AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapters are fairly short because my main platform is Instagram, where I post my work on a maximum of 10 slides. I sincerely thank you for dropping by, and I hope you enjoy Rainbow Six: November Sky. - Paul
CHAPTER 1: "MICROBOTS OR WHATEVER"
FEBRUARY 19, 2018
RAINBOW HQ - HEREFORD, ENGLAND
Aleksandr "Tachanka" Senaviev glanced around the medical bay, not bothering to hide the anxiety in his eyes.
The large room was cold, sterile. Lifeless. The hard sheen of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling tracks were shielded by blue glass, casting a light blue aura across the bay. Sinister tools and devices sat on stainless steel trays and carts, and Alex swallowed hard when he saw a series of syringes arranged neatly in clear, plastic capsules.
The needle of each syringe was substantially longer than the one before it, and Finka lifted the third syringe from its capsule.
Tachanka gulped. "Is this absolutely necessary?"
Finka flicked the syringe. "Yes." She looked over at the man, her eyes glimmering. "I find it funny that the great Lord Senaviev is is afraid of needles, of all things. Relax, Alex. It will only take a minute. Maybe two."
"Don't call me that."
"What?"
"You know what." Alex rolled his eyes. "Lord. I hate that shit. Who started it?"
Finka shrugged.
"Tell me, Lera."
"Jäger. Well, Jäger and Bandit, to be specific."
"I should have known."
Finka chuckled. "Could have something to do with you moving to ban their ACOGs at that IAF conference." The woman tapped the syringe in her fingers and watched some of the liquid secreted within squirt into the air. "Nervous?"
Tachanka snorted and straightened in his chair. "No."
"I think you are."
"That so?"
"Yes - and not just about the needles. Which arm?"
Alex held out his left arm, palm up. "Why is that?"
The woman rolled her chair close to him, and tapped the skin on the man's forearm. "Oh, good. You have good veins. We're going to get an IV started. Doc will be here any moment."
Senaviev clenched his jaw. "Just get it over with."
Lera sterilized the area and gently pushed the needle into his vein. She saw the muscles in Alex's forearms bulge as he tightened his hand into a fist. "Relax your arm, Alex."
He sighed, but obeyed.
"I think you're nervous about more than the needle," she continued, "because you already know that Jäger is the one who got everybody to start calling you 'Lord' Tachanka." Finka was grinning as she tied the small tourniquet around his arm and made sure the IV was properly secured. "Why pretend otherwise?"
"I hate needles," Alexsandr blurted. "I've been shot. I've taken shrapnel. I've been stabbed." He looked down at the IV in his arm. "Fucking needles, though."
"Don't trust me?"
Tachanka's face hardened. "These... nanobots you've created - they go directly into the bloodstream?"
"That's right."
"It's not you that I don't trust, Lera." The man bit his lip. "Microscopic bots made of... wait, what are they made of?"
Finka set her eyes on his, and was careful to project calm. "We've been over this. You're just stalling. Everyone else has had the injection already, without issue."
"No, I just-"
"They're zinc nanites," Lera interrupted impatiently. "They will remain dormant in your bloodstream until activated, at which point your system will instantly absorb the nutrients. You'll get a surge of adrenaline, painkillers, the works." She paused. "Think of it as Gustave's STIM shot... just more potent."
Senaviev shook his head and muttered something inaudible before sinking back onto the exam table.
The automatic door to the medical bay slid open with a soft pinging noise emitting from the sensor, and Gustave "Doc" Kateb walked in, nodding his greetings. "Alex, Lera. Sorry I'm late."
"Speak of the devil." Finka disposed of her nitrile gloves to swap out for a new pair.
"Talking about me?" Doc asked with a grin. "All good things, yes?"
"Sure."
Tachanka seized his moment to act on mischief. "Lera was just telling me about her nanobots being more effective than your STIM shots, Doc."
Finka's face remained blank. "That is not what I said."
Doc chuckled as he wheeled a portable monitoring station over next to the exam table. "In a way, she's right."
"Not how I phrased it though."
"I suspect that's true, Lera." Doc fired a smirk at Alex as he snapped on his nitrile gloves, and he began running EKG lines from the monitor and sticking the electrode stickers to key points of Tachanka's shirtless torso.
Finka saw Alexsandr tensing. "Alex, please relax. They're just to monitor your heartbeat while we inject the nanobots."
"All this talk of injecting nanobots, and no actual injection," Alex growled. "I don't like this."
"You'll be fine. You just-"
Without warning, Tachanka sat up on the table and ripped the electrode stickers off his body.
"Alex? Stop." Finka shot up from her chair and instinctively reached for the man, but he batted her hand away. "Alex!"
Tachanka ignored her pleas. He got to his feet and pulled his t-shirt on.
Doc shifted his weight. "Alexsandr, you have nothing to fear. The Director cleared this procedure weeks ago. There is no risk to-"
"No risk?" Alex scoffed. "I'm not letting anyone pump microbots or whatever into my body." He turned to leave.
Finka back-pedaled, raising her hands in a plea. "Wait. Just give me more time to explain the science to you."
"It's not about that."
"You can trust this process! I've refined it through mountains of research, and it's been tested by both the FSB and Spetsnaz."
Alexsandr shouldered past Finka and stepped out of the medical bay and into the hall, which led to the robotics and research laboratories near the experimental testing ground and firing range.
Finka followed him. "Alex! Wait."
He ignored her and kept walking, so the woman jogged to catch up, and stepped in front of him to halt his pace.
Tachanka sighed. "No. If I do this, I'm giving someone control over something in my damned bloodstream. Not happening."
"What? It's just for healing and performance enhancement."
"You didn't grow up with the KGB, Lera. I've seen what happens when you give someone else too much control." The man lifted his arm to scratch at the side of his head, and Finka could not help but notice the way his shirt hugged the curve of his bicep. "Not going down that route." He moved to walk around her, but the woman gently pressed her hand to his midriff to stop him.
"I'm not the KGB." Finka lowered her voice. "You know of my health issues. You know why I've devoted my life to this. I'm here to do my part."
Alexsandr sighed and met Finka's eyes with his. Her usual steely gaze was not to be found; her eyes were wide, urgent... concerned, even. He was not accustomed to seeing that light in her face.
"You said you've been shot, stabbed. I saw the scars." Lera stepped closer, and gently touched her palm to the man's stomach, near his hip. "When the bullet hit, you felt sharp, searing pain here." Her voice was soft, just above a whisper. "It radiated in waves, burning, knifing through your nerves."
Tachanka nodded wordlessly.
"If I was there, you would not have felt it. That pain would be washed away before it could begin." Finka allowed a soft smile up at him. "This is not about control, Alex. This is about protection." She let her hand fall from his body. "This is about me being here for all of you... but I can't be there for you if you won't let me."
At long last, the man exhaled deeply and uttered a small growl of defeat. "Damn it, Lera. Fine. Just make it quick, yes?"