Gambit and the rest of team Raptor all were on board of a ship, headed for Argus. They were set to arrive in a week. While it would have been better for them as a sole squad to be sent with the rest of the vanguard on one of the personnel freighters, since they were now the commanding officers, they were to remain with the rest of the invasion's main armies in the ship.
They were all on board of a very well equipped aircraft carrier, stocked and revised well enough to not need any incoming supplies or maintenance for at least 2 months. The last thing Gambit wanted was a chance for enemy spies or spycraft to make it in and spoil the operation
"Gambit" called Cipher from behind
"Yes?" they replied, still looking out in the distance
"Team Intelect is here" said Cipher, as he slowly walked up to their partner
"What about the rest of BIFROST?" said Gambit, still not turning
"Well. Blitzkrieg is with the vanguard. Firebreak is back home. Overwatch is here with us. Saturn and Tyrant are back at Atlas"
"So its just Teams Raptor, Overwatch and Intellect leading an invasion?" asked Gambit, in that same monotone voice they could pitch
Cipher stood next to Gambit to see out the window with them
"Yes….Looking at the airships?" he asked
"Yeah. Never understood them myself"
"Well. The atlesians sure knew many things about them. I have had a field day dissecting some of their plans and prototypes" said Cipher, looking at the airship take off, carrying a team in it
"And what did you discover about them?" asked Gambit
"Well. For starters. They improved their afterburners and overall design to be more efficient and aerodynamic. But that's for the dogfighters. Small transport Mantas remained the same. What i'm more impressed about is their mechanized infantry. You saw those things in the galleries right?" said Cipher, looking genuinely excited for the first time in weeks
"I have. You mean those mechs and synthetics they have?" they asked
"Yeah. The synthetics….are impressive. They can work for days even and rarely need to hit the charge station" said Cipher as he began trying to bring out the good aspects about them. Then Pigmallion arrived
"But they are very vulnerable to viruses and are an explosive threat if you rig them correctly" she said. But then continued
"But yeah. They are still impressive. Seems like someone found a hobby other than booze"
Cipher turns around, a bit angered
"What was that?"
"Oh, I also need to repeat, on top of it all?" said Pigmallion, before Gambit turned to separate them
"Alright. Enough. Let's go, we have to meet with Intellect and draft some war plans" they said, before walking out of the room, followed by Pigmallion and Cipher
Soon enough, the group met up with Nero and the rest of team NTLC, as well as with Overwatch, which also had been named by skipping formal naming conventions, just like them
Nero wore a scorched marble mask that he had ripped off a sculpture in Juno. While he had illegally obtained it before joining the military, thanks to his intellect, he could pull some strings and keep it on him, both literally and figuratively. Unlike the rest of the Reapers and Executioners around him, he didn't wear the cowl and instead of a full cape, he opted for a shoulder cape. He also wore a vest with more pockets in favor of lighter armor, seeing no need for heavy protection like those on the field
"So. The new commander came up to be none other than you?" said Nero, in a marked accent
"Yes. Delauren named me commander"
"Well, I trust that the Chancellor did it under proper circumstances and fully aware"
"Still holding that grudge, aren't you?" said Gambit, changing into their more...hostile male voice
"Well, lets just get to it. Overwatch is on the back, they brought the map of Mistral just in case" said Nero, pointing his thumb at the back. Overwatch's leader, Reaper Apollo displayed the map after saluting. They wore a laurel wreath with a veil that covered their face. They didn't talk much, even talking less than Gambit
"Thanks Apollo. So...We're en route to Argus. Assume we're going to be stopping at the bay and initiating hard landings, in case the vanguard fails to weaken Argus enough" said Gambit, pointing at Argus
"Even if the last time Maelstrom got here was some good decades ago, we can presume the military infrastructure is around the same location, if it is still organized. Being stuck in a port without communications outside and under siege, I doubt they can hold any long once we get there" said Gambit
"Even then, we need to scout the city. If they shifted their base's location or have any radars or remaining defenses, we need them pinpointed and, if possible, taken out before we begin performing those landings" said Pigmallion
"Well, Fraulein Oracle is right. We can't just go in assuming that our outdated maps can still work as good reference...ahem, Herr Kommandant"
"It would be...Fraulein Pigmallion now, Nero. But you have a point. Apollo, can you get us that scout intel?"
"Yes. The problem is that we can't risk a spycraft mission now, not without that siege. We're behind schedule and the civilians have begun posing problems for the vanguard. They're fighting them probably to stop them from heading to Lake Matsu" said Apollo in response, pointing at points in the map corresponding to critical paths in Mistral and the city proper
"Ah. Well, we need that siege yesterday then. Has the vanguard worked out who is organizing the resistance?" asked Cipher
"That would be the leader of the Branwen bandits. Name is Raven Branwen" said one of Nero's partners, Reaper Chlorine
"Hmm. Anything else?"
"Aside of them, some of Atlas' remnants that are stranded in Argus….and of course civilians forming militias. Nothing else. No Huntsmen, no nothing. Mistral police are all garrisoned at Mistral to defend their council"
"Hmm. Must have been one juicy capture they got all that information from" said Crystal, coming in a bit late
"Who invited the novice?" asked Nero
"He's with my team. And he would be your superior officer now"
"Argh...Fine" said Nero
"Well, kid. What do you have that can help?" said Apollo
"Well. I'm no kid but I can do this…" Crystal then uses his semblance and sneaks right next to Nero
"Hopefully it comes in handy" said Crystal after disengaging his semblance
"It would if it didn't cause you eye-strain" said Apollo, who then pointed out
"Not like we can miss your excessive blinking through that eye hole. Evident sign of ocular exhaustion"
Crystal was speechless as Apollo finished speaking
"Well. Even then, I think we can work out a spycraft mission between you and I, umm…" said Crystal, then stopping to realize that he only knew his teammates in that room
"It's Apollo. Reaper Apollo"
"Yeah. Apollo...Awesome" said Crystal
"Well. For now, pack some cauterizer and fly fast. If Argus picks you up, we will have a way harder time entering the city. May also need a way for the vanguard to begin advancing, so if you can relieve them of some pressure somehow, it will work wonders" says Gambit
"So. Give us our orders" said Apollo, recorder in hand
Gambit changes back to their "normal" voice
"Your orders are to identify critical military structures in Argus and provide aerial support for the vanguard and return to the carrier" Gambit said, in their "default" somber, guttural voice
Gambit signaled both of them out with their thumb. Apollo hinted at Crystal who then immediately left
"Now. Let's focus on other stuff" said Gambit, clearing their throat and returning to the more calm, male voice
"Anything from the other kingdoms?" they asked, as he went to a nearby cabinet to see if Apollo had left anything else for them
"Actually, one of our informants in the city of Vacuo says that the Huntsmen there just picked up lots of civilians from the desert" said Nero
"Which informant? Pers or Kijani?" said Gambit, grabbing a map of Vacuo and a list of number sequences
"Pers. We managed to tap their frequency and initiate their protocol" said Nero, stretching the fingers of his hand, boasting a bit
"So the Chancellor really went all out on this, huh?" said Gambit
"Yeah. He gave the order I followed through. More compelling than following a certain somebody's orders" said Nero
"Well. Tell me which ones you woke up yourself" asked Gambit, ordering it pretty much
"Just Pers. All the others are still inactive" responded Nero
"Good. Because for now, we should focus on Mistral. Once done with Mistral, we can activate... others" said Gambit
"Concerned about that one?" asked Nero, turning his back as he sat down
"Yeah. Subject 85 could prove a powerful piece if we time her activation correctly" said Gambit, closing the cabinet and heading back to the table, to display the map of Vacuo fully
"But for now...We have to focus on 2 things. Mistral is our main objective. Vacuo will probably come next, assuming they will join Vale and make a joint resistance at Sanus to stop us from crossing the channel" said Gambit
Pigmallion and Cipher just looked at both of them. Chlorine was just resting around. They weren't doing much, only waiting for Gambit to call them when needed
"So. Vacuo. What do we have?" asked Gambit
"Well, from what Pers squeaked out, they are amassing their forces. She's unable to know about their plans yet but for now, we are safe. They're incommunicated and are currently busy trying to treat the wounded that just arrived from Atlas" Nero responded
"Alright. Are we needed here right now, Gambit?" asked Cipher
"No. Feel free to leave" they replied, clearly focused on the matter of Vacuo
"You could have said so earlier" said Cipher on his way out. Chlorine just watched. Pigmallion stayed, but not to intervene in the conversation. She was looking into a nearby terminal
"And...Fraulein Pigmallion. Anything you got for us other than your...partner's unfortunate passing?" said Nero, turning around just to look at her from the other side of the room
Pigmallion clenched her fist then continued what she was doing
"Well. For now, I'm working on my drones. So if you could please leave it there, I would thank you greatly, Nero"
"Well. In case you are still grieving, rest assured that it definitely was her mistake that she passed and not yours. Clear act of incompetence that must not be tolerated" said Nero, in full misdemeanor of Psyche
Pigmallion turns around and throws a paper weight at Nero, who blocks it with the chair. She didn't have her drones on her so she couldn't really do much else
"Hey. Shut the fuck up, alright? I'm not in the mood for your stupid" she said
"Well. Can you expect something better from a lab rat?" said Gambit. They then catch a knife mid-air
"Careful, Kommandant. I remind you that, while a lab rat, I can still face you in more ways than raw combat" said Nero, who then headed out. He stopped by Gambit and grabbed the knife back, then continued
"If you excuse me…"
"You're not quite dismissed yet. I need one more thing" said Gambit, not turning to look at Nero
"8594 is the activation code you are searching for. In case you need it. Anything else, I am waiting on the Chancellor's orders" said Nero, before leaving
Pigmallion sighed and went back to work. Gambit sighed then went for another cabinet, where they pulled out a bottle of water. They placed a straw on the bottle then passed it through one of the eye holes. Whenever they had the time, Gambit preferred to drink that way.
"And we didn't get to draft the plans for the fucking thing….Amazing" said Gambit
"This invasion is going to go great…" they then concluded