==============================================

Chapter 5.5 (gaiden)- The Past to be Forgotten

==============================================

Morris, the only Reploid to have survived the most recent purging in Neo-Arcadia, treaded slowly down the hallways of the Resistance Base. After several days of being in the new complex, Morris was sure that this base would stand defiantly against the minions of Neo-Arcadia as long as he lives.

So he hopes.

He halted before the third door on the left side of the hall and pressed the intercom button. A small ding-dong was heard and soon a voice crackled on the small voice unit.

"Who is it?" said a woman's voice.

"It's Morris, Karen. I've got our orders for our next mission." Morris waited patiently as the door slid open.

But he then found himself looking down the barrel of a Buster weapon. Two familiar red eyes looked at him and quickly the Buster was removed from such a dangerous proximity from his face.

Before him stood, Karen, a Reploid from the outskirts of Neo-Arcadia. She too had also survived the most recent purging in Neo-Arcadia. With long red hair and strangely crimson eyes, Karen stood just high enough to Morris's nose. But hidden beneath the beauty, Morris knew what to expect from the innocent-looking Reploid.

But at the side of this red haired beauty was a Mark 14 Buster. It was similar to the Mark 13 Rifle Buster that Morris himself carries yet this model was collapsible and much more powerful. Even though it was shaped like Zero's Z-Buster, it was more sleek and compact, making it a dangerous weapon in the hands of a lady.

"Old habits die hard, eh?" Morris said nonchalantly as he leaned against the metal wall across the hall.

"Sorry, Morris," Karen said as she slipped the Buster back into its holster on her side. "Can't trust anyone these days." Morris nodded his head in agreement. Pushing off the wall, he stood before Karen.

"Mm..." Morris then handed her a data chip. "Upload this program and you'll gain the coordinates to our strike zones in Neo-Arcadia. We'll have to be ready in a day."

"I've been ready." Karen then walked next to her bed and picked up a pack. "I've got everything we need to last a week. Energeon, cyber elves, and a some spare Busters."

Morris gave a low whistle. "Remind me to tell Ciel to give you the position of Quartermaster one day."

Karen gave a light-hearted laugh. "Please, Morris. I've already had that job before and it wasn't easy. Categorizing everything and dividing it down to the last paper clip? Not a chance."

Morris then leaned against the doorway and grinned roguishly at Karen. "Oh, so it's torture to you but pleasure for Qwerty? Never thought you'd let that little poor guy do all the work. Shame, shame, shame."

Karen gave a mock look of indignation. "I wouldn't dare let you speak to me that way! Take it back!" she said as she waved her Buster toward Morris's direction.

Morris put his hands in the air. "Oh, please. The most you can do it probably kick me between the legs. I've known you very well since we first met."

Karen pouted. "Oh, please. Don't remind me of it. I'm still suffering from nightmares about it." Morris grinned.

"Well, it was like this from my vantage point. You were there near the outskirts when a whole bunch of X Drones just appeared from nowhere. They raided all the buildings of all their 'Maverick' Reploids. I was out there on patrol with Horus and Gerry when we heard a big boom. Guess who that was?"

Karen rolled her eyes. "You with an illegal over-powered Buster?"

"Actually, I do believe it was you waving an ancient Mark 9 Buster at the horde of drones. Now, I believe that in my moral codes, a lady Reploid waving an ancient Mark 9 Buster deserves a rescue. So, I jumped off of the building the three of us were on and I blow most of them to pieces. Pulling you out of a mess of X Drones wasn't easy though."

"You were so young," Morris continued as he placed a hand on Karen's left cheek, "And so innocent by all of the purges until then. Yes, I know. I was also young. But now, we have lost much. What else have we to lose by continuing our struggle against Neo-Arcadia?"

Karen rolled her eyes again. "Morris, I don't know what you were originally programmed to be but you are sounding so melodramatic that I'm beginning to think about rewriting your program."

"Ah well... can't let a actor do his job." Morris turned to leave. Before he walked through the threshold, he gave a quick smile to Karen. "Be prepared."

He tossed a second smaller data chip through the door. It soared through the air and Karen caught it deftly in her right hand. Giving a wave, Morris ran off.

=========

Karen sighed heavily as she sat down heavily onto the bed. Pulling out a laptop computer from her backpack, she flipped it on. As the loading screen glowed blue, the Resistance member tossed the second small data chip that Morris had given her in the palm of her hand. As she sat there playing with the chip, Karen began to question her own thoughts.

"Can it be that I'm attracted to him?" she whispered to no one in particular. "I mean, he's cute and everything but... I feel strange when I'm around him."

Her laptop was soon finished loading. A plain green screen with her name on the top right corner appeared. Pressing several buttons, Karen quickly brought up the disc reader. A small port opened on the side and the female Reploid slid the data chip in. Slotting it in, she pressed several more buttons, accessing the coordinates on the chip.

A new window popped up. This time it showed the region where the strike team, which included both her and Morris, are to be sent. A great map of some Residential District in Neo-Arcadia came up on her screen. The region's only Energeon Synthesis Plant was circled in red. Through the training as a member of the Resistance, Karen knew their new objective this time.

Unlike in the past, their mission data discs no longer had objectives clearly stated. Everything they had to do had to be by ear. There was no chance ever since Elpizo became commander to bother with their objectives. The new commander's reasoning was that if one of them were ever caught, it was better to tell a lie without anything to prove that it was a lie.

Karen knew exactly what they have to do. From their entrance at the forgotten underground laboratories near the top of the district, they would carefully keep to the alleys and make their way south towards the center of the district. From there, they will find the Energeon Synthesis Plants. From the looks of things, Karen estimated the complex having eight different structures. Each of the structures were like an great silo, built for storing Energeon. If the entire strike team played their cards right, they would be able to deplete at least half of the Energeon before the guards would realize what was happening.

Looking at the eight blocks on the bar to the right of the map, Karen realized the utmost importance of this mission.

"Strike Team Alpha, the missions will consist of infiltrating the complex and destroying as many of the Energeon Silos as possible. Heavy weaponry will be available in this mission. The series of missions will be as follows:

"Mission 1: Terminate drones surrounding the northern abandoned laboratories. Expect roughly about twenty to thirty X-Drones ranging from Alpha Types to the new Zeta Types. If possible, terminate only those you encounter from behind. Should Neo-Arcadia receive a live feed of our combat, this mission and other successive missions have a high chance of failure.

"Mission 2: Once you have established a small emergency exit proceed southwards toward Synthesis Plant. En route to the complex, be wary of drone patrols. As before, excercise caution.

"Mission 3: Scout reports stated Alpha and Beta Types carrying new Mark XX Buster Rifles. If a small patrol is sighted, permission is granted to terminate and collect the weapons. But should a patrol over seven drones appear, quickly abort this mission and proceed to your next target.

"Mission 4: Commander Beigan of Neo-Arcadia has been sighted around the region. Should any of the team encounter him and his bodyguards, quickly overpower them and capture Beigan. Intelligence has provided us with a picture and the weapons Beigan carries."

Karen clicked the icon with Beigan's picture. A new window popped up, showing Karen everything about Beigan. Commander Beigan of Neo-Arcadia was a human with fair skin. Standing at about six feet and two inches with one hundred sixty seven pounds of flesh on this man, Karen was sure to not miss this man. Karen had killed before and she wouldn't hesitate to kill this pawn of Neo-Arcadia.

How long had it been since she was forced to leave her home in Neo-Arcadia? Why did her masters fear the "issues" that so-called Mavericks have? Fear was all that humans knew the taste of. Karen herself tasted and looked fear in the eye before but she knew the limits a human has.

Karen continued to read the rest of the mission listing. So far, there were a total of twenty or so missions, most of them being optional secondary missions. Without the extra missions, Karen was dismayed to find ten regular assignments. Ten critically vital mandatory missions were hard enough but to have ten more also important missions alongside was more than enough than the Strike Team Alpha could handle. Karen herself knew the chances of their success just by themselves.

On her last assignment, which was an infiltration of a Drone Factory, Morris was wounded after attempting to cut off the energy to the factory. Their commander, Major Aidan, was severely injured in the raid and Morris had no choice but to take over as sub-commander. But since it was Morris's first time as a leader, he made some dumb but smart mistakes.

Karen knew how many drones it took to force them to retreat. It took six platoons of Alpha Types to force the team to retreat. Karen was sure that they had left a heavy dent in the factory for the surrounding communites to remember. After all, she knew how much damage was there since she was the one who planted the explosive charges at the core of the factory. Once they managed to fight their way out of the factory, Karen herself exploded the charges. While the Resistance variety of explosives were not as strong as the Neo-Arcadian variation, the explosives fulfilled their secondary purpose as a catalyst. This forced the reactor core to also explode, creating a major explosion that destroyed everything in the factory.

Karen counted herself lucky to even be alive that day. Morris was evacuated out when he was wounded and so was the team leader. But the seventeen other Resistance members were not as lucky. Four of them were cut down when they first broke into the core. Six more fell in the fight as they broke out of the factory. Then six of the survivors were caught in the firefight at the secondary entrace to the factory.

Karen and another Reploid named Lugh managed to get away from the firefight into an alley. But when they reached the alley, Lugh took a bullet for Karen. Karen finished off the drone that had followed them. But Lugh didn't last long for his fusion engine was damaged by the plasma shot. With his last breathe, Lugh told Karen to take his memory chip from his torso and destroy it. Karen refused to do so and tried to convince Lugh to return to the base. The stubborn commando refused and made his request once more. Karen had no choice but to give her friend his final wish.

Ever since then, Karen never wanted to be close to another Reploid. Lugh was the only one she had trusted fully before. But that was due mostly because Lugh was almost like her brother, if Reploids ever do have brothers or sisters.

Scrolling downwards on the map, Karen realized where the place they had to assault was.

"... Not the old factory..."

=========

Heh, can you people belive it? It's almost the 17th, the last day of school for me! But then again, I got FINALS from the 14th (Monday) to the 17th (Thursday)... dangit...