- 17 hours after Coral City –
It was still daylight at Helheim labs. The sun was shining brightly and lighting up the afternoon. The same could not be said for the interior of the buildings. Nothing but emergency lighting and shadows. The research facility was focussed upon all manner of extraneous and sometimes immoral scientific experimentation. It had been involved in the production of the prototype 4th generation Godslayer battlesuits, the Holy Blood serum, Honkai energy infusion, the Sirin cloning project and more. When Overseer Otto Apocalypse needed work to be done with efficiency and discretion, Helheim labs was who he turned to. It was one of the smaller floating islands of Schicksal HQ. The scientific endeavours it explored were not the sort that needed a great amount of material space.
To Mei, it felt like she not seen the stars in weeks. Constantly moving back and forth between timezones was never good for one's circadian rhythm. Even if she did not need to sleep, rest was still a useful activity for sanity and focus.
'After this I am going to sit in an onsen, drink some alcohol and pickle for at least several hours.'
Amarant made a halt motion. Mei dropped down beside the low wall they had been ghosting and stretched her senses out. All internal distractions were pushed aside. The light but measured footfalls approaching them indicated trained security. Both women held their breath and pressed into the wall. The atrium they were scurrying through was one of many that formed a complex the complex 3D hive that was Helheim. The footfalls faded away. With another motion, Amarant guided the pair towards their destination.
Berthed on one of the gravity-piers was the Selene. A battlecruiser of unfamiliar design gifted to Schicksal by Anti-Entropy many months ago. The battlecruiser held all sorts of memories for Mei. If she were to put her finger on a particular moment in time when events began to run together, where the lives of Raiden Mei, Kiana Kaslana and Bronya Zaychek were put onto their true course, the arrival of the Selene would be it. Back when Kiana was a naïve fool, Bronya an emotionless doll and Mei a weak child.
'I'm coming back to the inflection point.'
A series of metal corridors suspended by anti-gravity ran between the buildings, allowing quick access between project clusters and research facilities. Amarant guided the duo faultlessly toward the enormous black battlecruiser that dominated the sky to the north. Mei expected that the plans for Helheim had come at a price not measured in any economic currency. Whatever Amarant had traded, it must have been the sort of knowledge that sent shivers through the information broker community. Ultraviolent level knowledge that set people up for life.
"She's awake and conscious," a voice announced.
Both women froze. They hadn't heard the approach. Somehow. Mei acted without thought. She projected an electromagnetic field into the door they crouched behind and felt the internal security mechanics. With a twist she manually shifted the metal security bolts and pulled the door open. The pair slunk inside and locked the door behind.
[Where to now?] Mei communicated digitally
[Rerouting now. Thanks for the quick thinking btw]
[Just get me to the Selene]
[Electronic security is still down. But that door idea can't be repeated too often. No doubt their security analysts will go over everything with a fine-tooth comb once the power is on. Anything out of place, even a door whose locking sequence doesn't match official records, will be carefully scrutinised. We must keep our presence to an absolute minimum.]
[It's your field of expertise so I'll trust you. What now then?]
Amarant checked her AR.
[From here if we adjust our intercept path, we reach a broad outdoor courtyard. It's a nexus between various departments. There is a direct route from there to the Selene]
[Lead on]
The pair of infiltrators were fortunate not to come across any further surprises. Security was very thin within Helheim Labs. Likely due to the destruction that had woven its way across Schicksal HQ.
[Amarant, what do you think was behind that?] Mei mused.
[Or who. What I've been able to piece together, it seems like they started in Niflheim Labs, hopefully killed Otto if that earlier report is to be believed, and worked their way methodically through Schicksal obliterating whatever got in their way. The damage to the area is consistent with a single person following a direct path much as we are. They appear to have been making their way through Helheim towards their goal. Then they suddenly change course]
[Durandal. Niflheim and Hellheim are right next to each other. The moment a threat against the Overseer was determined, Durandal would have been immediately deployed. She intercepted whoever did this. They took their battle elsewhere]
[Perhaps our mysterious stranger beat the living tar out of Durandal, who beat a hasty retreat]
Mei smiled winsomely.
[One can only hope]
[Conversation is over. We'll be outdoors for a few seconds. Be on guard]
Amarant and Mei came up against a blank plasma steel security door. Normally biometric and security passcodes would be necessary to pass through. With the power down those protective measures were inactive. A small internal battery did allow for the door to be opened in case of fire or other emergency egress if power were interrupted. It would however record the door being opened. Unfortunately for Schicksal's security analysts, they hadn't factored the Herrscher of Thunder into their security protocols and procedures. Mei concentrated, much as she had before, grabbed the internal works and opened the door. She also interfered with the recording device, blocking the signal to indicate the door had been operated. The pair stepped out into the sunshine and blinked away stars. The courtyard was quite wide, burnished plasma steel with a modern aesthetic. Small plots of greenery in railed off squares helped break up the monotony. A number of doors and corridors connected to the courtyard. With no roof, the cool afternoon breeze washed over the area, sending the plants shifting and swaying. Everything looked fresh and new. The plants still had the impression of only just being take from pots and put into soil.
Both women listened carefully. Tense seconds passed. Certain they were alone, the pair ran quickly toward the entrance and their final destination. Partway along the run Mei slowed. Something lying on the floor caught her eye. A small feathery plume, in shades of palest peach to bloody crimson, untouched by the breeze, sat on the plasma steel ground. It was another of those odd moments in Mei's life that she could never articulate when questioned later. Just like trusting Benares in Arc City, Mei acted unconsciously. She dropped into a slide, scooped up the feather and kipped back up parkour style. Amarant was too focussed on her own footsteps to notice what was done.
Then the two flickers of shadow were bolting down the corridor. This was a tertiary access point to the anti-gravity piers used by maintenance and for evacuation in times of emergency. Right now, the corridor was lit by infrequent dim red emergency LED bulbs. The shadows were something both were accustomed to. The one guard they came across, a harried looking man with a torch and pistol, never noticed where they crouched barely a metre from him. He was too busy talking into an earpiece and relaying the current state of his patrol zone. Frequently. Impatiently. Clearly wanting to talk to someone out of fear.
'When we attacked Schicksal HQ, they knew we were coming and prepared everything ahead of time. Just a rag-tag bunch of Far East Branch rebels and the traitorous Anti-Entropy. Repelled after the sudden Honkai invasion by the courageous Durandal and her Immortal Blades. This time the narrative is an unknown individual wreaking absolute havoc and defeating the no #1 S-rank Valkyrja casually. It must have everyone scared shitless.
Delicious.'
Viewing windows flashed by on one side as they ran. From out them Mei had her first glimpse in over of year of the Selene. The battleship was enormous. The design was unfamiliar, not matching anything AE or Schicksal had in fleet use. It had either been built by a silent third party, like World Serpent, or came from the PE. Mei looked at her one hope for the future and fixed its dark silhouette in her mind.
'I will succeed where the others did not. I will win this war. The Honkai will be dealt with once and for all.'
At the end of the corridor was the access door to the connecting gangway between battlecruiser and pier. This one was for Amarant to decipher. The door was independently powered and its security far more advanced that all previous impediments. Mei's usual electromagnetic manipulation would not work. The information broker ran her phone over the biometrics and began inputting several commands.
[Your contact at Schicksal must have asked a lot to give us the access codes]
[Technically they aren't the access codes. Those would be logged by the security system built into the independently powered door. More like an administrator level override that does not keep a recording of the action]
[And who has such clearance?]
[The Overseer]
Mei raised an eyebrow at that one.
[Someone sold you the Overseer's security clearance. How in the [Honkai God's] name did they even discover it? You didn't feel it important to share that bit of information with me earlier?]
[Would it have helped? Sometimes I need you ignorant of things. Just as you keep me ignorant of certain things. We don't trust each other, remember? It's why our partnership is so successful]
[Just what do you promise or trade in, that these informants are willing to give you such information?]
[Worry not, dear Customer. I am not selling you out. I do not sell anyone out. That's one reason they trust me. Security and secrecy are so tight between patron and client that we know nothing of each other. Only drop points and moniker. What I promise them is equal exchange of information if it is within my power. I judge what is appropriate that would not compromise other informants I work with.]
The conversation switched from Japanese to English.
[Oh, and the ability to decamp]
[Decamp?]
[British. Means secretly and suddenly leave. If they need to leave wherever they are right now, I provide means for them to do so planned in advance. Extra insurance in case their illicit information sharing actions are revealed. I've had a decent amount of practice in moving people from A to B quickly. What? I did tell you this back in Arc City. I guess Herrscher's reach an age of dotage faster than the rest]
[Careful with the shade you throw. That does give more context to your competence, or perhaps lack thereof, in Arc City. So how do they cry for help?]
[We have a predetermined passphrase. A couplet they start and I end. If it is used correctly then I act in accordance with our contract]
[Have any died?]
[Daft question, dear Customer. If being an informant were not dangerous then all these cloak and dagger actions would not be necessary. Believe me, none of the big three treat traitors very well. It doesn't matter if you're a 15-year-old fresh C-grade Valkyrja, middle-aged secretary or CEO of a billion-dollar business. Everyone's fingernails can be torn out just the same]
Mei winced at the thought. Curiously, Amarant glanced over her shoulder, noted something, then bobbed her head in apology.
[Sorry. That was in bad taste]
[That you even know indicates how good an investment you are. Now get us through those doors]
[Working on it]
An optimistic click came from the door. It slid open just enough to permit a body to squeeze through sideways. Mei follow Amarant, the door sliding quickly shut behind. The gangway hung over the sea of clouds below, a simple handrail all that stopped someone from stumbling over the edge. Changing positions, Mei now led the two, the internal schematics of the Selene overlaying her AR vision. At the other side the door opened without any prompting. The internal operations and security of the Selene was something that Schicksal had yet to fully decipher. This was why they were so carefully externally. Once someone was within the ship, they had free reign to explore as they saw fit.
The interior of the Selene was somewhat curious. It was immediately apparent that the vessel itself was of incredibly advanced design and makeup. It was also, however, extremely old and had numerous more recent systems retrofitted into its structure. Though advanced, all things degrade with time. Even when an object was not in use entropy maintains a firm grip.
The main decking itself was built from some unknown plasma steel alloy, matte black in shade and incredibly durable. Orange holographics lit up the area, providing information on ships systems, communications reports, security alerts and more. Small yellow-orange beacons provided lighting and guidance if people were to interface with the ships navigation and crew support systems. Doors would iris open and shut, reading biometrics in advance and denying access to the unknown. Ship authority had been handed over to a single individual and nobody had been able to rescind this command. As such the ship itself had no active security system running, though its internal defensive capabilities were quite frightening. Hence the high level of security approaching the ship rather than reliance on internal systems. The internal as well as external shielding of the ship was at a point where Honkai breaches could occur within the ship and shielding would protect decks above or below from Honkai or Herrscher radiation. Whoever had built it, they had built it with intent and experience at fighting the Honkai.
"This takes me back," Mei muttered.
"Oh?"
"I guess you missed that bit of information then. I was part of the strike team that took back the Selene before it crashed into Sapphire. Bronya, Kiana and myself. Three B-rank rookie Valkyrja pretending they knew what they were doing."
"It is rather curious how such an advanced, powerful and tactically useful battlecruiser was just conveniently placed in your hands."
"Technically it was placed in Kiana's hands."
"Pardon?"
"Something else for you to sell on your information black market."
Mei deactivated her AR map and took the lead. She didn't need any guidance at this point. Old memories of commandeered Mechs and Honkai beasts bubbled up. Of brash decisions and the quick dash they made through the bowels of the vessel on a 30 minutes timer. Of Major Himeko giving orders over comms to hurry them up when necessary. Mei knew it all well. In some absurd sense these were good memories. Mei always found it amusing that some of her best memories involved pain, pressure, fear and combat. It spokes of either her life, her personality or a blend of the two.
Amarant said nothing as Mei led the two with confidence. Just followed a few paces behind and took note of their surroundings. When the final elevator ascended towards the bridge the information broker finally spoke.
"Are you going to share that bit of intel or not?"
"The retrofits are clearly Anti-Entropy tech rather than Schicksal or World Serpent. Though why AE sent this vessel in the first place is still a mystery to me. One I'm not willing to pay for because I suspect the price would be too steep even for me. They fixed it up, gift wrapped the Selene and sent it to the metropolis of Sapphire to be collected by the Far East Branch of Schicksal. The ship wouldn't have even activated without information on Kiana. That's how quirksome they were. I gave Bronya the information needed and it ended there."
The doors hissed open. The bridge of the Selene was an almost cavernous room, one end lit up with an enormous orange holographic globe of the Earth. The holographic could be altered to display multiple external camera perspectives, tactical overlays and ships internal information. Banks of terminals awaited use by specialists, officers, navigators, technicians and more. When active, the Selene would not have needed a large crew compared to other battlecruisers. But it would have needed to be some of the most highly trained and proficient individuals to draw the most out of the ship.
The two women walked into the impressive area and took in the view.
"Somehow," Amarant noted, "I doubt that everything went as well as you make out."
Mei smirked.
"It was a tough day for everyone. Especially someone as weak as me. Enough reminiscing. You have work to do."
Amarant summoned a holographic schematic and projected it onto the floor.
"You got us to the bridge. From there I need to go install the override boxes…"
Amarant turned in a circle a few times.
"… Over there. One in the mainframe to highjack the primary dataloop. One on the network backbone to sneak past whatever security may eventually be activated. And a backup on a tertiary system node in case the first two are compromised."
"Need a hand?"
"The mainframe room is quite spacious. What with all the cooling built around it. After that, honestly, it's going to be me crawling through tight spaces and getting a little too intimate with fibreoptic cabling. So that's a hard pass. I don't have claustrophobia. But another woman crammed in next to me is something—"
"—is something you would rather pay for and enjoy."
"You have a deviant mind sometimes, dear Customer. Besides, I have a faaaar more technical and involved task for you to perform."
Mei could already feel her neck prickling. The woman was going to get her revenge somehow. That was how their little game always went. A single line of text appeared in her AR vision.
"Don't ask how much I had to pay for that bit of info."
"Is this a… passcode?"
"Of sorts. It's different from the biometric spoofing I did when accessing the Selene. From another source. Apparently, they are familiar with the security of this vessel. Whilst the Selene doesn't have any active systems currently running, passive security will still detect me going and tampering with critical infrastructure. This little backdoor code will temporarily suppress the passive security systems. Enough time for me to physically install the overrides without any detection or logs. I need you to input the code into the terminal when I give the okay."
Amarant activated a terminal and rapidly moved through various system menus and authorisation acknowledgements. Finally, she got to a plain screen with a holographic keyboard and blinking cursor.
"Just type in this code when I ask. Shouldn't be too hard."
Mei checked the code again.
[Dark_Matter_Furance]
Thought on it. And smiled.
'Who would have thought.'
"You're looking very amused there, dear Customer."
Mei shrugged.
"I'm not paying you by the minute. Go do your thing."
"Bossy. Contemptuous. Condescending. Definitely a Herrscher," Amarant muttered.
The woman jogged over to a seemingly random plasma steel wall, traced her fingers over it and depressed something that caused a section to recess, revealing a low tunnel. She crawled in and disappeared into the dark. Mei paced around the bridge. She wasn't about to admit to being nervous. But this part of their plan was critical to the whole. The opportunity had presented itself. The problem is their time to prepare was next to none. Even the kit they were using to subvert the Selene's systems was not ideal. Merely what they could cobble together from spare resources on the VTOL and their own personal equipment.
'I'm taking quite the gamble on this.'
Mei walked over to console and ran her fingers over it. In her mind she could see the scene replaying itself.
'Just how did we manage to survive?'