"Rapi?" Alyosha raised a brow, concerned, as he saw his executive officer turning pale. Anis and Neon both noticed this, looking at her worriedly, too, while Rio, a seemingly old friend of the girl's, stood there, mouth slightly open and visibly getting more and more worried, too. She was about to speak again, but both she and Alyosha, not to mention Anis, Neon and Stella, were stunned to see the girl bolt out of the room.
Rio called out, "Rapi!" as she tried to grab her arm. She stumbled forward, then looked back at the Commander and said, "I'll get her back! Wait here!" before breaking into a full-on sprint. She chased the girl down the halls, farther and farther away from the others, all of them too surprised at first to give chase.
She saw Rapi take a right, toward the stairwell, then followed, quickly swiveling about and yelling out, "Seriously, Rapi, is this how you treat an old friend!? C'mon-" only to pause as she noticed, thanks to her enhanced eyes, a single tear falling to the floor. At that, mild concern turned to absolute worry as Rio sped up.
She caught Rapi mid-climb at the third floor, grabbed her by the arm and stopped her, demanding, "What the hell is going on!? What happened!?" and going silent when she saw the pure, uncontained fear in Rapi's eyes. She took a step back, taking her hand off Rapi's arm and raising both of her hands in a bid to show Rapi it was fine. She asked, "Rapi… What the hell is going on? What did I do while I was out…?"
"... You don't remember," The girl asked, voice cracking, shaky, "At all…?"
"No! I literally just faded to black and woke up at Missilis HQ a couple hours ago!" The girl spoke, climbing another step to be on level ground with Rapi as she began to rant, "And the next thing I know, I hear Missilis is under new management, meet the new boss and she's a shady old lady, hear that the Ark switched to a new government already, meaning everything in that rumored Second Surface War kinda went to shit already and now I'm assigned to a squad where one of my two friends is too scared to look me in the-BWEH !"
That noise was the sound of a woman being suddenly hugged by someone for whom such displays of affection were completely and totally uncharacteristic. She looked down at Rapi, eyes wide, then said, "Well, that's one positive change, at least… You're actually showing some sorta emotion," her own voice a bit quieter.
She hugged Rapi back, hearing a soft sob from the girl. Her heart skipped a beat as she pulled back and looked at Rapi, asking, "Hey… Please, stop crying and tell me what the heck happened while I was out? For real, tell me what the hell happened, because I'm about as confused as a newborn chick that fell out of the nest here."
Rapi breathed a shaky breath, before slowly unclasping her hands and taking a step back, giving the confused Rio space. She rubbed her arm, slowly regaining her composure, her voice now steady, calm as she asked, "What do you remember? Before you blacked out and woke up here, I mean," and crossed her arms to her chest, leaning against the wall.
Despite the faint traces of tears still on Rapi's cheeks, her eyes were clear now, and focused solely on Rio. The sniper took her helmet off, sliding it under her arm and leaning against the railing as she said, "Well… We were on combat duty again. Like the fifth mission that week or something. It was immediately after Pretty's 'last' concert," and she sighed deeply, "We were chatting. You and Wendi gave me that Tetra audition ticket and… Poof. I'm here now… Speaking of, where's Wendi?"
"..." Rapi opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as if she knew better. Rio opened her arms and shrugged, then gently spun her right hand toward Rapi, as if asking her to keep going. The girl sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes, then said, "... Something happened after we gave you that ticket. I misconstrued it for a Mind Switch at first, because you were humming Pretty's song a lot."
Though Rio had a hint of an idea in terms of what Rapi meant, she let the girl speak on, feeling that pit in her stomach continue to deepen. Rapi sighed, voice shaky again, then said, "Corruption… We only realized it when… Whatever… Took control of you turned your gun on our friends," and she was trying extremely hard, obviously, to not blame it on Rio.
"... Wendi…" Rio barely croaked out
Rapi shook her head, "You didn't kill her…" then her gaze dropped to the floor as she whispered, "Though I think she wished you did," before adding in a clear voice again, "She put you, or whatever was controlling you, down. And that was the cause of her Mind Switch…" before she saw Rio hunch over. "... It was quick, at least…" The girl then offered.
"Oh, God…" Rio covered her mouth as soon as those last words struck. She whispered, " Fuck… " and next, her fist slammed into the wall, tears welling in her eyes as she mumbled another quiet swear and covered her mouth. Rapi walked up to her, sat down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, which the woman took with a half-hearted smile and a crack in her voice, "Damn, you really are showing emotions now, huh…?"
"I've spent enough time not doing it," The girl spoke softly. She sighed deeply and smiled, stating, "Despite everything, it's good to see you again… I think you might be the second old-timer Nikke we have who was revived here. We have another one, a 23 that's part of the Lucky Strikes, who some alien technology hinted at being like you. Though some decades older…"
"Well, that's fucked," Whispered the Product-08, then she shrugged, "Hey… At least I'm not dead anymore. What do we do about Wendi if she…?" and she paused. She didn't even wanna think what kind of pain she'd put Wendi through in her final moments. If it was enough for the girl to self-terminate right after, she somewhat prayed that she didn't remember that end part.
"She'll be alright if she winds up here," Her friend replied, however, slightly assuaging her fears as she explained, "The UNSC and NUEG actually treat us as people. I mean this in the most straightforward sense, the rights so many of our forebears were fighting for are finally here," and she lifted her paybook to make a point.
"Doc Halsey hinted as much," Rio rubbed the back of her neck, "What the hell is the UNSC, though?"
"The United Nations Space Command," Rapi replied, a smile on her face, "They're the military arm of the Unified Earth Government in…" then she paused and clicked her tongue, "Well, their world, I suppose," only to see confusion in her friend's eyes. She explained, "They're all similar to you. Dead or dying, brought here by some precursor alien technology to help us fight. Their Earth was never taken over by Raptures, but they had a much larger-scale War…"
The Sniper snorted and said, "Ain't that freakin' convenient? Were they at least in 'space' as the name suggests?"
"One of the main headquarters we have is in a Lost Ark and is literally a starship of theirs that's crashed here," Rapi replied with a deadpan, causing Rio to actually pause and take that in. Rapi then continued to explain, "Their war was fairly devastating. Just like with ours, a lot of mankind was wiped out. They didn't have Nikkes, either, but they had something similar:The Spartans. One of which commands the Lucky Strikes."
"A lot of similarities between us and them, then," Rio observed as she leaned forward, "What about you? Your kit looks a lot newer, too…" and she tapped one of Rapi's shoulders, which had an armor plate on it. Rapi nodded, then showed the symbol of the UNSC painted onto said shoulder, the eagle holding the globe with the ribbon below. The sniper nodded in approval, smirking, then asked, "Does that mean the new rifle they handed me when I woke up is also theirs? Apparently it's supposed to be like a railgun or something."
"The Stanchion," Rapi nodded, "It's becoming more ubiquitous and replacing the SRS-99 snipers they're used to, but it packs a lot bigger a punch. You'll probably see it when we're deployed in combat, seeing as there's an upcoming operation to take down a Heretic," which caused the girl ahead of her to blank. She reassured her next, "Relax. With the Commander and Chief, plus all the other assets… We should be fine."
Rio nodded, then said, "Alright, well, it sure looks better than your old kit, though. A bodysuit and a weapon that looked almost like the unholy lovechild between a generic sci-fi rifle and something coming out of a psychotic gun manufacturer's wet dreams," and scratched her cheek. She loved Elysion for producing some quality MP Dolls and guns, but that rifle was…
"Yeah, the Elysion buyout of Kel-Tec rendered some… Interesting results for MP firearms, " Her friend stated rather calmly. Rio let out a hearty laugh at that, which caused Rapi to carry on, "But now, we have Misriah Armories. Producing Humanity's defenses, one firearm at a time," and she tapped the pistol on her hip.
Rio grinned and began exaggerating her voice a little, "Woooow. They really should pay you for the free advertising! You almost had me convinced to buy a gun!" before she saw Rapi crack a smile. They both started laughing together. Rio shook her head as the laughter slowly died down, smiling still, then asked, "... What the hell happened to Syuen, by the way?"
Rapi breathed a sigh, shaking her head, then said, "Like Icarus, she flew a little too close to the sun. Did some experiments that didn't work so well and did just about enough to annoy the Lucky Strikes' commander to the point his own personal AI, Cortana, gathered enough dirt to convict her… Plus her Coup attempt that the UNSC countered. She's an MP Nikke now."
The Sniper almost choked on her spit at that, looking at Rapi with wide eyes and a grin, "You're shitting me ! She tried to Coup the Central Government and got her ass handed to her?!" then she got a nod from Rapi. She laughed loudly, covering her mouth and speaking through the laughs, "Haha! Guess that's-hah… That's why there was a government change… Heheh…"
"Yes. You'll find footage of the Coup on the ArkNet if you want to see it," The girl offered.
With that, Rio chuckled and said, "First thing I'm looking up when I'm back in our dorm…" before she saw Rapi pause. Then, she remembered that Rapi had pretty much bolted out of the place with Rio hot on her tail and the others relatively farther behind, probably searching for them. And Rapi didn't seem all that comfortable.
The executive officer of the Counters(meaning Rio's new second Boss and old friend), sighed and said, "I'm… Not ready to tell them what happened. Any part of it. You and Wendi, or any of my previous units… I don't…" and she paused as her friend gave her a nod and clapped a hand down on her shoulder. She tilted her head to Rapi as if to tell her to decide what she wants. The girl sighed, then said, "Basic lie of omission, then. We were in a squad together, got separated and both of us thought the other died. I got reassigned and you were stuck in Missilis care until recently…"
"Works for me," Rio chuckled, then sighed and said, "You don't seem to happy about it, though."
The girl nodded, "I hate lying. To them… To the Commander," as she started gently straightening out her hair. The Sniper saw that look in Rapi's eyes. A look usually reserved when speaking of someone one cared about in more than just the standard fashion. Noticing the confusion that appeared on Rio's face, Rapi explained, "He's been commanding us for… A long time."
"He any good?" Rio asked, leaning her chin on her hand.
Rapi smiled, eyes slightly narrowing as she suddenly found the floor very interesting. Her face glowed a little red as she replied, "Honestly… Possibly the best Commander any Nikke could ask for. He's one of the reasons the UNSC is on our side now. One of the reasons we have all the rights we do… I'm pretty sure we got voting rights thanks to him and the UNSC. And he underwent a presumably dangerous surgery to be able to fight better by our side."
"... Damn, alright," Rio snorted, "I guess I'm sold on the guy. That surgery'd also explain some of the non-combat scars," then she took a moment to think about other questions, "Other than the whole savior shtick, how is he as a person? I mean, there's gotta be more to him than his ability to command you and your other three buddies if he's got you cracking smiles. "
"He's a wonderful person," Rapi nodded, "Trust me, you'll get to know him as we go…. Speaking of," and she extended a hand, "Welcome to the Counters, Product-08-91. Try to behave and not punch anyone. While the Rehabilitation Center today isn't used for simple misbehaving Nikkes anymore, I'd still rather keep some degree of order in the squad."
Rio laughed again, stating, "You know me too well, there, 'Boss'," before she nodded and shook her hand, stating, "I'll try my best to behave with the team, but I will defend myself, just as an FYI," before pausing as she heard the thump of running feet. She spoke, "And hey, they just found us. Or it sounds like it… Time to meet the squad?"
"Yes," Rapi nodded, standing up with her friend. They had a decision made about talking to the Commander and the others about Rapi's reaction. As they descended the stairwell, they were met by the Commander and the four other members of the Counters. It didn't take too long for for Rio to be able to pick out the former CEO Of Missilis from the team. When she did, she let out a snort.
Syuen, to her credit, just rolled her eyes, arms crossed. The Commander, meanwhile, walked over to Rapi and asked her, "Are you alright?"
His XO nodded, smiling, then said, "I'm fine, Commander. Sorry for the outburst, but…"
"Let's just say we didn't really expect to see each-other," Rio quipped with a smile, crossing her arms to her chest. The confusion in his and the other four's eyes and Rapi's own nod of approval toward the Sniper allowed her to continue, explaining, "I and Rapi were in a team before she became a member of Absolute. Skull Head, like I told the Commander. Surface Combat team. We had a rough mission and got separated, to the point both of us thought the other was dead. I did get severely damaged to the point of a nasty coma, but I'm back now. You can imagine our surprise, reuniting a couple years later…"
"Oh," The rest of the team let out, though Rio could tell the bullshit excuse wasn't really believed by the Commander, considering the glint in his eyes. He was a smart one, Rio thought, she had to give him that much. It meant that it was gonna be just that slight bit tougher to keep up the facade… Unless he decided not to say a damn thing about it.
He, much to his credit, did in fact not say anything, simply casting a glance at Rapi that told her he knew that was bogus. She sighed, but he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, reassuring her that he'd wait for her to tell him the truth. At that, she perked up and smiled, nodding, while Anis and Neon seemed confused, Stella chuckled and Syuen rolled her eyes.
"Right," The man nodded, then said, "Chief just sent a ping to tell me he's on his way over with the squad. They got the thing Pinne was searching for and confirmed what the Forerunner drones told us… Pinne's a revival," and crossed his arms to his chest. The rest of the crew went bug-eyed at that, with Rapi casting a quick glance that spelled 'I told you so' to Rio.
Rio herself hummed, shrugged and said, "Gonna be fun, I guess, meeting the other squad we're operating with, right?"
"Yeah…" Rapi nodded, then blanked and asked, "Does anyone remember what Rusty's doing right now, by the way?"
"She's working with Commander Keyes and the REDGUNS," Alyosha replied, smiling, "I sent a message to check on them a while back and Elysion's little side PMC is actually doing quite well as a security contractor for various high-level meetups in the Ark. With Miranda in the lead, they're actually doing a bit of Humanitarian stuff, too."
Anis nodded, "I actually wanted to go check out the Outer Rim before we hit the road again," then she paused as she heard the thundering footsteps of their buddies coming in. Turning their heads, they saw Chief approaching with Lucky Strike, the Spartan himself noticing the new arrival and nodding to her. Rio let out a low whistle.
She whispered to Rapi, "That's the commander of the Luckies, then?" only to get an affirmative hum from her friend. She grinned and spoke, "If that's how your Commander looks in armor, too…" then she looked past the man and saw his fireteam of Nikkes, noting almost all of them were very much Mass Production models.
Well, he also had taste in terms of squadmates, she thought…
The Ark
… Not all of Chief's companions were currently present in the Outpost, however. Many Spartans had been deployed as forward scouts and/or combat officers on the Surface. Some had even been assigned their own Squads. One team that hadn't left the Ark quite yet, however, was currently on a mission for High Command and Captain Dare. Well, one of them.
Noble Team, who had until recently been under the direct command of Cutter and the rest of the NUEG, had now deployed to the Ark's outskirts, nearby an old, abandoned factory whose rising smokestacks poked all the way through the rocks above, through old air shafts meant to let the smoke escape freely.
The abandoned industrial park was a concrete and steel jungle, meant to only act as a meeting spot for dangerous crooks and hostile elements as of recently. Farther up the boulevard from it, the slow expansion of the UNSC's outreach programs was already working its magic, with the slums slowly and quietly vanishing as habitation blocks, farms and a flash-cloning facility meant to clone meat for consumption were being built.
The UNSC fully intended to give the Ark access to a steady food supply, though flash-cloning edible meat was still a foreign concept. The facility was going to be a testing site, a laboratory where the food could be tested away from prying eyes without so much as causing damage to the local population. For that, though, the UNSC also needed to make sure possible hostile actors wouldn't engage in anything.
Which meant meeting three specific people. Two were part of a squad that was at this location right now, a squad of Nikkes known as 'Perilous Siege', once the shadow-clad arm of the Central Government's counter-intelligence machine. Now, they operated under ONI, just like Noble and Alpha-9.
Carter led the team forward into the meeting place, pushing past broken doors and glass shards from the shattered windows above and into the compound of rusted steel pipes and disassembled machinery. The remnants of vagrancy were visible, too, with abandoned floor mats made of cardboard and discarded Splendamin containers strewn about.
Pushing past the abandoned impromptu settlement, Jorge commented, "No surprise and yet it's still depressing…"
"Cheer up, big man," Emile spoke, scanning an opening with his shotgun, VISR system online as they trudged through the darkness. He told the gunner and Spartan-II of the team, "The Homeless shelter Missilis Medical set up has people from all across this area, meanin' that whoever's been living in this shithole is probably there, getting fed proper food."
Kat replied to that with, "Thank the maker Halsey took over. Can't imagine the kind of experiments Missilis would've been doing on the Homeless otherwise," before joking in a lower voice, "At least this way, we know she's only doing state-approved things to them," though that wasn't really a problem. Health inspections were mandatory and made once every two weeks.
"Cut the chatter, Noble," Carter interceded, then raised a balled fist and showed the team to scatter into cover. Lowering his rifle as his Motion Tracker blipped with two friendly contacts dead ahead, he whistled an agreed-upon three-note tune to let them know they were friendly. The response came soon after, before two slim, female figures dropped down ahead of them.
As they approached and entered the proper range of the VISR systems' green light, their glowing eyes shined through as their own NV systems were active. The two women were as strange as they were polar opposites. One was a calm-looking, red-eyed girl with a black hood, black undersuit and ammunition for her assault weapon, a bullpup design that seemed familiar, if not closely resembling a bulkier variant of the top-loaded M20 PDW, with strange muzzle attachment. She also had folding Tomahawk axes clipped to her thigh belts.
Her friend beside her was strange, messy-haired with gradient hair that ranged from black at the top of her head to white at the edges. She wore bright orange with the black and carried what looked like two SMGs of a similar make, but with blade attachments at the front. Lowering his rifle, the Commander spoke, "Perilous Siege?"
"That's us," The one with the single PDW replied, approaching, "Noble Team?"
"Affirmative," Carter replied calmly, "We were supposed to meet much earlier."
"We were on a mission," The woman replied, "One that you're supposedly joining us for now," and she looked to the giddy girl to her left, telling her, "Calm down, K. We'll get this job done and then we'll return to the Outpost," before looking at the Commander again. She introduced herself, "I'm D. This is K…"
"Commander Carter, Noble One. We've got Kat, Noble Two, Jun, Three, Emile and Jorge, Four and Five and Thom and Rosenda, Seven and Eight," Carter told them two, pointing at each member, with each of them giving a personalized response, like Jun giving a nod, Jorge waving, Thom and Rosenda both just looking back and Emile letting out a short laugh. He then asked them, "Have you found any leads on HVT DEVIL?"
"A few," D answered, examining each of Noble's members while K spun her weapon around on her finger, a smirk on her face. D stated, "With you around, they'll be easier to pursue… I'm sort of surprised we're hunting a former Chief Deputy, though. You'd think they wanted him brought forth for a trial instead of direct execution like this."
"Better to nip a problem in the bud. We have intel also linking Chief Deputy Dhoban to some of the worst escaped cons, Team Exotic," Carter spoke. He lifted up a hologram transmitter and hit the display button, showing the trio of fugitive Nikkes and telling the two, "They gave Missilis scanners the slip. And I don't think they much like the change of winds in the Ark."
"They'll like it even less now that Andersen decided to send us in," K commented, her grin remaining, "You just hep us find Dhoban and Exotic and you'll see why Perilous Siege is the best in the business," which was all the team needed, honestly. Carter gave a nod, shutting off the holographic transmitter and rallying up his team.
They were going on a hunt…