Welcome back everyone! Apologies if the wait was a long one, but this rotational schedule's kinda got me in the rhythm of uploading a new chapter once every month. Last month was The Silver Raven, this month is More Than Meets the Spy, and next month will be BlazBlue Alternative: Remnant. Either way, now we're getting into Loid's chapter and some good old spy antics.
As an aside, I'll say that the first section wound up being the one that kinda gave me the most trouble in writing and I had to write the rest of the chapter before I went back to it. On the plus side, that meant that even when I couldn't figure out how things would go for the first part of the chapter, I was still making progress. I mean, I was able to finish up the chapter in time for it's November upload, so all's well that ends well on that front.
Thanks and shout-out to Quantum01 for some help in Beta Reading this chapter and clearing up any issues it had.
Anyway, on with the show!
Mission 3: Investigating the Impact Site
Loid arrived at one of the hidden entrances for Safehouse E; this one located relatively close to Berlint General Hospital, his cover job for Operation STRIX. Thankfully, the escape route in Berlint General's consultation room allowed him to arrive here without drawing suspicion to himself. Inserting a coin, the photobooth's camera scanned his face and its hidden lift took him down into the safehouse. He walked down the halls, eventually arriving at the office of Operation STRIX's overseer, Handler, aka Sylvia Sherwood. Opening the door, he walked in and saw his mentor in espionage turn to face him, blue eyes hidden behind round framed glasses as her face dawned a welcoming smile.
"Good day, or perhaps good evening, Twilight," Handler greeted as he walked up to her desk, removing his hat as she asked, "Mind handing me the expense for your cover identity's new car?"
Figures she'd start there, Loid thought as he pulled out the papers and gave them to her before taking his seat. Thankfully, it was just a quick peruse over the expense before she shrugged and put them away in her desk. Understandable, given that whatever mission she called him for took precedence. Not to mention a new vehicle was a far less outlandish purchase than renting out an entire castle and converting it into a re-enactment of a Spy Wars episode at his daughter's request.
Though Loid still couldn't bring himself to regret that decision, not after seeing how happy Anya was about the entire thing. And if he was being honest, he ended up enjoying it far more than he expected.
"Apologies to call you in on such short notice, but given our staff shortage and how Agent Nightfall is currently on assignment at the moment, we need you for an important mission," Handler explained, gaze hard as steel.
"What's the mission?" Loid asked, Handler pulling out a file and placing it on her desk for him to open. He did so, revealing to him the image and psychological profile of a Private in the Ostanian military, as well as detailed reports of an impact event that occurred roughly two days ago.
"Our intel informs us of a recent impact occurring just outside Berlint. While we're uncertain what it could be, our concern is that it could be taken as a possible attack on Ostania by outside powers," Handler stated as she adjusted her glasses, shifting them from clear to opaque, "We've also received word from HQ that they're looking into whether or not one of Westalis' higher ups was responsible."
"There's always going to be someone on either side looking to stir up trouble at the expense of everything else," Loid narrowed his eyes as he took in the information.
Handler nodded, "It's an unfortunate truth of the world we live in. However, as for the mission," Loid listened intently as Handler went into detail, "A few hours from now, military contingent is scheduled to head for the site to assist in analyzing it, as well as keep any of the city's populace from learning of the event. Their goal is to determine whether or not this was a possible attack."
"And if it's assumed to be?" Loid asked the dreaded question. Even if there was sufficient evidence that this wasn't an attack from anyone, there was always the small chance someone would jump at the opportunity to frame it as such.
"Then we'll find a way to prevent that from happening," Handler replied, "But for now, you'll need to go undercover as the military private shown in the documents. Unknown to him, we've managed to intercept any messages from his superiors regarding the operation. By now, he should be aboard the first train out of the city on vacation with his family."
"Sounds like he's getting a lucky break," Loid read through the man's profile and committed every detail to memory, though a tinge of envy also bled into his thoughts. He made a vow to dedicate himself to his duties as a spy; to help bring about a world where everyone could live in peace with each other. Whether he liked it or not, he couldn't falter in them. Of course, despite that, there was a part of him that wished he could take some time off from work and spend it with Yor and Anya.
"Regardless, once you're there, your main objective will be to uncover just what caused the impact and retrieve a sample of it for further investigation," Handler stood from her seat, letting Loid return his focus to the present, "Do you have everything you need?"
Loid closed the document, having memorized everything, and nodded as he stood up. Returning the file to Handler and retrieving his disguise for the mission, he thought, If all goes well, I should be able to complete this task before Yor and Anya get off work and school respectively.
In the hours since his briefing with Handler, Loid had donned his disguise as a rank-and-file troop of the Ostanian military and drove alongside a relatively small contingent of soldiers to the outskirts of Berlint. Having studied the movements and posture of the country's soldiers, and having formerly served amongst Westalis' armies himself, it was a rather trivial task for him to blend in with them. Thus far, he had drawn no suspicions from anyone, letting him analyze those present as he reviewed intel he'd previously gathered regarding the top brass of Ostania.
Once they were at the impact site, Major General Watkins, the hulking behemoth of a man serving as head of this operation, quickly began dividing troops into certain duties. The two primary ones given were to form a perimeter around the area to prevent civilians from entering as well as protecting/aiding the analysts in studying the potential weapon. The contingent's head walked down and began assigning tasks, each troop saluting as he passed them, giving Loid precious seconds to ponder on his current task.
He already knew which role he would be given, as the person he was currently impersonating, according to his records, had qualifications most suited for assisting those studying the unknown object. All he could really do in this situation was hope that he would be assigned there to complete his objectives. If he wasn't, then he still had a backup plan just in case.
"Private Weber," Watkins, in a thunderous voice, said as he approached Loid's current cover, "Analyst surveying."
"Sir, yes sir!" Loid saluted and proceeded to the impact site alongside those assigned to it, where a number of analysts were already present and inspecting the crater.
"Fascinating," One of the analysts garbed in a white lab coat whispered as he picked up a piece of metal.
"Ehem," Loid coughed, gaining the analyst's attention, "Sorry, uh, I'm Private Weber," he feigned nervousness in accordance with what was known about his identity's personality, "I was wondering what you guys have learned so far."
"Oh, no need to apologize. My name's Michael," The analyst replied, showing the name tag on his coat before standing up and presenting the metal, "Anyway, here's what we found out so far. Whatever this is, it's certainly a possibility that it could have been a weapon, but there's some evidence against that idea too."
"How so?"
"Well, we've identified what appears to be a propulsion system," Michael gestured to part of the wreckage, and sure enough, Loid did recognize parts that wouldn't be out of place on the boosters of a missile. However...
"But if this was a missile test of some kind, wouldn't there be more incendiary damage to the surrounding environment?" Loid asked, noting the lack of burn marks on any surroundings. In response, Michael nodded turned, kneeling down and picking up another fragment of metal, this one approximately the size of a human skull.
"Exactly," he said as he worked, "Not only that, but all evidence we've found so far indicates that the foreign object was hollow, given how it's nothing but scattered scrap metal now. If it were a giant metallic slug, then the lack of burn damage would be understandable since that wasn't its intended purpose."
"What do you suppose its purpose was?"
Michael looked back at Loid, pondering over the question before answering, "I personally don't see this as a weapons test. But I honestly can't figure out what this was for. If it helps, maybe have a look around with everyone else. A fresh set of eyes is always a plus in this line of work."
Loid nodded and proceeded to walk through the crash site, getting a better inspection on the various pieces of whatever caused the collision to begin with. Deciding to investigate the boosters later, Loid figured the area where the impact was deepest would provide him with some form of answers. Thankfully, the crater itself wasn't too deep or wide, and there was only one analyst, this one a blonde woman with glasses, and soldier present at the epicenter.
"Find anything?" Loid asked, garnering their attention.
Both of them shook their heads before the soldier, whom Loid noted had a prominent greying beard stubble, answered, "No, but I gotta say, if this really was a weapons test, then it was a real shoddy one."
"Think it might have been Westalis?" The analyst asked.
"Doubt it," the soldier replied as Loid walked a bit away and kneeled to the ground, sifting through the dirt surrounding one of the large metal fragments. Keeping his ears open, Loid listened in as the soldier behind him continued, "Personally, this all just reeks of a provocation of some kind from inside Ostania."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it," came the response to the analyst's question, "We have what's basically a dud rocket launched in the middle of the woods near the country's main capital. Something like that could rile the populace up if made public and push them to want a retaliation."
"But you're sure it was an inside job?" The analyst questioned, Loid being able to tell by her tone that her eyebrows were furrowed, "I'm sure there's way more people on the other side who want to push us to war than there are here."
The soldier sighed, "Miss, I've been serving this country since before the last war, and believe me, there's more people baying for blood in Ostania than I'm comfortable with. Not to mention that we've swept these areas before as part of routine training exercises, and there have been no indications of Westalis military activity."
There was a moment of silence before the analyst replied, "I see," Loid could hear her sigh, almost sounding disheartened in herself, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to imply...I guess I'm just a little scared is all."
"It's fine, and trust me, I understand," the soldier reassured, "Honestly, last thing I want is to see another war. But we're all living on one giant powder keg with people both high and low itching to light a spark."
And I have to make sure that fuse is never lit, Loid thought as me managed to sneak a piece of the unknown metal into a small plastic bag before pocketing it. If WISE could analyze the materials, maybe they could find a point of origin and track down whoever launched the potential weapon, though he still wasn't convinced it was one. He stood up and walked away from the epicenter to inspect other areas of the impact, but as he walked towards another analyst to gain new intel, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he looked down and saw large imprints in the dirt patterned after footsteps.
"Huh?" He muttered to himself as he approached the nearest one and knelt down, running a pair of gloved fingers through the dirt. Loid looked up and checked to make sure he wasn't seeing things, confirming that there were indeed footprints much larger than what was possible for any human to have. They could have belonged to an animal of some kind, but the formation and pattern indicated that it had to be bipedal in nature, and he knew none that could match either the size of shape of the imprints.
"Private Weber," Major General Watkins' booming voice came in from behind Loid, prompting him to turn and see the towering man as he continued, "What have you discovered?"
Loid, seeing no option but to answer, pointed downward at the tracks, "I found what appear to be footprints, sir. But I've never seen any with this size or shape before."
"Hmm," Watkins stepped forward and knelt down, inspecting the footprint, "Could be the work of whoever fired the weapon, but you are right. They're too large and abnormally shaped to fit anyone's description. Certainly don't match any animals I know of either. Matter of fact, I only knew of one person who's foot size was even a fraction as big as this."
"Who?" Loid asked, genuinely shocked at the idea of anyone like that.
"My grandfather," Watkins answered in a somber tone, "Alas, he passed away years ago."
"Oh. I'm sorry, sir," Loid apologized, his sympathy genuine even through his cover.
Watkins shook his head and stood up, "It's quite alright. You weren't aware. Besides, he was able to live well into old age. It was simply his time." he turned back to face Loid, "Nevertheless, this warrants further investigation. Follow the trail and see if it will provide us with any leads regarding this."
"Yes sir!" Loid saluted as the contingent's superior officer walked away, leaving him to trace the footprints. As he followed them outside the perimeter, he took note of the patterns within each of them. Much like the size and shape, it didn't match anything Loid had ever seen before. He briefly stopped, trying to wrap his head around what could possibly have made these prints, as nothing about them made any sense to him.
Maybe it is some animal that's never been seen before and this is all just a coincidence? Loid pondered, placing a hand under his chin, No, the tracks begin directly from the epicenter of the impact, so there has to be a connection of some kind. Maybe the missile wasn't actually a missile at all, but a pod containing a different kind of weapon, a bipedal one belonging to some third party unaffiliated with either country? Or maybe the foreign object was actually from space and whatever made these prints is actually an-
Loid shook his head and dismissed that last thought immediately and continued following the tracks, No, don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing as aliens. Besides, rushing to assumptions only leads to disaster. Best wait until we have the complete puzzle. However, as he neared a dirt road, he noticed that the footprints he was following gave way to tire tracks, implying that someone arrived to retrieve whoever or whatever this was.
Unfortunately, it looks like other vehicles drove by here over the last night or so, Loid noted, given all the tread patterns that blended together. Given his current cover and the amount of time that could have elapsed between the initial impact and now, following the trail to see if there were any deviations between the tread patterns was out of the cards.
Still, WISE now had a lead in the form of the metal from the epicenter, and with it, a starting point. Seeing nothing else that could be done, Loid returned back to the contingent and reported the dead end. Soon enough, they had gathered all they could manage from the crash site and proceeded to store it away in the convoy trucks before heading out.
"I see," Sylvia Sherwood looked down at Twilight's report, contemplating all that she had read and heard, "So the remnants of the unknown object will be placed in deep storage for further study, and it's been decided by the military's higher ups to bury any evidence that there was an impact at all?"
Twilight nodded, "All things considered, this is the best possible outcome for all parties involved or otherwise."
"Agreed," Sylvia read through the reports one final time before placing them on her desk. By all accounts, the site had been found and cleared out before any civilians could happen upon it, and by extension before word could spread. Had the opposite been the case, there would have been a potential wrench in maintaining peace between East and West. While that was thankfully avoided, that still left WISE with a loose end in the form of who was responsible for the impact in the first place.
"I take it our next task will be tracing the source of the potential weapon?" Twilight asked, ever observant.
Sylvia allowed herself a small smile, "Glad to see your ability to read people remains sharp, Twilight."
"Trying to make sure my skills don't dull, I presume?"
"Correct. After all, a dull knife can spell the difference between life and death in this line of work," Sylvia picked up the bag containing the metal shard provided by Twilight and said, "I'll have our people get to work on analyzing this immediately. If we can track down whoever launched it, we can work towards ensuring something like this doesn't happen again," placing the bag down, she looked to WISE's best agent, "For now though, I suggest we return our focus to Operation STRIX. That will be all for now, Agent Twilight."
"Understood. In that case, I'll be taking my leave," Twilight said as he stood from his seat, albeit a touch too quickly than he normally would have and with the ghost of an almost relieved smile on his face. The moment he exited the room, Sylvia looked to the wall clock and saw the time.
I see, Sylvia recalled that Yor Forger would be finishing work soon, and Anya Forger would be completing today's classes not long after that. And given the pace at which Twilight left, it was clear he wanted to retrieve his wife and child as soon as possible before heading home. While understandable in that he needed to maintain his position as a mild-mannered, loving family man, there was an undercurrent in Twilight's actions these days. One that implied his feelings regarding his cover family were growing into something more than just being a cover.
Perhaps she should call him back and further discuss that with him? The most important rule of being a spy was to avoid getting too attached, given how detrimental it could be in this life. However, as she contemplated doing so, she let it pass and leaned back in her seat, instead reviewing the current details on Operation STRIX.
Thus far, things have been progressing, Sylvia pondered, Slowly, of course, but we knew from the beginning that this would be a long-term operation. Loid Forger's daughter has earned her first Stella and an important step in getting close to Donavan Desmond. Given that neither field performance nor cover has been compromised, it's best to leave things as they are for now.
Standing up, she took the retrieved metal fragment and walked out of her office to deliver it to WISE's main experts on the subject. They'd have their answers on what was uncovered today soon enough. When she returned her focus to Operation STRIX, Sylvia would admit there was a small part of her that was pleasantly surprised by such a development in Agent Twilight.
After all, genuine happiness was also a rarity in the life they led. Best to let it be enjoyed while it lasted.
Anya looked left and right, waiting for Papa to drive in on Bumblebee, but he wasn't here yet. He said that if he wasn't here when school ended, which meant he was busy on super important spy stuff, then she could take the bus home instead, but she wanted to wait for him and Mama. She said goodbye to Becky already, and her friend offered to let her fancy car driver bring her home, but Anya said no. She knew Papa would finish his spy mission and be here with Mama soon, cause Papa was the best there was at what he did.
A car horn beeped and Anya turned, smiling when she saw Bumblebee drive up to her. Mama was waving at her from her seat, and Anya waved right back before opening the door. "Hi Mama!" Anya gave mama a hug while Papa patted her head.
"Hello Anya," Mama said, sounding super happy as she let go of the hug.
"Sorry if I was late," Papa sounded a bit embarrassed, "So Anya, how was school today?"
Anya got into the back and buckled her seatbelt before saying, "It went good. Classes were hard," she frowned, remembering how the teachers said a bunch of things she had trouble following. But then she remembered something and smiled as she pulled a picture out of her bag, "But I got to draw this!"
Her parents looked back and saw the picture; all of them together with Bumblebee parked right beside them. It wasn't finished yet because it still needed a dog, but that could wait until Papa took her to get one. He promised they'd be getting one soon, but Anya hoped she didn't have to wait too long.
Okay, I'm assuming the stick figure with the black lines on its head is Yor, but why does she have a...is that a kitchen knife or a baseball bat of some kind? Papa's thoughts sounded like he didn't understand Anya's art. Anya almost frowned because of how unappreciated she was in her time.
That's so adorable! I wonder why Loid's holding a boomerang though, Mama's sounded nicer about it, but why did she call Papa's silencer pistol a boomerang?
Huh, so I'm guessing the large yellow square with black circles under it is supposed to be me, Bumblebee's thoughts also came through, Is this what all art on this planet looks like?
Anya then realized something and gasped, Wait, Bumblebee can see inside himself? Does he have eyes in his head? she started looking around the inside of the car, Where are they!?
"Something wrong, Anya?" Papa asked, making Anya remember that he and Mama were watching her. She couldn't give away that she was reading Bumblebee's mind, or that he was an alien, or that she could read minds at all!
"Yup! Anya's fine!" Anya said before putting the picture in her pack and sorta lying, "I just remembered that a new Spy Wars episode is on today!"
Mama giggled, "Well, we know you wouldn't want to miss it."
"I promise I'll study after the episode," Anya saluted like a spy getting told about a new mission by a superior. Papa smiled and nodded before driving, Anya looking out the window and watching the school entrance get smaller as they went. She remembered saying goodbye to Sy-On while she was waiting for Papa to pick her up, even patting him on the back. But he just turned red and stomped away to the dorms with his two friends.
What's with Sy-On boy? Anya crossed her arms and groaned, How am I gonna be friends with the bad guy boss' kid and help Papa bring world peace if he's always mad at me?
"Anya, are you sure nothing's wrong?" Papa asked, sounding worried, "Did something happen at school?"
Anya looked out Bumblebee's window, "Sy-On boy is confusing."
"Still having trouble being friends with him?" Mama looked back and thought, Making friends must be really tough. I never got the chance to make any when I was her age.
Anya nodded, "He's such a big mean jerk. I don't know how to be friends with him."
I don't know who this "Sy-On Boy" is, but it kinda sounds like how me and W-459 started out back at boot camp, Bumblebee thought, but Anya also heard a bit of sadness in it. She wasn't sure why though, or who Bumblebee's friend was.
Maybe Mister Bumblebee knows how to be friends with meanies? Anya wondered, But how do I ask him without asking him?
"If it helps, I think we'll be able to get you that dog you wanted this weekend."
"Really!?" Anya gasped at what Papa said, completely forgetting what she was wondering about earlier. She was finally gonna get a dog! She could hardly wait! As she clapped and cheered in her seat, however, she heard one last thought from Bumblebee.
What's a dog?
And it is finally done! Once again, I apologize to everyone for the long wait, but what can you do?
Yes, Major General Watkins is the father of Bill Watkins, if anyone here remembers the dodgeball dodgeball game.
Gonna be honest, when Loid started coming up with possibilities for what could have made the tracks, I wanted to include a Metal Gear joke somewhere in there, but for the life of me, I just couldn't figure it out. Shame too considering both this and that series involve spies and espionage. Ah well, there will be plenty of opportunity later down the road for such references.
For those of you who are wondering about who W-459 is, I'll give you a hint. Take the numbers 459 and turn them into letters based on what they most resemble. That should give you the answer.
Next chapter's gonna be Bumblebee starting with trying to gather resources for building a base. So I'll see you all next time with Mission 4: Building up a Base.