Chapter Two
T -08:00 hours to Twilight.
Nivek and Aska are in the back of a heavy cargo jet fly over the dense jungles of Yrt'Nuoce Kaf making final preparations for an accelerated drop into a hot civil war landing zone. An attaché and two techs from the Scientific Progressive Corporation (SPC) assists them.
"Two Glock 22's with light and laser accessories and several 17 round hollow point clips, one Franchi SPAS-12 pump action 12-gauge shot gun with boxes of shells, and lastly one SIG SG 552 assault rifle with a hefty amount of 30-round magazines." The attaché Cyan says. She looks up from her clip board, adjusting her glasses, as the techs hand the weapons to Nivek. Her long deep blue dyed hair braided in pig tails, driving home her bookwormism.
"Nice! I also like what you did with my trench. Now I have L.C.s ability to rapid reload with my glocks. And I see you've given into my use of copious amount of ammunition. Cyan finally understands one of my universal rules: "Overkill still means You Win!" Cyan simply shakes her head and looks back to her clip board.
"For you Aska I have these. One SIG SG 550, one XM214 Microgun with two 3000 round batteries and six 500 round ammo packs,two M19 SSR SPNKr Rocket Launchers with variable use rockets, and lastly something new the R&D guys just came up with the SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle. It has a max effective range of 600 yards firing standard 7.62×51 NATO in 20 round clips. Cyber zooming scope tied into the togglable laser for those on-the-fly targeting moments." Aska takes the weapon with a kool-aid grin on her face. Nivek rolls his eyes.
"It never ceases to amaze me that a girl that doesn't look like she weighs more than a buck seventy-five, who can weild that eighty-five pound gatling gear strapped to her like it was nothing, has such a fetish for sniping when she's godly at laying down my kind of supressive fire."
"Never unederestimate usefulness of subtle aproach!" Aska says, still admiring her new rifle, "Of course, that's never really been your strong suit has it?!" she adds matter-of-factly.
"Any way, as always I've stocked the usual ordinance into your packs. Several grenades of all six common types: fragmentation, concussion, smoke, flash-bang, incendiary, and anti-tank. The new wrap-'round sun-glasses you're being given not only look cool and block out the light and harmful UV rays, but are equipped with auto-adjusting night vision, infrared, and UV-scan to name a few. All you gear is being loaded onto your new MK VI Cyber-Cycles. They feature all the same scanning spectrums of the sun-glasses at a higher range and also have motion and EM tracking systems, all of which can be viewed via-remote HUD in the glasses. "Cyan states as the two rev up the bikes.
"I see techs went with Fenrir design from that game movie, save it's a singe forward wheel variant." Aska remarks approvingly.
"Uh… while I notice that the engines are almost complete muffled, the sides are emitting a red glowing pulse from front to back, it'll kind of light us up like a flare." Kevin says doing last minute systems checks.
"That's a side effect of the active sensors. Stealth mode silences this, not to mention all engine sound. However while in that mode the scanners only work at a range of ten or fifteen yards, as opposed to their standard thirty-five to forty. And while in this mode you can't accelerate any past thirty MPH unless you were already going that fast when stealth was activated."
/#/Ma'am we're over the LZ/#/ the pilot states over the intercom. Cyan waves to techs to clear the bay as the back hatch begins to open into the night sky. Nivek and Aska give the all good sign. The catapult launches them out a tripod parachute on each bike slowing their decent enough to hit the ground running into the jungle. The jet banks sharply and heads back to safe airspace.
In the mountain ruins turned gorilla stronghold two spies infiltrate the compound to gather intel. All is going according to plan as Hilda is downloading the last of the main computer's files onto a data crystal and placing it in a silver E.M. proof briefcase with several keycards.
/#/Warning, Intruder Alert! Warning, Intruder Alert!/#/
Hilda dashes out of the control room just in time to see her partner Draxton running dow the hall with guards in pursuit.
"Dammit Drax!"
"What'd you expect me to do?!"
"Not something this… this stupidly… reckless!"
They run through the corridors head to the main entrance via the primary hallway combating all guards that attempt to hinder their progress.
"It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
"So you meant to set off all these alarms?!"
"No, I just nabbed the master keycard."
"How do you know it's the master?"
"Pffft…Simple it's the biggest one!"
As they reach the entrance and the open air welcomes them Hilda is skewered on a sword as big as her torso from behind, dropping the case. She mouths to Draxton to run just as the sword is removed from her corpse by its wielder slashing upwards almost completely halving her. Draxton takes the briefcase and runs knowing that his life depends on it.
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T -03:30 hours to Twilight
The two mercenaries race through the night toward their contacts in a local village, artillery shells scream flying over head and raining death down on targets only a few klicks from their position. After an hours ride the two roll up to the edge of a freshly bombed out rural village.
"Now we know where those shells were going Nivek."
"Looks like someone either has really bad aim or felt like killing defenseless women and children, luckily our contact had them evacuated. Gotta find his hut and get those data crystals. Anything showing up on your scans?"
"Niet!"
"We'll have to move in closer."
"Switching to stealth, comrade."
"First, that'd be a bit redundant. With all the flames from the few shacks still burning, if someone is looking they'll see us no matter what. And second, your not in that alternate timeline world under soviet rule anymore. Stop calling me comrade all the time. It's kinda creepy. Think you can do that?"
"Da…comrade." Aska says with a smirk in her voice as she revs off towards the village.
"Soviet sniper sociopathic…." Nivek grumbles to himself as he follows. As they near the square the sounds of fighting can be heard. Speeding up they are greeted by the sight of their contact being stabbed in the gut by a large guy in full plate mail and a strange women taking his briefcase and a large strange looking keycard .
"Hey whore monkey, hands off my package!" Nivek shouts firing at her twice with his glocks. The armored man steps between them, the bullets bouncing off his armor harmlessly.
"Kill them!" the woman say with a sinister grin then hops up into the trees. As she lands onto a sturdy branch Aska fires a burst from her SIG clipping the woman. She drops the case to maintain a hold on the keycard as she dashes away into the shadows. Nivek dismounts his bike and pulls out his shot gun.
"My name is Nivek Goishans. You killed my contact prepare to die!" Nivek fires the gun shattering the armor on one of the guys legs.
"My name is Nivek Goishans. You killed my contact prepare to die!" Nivek fires the gun shattering the armor on an arm.
"My name is Nivek Goishans. You killed my contact prepare to die!" Nivek fires the gun shattering the armor on the other leg.
"My name is…"
"Nivek if you say it again I'll shoot you!" Aska states slightly irritated. Nivek fires the gun shattering the armor on the rest of the guys body. With the last bit of armor gone the creature made of bloody chain mail tosses his person sized sword at Nivek. Barely ducking under it Nivek lobs a frag grenade at the creature. Its catches it and prepare to toss it back when it explodes destroying the creature from the waist up.
"Ta-da-da-da da-da da ta-da!" Nivek say triumphantly, spinning his gun over his head like a bid sword before holstering it on his back again. Aska just shakes her head and grabs the case.
Aska takes the data crystal out and loads in into the bike on-board computer which is up-linked to Nivek as well.
"Those gorillas moved the shield for a few moments and something got through it appears."
"Da. Hope we don't run into any more these Darknuts."
"Well get ready just in case. We're about to pay those ruins a little visit."
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T -02:00 hours to Twilight
Nivek and Aska roll up to the enemy instillation and take note of the obvious battle signs and the drive into the main entrance. Aska taps the side of her sunglasses, pulling up the map of the complex.
"It seems large room at end of hallway is where shield is being kept. But we'll need to get master keycard back." She tells Nivek as the park the bikes next to the vault door.
"Now that's a big lock!" Nivek states pointing at the massive lock with four heavy chains sealing the door. "Where's that keycard anyway?" Aska sets her scanners to max.
"It's just down side hall. I lead you from here."
"Roger that…partner."
Nivek works his way through several chambers and halls under Aska's guidance meeting no guards along the way. As he rounds a corner leading to the room with the keycard he spots a few guards fighting off some large bats and losing. He uses the confusion to dash by in the confusion. One guard tries to stop him, but Nivek clocks him with the butt of his gun sending the guard flying backward in the waiting fangs of two bats that latch onto his face. Wincing at the gruesome sight Nivek quickly steps into the next room before the bats pay him any mind.
"For an instillation full of cool tech, this room is rather barren." He states looking around the long wide room with only a few lights and a giant chest on the far side. As he steps toward the chest large spikes shoot up from the ground. He barley jumps back in time not to get skewered.
'Now I know why there's noting else in this room!' Nivek thinks to himself. He slowly steps forward prompting the spike to sprout again. Slowly Nivek steps to the side where the spikes end to find none sprouting up here. He repeats tis process making his way through the room in a winding path till he reaches the large chest. As he opens it, he is almost blinded by a strange flash of light from inside the chest. Nivek reaches in claiming his prize and holds the master keycard over his head with both hands in victory.
Once back in the main hall with Aska, Nivek places the keycard into the lock which springs to life causing him to jump back. The face juts forward, then two spiked gears spin counter to each other, and finally the whole thing falls to the ground with a solid thud. The now unlocked door opens like a iris as the two mercenaries walk in.
They inter a huge barely lit circular room with a beam of light shinning down from its vaulted ceiling in the center. On the floor where the light is shining is the Shield of the Twilight. Just as they are about to grab it something sets off their motion tracker and the door behind them snaps shut and the girl from earlier jumps to the ground in front of them standing over their objective, now clad in strange cloths that look like a cross between black leather armor and thick spider webbing. As they draw their weapons her info flashes in their HUDs.
Twilight Assassin
Zinzerena
Zinzerena hops into the shadows as Nivek and Aska stand back to back scanning the room.
"Why doesn't she show up on our sensors? I can't even see her with night vision. DOWN!!" Nivek states and they dodge a pair of throwning daggers.
"Nivek, I suggest we use 'Watck My Back'"
"Agreed!"
The two run to opposite sides of the room, turn their backs to the walls, and begin to walk sideways at and even pace staying parralel to and facing eath other with weapons ready. Zinzerena prepares to throw a dagger at Aska's back but Nivek sees the light glint off her blade and fires on her with his glocks. She dashes to a new location taking only minor damge. She tries again on Nivek only to take seriouse damage from aska Sig. Zinzerena tries to leap to another safe location only to have both mercs fireing on her. In a last ditch effort she lunges at Nivek only to get a shotgun blast to the gut sending her flying several feet back.
Zinzerena stumbles into the light and drops to her knees in front of the shield before her body is covered in shadow and explodes into a plume of eerie black smoke. As the smoke fades the room lights up and the door opens. Where Zinzerena fell a giant glowing heart shaped ruby lined in emerald sits.
"Hey, bonus!" Nivek states as he grabs it. No sooner does he touch it does it bath him in a warm red glow for a second then disapears.
"You alright comrade?"
"Better that alright. I strangely feel a bit stronger now. Anyway lets get the item and get gone!"
Nivek pick up the Shield of theTwilight and heads toward the when the groung beins to shake. Aska activates the recal feature on the bikes just as a strange circle of symbols appear on the floor. Starting from a three part triangle in the center the floor sinks becoming a swirling funnel. Before the two mercs can mount their rides to race away they, their bikes, and all their gear are reduced to pixels and sucked in.