Chapter 5: Dawn
"Luck, by definition, is circumstantial and random and thus cannot be trusted. However, in a universe where Chaos theory is one of the main foundations, luck's influence can be formidable indeed..."
The light of dawn broke through the horizon, bathing Megacity 1 and the higher tips of Maverick hunter headquarters. For many hunters, dawn meant their shift was over, while for others the day was just beginning. Everybody seemed nervous, though, and it showed. Their moves numb, ironically mechanical, their eyes darting about, mistrusting the shadows of the morning sun, their hands and weapons ready. Apparently, rumors of last day's attack had eventually leaked, at least among the hunter's ranks. The tension continued rising steadily, many minor squabbles erupting during sentry duty.
"What is the meaning of this?" The voice was menacing, despite its high-pitched quality, and caused the two reploids that were apparently engaged in a fist-fight brawl to stop and snap to attention.
"C-captain Axl!" stuttered the first, performing a meek excuse of a salute and avoiding his superior's condemning gaze. "We just had a small dispute and..." he tried to start, sounding positively lame.
Axl's voice interrupted him, its low, critical and disappointed tone offsetting its normally youthful resonance. "You should be ashamed" he said, sighing wearily afterwards. After reflecting a bit on the fact he should have probably rested a bit more, he checked to see if his subordinates were as repentant as they should be. The results seemed heartening.
That's it, Axl. Let's show X we can do more than trashing some mavs. Axl managed to prevent his hopeful thoughts from reflecting on his face. "I understand yesterday's events are by now well-known and that such incidents are to be expected" he stated, now calm "but we can't allow those damn mavericks to break our moral! If we start quarreling among ourselves we just fall right into their trap!" he added, his tone gaining momentum. "Is that what you wish? To become their puppets and get yourselves and your comrades killed?" he finished, all but yelling.
The two soldier's heads dropped even lower in shame, however unlikely that should be. "No captain Axl" they both replied in humbled unison.
The orange-haired hunter nodded with authority, then turned to leave. Unbeknownst to his two charges, his mouth formed a cheerful smile and it took all of his willpower to prevent him from laughing aloud. He only wished X could have seen him...
X took a deep breath, then sighed and regarded the people around him, weighting their responses to the report they had just heard. Leaning back on his sturdy, albeit conformable seat, he allowed himself a second of respite, momentarily closing his eyes and silently cursing his recurring insomnia.
"So, to wrap it up, we have a New generation reploid, possibly maverick, that slew our transport driver, took his place and infiltrated HQ" he started, attracting everybody's attention.
"Without anybody noticing a damn thing" continued Zero, his arms crossed, his gaze grim. "After bypassing any and all of our security, scanners and guards alike, he thought it would be neat to get a tour around our base of operations for close to five hours" he added, evidently annoyed. "Without anybody noticing a damn thing!"
Lifesaver glared at Zero a bit, then responded. "That was when he decided to head to our containment facilities. I have completed my report on the... unlucky subjects."
Lifesaver hesitated a bit, turning to Signas. The Supreme Commander responded with an encouraging nod.
"Both the transport pilot and the guard on duty were swiftly terminated" continued the head of the medical ward. "Their cores went critical after being jabbed from behind, possibly with a beam saber" he added, then everybody noticed his face grew paler. "The five individuals that were apprehended yesterday, however, met a much less enviable demise. They were thoroughly lacerated multiple times at non-vital spots. The wounds indicate both beam weapon and non-energy weapon use. After the subjects' shutdown, their control chips were removed from their bodies. The intruder apparently avoided to strike their cores to be able to salvage them."
Everybody around the table seemed to frown. "Why would somebody take the control chips from a gang of Mavericks?" inquired Signas, voicing the question that reigned in everyone's mind.
Lifesaver coughed, drawing attention to himself again. "This might be of no real consequence, but none of the five victims was infected by any kind of virus..."
"This isn't the first time we deal with non-infected Mavericks. Losers..." The comment came from a reploid seated next to X. His voice and visage gave the impression he was weary or even downright bored. That changed rapidly, however, when Zero clenched his fist, pounding on the table agitated.
"What I want to know is what your boys had been doing all that time, Gerald!" exclaimed the red warrior, causing said reploid to flinch. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but your 25th unit is supposed to guard this base and our backs while we are out there risking our skins."
"Zero..." Signas tried to start, surprised at the commander's hostile behavior. What did Gerald say to make him that furious, he mused, grateful as a glare from X stopped Zero from leaping off his seat and strangling the hapless security unit commander on the spot.
Gerald let a relieved sigh. "It is not our fault" he started, somewhat lamely. "All surveillance equipment failed to register him as an intruder. We even checked the security camera feed from the places he was... active. The whole security system had been compromised! All sensors were looping last day's feed."
Signas almost gasped audibly. "You mean the whole system was out of order and nobody noticed a damn thing?" he demanded, sounding too much like Zero.
Gerald visibly shrank away from the supreme commander. "No, sir, not the whole system. Only the parts that were around the intruder at any given time."
"So how came none of the security guards on duty noticed anything was amiss?" asked X calmly, almost solemnly.
"Apparently they had more important things to do than gaze at the monitors all the time" snorted Zero, again crossing his arms. "Do you still place solders of both genders on the same shift, Gerald?" he asked grinning, his voice tinted with a hint of malice.
Gerald made a face. "The system was obviously hacked. The navigation team is responsible for this" he responded, pointing a finger towards the female head of navigators.
X went to say something, but the one accused beat him to it. Alia almost jumped off her seat. "I will have none of this, Gerald! We checked the system and there was no trace of infiltration. And nobody tampered with the archives either. The only way to do this is to directly access the mainframe and I was at the control room during the time the intruder waltzed under your unit's nose. Security hardware is in your jurisdiction" she finished, her voice reflecting controlled fury. X had to discreetly backhand Zero to prevent him from chuckling at the navigator's response.
"What about the Intel unit?" continued Gerald, now almost panicked. "You are supposed to learn these things before they can take place, Alv!"
Many frowns appeared around the table, but the accused reploid, sitting next to Signas, merely smiled. Alv, commander of shadow unit 66, spoke as calmly as possible, her response almost a whisper. "Trying to pass the blame to somebody else won't help you, Gerald" she purred, her smile widening. "We have eyes and ears in many places but we are not omnipotent. The shadow unit merely collects all possible information. We are, so to say, a lucky safeguard. Your... screw ups are not our responsibility."
"That's enough, Alv" stated Signas sternly, trying to prevent the meeting from turning into a shouting match. "We are not here to lay accusations, ladies and gentlemen" he continued, addressing everybody. "We are here to understand and prevent."
"I have a question." Everybody once again turned to Alia. "How came we realized there was an intruder in the first place? From the reports, the alarm went off just when he was about to leave the compound."
The ensuing silence was broken by the security unit's commander. "We had just replaced the sensors at the hangar's exit" he clarified. "There had been an accident with some ride chasers yesterday and some of the surveillance equipment was damaged. As per ordinance #89, 'If a security device is in need of upgrade or replacement, no report of any form is to be compiled until the procedure is resolved'" he quoted.
Signas frowned, deep in thought. "So the sensors that uncovered the intruder were upgraded?" he asked shortly afterwards.
Gerald shook his head. "The new sensors have the exact same capabilities as the old. I took the initiative to run some tests to ensure that."
"About time you did something useful" countered Zero smartly, causing a variety of frowns and chuckles from around the table.
Signas rose his voice to be sounded above the apparent squabble "That's enough for today, people. I want all of you to take some down time and be ready to resume the meeting tomorrow. Hopefully with clearer heads" he added, eyeing both Zero and Gerald critically. The security commander nodded while Zero merely shrugged and hastily exited the room, walking with long strides.
And felt something colliding on his side. He easily kept his balance, then turned and regarded the offending person, a rookie hunter, sprawled on the floor, apparently too stunned to do anything more then stare.
"Be more careful next time, kid" started the red bomber, clasping and apparently lifting the other reploid back on his feet with a single hand. The rookie tried to compile a hasty apology and run away, but Zero stopped him when he noticed the item he was holding, a mess of cables and circuits. "And what exactly do you have there?" he inquired.
"S-some security sensor c-commander Gerald asked me to recycle" he answered. "From yesterday's h-hangar accident."
Zero reached for the decimated device, snatching a tiny chip and reading a barely visible inscription.
Mocpac Industries.
He frowned for a second, but then casually discarded the component, shrugging once more...
"Yes, I did receive your 'package'. At least you weren't caught... Yes, you were successful this time, however unlikely that might be. A pity none of them talked. Our analysis also showed nothing..."
A pause.
"I know it was risky, but if the hunters knew about it..."
A grumble.
"Fine, you'll be paid something extra, although you only managed to pull that off because of MY resources."
A smart-alec comment.
"Whatever. Get out of my line. I'll call you when I need you."
Stroganoff never waited for any further response, cutting the line immediately while mumbling. His left hand absentmindedly fidgeted with what seemed to be a machine component. After spending a moment in silence, he opened a new line.
"Send Lyn in" he requested, and soon the black-haired scientist entered his office.
"Good morning, sir" she greeted, her voice formal.
The CEO had apparently little time for niceties. "Update me on the 'Zephyros' project" he ordered, letting the component fall on a small pile of similar-looking items.
"The next two subjects are under development, sir" she started obediently. "Subjects #35 and #36 will probably fulfill your expectations."
Stroganoff picked another component and started flipping it above and below his fingers. "What about the last pair? If you are so eager to let them live, we need to consider surveillance measures. I believe such data will be useful."
Lyn Weil paused for a second, refraining from flinching. She felt her head going dizzy. "We had to terminate subjects #33 and #34 as you initially proposed, sir. They were far too damaged to wake them up."
The component in the gray-haired human's hand cracked from pressure, but his voice remained the same. "A pity indeed" he stated, eyeing the scientist before him intently.
Lyn retained a straight face. "I brought you the report on their recycling, too. I think it is classified enough to remain under your care" she added, handing him an extremely thick pile of papers along with a data disk.
Her employer sighed, receiving the report and unenthusiastically leafing through it. "Very well, Lyn. I want the next report as soon as the month ends. Until then, do your best."
Lyn nodded, taking the hint and turning to leave. "Oh, and say hello to your sister from me" he added as an afterthought just as she reached the door. "It's all over the media she will be coming with her husband for the next Megacity high council session."
As soon as the double doors shut behind her, Lyn let a deep sigh, needing to keep a hand on the wall to support herself. She had recognized what the items on Stroganoff's desk were.
Reploid control chips...
The hover-truck passed from the city gates, then followed one of the wide lanes. It soon turned, however, towards what seemed to be a lone mountain in the middle of a wide plain. Unlike the surrounding wasteland that had yet to truly recover from the Eurasia crash, the mountain was full of healthy vegetation that painted it a vigorous green.
A single, snake-like road coiled around the geological formation, leading to what appeared to be a plateau close to the top. The hover-truck stopped before the large building that dominated the scenery and the reploid driver was greeted by a very round, middle-aged human.
After chatting for a few minutes, more humans and reploids circled the truck and two portable stasis capsules emerged from it.
"Splendid! Two more brothers for our community" exclaimed the man happily, never noticing the numbers 33 and 34 that were etched on the capsules.
Does this qualify as a cliffhanger? I certainly hope not, because the next chapter will take some time. Going vacation to a place without internet will do that... Also, by 'control chip' I refer to a reploid's 'brain'. Anyway, I hope you liked it and remember: Don't forget to review!
To PhiloWorm: At least the 1st POV kept you interested. Oh, yes, all must serve the balance ;-)
To isis2k2: Don't worry, the flashback was hidden. Usual flashbacks are simple scene changes, but X's recollection of the massacre was also a flashback, albeit of another type. You should at least try X8. For me, it's the best of the series.
To yamiangie: And I'm sorry I updated so late! I like to experiment, as long as I can keep my tenses right. For non-native speakers, it's quite a pain ;)
To Rogue Hunter: So you found me! I'll be waiting your forum review...
To Menolly: Thanks for reviewing! For some reason, I always notice all kinds of such minor mistakes after I upload... Murphy's law, I guess. You should keep writing too!
To MyGBAcanTalk: And my lack of updates is brought to you by all kinds of misc distractions, including games, anime and random voices in mind :P See you on msn...
For all that wonder about my other story, it will either be updated within the week or after I return from the evil no-PC place...