As usual, Joanna had only a few hours to sleep, eat, shower, dress, and prepare for the next mission. She walked into Carrington's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Joanna! Good, I'm glad you got here early. You should know that the strike missions were a great success. Faww has drawn back almost all of his forces onto the satellite. However, we might have been… let's say, too successful…"
"Too successful? What are you talking about?"
"In some of the missions, our agents were killed or captured. One of the agents captured spilled everything about our plans: Faww now knows we've taken down every other building, he knows we plan on attacking the satellite; what's more, he has proof that it's us.
"Last night, I got a call from someone in the FBI. We've been notified that the Carrington Institute shall be under investigation, because they 'never would have allowed a direct assault against another organization'. While we aren't being shut down, federal agents are coming in to keep an eye on us. The Institute was founded for space research, and although we've gotten some leeway, Faww seems to have more influence in the government. We've been ordered to turn over all of our technologies; should anything happen, they will have 'reinforcements' on call."
"How can Faww do this?! He's more of a rogue than we are!"
"Calm down, Joanna. I have legal aides working on it. It's just that all of our agents need to be informed. I'll have to confiscate your Falcon 2."
She handed it over, grumbling. "I don't see what the point is to all of this."
"Faww is just trying to shut us down. It won't work, don't worry. We've already contacted the Maians, and they are eager to give us a hand after what happened two years ago."
"At least Cassandra didn't hide behind authorities."
Carrington continued. "Now, Faww has been ordered to shut down the mines and cloaking device around the satellite, and inspectors plan on riding up to see what's going on. However, I want to make sure that he goes along with their plans. You need to shut down one last base so he can't still hide. He should be as naked as we are right now." He typed into a computer, and a holographic map of the Earth appeared over his desk.
"The only remaining forces of his still on Earth are located at this base. I've already given the pilot the coordinates. I got a hold of an old friend, and he's agreed to take a shipment of weapons out of the Institute so you'll still have something. You should leave as soon as you can, because-" Just then, two men in black suits and sunglasses walked into the room. Carrington turned off the map. Joanna didn't need to see a badge to know who they were.
"Good afternoon. Are you the man I talked to over the phone?" Carrington said politely.
"We are under orders to supervise all aspects of the services the Carrington Institute provides." His voice was monotonous.
"Excuse me." Joanna roughly pushed her way between them and out the door. She could hear them talking as she walked down the hall.
"We'll need a copy of all of the research you have on file, as well as what you get after this point. We also need a copy of the Institute's financial record since it was founded, and…"
- - - - -
"Alright, Miss Dark, we're almost there. There is a clearing in this forest, where we can land. Your supplies should already be down there." The Jumpship glided through the air and the pilot landed it silently on the clearing.
"You had better be just as quiet when you take off. We don't need another casualty right now." She stepped off of the Jumpship. The crate was close by.
Joanna ran over to the crate and threw off the lid. Of course, a Falcon 2 was inside. She also found a Devastator and an AR34. "Ooh. These will do nicely!" She grabbed the weapons as the pilot closed the door.
She ran out of the clearing into the jungle. There were just a few meters to cross to get to where the base was set up. She peeked out from a hiding place in one of the trees. "Hm… no guards patrolling the perimeter. Looks like the only way in is through the main door… nothing on the sides, or roof." She smirked. "Guess Faww learned his lesson."
Just then, the Jumpship silently flew across overhead. It was high enough so that no one could recognize it. However, the roof opened, and a turret with anti-air missiles began firing. The Jumpship's engine was hit, and the pilot fought desperately to find a clear place to make a crash-landing.
He never got the chance. As the ship came closer to the ground, a tractor beam snared it and pulled it into the base. As it settled down into the building, the roof closed above it.
Joanna couldn't breathe once everything was quiet again. "There… there must be a hangar at the top! I've got to get him out of there." She jumped down from the tree, rolled, and ran up to the building. Pushing through the door, she stepped inside the room.
The room was bare, without anything on the walls or any furniture. Stairs were at the opposite end, leading up to the next floor. She began to walk towards the stairs, her gun drawn, still seeing nothing. She stopped as she heard clanking from upstairs. It got closer and closer, turned a corner, and stepped down the stairs. Joanna's eyes widened.
A man was standing in front of her, looking more like an android. His entire body was covered in black armor. A black helmet sat on his head, with a glass visor. An oxygen tank was on his back, and the tube led into his mouth. Instead of gloves, the hands had been outfitted for large, mechanical claws. He laughed, his voice also sounding mechanical.
"You know, when we intercept an agent troopship without any agents, it's not hard to guess that they've already been dispatched. Plus, your entrance wasn't exactly quiet. And the front door…" He shook his head. "I can't believe you walked through the front door!"
Joanna's only response was an outcry, unloading a clip into his armor. The bullets bounce off. He laughed again. "What's with all of these enemies with bullet-proof armor?" Joanna muttered under her breath.
"My turn." Panels at the chest opened, and two small tubes flew out of the armor. They dropped on the ground, and opened, letting out a hissing sound. Joanna began to cough as the man took in an exaggerated breath from the tank. He laughed again. "Yes, it is gas. Don't worry, you'll be gone in a few moments."
"I'm sick of your damn laughter!" She pulled out the Devastator and fired. The grenade passed harmlessly by him and he laughed to rub it in. Even with her resolve, Joanna was starting to feel woozy. She shook her head to try and disillusion herself, and held her breath.
She straightened up to fire another shot, but the man was already on top of her. He swiped with his claw, knocking the gun out of her hand and throwing her back. Joanna landed hard, gasping, and now fighting to stay awake. Hearing a sickening crack, she looked up. He had stepped on the gun and crushed it.
She stood up slowly, with her hand against the wall. "Come on, Joanna," she whispered to herself. "There has to be a way to stop this guy…" She went through her mind, trying to think of anything. He came walking up towards her, the armor clanking with each step.
Her eyes brightened. She knew what to do. She got up the last bit of energy she had left, still holding her breath.
"Giving up? That's too bad. I was just starting to have some fun." He walked up closer to her, and she finally saw her chance. She ran, rolled behind him, and pulled out her Falcon 2. His legs bent as he turned, and she fired. The bullet went through a small opening in the armor where the knees bent, and the man screamed in pain. Discarding her gun, Joanna jumped on his, ripped off his helmet and oxygen tank, and secured it around her own mouth, breathing deeply.
"Gi-Give that back!" The man walked even more slowly now, dragging the armor and his leg while trying not to breath. Joanna kicked him in the face and he fell to the ground, unconscious. She grabbed her gun and walked up the stairs.
"At least this place is more ventilated." She took off the oxygen tank and set it down. She was in an office type of place, cubicles from one wall to the other, but it was empty. There were several open windows, allowing any gas that came in to go harmlessly outside. She crept around, trying to remain unseen. Two guards were walking down from the third floor.
"The fighting has stopped, so I guess that means he killed him."
"Him? You automatically assume the intruder was a man?"
"Well, who else but a man would have the guts to come in here? That pilot was a man."
"A woman can be just as dangerous as a man. Here, I'll show you!"
"Ow!"
They were rounding a corner, so Joanna ducked into a corner office to stay hidden. "I'm glad Carrington didn't ask for the silencer, too," Joanna muttered as she slipped it on. The door opened, and she hid under a desk.
"The threat's over. Get back to work! Scan over every room in this building, make sure no one else got in."
"Yes, sir." The door slammed as the man walked into the room. "Why am I put on surveillance? It's so boring. And they don't bother to move me up any floors, and-"
Joanna stood up and pointed her gun at him. "As much as I love listening to you talk, now you get to stop. Call for help, and I will shoot you. Now, there is a room in this building that controls the cloaking device around the satellite. Where would that happen to be?"
"Don't shoot!" The man hurriedly sat down, fumbling around on his keyboard. He nervously pushed up his glasses. "Um, h-here: on the next floor up. That pilot is on the same floor, and the hangar is on the fourth floor…"
The door flew open, and one of the guards burst in. "It's a trap! Our guy-" He saw Joanna and pulled out his K7 Avenger, but she fired first. He fell to the ground. Joanna turned to the man who was now cowering in his seat. She gave him a smile. "Thank you for your time." With that, she slipped out of the office and headed for the stairs.
As Joanna walked up the stairs, an alarm went off. "Damnit! That technician!" She ran up the last steps and into the first room she saw. It was just a small storage room. She heard footsteps running past her, down to where the alarm had originated. After it subsided, she slowly opened the door. Seeing no one, she made her way down the hallway.
She came upon a door marked "Restricted," which, for her, was an open invitation. She opened it, and inside were two technicians, looking over an array of computers. "I'll bet this is what I'm looking for… you two!" Both men turned around, and threw up their hands. "Is this what is powering the cloaking?"
"Yes."
"Good. Shut it down. What about those space mines?"
"Those were ordered to be detonated. We did."
She looked over the screens and keys on the terminal. "Surprising. You are telling the truth…. Hm? What's this…? The satellite has a shield?"
He swallowed. "Yes. I'll… shut it down."
As he was typing, another machine began to beep. The two technicians were too frightened to move towards it. She opened the door and locked them in a storage room like the one she had been in. "Trust me, it's for both of our goods." She walked back inside.
"Carrington would have my ass if I killed someone unarmed. Now then…" The machine continued beeping, and finally Joanna walked over to it. She pressed a button, and a small, holographic image of William Faww came up.
"…to glory! Message will repeat…. Attention, everyone. The time has come rid the world of the Carrington Institute. Two years ago, they killed Cassandra de Vries, and today, we will make them pay! Everything is set according to the plan. For everyone on board the satellite: prepare yourselves and your stations. To those on the surface: you aren't needed down there anymore. Get onto the shuttles as quickly as possible. I don't know how much damage we can do, but you had better be off of the planet. You will have 15 hours before we fire. Today, we create the road to glory!"
Joanna pushed a button and the message stopped. The top of the machine popped open, and she pulled out a disc. "Thank goodness for automatic recording. Now… what did he mean by fire?" She went through the room, pulling papers from random drawers, typing in keys at different screens. Finally, she pulled up a blueprint of the satellite. Having nothing else to record it on, she stuck in the disc and cycled through the information she had found.
"It originally came up almost bare. A few solar panels, to provide power to the light, the laser, to point the beam…" Her eyes widened in shock. "A laser! At close range, light like that can be deadly!" Her fingers flew over the keyboards. "Additions made for artificial gravity, oxygen, plants, buildings. More solar panels added for more power. The only room that has remained unchanged is… the one to turn on the laser. Of course, he wouldn't need to fix that."
She grabbed the disc out of its drive and turned to run out, but then stopped. "Right. The whole reason I came. I've got to take out all of the computer systems that power the satellite from down here. With any luck, that will buy us time." She looked at the disc. "Though, he did say… forget it. I've got to get this done, at least." She tried to find something to use, but realized that the only explosive she thought she would need had been destroyed: the Devastator.
She couldn't just fire bullets everywhere. That would take too much time, be too loud, and the wasted ammo might not even get into every system. As she sat down, she remembered. She pulled out the Remote Mines triumphantly. "Jonathan laughed at these. I can't wait to rub this in his face." She placed them on the computers.
Joanna ran out of the room to find five guards, armed with K7 Avengers, staring at her in the face. "You will come with us. Now."
She smiled. "Well, you got me. Guess you'd better just escort me out of here." The guards surrounded her, two at the "restricted" door. Joanna pressed the button on the detonator.
The explosion rocked the building. The two guards at the door were thrown onto the floor. A third was too distracted to see Joanna's fist coming at him. The last two scrambled for cover but were shot by the AR34.
Joanna made a run down the hall, trying to remember where the pilot was being held from the blueprints. An alarm started to sound, but she ignored it for the moment. She looked through the windows on doors, and in the room before the stairs, she found him. He was tied up on the floor of a small room. His face was bloody and bruised, his clothes were ripped, and blood stained the floor.
She ran in and quickly untied him. "Joanna, wait… There's no use. They've broken my leg. I can't stand up."
"That's fine. I'll carry you out of here."
"You don't have time. Do you know how many guards will have heard that alarm? You can't have me holding you up. For a moment, I hoped you might just skip me…" He smiled for a moment. "You know, you should be proud of me. They beat me, drugged me, and shot me in a couple of places, but I held on. I didn't tell them a thing. I…" He closed his eyes.
Joanna laid his head down on the floor. Another guard came in, and she shot him without even turning around. "I shouldn't stay." She looked down at him one last time, and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
No other guards were coming, yet. She ran up the stairs to the top floor. It was just a large hangar, with ships and crates everywhere inside. A small, glass-encased room was in the back. Joanna shot out the glass and started to run, alerting everyone in the hangar. Three guards ran after her, and she turned around to fire back at them, running backwards. She tripped, fell down, but rolled, getting up just as fast. The three guards were dead, so she could continue without hitting the other boxes.
She hopped over the window previously covered by glass. "I knew it. This is where the hangar's controlled from. She pressed a few buttons, first opening the hangar doors, then disabling the anti-air missiles and tractor beam. As she ran back out, more guards were coming in, so she fired into the crowd while running to the ships.
"Where's the Jumpship? I guess I can't really go looking for it now… I'll take this instead." She ran over to a Hovercopter and got in, turning on the controls. As the ship was warming up, more guards tried to get in. She turned to face the door, away from the cockpit. She turned back when they were all dead. There was still something in her way.
The man in the armor was standing in front of the Hovercopter, without a helmet and looking pissed. With his claws extended, he ran towards it, trying to break it down and get to her. Joanna laughed.
"You really need to learn when to die." She turned on the Vulcan cannon on the nose of the ship, aimed it at him, and fired. The force of the bullets knocked him back, tearing into his armor. He screamed out, struggling to get up. Joanna continued firing until he quieted and slumped over, dead.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Joanna fired up the engines. The craft burst out of the hangar, and she set a course for the Institute.