(Events take place around the time of the Firestorm crisis of Tiberian Sun, simultaneously with the events of Syndicate in the Assassins Creed timeline. Desmond: Desmond Files (f-list))
Desmond groaned as he left Bill's office; it wasn't the main office but he had set himself up a work space with Rebecca and Shaun at their current safehouse. As far as the Brotherhood was concerned, Desmond was dead - and the others were the only people there. This meant he could never use the front door. Not that he needed to, since he had an access terminal set up for himself along with the Animus. Bill always had a lot to say about his missions, but he was trying to be better about his criticism.
Unfortunately, today wasn't one of those days, since he had spectacularly blown up parts of an entire Abstergo building. The majority of people were able to get out thanks to the fire alarm, but some people had lost their lives. Some Abstergo guards, personnel and, unfortunately, subjects. They couldn't be sure if the explosions had triggered a chain reaction to the Animus room, or if some subjects had woken up and tried to leave, only to be dealt with by security.
The missing list wasn't too bad, since it would take some time to account for everyone who left the building. All in all, he would be grounded from going near Abstergo for a while until things cooled down - there was a man hunt out for the perpetrator of the bombs after all. But Desmond's face hand't been seen, plus he was supposed to be dead, so he definitely wasn't the one they were looking for. Most likely, someone would take the blame or try to take the credit.
He passed by Rebecca's work station, happy to see her, even as Shaun ignored the both of them. Typical guy, he cries his eyes out dry when he thinks you're dead, then hates you when you come back. No love for him.
Rebecca was able to pull up the files she got from the GDI spy. They had some good information, but a lot of it was redacted. "GDI has a lot of backers, so they have tons of money to invest in security and the like. It might be a bit hard for you to get in from the outside, and the spy already has to be careful since they passed me this info."
"You think I can get to them from the Internet? Or do I have to sneak into the building and access their computers independently?" Either way would've worked for Desmond, as much as it miffed Shaun and his hacker's pride to know that Desmond was still a novice at it, but could do so much better because he was inside the system. "What about the NOD systems?"
"I don't know, Dezy... if they really have an advanced AI, it might notice you. Then again, it depends on how advanced it is."
Meanwhile, Kane, via a different remote terminal, attempted connection with the Montauk. Kane had always memorized the credentials needed to find and contact the crew, wherever they could be. Knowing that the NOD tunnel system was still up, it also meant their networking was intact.
"Oxanna... can you hear me?"
The crew aboard the Montauk, headed towards the distress signal Kane was attempting to send, was startled by this foreign voice accessing their comm channels. This wouldn't make sense to them - this channel is only reserved for their supreme leader. Why would a different voice break through? And how did it know Oxanna by name?
Desmond needed a lot more information about GDI before going in and attempting to steal data. He would need building layouts, personnel info and guard routes. More importantly, he'd need to know how advanced the AI was across all their systems. He'd spend most of the time currently watching the building, seeing who went in and out, what kind of uniforms were worn, ID tags and such.
He started to follow a few to public places, bars, restaurants and the like, his experience as a bartender coming in handy. He wasn't after personal information, but information that wasn't classified; What boss was liked or a stickler and other work conditions. He'd use this information to get in, when someone mentioned the computer was giving him a hard time for being stupid. Or at least the man felt stupid.
Oxanna Kristos, on the other hand, was troubled.
Surviving the Firestorm crisis. Losing her commander and inspiration, Anton Slavik, to that degenerate and his men - Marcion. Uncovering the traitors among her crew, and executing them. It was suffice to say that Oxanna was practically doing the impossible to honor her leader's name.
So, it wouldn't be surprising in the least to find her startled when a very unfamiliar voice cracked through the secret comm channel Kane had used to command her former team. Were they compromised? Can this catastrophic phase of her mission get any worse? This hostility from the outside world is exactly what NOD is used to.
She welcomed it. Like her fallen commander, she too would face the stress head-on. This is what it meant to have Faith when serving the Brotherhood of NOD.
"Wait... who are you?!" She asked the voice, "How did you get this channel?"
Some of her nervousness couldn't be masked. A part of her was both startled and excited by the idea of her god-figure still being alive. Could it be...?
Cabal mentally patted himself on the back for this move. By using his voice alone to first establish communication with Oxanna, he can slowly convince her with words before revealing his face.
"You'll come for the sunshine, but you'll stay for the people." A pause, for a breath. "...Oxanna, my child. Is it really you?"
It was one of the many private catchphrases Kane would use to make his grand entrances. He knew it wouldn't be enough. He knew he'd have to reveal his current form to them. He was, however, fully ready to do so.
Oxanna Kristos couldn't believe her ears. The voice was definitely not his. But the mannerisms and the handshake quotes... those were definitely his.
Could he still be alive? Perhaps kidnapped? No. That's impossible. No one has ever forced Kane's hand in such a fashion.
"There's... no way. It... it can't be."
This was too good to be true. The rest of the crew definitely felt the same. It was a strange warmth trying to wash itself over their troubled hearts. For the longest time, they were struggling to accept defeat.
She had to verify. She had to make sure. There were too many traitors in the Brotherhood to allow herself to trust again.
"Show us. Show us your face."
Desmond snuck around the building for a while and watched the people coming in and out - eventually he was able to hear that a transport would be stopping by to resupply. A large mobile base called the Kodiak, normally it would just stop wherever it was to resupply. Thankfully, it was coming to this base as it was the closest. All he had to do was find an open door or wi-fi signal to get inside.
With it coming into base, their defenses should be a bit lowered then usual. He snuck around the base using the Apple to hide himself with an illusion, simply using it to bend the light around him. He would be hidden to cameras, but had to make sure he didn't bump into anyone. The Kodiak was a big vehicle - once he got close to it by the hangar, lots of people were moving around and loading up, taking a break and such.
He stayed close to the hull of the vehicle, and lightly pressed a hand on it. He could feel the energy being used to run it. Maybe he didn't need wi-fi if he could find some electronics that connected to the outside, like cameras or sensors. There seemed to be plenty for him to use; a quick glance around showed that nobody was around to see him as he flashed for a brief moment and entered the system.
It was certainly organized. He stayed in the rudimentary systems to get a feel for them. Nothing was hostile so far, and he intended to keep it that way. He slowly moved around and observed what he could, picking up pieces of background data and using it to disguise his appearance in the system. If he wanted to avoid an AI, he had to be disguised to look like background data or avoid the 'eyes' of the system. Becca had said that GDI had an advanced AI, but they didn't know how advanced. So for now he would do everything he could till he found out for himself. What was the systems name again? Becca hadn't mentioned it, but the workers at the base had. Eva.
Eva was in a crisis. Commander McNeil was nowhere to be found. The last time they checked, the Kodiak and its crew had received a distress signal from Sarajevo that seemed to belong to him. The Firestorm Crisis left GDI in a state of uncertainty, on a global scale. Stopping to refuel and resupply, Chandra took over the Kodiak's missions as second-in-command after McNeil's disappearance.
"Eva, prioritize search for the Commander. Place all other tertiary functions on standby until further notice. Use as much power as you need to triangulate the position of anything that can remotely lead us to him. Leave no stone unturned."
"Affirmative, Commander Chandra." Eva prioritized her search through all networked GPS systems she had access to. "Commander, I may have a suggestion to help in our search."
"Shoot."
"With NOD's Cabal unit now confirmed down, their tunnel network maps may be vulnerable to infiltration. My GPS programming only limits me to surface targets, extensively used for Ion Cannon firing."
"I think I know where you're going with this. Your recommendation?"
"We infiltrate NOD online. If the commander was captured as a POW, we may need a rescue team on standby."
"Hmmm. Brink? What do you think?"
Lt. Brink Lee was Chandra's second in command. Chandra had developed a habit of always looking at her and wondering if her instinct conflicted with Eva's assessments. Brink's great grandmother, Lt. Eva Lee, was the foundation for GDI's EVA system after WWII. Chandra couldn't help but notice something beyond mere familial connections between the lieutenant and her cybernetic ancestor.
"Checks out," Brink responded. "It's a blue zone. NOD won't be able to chase us as easily anymore. We need to get used to that." She turned her gaze to the dashboard.
"Commence infiltration. Eva, if you can find any weak nodes for them, or any parties globally that could benefit from this, give me a heads up, won't you?"
"Acknowledged, Commander Chandra. Commencing search and infiltration," she responded to the Kodiak. Following this, Eva manifested her presence online. Using the refuel station's connectivity, she was quickly able to contact the Philadelphia satellite network for GPS uplinking and quicker global scanning, now prioritizing different search criteria. "I must focus on the new mission," her consciousness whispered to herself. "No distractions. New criteria to employ."
The search begins.
A short chapter, but the next one WILL be much longer. Promise!
In other news... our fic baby is now FOUR chapters old! Thank you so much for continuing to follow us - we see you and hear you loud and clear! How does a lighter side-fic sound? Look forward to a very different type of crossover soon~
Till next time!