Welcome to another chapter of Into the Rift. Today, we get an introduction to the stealth expert of the team, Myst Na Volinsk.
The cavern was dark, gloomy, and to the normal passerby unassuming. It was one of those places that could easily blend into the countryside, never taking anyone's interest except for the occasional curious treasure-hunter, who would leave shortly after. It was quiet, unassuming, and nearly invisible; hidden in plain sight.
It was the perfect hideout for Myst Na Volinsk, professional assassin.
She was a fairly tall woman, with a slender, agile build that betrayed her dexterity. Medium-length crimson hair fell behind her, often simply left to flow loose. Her bodysuit, a jet-black customized Mk. IV Infiltration Suit guaranteed that anyone not looking directly at her would simply see her as just another shadow in the darkness. She had a fit body, one that many people would describe as 'beautiful', and she knew how to use it to get anywhere she needed to.
She smiled, leaning back in her chair; she was one of the best assassins and infiltration operatives in the Rift, and she knew it. From sabotage and corporate espionage to cold-blooded killing, she was adept at it all. She could go from playing arm candy with a powerful CEO in order to sneak into their top-secret files, to driving a blade into the skull of the same elderly CEO in order to throw the corporation into disarray. She knew how to play people, how to manipulate them, and she loved every moment of it.
The pay isn't bad, either… She giggled softly to herself, checking over the monitor; that cavern had some fairly high technology concealed within it, and she'd taken great pains to make sure it was a secure location, away from both the public and the light.
After all, she thought as she grinned, revealing a pair of deadly, razor-sharp fangs, a vampire's gotta eat.
Indeed, part of her skill in all things stealth came from her heritage; she had been reborn a vampire in the 'World of Darkness' dimension, and shortly afterwards discovered that the challenges held within were nothing compared to the thrill of running through the Rift, hunting and assassinating such a wide variety of creatures. She had tasted the blood of Mobians and Lylatians alike, and had mastered the art of blood magic to a fine point.
However, she had recently realized that the thrill of the hunt was no longer there; her targets, high profile and expensive as they were to kill, offered no challenge to the beautiful – and lethal – woman that could simply waltz into their office, kill them quickly and cleanly, and disappear out without ever having a trace of her skill being located.
Quite simply, Myst was bored.
Her computer pinged and she looked up, rolling her faintly-glowing eyes slightly as she saw it was another contract. Sitting up, she looked it over with idle curiosity, expecting another simple kill. As she read through the target information, her eyes widened; this wasn't an average CEO or politician… This was a military target. A high ranking general within House Steiner, in the Battletech universe. Genearal Lan Corsair, a skilled Nova Cat pilot and apparently a dangerous entity for House Davion.
The corners of her mouth perked up a bit in a smile; she didn't know too much about the Battletech universe, but she knew enough to figure out that it would be an interesting mission if nothing else. A high-ranking general would know how to fight both in his 'Mech and with a weapon in hand, so she could at least expect an interesting operation. Furthermore, he wouldn't be trusting of a strange – yet beautiful – woman appearing from thin air, so she'd have an actual infiltration challenge. And the payment was a rather healthy sum, as well…
After a bit more thought, she pressed the 'accept' button. She was confident in her abilities, and the paycheck would be good. With a smile, she watched as every file and document on General Corsair streamed across her monitor, analyzing everything she could. Apparently, he would be at a forward operations base within a month for a week-long inspection. That would be her time to strike; the base would be relatively understaffed and fairly far away from any type of reinforcements should things go wrong.
She turned her attention to another screen; if she was travelling through the Rift, she'd need to sort out some fake documentation and a way of travelling to Battletech and then back to her home. She paused, checking the time… Almost midnight, and she felt the urge to feed once more.
She shrugged, closing down her computer after transmitting a few basic requests. She had a month, plenty of time. For now, however…
She smiled and left her cave, a predatory gleam in her eyes. Town was roughly half a mile away; a decent walk before dinner sounded… Appealing.
XXXXXXXXXX
It was roughly three weeks before she had all the documentation in hand and a ticket to the Battletech universe with an official convoy. Three more days, and she was in the Battletech universe, arranging transport to the target's current system. Another four days and she was there, beginning to watch the outpost carefully, making sure to note the guard's locations and patterns.
Roughly two days after she arrived, she donned her Stealth Suit and began the infiltration. Sneaking into the base through a ventilation shaft on the side, her lithe body glided through the shafts, guided by her finely-tuned vampiric senses. All that could be seen of her within the ventilation gratings were her glowing amber eyes, and they only would last for a brief flicker before fading once more to darkness. She grinned; this was too easy… A few more turns, and she was above the command wing. With a sniff, she could sense it; blood… Her prey had to be in here. She undid the screws holding the vent closed, and crawled out, eyes scanning the room.
It was a fairly straightforward military office; leather chair, mahogany desk, a few filing cabinets behind it and two chairs on one side. A computer, a few trays for paperwork, and sitting in the chair was her quarry, Lan Corsair. His eyes snapped up when he heard her feet hit the ground and wasted no time in pressing a small button underneath his desk before Myst could even move.
Every alarm in the building started to sound, and she swore under her breath before unsheathing her assassin's blade and leaping across the table only to meet a straight-arm strike from the general, who was quick to pull a small pistol from his drawer and open fire. She dodged to the side, using some of her blood magic to strike him and throw his aim off. He swore, attempting to tag her in an uppercut. She dodged around it, slipping behind him and ramming her blade through his neck. He fell, choking on his own blood and trying to make one final grasp at her when she took his pistol and shot him neatly in the head.
She paused, taking a breath. That… Was interesting. She hadn't expected him to trip an alarm, and now all blazes was breaking loose. Glancing to the vent, she swore under her breath; apparently someone had triggered a full lockdown of the facility and now there was no way out except for the door in front of her, and judging by the sound of boots meeting floor she wouldn't be getting out that way without a fight… Or…
She chuckled lowly to herself, and focused for a moment. Her eyes glinted once in the darkness, before her Infiltrator suit did its job and turned her invisible. Combined with a bit of her blood magic, she was completely undetectable by any form of equipment. However, she knew she didn't have much time, and any automated defenses would ruin her plans in a hurry. With a nod, she slipped out the door and started moving down the many halls of the facility, occasionally pressing her back against a wall to avoid detection by the soldiers heading for the office of the deceased general. With a low chuckle, she slipped down the halls and into the night once more.
It took her roughly a day of laying low for the officials to finally cease the investigation, stating that the murderer had gotten away 'for now', and for the spaceports to open once more. Smuggling herself aboard a Rift Runner's vessel, she rode it all the way back home with a smile. Another job, and that one was actually a little bit fun…
Roughly three days later, she was back home and lounging in her cave once more. She was around a quarter of a million credits richer, and even had a few new toys sent her way for 'sending a message' so to speak. She laid back, ready to take a nap until dusk fell once more… Before a faint sound of footsteps outside her cave brought her to alert once again.
Another treasure hunter… Geez, they're getting persistent lately. Ah well… She shut the machine down, and faded into the darkness neatly, assisted by a bit of her blood magic. Just let him sate his curiosity, and he'll shove off. That was the normal routine for her, but this time was a bit different. She caught a glimpse of the person, and an eyebrow raised as she realized that he was wearing a fairly fancy, yet casual business suit. She was even more shocked when he looked her right in the eye and spoke. "Good evening, miss Volinsk. May I have a word?"
She didn't waste any time before pouncing him down, eyes glaring into his own before leaning down, threateningly running a fang along his throat. "Please, before I kill you for intruding, tell me how you found me…"
Oddly, he didn't show any fear. All she could sense from him was a feeling of… Annoyance? "Miss Volinsk, if you would kindly remove yourself from my form… I have an offer for you that you would probably find rather appealing. A job, if you will."
She paused, before climbing off of him, making sure she was still within striking distance. "Talk fast before I change my mind."
He sighed, dusting his suit jacket off for a moment. "Ah, yes. You appear to have passed both tests; your stealth and assassination skills are exactly what we expected, and your reflexes are spot on as well. A bit of lacking in social skills, however that can be understood."
She growled at him, eyes flashing. "Talk faster."
He nodded, giving a faint chuckle. "Ah yes, straight to business, right? Well, miss Volinsk… We have a rather lucrative job opportunity for you. It's dangerous, and not like anything you've done in the past, however your compensation will include a million credits and the experimental Mk. VI infiltration Suit, fresh from the manufacturing."
Her eyes widened at the mention of the Mk. VI… That was a dream suit for her. The active camouflage would also cause her thermal and biological pickups to go under the same cloak of invisibility, rendering the autoturrets that were her major issue no longer a threat.
"Now, there is one other point regarding this mission. You will be working with a team of experts; a tactical and assault expert with impressive field skill, a long range marksmanship and technology expert, and a heavy weapons and demolitions specialist."
She paused, before shaking her head. "That's a lot of bodies for an assassination, even one dangerous enough to bring that kind of price tag."
"Oh, but it's not a simple assassination, miss Volinsk. I can give you more details, but I need your agreement to the mission beforehand. So, do you accept?" He stuck his hand out to shake hers.
She looked over it for a moment, before shrugging and shaking it. "Eh, why not? Nothing else to do, and it may prove to be more interesting than the usual kills. So what's the job, and who am I working with?"
The gentleman smiled, setting a briefcase he'd been carrying aside and opening it. "Your mission, miss Volinsk, is to cooperate with a Rift Runner-"
She cut him off immediately. "A Runner? Geez, what the heck do they have to do with it?" She sighed in annoyance; she wasn't too fond of Rift Runners…
"They have everything to do with it, miss Volinsk. After all, your mission is to acquire an Artifact for them… However, this artifact is somewhat indisposed. A known terrorist organization is holding it in a secured bank within a Blocked Universe. My client wishes for the Artifact to be moved from their possession into his own."
She sighed. "This isn't going to be easy, you know…"
He nodded, a faint chuckle coming out. "Why do you think we're hiring the best we can find? Besides yourself, we already have secured the cooperation of former colonel turned mercenary Josiah Eldritch. Have you heard of him?"
She flinched, giving a shake of her head. Dang, how'd they get Eldritch involved in this? "We… Have some history, yes."
He nodded absently, removing his file and setting it down. "Excellent. Then you'll be able to cooperate much better. Now, there are two others that agents are attempting to bring in for the mission at hand. Once they are all involved, you will be meeting in the Lylat system and boarding a Lylatian Dreadnaught craft. This craft will move to Josiah's possession after the mission, however you will all be welcome to stay aboard should he choose to ask."
She nodded. They were forming an elite mercenary team for a large-scale bank heist… And Josiah Eldritch was involved. This could be interesting. "Alright, just one more question…" He looked up at her, head tilted. She grinned darkly.
"When do we get going?" He smiled at her, closing his briefcase.
"Pack what you need and come with me. We're leaving at dusk."
Read and review! Next time, we meet the long-range killing machine, Benjamin.