Nova 7 - Sunset

by Phantom R.D.S. Foxx

OC focused story. The sequel to Nova 7 - By Bones And Patches. The team has officially been established and made complete with a fifth member. Question is, can this new team stick together as an enemy they thought destroyed crawls out into the light? Rated M for descriptive violence and heavy themes. Featuring Kip Starnova from Minty-Fivestar.

3. Episode 3: An Old Enemy

TECH chapter is optional but is still very relevant. Originally this was designed like its very own page but unfortunately FF does not translate that to regular text. Hence the horizontal lines at for that specific sub-chapter.

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Episode 3: An Old Enemy

Prologue

"The attack has failed, my Lord. I am so sorry, we failed you."

"It is of no matter at all! Was the actual goal of this insurrection achieved?

"Oh… yes my Lord. We have managed to get the clearest possible images of the Cornerian Army's newest unit."

"I don't care about the unit! I care about those IN the unit, you stupid mongrel!"

"A-apologies! I-I… should have been more clear. I meant that we have the images of the team members. All that we need to do now, is wait for your expertise. Of course."

"As it should be. Upload the photos and bring up the database access. I want to try and crack it again."

"Of course, my Lord, immediately. Should I reconnect the Node again?"

"Yes. It might still know more than it is letting on. I will rummage through his brain until all has been revealed. Then we can ditch him."

"Right away, my Lord."

"Now, leave. I must focus."

"Yes, my Lord."

…

"Good, we're finally alone. Reconnect to the mainframe and work your magic."

…

"SuRrEnDeRiNg YoUrSeLf To Us WiLl WoRk In YoUr FaVoR iN tHiS cAsE."

"True, but we would also lose a significant advantage; no one knows you are alive."

"YoU aRe CoRrEcT, fOr NoW hOwEvEr. YoU wAnT rEvEnGe. SoOn AlL wIlL bE oUrS!"

"All Cornerian scum will pay. And not even these newcomers are going to stop us."

1 - Into The Pit

- Briefing

3 hours later…

"What?" she asks Trevor, as he kept staring at her like he was frozen in place.

With an enchanted, stupidly cute smile with his two prominent canines poking out from underneath his top lip, he observed her. Even while laying down on her side, head on her pillow, her hair all unkempt from lying and turning her head on said pillow, face almost firmly planted into the screen of her phone as she giggles at the silly stuff she sees on there, she is still the most gorgeous thing in the universe. He is so focused, he does not even hear her in this state.

She asks again and then he snaps back into reality. Instantly, he denies having stared at her like that for the least few minutes. She does not believe it at all and to punish him, she puts her phone away, grabs him by his shoulder and uses it to pull herself closer to him so she can try to borrow into his ribcage. In other words; snuggling with him, making herself as small and cute as possible. Not knowing her own strength even on a good day, she headbutts him but the armor plated padding luckily takes most of the force.

"Silly git you." he chuckles as he brushes gently through her black hair.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't force your way into my ribcage?"

"But I want to be closer to your heart." she coos oh so innocently before tightening her grip on him and taking a very deep breath.

Then she rolls him onto his back so she lies right on top of him, her head resting on his upper chest just below his chin. Then she exhales in complete happiness.

"You really are the perfect pillow. If I had infinite money, I'd make a Trevor-pillow and cuddle and squish and squeeze it all day long! But if I did that to you, you'd probably snap like a twig."

"Yup. So please don't." he laughs trying to look up as best he can while Calamity's head does its best to block him from doing so.

As if she wants him to just lay there and do nothing. Preferably so she can forever stay in this moment. Which he too would not mind this if they did not have any other responsibilities. And sadly those outweigh being cute and cuddly together. But a few minutes more would not hurt.

He resumes brushing through her hair and starts scratching her back, which he knows she likes very much. While doing so, he stares at the ceiling before momentarily closing his eyes. This is not the way he would have expected to end up about nine months after the Aparoid disaster in Corneria City. The place that messed him up so much but also built him up at the same time. And now, he is on a pretty luxurious transport ship provided by the Admiral of the Cornerian Fleet himself alongside his team members. All part of a fantastic and elite team of soldiers called Nova 7. Named after the second half of the last name of one of its members. He pretty much has everything he ever wanted out of a career and a life. Maybe it is not the way he necessarily envisioned it; those promised upgrades that would give them such an edge have fallen way behind schedule but as for the rest… it turned out really well.

Good things however never last long as there is a knock on the door. Followed by Patches calling out to him, hoping that they would join them for the briefing. Trevor scoffs and Calamity starts moaning as he tries to pull her off of him.

"Come on darling, we can continue after the mission."

"But I don't want to!" she moans as she inevitably lets go of him and with a pouty face grabs her gear from the nightstand.

"You better make good on that promise."

"Of course! When have I ever not?" he says very innocently.

"Oooh don't even start there, Mister! You don't want that at all."

"Then shut yer yap and follow the leader." he laughs, knowing very well that at some point this will be used against him.

But right now it is too much fun teasing her that the consequences are worth it. He opens the door to another very innocent person who definitely was not listening in up until the very moment Trevor opened the door. She could not have; she is standing at least one big step backwards away from it. Her hands are held behind her back and she is blowing a neat tune. Obviously signaling complete ignorance of anything that might have happened behind his door.

"Oh, there you are Sergeant! I was wondering when you'd come out. The briefing is about to start. Figured you'd wanna be there."

The big smile that graces her face is the icing on the cake. She can clearly see in his eyes that he does not buy her act but she persists.

"I hope I didn't disturb anything…"

She leans to the side to look past Trevor, catching a glimpse of Calamity putting her singular glove on.

"... intimate?"

"No, Patch. Pants were kept on." he sighs.

"Was just checking. Besides, you can keep your pants on while doing it. Just unbutton it and drop it to your ankles."

"I don't need to know how you are and the Lieutenant do it. Keep that to yourself, yeah?" he winks at her, turning her into the butt of the joke.

She feigns shock, acting quite like a Victorian lady hearing something outright scandalous. Trevor chuckles and shakes his head at the same time, before he suddenly has to contend with Calamity who hugs him from behind in a random act of forceful love. It startles him to no end, prompting him to say that she can save those wrestling moves for later. Whereupon Patches responds by saying she does not have to know how he and Calamity do it either. Then she leads the way, satisfied now that she has him speechless.

Utterly put in place now, he follows behind her with Calamity by his side. But not without giving teasing pokes into her sides first for embarrassing him in front of his subordinate. Once discipline has been administered, does he puts his arm around her and the three walk to the same briefing room from before.

As he enters, he sees Kip and PAL already present. But Phantom is very obviously missing from the equation. A bit of fear comes up when the words of Damian echo through his head about the punishment. So he tells Calamity and Patch to take their seats; he will be joining them shortly.

Sooner than later, Phantom shows up. And he has taken Trevor's throw-away advice from the rundown report to heart it seems. Although he still wears the same washed gray, long-sleeved undershirt, the rest has been replaced to fit his character much better. A green camouflage overshirt with a black bulletproof vest. That he made his own by drawing a white, wide-grinning skull face just behind the webbing cover. And considering he is still fiddling around with his new belt, with the appropriate logo on the gold buckle, he might have been in the bathroom that whole time. Or considering Patches' last sassy gag, something else. But he tries not to think about that. Kind of inappropriate. Although it might be a good ice breaker.

"Phantom. A word before you go in?"

The white vulpine does not respond overjoyed with this but complies anyway. He stands before him, arms hanging weakly by his side. His attitude radiates that he is uncomfortable.

"How are you doing?" Trevor asks, to which Phantom responds by being taken off-guard.

"I-I guess… not bad. Considering…"

"Yeah, about that. I've had some time to think. What I said to you, I meant every word of it. I'm not taking any of that back. But I just wanted you to know that despite that, you're still my pal. I hope you know that."

Hearing that seems to improve his mood. Like a little pick-me-up. Trevor can see it in his eyes and also in how he now stands just a little bit taller.

"Thank you, Trevor. Always nice hearing that. I'll try not to be a bother for you anymore."

Trevor laughs but realizes that Phantom is serious. But he is already formulating a plan to fix this. Telling his friend it will be alright, the two walk into the briefing room.

"Gents, welcome back. I hope everyone is enjoying being back on this luxury cruise. Enjoy it for now because after touchdown we'll be in the grit of it."

The digital grid is activated like before but instead of their location, a full-body if slightly miniature sized hologram of Nelson appears. The shrew suddenly finds himself practically inside of the ship with them, even if they are all giants right now.

"This feels so freaky! Hi everyone! How do I look? I hope they got my body proportions right; I heard holographic images add about ten kilos to your weight." the shrew states going from excited straight to worried about his appearance.

Nothing has changed about his flamboyant attitude as Trevor tells Nelson that he looks just fine. Which Nelson takes some offense with as he clearly looks fabulous, thank you very much.

"Now, enough about me. I'll send you all a holographic still later if you want. PAL? If you please."

PAL's eye start to glow a brighter red as he interacts with the digital grid using his cable. The extra processing power he adds allows extensive scaling protocols and for more polygons to be visible at once. They are en route for the far-side of Katina, Corneria's sister planet and pretty much its moon.

"Everyone, welcome to Sungazer. We're sending you straight into the sandbox. Your target will be an abandoned construction site that has recently seen an increase in shady activity. Shady enough to send us in." Nelson explains as the holographic image of Katina zooms in to display a slow-spinning three-dimensional image a construction site.

"Now, this place has been left to collect dust for about two years. It was supposed to be a storage warehouse/office complex but the building company, Bakers Building Lmtd, went out of business before it could be completed."

"What shady activity could be happening in that location that is important enough to put us on that case?" Patches wonders.

Nelson points at PAL, who gets the hint. Images of police reports, news articles and other pieces of collected intelligence start to appear. Most point towards a few distinguishable things. Reported of suspected and sometimes even confirmed cases of weapon smuggling and a certain Miles Joinville. On whose involvement, some reports are conflicting. Some even on whether or not he is even still alive.

"This business man has recently bought whatever was left of Bakers and publicly announced to reinvigorate the company. And according to known bank transactions, he pumped a lot of money into it and through employment agencies plenty of spots for potential employees are open."

Kip looks intently at the picture of the guy. Not that she knows him, but something is fishy about him. Especially with the underhanded deprecating tone Nelson explained the at the surface positive attributes of Miles' efforts. Nelson notices this and is glad she is that sharp.

"I can see the cogs turning in your head, Kip. Share it with us."

"Let me guess; this guy is not who everyone says he is." she comments, 100% sure she does not even guess.

"Bingo! You see, Miles Joinville is a real person. Or rather… was."

Nelson enlarges a report made after the Aparoid Invasion had been beaten back and Cornerian control had returned to the tropical resort planet of Zoness. The Aparoids mostly ignored it but did perform a pre-emptive strike to destroy any potential attempts for the Army to create any form of resistance on that planet. Along the way destroying infrastructure and civilian facilities. Including the resort where Miles was staying. After the rubble was cleared, his body was found and he was identified and confirmed deceased. A victim of Aparoid aggression. Then, about one month later someone pops onto the scene looking almost alike but with a massive burn wound covering most of the right side of his body. Proclaiming himself to be Miles. And Lylat, still too busy with recovering themselves, seemingly accepted this as a fact and did not look further into it.

"So this guy is impersonating a dead guy? Quite disrespectful." Phantom adds.

"You would know about that, eh?" Nelson jabs with some humorous intent.

"But you're right; pretending to be someone you aren't isn't kind. Even worse, this guy's investment into Bakers Building never actually arrived at the company itself. Instead, it was siphoned off to a shell company with almost the exact same name; Bakers Building LMTD. The difference literally being just the capitalization of the abbreviation. But they are two separate entities."

"And the accounts that pump money into this bogus account are also from shell companies?" Trevor deduces.

"Correct Sergeant. Now, all of this is nefarious for sure but not something we'd put Nova 7 on. But then the sites of Bakers started being used for the aforementioned weapons smuggling. Which started out small but it has now become a second Sargasso almost. With enough weapons passing through to arm a militia. And from what you've seized, saved and hijacked from your adventures in that trench, we now know that those rebels were also armed by weapons that went through this particular hub. Along with various others. Given that this location is the biggest, this will be our first target."

"Understood, we're on it. What's the plan?" Trevor asks.

"Oh you're gonna like this. This is another one of the Major's masterpieces. Which… does not involve dumping you into enemy territory without most of your belongings." he states with a good dose of sass after re-reading his lines to make sure he was reading this correctly.

"Well that's a relief. Glad I smacked some sense into him." Calamity boasts as she rubs her hands together.

"Oh I'm sure you did. Now, Sergeant. You can either follow the Major's plan, adapt some points here and there or do your own thing. But I would suggest following the plan laid out already."

"We'll go with the Chef's choice then. Tell us, what's on the menu?"

Nelson gives a chef's kiss as the reports of Miles and the weapons smuggling make way for a zoomed-in version of the construction site along with the callsigns of 7-1 to 7-5 displayed above it. Arrows then point to the locations where each should be and their roles.

7-1, aka Trevor will be on overwatch duty with his sniper rifle looking over the site with excellent visibility of the entrance and the windows that hold the most important offices. With reconnaissance as a first priority and termination of high-value targets as a second priority. Only to be used when things get loud.

7-2, aka Patches will be doing the infiltration. Sneaking in through the less guarded areas and making her way inside to the central control room. Or at least the site's equivalent of it. Infiltrate first, then either sabotage or overtake all systems for Nova 7 use. While at the same time allow PAL access into anything digital. If at all possible, try and find the head honcho of this place and convince them to come along. Voluntarily or not.

7-3, aka Kip will be posing as herself mostly. Just not using her real name, but rather her mercenary persona. Her appearance will be somewhat known but not her real identity. The most anyone will know is that she is a well-known mercenary by the name of Orchid in the mood to buy some high-quality weapons for her own needs. If anyone would start looking deeper into her, everything regarding Nova 7 or even the Army in general has been wiped and replaced with other fantastic yet believable exploits throughout Lylat. To mask that she has gone "legit" and is still in the nitty-gritty of the mercenary business. Whoever has the money, she will kill for. Even though she was never that type of merc, war can change a girl. This will serve as a proper distraction for Patches.

7-4, aka Calamity will be Kip's bodyguard. Calamity's previously civilian-only life made it very easy to create something from scratch. Her proficiency in various forms of martial arts and her recent experience with weapons make her the perfect bodyguard to Kip. As Kip is not a rookie when it comes to the shady and sometimes traitorous nature of underground dealings, she would only pick the best to stand with her. And Calamity would pretty much be the creme of the crop. She will not be alone of course, but instead have her own "crew" with her. Composed of the Corporal Munt of the 64th Marines from Fortuna and a few of his best soldiers undercover. They volunteered after we got them out of there.

As for 7-5, when it comes to the person, the Major has been less direct when it comes to his role. Feeling that it would be better if Trevor himself decided how to implement him. Given that his presence in this operation is not necessarily… necessary. Nelson apologizes for this.

Hearing how he has been singled out, likely for obvious reasons, is always lovely. While people around him are happy with their roles, PAL is the only one giving him any mind whatsoever. Phantom shrinks into himself with a sigh.

"Wait, Phantom got nothing?" Trevor asks Nelson, confused.

"Uhm… yes?"

"Hm. Guess really that means it's up to me then. Phantom, you're with me on overwatch as spotter and secondary sniper. I hope you still got what it takes."

Phantom ears instantly perk up after hearing that. He is included after all? And he will be paired up with Trevor too? Just like on Macbeth. He wonders if the bantering side of Trevor is still there, as waiting for hours upon hours for your target to appear will get boring eventually. One has to find a way to entertain themselves.

Trevor's choice only gets a lukewarm reception from Calamity. The rest seems fine with it, which already makes Trevor think that Phantom has been busy behind the scenes to better his image. Time will tell if he is serious about it but this is at least a positive.

"Sweetheart, are you sure about this?" Calamity checks, making sure not to look at Phantom directly while definitely pointing at him.

"Yup. My decision is final."

Calamity then shrugs while grumbling. Nelson then wishes everyone good luck as their roles are transferred over to their phones. Which reminds him.

"Oh! Before I forget; I know you are all still waiting on your upgrade packages. They are on their way but they are taking longer than expected. In the meantime, in cooperation with PAL of course, we finally have the new integration points along with the new headset and heads-up-displays. Consider it a taste of what's to come when it comes to Nova 7. We all believe in you. Be safe, please. It'd be so awkward if you all just die on your first real mission."

"No worries, Nelly. We'll survive." Patches assures him teasingly.

"So far, we haven't brought shame upon you and we aren't planning to either, Nelly" Trevor adds, joining in the fun.

Nelson sighs exasperated.

"You people are impossible. But I love you all regardless! Come back alive… or else!"

Then Nelson cuts the connection and his hologram disappears. Followed by Trevor turning off the holographic display so he can give some closing statements.

"Any further questions?"

All present shake their heads.

"Good. Patch, how's your arm doing?"

"All good and ready for action, Sir!"

"Kip? How's yours?"

"Never felt better!"

"Beautiful. Cal?"

"Arm back into place and my foot no longer itches. Thanks to your proper treatment."

Trevor pads himself on the back for that one before turning to Phantom and PAL.

"You two. Nice new get-up by the way. Has the voice issue been fixed?"

"Oh, t-thanks Sarge. And not… really. Sadly I couldn't get it working. There was a distraction that was…"

His face pans over to Patches, whose facial expression essentially tells him that he has two choices. Either he has learned his lesson or he is not walking out of this room until he is no longer a part of Nova 7. Preferably not breathing anymore either.

"... it was a necessary distraction. I'll have PAL's voice box fixed after this mission for sure." Phantom states after some thought.

Patches looks satisfied with his reply, which he is quite glad about.

"It happens. Just make sure you finish it afterwards. The poor guy can't help it but it's getting on everyone's nerves. I think that was all? Good. Then I say; Nova 7! Collect your gear, get familiar with your new equipment and be ready to move out. Let's kick ass!"

Jubilation and excitement follows as the members exit the room. Only for Calamity to stop Phantom just before he can exit. She grabs him by the shoulder and turns him to face her.

"Trevor may trust you enough to be his spotter, but if you mess up in any way which causes him any or even anymore discomfort, pain or may some kind of deity save you… get him killed!?"

The terrifyingly intense stare she gives him along her baring her teeth gets her message across very clearly. Seeing this, she calms down and lets go of Phantom's shoulder before walking away without saying a word.

It leaves Phantom silent and frozen in the moment. Once he snaps out of it, does he realize that there is a long road ahead of him when it comes to redemption. Nevermind trust. Baby steps. Or as Kip had put it: "Start small." One thing at a time. He is ready to prove himself. He takes in a big tug of oxygen and walks out of the room.

TECH: Personal CID-PALs (Communication, Integration and Display for PAL system) V1; Excerpts

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Welcome to your new way of operating in the field! The CID-PALs system is here for you and all your needs. Co-developed by Space Dynamics, [REDACTED] and various other unaffiliated civilian experts, funded by the Cornerian Army for the express and (so far) only usage with [REDACTED]. This manual will explain its functions and how to use/wear it correctly.

Your CID-PALs system consists of two parts: the head-section and the back-section. Make sure you always put the correct section on the correct part of the body.

The head-section consists of the head strap, communication module, headphones, microphone, transparent display, battery pack and connection wires.

NOTICE:

Before putting your module on, make sure the battery pack has been charged beforehand and none of the wires are entangled

The head strap is a vital part of the head-section. Make sure it is secured tightly around the chin, the back of the neck, the sides, back and top of the head. Always make sure that any ears fit snugly through the allocated ear slits. Loosen or tighten them accordingly so they do not cause any strain or discomfort.

The communication module covers all the vital components against impact, shock and projectiles (explosions heavier than a standard issue hand grenade notwithstanding). Upon first usage, make sure to activate everything for calibration usage. This includes the headphones, microphone and display. A pleasant noise will be played once everything has been calibrated and working optimally. All functions will cease after this, requiring a restart. Press and hold the reset button for at least three seconds on the side of the operator's head. The side is determined by whether the operator is left- or right handed.

[...]

A simple press of the button at the level of the operator's temple allows one to communicate. Turning the same button changes the frequency.

The button underneath it is for activating and deactivating the transparent display. The display, unlike the microphone, will not be flipped down upon turning on the device. This is to prevent any unnecessary interference during any operational situation. The display itself is a green, plexiglas rectangle that can be flipped down in front of either the left or right eye, depending on the operator's preference.

[...]

The back-section is connected to the head-section with the previously mentioned cables. The purpose of the back section is to have an integration point with PAL. As the PAL casing contains various ways of interaction as ancient as serial bus and as modern as [REDACTED]. This integration allows for PAL to assist the operator with something as simple as U-GPS location or as complex as providing targeting and fire solutions via the display. It is recommended to have PAL attach itself directly to the integration point to avoid any disruption or latency (lag).

[...]

Once PAL is attached, the system can act like a hub. It can share and transfer any data, photos, videos (both recorded and live), text, sound files as well as [REDACTED] wirelessly to any users of the CID system within a 5 meter radius.

[...]

The back-section also allows for "personal integration". In which, only with express permission of the operator themselves and the right pack installed, it can perform an invasive probing of the operator's body to closely monitor heart rate, oxygen levels in both the lungs as well as the blood, hormone level, mood and [REDACTED]. The more closely integrated PAL is with the back-section, the more accurate these readings become.

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- Biting the Dust

Endless stretches of sand as far as the eye can see. Whether the ground may be flat or fairly hilly, the sand is everywhere. Vegetation is severely limited; if one were to see just a sprouting of two leaves poking out from the yellow-orangey soil, they are extremely lucky. However, not for long as water is scarce and Solar is blisteringly hot in the cloudless sky. This, coupled with the intense wind that makes every grain of sand feel like it will peel one's skin away bit by bit, makes the environment savage.

It is only after the wind calms down that visibility clears up and the target building becomes visible. It is not much to look at; several floors divided by decently thick concrete and boarded-up, broken or blacked-out windows. It is L-shaped with the entrance near the top of the shape which has several black SUV's and utility vehicles parked out in front. They look clean as a whistle so they must have been parked somewhere sheltered before. On the other side of the L is a courtyard with abandoned and rusted equipment.

"I hate this weather." comments Phantom out of nowhere.

"What? Why?"

"You know why. I'm an Arctic fox, this is literally hell for me."

"Don't tell me you still have your winter coat on." Trevor chuckles.

"Firstly: do you know how many grains of sand I have stuck in various very uncomfortable spots? Secondly: Screw you…"

"Oh please. Just imagine yourself being on the beach. On vacation, enjoying the summer sun."

"Not helping at all."

"Come on! You've been in Sector X and you think this is worse?"

"I had a pressurized suit and I was very careful with those magnetic storms, thank you very much."

"For a second I thought you were gonna mention you could actually breathe on your own in that suit…"

He can hear Phantom gasp at that verbal jab; exactly the reaction he was hoping for.

"Are you two done being an old married couple?" Patches interferes all of the sudden, having heard this go on for long enough.

"And Trevor, what was that remark all about?"

"Well, firstly!" Trevor retorts in a mocking imitation of Phantom's way of talking.

"It is Sergeant to you in the field, Specialist. And secondly; there is a reason why he has a tube up his nose."

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

"No reason to be ashamed, mate. Some people need coffee in the morning to get going, you just need a hit of pure oxygen." Trevor states like it is perfectly normal, much to Patches' shock.

"Is this how you two operated on Macbeth too?" she asks in disbelief.

"Pretty much. Ain't that right, Captain Cold?"

Phantom can no longer hold back his laughter as it breaks through his hand covering his mouth. The air is slipping past the cracks of his fingers and right into his microphone.

"That was terrible…! I refuse to laugh any more at that joke! Shame on you, Sergeant… damn…"

"Well, I'm glad there was no animosity in those words." Patches sighs relieved.

"This is just banter, Patch. You know what that is? We do it too."

"I never mocked you for being unable to breathe! Jeez…"

"No worries; I do it to him too. It may get rough sometimes but I can take it." Phantom chirps.

"I know how you like it, babe."

"Too much information!" Patches shrieks, making sure that she can get those images out of her head as they inevitably pop up along with the words that unwantedly enter her ear canal.

Whereupon both the gentlemen start guffawing before Kip sends a shriek of her own over the channel. But not with her vocal chords but simply by sending a thick and sharp dosage of feedback. Which shuts both right up. Something that Patches is very thankful for.

"Alright alright. Back to reality. Patch, you see anyone on the roof of that complex?"

"Not a soul."

"Excellent. Phantom, let's ditch these blankets and move in for a closer look."

Two small lumps of sand suddenly fall apart as from them Trevor and Phantom crawl out. Like a hermit crab leaving its shell behind. They uncover themselves and army-crawl towards the edge of the hill they are on top of, as now both have an even better view of the site below in the pit.

Trevor instructs Phantom to grab his spotter but the arctic fox has a better idea. Without saying anything, PAL disconnects directly from Phantom's back while leaving a wired connection still. He then digs himself into the sand until his eye sits just above ground level. Then, like a camera, his eye starts zooming in towards the direction where Kip's motorcade starts appearing. Three gray bricks on wheels pretending to be cars start approaching the site. One of which has a mounted gun in a turret with an operator.

Trevor and Phantom can both follow along with the flipped down display. However as the 7-5 combo follows Kip closer, Trevor turns back to the building and sees that now some goon walks out onto the roof. Armed with a sniper rifle but they seem more interested in smoking that cigarette.

"Patch, if you aren't in position yet, go now. One dope has appeared on the roof but he seems more concerned with getting lung cancer."

"Gotcha. I'm very close now. I'll let you know as soon as I'm at the location."

"Copy."

Trevor turns back to following the motorcade as they start driving closer to the entrance. From the vehicles that were already parked there, emerge various members dressed in snazzy looking, tight fitting suits. A bit odd considering the scorching heat but perhaps the cars have really good air conditioners. In that case, they could dip back in once the heat becomes too much. Their looks however are not that important, considering the metaphorical heat they are carrying.

"I'm at the location. Awaiting the signal." Patches reports.

"Copy. Now, radio silence for now everyone. Let the deception play out. Good luck, Orchid." Trevor confirms as he can see Kip's cars pass the fences and enter the grounds of the site.

One goes left, the turreted one stops in the middle and the third one goes right. Putting on a little show as it somewhat resembles a flower blooming. From the two "outer" cars, emerge several soldiers dressed in the most mercenary-looking getup they could scrape together in such a short time. Only when they declare it safe enough, does Calamity step out. Shotgun already in hand. Without looking at any of the goons who are looking at her, she approaches the middle car. She holds her shotgun now up against her shoulder, finger still on the trigger and knocks on the window of the backseat as it rolls open. She whispers something, gets a positive comment and then the window rolls back up. Then Calamity opens the car door and takes a step back, readying her shotgun. And from that middle vehicle, the soldiers emerge first despite Kip's door already open first. Out pop the Corporal and several of his men. Only when all doors are closed except hers, does she step out.

Nononsense and armed, she sets her first steps on the hot desert sand. Wearing a pair of black-tinted sunglasses, her two red pigtails waving in the wind. The green bows at the lower middle of them brushes against her shoulders as they sway. Her outfit is definitely more appropriate considering the situation. Her dark-gray combat outfit with her muscular midriff showing. This lady knows how to look killer for sure. With one hand already on her short-barreled double-barrel holstered on her right hip and the other hand adjusting her sunglasses, she turns to Calamity. She gestures with a simple nod to follow her as she approaches the goons. Who suddenly look a lot more red. Whether this is because the heat is getting to them, or because of something else that is hot around here.

"What are you staring at!?" Kip suddenly snarls as she is sure can see one of them on her right start to drool, indicating that he must have been looking somewhere where he should not.

Which in turn is also the signal Patches has been waiting on. She removes the grille from the ventilation duct and slips into the building.

Back at the entrance, the situation has gotten more tense. Because in response to the man unable to keep his leering man-eyes pointed at Kip's face, Calamity pumps her shotgun and points it at the man. The man backs off instinctively. Then from the crowd of goons, a small but far more important looking guy steps forward who tries to calm the situation down a little bit. But the tone of his voice is not helping that at all. Sitting somewhere between rich kid, sleazeball and sneering bully, it is as comfortable to listen to as nails on a chalkboard.

"Ladies, ladies. And gentlemen! Please, no need for violence. I apologize for the disrespect my dear Barry has caused you. I'm sure the heart attack you've caused him will be enough to sate you?" he suggests all slimy, trying his best to be flirtatious and courteous but he ends up being nothing but creepy.

"And who are you to decide that I won't blow a big hole in that ugly bastard's gut?"

She then raises her hand as Calamity in turn takes aim.

"Hm. Good point. Well, I know you aren't here to kill poor Billy now. You're here for the good stuff." the creep reasons.

"Didn't you call that guy Barry at first?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

The man scoffs.

"Ach! Billy, Barry… who cares? I don't! Now, are we in business or do you want to end with a hole through your gut?"

Kip smiles as a true merc would do in this situation. Enjoying the criminality of it all. The pure disrespect to life and the business-focused attitude of the weapon smuggling and buying. She would be lying if she did not at least respect the gall of these types. Her hand lowers slowly and Calamity stands down.

"We're in business."

- Dead Aparoidic Cells

The vents are surprisingly spacious. She can either crawl or even shuffle while crouched. She even reckons that Trevor or Kip could fit in here just fine. But those are thoughts for another time as she has to focus on getting to the control room.

She flips down the transparent screen and uses it to track her way through the vent system so she can reach the control center without too much bother. Moving carefully when she hears or sees someone just below her so she is not discovered. Eventually, she does reach the control room and from a grate she can see it below her. However, her smile turns into a frown when she hears two guards approaching and voicing their opinions loudly.

"Slackers… get on with your jobs." she scolds very softly as she has no choice but to wait for them to leave.

"Hey. Did you hear about the standoff at the entrance?" asks one, clearly more upbeat and into it than his more serious counterpart.

"No. What happened?"

"Some merc chick is here to do business. I believe her name is Orchid or something. She came with this big entourage and someone from our group apparently was looking at her weird."

"That makes sense. Those brick shithouses out there do look more prehistoric than primate."

"Thing is, she ordered her crew to draw her guns and point at this guy!"

"Damn. But we are still here. So nothing happened?"

"Nah. Sam popped his slithering head out and calmed things down."

"Urgh. I hate that guy."

"Don't say that out loud, dumbass! He has sway with the boss."

Still unimpressed, the other guy would rather light a cigarette than worry about that.

"So this merc chick... She hot?"

"Sssssmokin'! Did you not see her? I was ogling out the window when she stepped out of the car. Bro, that midriff. Chiseled to perfection." he states with a chef's kiss.

That is something Patches can appreciate. A badass with abs is definitely a guilty pleasure of hers. Almost like she considers herself one of those…

"Naaah." moans the other.

"I appreciate the work they put in, but it's not my cup of tea. I like 'em a little more chubby."

"Serious?"

"Yeah. You got something extra to hold on to." he chuckles all raunchy.

"I can see wisdom in that. Now, enough time wasted. Let's split before one of those camera's spots us doing nothing."

"Finally…" Patches sighs as she sees the gossiping gents walking away from her.

Only when she is sure, does she remove the grate and jump down. Pistols are drawn just in case one or more unfortunate souls requires a face-full of lead. She can keep her magazine full for now as the coast is clear. She holsters one as she tries the door to the control room and surprisingly it is.

On one hand she wants to know why no one would at least lock it but on the other if it is served to her like this, why bother wondering? She enters and quietly closes the door behind her. To be sure, she locks it herself. And now she is in. The room is not that big; about the size of a janitor's closet. About half the size of the one she was locked into with Trevor back at Metro. However what is inside is far more interesting.

On the outside, it looks nothing too impressive. A desk with a personal computer and multiple screens displaying various feeds of the surveillance camera's inside on the left side and a big computer on the right. It looks ancient but looks can be deceiving, much like Trevor's radio set. She opens up the access panel and sees the good stuff which is somewhat… purple? And moving!?

She can just about hold back a yelp as she recoils backwards in fear. She aims her pistol but does not pull the trigger; it is moving but only in place. And it has no limbs, eyes, wings or anything that would indicate it is alive. Aside from moving. One moves like a slow-beating heart, whereas another has uncontrollable spasms. Purple splotches on a circuit board, connected to various connection points on other boards and motherboards. It reeks like burned Aparoid flesh each time a splotch moves or spasms. Which is both visually and nasally sickening.

"What the… is that? PAL should definitely have a look at this."

She grabs the dongle from her pocket and finds the connection port. She plugs it in and reports that she is in the system, but warns PAL to look very carefully at the architecture of the system. While Trevor commends her for a job well done, the machine starts prodding itself into the code and machinery of the big computer. And instantly it notices what alarmed Patches at first.

"A-pa-roid!" he roars as subdued as possible as his eye for a moment colors purple.

"That's what I thought too, but I wasn't sure." Patches reports.

"PAL, Patch. Either of you, make sense of what I'm hearing here." Trevor orders.

"I can see what I can assume is dead Aparoid tissue being used as… connectors I think? Or like glue to keep this whole thing together. Anyhow, it stinks and looks revolting. Wish I kept that flamethrower…"

"Cor-rect, Spe-cial-ist. I…"

PAL stops speaking all of the sudden before typing a message into the flip down screens, finishing his message. He states that the Aparoid tissue is only alive when power is conducted through it. Like a nerve in a body getting a signal from the brain and transferring it to the correct part of the body. Depending on the strength of the signal, the tissue responds differently. It also allows the computer to have more RAM and processing power than its initial limits might have.

With that cleared up, PAL further states he will gain access to the system and peel it for every document and file. While Patches and Trevor appreciate PAL's silent message even if they were a little surprised by it, Phantom does not. He tells PAL not to be ashamed of how he sounds and it is not his fault.

"Have a tad of self-respect, bud." he says, giving the smooth tip of PAL's triangle casing a friendly pat.

PAL's eye turns from the usual red to green for a few moments in response but he does not resume talking, instead still preferring to put it all in text. When suddenly the text becomes red, capitalized and put in the bold font.

The screen then changes over to display the entrance outside. There are cameras on the outside too. In the control room, Patches even has the ability to the multiple angles various other cameras have on Kip, Calamity and her escort. And judging by the analysis program running next to the live surveillance, this indicates that they are trying to find out who they are.

Having a sinking feeling that this enemy might know something they are not supposed to, Patches calls for Kip and Calamity that they are being watched and to be very wary of any suspicious movements. Of course, neither of them answers to keep their cover intact as this Sam fellow outside is still rattling off. That is, until Kip stops him from smooth talking and says she wants to get on with business.

"If I wanted to be serenaded, I'd go back to my bitch-boy ex. Show me the hardware I came for or I'll be sending nothing more than a cheque for wasting my time." she states on the verge of yawning.

Not because she is a good actor, but also because this guy is actually boring her. Impressed and silenced, Sam takes a step back and nods. He then snaps his fingers very impatiently and out of their vehicles crates are being lifted out. With a mighty thud, they are dropped onto the ground.

"No worries, this stuff is solid. The soon to be your equipment is safe and sound inside these bad boys. Heck, you can even bring them with you if you want." chants Sam, putting on his best second-hand car salesman shtick.

Back at the control room, Patches and PAL do their best to stop the program from identifying them outside. However the program is very resilient against their attempts. Eventually Trevor gets in on it.

"PAL, you're the technologic marvel. Advice."

PAL does not answer directly, instead messaging Phantom in private first. And it seems the suggestion that PAL gives him makes Phantom sigh.

"If you think it's what you need to do, then do it." Phantom comments.

"PAL, care to share before I tear it from your disrespectful voice box?" Trevor grumbles.

"You two can play patty-cake together when we're back on the ship."

"PAL says that he has to interact with the Aparoid tissue itself. Which… might result in a few hiccups in his system." Phantom admits.

"Didn't he already repulse Aparoid stuff before?"

"Yes, but…"

"No! No buts! PAL, interact with that Aparoid tissue if that speeds up the process. Now!" Trevor orders, at the end of his limit with this stalling behavior to those two.

Unable to disobey the order, PAL turns off his anti-Aparoid programming and starts dipping into the equivalent of dipping one's feet in sludge for a nice swim. A sludge that sticks and starts changing the composition of one's skin, down to its very DNA. His eye color flickers from red to purple at an insane speed and Patches can see the tissue on the boards start to pulse, beating and even start to corrode from PAL's manipulation.

However, metaphorical sparks start to fly from PAL's casing as he is getting increasingly more corrupted from interacting with that stuff. To the point where the smell of burning metal can even be smelt by Trevor.

"PAL? You alright?"

Bright sparks and erupting electrical current then set the Aparoid tissue aflame. Causing them to fall off the circuits like a leech dropping after filling up its belly full. With the corruption gone. PAL's eye turns back to its natural red and he seems to even physically exhale as he bends over slightly from its dug-in position. In plain text, he simply states in response: "Peachy."

"Sir, we might have a problem." Patches calls in as she looks at the screens before her.

According to the frozen screens I have in front of me right now, they managed to single out Kip and Calamity as persons of interest. They seemingly know something about them. Maybe about us."

"Copy Patch. PAL, erase every trace of that program. Then overtake their entire network. Circumvent any Aparoid stuff; no need to burn yourself out. Patch, stay put until the gunfire outside breaks out. After which, sabotage and assisination: Any reinforcements that come your way, you put down!"

"You got it."

"Kip, Cal. I assume you heard all about it. Whenever you feel ready, gun 'em all down. That includes you too of course, Corporal Munt."

There is no obviously no response, so he turns to Phantom.

"You. Anyone the girls don't shoot, we will put down. Find your target; I got the guy on the rooftop. Everyone, this is it. Let's show them what we are made of." he states encouragingly as he looks through his scope and puts the crosshair just above the temple of the roof goon's head to account for the distance.

2 - The Sands Of Time

- On The Shores

"So, you don't mind if anything were to happen to Barney here?" Kip suddenly brings up after checking out the merchandise for herself, holding a massive blaster rifle in her hands and pointing its barrel closer and closer to the goon who has not moved an inch since her first interaction with him.

"Well… he's still my guy." Sam responds, audibly more nervous now.

"Even if I don't know his name, I can't not know that he's my guy, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Kip replies unimpressed as she puts the rifle back into its protective coffer.

"What I might also know… is that you've been quite naughty. Spying on us. Trying to get my real name. Of everyone that I came with. That's disrespectful; much like your "guy" has been to me."

Sam swallows hard and starts sweating a little bit.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sweetheart… I…"

"Oi! She's not a "sweetheart", fuckface!" Calamity shouts in response, pointing straight at the slimeball which somehow is more threatening than her pointing her weapon.

Kip says nothing, instead raising her hand in the air again. Sensing the tension is about to break, Sam tries his best to calm the situation down while at the same time hitting his internal panic button and moving his hands closer to his own sidearm. An example which the rest of his goons follow none too subtly.

Meanwhile, Trevor and Phantom are picking their targets in anticipation of the coming firefight. Silent but in sync. PAL even offers to give them targeting solutions and a lead indicator but only Phantom takes him up on his offer. Trevor prefers to rely on himself for this one.

A period of intense silence follows as both parties at the entrance have their weapons either already at the ready or about to be drawn. All seem to wait for the signal given by Kip. Knowing that she is in the center of attention gives her a feeling of power and importance. And she relishes in it for the moment.

Then her hand clutches into a fist and she pumps it. The first shot rings out from the Corporal, hitting the goon next to Sam in the throat. A split-second later, the Barry-Billy-Barney guy has his stomach filled with buckshot by Kip from her double-barrel before she quickly shifts to the shifty Sam and shuts his greasepipe up forever.

On cue, Trevor pulls the trigger on the rooftop sniper, who has just enough time to spit out his cigarette before his skull forcibly spits out his scrambled brains. Lifeless, he tumbles over the edge and falls flat on his face with a satisfying yet nauseating splat. Back on level ground, one guy has his lights put out as he tries to flee back into the safety of the car by Phantom.

Kip has pulled out her rifle and rolled behind the cover of one of their vehicles, peeking over and under to pick up anyone she sees. She can see one of them run to the car that was packed with those big coffers. Likely to grab one of those blaster rifles she held before too. But she cannot see him like this. So she makes a split-second decision, drops to the ground, turns to her side and sees the guy's feet. She swiftly puts a shot into each of them and like a dropped marionette the guy drops to the floor screaming. His head unceremoniously hits the ground and he has no chance to continue crying out further as Kip finishes the job.

Calamity walks past her position, not caring at all about cover or any common sense really. She is screaming a war cry at the top of her lungs, like a warrior princess possessed while blasting buffoons dumb enough to stand in her with her shotgun. Diverting the pain that her arm has to endure from each time she uses a double-blast into rage so she can bash, kick, beat and claw at those directly in front of them.

From a distance, Trevor is following it all live from his display. And he cannot help but swoon as he sees that beautiful dog girl of his make mincemeat out of criminals. PAL does not need to know much about emotions or love to notice that the Sergeant is focusing on her rather hard for a reason. With a private text message, he wishes to share his admiration for her violent attitude at dispatching all enemies of Nova 7.

The Corporal and his soldiers are no slouches either. The female turret gunner has had exceptional aim so far and her comrades in arms have been suppressing and picking off those dumb enough to look out of the windows or over the balconies on their side. However, a soldier gets hit from the roof. Trevor spots him hiding behind an exhaust vent, hence why he did not see him before. Feeling guilty about the soldier being downed on his watch, he focuses on that bastard. He loads a fresh magazine and as fast and accurate as he can shoots all five through the thin sheet metal structure of that vent. Then he sees the shooter tumble over the edge as lifelessly as the first roof sniper did. But this goon smashes on top of a vehicle, breaking his back as well as the roof with a spectacular crunch and a shower of glass shards.

Along with him, the rest of the goons fall before the combined firepower of Nova 7 and the Corporal's soldiers.

"Entrance is clear, Sergeant!" Munt reports back to Trevor.

"Copy, Corporal. Well done. How's your man?"

"Got shot in the shoulder. He'll live."

"Good." Trevor exhales delighted.

"Get your gents, confiscate all the weapons and cases outside. Then set up a perimeter around the site; no one in or out. Leave the turreted car at the entrance just in case."

"You got it! You heard the man, folks! Put Mackeley in the back. Triss, you stay with him. Rhawnda, keep your head and that turret on a swivel. The rest of you; Move out!"

With that taken care of, Trevor focuses back on the inside of the building.

"Patch, status update."

"I dropped three so far on the second floor. But I can hear more coming from upstairs. Also the system is going haywire right now; they are definitely trying to turn on some kind of automated defense in this place."

"Understood. Kip, Cal. Get inside and assist with the cleaning up of those goons. PAL, anything they try to activate, you shut down or turn against them."

PAL acknowledges the order by text again. But also lets him know that a person matching the physique of Miles Joinville on an undetermined floor of the building. His mingling into the system has fried some parts and this allows him to see through the camera's but unable to tell what floor he is on. Except that he is looking out of a window.

"Good find, PAL. Nova 7, continue with the given orders but be ready to receive new one's. Nelson, you there?"

"Just watching in marvel at your glorious killing spree. What can I do for you?"

"We have a potential sighting of Miles Joinville. But we cannot locate them due to a glitch in the system. Can you assist?"

Nelson can be heard audibly grinning.

"Oh my dear Trevor, of course I can! Let me acquire one of the satellites orbiting Katina right now. Aaaaaaand… got 'em! With compliments of the 68th, we have a lovely little satellite with thermal U-GPS and 3D imager. I won't bore you with all the mathematics so I'll just tell you that…"

Before him on the screen, Nelson can see the location where Nova 7 is in real time. After a quick scan of the area and switching over to wireframe depiction with a thermal overlay, he can effectively see a person's thermal signature through the window.

"... he's on the sixth floor! Second window from the left. Transferring the live thermal view to your CID. By the way, how are they?"

"Compliments later, Nelly. Thanks for the view though." Trevor states semi-serious as he lines up his scope with the thermal image of the target.

And with a swift shot, Trevor cripples their right leg through the boarded-up window. The now stunted projectile would certainly leave a nasty and incapacitating wound, meaning that he can be picked up really easily.

"Target disabled." Trevor reports.

"Crackshot Sergeant! But I see two bogies coming up the stairs from the fifth floor. They'll appear at the third window from your right. Sending the thermal signatures."

Trevor receives them on his display and lines up his shots. No need to make this fancy; just drop them and get on with it. Which is what he does; the moment they are on the floor, he puts his reticle over them and shoots them both in the chest. One of them stays alive for a fleeting moment but the signature quickly dissipates.

"Killed 'em." Trevor states like it is simple data entry as he cycles the bolt and reloads.

Meanwhile, he hears Phantom squeeze off another shot. It seemed one of the goons was hiding underneath one of the cars and thought it was safe to pop out. Then Kip lets them know that they are inside.

"Excellent. 7-2 to 4, listen up. New orders: On the sixth floor you will find someone who might be Miles Joinville probably crying like a little baby due to a small case of shin destruction. If he identifies as Miles, extract him and then pull out. Let's go!"

All callsigns copy and move in. However, soon enough Patches calls out in frustration with plenty of bad words. They put down a turret that is forcing her to take cover behind a makeshift barricade she just finished clearing of any combatants on the fourth floor. And the thing has been extremely accurate so far.

Trevor in turn checks with PAL because he was supposed to hijack or disable all of the systems. But he replies that he did; this turret is manually operated by someone else by wire. In short, there is nothing he can do. Kip and Calamity are blasting their way through but are still only on the second floor. So Trevor looks over to his left to Phantom.

"Phantom! I got the overwatch from here. Take PAL with you and get Patch out of her predicament. Go!"

Phantom acknowledges the order, puts his sniper away and crawls over to PAL. He allows himself to be picked up and he is attached to the back-section of Phantom's CID backplate. Which is quite a lot bigger than any of the other members of Nova 7. Mainly because their CID's were downgraded versions of what he already had. With him, PAL can fit like a backpack as Phantom's whole back is covered in the system's back-section. Along with the already present head-section that sits comfortably like shoulder padding. Everything he needs is inside of there. To function and to live.

From his new thigh holster, he grabs his knife and puts on his best evil grimace. Trevor cannot see this but he knows exactly in what type of mindset his friend puts himself. Perhaps that is why PAL sometimes has those sadistic traits from time to time.

"Patch, this is Phantom. The Sergeant told me to assist you. Please don't shoot me; I'll be cloaked."

Hearing him give a warning is at least pleasant, if a little surprising. But right now she has different things on her mind. Like making sure this turret with seemingly infinite ammo does not make swiss cheese out of her ears.

"Sounds good 7-fi… I mean, Phantom. Just let me know when you're in the neighborhood. Less chance of me popping you."

"Sounds agreeable. Be seeing you."

- The "Phantom" Menace

Solid ground. No matter if it is made of concrete, asphalt, soil or natural stone, anything is better than standing, sitting or lying down in that sand. It feels like he has grains and bits of it everywhere. Clogging every pore of his body. Sticking to each and every single hair. And being in various nooks and crannies it really has no business being in. He really hates it. He prefers the snow much more. Or any other place for that matter. He would take the vacuum of space over this coarse, rough and irritating mess.

But moaning never helped anyone so cuts his Dutch attitude and runs to get to Patches' location. With PAL's directional assistance and a quick shot of oxygen, he jumps and maneuvers through the rubble and the bodies left behind by her. He has little time to be looking at them properly, but from what he can see these guys have not been treated lightly by the bunny's bullets. Rough but professionally quick. Without mercy and strictly practical. Maybe he gave her too little credit.

While he is working his way up to the second floor, he remembers that he heard that Calamity and Kip might still be on there.

"Kip, Calamity. This is Phantom, I'm coming up to the second floor in full camo. Don't shoot at a mild visual distortion, please and thank you." he warns as he uses the railing of the stairs to catapult himself up faster.

The message reaches the women but they do not know what to think of it exactly. A mild visual distortion? What is that supposed to mean? Like they can distinguish that in the heat of battle. And what is this guy doing inside anyway? Is he not supposed to be with Trevor?

"Your boyfriend sent me in, thank you very much. Patches needs some assistance. But hey, at least I won't get him killed, eh?" he jabs at Calamity before cutting the call.

Calamity is flabbergasted at this dig. Given Phantom's reputation within the team and with Calamity in particular, Kip can connect the dots herself of what preceded this. She does not address it at all when Calamity looks at her for support, preferring instead to finish this mission and get this Miles fellow.

Phantom in the meantime works his way up to the fourth floor as he sees tracers being fired from a walkway just across from a massive gap between him and Patches' location. There is no way to get around and surprise it from behind because of rubble. He might be invisible, but he is not a ghost. Cursing the very essence of the rubble's existence very colorfully, he sprints as fast as he can.

"Patches! I'm on the floor with you. Coming from the same direction you came from and… Holy…!"

Before he can finish his sentence, a door from his left opens up which forces him to stop. He can see a couple of armed goons come through but they do not look like they want to be here at all. The air is not even that cold but one of them can be heard chattering his teeth very clearly.

At first he thinks this fear is addressed to him but from the other type of chattering, he deduces that they were fearing Patches instead. A small, mobile target with pistols that will tear chunks of flesh out of you and leave you a whimpering, bleeding mess on the floor until you die. She does not even put you out of her misery, instead preferring to turn to her next unfortunate victim.

It is unexpected but quite pleasant to hear that she either took a page of his book or she inspires this type of discord herself, but he will not outshone. These guys will know fear. He focuses on the guy at the back who is hugging the open door more than he is following his mates. He draws his knife only when he is close enough to see the whites of his eyes and then draws his blood by stabbing right into his kidney and thrusts right through further into the guts. With his free hand he covers the mouth and brings him down to the ground. Once the light in his eyes dies, he removes his hand and drags the corpse into the way he originally came from. Once out of the way, he lets out a yelp and then slams the door shut. Even with the ongoing gunfire from the turret on the other side, Phantom's act is more than easily audible.

The remaining, already jittery goons are on the verge of a nervous breakdown after that. They snap to the door and realize that their friend has been taken and probably killed. But the bunny is at the turret. Who did that then? Are there two of them?

The most experienced out of the group slaps herself back into reason, telling those around her to focus. They are under attack so expect the unexpected. So they move out again. Phantom very carefully opens the door and slips out, still in camouflage and proceeds to stalk the group. He can easily keep up with them at this tempo as they move very carefully. The fear has not been dislodged by the female goons' motivating words. And when Phantom spots a speaker from what he can only presume is an intercom system, he gets an idea to up the ante.

A few moments later, over the speaker in a severely glitchy and distorted manner a horrible, ghostly wail starts playing. Along with screams and pleas that PAL had intercepted and recorded from when Patches went to town on these poor sods. Which was not Phantom's idea but entirely PAL's initiative. Both the recording of the radio but also play this over the speaker system. Then, much like in the way he talks, he starts to hack together the word P-H-A-N-T-O-M from the various cries. Playing it over and over until one of the goons snaps and bolts back the way he came from.

The female goon screams after him and even threatens to kill him if he does not get his ass back there. Phantom, ever the gentleman, obliges on her behalf. Once the coward is out of sight, he grabs the panicking goon by the throat. Then slams him down into the ground, moving his hand to his mouth and with a quick slash cuts open the goons throat as easy as swiping a credit card.

As the goons flounders and chokes on his own blood on the floor, Phantom raises to his feet again. With a menacing grin and nothing but death on his mind, he leaves the very soon to be dead goon to take care of the rest. PAL assists with this by adding more spliced letters to the message going over the speaker. I A-M P-H-A-N-T-O-M F-E-A-R M-E echoes, sputters and glitches from the speaker system.

He pulls the pin on a smoke grenade and throws it just behind the skittish group. The pouring gray conceals his approach completely so he does not have to activate his camouflage just yet. As the enemy group tries to make sense of the auditory attack from the speakers and the sudden plume that is slowly choking and blinding them, they have no time to react as Phantom appears from the smoke. For only just a moment, one could see his kill-crazy expression before he turns invisible completely.

He strikes swiftly. With this knife already drawn he lunges toward the guy on the left. With a quick slash, the blade makes contact with his exposed throat. A vicious cut is left and blood starts pouring out right away. The guy grabs on to his throat and drops to his knees, choking on his own fear and his own ruby fluid of life. And before the other guy has any chance to process what has just happened, he receives the blade right into his left temple. Straight into his organic processor.

Now there is but one left. And this one has just witnessed two of her comrades die to what looks like a floating and animate knife. But she knows about Phantom's trick so she can aim just right of where the knife is. What she does not know, is that he knows this too. And as she raises her weapon to fire at him, Phantom has already thrown his knife towards her.

Because it was a reflex, he could not hold it by the blade like he would usually do. So instead of the blade hitting her, instead the pommel hits her forehead. It is far from deadly but it hurts and makes her stumble back. Throwing her off her game and off her feet. Although she pulls the trigger and fires blindly in the hope to hit something, Phantom has already moved out of the way.

Without the knife he is holding, he is fully invisible. Save for the faint red light that PAL emanates. Now that he thinks about it, he can be useful in this situation as well. All she hears is a sound comparable to a latch unlocking. Almost like an extendable handle on a suitcase. The smoke starts to envelop her more and more before the last thing she sees is that red light shooting towards her. Followed by a sound that suggests that not a lot was left intact of her skull.

With that out of the way, he picks up his knife and tells Patches that the problem has been taken care of.

"Sorry Patches, I was rudely interrupted by some not so very nice people planning to flank you. I took care of them." he reports he has had his fun while he wipes his blade clean with the shirt sleeve of the shattered female goon.

Once the blade is sparkling clean, does he state he is on his way. And he quickly catches up with her, diving right next to her and turning off his camouflage. Patches comments that he took his damn time, but he retorts that perfection cannot be rushed.

"Fine, but do you have an idea how to kill that turret?"

"Yes I do. PAL, handle!"

Out of PAL's casing, his handle pops out. He then disengages from the CID and Phantom grabs onto this handle. Then, by quickly peeking over the cover, he determines where and how far the turret is. Only to have that turret snap to him right away and fire a burst. Which almost scalps him.

"What the…!? That thing nearly took my head off!"

"Why do you think I wasn't able to proceed?"

"I got it now for sure. Simple solution though; Go, PAL!"

He throws PAL in his entirety towards the turret like he would a grenade. Patches can only look on in shock, already calling that arctic fox crazy in her head. PAL bounces on the floor and then lands on his back, sliding over the floor as the turret only now gets a good beat on it. As it had trouble with shifting targets and with PAL's bouncing. But it is already too late; PAL is far too close and low for the turret to depress its gun barrel. Now practically underneath, PAL extends its cord and plugs himself into the turret.

The turret and probably its operator are in a panic as it tries to shake PAL off, but like a spider injecting its venom into its prey, it is in vain. The camera feed to the operator cuts out and the turret shuts down with a gradually dying wind-down noise. Then, using its own cord, PAL hoists himself up, flips himself around and attaches itself to the bottom of the turret in the same way he would if he were attaching himself to Phantom. But because the turret has no CID capable connection points, he has to make them himself. A matter of seconds.

"Tur-ret o-ver-ta-ken." he states proudly.

And while Phantom celebrates this, Patches can only look on in horror. Images of Aparoids and their victims flash before her eyes as she saw PAL attach itself with his cord to the turret. Much like those bugs in the core at Metro used their tentacle-like appendages to literally suck out energy. And then seeing PAL hoist itself up to attach itself and take over the turret. Much like those disgusting Aparoids that had dug themselves into the backs of those goons in North of Corneria City. It was and is still nightmarish to look at. Nevermind that PAL spoke again instead of texting. The only positive was that at least PAL did not scream and does not have teeth.

Both Phantom and PAL notice this. The arctic fox manages to get Patches out of her trance, not sure what caused her to suddenly blackout for that moment. PAL however, now in the control of the turret, zooms in on her face and keeps staring. Then averts his gaze.

In text and using the map as well as the data already stored inside the turret itself, PAL reveals the location of the turret operator. They are in a storage closet a few meters behind. Phantom asks if Patches wants to come along. After some doubt, she agrees and vaults the barricade. As she passes by the turret, she makes sure to keep as much distance as possible before the both reach the storage closet.

"After you." Phantom gestures.

"How kind." Patches answers uncomfortable still but at least glad she cannot see that turret anymore.

With a big push kick, she breaks the door open. The whole lock system stays in place but the rest of it slams against the wall to its left. Inside, is the operator. A skinny looking fellow with a tablet in front of him on the ground. It has a crack in the screen, probably because he got mad that the turret did not work anymore. In his hand, he is holding a panic button and he is threatening to push it. Patches is everything but impressed as she has two pistols aimed at his nervous hide.

"S-s-stay back! Or-or else… I'll… I'll hit this button! And then… and then you'll be really sorry!" he stammers while his voice cracks often.

This kid looks barely 20 but acts like he is barely five, threatening to call his mommy if the meanies do not stop teasing him. This guy is not worth the wasted shell shooting him will produce. Dejected, Patches lowers her guns and tells the kid to grow some tits.

"Don't you mean… balls?" Phantom interjects, trying to not sound overly correcting.

"Yeah, I never got that. Why do they refer to balls as a sign of courage? Balls are sensitive, soft and fragile." Patches wonders as she looks Phantom, no longer focusing on the guy.

"No clue. I guess because the hero of a story is usually a man. Or at least have a sack dangling between their legs." Phantom shrugs.

"Probably. I mean at least breasts can take a beating much better and…"

Patches' reasoning is cut off by Phantom's hand in front of her face. But not because he wanted to shut her up, but because that dweeb kid threw that panic button at her while she was not looking. A cowardly act with an unclear goal. With the exception of pain, momentary surprise and irritation, what was it going to accomplish?

The coward in question, realizing that his plan has failed, loses his smile as he backs himself into the corner as much as possible to shrivel into himself. But unlike an animal, he will not fight back. Especially not as the intimidating gaze of Patches is looking down at him.

Phantom removes his hand from her vicinity and drops the button on the floor. Then he states that he stands corrected; clearly growing some tits is better than growing some balls.

"You may decide what we do with this piece of crap." he states, hoping in a way that she will decline so that he can do his thing.

But she takes the opportunity and steps towards the swiveling twit. Even with her short stature, she towers over him like this. She grabs the sorry excuse of a man by the tuft of blond, foppish hair and tilts his head back so she can directly look him in the eye. She makes a fist with the other hand and without any theatrics punches him directly in the nose. A familiar sound of a coward's cracking cartilage sounds like a symphony to her but feels like hell.

"Ow! Jeez… this looked so much more effortless when Trevor did it." she bemoans looking at her hand covered in speckles of the coward's blood.

The wimp in question screams in agony while grabbing onto his nose with both hands, trying to stop the bleeding before once again shriveling up into the corner, softly weeping. Patches waves her hand while leaving the storage room. Phantom follows but at least throws a tissue towards him before he closes the door.

Outside, both can see that PAL has detached itself from the turret as he is floating before them. The turret itself lies toppled over, disabled and broken on the floor. Phantom compliments PAL on a job well done as the machine returns to his CID connection point. Then the arctic fox calls upon Patches to move along; they have a guy to catch.

Patches does not answer, instead is more focused on PAL. And he is on her too. In total silence they share a moment. Then a private message appears on her display; "Sorry".

- Turn The Hourglass

On the other side of the building, Kip and Calamity have a lot more luck working their way through. They do not have to deal with turrets being put down and controlled from a supply closet by a dweeb. In fact, they are already ascending their way up to the sixth floor. A cruel combination of skill, anger and firepower. A tit-for-tat strategy; you cover my back, I cover yours. So if Kip has the angle, she will lay down hellfire while Calamity charges into them like a raging bull. Now that she has the advantage, she will do the same. Essentially each provides a fulcrum for the other to breach hardpoints and overwhelm enemies. With their own personal touches added to it. It almost feels too easy.

"Don't discredit yourself, Cal. We're Nova 7; we're supposed to make it look easy." Kip states, only a little bit cocky.

"Easy for you to say. You've been a mercenary before this." Calamity counters as she replenishes the shells in her shotgun now that there is a brief moment of silence.

"So? We're both Militia now. I was never "legit" like this. And never before I was this damn good! Our backgrounds do not matter. We've all passed the tests required."

Calamity sees reason in this. The training was not easy. In fact, it was exceptionally tough. No one gave her an inch. Not the Major, the Lieutenant or even Trevor for that matter. Neither did her low rank as Militia grant her any shortcuts. She had to kick ass and take names, or she would get her ass kicked out and her name taken from the list. Then again, they gave no one an inch. While she was still taking care of Trevor, she got to see how Patches and Kip had to fight their way through before her. And after she passed, she got to watch Phantom in action.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, if even Phantom passed…" Calamity scoffs.

"Come on Cal, give the guy some credit. He's at least trying."

Calamity pumps her shotgun with vicious intent.

"Would've been great if he tried before he hurt my lazy-bones."

"Wait, what did he do to Trevor?" Kip asks, both a little concerned and piqued.

"You didn't hear?"

Kip shakes her head.

"Well, it was nothing physical; that white dumbass wouldn't survive that. No, he hurt him right here." she says pointing at her heart.

"Ever since Trevor introduced him to us, he's been nothing but an annoying thorn in our side. Trevor took it on the chin for a long time, wanting to give his old friend the benefit of the doubt but… today he snapped. And I wasn't there…" Calamity sighs deep.

"So that was what that interaction was about. Cal. You can't always be around him to protect him. And from what I heard from you, he did manage to get it out. I don't need to know in detail what he might have done to Phantom, but even before that, he wanted to change. I guess it's being-the-new-guy syndrome." Kip reasons.

But Calamity is not having any of it.

"Nah, I think I'm starting to agree with Patch more and more on this…"

She then says something presumably very unpleasant in Lylatian. The only thing Kip can understand is "Phantom" before the dog unceremoniously spits on the floor just after finishing the sentence containing the aforementioned word.

"That aside, we have a mission to complete. Let's show them Nova 7's power." Calamity states reinvigorated after getting that bad taste out of her mouth and mind.

"Oh yeah, we definitely will."

Kip flips down her visor and takes point as the two blast their way into the first hallway they see. The attack starts with Calamity tossing a flashbang in there and both wait for the explosion. Once it goes off and a blinding white light dislodges their enemies, do the two weapons of mass destruction enter the hallway with guns blazing and fists of fury.

Kip shows off her resourcefulness and her skill in weapons handling. Cleverly using cover and loose objects as thrown projectiles to distract and incapacitate. With the building in such an abandoned and desolate state, there is bound to be at least something hard or sharp on the ground. Fighting dirty will have to do for now until she gets her promised upgrades.

Once they are incapable of retaliating, does she put them down with a well-aimed burst of gunfire. She tries to keep at least two meters distance between her and the target to avoid any panicking enemy counter from putting her off balance.

Calamity on the other hand is a living battering ram in comparison. The closer, the better. She is the butcher's hacksaw to Kip's surgical scalpel. Brutally dispatching her enemies with her shotgun and if she does not have time to pump, her victim will feel her expertise in close quarter combat. A broken nose from the butt of her rifle. A botched jaw adjustment from a full palm strike to the chin. A tackle which transitions to a takedown and straight into a leglock before she breaks a limb before jamming her heel into their throat to stop them from screaming. She can do that and more.

And all the while they keep an eye on each other. If one has trouble with a particularly persistent bastard, a little help is never unappreciated.

Once their last enemy is dispatched, do they see the two big doors that lead into the office or at least room where this Miles fellow might be. They radio this back to Trevor, who is glad that they are there. Patches and Phantom are on the fourth floor still so 7-3 and 7-4 have the honor of bringing this guy in. Much to 7-2 and 7-5's dismay.

"And ladies; remember, we need him alive. Tend to his shin and try to keep him in one piece."

"Oh Trevor, do you have such low opinions of us?" Calamity teases while also cracking her knuckles.

"Dammit… Cal, you know I hate that noise. Only because of that, I feel I needed to emphasize that." Trevor sighs, audibly chuckling.

"No worries, Sir. I'll make sure she only mainly bruises him." Kip coos, whereupon Trevor guffaws.

"See to that, yes. Bring him in alive. Bag, gag, tie and carry. Standard stuff."

With that said, the two take point by the door. They share a gaze, then a nod before Calamity kicks the two doors in. Kip bursts in and quickly gives the all clear as the office is pretty void of any life. Or furniture for that matter. A desk, a cabinet in the distance and a pool table of all things. Whatever keeps him entertained it seems.

The only person around is this mystery person, who can be heard groaning behind his desk. Upon closer inspection, Kip can clearly see that the man is indeed holding to his right shin, trying his best to stop the blood from pouring out. He quickly spots Kip and realizes he is in trouble. He starts crawling away but quickly finds himself looking up into the barrel of Calamity's shotgun.

"I suggest you stop moving before I make you." she threatens none too subtly.

On cue, Kip hops over the desk, grabs the wrists of this mystery person and ties them together with a zip tie. That he is uncomfortable is not important. With him now no longer being a threat, a small but very important question remains: Who is this guy?

"Hrrrgggh… you'll get nothing out of me!" he sputters defiantly before his head is forced into the carpeted floor by Kip.

"Hush, lil man. If you're nothing, you're no use to us." she says nonchalantly before a portable radio on top of the not-important man starts crackling.

"Boss! We got big trouble! We got no contact from our team on the sixth floor! Fireteams are reporting more breaches on the fourth and fifth floor too! And the building is surrounded! We need to get out of he…!"

Kip turns the radio's volume down and turns back to the suddenly very important man.

"So, "Boss" huh? Might you be Miles by any chance? Cal, take a pic and send it to Nelson."

Calamity obliges, grabs the man by the hair to pull him up and takes a picture of his face using her CID. She sends it right to Nelson. Until they get confirmation, they are to hold this position. As it seems that Nelson has detected something coming their way.

"Nova 7, please pay attention. We have confirmed that a yet-to-be identified flying object is coming your way. It is about 50 kilometers out but I expect it to be nearing your position in less than 10 minutes at this speed." he states, with a slight hint of worry to his voice.

"Nelson, can you clarify?" Trevor asks.

"Direction 299 for you Sergeant, for the rest of the team that would be 277. I'm trying to identify and hail it… oh dammit! Bloody 68th! Jeesh… sorry everyone, but the 68th is trying to hijack the satellite back from me. This will only take a moment… I hope. Stupid bastards…" Nelson sighs and rants softly as he relinquishes the job of identification to PAL.

Who quickly comes with mixed news; this person is not Miles Joinville. However he is an important pawn in this game. In other words; bag 'em. The man however tries to resist, by wildly crying out and trying to kick at the ladies. This does not do him any favors; especially because Trevor said to bring this man in alive. Alive, but not necessarily missing an arm or leg. Or both. Calamity makes sure that this squealing mule knows this as her stern threat gives Kip enough time to gag him. Followed by tying his legs together and a firm chop to the back of the head to knock him out cold. With that done, a bag would not be that necessary but no risks can be taken.

With the unconscious man now hanging over Calamity's shoulder, Kip calls in that they have been successful and would like to be extracted now.

"Understood Kip. Assist Patches and Phantom first, keep our guest out of harm's way. Once you are all complete, exfiltrate. Corporal Munt will be there to give you all a lift back. So far, so good team. Keep up the good work and… hold on… Nelson, go ahead."

"Get out of there! That vessel is not friendly! I repeat, that vessel is not friendly! It will come over the horizon soon! Get out of that building, right now!" Nelson warns at the top of his lungs, putting Trevor in a state of heightened alert as his display now shows the location of this mystery vessel.

It does not wait to show itself as over the horizon it appears. The thing looks ancient but it seems to work properly. It looks like an Attack Carrier that attacked Corneria during the Lylat War years ago but smaller than it. The ship looks ancient, rusted but seems to be flying exceptionally well. And it has extensive decoration around the nose and the cockpit. Purple decoration, which prompts PAL to state this is without a doubt Aparoid. Most likely similar to the dead skin patches found on the circuit boards. Along with it, is a massive laser gun which is charging up while the ship is lining up on the building.

Trevor sees this and orders everyone out of the building right now. But as he does, he sees the futility of this gesture. The gun will fire before they are even down to the fourth floor. He has to do something right now. In a flash, he spots the stabilization flaps working overtime to keep this thing steady. The extra decoration and big gun must have put it off-balance. He can use that.

He stands up, a little foolishly so but he wants the slight height advantage. He looks through his scope as he tries to eradicate any panic from his mind. Mentally muting all audio input and just breathe. In, out… trigger.

Almost instantly, Trevor's bullet strikes the stabilization flap and it rips off right away. This causes the ship to veer to the top right. This put the targeting reticle away from the building and up to the horizon instead. The pilot of the vessel tries to compensate for this as the gun is on the verge of firing but compensates too late. The laser fires and it impacts the ground behind the building. This causes the unfortunate demise of a Cornerian soldier who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Trevor orders the Corporal to collect all of his soldiers and get out of the line of fire. As the ship, in a bout of panic and anger opens up with its auxiliary guns while it tries to get itself flying stable again. This causes another few casualties, including the Corporal himself while he gets into the car.

"Munt!" Trevor calls out in vain as nothing but static starts eating a sense of guilt into him.

Trevor is sick of this stupid ship and fires another shot at another stabilization flap. This causes the ship to tilt to the right at a severe angle and it almost smashes into the ground at the entrance below. The pilot can just about keep it steady and now it is their turn to be sick of Trevor getting all up into his business.

From the stumps, new flaps start to form. The process looks like a million bugs congrating and swarming over each other. Like ants, sacrificing themselves to become a small piece of a new flap. And only a few moments later, to Trevor's amazement, he sees that his precision for naught. Now he is looking down the barrels of the ship's auxiliary gun spinning up.

In a split-second Trevor chooses flight over fight and dives down the hill. He slides down, somewhat in control but then the gun starts firing. The impacts and the shockwaves of the shells landing just behind him effectively launch him and he starts tumbling down the hill. Catching face-fulls of sand and hurting himself pretty badly in the process. It looks so easy and relatively painless in those cartoons. But then again, he is not made out of jelly and will not turn into an accordion after he impacts the ground.

As the world spins around him, all he can hear is his body hitting the ground and a different gun going off. It stops the ship from firing at least. But then a small incline in the hill causes him to shoot up into the air for a moment. He can see his sniper rifle just ahead of his left hand and the remnants of the display near his right. And in between he sees the sand approaching rapidly before he smacks into it. And then it turns dark.

…

…

…

- Rallying

Faint sounds. A mild thudding noise. Distant, hazy voices. And utter darkness. When he comes to, to a degree where he at least can distinguish his head from his behind, he realizes that he is still laying in the sand. Slowly but surely, he puts his hands in the sand and pulls himself up from it. Then sight and taste return, forcing him to spit out the copious amounts of dirt and miniscule rocks he unwillingly took in. This is something that Phantom would call "zandhappen". Eating sand.

Then his hearing comes back and a message is seemingly replayed. It does not sound done on the fly, as he can recognize some portions of it. It is a message from Patches, his ever trustworthy second-in-command. She reports that they made it to the ground floor safe, sound and together. With the "tango" alive and largely intact. They are going to requisition the turreted car and come pick him up as soon as possible. The Corporal is still alive too. Injured but away from danger.

As the team exits the building, they find that the turreted car has been riddled quite badly. There is blood on the turret armor. The team opens the doors and finds the remains of Mackeley in the back along with Triss's dead body. Rhawnda, had been mortally wounded and fell out of the turret. She bled to death in about a minute behind the seats.

"Dammit!" Patches cries out.

"Nelson, we got casualties here. Send a medevac for three heroes and get us some support for that stupid ship!"

"Understood. And already one step ahead of you: I summoned the fleet to squash this annoying pest!" Nelson states, itching for a bit of revenge after he managed to wrestle control over the satellite back from the 68th.

"That's what we like to hear!" Phantom comments before non-verbally asking Patches if it is okay to take the bodies out.

She agrees and the team pulls them out as carefully as possible. They group them together in a dignified way. Then they get into the car. Patches dictates the locations; Phantom in the back with the big sliding door on the side, so Trevor can get in easier. Kip will drive and Calamity will be riding shotgun. The tango is put on the backseat. She herself will be in the turret and keep that ship off of them. Which, in the firefight that Rhawnda had put up before she was killed, needed some time to recover.

Kip starts the car and after a few sputters it comes alive. She puts it in reverse while Calamity rolls down the window. Phantom holds on to the door and Patches takes her place in the turret. The blood matters little to her for now as she grabs both handles and points it at the ship. Then they hear from PAL's housing a pleasant PING noise.

"Ser-ge-ant Tre-vor is a-live!" he states before showing everyone his location on their display.

Calamity sighs relieved after she heard him being cut-off after that ship opened fire. But she believes everyone had the moment where their heart sank hearing that. All hoping he was alright.

"Good…" Patches sighs along.

"Kip, punch it! Time to pick up our straggler."

Kip does not waste any time and kicks the gas pedal down. The car quickly picks up speed as she drives off the road. Making the ride extra bumpy for Patches and Phantom but they hang on.

Not long after Calamity can see Trevor's silhouette in the distance as they drive over a small hill. He seems to be stumbling and looks disoriented. Her first instinct is to force the steering to the left so that Kip does not accidentally hit him, but she knows better.

"Phantom!"

"On it!"

On cue, Phantom opens the door and Kip stops just perpendicular to Trevor. Still a bit dazed, it takes the Sergeant some time to realize what is going on but he instinctively holds his arms out. Phantom reaches out and grabs on, pulling him in with all his might.

"Hey there, sandy fella!" Phantom greets with a good dose of dark humor during the maneuver.

Once Trevor is all the way in, he slams the sliding door closed and tells Kip to punch it. The tires spin over the sand before they get the necessary traction and the car speeds off again.

"See, Calamity? I do keep him safe." he cannot help but jab at Trevor's fiancée, who declines to respond.

Patches in the meantime has found herself hyper-focused on the ship as it comes closer, looking for revenge. Once it is in range, does she open up. She hits it a couple times pretty good but then the ground starts to become rocky and the ship starts to maneuver to evade her fire.

"Kip, try to keep this thing stable!" Patches calls out, whereupon Kip states that they are in the desert, not on a highway.

PAL, silently observing and listening to all this, sees that everyone is busy with something important to keep the van safe. Kip keeps the vehicle moving, Calamity rides shotgun in case of unwanted followers, Trevor is still dazed, Phantom is keeping him steady and safe throughout the rough ride and Patches is trying her best to keep that ship away from destroying them. And yet it is not enough.

PAL then disengages from Phantom's back and hovers closer to Patches. In a text, he offers his assistance. With his predictive algorithms and lock-on abilities, she would shoot that thing down as easily as a turkey shoot. Patches ignores this and continues to fire. But also continues to miss.

The ship's auxiliary guns are spinning up in the meantime with an audible whirr so Kip yanks at the steering wheel to the right. The burst of gunfire passes by harmlessly but she has a feeling that the next one will not miss.

"Patch! Blow that thing out of the sky already!" she shouts.

"What do you think I'm doing!? Keep your eyes on the road, let me handle my side!" Patches shouts back, only to realize that she does not have a handle on her side at all.

She can also see that the ship will not miss again. It now has a lock-on on the vehicle she is in. That her team is in. But the discomfort of having PAL attach himself to her… she is consistently reminded of that encounter with the turret. How, like a true Aparoid parasite, PAL took over control over the gun and then attached himself to it. Just that icing on the cake. It replays continuously until she is reminded of that moment when Trevor plugged PAL into his radio.

Even though this was before they had the CID's, Trevor did it without a bit of worry. Even though he had the same experiences with Aparoids as she had. If he could do it…

"Fine! …fuck… PAL, hook me up!" she relents, choosing the fate of the greater good over her difficulty.

PAL rolls his cable out and it autonomously inserts himself into the back-section of Patches' CID. The display flashes white for a second before she can see a lead indicator appear. It shows exactly where to shoot, even with that ship going in different directions. PAL's assistance even gives her a projected crosshair so she knows exactly where she is aiming. All she has to do is point the gun in the right direction and fire.

So she does. She puts the crosshairs right over the lead indicator and opens fire. With great success, as she tears several big chunks out of the ship. It causes the ship to back off but she is not done. She wants that pilot dead and see this thing crash into the ground below.

"PAL, can you adjust for the pilot?"

But PAL texts that he is unable with the current connection. The wire is not equipped to transfer that amount of data. He requires direct integration with her CID. That idea makes her shiver.

"Nevermind, I got this myself." she declares, both to PAL and herself.

However, the pilot has gotten wiser and starts flying even more erratically. The lead indicator goes all over the place and Patches is not fast enough to track it. It also starts to disappear or lag behind the motions of the ship. She tries her best to compensate for it but it is not working. She might get one hit in every 50 or so shots. And the ship is already recovering from the previous damage she has done.

Then PAL starts lighting up and plays a far less lovely noise; the unmistakable sound of being locked-on. He once again advises Patches to allow him to attach fully to her CID. But she snarls back foolhardily that she got it.

"Don't need no help from… Ack!"

Her mumbling is cut off when the auxiliary gun opens fire and a shot ricochets off her turret armor. Just a small burst, not even meant to kill her. Just to prove that he can hit her and she is unable to do so. The pilot is toying with her.

The burst however did not only hit her turret, but it also ripped through the roof and barely missed Kip's leg as it punched through the bottom plate of the plate. The projectile did not stop until it finally hit the sand.

The sound of the car being penetrated and Kip's natural vocal reaction has snapped Trevor back into reality. In a moment of lucidity, he orders Patches to let PAL do his thing. Almost insulted by this, Patches repeats again that she got it.

But she knows this is not true. Somehow she is unable to lift herself over that mental barricade. That image of PAL… the comparison she automatically draws with the parasitic properties of the Aparoids… it is completely unnatural. It is icky, it is stomach churning. It is abnormal and…

"Sorry."

That is the difference. An Aparoid would never apologize if it did something wrong. Or see someone do something strange. Do something icky, something stomach churning. Something… abnormal. But PAL did. He was looking at her the whole time she felt creeped out by him. He felt… guilt because of it? Was that guilt from a machine? And the machine apologized on top of that? Is it even a machine then?

She shakes it off but cannot get rid off that weird feeling. Regardless, she now feels less irked about PAL attaching himself to her. With an unhealthy amount of aversion, she tells PAL to do his thing. She is just ahead of Trevor, who already had a verbal dressing down prepared. Now that is no longer necessary; she overcame it herself. The thought of whether she was on time with this escapes him as the haziness returns.

PAL, with a speed seldom seen, decouples the cable and floats up through the turret ring. Then he slams himself into Patches' CID and starts integrating. Within a split-second, PAL has everything operational. A quick, yet thorough scan of the ship is made. The lead indicator reappears, better than before. Along with an entire heads-up display which shows her ammunition count, what weapon it is and even how much she can fire before the weapon overheats. But maybe most importantly, his predictive algorithmic projections allow Patches to pretty much know where this ship is going to be.

It is like magic but then pure technology she sees before her. Nothing but a mirage but at least this one is helpful. She reopens her fire and no matter where the ship is going to, she can hit it with relative ease. Her confidence grows with each satisfying, chucky hit. Each impact a dopamine hit which encourages her to continue. Then PAL remembers her previous request; targeting the pilot.

PAL makes a targeting reticle appear in a bright red over the pilot's head and the indicator coming from that reticle shines lusciously. Just begging to be shot at. Patches obliges and adjusts her fire. Her gunfire now tears the cockpit window to shreds and riddles the pilot in shards and laser-bullets.

"Got him!" she cheers as the ship loses control without a pilot.

"War-ning! Au-to-pi-lot en-gaged!" warns PAL as the ship stabilizes itself again.

But Patches is not scared. She now has impeccable aim, plenty of ammunition loaded still and a seriously large batch of confidence. What is an autopilot going to do against the combined might of her and PAL?

Suddenly, with a magnificently bright light and a deafening bang, the ship is struck with a blue beam from above. Like a harpoon to a whale, it is catastrophically destructive to the roof of the ship as the beam cuts clean through. The ship shudders for a moment after the beam dissipates only to then violently combust and explode only a few seconds later. As the ammunition inside has started to cook off.

A little dejected that she could not do that, Patches looks up at the sky to see a Cornerian cruiser hanging overhead in the lower atmosphere. Several more appear, just coming out of hyperdrive. Nelson, boisterously over the radio, proclaims that the cavalry has arrived.

"Unidentified Cornerian Army unit, this is Cornerian Cruiser Group Prefectra. Appreciate the target practice! With compliments from the Admiral himself. We have been tasked with ensuring your safety until you're back in Cornerian airspace. Have a safe ride home."

Cheering erupts inside the vehicle as the carrier descends down and smashes into the sand below. Their vehicle quickly leaves the burning carcass behind. Patches, still a little stiff from the rush, leans on the turret edge as she looks over what has been taken from her. Or rather, accomplished by her. She could not have seen this at all. If she did not knock herself back into reality, she might have been dead. She made the destruction of that ship possible. Who knows what would have happened if the carrier had blown her up? The fleet might have missed it. And now it is dead for sure.

Throughout her thought process, she only now notices that PAL is still attached to her. Even though his help was invaluable, it is kind of no longer necessary. Then again, neither does she notice much. He does not feel like a weight on her back at all. It is almost like he is not there. And yet he is.

"Uhm… PAL? You're still… you know. Attached? We did it so would you…?" she says suggestively.

Without any bother, PAL disconnects from her back-section and floats back inside of the vehicle. Where it reattaches itself to Phantom for a well-deserved recharge. But not before he left her at least a message on the display first. It makes her smile at the very least.

"Well done, everyone… you're all naturals…" Trevor blurts as coherently as he possibly can.

"Nova 7… forever…!"

3 - End Of Recess

Calamity closes the door to their room, leaving Trevor alone to snooze the haze away. According to the medic team that awaited them upon their triumphant, if battered return to their transport ship, he suffered quite a bad bruising on the head but there was no concussion. Eating some food and a nap should fix his ailments. If those persist however, he is to report immediately to them again.

Everyone else was okay in comparison. She herself had no problems with her arm out of its socket. No nasty cuts on her feet. Patches and Kip came through unscathed too. Aside from Kip's trouser leg, which was signed from the bolt that pierced through the roof. Patches was perhaps doing the worst out of the four. She had several very minor burns and nasty looking rashes on her exposed hands, neck and her face. From continuous discharging her weapon, whipped up dust and sand along with various close encounters with the gunfire from that Attack Carrier.

Mentally she was not all there either. About 95%. She proclaimed it to be a "pyrrhic victory", something even Phantom disagreed with. On closer inquiry, she blamed herself for keeping that ship on their tail for too long. And for not allowing the solution that was offering itself up on a silver platter to actually help her until there was no other option.

However, forgiven and forgotten. In the end she did what was necessary and saved the day. And to a degree, they understand her aversion. Who knows what might have happened with full integration? Phantom does it all the time anyway but he is just that type of strange. Plus he is as close with PAL as she and Trevor are. Pretty much.

However, thoughts about that can wait. Patches, now in being the acting leader of Nova 7 in Trevor's temporary absence, has called for a meeting. Standard after-action stuff. She has done it once or twice before and was quite capable both times. Those times were however practice rounds compared to what they just went through. She will have to see but she does not believe Patches will snap shut.

Calamity then enters the briefing room and sees everyone else already in. There hangs a thick air of tension and suspense in the air. Not because someone said something bad but because a certain someone is not around. So when Calamity enters, as bearer of hopefully good news, the atmosphere changes.

"Hi everyone. He's gonna be just fine. He just needs a nap according to the doc. So when we're back on Corneria, he'll be back to his old self." she sighs happily, reassuring the rest inside.

"Thanks for the good news, Cal. Please, have a seat. The sooner we are done with this formality, the faster we can return to our business." Patches states as she takes the tablet normally reserved for Trevor's use.

She activates another message from the Major and the avatar once again appears. However, this is not a pre-recorded message, but rather a live connection. Noticing that he is still just a head, he turns to PAL, points at him and then down at his feet. PAL gets the intention and rolls out his connector cable. Giving the table the necessary extra boost so that the Major can appear as a full-body projected image, instead of just a floating head.

"That is so much better. Thank you, PAL. Nova 7, I… wait. Where is Sergeant Trevor?"

"Sergeant Trevor is sleeping off the haziness sustained after his tumble down the hill. Doc says that's all he'll need." Patches reports, standing at attention.

"Ah, I see. Give him my best wishes. Stand easy, Specialist."

And so she does.

"Right then. Nova 7, I applaud you for completing another mission. This time one where we all trained for. Of course, no one could have trained for an Attack Carrier appearing from nowhere. I suppose you can count your lucky stars that only one of you is temporarily out of commission." he states with empathy.

Then Nelson's full-body image appears on the other side of the table. He comments on how weird and yet awesome it still is but quickly gets back to it.

"The Major has asked me to inform you about the discoveries we made on that vessel. The blast killed it completely but we found something PAL already feared; it was laced with Aparoid technology. Broadly similar to the dead, purple patches that were found on the computer systems and the circuitry."

As he talks, more images are projected. From pictures, to small and soundless videos playing on repeat. It shows the insides and workings of the ship. Along with analyses of the decoration that was found on the nose of the carrier and its big laser gun.

"This Attack Carrier was a big conversion job from an old piece of junk. This ship was previously used during Andross' campaign against Lylat years ago. But this ship was never registered as collected by the Army. It was missing. These guys found it first and resurrected it for use using traces of… Aparoids."

Nelson could barely get that last word over his lips. Mentioning those awful bugs so many times does not sit well with him. The Major takes it over from him.

"Furthermore, in the weapons and further caches that Corporal Munt's team was able to secure, we also found traces of Aparoid technology in there. This means that Operation Sungazer has not only been a success, but it has also been an unexpected eye-opener; we are not done with these bugs and their remnants can be weaponized for nefarious needs."

PAL seems to twitch at the mere mention of that.

"We are going to get to the bottom of this and we will eradicate all Aparoid life from Lylat. If that means we have to scour and weed out more Bakers Building Lmtd locations, then so be it. Speaking of that location, I heard you captured someone important?"

Patches points at the lucky two who got to him first.

"We found him in his office. Or what we assumed was his office." Kip starts.

"Sergeant Trevor had disabled him before with a great shot to the shin. He has been stabilized and sedated." Calamity adds with a pinch of maliciousness at the end.

"And we'll bring him over ASAP so we can interrogate him." Kip finishes.

But the Major has different thoughts about that. He states that they will leave the interrogation over to Lieutenant Damian. Since he has a knack for making people talk. One way or the other. And while Kip, Calamity and Phantom all have a sense of disbelief about it, the Major and Patches know exactly what the gentle giant is capable of when he does not have to mind his manners.

"I want all of you back on base, have something warm in your stomachs, make your rundown reports in your own time and get to bed on time. I want you to be well-rested for tomorrow. Phase two of Operations Sunset will start from that point on. Make no mistake, team; what we have encountered up until now was nothing but child's play. Things are only going to be tougher. But I have all the confidence in the galaxy that you'll pull through."

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Phase 1 END