With a click, Dr. Kal'tsit, Head of the Medical Department of Rhodes Island, shut down the communication terminal.
Outside her office window, the skies of Lungmen were streaked with the warm colors of dusk, casting long shadows over the landship. The city-state had granted the company permission to temporary camp near the city. They've also agreed to compensate a portion of losses and expenditures sustained during the operation. Wei Yenwu, Lungmen's indomitable leader, was shrewd and uncompromising. The provisional permissions granted to Rhodes Island to camp near the city were a strategic maneuver, one laden with unspoken expectations and unvoiced demands. Kal'tsit was under no illusions; the forthcoming negotiations would be as much about gauging Rhodes Island's strength and intentions as they were about forming alliances.
The losses from the Chernobolg rescue operation were lower than expected. The extraction team had been pinned down by Reunion forces, and Ace's squad stay behind to buy time. Assistance from combatant 'Roland' allowed the squad to break through the encirclement and successfully make it to the southern extraction point. With new data on Reunion's leaders, particulary that of Talulah, the organisation's threat assessment needs to be changed, plans altered. And of course, their mysterious guest...
Kal'tsit flicked open her tablet and looked through his file, a slew of medical data and personal observations laid bare.
[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 0%
Roland shows no signs of Originium infection.
[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.00u/L
His body was completely incompatible with Originium. Imaging tests revealed clear outlines of internal organs... and much more. Advanced optical implants, muscles replaced with strands of reinforced myomer, bones laced with an unknown alloy, altered blood and artifical organs allowing oxygen to be burned at nearly a thousand times the baseline efficiency... All these augments, and none had any interaction with Originium whatsoever. Some of the simpler ideas had been discussed in Columbia's scientific community and perhaps trials secretively conducted by their Department of Defence, but true implementation would be decades away at best, especially with the complexity of Arts required to allow test subjects to survive.
-gloves that seem to access a subdimensional pocket, from Operator Ace and Operator Green Pea's up close accounts. Despite similarities to Lich witchcraft, preliminary testing reveals that the spatial deformations detected cannot be attributed to originium arts due to-
-perception blocking mask, function analogous to illusory arts observed in Operation SRG187 when multiple-
Kal'tsit sighed. The man's accent didn't match any she knew, even dialects that have gone extinct. It wasn't simplified enough to be a pidgin language either.
Fixer. A Victorian term that recently entered widespread usage in Columbia. A person who serves as an agent to arrange for a desired result, perhaps by improper means. Somewhat similar to a mercenary. Roland had stated that he was a Grade One Fixer, and mentioned being a resident of the City, which had countless fixer offices, criminal syndicates and corporations. She had to redact most of the conversation log.
The civilisation of her creators had dabbled in body augmentations, but not to this extent of turning themselves into war machines. Nor did Roland have any knowledge of the Sacrophagi, or other preservation projects. He was a ghost in terms of identity.
According to the field operatives, his tactics were unorthodox, his movements unnaturally precise. Not just a soldier, but a tactician. And some of his equipment and augments are going to need maintenance, something that would be difficult to do without specialised equipment, equipment that Rhodes Island happened to have. There was also the deeper, more personal elements that Amiya had touched upon. If Amiya sensed a profound sorrow and despair in Roland, it was likely to be a significant aspect of his character, one that could influence his decisions and loyalties.
Determined to address every angle, Kal'tsit drafted a multifaceted approach. Alongside the contract of employment, she included provisions for a thorough psychological evaluation. It was crucial to understand the man behind the machinery, to gauge the risks and benefits of his integration into their ranks, or to hire him as an independent contractor. Rhodes Island could ill afford to take in someone whose mental state might compromise their missions or, worse, pose a threat from within.