*Gibraltar: Hologram Room*
"Let's run Situation L again" Quillion said, his voice echoed in the large room.
"Very well"
King's Row appeared around him with arrows shown as pathways pointing to various alleys or streets on the ground, each carefully studied to raise the probability of a successful extraction in case a gas attack occurs.
"I do not think that this situation is probable" Athena said to Quillion as he runs the course.
"We must be prepared for most situations"
"Corporal Zero, if I may, I believe your mind is not truly focused on the task at hand"
He smiled in amusement, how would an AI know that?
"How so?"
"According to your previous habits, you are satisfied with only 5 possibilities and counter measures, now you have reached the 12th, I believe that you are looking for distractions"
"What a nosy AI" he thought to himself.
"Well, this is my first bodyguard mission so I have to be extra careful"
"Are you sure this is not regarding to the revelation of Lieutenant Oxton's relationship?"
He stopped running and the room flashed red as the gas caught up to him, freezing the simulation.
"Now why would you even suggest that?"
"Your behavior has changed since the meeting"
"Why would you keep track of that?"
"Because I calculate the probability of success for each agent by studying their current behaviors"
Quillion leaned back in amazement under the largest statue, technology has truly advanced dramatically since he was frozen.
"So what is my probability of success?"
"At this moment, there is a high probability, however, if your emotions continues to deteriorate, I will need to ask the Commander to replace you as a bodyguard"
"Well I'll be sure not to fail your standards then"
"What standards?" Lena said behind him, causing him to jump.
"Nothing" he said a little too quickly, causing her to stare.
"Athena, what are you two talking about?"
Quillion was about to quickly give another command to stop Athena in case she said something that he didn't want Lena to hear, but the AI responded.
"We were discussing the standard probabilities of success for each situation, we are currently at situation L"
Huh? Did the AI just cover for him?
Lena looked around her and he noticed her complexion became tense, for a split second he thought he saw fear in her eyes as she stares at the statue above him before she quickly blinked to the control panel, turning off the simulation.
"Quil, I don't think there would ever be a gas attack in London!"
"Corporal Zero feels it is important to be ready for most situations"
"Well… I suppose, but this is too much! We are going for vacation, not a warzone!" Lena exclaimed.
"I…" Quillion tried to speak but unable to find words.
"Common, England is a safe place, stop overthinking it, why do you think Emily's there?" she said.
Emily. That name again. Why does it annoy him to hear it?
"Yeah I suppose, how long have you two known each other?"
"Why would that matter?" she said, the tone of her voice becoming defensive.
"Corporal Zero requires that information to help him better understand his clients so he could enhance his planning"
What is going on? Why is Athena helping him?
"And as I said before, London is safe, anyway, I'm just here to remind you that you can't bring your rifle into England so you'll need to find a replacement"
"Ahh yes, it is in the reports, which is a pity, she's gonna be lonely here, good thing Tobjorn gave me my present early" he said, pulling out his new pistol in hopes it will impress her, but she ignored it.
"I'm sure 'she' needs a vacation too"
With that Lena blinked away, probably back to her room to pack.
"Thanks Athena… Why did you cover for me?" Quillion said as he let out a sigh of relief.
"Winston asked me to provide you with some assistance with unimportant issues if possible, especially after your last mission with Jesse McCree"
"Oh ok, yeah thanks" he said, shuddering as the memory of him running away from the Deadlock Gang dressed as a woman so that McCree could sneak in to steal 'very important stuff', which later turned out to be a bottle of moonshine.
"Is it true? That in the previous mission McCree had to save you as you were running away from a herd of stampeding bulls in the nude through a town?"
"Run away fro- Who said that?!" Quillion snapped.
"McCree"
"No it was… I… You know, some things are better left unanswered..." he finished lamely, unable to break the promises he made to McCree months ago, which he wished he could just break it just once... Then he realized that the truth is no better than the lie either.
"Affirmative, would you like to run the course again?"
"Before we continue, I gotta say, you are more like a human than an AI"
"Thank you, I am sure Winston will be pleased to hear it, even though I will never be truly human"
"You're getting there" Quillion yawned as he stretched out his arms.
"Unlikely, I am programmed to be entirely loyal to Overwatch and I will never become "lazy" as humans describe it, therefore, I can never be truly a free agent like a human"
Quillion couldn't argue with that, though this reminded him about his deal with Morrison months before, how his loyalty will stay true as long as they are considered as the "good guys" in his book.
"Shall we run through each Situation again?"
"Very well, bring up A" Quillion said as he ready himself at the starting point.
*Hours later*
Night must have fallen when Quillion is finally satisfied with his work, with hundreds of probabilities and thousands of pathways, it will take Athena a few hours to download it into his tablet.
Walking back to his quarters for a much-needed rest, he heard the sounds of a guitar coming from Lena's room. They were the only 2 left in this part of Watchpoint, which was good as she can now play it as loudly as she wants.
"Huh, she really likes that song" he thought to himself when he recognizes that it is the song he taught her for weeks now. Feeling somewhat proud of himself as she can play this almost flawlessly, he entered his room. Today has been a good day.
With everything prepared so well, he has absolutely no worries and all that's left is excitement. He has only been to London once before and from Athena's simulations, it has changed beyond recognition.
A statue of some important Omnic figure named Monda-something, new structures have been made while keeping the cultural integrity, even the Borough Market has seen some sort of facelift. Plenty of things for him to add to his sketch book.
After a shower and changing into a simple shirt and shorts, he lay on his bed, embracing its comfort as he reminds himself to never take it for granted again, another lesson McCree taught him through their "missions".
As he was about to drift to sleep, a scream pierce through the quiet hallways.
"Lena?!" he shouted as he jumped off the bed, grabbing his pistol next to his bed and ran to her door.
"Athena! Open the door!" he shouted as he tried to open the locked door.
She said something that he could not hear as another scream pierced from her room, this time he heard something breaking.
Upon hearing that, he made a desperate decision.
"Stay away from the door!" he shouted.
Angling his pistol, he shot the lock of the door, praying that the bullet will not ricochet and hit her. Once the lock is out of the way he forced his way in, where a sight made his heart stop.
Her room looked as if it has been ransacked, the chair and table has been thrown aside and the bed is upturned. There was no one but Lena in the room, who is crouched down in the corner in a fetus position, her head buried deep in her arms as she screams into them.
"Lena... Wha..."
"It should've been me... It should've been me..." she chanted, terrifying Quillion.
"Athena! What is wrong with her?" he asked desperately.
"Her trauma has been triggered, I am contacting Angela now"
Trauma? He has been here for months and never once she behaved this way.
"Lena!" he heard Angela shouted as she flew towards them.
"Angela!" she sobbed, running quickly into his arms, sobbing into her chest.
"It's okay Lena... It's okay..." Angela said, trying to comfort her.
"No! You don't understand! I should've been me! Everything would've worked out if it was me!"
Quillion stood there still as a statue, not knowing what to do. He has never seen Lena like this.
"Wh... What can I do?" he asked numbly.
"You can go back to your room, there is nothing much we can do now" Angela said as Lena held onto her tightly.
Reluctantly he exited her room, the feeling of uselessness riddled him as he stood outside, unwilling to go back to his room. He leaned on the wall outside as he continue to hear her frighten whimpers and Angela saying something to her.
"I see that you found out" Winston said as he walked towards him.
"Why? What happened to her?" Quillion asked.
"Failure, one that is catastrophic to her mind"
Quilloin stared, never did he imagine that she is even capable of failure, let alone one that scarred her like this.
"She said it should've been her, what does that mean?"
Winston made sure the door is fully shut before answering.
"Athena told me that you have done simulations that included Kings Row today?"
Quillion nodded.
"That was where Lena suffered her greatest defeat from her rival"
"What happened?"
"I'm sure you are familiar with an Omnic named Mondatta?"
The name sounded familiar... Then he realized it is the Omnic which the statue was built in honor to.
"It has something to do with this?"
"He is the source of her trauma"
"Why?"
"He was the last voice to mend the wounds that were created by the First Omnic Crisis, Lena happened to be there when he gave one of his many speeches"
"Talon sent their best assassin to take him out and Lena took it upon herself to protect Mondatta... But she failed. His death gave the Null Sector the perfect rallying call for a revolt in Kings Row, one which Overwatch stopped"
"I've read about that, it was successful wasn't it?"
"Unfortunately no... After the events in Kings Row, another uprising rose in Russia and it seems to be getting worse"
"So... Lena blames herself for causing the Second Omnic Crsis?"
"Correct"
"But… Does not seem like it is her fault, Talon and the Null Sector are the main cause of this"
"We have told her many times that it is not her fault that Mondatta was killed, but she does not listen"
"So what can we do?"
"Do not mention Mondatta or King's Row around her from now on"
Stunned at this revelation, he nodded as Angela exits her room.
"She has calmed down now, we should let her rest"
"Can she fly tomorrow?" Winston asked.
"Probably not, it is unfortunate she has a panic attack now, but she must go, she needs to rest and going back home will be helpful for her"
"What should I do if this happens again?" Quillion asked.
"Be there for her, that is all we can do" Angela said.
*Russia: Novo-Ogaryovo*
Winter. One of Russia's greatest natural barriers against invading armies, is now becoming less of a threat against the Null Sectors, to the dismay of Russia's children.
The Null Sector armies have begun perfecting their warming capabilities and have been increasing their attacks with each passing week, lasting longer in the blizzards as they pushed against the Russian lines again and again, and though they have been pushed back each time, it has taken a toll for the Russian soldiers.
The Russians have effectively trapped the entire Null Sector army in the city of Perm, encircling the city in both the North and Southern parts of the river. Once it was the leading industries for machinery and resources for the Motherland, now the Omnics has completely took over and made it into a mega industrial site for their armies.
Most of the soldiers have not been rotated out from the front because of the blizzards and the constant battles prevented reliable transports back to more secure zones of the battlefield. This endless vigilance combined with the cold begun breaking the men.
When their food and water begun showing up frozen, it is the final straw for the men. Threatening rebellion and desertion, High Command struggled to supply the basic necessities to the front, but every effort ends in disaster.
"Reports from the front has verified that the food and drinks are still frozen upon delivery despite the new materials we used to seal the supplies" a Major General reported.
Panic rose from the table, most of them are just low ranking officers who have been promoted when their predecessors all died off randomly throughout the war. Most of them accepted the post because they thought they could just follow the previous procedures and get a fat paycheck.
They were wrong.
Ever since the Russian hero Zarya left the front, the war swung to the Null Sector's favor.
The attack in Volskaya's Industries which led to her hospitalization and the cancellation of the parade has been damaging to the morale for both the army and the people.
Every day the Null Sector inched closer towards high population areas, prodding the perimeter that surrounded them endlessly. To make matters worse, they could not even deliver proper food and water to the troops.
"A representative from Vishkar Corporation has called, he claims he could solve our current crisis" a General said.
"Ok, bring him up"
Pulling in a large screen and ensure that the translator is ready before accepting Sanjay Korpal's call.
"Good day gentleman, I will be brief. We have received your order for Hard Light crates and your shipment is ready"
"About time! Send them over now!" one man cried out, earning the annoyed stare of other commanders.
"You sure that your crates will prevent the food and water from freezing?"
"Not only that, your soldiers can use them as makeshift defenses because the material is still hard light" Sanjay said confidently, earning many nods from the generals.
"So this will be delivered to everyone in the front line?" one asked excitedly.
"Yes, this will solve your food problems and more"
"Good! Send them over now and –"
"Stop" a voice called out.
Everyone looked at the most senior officer among their ranks, the Army General who is considered incompetent by his peers but he undoubtly holds the most experience amongst them.
"You many only send the shipment to our reinforcing lines and we can deliver the food ourselves to the front, you have never supplied to military operations before so you can understand our caution"
"Let us be rational here, most of your suppliers have left and I'm the only one who can help you"
"Careful Sanjay, you do not want to threaten us" the Army General shot back.
"My apologies, that was not my intention"
"General! We need our supplies to the front now!" an officer cried out desperately, which was followed by others.
"We must stay calm and-"
"There is no time for calm! We have to take action now!"
The Army General looked at the desperate faces around him and the increased shouting, he realized that he cannot control this band of idiots any longer. Seeing that he lost the command structure, he made his decision.
"Very well... Proceed with the deliveries to the front" he said, feeling relieved at the cheers from the table.
"Thank you" Sanjay said before cutting the call.
*India: Vishkar Corporation*
"Thank you"
Sanjay sat back against his chair, hands behind his head, grateful that Reaper made this possible. He was not joking when he said he made sure that the new leaders are selected out of desperation.
He dreamed of the day Vishkar will be destroyed and the first step is official. Once it goes bankrupt, he can buy its assets and rebrand it into his vision on how it should truly be. Instead of buildings and security, war engines and weapons will be produced.
Doomfist may think that no one will profit from causing a global conflict, but he is too naïve, only those with money will win wars, and he plans to be ahead for the coming war.
"Mr Korpal, the Omnic is calling"
"Transfer the call"
Maximilien showed up on screen, adjusting his suit again to ensure there will be no unnecessary creases.
"Good day Mr Korpal, I trust that we are proceeding with the deal?"
"Yes, so how are we going to do this?"
"I have just bought multiple businesses in Egypt where your main funding will be sourced from"
"Excellent, how much do I have access to?"
"Enough"
Sanjay paused for a moment, expecting a figure from Maximilien but he stayed silent, staring back at him silently.
"Enough what?"
"You will have enough"
"I'll need a figure Maximilien"
"Only I will know the figures, no one else"
"Wait no, that is not acceptable! How can I do business without know how much I have to work with?"
"I have already said that it will be enough"
Sanjay could not believe his ears, how could he work under these conditions? Maximilien remained still as a statue before speaking again.
"May I ask why do you need the funds? Apparently you require a large sum, am I to assume you wish to focus on profit from the upcoming chaos?"
"Of course not! You think I'm doing this for the money? I just want to... To destroy Vishkar" he finished in a quiet voice.
"Then you have nothing to worry about when I say you will have enough"