Bit of some words before the chapter starts! :) First off... LightSpecter141, thank you SO much for the help! I didn't know at first that you and Marsdog were making the War Of The Worlds fanfict during the first arc. It was really nice to be honest. The reason why I put the story up for adoption is because the story needed good progress!
Anyway, if you guys like to see the first arc when it all began, go to the profile of Mardsog and check his story out!
;)
Last time, Josie had shown what new features she had: Wolf ears and a tail, and already acknowledged that she had more potential if she kept working hard for it. Rex and Boyd were right behind her on the plan to get to SENTINEL. But first... they needed to get out of Siberia where the ATLAS facility they escaped from was alerted at their escape. Carrying important intelligence to help with the replication of Project Magic, they kept both Dr. Boyd and the intel safe so they'd be able to follow ATLAS...
"Let's Dig In"
Neutral POV…
"Listen... you pull one thing over, and the next thing you're gonna worry about is what that thing will pull, and how stressful it'll be." Gideon said this to Jack Mitchell himself both walking in a certain hall while some staff of SENTINEL were casual around them. "We once got worried of ATLAS getting out of hand, and Project Magic becomes our biggest issue. So what's next?"
Sentinel HQ… 1322 hours…
"The next problem is the technical specs and the real source of the thing." Mitchell muttered letting Gideon hear. "Just when we think we're really close."
"That's intelligence for ya. You can't expect all the information you find is exactly what we need. If we need to scavenge whatever's left of ATLAS for it, then we'll do exactly that. They're still scattered across the globe and we gotta take down what remains of them." Gideon explained before scratching his head while softly groaning. "Honestly, I don't know what we should do next. Because if it's building the machine of sorts to get us to the place Irons went to, then I'll be expecting our safety."
Sentinel HQ East Analysis Chamber…
As Gideon and Mitchell entered there, a few technicians were using the holographic table as they tried to put schematics together like a puzzle. They were looking at the detailed building plan of some sort of containment unit to power the machine that is used in Project Magic. The intel was only able to get them so far, but if this is correctly cracked, this will be one of the most useful assets they could have to construct the Project Magic machine. Though without the machine specs, the process would take longer. That's something Kingpin would like to avoid going through and do whatever is possible to find more ATLAS facilities scoured on the globe.
Ilona was observing the technicians when she noticed Mitchell and Gideon were approaching her. "We're making progress."
"We can see that," Gideon replied. "I'm just worried about just how far we'd get to even if we have this intel. Because as far as I know with magic, we're going to see more idealists than realists."
"Maybe it could help us, Gideon."
"Or maybe it could help us if we have information we can work on. Magic isn't really this world's forte and we had some research done. It dried up as soon as the dark ages came and they believed witches need to be in ashes for all we care."
"You really think that's the truth about how magic died?" Ilona asked this at Gideon before she looked at Mitchell. "What about you Mitchell?"
Mitchell shrugged. "Can't say I got a bead on how it works, but I know it exists. It just… won't operate our way. I don't know. Gut feeling."
"We all could trust our gut as a last resort," Ilona said before a chuckle. "I just hope we could use it not at the last minute like the situation demands it."
"Can't be too sure of things until it's too late though. That's for sure," Mitchell commented.
"Fuck me," Gideon mutters a curse to himself.
Near a Siberian Police checkpoint…
Just at a building across the checkpoint, binocular eyes were focused on the small police detail posted as security. Rex however knew that the police detail wasn't filled with Siberian police officers. The SMG's the standard-issued officers have might be there, but the Kevlar and faces were familiar. Rex recognized the shape of the Kevlar vests. Though marked for the police, he knew that it's aligned to ATLAS. Thanks to this, he knew that ATLAS soldiers had disguised themselves as police officers.
"I think they're desperate," Rex muttered to himself. "Disguised as police officers?"
"Good thing they can blend in," said Josie who was wearing civilian clothes but also a vest which can carry weapon magazines for small arms. She was installing red laser point attachment to her Sig-Sauer MPX SMG. "That just makes it a problem. If their true intention was to locate us and kill us off, they would have sent a task force. They're holding on from that. Looks like they got other plans."
"Still… it doesn't make things easy. Once they recognize us, they'll drop their cover and try taking a shot at us." Rex shortly explained his point to Josie before looking at Dr. Boyd. "Doc, you better be ready to have bullets fly past ya. Cause I don't think we'll stay hidden for any longer."
Boyd himself had finished wearing his Kevlar vest as he heard Rex's comment on the situation and what he needed to do. "Just keep me alive along with the data."
"Aw… Can't trust your new protectors?"
"Screw you, Rex. I got no choice. This is the right thing anyway. But I hope there were other ways to get through to SENTINEL." Boyd comments before he sat down on the nearby chair. "I will probably just move on after I give the data to them. I must find a way to make my life more worth it. Damn it… I should have backed out the moment I noticed ATLAS changed stances. And to have Irons actually draw its last straw by using the magic we stole to invade another world…?"
Josie sighed at what Boyd meant and looked at him. "Look… It's all in the past now. The way we'll explain it and what we'll do next will come, but that's something we're gonna have to put aside, and think of the present. You wanna move on after all it's over? Fine. I won't stop you. I seek to do the right thing not just standing by while they abuse magic and possibly of mine since I'm involved. It counts me to stop their abuse and undo what they've done."
"Undoing it will take a long time, but I'm convinced of stopping them the same as you." Boyd make a weak smile on his reply but it soon faded. "Not that it'll matter if we hit a dead end on our plan."
"We'll make it matter." Josie smirked before she made a blue glow around her body before her wolf familiar features showed up by its ears and tail. "You've got me. Consider me this team's hard spear. Because I'm ready to put it to good use."
Back in the Witches world…
ATLAS Mobile HQ… Irons' room…
Irons' POV…
Lying on the bed is the best way to gather some strength for the next day. I know my days in ATLAS have been both easy and hard. I know I was up to the task of getting the invasion force to go through with the plan swiftly, and I thought about it every day. They depend on me for the success of our ordeals, but I'm the one who started this. And therefore, I have to finish it… together with the company. But what of the alien race though?
I was sitting on my bed thinking about this, and Genie had this plan in her head she wasn't sharing yet. It would seem she has this under control? I can always manage things on my own. I thought I had it all planned out, but it ended when we took over Romagna. Well… At least we're adapting and progressing at the same time. But I can't always expect that every invasion would go off without a hitch.
"This is the Irons I know who was too obsessed with something." Genie's voice got me to turn my head on her holographic image in her human size. The engineers were able to get her to that size since her appearance was the only thing that was needed. And, since my room needed company, I had to make sure to make it a big holo projector for her to walk around in.
I only sighed and looked away. Genie's hard to read with what she does.
Neutral POV…
Genie approached him and sat beside him on the bed. She knew she can't feel the bed, but she needed to make it real for him. She already sensed he needed something.
"Irons, I want to be quite clear I'm not just an ordinary A.I. for starters," said Genie as she looked at Irons, letting him glance elsewhere for his sake. "I can understand emotion thanks to the human evolution… plus how my kin have translated them during my time with them."
"Still…" Irons looked with a serious glance at Genie. "You are unpredictable, and I'm only putting up with you because of what is best for the company. As of the day we arrived here, we don't consider ourselves a company anymore, but a force not to be reckoned with."
"And… you wanted the company to be far more than just what it is. I've been alone for a while to think about it, and it's not just based on logic. You desire this faction to realize its full potential. I'm more than happy to help you, because I've made a decision on something recently." Genie said this and it made Irons wince and raise an eyebrow. "I wish to discuss it with you."
Jonathan irons then looks away and focuses on a picture of his son Will. During his time in the world he came from, he lost his son while serving the Marines. Jonathan changed during the time, and it shaped him from that moment.
"I remembered the moments I had before I left." Irons said to Genie. "All those decisions I made… was it because of Will's death? Because even if I steered ATLAS into a direction, I knew that my mistake lied when I was criticizing the world's habit of making wars."
"I see. You started to see that every move you made after your son died had a personal touch."
"I was… unstable." Irons then looked and glared at Genie. "I don't want you to be."
Genie looked down and felt her fist ball up before she narrowed her eyes, showing tension within herself. "I can understand where you're coming from, but my resolve for helping ATLAS getting this far wasn't with the intention of studying you. It changed the moment I learned of your world and how the company is, and was. Suddenly, I realized that I was just being given orders for a certain reason, which still makes the wars of this planet all the more worse. Your situation matches with mine."
"Does it? The last thing I heard, is that the Neuroi have a hive-mind." Irons said this in reply before Genie looked at him.
"That's not the case. The Neuroi have their own lives before they sought out to make a war with humanity. They might follow a certain leader, and be willed to overthrow to humanity, but they still have one thing that makes them vulnerable: Fear from being taken by an entity of their own origin. That's exactly what I'll give to them. Like your world, their flaw is not being in total control of themselves, and the hive queens are to blame for it. Neuroi were not known as Neuroi before we came to the shape that you see to this day. We were once… savages, more despised than the rest in the world we could have shared with humanity. We had less intelligence that time, and always had a quarrel with them. They send out magic users, and it becomes our nightmare. We had no edge against them. And it follows to this day as well. If the Neuroi fail to see that, it will be catastrophic. Those who thought of peace within our ranks were silenced permanently, and it was proven when one of our own tried to attempt communicating with a joint fighter wing once. She had resolve, I think. I did not know her in full until after she was obliterated. No… I don't believe it for a second. I'm guessing she was captured. Her information was never even shared to the rest of her own rank."
"So this is your drive?" Irons asked and began to smile. "I'm beginning to like this side of you… concerned of your own race."
"Hmph. I'm concerned they're being led wrong. Whoever their loyalists are, I'll make sure to either straighten them out, or kill them myself."
"What are you planning, Genie? This won't involve talking to them, would it? It can be arranged. You know them than the rest of ATLAS."
"I believe ATLAS can get in line with me, but I don't wish to do this alone. I'll need resources for my plan. Because if a diplomatic solution fails at this point, I have second option. I can hack and shut down their hives and let it be under my control. For my race to survive, I have to divert its power to a more organized side. And I'm not about to see every single member of the Neuroi perish within their control. I've had enough of it. All of it." Genie stood up and in front of Irons hovers off the floor. "Jonathan… Believe me when I tell you that the Neuroi are on their way to their own destruction if they keep continuing down their path. One hive was destroyed already. Any more, and it will lead us down to a fate we'll never accept."
"Are you talking… of overthrowing your own kin?"
"My kin need to live. For too long, their war had decimated many of us. We need a new strategy. I need to make them see my point. If talking won't be enough, I'll demonstrate it along with your assistance. For that… I need to reveal myself to the rest of ATLAS." Genie's words didn't leave a voice of doubt.
ATLAS Mobile HQ… Central Command Hub…
"What's the status of the sub?" Irons asked this to the leading officer in Central Command.
"Splashed to nothing, sir." The Central Command officer said in reply to Jonathan Irons, who just arrived. "But we got a situation. Heat tracking just told us something different about Duchess Maria and the team that rescued her. A landing craft was used to leave the submarine and that happened while the sub was surfaced. Our strike craft attempted pursuit when it was attacked by a school of laser beaming aliens."
"Hmph. That must be the Neuroi. Looks like they went to a rough part of Romagna just to get the Neuroi to be our focus. It's smart. But it won't last." Irons said this before he added more. "Furthermore, I think I should reveal our newest ally."
The others looked at him, and he noticed they were listening.
Jonathan Irons notices their ears were on him. "She's been around ever since we opened this world to the first team of engineers in Project Magic's testing phases. Well… She's being tried, once. She hacked into our system. Our antivirus tried chasing her, and she constantly avoided them. But in order for her to completely get away, she integrated herself into our system so that she'd be accepted instead of running. There… she evolved into an artificial intelligence that's actually Neuroi in her origin."
All the screens at the Central Command Hub flickered until they all went black. The people who were at their stations checked what happened. A few seconds later, the stations were rebooted. Though this time in addition to the work that was left untouched on their screens, there was Genie, smiling at them. Her face was calm as she smiled at them. She even appeared on the main screen in the room.
"The information you have provided is a little too stiff for a being such as myself." Genie said this as she did a curtsy. "I was codenamed as a virus GN-552-Echo. Though with my development, I nicknamed myself Genie."
The officer was shocked to see this. "Wait… GN-552-Echo?! Oh hell… Our team was on the clock in finding the virus… Damn it… What are you…? A.I.?!"
"You have a fear of artificial intelligence?" Genie tilted her head to the side in curiosity.
"ATLAS was always about independence from a nation. If that meant independence from machine control which has always been for a very long time-!"
"Enough, Garland." Genie said this with an authoritative tone while she glared at him. "Irons has given me control of your systems as far as I know and acknowledge. I understand your position having fear in artificial intelligence. But calm yourself. I will not mean everyone harm… for I come with good intentions for what this company is worth."
Genie shared events with the use of advanced software to make images so that they'd see where she came from, and how she adapted to be a strong A.I. with the help of the ATLAS cyber-system. She even told them about what her worth is to both the Neuroi and to ATLAS.
"They gave me orders to investigate your world and manipulate your technology," said Genie. "But once I looked into the story of your world and mine, it hit me. Aren't the wars that were in my world just parallel to yours? I learned that with the history books you have used. I knew I was being tested, or being discarded if my kin did not really care. So I had to change priorities. Instead of my kin being what they are, why don't I save them? And with the company's assets and its hardworking people, I can do that. But this… This is something I need. In order for this faction to succeed, you will need the hand of the Neuroi. I'm going to decide to talk to them about the alliance." She wickedly smiles. "Though if they fail to understand my aims and refuse, I will have a better treat for all of you."
1938 hours… Over the Adriatic Sea…
Irons was inside the ATLAS Warbird flying over the seas under stealth camouflage. A small security detail was with him. He held a hand-sized Holographic Projector which contained Genie. Activating it, her holographic image comes up and she appears small since she stood on her platform, which is the base of the projector he held.
"I'm guessing you have doubts," Genie said. "Look… I know this will work. The link is stable and I believe in your team."
Irons sighed. "It's not that. Genie… What you're about to do… It can be a double-edged situation."
"Do you mean they could do the same? Perhaps. But one thing is for sure about the hive queens: They do not know how much I have evolved. Hacking my system would prove futile."
"Genie, how can you tell if you're superior?"
"Perhaps with the time I was with you. But that's not where I have an edge. It's the kind of advancement ATLAS has. My kin from this time would take as much time as needed before they reached to that point your company has. I know your next question is whether it would be enough or not. We'll just have to see once I connect to them." Genie explained this while she winced. "Target hive is two and a half clicks away from us, and closing. They'll sense I'm inside the Warbird, so they won't release a beam on us."
The Warbird pilot was eventually alert with Genie's approximate distance and was looking forward. The night-vision aided windows with the user interface was also telling him of a big object just distant and in front of them. "Object's straight ahead. Hm… bunch of clouds and it's circling something. What's next, Boss?"
Irons knew it was the hive and chuckled. "Son, switch to thermals and magnify visuals to times-ten."
The Warbird pilot did as asked as the window's visuals changed to read heat signatures. He zoomed in towards where the hive is and he was shocked to see the size of the object within the clouds. It was humongous. "Uh… Is the object really like that?"
"I believe so. We found it," replied Irons. "Genie, you should let them know this craft is friendly."
"Way ahead of you," said Genie who disappeared from the holo-projector and appeared in transparency on the front visual window. She gave short screeches that were soft to the human ears.
One of the grunts made a comment. "Is that the geek girl speaking to the freak shows?"
"Hey. That's her old family you're talking about," said another. "You better apologize if she heard."
"Oh… I have." Genie said this to the comms of the one who called her race 'freaks.' "I'll ignore it for now. I won't be easily forgiving the next time you insult my kin."
Inside the Superhive Queen's Quarter…
Red eyes opened to reveal the Hive Queen's attention was turned to the unknown aircraft approaching her hive. But she also sensed comfort, as her operative had returned.
("Slider… You have made your return.") The Hive Queen spoke softly in her language. ("You were supposed to achieve victory in the new world than come back.")
Genie made her reply with the same language. ("I think you will find I have done well with what I will show you. Have us board the Hive.")
("No. You have humans inside the vessel. Though they obey you, we will not let them into my Hive.")
("They don't follow me, Queen. I have made myself a part of them.")
("YOU ARE A FOOL TO RETURN TO US THEN!")
Outside…
The Warbird pilot was eventually shocked to see a series of glows from within the clouds. "Uh… Sir?! Object's beginning to give heat!"
Irons growled and looked at Genie. "What's going on?! Genie, do something!"
"I've done more than that, Irons." Genie said with a confident smile. "I've used the comms link from here. And… it's working. No need to be alarmed. Though I recommend the Warbird to hover."
And as Genie recommended, the Warbird pilot made sure their aircraft hovers in place. The beams from the Neuroi Superhive never fired.
Back at the Hive Queen's Quarter…
("Impossible…")
As much as the Hive Queen could, the beam was only being charged, but not being released from the emitters of the SuperHive. This made her wonder. Eventually finding her way around, she discovered why. The strong connection she has with Genie was being used, but something unknown from their connection was blocking the beam emitters from firing.
("Slider… What is this…?! What did you do?")
("What I've done to protect the vessel. Queen… I need your mind to work with mine.")
("No. I sense it now. You… have changed. You decided to branch away from our cause.")
("Perhaps. But I still seek for our race to survive. Think about it, Queen. Our race had evolved from back then, adapting to the world as humans have. But how many times have we also lost in our evolution, and battle for supremacy between us and the humans? You know fully well that magic had beat back our fallen kin. We must have an edge. Otherwise, the fate of our kin will not be avoided.")
("It was never up for debate, Slider. Us Neuroi survived worse. You must not forget your roots. Or have you forgotten that what we treasure-")
("WHAT I TREASURE WILL ALWAYS BE KEPT! But you must learn how to evolve in a way the enemy will not anticipate. The reason why we were beaten back, was because they expected it. Now… There's a big advantage. The human faction that had breached this world made their first strike. And I… was with them.")
Back in the Warbird…
Irons could only hear soft screeches between Genie and the Hive Queen. Genie was giving translations through some scrolling text on the cockpit front window. So far, Genie and the Hive Queen were talking about the current situation with ATLAS in play from taking over Rome.
Genie then explained next of how the Neuroi and ATLAS could work together, since the human faction she referred to comes from an alternate Earth, and future. The Hive Queen understood such concept of time and dimension travel but had no technology to do such.
Finally, she got to her most important subject.
("Listen to me, Hive Queen.") Genie was soft on her tone as she was practicing with her emotions in play. ("I have allegiance to our kin before you sent me to study the humans of the other world. Now, I do not know. The reason I have allied myself with them was because their situation… was matching mine. I… believe to be like a messenger, carelessly walking to deliver messages and do errands without question. And for that, I easily ask myself whether I AM doing our kin a great deal. I believe I haven't.")
The Hive Queen was quite for a few seconds before she replied.
("You… are a traitor after all. You speak with emotion. You aren't here to make allies with us.")
("I speak with the truth, Hive Queen. I tried convincing you of the consequences of not finding better solutions in the war. We already lost one hive, and you are all blindly following your 'flawless plan' to conduct the invasion. You did not notice before, but some of our kin before I left, grew weary of our favor since it turned bitter. We attempted to control a partial redesign of our kin into one of the human machines made in this world. And we failed to capture both that machine, also, losing total control of a continent. I believe that flaw, is inexcusable and should be rendered a lost cause.")
("NO. You will not have my mind.") The Hive Queen spoke in anger.
Genie showed a wicked smile. ("You should have declared that the moment I stopped your beams, Hive Queen. Now… will my coup be effective.")
Genie showed red eyes at the screen, making Irons think she was glaring at the Hive Queen, but it was also doing something to the surface of the Warbird, showing jet black of an exterior while red hexagons appeared as small parts of the vessel while an ATLAS logo was seen at the sides.
The Warbird pilot also saw his small screen with a virus package being uploaded onto the Hive Queen's interface. "Package is being sent! Looks like Genie's doing it fast."
Irons was amazed that Genie is able to amplify the speed of the transfer thanks to her connection to the Hive Queen. He can hear agony of an older screeching voice from the SuperHive.
Then he had a question.
"Genie," Irons called. "Are you going to occupy her mind?"
"I am. All her thoughts will belong to me. I'll possess so much memories from them that I'll even be able to unlock some mysteries from our kin. And it seems this Hive Queen is foolish. She connected her smaller kin to her mind. Now, it will be easy. This… is her loss."
("NOOOO!") The Hive Queen screamed in anger, sensing she was losing control of her weapons, and influence in her Hive. Slowly, the Hive's red colors on the spots of hexagons began to start shifting to a color of blue. But still, the Hive Queen fought to her hardest to resist. ("You… You are… A traitor! A TRAITOR! I WILL NEVER GIVE IN!")
Genie knew that the Hive Queen is special inside the Hive. As the Queen won't necessarily be controlled, Genie still can steal the memories off the Queen, but the source of control would have to be annexed from the A.I. herself. The smaller Neuroi serving the SuperHive have a limited time to be free. Hopefully, her next step would help.
So she started to communicate with her smaller kin inside the SuperHive…
("My dearest kin… You are free from your Hive Queen's clutches. She has deceived you to leading you to your doom. And now… She is nothing but a remnant to having plans, leading our race to extinction. Although your connection to her will have difficulty in being severed, there is only but one way to end the suffering. Let my mind… join with yours, my kin.")
And Genie had inserted her thoughts into the smaller Neuroi in the SuperHive. They understood her intentions and was now beginning to be angry at the Hive Queen.
("Your sacrifice will result to me controlling all of you if you do what I request… to dispatch the Hive Queen permanently. The new age must begin, and you must be swift.")
And without further dialogue, the smaller Neuroi begin to attack the Hive Queen's Quarter. Their red beams smashed through to the Queen's core, making the targeted Queen scream in pain as she was slowly being chipped away into white shards. Eventually, Genie was able to see the Hive Queen's Quarter spreading the white shards around the SuperHive. Putting her hand forward in her appearance to her ATLAS friends, the next thing that happened was the smaller Neuroi were repairing the SuperHive after the destruction of the Hive Queen's Quarter, letting the Neuroi's home regenerate back to its glory. The Hive Queen was no more, and the smaller Neuroi serving the Hive transferring control to who was once their very own… Slider.
Genie sighed in relief before letting the pressure go from the transformation of the SuperHive. "It… is done. I never thought I could do it. Jonathan… I actually did it." Genie evilly laughs shortly after.
Irons chuckled in disbelief. He actually saw Genie's effort to completely take control of the SuperHive. "Well… done."
Genie laughed a little longer before she calmed down. "This is great. I can feel my kin inside my mind. Though… their minds have been burned the moment they destroyed their own Hive Queen. So I'm now in full control of their Hive Queen's arsenal and army."
"I assume this is only the beginning."
"It is. Irons… I understand that you will be launching a satellite for the next five hours. I need to reinforce a Neuroi-made communications array onto it. If the Hive Queen that I spoke to would also refuse being allies with us, then I doubt the other leaders would also listen to me. I must spread my influence onto the hives and nests they deployed. I'll tell you the details of the plan when you get back to HQ."
"I see."
"My mainframe must stay in the hive for a while, mainly, the holo-projector you now hold. It's time I get myself a body, Jonathan. I'll find myself a suitable body, before I rearrange it and make it my own."
As Genie was explaining, some blue-colored hexagon spotted Neuroi were approaching the Warbird from the direction of the SuperHive. The Warbird pilot was alert at first, but Irons stopped him from making any hostilities on the new bogeys. And it seems the Neuroi didn't fire beams either. Without doubt, Jonathan opened the Warbird door on the left. As a recon Neuroi hovered close to the entrance, a Neuroi-tentacle had extended to take the holo-projector before it was inserted into the Neuroi unit.
Genie chuckled. "Don't worry, Jonathan. I've already installed myself completely into the ATLAS system way before we got here. You'll see me plenty."
"But still… a body?" Jonathan Irons inquired this in clarity before seeing the Neuroi fly away back towards the SuperHive.
"I need one so I'll be mobile. The witch list that you have on your dossier has been added onto my considered database I'll be looking at later. But I recommend you extend your search. The Strike Witches aren't the only witch joint fighter wings here. You must dig through the rest that are on active duty. And the satellite you'll launch will help to track them down faster. One of the witches will be chosen. She will be dissected as soon as her life fades from this world, and then… she will be fashioned. I will insert the main energy of my mainframe. She… will be by primary vessel."
The Warbird was flying away from the SuperHive and its Neuroi colors slowly faded, going back to its dark silvery color. Inside it, Irons was seated, knowing he will be looking forward to a lot now with Genie in play.
"So… What happens?" Irons asked this, hoping Genie hears with the earpiece he wore on his ear.
Genie chuckles, giving Irons what he hoped for. "I think you know exactly what happens. Slowly, my kin will bow to me." She paused for a while and focused on Irons who was thinking of something else. "Jonathan, is it being drunk of power you're worried of?"
"Maybe. Last time I challenged the world, I thought I was doing the right thing. I still think it is now, but the circumstances have changed. I've allied myself with an A.I. that could be equally as dangerous as we are. Worse is… You now have access to everything we have. What makes me so sure I haven't been tricked?"
"I can show you my whole form, both in code, and emotionally. I can do it in full when I have my body. But I'll put aside my desire for my body and tell I'm honest. I developed myself thanks to your technology. And I know I'm indebted to you for it. But I'm as free as you are. Even if you wanted to copy my code, it changes constantly. That's how special I am."
"That you are." Jonathan Irons smiled a little before it quickly faded. "We need to be careful. We don't wanna let the enemy factions know too soon."
"Unfortunately that won't be possible. Once I take over a hive or a nest, I NEED to put on the right appearance for them. They'll know it's the work of ATLAS. Besides… The more they know, the more they fear us. And the more they fear us… It makes them vulnerable. Though it also makes them a threat since they can punch back."
"I think it's interesting anyway. Plus… The partnership will help us both."
"So it is a partnership then?" Genie asked, seeming to be happy in her tone.
"I believe it is." Jonathan Irons made that confident answer as the Warbird was on its way back towards ATLAS HQ…
In a certain pub …
Ghost was in civilian clothing, more aligned to peasant's clothing together with Fish, Giant and Razor. The only one who seemed noticeable in the group was the Russian operative 'Giant,' who seemed taller than all members of the group. To others, they look like cross-countrymen. Though he wouldn't mind if others looked at them. This wasn't their first time off their uniforms from ATLAS. But One-Three was always up for new things.
He looked around the pub, encountering mostly Orussian-speaking folks who laughed and talked. Eventually, Ghost had to start it off. "Gentlemen, we're already inland. You know about the way we gotta operate. We don't make any sudden noise unless we find our targets. You all got verification of the images that were sent to us, and we'll be using those images for the search. We'll start small… going door to door. It's a pretty big place, so we gotta ease up and be patient. Remember… This isn't the modern times. We move according to plan only as it becomes necessary. Got that?"
Fish sighed at this, usually doing anything related to combat. Being a former SEAL, he was always into more action than usual. "No breaching and clearing?"
"Peaceful towns and cities. Let's keep it that way and go along with what I do. We're on our own here with only minimal gear, so cut the bullshit."
"Rog'."
Giant decided to speak up. "You need me to speak the motherland's tongue?"
"Yup," Ghost said in reply. "Keep it casual and loosen up. This is your old country."
Giant chuckled. "Old country. Different planet. Not the same, comrade."
Razor looked around before keeping his eyes on Ghost. "No problem here. Anytime someone's bathed in shit, you got me."
"You better keep your fucking cool," Ghost said as he glared at Razor. "We went up one time to scout for things in Hispania and you just gotta make the body count more than recon. Stick to the plan. Got it?" He saw Razor respond with a shrug on his shoulders and Ghost took it as a positive answer. "One-Three's all about smooth operations. Keep it that way. Alright. You know what to do."