Dr. Angelfish was seated at her workstation, running over data from her latest project, when a prompt appeared on her computer screen. Curious, she clicked on it and up popped a message, from Sinamoi of all people! At once, she felt relieved to know that they he and the others were safe in Inkopolis, and also grateful that she'd remembered to add an encrypted path to communicate with them. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she typed, "Good to hear from you! How is the mission going?"
So far so good. We've reached the city and secured a residence for us all. I don't know how you managed to squeak away that much money, but we're grateful. At the insistence of the others, we've chosen a rather impressive top floor apartment at one of the nicer establishments. Seems superfluous but the team likes it.
She resisted to urge to chuckle out loud at Sinamoi's textbook officer stiffness. "Just try to enjoy a little bit of the good life," she responded. "How about establishing contact with Pearl and Marina?"
Dead end on that one…seems they're out touring with a musical group. Unsure of how to proceed.
"Damn," she swore under her breath. Getting in touch with those two would have been a surefire way to keep momentum. After thinking for a few moments she typed, "There is one possibility…have you heard of the Anarchy Splatcast since you arrived up there?"
You mean that group Deep Cut that does the news broadcasts from the Splatlands? Yes we've seen them. You think they might be able to help?
"It's worth a shot," Dr. Angelfish typed back. "My last bit of intel suggests they have a line to the Squid Sisters themselves. They'd be perfect to help mount a rescue operation."
It sounds promising…but how do we go about securing an audience with them? I doubt they'll just let us walk in and out as we please. These are high-profile subjects.
"Don't overthink it," she replied. "I'm sure the solution will present itself once you get there." She paused to look around, then typed, "Have to go now, can't risk detection. Good luck."
Affirmative. Stay safe, Doctor.
She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "At least they're okay," she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Now I just have to hope that they can blend in…and that they won't suddenly have an Octoling assassination team on their tails."
Little did she suspect that at that moment, elsewhere in the base, a shadowy figure was issuing just such an order. He sat inside a fully sealed chamber deep in the core of the base, surrounded by monitor screens that showed him security footage from all over. He sat in the center of the myriad of screens, behind a solid metal desk. His features were hidden in shadow, just barely illuminated by the glow of the screens. He tapped a button on his desk and spoke. "Is the team ready to move out?" he asked in a voice that was more like a distorted growl.
"Affirmative, General," came a female voice from the other end of the call. "They've been fully briefed on the targets and they're ready to move out on your word."
"Good, deploy them now," he said, drumming his fingers on the desk. "Remember, don't bother with recapturing these escapees. I want termination with extreme prejudice, it's the only way to ensure that they can't jeopardize our operations."
"Yes, sir, over and out," said the voice before the call cut off.
He leaned forward slightly, just enough to illuminate his face…the face of a Sharkling man with a hideous scar over his left eye, his teeth bared. "Then when I find the little wharf rat who let these four loose…I'm going to have a nice seafood boil with them as the main course."
Inkopolis, the Next Day
Sinamoi was up, doing a set of push-ups in his bedroom early in the morning. If there was one thing he feared most in the world, it was losing his edge and getting slow. So he pushed himself as hard as he could, always testing his limits, always shooting for a higher bar of performance. Some might have called him obsessive, but then again most of them weren't officers in the Octarian army.
He paused and thought on that. Yes, that had been true once upon a time. Then his creators, with the exception of Angelfish, had turned on him and his fellow Sharklings. Now here he was, in Inkopolis, trying to mount a rescue for the entirety of his species, fighting against his former comrades. It was so much to take in, so much to process, and even more to actually accomplish.
He got up off the floor and grabbed a water bottle from his bedside table, taking a drink. It was a daunting task, yes, but one that he was determined to complete. Failure just wasn't an option, not with two thousand lives at stake.
A sudden knock at his door grabbed his attention. "Come on in," he said, wiping himself with a towel.
Keket answered, still wearing her T-shirt from the other day, along with a pair of black panties. "I figured you'd be up, smoking yourself again," she said. "How did you sleep?"
"Surprisingly well," he said. "These beds are a far departure from our military-issue cots. I felt like I was floating all night."
"Yeah, no kidding," said Keket. "I can see why these Inklings are always in high spirits. Probably why they were always late during the Great Turf War, too. Kind of hard to get out of bed when you're that comfy."
"I think you may be right," said Sinamoi. "Where are the others, by the way?"
"Out doing a supply run," said Keket. "You know, food and such. I just hope they don't get carried away; going on a grocery run up here is a whole other bag of catfish."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," said Sinamoi. "It's the only way we're going to learn how to live here. For now, though, we should figure out how we're going to reach out to Deep Cut and hopefully find the Squid Sisters."
"I've been thinking about that," said Keket, sitting on Sinamoi's bed. "I know they do their broadcasts from a studio in the main part of Splatsville. I suggest we go there first and see what we can do."
"Guess that's all we can do for now," said Sinamoi. "I just hope the Doctor is right, and that we can reach the Squid Sisters."
"You worry too much, Sinamoi," said Keket with a small smile. "We got this in the bag, no worries."
"I'm the commanding officer, it's my job to worry," said Sinamoi, but he got a chuckle out of it. "Come on, we better finish getting ready before the other two get back."
The two showered and had just finished dressing by the time Jabb and Hector returned. Both of them practically stumbled through the door, carrying a ridiculous amount of bags in their hands, and they each had one gripped in their teeth.
"What the hell did you guys do, buy the entire grocery store?" asked Keket, eyes wide as she stared at the generous bounty her teammates had brought home.
"Well with all that variety, we figured it was the perfect chance for us to try some new things," said Jabb. "So we went a little bit crazy."
"I think that's an understatement," said Hector after spitting out the handle of the bag in his mouth. "I still don't fully know what in the world 'snack cakes' are, but they at least look good on the box."
"Well nothing for it now," said Sinamoi. "Come on, let's get this stuff put away and then we can eat."
After finally getting everything stashed away and a basic breakfast eaten, they all headed back out into the city. "Now, where to find the train station?" wondered Hector.
Keket already had her phone up and was checking a map of the city. "I've got it," she said. "We just need to head a few blocks east of here."
"Alright, let's go," said Sinamoi. His teammates nodded, put on their games faces, and they all stepped out into the city, ready to continue their mission.