still being tailed by the two other attackers. She'd either have to fight her way through them, or…

After her sprint, she runs across the wall at her left, jumping away from the wall with full strength, and breaking through the glass panes as she propels herself away from the balcony. Reaching the cargo elevator with a rough landing, Mirage gets up in just enough time to hide behind a power cell before a shot grazes the elevator floor.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" One of the troopers exclaims to the rest of his group, lowering the weapon of a guard to his right with his hands. "Don't shoot, you'll get us all killed!"

Dangerous, but it did work. Hiding behind the power cells was enough to force the guards to stop firing at her—as an explosion right at the support pillar would probably collapse this section of the building. The troopers shout orders to the guards for regrouping at the top of the building, leaving the balcony with its shattered glass behind.

Still behind one of the power cells, Mirage can feel the chilly wind with the strong glare of the sunlight reflecting off her visor and her blade's edge. Not wasting any more time, she plants a demolition charge at the power cell arming it and syncing with her suit's readings.

"Hey! What's the idea there—didn't you say you didn't plan of bombing the place?" Mirage can hear the male voice on her earpiece again.

"My cover's blown, and I don't suppose they'll just let me walk off from the front door after this. The explosives will just keep them at bay until I'm out." She replies, standing up and looking at one of the platforms above. "Set the Raven to pick me up at the top helipad."

"Alright, fine, I'll get it heading your way. Just try not to kill everyone until then. Also, you should be in front of Elanus' office balcony in just a moment." He continues after his reply.

The elevator passes by the balcony, decorated with a small amount of greenery, its entrance blocked by a steel door. Its windows have been blocked by large steel plates.

Mirage bypasses the cargo elevator circuitry after opening one of its panels, stopping just at the right height for her to jump off the elevator. She sprints a short distance before jumping off the edge, making a rather graceful landing at the balcony, quickly examining the surroundings before walking closer to the entrance.

Looking for a weak point to enter the office, her AR visor displays info on the steel door's thickness—or the lack of thereof. She pulls the blade from its back sheath again, raising its frequency a considerable amount, causing it to give off some static jolts from its cutting edge.

Mirage steps close to the door, and slashes twice at it in an X-shaped pattern. She kicks the door's remains open as its separate pieces fall off, allowing her entrance. Stepping in, the pieces of the door that have been flung into the office broke a glass display case at the far side of the room, apparently having been enough to throw Elanus off his balance. From what it looks like, he was standing ready to shoot someone entering the office before falling, wiping off glass shards from his clothing afterwards, with a high-caliber revolver seen a couple meters from where sat.

Mirage takes a few steps towards him, lowering her blade's frequency as she nears the man. He tries reaching his gun, but she splits it in half with a swing of her sword after he tries aiming at her, standing right above him. Although unharmed, Elanus drops the damaged gun, showing a fair degree of shock after the blade almost slices his arm.

"You… you again. What, didn't hear me clearly the first time around? Or did you just come over here to finish the job?" Elanus says, panting between his sentences, hands up in yield, eyeing the high-frequency blade in fear.

"It might be hard to believe but I'm not the person that's a threat to you, Elanus." She says, still lowering the blade's frequency until its glow fades entirely.

"Yeah, well my guards probably are—"

"All still alive, worst injuries will be some slashes or a severed arm." She interrupts him, getting a handheld comm device from the desk at her left, tossing it onto Elanus' direction. "Tell your men that there's a bomb at the power cells back there. It's tied to my suit's lifesign readings, by the way; if anyone tries anything funny while I'm getting out of here, the whole place collapses. And tell them to stand down and give aid to their injured while at it."

"Right. How merciful of you…" Dean mutters under his breath, before radioing his men. "Elanus here, everyone stand down—we've got bigger issues to deal with now. There's some sort of bomb at cargo elevator 4, and we've got some people heavily injured by the infiltrator at the floors she went through."

"Copy that, sir." One of the guards says over the radio. "What about the infiltrator? We had a negative on her being neutralized; are you alrigh—"

"I'm fine; locked up in my office with the infiltrator, though it looks like this one's had it all planned to leave in her own terms. Get all units out from the top floors; she's leaving from that helipad unless we want the whole place in ruins." The man says, interrupting the guard.

"But sir—"

"Just do it. Elanus out." He puts the handheld device away, standing up from the floor with his hands up again.

"Just wondering out loud here, but from what I can tell you weren't afraid to use force to get here. Why am I supposed to believe you're not going to kill me?" He says, staring right onto Mirage's visor.

"I got spotted. It's not like I could just ask them to let me pass. In any case, wasn't trying to kill any of them. They were just in the way." She replies rather coldly, after a sigh.

"Well, I'd hate to see what you'd call an all-out assault." Elanus replies. "Now, 'Mirage', what's all of this really about? Let's just get down to business. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you at stabbing distance."

"I'm not here to convince you to help. I tried more than once and seems like they either have you really well paid or you really believe in what they're doing. It's not important. I'm just here to warn you about the people you're working for, Dean." Mirage says, taking a step closer to the fennec.

"W-what? Who are you talking abou—"

"Schermer. Cut the act. We both know what they've been up to."

Mirage interrupts Elanus by giving him a datapad. It lights up into life, displaying texts and pictures of what seemed to be some autopsy report of a woman in her late twenties—a Cornerian fox. The images showed she had several charred marks on her skin and fur, particularly around the nape and spine. The pad also had several other files on searching for specific genetic markers in Lylatian species' DNA, specific medical records, and several reports on other 'subjects' whose count was in the hundreds.

"That's… One of the volunteers we sent early on…" Dean says, his ears lowering in shock.

"You probably heard of 'failures' if you ever asked your superiors about the early 'subjects'. And there were others, but after some point, the autopsy reports just entirely vanish." Mirage speaks up after Dean reads on the files. "Interestingly enough, other reports—with a lot of references to erased or encrypted files—start to crop up at about the same time the autopsies stop coming in."

"And what's in these reports?" Dean asks.

"Honestly? I'm not sure if either of us would really like to know. I couldn't get my expert to crack their encryption on most of these files, and the erased files couldn't be recovered. The little we could decrypt brings up the word 'Avatar' several times in common across files, and mentions of 'resurrection' more times than we were comfortable with." She replies. "Either way, I don't know if this changes anything for you, and frankly, not that it matters. I'm just here to show you the side of this story they're not telling you. And it isn't pretty."

"Make what you will of all this. If you ever do change your mind, the datapad has the information you need to contact me. But I'll just say this once: if you send someone—anyone, trying to track me down, that'll be the last thing you do. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave." Mirage turns away from Elanus to walk off the door after a few moments of silence.

At the roof's helipad, an interceptor lands, seemingly unmanned. Mirage climbs to the top of the building and enters the fighter, taking off and flying into the distance.


IIn the air, Mirage receives a transmission from her specialist. She sets her fighter to autopilot, reclining her seat back into straightening it, and placing her hands on two haptic interface panels by her sides before patching the transmission through.

"Looks like you got lucky. They called off the alert in time for the Raven to touch down and leave. No forces in pursuit." He says, in some relief.

"Not as much luck as the fact I've probably got Elanus' attention now. The info on the Schermer operations at Rockwell Landing might be enough to make him more inquisitive with them at least." Mirage replies, relaxing with a slight sigh inside the aircraft as its flight continues, reaching cruise altitude.

"You think he may cooperate later on?" The man on the radio says again, seemingly typing in some commands at his device. "I don't know. He's well-connected. If we can turn him…"

"Maybe, who knows… honestly, I feel he might be too paranoid to do so directly, but that's a start if anything… Mh…" She says, stretching her right leg a bit, with a subtle grunt of discomfort.

"Hey, I heard that… Those wounds are still hurting, aren't they?" He says, typing some more commands on his side of the transmission.

A screen inside Mirage's fighter stops displaying the reports and displays this man instead—a relatively young Cornerian red fox in his mid twenties. He had short, slightly messy straight hair, wearing half-framed reading glasses with some sort of holographic display on the right lens. Behind the glasses, his eyes glowed slightly with a few Dust patterns outlining both of his irises.

"Hold still. Let me see if I can help you with that…" He says, typing some commands into his console before three small robotic arms are deployed from a ceiling panel above Mirage. One had a small incisor blade, while the other had a miniaturized laser cauterizer between a pair of thin, blunt claws, and the third seemed to have an injector of some sort.

The injector cycles between vials in its storage, loading a blue mixture before injecting it onto Mirage's wound at the right of her hip. Mirage shows some discomfort for a moment, but then relaxes again under some sort of anesthetic effect before the injector pulls away.

"This should help with the pain while the onboard medcare system does the rest. Are you feeling any better?" He asks.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt all that badly anymore. Thanks, Sam…" She replies, her vision blurring slightly while the onboard medical systems operate. It continues, repeating the process at her right leg and shoulder, with lesser anesthetic doses to avoid sedating the agent entirely as it removes small bullet fragments, placing them on a sliding tray by the side, cauterizing the wounds afterwards with the precision laser.

Lastly the injector cycles to a vial with a yellowish substance, injecting the solution onto the cauterized wounds before the fragment tray slides shut and the small robotic arms go back into their panels.

"That looks a lot better…" Mirage says, glancing at her exposed shoulder wound as it apparently begins to slowly heal itself up. The same starts to happen to the other shot graze wounds through her suit.

"The dermal regenerator will probably have anything on the surface healed up in a few hours." Sam says over her earpiece, his voice slightly lower than before. "The rest, I think your grafts are already taking care of… I'm sorry about those bad directions I gave you earlier, by the way. That was a bad call… I should have paid more attention to their movements."

"Mistakes happen… Just be more careful next time." She replies, almost closing her eyes. "Just don't let it happen again. I don't think we'll get this lucky so soon…"

"I understand… Once you're back, we can review our findings and prepare our next move. Until then… you should probably rest on the way back. You haven't had much time to sleep with how you've been busy this week…" Sam continues, noticing Mirage seemingly exhausted. "Don't worry; I'll get you home safe."

"Alright… I'll leave the flying on your remote access if you need it… We'll talk once I'm back at the… base…" Between the sedatives and exhaustion, Mirage barely finishes speaking before she falls asleep.

The interceptor leaves Corneria's atmosphere, further accelerating into space en route to its point of origin.


Far out in space, in the orbit of a terran planet…

The sound of alert beacons blared through the creaking noise of metal and tremors at the interior of a ship. Circuits shorting out and overloading, charred walls tinted red from the warning lights, and the ship crew rushing for evacuation gave the hallways of the ship an unbearable atmosphere.

"Warning, ship entering critical trajectory… Alert; Decks 4 and 9 have been lost. All hands, proceed with emergency evacuation protocols."

"How many modules can we still detach!?" At the bridge of the ship, the captain shouted through the chaos to his crew. "We need to evacuate as many people as we can!"

An explosion at the aft of the ship breaks its engines apart, the ship drifting away and approaching the planet.

"We don't have a choice—if we don't release, the entire crew is going to die!" The captain argues with the crewmen.

Another tremor shakes the ship as one of its now-deserted central decks explodes, with the bridge sealed away from the rest. A few seconds after, dozens of small pods are launched away from the ship in sequence, slowing down and spreading away from the ship as it falls planetside.

"Crew pods at safe distance. Releasing modules!" An engineering officer at the bridge calls out. "Communications… released! Command module… released! Detaching auxiliary systems… now!"

"All modules in flight! Final burn for ship core deceleration!"

The mangled ship core takes its distance by decelerating further from the released modules, a blazing trail of fire being drawn from the escape pods and modules along the ship core as they fall into the atmosphere. The hail of objects falling down to the planet draws seemingly countless streaks of light on its path…

Attention: This is an automated distress signal from the CCV Nova-5…


15th of Month Three, 2984 GST – Corneria City, Central District, 'Division Omega Headquarters'

Down at Corneria City, not long after the incident…

After Division Omega was transferred into the CDF's chain of command, the chiefs of staff made sure to reinforce measures to placate the more confrontational elements within the system.

An open-channel policy was adopted between the Confederacy and the nations of the Joint Initiative, to encourage improved relations. Outsiders still were seen as the mystified, strange and unknowable beings by most, although that notion began to slowly fall apart as Lylat became more accustomed to dealing with their presence.

Isolated cases of unruly citizens still were found across the system, and despite all having officially accepted the collective actions, a few states of the Lylatian worlds accepted the state of peace begrudgingly. More isolationist worlds and colonies such as Macbeth still felt had a general feeling of resent against the Outsider community, and murmurs about secession from the Confederacy ran left and right across the system.

By then, the CDF had assigned The Division to low-profile scientific-military missions of reconnaissance in the interstellar neighborhood for strategic resources and assets, as well as assigning deep-space exploration in the so-called Milky Way. Despite the many feats of the people in that galaxy, a good half of its worlds still sat uncharted.

However, several freak incidents had been reported across the Confederacy. Enter The Division's main overarching goal: Investigating and intervening in all Outsider matters across the Confederacy.


"Commander McCloud!" A distant male voice calls, barely heard through the noise within The Division's Headquarters.

The operations command center for this elusive branch of the CDF became surprisingly busy after being re-staffed. However, only a fair minority of Outsider specialists remained within the staff. Nonetheless, its activity steadily increased as more incidents and reports came in.

"Commander! I need a minute of your attention!"

These words snap James' attention back to reality, away from the readings on the Lylatian holomap he was examining. The officer made his way through the crowd, approaching the Commander, quickly saluting James afterwards, introducing himself.

"Senior Agent Roberts, sir—I'm with the Cornerian Investigation Committee." He says, a stern look on his face. "I'm sorry to barge in this way, but I've got urgent intel on the Nova Case."

"The missing vessels?" James says, stepping down a short set of stairs towards the officer. "Do we have leads on either one of the two vessels that have gone dark?"

"Three, sir."

"Another one…" James grits his teeth, and shakes his head. "I'm guessing those were the bad news then."

"I'm afraid we've also confirmed that at least this ship, the CCV Nova-5, has been destroyed." Roberts adds, some hesitation in his voice. "However, we have a location for this incident. The last known coordinates point towards Clavis-III."

"Clavis-III? Outpost Miriam is in Clavis-IV—what were they doing there?" James replies.

"Unfortunately, we don't really know why they were headed that way in the first place." He says, stepping closer and handing over a datapad. "All the info we have is within these files. Needless to say, the chiefs of staff would like this matter to be solved before people become alarmed. You're the best-qualified unit to take care of this, so we'll be glad to have whatever assistance you can spare."

"We'll do what we can, Roberts. For now, let the Committee know we'll order a team to investigate." James says.

Examining the classified documents in the datapad, James swipes quickly through blueprints and specifications of the ship, reading over reports up until the loss of contact. Walking back to the information center's holomap, James plays the internal footage of the CCV Nova-5 from the datapad on the holoscreens in front of him.

The recordings from the ship seemed to show normal operation, but the Commander noticed something unusual. Towards the end of the ship's records, he saw images and short recordings of heavily armed men marching at the main deck of the ship. They were using lightweight combat fatigues and compact carbines suitable for close-quarters-combat. However, James had his attention on the emblem these men had on their armor.

James had already seen that emblem before.

A white shield, gold-colored three-point-star at the center, black and gold trim with a sword at the back.

That was the Schermer emblem that Mirage had on her suit.

That's it. He thought. It all made sense: The Schermer are the ones behind the missing vessels.

But what are they after? …And why did they destroy the Nova-5?

James swiped at the datapad again. Most of the remaining data was heavily encrypted or linked with missing references, but there was a concerning, cryptic image in the files. It seemed like a medical room or a laboratory, with a deceased Cornerian fox on an examination table. She seemed to have been killed by some sort of burn wound—although it seemed localized around her nape.

James' concerns only rose after seeing this. From what little data was readable, it was made clear this was some sort of Dust experiment. He stared at the shot of the nape and the back of the woman, though he was more concerned about what this could mean for Krystal.

He shook his head, sighing and closing all files on the terminal.

"Upload copies of all files from this datapad to the Endurance: authorization, Commander James McCloud." James says coldly, commanding the computer.

"Put me on broadcast, forward to all Division Omega operatives." He gestures at the holoscreen, putting himself on a video broadcast.

"To all agents of The Division, this is Commander James McCloud speaking. We've received critical intel on the missing Nova vessels. I will personally oversee the investigation of the reported area of disappearance with the crew of the CCV Endurance." He speaks up at his station, his voice echoing across The Division's headquarters.

"All Endurance crew, prepare for departure ASAP. James out."


17th of Month Three, 2984 GST – Corneria Orbital Spacedock, CDF Ring

James paced among the corridors of Corneria Spacedock once again. However, time was of the essence in this mission, to make sure they could reach Clavis-III in time to find answers—or possibly survivors.

Halfway through to reach the Endurance, James' hand terminal rings and vibrates in his jacket. He holds it up to see a message.

To his surprise, it was a contact he hadn't heard from in a long time.

It was the same channel Mirage used in the diplomatic meeting five years prior. Cryptic as ever, her only instructions seemed to be: "I'm at the cargo area in the next door right to you, meet me there."

A short detour afterwards, James finds himself behind short stacks of crates and small containers. The main station hallway could still be seen rather clearly, and the area was better lit this time around.

While looking for Mirage, James is startled as he feels someone tap his shoulder.

"Next time, check your corners." That distinct feminine voice was heard from behind again, with slight jest. "That's how they get you."

"Mirage. Convenient you show up right about now – We've got new intel on possible Schermer activity." James turns towards her, before glancing towards the hallway.

"The Nova case." She replies.

"So you know about that one as well. The Bureau gave us the info a few days ago." James replies, slightly surprised.

"It took some convincing, but I managed to get a known collaborator to relay some information." She says, arms crossed with a small gesture. "I'm glad to see the info went through the right people."

"I assume there's a reason you didn't get this information to me directly."

"Yes. It would be way too obvious if your team specifically knew about the Schermer operations. Considering I was the only one supposed to be remotely involved in my intel gathering duty." Mirage says. "More likely that a weaker link on their own setup decides to grow a conscience. Which might have just happened at this point."

"So, how's your plan going so far? It's been a long time—though I imagined something would have gone public by now." James asks, arms crossed as well.

"Hmph. What do you think?" She says, facetiously. "Honestly, I almost got killed to get that collaborator to spread a kernel of intel, but I guess it was worth it."

She turns to face a nearby advertisement viewscreen at the area, showing some scenic footage of Corneria City.

"When I look at what we've built here, I just can't stand to think it can all go to waste because of some old men who think they're anywhere close to being good leaders." She says. Her voice encompassed some sadness as she spoke. "I was always told that we would be working towards a greater goal, that we would be helping our people… A lifetime of thinking you're doing the right thing and then realization hits you—you were a pawn in the game. Being used by the people you trusted the most."

James stays silent while Mirage speaks. He can see Mirage shake slightly as she sighs, clenching her fists while trying to stay calm.

"But… we've been over this. I know that you and your crew are fighting for all the right reasons—no matter the organization you're under." She turns towards James again, less tense.

"I'll be accompanying your team from a distance through this mission. I need to see whatever they're doing at Clavis-III and IV for myself." Mirage says, taking a step towards him.

"We'll probably have a better chance of finding clues to the ship's fate if we work together." James concludes. "I'm guessing you have a ship?"

"I've had my share of being an unauthorized passenger already. You'll know my ship once you see it, I'm sure. But until then, I'll try to not draw too much attention." She replies.

"Can't wait to see you in the air, then. But word of advice on drawing attention—you might want to work on that when it comes to personal meetings. Exosuits and high frequency blades aren't exactly subtle." James comments in jest, gesturing towards Mirage.

"Smartass, huh? I think I'm starting to like you." She smirks over the comment, hands on her hips.

During the short encounter, a callout is heard across the station:

"Attention, all crew members of the CCV Endurance, undocking will begin shortly. All Endurance crew, report to dock 14."

"I suppose this is my cue to leave." Mirage says, taking a step back and looking around. "Let's not waste any time. I'll contact you again once we're at the Clavis system. Good luck, James."

"Safe travels, Mirage. We'll get to the bottom of this."

James bids his leave, parting ways with Mirage afterwards. He continues on his way to the Endurance.

Later, the ship undocks from the orbital station. Its main thrusters light up, driving it away from the station at full speed, before its drive core activates and propels the ship into warp speed with a flash and a pulse.

Not long after, a small flicker follows in the Endurance's trail…