A Ghostly Encounter

[Artoria Pendragon]

“This is unacceptable! A mistake like this should’ve never happened!” boomed a voice akin to an erupting volcano. “The Alpha squad is dead, the target yet evades us, and you’ve brought me the wrong woman!” It seemed as if there was no end to his outburst, the voice echoing back from the metallic walls of his office, only serving to intimidate his audience more. The man seemed to dwarf out anything and anyone within the room, his chiseled muscles tensing visibly below the tailored green uniform. Studded upon his chest the man donned his golden medals of servitude and honor with pride unseen before.

“Sir, sh-she fit the parameters of the target! The A-alpha squad didn’t respond to our radio calls, so we a-acted as if they’d succeeded and paid the ultimate price for it!” Whoever dared to speak up lacked confidence, their ill fitting uniform trembling as their voice quaked with fear, as a trickle of sweat ran down their forehead, knees buckling as the dread of death loomed heavy on their shoulders. 

“Th-the data has not fallen into the wrong hands, i-it was wiped and destroyed!” he attempted to convince as best as he could, his shaking only growing more visible and nearing something unbearable. “A-and besides, sh-she looks the part! W-we can use her, c-certainly! J-just co-commence the memory wipe operation, a-and m-make her fit the part!” he claimed, not once lifting his gaze, that licked the floor, mayhap attempting open a hole that he could have disappeared into.

A silence settled upon the room, broken only by the shuffling sound of a dreaded man shaking within his clothes.

“And what exactly makes you think that we can use her, Captain Copeland?” The voice, while no longer raised, loomed over captain Copeland akin to a cobra that was ready to strike at the slightest of mistakes in his response. “What exactly is it, that makes you think, that she is of any use to us, compared to the target?” Poison dripped from the cobra’s fangs, already gracing the captain’s flesh, ready to strike.

“C-colonel Sturgill, s-she fits the profile of an imperial a-agent! We c-could use her to infiltrate the Empire from within! Sh-she w-would have to st-start from relatively l-low, but given time, we could u-use her, Colonel!”

Slowly the pressure upon the captain lifted, his visage twisted into an expression of horror, like he would vomit the moment he would leave the office. “I b-believe D-doctor Rivera and their memory treatments w-would allow us to slowly gain momentum within the Empire! W-we s-simply need to proceed as pl-planned o-originally.”

“Captain Copeland. Out.” bellowed Sturgill, sending the waste of a man stumbling for the door, his sweaty hands staining the doorknob with his filth as he slinked out like a worm. Rummaging for the bottle of whiskey stored within the drawers of his desk, the General bothered not to pour it out instead opting for a swig as his eyes sought the various paintings on the walls. His thick fingers pushing the buttons of the communications device upon his desk, as the man spoke out. “Erika, inform Doctor Rivera, that they are to proceed as planned, as soon as possible.” he stated, before cutting the transmission.

[Artoria Pendragon]

“Log #7465. Classification level: Secret. Date and Time; available in the timestamp at the beginning of the log. Operator: Doctor Amanda Rivera.” a female listed into some kind of a voice recorder within an overseeing room of sorts. Taking a sip off of her coffee, she glanced at the dozens of monitors littered the walls around her, showing different camera feeds of a room somewhere else.

The feeds displayed a very bland room with its dull reinforced durasteel walls and lack of furniture. The room was boring in all senses of the word, designed to have absolutely nothing aside the necessary. The walls littered by dull, colourless robotic arms built to serve their purpose and nothing more. In the middle of the room sat an operating table lathered with multiple braces for tying down the unfortunate victim given into their caress.  The tech in the room might have been the best they had, but it didn’t look the part.

The cameras zoomed in upon the captive; an attractive blonde woman in her early twenties dressed in a very basic medical gown. Her head lolling to the side, she was unconscious, maybe dead. Around her, the room bloomed to life as the servos whirred and engines buzzed, pulling the arms as the concealed operator commanded.

“Initiating memory wipe protocol 3475.” the woman spoke into the microphone, her voice stable and calm, as if logging to such a machine was a daily procedure. “Following the wipe, the patient shall have the standard forty eight hour resting period. After expiration, the patient will be reprogrammed using the standard protocol 8361 and its associated reprogramming methods.”

Within the confines of the operation room, the robotic arms placed a mask upon the woman, before another came along, jabbing her with a painfully sized needle into her arm. Jerking as whatever within entered her bloodstream, the patient trashed against her bonds to the best of her ability, the skin of her wrists bruising against the rough cuffs. Of course, despite her best attempts, the cuffs were more than enough to hold her down in whatever drug-hazed state she might have been in. Slowly, the resistance was quelled and the patient fell lifeless once more.

“Resistance as expected, subdued. Standard memory wipe 3475 taking place over the next twelve hours.” the proclaimed doctor narrated, before sipping her coffee once more.

Meanwhile, a dreadfully sour text blinked upon the monitor.

Subject incompatible with memory wipe techniques. Terminating program. 

Upon taking notice of it, the poor woman spat her coffee all over the control interface, as her hand sought out the transmission button and cut it, initiating a call outside. “Get the patient into a cell. The system claims she’s incompatible! We need more time for research.”

Once Colonel Sturgill heard of this, Copeland would be in trouble.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Nova’s eyes sprung open, a hand quickly seeking to shield her eyes from the brightness, whilst the other pushed her upright into a sitting position. The girl’s blonde hair flowed freely upon her shoulders as she rose, no longer tied into the tightly woven ponytail that she oft used to wear. Contrasting her fair skin, a simple gray medical robe hung upon her body, brushing  against her knees as it swung from her motions. The ghost’s green eyes darted from corner to corner, the lack of an entry point became apparent; the durasteel walls that surrounded her were barren. Lacking furniture, there was naught but the the bunk she sat upon.

As her feet lowered onto the ground Nova sprung onto her feet with the garb swaying along her motions. Her gaze lifted upward, the ceiling embedded with a single light, and naught more.

Wrong.

Something was wrong. 

As the psychic attempted to reach out around her, she couldn’t sense anything. As if her consciousness was locked within her body, the telepathic connection to her surroundings, severed. With her psionic abilities unavailable, the Terran felt truly naked. If it had been a normal situation, Nova would’ve been through the roof, the silence was exhilarating. She didn’t want to know everything everyone thought, polar opposite. What people oft thought was disgusting at best. But given her captivity, she couldn’t help but to feel a pang of hope in her chest, craving for the power to break herself free, and gain information of her whereabouts and condition. After all, had she had access to her telekinesis, Nova would have probably attempted to tear down the surrounding walls, but as it was, such wasn’t an option.

With quick introspection, Nova deemed that the lack of psionic abilities was the only downside she was currently facing, aside the captivity and complete lack of equipment at hand. For now, the operative was stuck within the steel box, with no apparent escape in sight.

A feeling of familiarity crept upon the operative’s mind as she sat back down. Before her, she could see the waning image of Doctor Shaw. As the world before her eyes faded, she found herself strapped onto a medical table, a needle stuck into her arm. The machine it was attached to, ready to pump her full of drugs that would have left her paralyzed and suppressed her psychic powers. The Ghost could remember the dread she had felt, the desperate need to save Mal Kelerchian, the man that had once recruited her to the Ghost Program. Desperation cracked through her mind like a thunder as the memory of how Shaw had intended to accidentally kill her as he was removing her Neural Inhibitor resurfaced in her mind.

Forcing herself to snap out of it, the former Ghost took a deep breath to calm herself mentally. As the spectres of her past shattered for the moment, further inspection over her own body only strengthened her assumption about her situation. Given the bruises on her ankles and wrists, as well as the needle pricks she’d found upon her skin, the agent confirmed her assumption drew a conclusion; she was being held captive. By whom or for what ends, she couldn’t know.. Nova knew she would’ve been able to find out more had she been able to use her powers, but as it was she had naught to do, but to wait for an opportunity to surface.

She was Nova Terra, Agent X41822N of the Terran Dominion, a Ghost. Special operative, the best weapon the Dominion had at their disposal and even without all her equipment and powers, she wouldn’t be contained for long.

[Undyne]

Ghost was about to exit the turn-in point for imperial bounties when a shady figure stepped in their way in the hallway. They were dressed in a manner oddly reminding of Ghost themselves: big sand-colored clothes that served as camouflage and to ward off heat at the same time, with goggles and a piece of cloth over their eyes and mouth and gloves and boots concealing every remaining shred of skin. However, unlike Ghost, they were not out to conceal their identity, but to protect themselves from sandstorms and the desert heat. With no voice modifier or similar tech the first word spoken revealed them to be a woman. "You are ze one zat calls 'imself Ghost, yes?" she asked with a heavy french accent.

"I refer to myself as that, yes", Ghost replied, ignoring the gender pronoun. Let her think that they were a man if that made her any more comfortable.

"Merveilleux. I vould need your services, monsieur, your unique... talents."

"I do not take direct offers. I only pursue open bounties." Ghost tried to walk around the woman but she moved to block his way.

"Please, hear me out first. I 'ave been vaiting for you for a vile now. It vill not take long, I promise."

"... you have five minutes, and not in here." No reason to stay in a location where other bounty hunters came and went every hour. If one of them caught wind of their speech they may decide to pursue Ghost and beat them to it. Or worse, snatch their proof of the deed to claim the credit. When the woman did not object Ghost walked back to where they had left the Speeder. While speaking with the woman, they pushed it to a close gas station to recharge its batteries.

"Zere are some... annoying individuals 'ere in ze Endless Dunes who are causing trouble. Zey are but a bothersome mouche in ze face of ze mighty aigle zat is ze Empire, of course, but lately zey 'ave been getting bolder. Zey captured two of our men on patrol, one of vich met an unfortunate end shortly after - ve found 'is body in ze sand recently. But ze other, ve 'ave reason to believe zat he is still alive. Ze problem is, he is 'eld prisoner."

"And you need me to break him out, or at least confirm that he is dead."

"Oui."

"If you work for the Empire, why don't you send Stormtroopers, or elite infiltration units?"

"Stormtroopers vuld be a very bad idea, monsieur!", the woman exclaimed. "Zey vuld see us coming and hold our man hostage, or escape through secret escape routes. As for infiltration units... vell, ve 'ave nobody zat we can really trust."

Ghost shook their head. "Miss, be honest. These two men were not just peacekeepers that were caught, which you could write off. I imagine that they are researchers or scientists with very important knowledge. Knowledge that you cannot risk to lose. An imperial infiltrator would draw the suspicion onto that particular individual should they be discovered, whereas someone without clear affiliation such as myself could be there to steal any document or free any prisoner."

"You are... correct", the woman admitted after a moment. "Ze truth remains 'owever, zat we need you to break in as stealthily as possible, and zere are few bounty hunters zat stand up to you in zat regard. In addition, your weapons of choice..."

"... would put the prisoner less at risk of dying to a stray bullet. I understand."

"Vell! Vuld you be interested in zis job?"

"A special job requires special payment, Miss. Not to mention, you have yet to provide me with any details on the location and whom you believe I would encounter."

"Ze payment is more zan adequate, monsieur, paid out in Imperial Credits." She named a number that was 'more than adequate' indeed. "Details I vuld prefer to divulge only if you are interested."

Ghost shrugged. "Okay. Tell me then."

"You are interested?"

"Yes."

"Vell! If you vuld let me upload..."

"No. I do not accept direct file transfer... please project the images and text using a holocron if you have one, otherwise I know a Café here in Carrefore that would..."

The woman interrupted him as she pulled out a small cube from her sleeve. "I 'ave one. But, you are too paranoid, monsieur Ghost, you know zat? Ze Empire is not your enemy."

Ghost simply shrugged. "Other bounty hunters aren't my enemies either and yet they wouldn't think twice about backstabbing me over a handful of credits. Don’t take it personal, Miss, but I prefer to be paranoid and stay alive. In my line of work it’s not as easy to do so.”

The woman shrugged as she projected various images and text documents onto a nearby housewall, using their bodies to cover it from passing civilians. Ghost’s sensors photographed the data as it scrolled through and compiled it into files. The whole process took only a few seconds. “Ze turn-in point vuld be ‘ere, in Carrefore”, she added as she packed the cube away again.

“Understood. When should I set out?”

“Immediately! Zis is of la plus haute priorité, monsieur! Every hour zat he is left ‘is capturers are more likely to get what zey need and dispose of ‘im. Ve cannot allow for zat to ‘appen!”

“In that case I’ll set out immediately. Should any additional info be required, please contact me in the next...” They ran a quick check of the map data. “... the next hour. After that I will initiate radio silence until I am finished.” They paid for the battery recharge with a few coins inserted into the station, then climbed onto the Speeder. “Ghost out.”

“Oui, I vill be sure to inform you. Goodbye, monsieur.”



Exactly an hour later, Ghost turned off the comms on their helmet. They had arrived at their destination a few minutes ago and taken the time to scout out the surprisingly unguarded entrance. This facility relied not on man- and firepower to defend itself, but on stealth, being built underground and with large rocky outcrops acting as a roof over the entrance, covered with sand to make them indistinguishable from the surrounding dunes unless someone came very close. In this sea of sand it was the figurative needle in a haystack, even if the Empire used planes, drones or satellites for aerial mapping.

The Speeder was covered by a blanket that, much like Ghost’s own suit, was colored like a dark brown rock, making it look like a boulder among dozens of others, just in case that someone had the idea of going for a breath of fresh air or took a look around the perimeter. In Ghost’s case, the dark brown would conceal them during their approach and later provide cover in the darkness. No doubt did the facility have guards and cameras... the first priority was to find maps and to discover where the man in question was being held. The second was to set up the field for a quiet approach, without raising suspicion that there was an intruder. In other words, a blackout. Ghost couldn’t afford to put too many guards to sleep or to shoot out the cameras as that would raise suspicion very quickly. At least on the way in.

After several minutes of verifying the entrance for guards through the scope of their rifle, Ghost rolled up, pretended to be a rock rolling down the slope towards the facility, and ended up slightly off to the right of it. Out of sight of the automatically turning camera... from there they timed their approach to sneak past it, and unscrewed the grid blocking the entrance to a small ventilation shaft. Waltzing in through the main entrance would be far too risky... but in a place like this, ventilation was sorely needed considering that the facility was underground and the shafts were the only way to get in fresh air. There probably were other shafts all around, concealed amidst the rocks and the sand, but the necessity made them large and spacious enough to fit through - barely.

And here came the time for another of Ghost’s little toys, developed for imperial security-guard droids, acquired on Coruscant’s black market and refitted to their purpose: sound amplifying microphones deployed on thin portable cords. As soon as Ghost came up to another grid above their head they slid the microphone between the bars, just enough to pick up that there was breathing coming from the room. There were two, maybe three or four people in there. And from the echo sounds it was a widely open room. Better not go out here.

The next attempt was luckier already: it turned out to be a small side room storing all manner of cleaning utensils as well as a large ventilator that blew air through the shafts. Ghost unscrewed the grid and carefully climbed into the room after assuring themselves that nobody was around, then passed the microphone beneath the door and peeked through the keyhole. A corridor with nobody in sight... very good. Unfortunately there was no electronic interface around, so the search had to go on.

This approach went on for a while, though the upmost level was almost void of personnel. The guard or guards at the entrance were the only people besides a janitor that Ghost ‘met’. The more important areas were further down. But finally Ghost found what they’d been searching: a maintenance room with network components for the electronic devices of the facility. With physical access to the interfaces even the decent security measures put in place by the ‘annoying individuals’ as the woman had described them - rebels or well-organized bandits, Ghost assumed - only slowed them before they got the required access. Floor plans and other relevant data were swiftly extracted and everything was put back in place, leaving just a tiny software behind: a backdoor in case that Ghost needed to access the network again during their hopefully brief stay. Staying asleep until needed, it would likely be hard enough to detect that nobody would notice it too early. And if someone DID detect it that early, they would have noticed Ghost’s intrusions at this point anyway.

With the floor plans zooming over the inside of their goggles finding the right way was a breeze. The right way towards the electric maintenance room with the fuse boxes. Of course, blowing these fuses would just have caused a blackout on this level, maybe on the one below, but that would not have helped much. Instead Ghost did the exact opposite: by rearranging a few cables and preventing the fuses from going out they created an electric overload over the course of a minute which eventually resulted in one of the main cables melting. Everything went dark after that, except for a few alarms running on emergency generators which blared through the corridors, and after a handful of seconds the emergency lights, a dim lighting which did little more than to prevent people from running into walls.

The entire facility would be without electricity until someone turned out the secondary emergency generators, and even those wouldn’t cover everything. Likely the ventilation systems and perhaps a few more lights to allow everyone to escape, but the security systems? Not those. Of course, it would just be a matter of time - of hours at best - before someone found the faulty cable and repaired it. Ghost needed to be done by then.

With the sniper rifle being too high-powered for indoors, they readied their crossbow, checked that a sleeper dart was loaded in, then turned their goggles to infra-red night-vision mode and snuck out through the door.

Ghost protocol was initiated.

Aigle = Eagle
La plus haute priorité = (of) the highest priority
Merveilleux = Wonderful
Monsieur = Sir/Mister
Mouche = Fly (the insect)
Oui = Yes

[Artoria Pendragon]

Teeping = Telepathy powers. 
Teeking = Telekinesis powers.

The engines wheezed and whirred, winching open the heavy durasteel door, designed to withhold against even explosives. Nova snapped to awareness and spun around upon the sound, gazing at the doorway.

Empty.

The Ghost lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly. If it was a test she couldn’t tell. Nova found herself hoping that the blissful silence apparated, if even for a moment to allow her to sense just what was going on outside of the cell. Experience gnawing at the back of her head she knew better than to get herself shot by walking out of the room before assessing the situation.

As the operative crept toward her ticket to freedom her every movement laced with experience honed caution, the telltale sounds of bullets began to echo in the halls. Realizing that the opportunity she had been waiting for had come, the former captive sprung to action.

Sprinting to the doorway, Nova slipped past it, ensuring that her freedom would not be cut short by an emergency lockdown of the cell doors, even as she flattened herself against the wall. Her eyes scanning for her surroundings, the Terran found herself standing upon an elevated walkway that circled around the building, overlooking what seemed to be cell doors on both the lower, and upper levels.

Something, or someone had sprung the cell doors open and created a mass panic within the facility as the guards struggled to contain all of the prisoners flowing out of their cells. Her eyes caught the elevators, the lights above them indicating that there were more floors above her; it only made sense that the cell block was in the deepest one. Near the elevators, she saw her goal; a vent into a ventilation shaft.

The main conflict raged down at the lower floor, a writhing mess of prisoners and guards. One side attempting to contain, whilst the other fought for their lives, their freedom. Such was the perfect mess to buy her time as the Ghost sprinted toward the vent. Her blonde hair flew in her wake, the medical robe hindering her gallant stride ever so annoyingly. A mistake she had made, not ripping the sides open from the get-go. A mental note, that one was never above failures was made.

Just as she slid to a halt before the elevators and the ventilation grill, the elevator doors began to slide open, revealing three men wearing uniforms and armed with what Nova could only perceive to be batons of some kind. They were clearly sent as reinforcements, much to Nova’s chagrin, she was the first in line against the approaching trio.

“Stand down!” the guard called as he stepped out of the elevator, his baton raised in and ready to strike. “I’m warning you! We’re authorized to use lethal force!” his voice shuddered ever so slightly. The guard was young, maybe twenty five from what Nova could tell by his appearance, and the inexperience of combat shone from him. His brown hair  Behind him stood two more carved of the same wood. Perhaps they’d been just admitted here, or maybe they were still in their training period,

“Where am I?” Nova questioned, her voice rang cold as she spoke, her arms and feet moved into stance, as she prepared for combat to come. In a sense, she was happy that her teeping was gone for now, the cacophony of thoughts, deaths and insanity would’ve likely hampered her concentration greatly. Thinking about it, the woman admitted that it could’ve even subdued her from acting at all. It was something that reminded her of how someone had once leveraged a bunch of drug addicts into subduing her through simple mental-overwhelming.

“That...is something I cannot tell you.” he stated, a hint of sadness in his voice as he extended a nod to his companions. And so, the trio charged forth with their batons raised. Their forms were hardly optimal; out of balance. As the first one reached Nova, all his might turned against him as she grasped him by the arm, his body betrayed by its own kinetic energy, sent tumbling behind her as the baton exchanged hands. Normally, Nova would’ve simply teeked the baton swing aimed at her to miss, she’d almost relied on it, bringing her own baton up just ever so slightly late, the baton smashing onto the back of her hand. Grunting from pain, the baton slipped from her hand, but not before a fist connected into his nose, the telltale sound of cracking bone filling the air as his face seemed to disintegrate, shattering bone by bone. The man fell backwards, crashing onto the ground, even as Nova struggled to comprehend the force of her strike.

Taken aback, she opted to swipe the legs of the third one, sending him tumbling backwards, off balance. The Ghost spun, delivering a swift kick to his chest. Instantly, she regretted it as she could feel the bones crackling under her feet, likely collapsing his ribs before plunging into the writhing mass of blood and carnage below.. 

I’m not wearing my suit to enhance my strength, yet those strike.. How? Nova contemplated as she worked the vent grill. Despite how little time her confrontation with the guards had taken, there were about to be more, judging by how the elevator was already on its way back up.

Finally Nova was able to pull open the grill, sliding swiftly into the vent, pulling the protective grill back into place as she went.

She was undetected, for now, the psychic thought as she crawled into the darkness.

[Artoria Pendragon]

The oppressive darkness instilled its choking grip upon her as Nova crawled within the air vent, her senses torn away from her one by one. Would that she could, the psychic would have relied upon her telepathic abilities in feeling her way forward. On the other hand, the silence around her was what had allowed her to escape in the first place. It was, in a sense oddly calming and unnerving at the same time. As much as she had always desired for the total silence and loved the psi-screens that blocked her from the outside world, she also realized she’d learnt to rely on them when it came to operating on missions. Wanted to or not, the agent was forced to resort to the slow agonizing crawl, as she quietly felt her way forward with her hands.

Too many times had she already reached a dead end, having taken the a turn in the endless maze of tunnels that led to naught but a dead end. An odd sense of familiarity swept through her, during the mission where she had saved Kelerchian, she had crept through fairly similar air vents. Of course, back then she had had all of the gear that made such an expedition much easier. Oh what she would’ve given for a ghost suit and the ever so informative visor.

Despite her vast experience, the darkness of the tunnels was unsettling at best, and it was only the endless hours of training and experience that suppressed the seeds of panic that welled somewhere deep within her, buried away by the sheer amount of conditioning. A sense of impatience welled within, navigating the labyrinth with naught but a medical garb, her knees and elbows bruised.

--------------

A map drawn within her head, the operative stopped within the vent, having arrived at a four way  intersection of tunnels that she now returned to for the third time. There was only one direction Nova hadn’t already been to, a smidge of annoyance boiling within her. If she’d had her powers, she would’ve just mapped the entire building, without the need for personal reconnaissance. Of course, she would’ve also ended up unable to move on the floor of her cell.

Of course, within the tunnels, she’d occasionally passed above rooms, the sounds of fighting still to be heard from the distance, the alarms blaring. She had sought for a way upward for the entirety of her time within the darkness. As she slid through the intersection into the fourth and final unvisited passage.

As she crawled the constantly elevating pipeline, Nova waved her way through what she perceived to be spiderwebs. The girl cursed within her mind, hoping that whoevers home she had just so cruelly disturbed, would not be of a poisonous variety, potentially leaving her to rot in the tight metal tube. Ironically, such would have contaminated the entire facility’s air quality, which gave her a faint sense of amusement.

Light glittered into the darkness as Nova reached the apex of the ascending tunnel, slowing down her advancement until she reached the grills that allowed her to peer into the room below her. The room itself had no one in it, outfitted with a desk and a chair, the latter lined with fabric, as well as a few monitors across the walls, as well as a few bookcases. Through the window on the door, Nova could just barely catch a sign hanging from the ceiling labeled “Armo--”.

Armory, now if only I knew where the exit was.. Nova lamented, the sign only so-and-so visible from her hidden vantage point. But, given she hadn’t the freedom of direction, the operative crawled forth into the darkness once more.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Her eyes scanned the walls of the room below, weapons of all types and varieties mounted upon the walls. Most of which, Nova had never seen in her life before. Suits of combat gear and varieties of body armour, gloves, boots and helmets that utilized designs she wasn’t familiar with. She half-expected a radio to blare into her ear, Reigel’s voice requesting that she’d bring something oddly specific from within, for his scientific purposes.

The ghost knew not how long she had been prowling her way through the dusty ventilation system in search of this. It was the last place the operative had inched her way to, even the way to the next floor mapped within her mind by now.

As her eyes roamed the equipment, Nova could see the familiar rifle mounted upon one of the wall mounts. It was a C20-A Canister Rifle, standard equipment for Ghosts, a rifle that was known to be extremely versatile, capable of functioning as anything from an assault to a sniper rifle, as well as a grenade launcher. The versatility was something Nova knew she could rely on, to provide her with the ability to adapt to situations of any kind.

Among the other equipment, she could see the hostile environment suit she was so accustomed to wearing, the telltale colours of white and navy blue glinting pleasantly into her eyes. next to the suit sat the armoured chest plate and shoulders, as well as the gloves and boots that were to go together with the suit.

Quietly, the operative began to work upon the mechanisms of the metallic grill. Whilst they were hardly complex, without the tools Nova had to fiddle with with her hands, causing herself more pain than she would have liked to. As the grill finally swung open Nova dropped into the room agilely as a cat, a quiet thud sounding as her bare feet landed upon the metallic floor. Still in her crouched position the operative snuck around a counter built from solid steel, as she finally reached her equipment.

Her worst fears confirmed as she investigated the equipment through on a very basic level, she already knew it would be partially damaged, to what extent, she’d only know after a scan. Whoever painbrains that had disrobed her, hadn’t had a clue on how to remove the suit nor the armour pads. Without further time to waste the medical robe was discarded, crumpled on the floor. Grasping the main form fitting bodysuit from the counter, Nova began to work it upon herself. It slid on easily enough, tightening as the advanced circuitry woven within realized it was being worn once more. The seams stretched ever so slightly as the suit settled upon her body limb by limb and the systems attempted to start themselves.

Crouched, the newly clothed agent took the medical gown into her hands once more, after all, it had one more use for its finite lifespan. The fabric tore with a satisfying rip, as the psychic worked the fabric with haste, tearing a single long shred off of it. Her hands reached for her hair, gathering the blonde locks that were stained by dirt and dust, pulling them behind her head, before neatly tying them onto the signature pony tail behind her head.

That’ll do, for now. The blonde thought to herself, as she stood up and reached for the chestplate of her armour, sliding it over her head as her arms slid through their respective holes. As the chestplate connected to the invisible circuitry upon the suit, with a quiet hiss it fastened itself down, becoming as tight as ever. 

At least they didn’t completely destroy the fastening mechanisms..yet.. Nova thought with an annoyed sigh. The shoulderplates strapped in next and already the light strips lining them indicated that the energy flow was somehow damaged with only partial lighting functional. 
Panbrains… she thought to herself as she stepped into the boots. The greaves fastened themselves upon her feet, alas Nova could notice how the left boot wasn’t quite strapping itself down properly, feeling loose upon her foot, rattling around annoyingly. 

A frustrated grunt escaping her lips as the half-geared agent pulled on the gloves along with the bracers they came with.. Neither of the bracers lighted up, painfully obvious that the computer interfaces within them would be as dead as whoever the idiots that had last touched them, if Nova ever got her hands on them. Still with a smidge of luck on her side, the equipment fastened themselves - even if loosely - upon contact with the suit. 

As she pulled the visor atop her head and the device fastened itself upon her head. Had she had the chance, she would’ve ran the systems check then and there, but she had no way of knowing how much more time did she have here undisturbed, and the feeling that her time was running out, began to settle. With a few steps, the now-geared agent reached for the rifle upon the wall, quickly checking that the scope and magazine at the very least were still there. Nova had a hunch it would not be loaded, but with the odd hunch she had, the psychic didn’t stop to argue with feelings, rushing to below the vent opening she had came from. A leap later, she hung from the ventilation shaft, pushing the rifle into the channel ahead of her, before she pulled herself up and pulled the grill shut behind her. 

With her powers rendered unusable, Nova felt extremely lucky that no one had stumbled upon her during her time in the armoury. She didn’t know who her imprisoners were, and as such she preferred to keep the violence to minimum as long as she could not read their minds to get a solid grasp of where exactly she was, and what their intentions were.

After crawling for a while, transporting the rifle ahead of herself, Nova pulled the visor down. The panbrains who did this….Idiots. the ghost pondered as a painful sight filled her vision.

Error - System Malfunction

Her finger tapped a button on the side of the visor, rows of text replacing the previous one.

Running Systems Check, Agent X41822N

• Neural Inhibitor: Online
  
• Moebius Reactor: Offline
  
• Psi-enhancement: Offline
  
• Communications Systems: Local Only
  
• Computer Systems: Offline/Damaged
  
• Cloaking Systems: Offline/Damaged
  
• Physical Enhancement Systems: Offline/Damaged
  
• Visor Functions: Offline/Damaged
  
• Environment Control Systems: Partially Functional/Damaged
  
• C20-A Canister Rifle: Functional
  
• Ammunition Left: 0
  

As the text scrolled by, Nova cursed the panbrains who had managed to completely desecrate the suit and the technological marvels it held within itself. As it was, her suit was about as useful as no suit, if not even less useful. Reigel will just love this, won’t he? crossed her mind, before she lifted the red flashing visor from her eyes.

As she began to crawl again, the newly equipped junkyard of a Ghost knew, she’d never live it down from Reigel.

It was time to make her exit.

[Undyne]

What neither Nova nor Ghost knew was that Ghost was in the room exactly above Nova’s. They were separated only by a handful of metal plates and insulation forming a floor and ceiling. As Nova donned her Ghost suit and prepared to climb to level 1 where the exit was, Ghost was navigating the maze downwards to level 3 where the holding cells were. Not that they knew that, but with the uppermost level being completely void of anything resembling a prison block it was easy to guess that the facility had to have more levels down. It was built like a bunker, except with a very different purpose.

With the electricity down a lot of doors had unlocked themselves, to allow personnel to escape without getting stuck behind locked gates with powerless keypads or other types of electronic locks. Only mechanic doors - those opened with the traditional key with barbs, inserted and turned inside a lock - were still functional and posed obstacles. Ghost’s initial surprise turned to joy at this, as it would save them a lot of hacking. They had expected the electronic locks to be outfitted with backup power supplies to lock down areas, but only localized access, not network-connected, which would have made hacking them easier. This, of course, was even better.

Eventually though the easy part was over. A number of guards outfitted with heavy weaponry and armor had set up a blockade at a critical junction on the floor and were closely guarding each direction. They had deployed barricades on the ground which provided visual cover and protection from weapons with insufficient force to penetrate the steel plates. Ghost could not even consider that option with their weapons. As if that wasn’t enough they had a mounted machinegun ready to shred anyone that got into its crosshairs in half a second. Brute force would not work here. It was a good thing that Ghost had never been one for that anyway.

There was an elevator behind the guards which they needed to reach. There were staircases too, but those had doors with the regular kind of locks on them. The only way down was past those guards. Ghost was just wondering how to separate them when chance threw them a bone: one of the men said he needed to use the bathroom and another accompanied him, leaving two behind. They went off to one of the corridors and Ghost took a detour to catch up to them. The bathroom, eh? That would be perfect. They snuck to the men’s room and waited for the one needing to actually use the bathroom to disappear into one of the stalls, then put the other one to sleep with a dart from the crossbow using a fast-working venom, though not AG-190. With nobody here to give them an antidote they would have died, after all.

As the guard slumped to the ground and dropped his weapon his friend caught wind and, weapon ready, jumped out of the stall just as Ghost’s gas grenade detonated. He gasped with surprise then covered his nose and mouth while trying to rush for the exit and simultaneously raised his gun, but was only able to blindly fire two shots which shattered a mirror and some ceramic before the gas sent him off to dreamland as well. But the bullets attracted the other two guards who forgot about the guard post for now and rushed to the aid of their colleagues. When they arrived, Ghost was hanging from a set of pipes on the ceiling, shrouded in darkness and letting them pass, then dropped on one’s head, knocking him out with a punch to the temple and shooting the other one with their crossbow before they could react. Then they made for the elevator. The emergency power-generators handled these as well, it seemed, though only at a slowed pace.

Level two... barracks? No, Ghost decided against it and skipped straight to three. Containment area. This seemed more reasonable. Now all they had to do was find that abducted scientist and... that would prove to be far easier said than done, as Ghost realized when they were met with complete chaos as the doors of the elevator opened. They had hoped to find the keys on a guard and unlock a few cells to find the scientist and cause a little chaos, but this was a completely different scale: alarm lights were periodically flooding the room in red light, gunshots and screaming could be heard in the distance, parts of the floor were completely dark and they could see movement in the distance - escapees armed with a large piece of metal that they seemed to be about to use as a battering ram. Had the blackout somehow unlocked all the cell doors? That hadn’t been part of the plan. The otherwise so calm Ghost found themselves startled. It was better to find the target and get out fast, before the situation escalated out of control.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Deserted.

Deserted was the best way Nova had, to describe the state of the upper levels. It was blatantly obvious that the presence of guards would have been much higher in a normal situation. The jarring howl of the alarms had ceased not more than minutes ago, the ear shattering echo that bounced within the steel tunnels had left the agent’s ears ringing as her head pulsed with the dull pain of a headache. Had the computer systems of her suit been functional, she would’ve turned the sound dampening function of her visor on, shutting out the insanity inducing sound.

Her vantage point within the ventilation shafts left the operative above lobby-esque room. The room was designed as something that was as immemorable as could be. For Nova’s trained eye, it was blatantly obvious that the room was intended to function as a front for the facility beneath the ground.  A reception desk armed with a receptionist as well as a security guard nearby, the Ghost knew it wouldn’t be much of a fight.

The escapee sent a swift kick to the center of the vent grill, the metal groaning as it ripped from its hinges, sent flying onto the floor, clattering onto the floor as the sounds of metal rang. A horrified yelp drawn from the receptionist who dropped below the desk to hide, whilst her trustful aide, the security guard arrived to investigate.

The lean built man arrived to investigate his fresh little crime scene with his weapon drawn and aimed into the beam of his flashlight that illuminated the vent entrance. Little did the guard know that he was in for a surprise, and not of the pleasant kind, as Nova dropped from the vent. In his adrenaline fueled panic, the man pulled the trigger of his pistol several times as he crashed onto the floor, the sounds of shattering glass filling the room along with the booming blast of a firearm in such a closed space. An entire glass cover panel of a lamp along with the lamp itself, had taken a hit and shattered from the impact of a stray bullet, raining down with thousands of little clinks upon the stone floor.

With a quick movement as she landed onto the floor, Nova struck the man with the butt of her rifle, even as he fell onto the ground, temporarily unconscious. She had little reason to kill the man, when he was naught but a guard caught up in the whole mess. Taking a step forward, the woman almost collapsed onto the ground herself. Only now realizing to look down, she saw the blood trickling down along her left side.

Great… the ghost thought, half expecting for the familiar voice to announce that the suit would increase the analgesics input to her systems as well as for the medical technologies to be automatically started… Except that they were all out of commission. Flicking brilliant... Nova thought as she brought her left hand to press down upon the wound in an attempt to suppress the bleeding. Her teeth gritted from the pain as she slowly made her way through the room, the sounds of cracking glass shards beneath her boots accenting her slow journey, the wounded operative pushed outside. 

The sun and its blinding heat took the agent by surprise. It was scorching, and in mere seconds she could feel herself sweating with heat. Even better! Nova remarked, a new kind of crunch beneath her heels as her boots sank into the searing sand. Her eyes caught naught but dunes after dunes of sand. A thought crossed the agent’s mind. Which one would do her in first? The blood loss, the heat, or the environment? Honestly, she was willing to take her chances. At worst, she would die “free.” What a joke that was, honestly. Some way of being free this was, escaping a prison facility in god-knows-where with evidently slim chances of survival.

Even so, the agent pushed forth into the heat of the desert sands as her eyes scanned her surroundings. Nearby, the ground elevated into a small rock formation, which Nova deduced worth her while, due to the elevated position  it would grant her. Slim as it were, it was her only chance of mapping her surroundings better. Her finger reached to press down the button on her headgear, opening an encrypted communications channel directly to Reigel “Reigel, Nova here. Requesting immediate evac.” 

If Reigel, her chief technician received the transmission he didn’t acknowledge in any way as the radio echoed back naught but static in her ear. Where the hell even am I... Nova pondered at the bottom of the rock formation as her eyes hit upon a form, that was anything but a rock. Most certainly, the disguise held up with a bit of distance between them, but it didn’t have much of a chance against closer inspection.

Looking back at the way she had come from, the trickling trail of blood led all the way to where she was now. If they’d give her a chase, she was in no condition to try and outrun her potential pursuers, not even mentioning that she hadn’t made it all that far. Her hand pressing down on the wound even as blood oozed through her fingers, the ghost pulled off the concealing blanket that had been thrown upon what revealed itself to be a speeder bike of some kind. It reminded her of a vulture back at home, a hoverbike of sorts.

The tides have turned. Nova pondered as she navigated her way through the simple interface at best. Through a few very basic maneuvers, the speeder had been tricked into thinking that the keys were inserted, even as the engine began to purr a quiet, satisfying hum. Still got it. the ghost thought with a wry smile, even as she navigated the rest of the interface in a quest to find any of saved map or navigational information.

Just maybe, maybe she would survive under the fiery heat of the sun for long enough to find any kind of civilization.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Sat upon the Vulture-like speeder, Nova felt the engine humming the machine between her legs, even as she realized she had began to lean heavily upon the left, the girl corrected her posture. The heat and blood loss were getting to her, slowly pushing her toward something that wouldn’t end well at all.

Much to her luck, the speeder was equipped with a navigation system that included the nearby settlements and cities, as well as landmarks and most common services, such as medical centers and law enforcement establishments. Pressing her hand tightly against the wound the Terran groaned in pain, her eyes snapping back to clarity. Pain was good, for now, it helped the slowly waning agent to keep a clear head, if only momentarily. With a shaking hand, she set the route toward the nearest medical establishment, labeled after someone called Doctor Parnelle. Nova only hoped that the place would actually be able to treat the wound.

Slowly the bleeding mess of a woman leant against the hot metal of the speeder, before her free hand began to turn the handle. The engine howled with fury as the man-made machination shot forth over the burning sands, leaving only the stains of blood behind, for the owner to find. Nova’s eyes mostly upon the thin navigational line as her hand began to turn the handle more and more, the engine howling at its limits. As her head swam with the excessive heat and her blonde hair matted against her forehead, the ghost found herself missing the functionalities of her suit that allowed her to not only adjust to any environment, but to treat such wounds on a basic level instantaneously.

Jumping over another dune of sand, Nova pondered if it ever ended. She’d ridden the speeder at the fastest possible speed for whoever knows how long, the howling of the engine already faded from her ears. Her tongue was drier than she could remember it having been ever before, her entire suit feeling slimier and more uncomfortable than anything ever as the poor woman sweated upon her steaming-hot vehicle. She was fully aware of the painful risk of overheating the machine, but it was simply a risk she had to take. Either she made it to the location - apparently another half an hour away, according the navigation computer anyway - or died of the heat and bleeding before ever reaching it.

------

Barely steering, the agent bustled through the town the navicomputer had led her to, more than once nearly driving over someone or something. In all honestly, she couldn’t see all that well anymore. The door of the medical establishment in sight, Nova clambered off of the speeder. The left side was completely drenched in blood, alas - it hardly mattered. Pressing her fingers deeper into the wound, the woman whimpered in pain, her vision striking into clarity once more. Her steps dragging one by one, leaving streaks in the sand.

One...Two… Nova counted in her head, her breathing ragged as her posture was hunched, further dragged down by the weight of the massive rifle on her back. Almost there. Just a few more steps and she’d be at the door, with salvation.

One...Two...One…Two… A shaking hand reached up to the door, her whole weight pushing against it, as it began to creak open. Slowly, the agent forced her feet to drag for one more painful series of steps, as the door finally opened, revealing a lobby of sorts. For the moment, the space was empty, furnitured nicely with seats for patients waiting for their turn, as well as plants for comfort, tables with well-read and worn magazines and even a television, that was currently off.

Looking up as the door opened, the receptionist began a well practiced cheery greeting, clearly offered for every single person that made their way through those doors.
“Hello, my name is Graham, welcome to Parnelle’s, how may I help y--....”

Except that this one didn’t. As soon as Nova found that she had made her way to, what could be at least considered a likely avoidance of certain death, her consciousness lurched under the combined weight of her blood loss and dehydration. She found that her knees lost all support, and somewhere within her head registered, that she was falling forward, her knees thudding to the ground, before she collapsed completely, the rifle crashing along with her.

And so, came the darkness.

[Undyne]

With the unplanned mass breakout and the ensuing chaos, things were quickly going south for Ghost. Several of the prisoners had armed themselves and were firing at everything and everyone that they perceived as a threat, others were breaking down doors to closed-off areas such as a small break room to find something, anything, edible, to fight over. Ghost's appearance meant that they could not allow themselves to be seen by either side as both would have believed them to belong to the respective other group, or at the very least, when in doubt, shot first and ask questions never. Several bullets had already grazed the infiltrator, but thankfully no major injuries had been inflicted. Once again Ghost thanked their past self for precautiously reinforcing their suit with kevlar padding to reduce injuries. Some of the bullets that left only bruises could have done a lot more damage had it not been for those.

Five 'inmates' had to be put to sleep with crossbow darts before Ghost found the wanted man. He, along with two other people that looked very much like the stereotypical 'scientist' - big glasses, balding, a big forehead and a scrawny body - were hiding in a remote area in one of the security offices, armed with metal pipes that seemed to have been torn off and barricaded behind what looked like a server rack or a metal closet for similar purposes. The door was out of its hinges, so the barricade only blocked part of the doorframe. Presumably one of the men were waiting in the corner to strike anyone who tried climbing over the barricade.

"Stop! Not one step further! We will shoot!" yelled one of them as Ghost approached the door. The shake in his voice indicated how afraid he was. All the more reason to take one step back. People this nervous were unpredictable and they might indeed have a weapon and not just be bluffing. Ghost raised their hands, though they held onto the crossbow.

"I mean no harm to you, gentlemen. I am here on behalf of the Empire."

"The Empire? Why should we believe you?"

"I believe that one of you is Professor Shane? I have here a series of documents detailing your work for the Empire. The implementation of autoregenerative biosteel and self-cleaning glass lenses for the surveillance cameras in Coruscant was your doing." This information had been kept under wraps to prevent retaliation, but it had been given to Ghost by that french-sounding woman that they had met in Carrefore to use as proof. There was no way that the people here would know, unless they had a well-placed insider.

"... how do you know that?"

"A representative of the Empire gave me this information to prove my good will to you. I am Ghost, a bounty hunter enjoying a certain level of trust with Coruscant. That is why I was hired to break you out."

"How do I know you're not luring us into an elaborate trap?"

"I've provided you with proof. If you're not convinced you'll have to trust me. I don't have the time to stay down here and discuss." Another step back to prove that they could just leave at any time convinced the professor, who leapt over the barricade and held Ghost back. "Wait! Just, bring my friends along, okay?"

"Fine, but be careful and follow my orders. The facility is in complete chaos so if one of you goes out without my lead you'll be killed." They checked that the bolt had not dropped out of the crossbow and handed their taser gun, a last-resort weapon for hairy situations, to one of the men. The second kept the gun that he had, which turned out to be a fairly standard pistol, and the third, the professor, kept the metal pipe for close-range work.

In the meantime most of the facility had cleared out. The bottom level with the holding cells was completely empty and the second floor held only a few stragglers - and several unconscious or dead guards. Several of them looked like they’d first been beaten unconscious then killed. The first level was where it would get hairy... if the inmates hadn’t escaped yet, there would be fighting between the guards and the prisoners. Better safe than sorry.

“From here we’ll use the vents. Find some guards with clean clothes and change into those”, ordered Ghost as they recalled the collected floor plans. There were two main vents going from one level to the next, one blowing air into the facility, the other removing it. Those were the ones that they needed to use. Once the men had changed out of their ‘hospital patient’ robes they followed Ghost once again. The vents were found quickly, opened with a fair bit of effort and force, and climbed easily thanks to a row of short bars sticking out of the wall, which presumably were ladders for maintenance. Ghost took the lead, with the man armed with a gun following right behind, the Professor in the middle and the one with the taser in the back. They handed out two glowsticks for the two scientists, who weren’t as comfortable in the darkness as Ghost was.

It seemed like someone had used these, Ghost noted as they crawled through the dusty metal tunnel. There were marks in the dust and spiderwebs were torn up. Maybe other prisoners had had the same idea? Hopefully the guards hadn’t noticed the open vent grates and heard the clanking... they had barely finished thinking that thought through, when, as they were traversing an x-shaped junction of four vents, presumably above a corridor, they heard a shout. “ABOVE! THE VENT SHAFT!” A pair of guards stationed below had heard them and directed their attention towards the ceiling. As the first gunshot was fired one of the scientists screamed with fear and hurried faster, but his colleagues who weren’t as fast were blocking the way. The scream gave the guards more info and they sprayed the vent lengthwise with their pistols, which luckily lost a good bit of their momentum when penetrating the thin metal sheet that made up the vent tunnel but still punched through. Ghost tried to press their body against the side but one of the bullets came in at a lucky angle and pierced their lower leg. Their pained scream was muffled by the helmet whose voice modifier automatically blocked the sound out, so that the guards could hear only a muffled grunt if even that, then more gunshots were heard from behind Ghost and the others, the guards screamed, bodies could be heard hitting the ground, then… silence. Ghost breathed as quietly as possible but it appeared that whoever had shot down their assailants hadn’t taken notice of them. Footsteps could be heard walking away from them after a few seconds.

“Quickly… move before they send backup”, said Ghost, taking advantage of the adrenaline coursing through their body and numbing the pain. “I need to find an exit and leave the vents for a minute. I have to patch this up and the guards are bound to have heard the gunshot.”

Only when no initial reply came did they turn around and see that the man behind them, the scientist who had screamed, was dead: shot through the heart, it would appear. The blood was dripping off through the holes that the bullets had made, but most of it spreaded inside the shaft. Ghost shoved the body down one of the side vents to free up the path. “Move! Don’t think about it. We have to get out of here!”

The other men hurried along faster than before, crawling as best as they could, although Ghost slowed them down a bit. Eventually they knocked out one of the grates and dropped into a conference room on the first level, then used the few medical supplies on them to disinfect the bullet wound and bandage it. The initial adrenaline was already wearing off and pain was starting to spread. They could not go on through the vents in this state. “Everyone, drop down. We... have to finish this on foot. Professor, could… agh, please you give me the metal bar? I’ll need a crutch for this.” They needed regular breathing breaks and pressed out words between them.

They were luckier than expected: the fights seemed to be going on behind them. No bodies were littering the impeccable floors, save for a seemingly unconscious one at the reception, and an unarmed woman cowering behind the main desk, apparently paralyzed with fear. She may have been held at gunpoint… you never get used to looking down the barrel of a gun pointed at your face. She didn’t react to the three of them passing through. Ghost also noticed a missing panel on the vent there. So that was where the mysterious tracks in the dust they had seen earlier led to… and from what it seemed, their author had been injured. There were droplets of blood on the ground, leading towards the exit. They packed away their crossbow and put the taser back into its holster before exiting the facility. Here, they turned the comms back on and addressed the two remaining scientists. “Well, we have... an issue. My vehicle can’t hold... all three of us, but I will call... and arrange for a pickup.” They were meanwhile walking towards Ghost’s hiding spot to find the speeder, as there were better supplies for first aid in there. Well, things turned out way different. Ghost noticed the blood trail leading outside, into the dunes… and towards the area where they had parked the speeder. It stopped abruptly where it had been parked, the camo blanket had been tossed aside and the light burn marks on the ground indicated that the machine had been started. Someone had driven it away. That mysterious fugitive who had knocked out the guards and crawled through the vents?

Ghost cursed. How that person had noticed the camouflaged rock among all the others was a mystery to them, but if the winds had maybe blown the blanket away, or they just had keen eyes... well, no use thinking about that now. The getaway vehicle would just need to transport three people rather than one or two.

“This is the Imperial Peacekeeping Department, Endless Dunes branch,” a voice spoke, indicating that Ghost’s call had been picked up.

“Hi, this is Ghost speaking. Can I please speak with...” They went through the records. What was that french woman called? Her name had appeared in the files somewhere. “... Miss Marina Grandpi, it’s very important.”

“One moment, please.” The line went mute while Ghost sat down and after a few seconds was picked up. “Zis is Marin-”

“Miss Grandpi, Ghost here. The one you hired to break out Professor Shane.”

“Ah, oui, monsieur Ghost, of course I remember you! Vat can I do for you?”

“We have problems with my transport, I need pickup for four people. Professor Shane is in good health and with me, but I have here another gentleman that I believe is part of your missing-people list too. And please arrange for a Peacekeeper patrol to come here. There has been a breakout and the guard posts are occupied with getting everything under control. You may be able to storm the place.” Luckily sitting down made the injury hurt less and Ghost could speak without breaks.

“Oh my. I vill arrange for a rapid pickup, but it should take ‘alf an hour. Please keep monsieur Shane safe in ze meantime.”

Ghost grunted. “Yes, of course. Ghost out”, they said and cut the line. Then they pointed to the blanket. “You two get underneath that thing, it’ll protect you from the heat and camouflage you. I’ll stand guard.” They laid down on their stomach and pulled their sniper out, aiming it at the entrance to the facility to keep an eye on things. Half an hour... they set a countdown timer to prepare for the anticipated arrival time and forced themselves to relax. Luckily they were vaccinated against tetanus, so the bullet injury would not entail anything else... with any luck they could even spare themselves a visit to Doctor Parnelle. Then again, a checkup may be in order, and they could combine it with a visit to the mage from the Nexus. See if she had improved at all.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Clack….clack clack clack clack clack…. Clack clack.

Graham hammered away his fingers tapping upon the keys of his keyboard, writing up reports as well as simply killing time on the Dataverse. It was hardly a crime on such a quiet day. As the door creaked open Graham lifted his gaze from the monitor to the incoming visitor.

“Hello, my name is Graham, welcome to Parnelle’s.” he began with a smile decorating his lips and a voice that was tempered by sheer practice to deliver a warm and welcoming tone. “How may I help y--....” Before he could even finish, the silhouette on the doorway came crashing forth, slamming onto the floor. With haste, he opened a communications channel to the Doctor. “Parnelle, we have an emergency patient, bring the stretchers with you, and be ready for anything.” he stated as he stood up from his chair and jogged toward the doorway.

Crouched beside the patient, he took a closer look at the newcomer. Blonde, a woman in her early twenties. Clearly military clad, but not quite anything he’d seen before. She would’ve fit within the empire, based on the tech she was carrying, but he couldn’t see any insignias or such anywhere. Upon closer inspection, Graham took note of the spilt blood even as he worked to rid the woman of the heavy rifle that rested upon her back. As soon as he was done with the operation, casting the firearm to the side, he opted to turn her onto her side. “Parnelle? Two recent gunshot wounds on the abdomen. Small caliber, didn’t break clean through.” Graham stated as his hands sought for her pulse and sought for whatever release mechanisms the suit she wore would have.

Glancing outside, Graham’s expression turned puzzled. He recognized the speeder right in front of the door, which is what he expected the newcomer had arrived with. The speeder belonged to Ghost. It was then that Parnelle burst through the doors, pushing a wheeled stretcher ahead of her, wheeling it all the way to Graham with emergency fueling her steps. “Let’s lift her. We’re taking her to surgery #1.” she noted, before the two began to work on getting the patient onto the stretcher. And so, she was wheeled away.

----------------

Graham stood outside, next to the suspected speeder - the left side was completely covered in blood, as the rider had clearly been bleeding upon it for what was likely their entire ride. With a sense of duty, Graham took the speeder that was still running, sat upon it and rode the compliant machine to the employee parking spots there. As he turned the engine off, Graham noticed there was no keys in the machine. Stolen. Well, at least here it wouldn’t be disturbed before its rightful owner - who was hopefully still alive - could come get it.

Emerging back into the lobby, Graham sat down behind his table again, his hand reaching for the phone as he was dialing a number he had long since memorized. After ringing a few times, the call was answered, a male voice responding on the other end. “Bob Rossel, who’s callin’?”

“F-GI Ninety-five.” the receptionist stated instantaneously. “It’s Graham, are you alright, Ghost?” Graham shot right out of the gate. “Your speeder appeared here with a rather bloodied rider. Are you alright? What happened?” On some level, Graham probably knew he was asking far too much questions, yet, on some level he cared about the bounty hunter at the end of the line.

“I’m fine. The speeder was stolen, that’s all. Too many questions, Graham. Do you have the vehicle?” Ghost inquired with a tone that indicated maybe mild annoyance, or some emotion that was well concealed by the voice modulator.

“Well, yes, we do. But Ghost? She’s under our protection, as a patient. You’ll be permitted a visit, but you know the code. No banging up the patients.” Graham stated, the demand clear from his voice. After all, whilst they worked together, Parnelle’s establishment was still under oath.

After a few moments of silence, a reply came: “Understood. I’ll drop by.” And with that, the line was cut.

Graham lowered the phone, setting it back into its cradle that rested upon the table. It was shaping to be an interesting day, he pondered as he glanced upon the lights on desk. Surgery #1 was still taken, so Parnelle hadn’t yet cleared the patient.

As the silence returned into the lobby, Graham headed back into the wondrous world of Dataverse.

[2B]

As the magus sat upon her hospital bed, the doors to her room opened, revealing the ever-so familiar receptionist Graham and a hospital bed, where someone lay unconscious for now. “Good day, Jaina.” he greeted with a smile etched upon his visage, as he pushed the bed into position next to her, and began to connect it upon all the medical monitoring equipment. “It seems you’ve just gained yourself a roommate. If she wakes up when we’re not in the room, could you please at least attempt to talk with her?” he requested. A weird request in his own mind, even. But she had an odd way with people, her presence inspiring, yet calming at the same time.

Get a grip, Graham. You’re not falling for patients. the man scolded himself, before looking back at the magus. “I’m counting on you!” And with that, before Jaina could even greet him in return, he was out.

Quietly, she crossed her legs as she reached for one of the books on her nightstand. Graciously, Dr. Parnelle had leant her some of the books she held within her office. Luckily for Jaina, she had had more than simply medical pieces. The book titled simply Primes and You. was packed full of little snippets of information about the world she was in. And with the ferocity of a starving tiger, the magus devoured the thick and heavy tome page by page. Each word slowly etching itself into her memory, to be called upon in the future when the sorceress would have a use for it.

Her body strength had began to return in full, and she could already move about with ease, but Parnelle had insisted that she’d stay for a few more days, if only for her peace of mind. Apparently, at least according to Parnelle, Jaina was one of the cases, where a new Prime didn’t adjust well into their new form, displaying a multitude of side effects. Jaina had felt ever so slightly like some kind of a research-guinea pig under the Doctor’s scrutinizing, knowing eyes.

Her attention shifted, returning fully back into the tome on her lap as she lost herself within. A hospital bed wasn’t her comfortable lodging in Theramore tower or the splendor and beauty of Dalaran, but when it came to learning, Jaina would’ve accepted a jagged rock as her seat, if naught else was available.

It was only after a while that the self proclaimed sorceress snapped out of her opus as the patient beside her seemed to waken, the shifting sounds coming from beside her.

It gave Jaina some time to think just how would she approach them. How she would initiate their mayhap short conversation.

[Artoria Pendragon]

The darkness encasing her shattered, trickles of light gleaming through as the shards scattered and her vision cleared. A ceiling.
The blonde shot up from her bed, before a jolt of pain emanating from her abdomen shot her down, a groan of pain drawn from her lips as she collapsed right back in.

“Oh, you’re awake.” called a voice aside her. A cheery one at that. A voice that could’ve been conceived belonging to a girl next door, rather than someone being...well, wherever they were. “They brought you here a while ago. You’re in a hospital. I don’t really know what happened to you, but you should take it easy, for the time being.” she chirped along like an annoyingly happy baby bird.

Finally, Nova conceded, turning her head toward the speaker. It was a hospital bed; likely much like her own, where sat a perky blonde. Of course.. In a sense, they both looked very similar, except that whoever she was, her facial features were much softer than Nova’s own. Less battle and horror-worn. Her eyes, they still held a shine of the childlike curiousity that had long since faded from Nova’s own. It was a bitter pill to realize one’s own shortcomings. “Name’s Nova.” she simply stated, not opting for any further smalltalk as she turned her gaze back up to the ceiling lamp. “Thanks.”

“Oh, my pleasure. My name is Jaina. Jaina Proudmoore.” the pretty-bird chirped along. How could someone be in a hospital, yet sound so cheery, so full of life? A range of emotions flashed, whirling within her as Nova pondered. Would she still be the empathic pretty girl from her childhood, if her family hadn’t met their bitter end. If her own life hadn’t met such a harsh and abrupt end. A dose of anger fired through the ghost’s veins as she laid there. How different her life could’ve been.

“So, what planet am I on?” Nova inquired nonchalantly. Whether she was in the core worlds, or somewhere entirely else..

“I’m afraid that...wherever you’ve come from, you’re no longer there. We’re in what they call Endless Dunes, in the town of Carrefore. They have reason to expect that you’re much like myself. A fresh ‘Prime’. This is a new world, with a god whom simply brings those he desires, and grants them power unimaginable. It’s something I wish to research myself.” Jaina stated, slowly laying the information upon the other. Mayhap her reaction wouldn’t be as bad.

“A new world? So take a starship and fly back to your own world. There’s nothing holding you here.” the ghost spoke, clearly the main point that Jaina had attempted to make shot past her, unlike the bullets from earlier.

“No, friend. This is not a part of your known world. There is no leaving. No going back to where you came from. This world, with all of it’s verses, is our new home. It’s an entirely separate..universe.” the magus explained, her voice a tad quieter, as if she feared that had she spoken the words any louder, she could’ve wounded the other.

“So what about the Griffin and Reigel? The Dominion? The Zerg? The Protoss?” Nova inquired, a hint of concern seeping into her voice as she spoke. Her mind raced, tracing herself back to the last memory she had, before the prison episode. She’d been in her own cabin aboard the Griffin, going through her memories and clearing her head. And ever since then, nothing before she had woken up in the prison.

“Those..are terms I do not recognize. I’m truly sorry I cannot be of any more help than this.. Much like yourself, I left behind my homeland and people. It’s..not an easy burden to carry upon your shoulders. But, you have to promise me you’ll try, Nova.” the girl stated, her voice carrying a sense of urgency. As if she wished to motivate the other with whatever she could, be it even a promise made to a stranger.

“So it truly is another world….” Nova muttered. The neural inhibitor kicking in as she quelled her emotions from showing, Nova stayed quiet for a while, before her lips finally parted, her voice but a whisper within the humming machinery.

“I don’t have any other option, than to try.”

[Undyne]

Ghost wondered who they would encounter in Parnelle’s clinic when they hung up the phone and returned to observing the entrance of the facility. Still nobody leaving the place. 10 minutes left on the clock before the projected arrival time of the pickup. Things were looking up. They were rather unhappy about the situation, moreso than they had admitted to Graham, although he probably knew Ghost well enough to make out fine details like these even past the voice modulator.

The Speeder had been stolen by someone with severe injuries. In other words, someone whose senses were impaired by the pain, who should not have been able to see the concealed machine past its camo blanket, let alone establish a circuit that easily. Luckily the Speeder’s enhancements were within reason; the GPS was a custom addition and it had spacier compartments for first aid kits, it was nothing that was irreplacable, as opposed to certain other pieces of equipment. But still. It was bothering Ghost.

The Empire did no half-assed work: they sent in two ground squads in two vehicles commonly used here in the Dunes: a sort of light tank on track chains armed with enough firepower to stand up to its big brothers, but without as much armor. Additionally they sent a helicopter with paramedics which reinforced Ghost’s belief that this Professor Shane was worth more to the Empire than they cared to admit. The tanks drove by without so much as slowing and encircled the facility, with their respective crews swarming out and taking positions in a wide circle to catch any potential fugitives, while one tank stopped before the visible main entrance and the other went to the back. Within 30 seconds the facility was guarded almost as safely as the God-Emperor’s office. The helicopter landed and the Professor and the other man ran straight to its opening bay, while Ghost stiffly followed, still using the metal bar as a crutch but with more difficulty than before due to the sand’s unstable properties. The paramedics primarily checked the Professor’s wellbeing and were too concerned to notice the mercenary helping themselves to disinfectant and bandages for the gunshot injuries. Leaving the facility behind, the helicopter then took off again and flew the lot of them back to Carrefore. Only as they approached the town did it occur to one of the paramedics to ask if Ghost was feeling well.

“You’re a bit late asking that”, remarked Ghost and pointed at the open medical supplies kit. “I have taken the liberty of patching myself up. Speaking of which I would like to buy this kit if possible. You can deduct the costs from my payout.”

“I think that won’t be necessary. Small expenses like this are not worthy of mention especially considering the circumstances. The Empire is not as tight-fisted. Keep the kit, but I recommend seeking medical aid soon.”

“I’m aware, thank you. When will we land?”

“Very soon. We are already above Carrefore.” Indeed, some minutes later the helicopter set its wheels on the ground and opened its bay. Stormtroopers awaited to bring the Professor to safety, with the other man being escorted away to sort out his details. Ghost also noticed two men in suits and wearing sunglasses, one carrying a metal suitcase in hand, who waited by the helipad. They were veritable hulks: all that was missing was some fur and they could pass as gorillas.

“Agent Ghost?” the one with the suitcase asked rhethorically. Regardless, Ghost answered once they were close enough and the helicopter had quieted down.

“Yes.”

“We are sent from the Empire Peacekeeping Division regarding your payment.”

“Right. Well, I have delivered the Professor to your colleagues safe and sound. Can we please get this over with quickly?” They extended a hand but the man did not oblige.

“Before we hand you the payment”, the one without the suitcase remarked, “we wanted to extend to you the EPD’s offer again and ask if you have considered it. The entry offer, should you accept today, was raised to 2000 credits that would be paid out along with your payout for this mission.”

“I’ve already told your employer that I prefer the freelance work.”

“You have successfully pursued four bounties in the past two months, without counting today’s mission. Had you worked for the EPD the payout would have been 20% higher, in addition to health insurance and many other benefits that we offer.” He paused briefly to let the words sink in. “You should think about it.”

“Thanks, but I’m not interested.”

The two men looked at each other, then the one with the suitcase began to work the locks while the other one reached into his suit and pulled out a business card. “Well, if you ever have a question or change your mind do not hesitate to contact us.” Ghost nodded and took the card, out of pure politeness. It would wander into the first trashcan in Carrefore on their way from here to Parnelle’s office.

Meanwhile the other man opened the suitcase, revealing something that would amuse most people not familiar with the practice: placed into a form-fitting indentation on a bed of black foam material was a single credit card-sized plastic card that the man presented to Ghost. “Here is your payment in that case… 3,500 credits, as agreed.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.” They took the card and slipped it into a pocket along with the business card. “Well, if that is all I will be taking my leave.” When neither of the men said a thing Ghost slipped past them and into the streets of Carrefore. Twenty minutes later they stopped at a small bank and walked in. This place was one of the first stops for any bounty hunter with some paranoia: for a modest fee one could deposit their credits here, which were then ‘laundered’ by being held, sent around internally across various accounts and otherwise jumbled beyond recognition before being transferred to the bounty hunter’s account, disguised as all sorts of payments for goods and services, salaries and so on. While it wasn’t impossible to track down it was certainly a step up from using the currency cards directly, which could be tracked beyond easily. No doubt was the Empire aware of this to some extent, but they had no sufficient leverage.

With that taken care of Ghost headed down the familiar street. It was time to visit the doctor - and the Speeder thief.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Doctor Evelynn Parnelle carried a darkly coloured wooden clipboard in her left hand, a few papers attached to it as she was making her rounds through the few patients currently assigned under her care. Apparently two of them had connections to Ghost, in one or another way, so she’d taken them under her own supervision for now, and not solely because of that either. She had practically confirmed that the pair of similar blondes were both fresh primes, and in order to ensure that they wouldn’t end up back upon her operating table within a week, Evelynn knew she would have to educate them some. Of course, she knew they didn’t need anymore Dracula’s or Diablo’s either, so straightening them out before they had the chance to grow crooked, would also help.

Her hand pushed the doors open, the dried hinges creaking leaving both of the patients to react rather differently. One never bothered to raise their gaze from the book that they were so drawn into - Jaina Proudmoore, she called herself. And the other, who instantaneously shot up an alarmed gaze toward the sound of the opening doors. Her name was Nova Terra. “Since you two aren’t going anywhere before the day after tomorrow, I’m going to teach you about the world you now inhabit. And you’d do well to listen.” she added, watching the as the fabric ruffled as blondes shifted into better positions upon their respective beds.

“You’re now in what we call the Omniverse.” stated Evelynn with a calm tone. “The world is split to nine different verses; Coruscant and Camelot, home to the two ruling factions of this world. The Endless Dunes, Tangled Green, Vasty Deep, Pale Moors as well as the Ashen Steppes and Frozen Fields.” A tap of her finger upon the clipboard indicating each verse as she continued. “And finally, the Nexus. The Nexus contains gates - kinds of access points to each of the aforementioned verses, as well as the Nexus Fountain.”

As the information slowly sank in, and the pair nodded in agreement, signaling more understanding than anything else, Evelynn continued her lesson. “You two, are Primes. That means that you’ve been summoned here into this world, and granted power unimaginable. It is highly likely that you’ll keep growing in strength as time goes on, and as such you have grave responsibility.” Evelynn knowingly left out that Primes, if killed would respawn, given such a rush of power oft ran one into an unhealthy loop. If one perceived themselves as invincible, it did naught but fuel their arrogance and had a chance of kicking the downward spiral into motion.

“Now, the two largest factions around are the Empire, based in Coruscant, and The Kingdom that is based in Camelot. There’s a certain... tension between the two, so if you facilitate yourself with one, don’t expect to be met with open arms within the other.” The class continued with Evelynn gazing toward each of the girls with a sense of urgency in her gaze. It was of utmost importance that both of them would remember at least the basics. “Now, the most important part I can teach you is this: The different verses are never as simple as they sound. Should you venture into one aside the largely inhabited two ill prepared, you will likely meet a bitter end. The environments differ, and are rarely hospitable for those unprepared.” Pausing for a moment, Evelynn assessed the pair before her, before she spoke aloud once more. “Do you understand? I do not want to see either of you upon my table within a week of your departure.” she stated. Treating prime patients was always a mystery. She never knew quite what kind of an anatomy she would find, or whether she could actually treat the various injuries she’d seen in her past.

“I do.” the harsher of the two was first to answer, her tone hinting that she had experienced the ruthlessness of the environment first hand. Of course, it hadn’t been in her plans to get caught wounded below a scorching sun and standing upon burning sands. But when did death ever come planned?

Jaina had responded with a curt nod, and something about how aa sorceress was never ill prepared. Something Nova couldn’t quite understand - not that she particularly cared to. Had it been before this world, she would’ve already known everything there was to know about the girl as well as Evelynn, Graham, and anyone else in the clinic. Now, there was naught but the peaceful silence. For once, Nova felt like she had a sense of privacy. The ghost didn’t know what others thought about her, she didn’t sense their lustful, depraved gazes or intruding thoughts.

Still, at times, Nova could swear that she had begun to feel how others around her felt. Instead of something coherent and specific, there was naught but a hint of general feeling that surrounded them like an Aura.

What had happened to her powers returned to the forefront of her mind? Were they waking up again, presenting themselves in a similar manner that they had when she was but a child? But… Such was naught but mockery and a dark omen in Nova’s mind, as the thought of just how her powers had awakened in their full extent had happened. The dark day, when November Terra had died and her life had changed for good.

Evelynn clapped her hands, snapping the Terran out of her thoughts as she gazed upwards. “Well, that concludes the summary that I can provide you.” she stated as she stood up from the stool she had claimed as her own for the time being. Without anything more, Evelynn walked out of the room the lapels of her doctor’s coat tailing shortly after her as the doors creaked open and the Doctor disappeared into the hallways..

“Summoning, eh?” Jaina stated with a smile on her lips. “That sounds fairly similar to magic, to me.” she noted, weaving her hands in the air as the bright expression etched upon her visage just never seemed to fade.

“Huh, summoning?” questioned Nova, feeling ever so slightly dumbfounded. For just how long had she spaced out for?! Get it together... she thought to herself, as Jaina begun to extensively explain what Evelynn apparently had, just before.

It would be a long night for the two, given just how much Jaina enjoyed the idea of educating someone.

[Artoria Pendragon]

Seated atop her bed, Nova glanced at the self-proclaimed magus, who had somehow managed to find herself yet another book to devour. Seriously, where did the wench keep getting them from? Their room was starting to look more like her personal library, than a room that two patients recovering from injuries were sharing.

Of course, it wasn’t like Nova was any better, with her gear scattered across the floor as she had been running systems scans for most of the day, trying to figure in detail just what parts of her armour and suit were broken. What she would’ve given to have Reigel and his assistance with her. Leaving the suit with him would’ve been so much easier the ghost pondered, cursing as she reached for the screwdriver upon the bed.

Every single time Graham or anyone else from the staff of Parnelle’s visited the room, their eyes widened in shock as they witnessed the controlled chaos that reigned within the room, piles of books and a toolbox with stray tools laying all over the room. Of course, since their conquering journey hadn’t been nipped in the bud, it was much too late to try and reign the mongol horde of papers and metal anymore. The room was a lost cause, even Parnelle herself had admitted it. In all honesty, Nova found the staff pleasant, despite her difficulties to form attachments.. And despite the traumatic events that she had once experienced in the traitorous hands of Doctor Shaw, the girl felt no animosity toward the staff here.

In what seemed to be an attempt to fix the loose left greave of her armour, the wanna-be mechanic seemed to be tightening the greave and whatever mechanisms the screw held behind it. In all honesty, Nova wouldn’t have even tried if not for the suit schematics that her visor was able to provide for her. She had understanding over the capabilities of her equipment, as well as every single detail on how they were to be used in their most effective forms, as well as the firearm and its antics. Sadly, whilst they were trained with many skills and tasks, repairing the advanced mechanics of their ghost suits on the fly, wasn’t one of them. And so, as she pushed her foot into the boot and it tightened itself properly, a spark of joy shot through the blonde. At least something was going her way - for now.

The more advanced systems, such as the cloaking and paramedics modules were far beyond her capabilities, much like the fine mesh of circuitry woven within the main suit. But, as long as the armor could still attach and tighten itself properly, Nova would be able to deal with the situation, no matter how inopportune it would be.. So in some ways, things weren’t quite as bad as they could’ve been. The reality however, seemed grim. Without Reigel and the Griffin’s resources, the agent was stuck with a half-functional suit and no way of repairing it. It was painfully clear by now, that she was no longer in her own world - or universe for that matter - and as such, her homeland tech, that even she couldn’t fully fathom, seemed hopeless to repair.

With a flick of her wrist, the screwdriver was sent flying, swooping right back into the toolbox as Nova set away the repaired boot, to the floor. As she laid down upon the roughly covered bed, her eyes gazing up into the ceiling, the ghost couldn’t help but to relax. The silence of her surroundings reminded her of the Psi-screens she’d worn in the Ghost Academy. Blocking out all thoughts of those around her, the device had always helped Nova drift off to sleep - and it seemed this time was no different. With the silence around her, the Terran didn’t even notice as her eyelids slowly shut themselves for just a moment. Of course, as it always happened, that moment seemed to extend itself, like pushing the snooze button of an alarm clock.

[Artoria Pendragon]

The darkness enveloped the room as Nova glanced toward the other bed as she sat upon her own. The magus seemed to be asleep judging by the way the covers moved just ever so slightly. A relaxed breathing, to say the least.

As her attention returned to the backpack before her, and the small pile of clothes before her, she continued packing. The disassembled canister rifle laid in pieces on her bed, whilst most of the armor pieces had already disappeared along with the bodysuit. The method of summoning was cheating, the agent pondered in her mind even as she tucked away the empty magazine. But this time, she didn’t have a choice and as such she’d summoned the bare necessities. A backpack for her belongings, as well as clothes to wear. Something she would’ve had to otherwise steal.

Standing up from the bed, Nova reached for the modest white T-shirt before pulling it over her head, as she sliding into it gracefully. A careful balancing act on one leg as she quietly kicked her leg through the sleeve of her newly acquired jeans, before doing so for the other leg as well. A pair of socks and simple boots came next, and as such she judged herself fully clothed. A lack of belt was apparent, alas she didn’t really feel like she needed one, given the perfect fit of her wear. 

Looking back at Jaina, whom was evidently still fast asleep, Nova grasped the backpack and made her way to the considerably sized window. Her hand finding the handle, turning it before she lifted the window open. A simple design at best, and easily opened from the inside. As such, the fleeing patient lifted her backpack through the opening, before climbing out of it herself. With a final glance inside, she pulled the window back down and shut it.

This isn’t my world. Nova thought with a strange sense of longing gnawing at her as she slung the gear-burdened backpack upon her shoulders. Damn.. These are a lot lighter to be worn than carried… she lamented as she could feel the shoulder straps digging into her shoulders mercilessly with the combined weight of everything trying to pull her back.
Maybe. Just maybe… the newly-made traveler thought as the sand crunched beneath her boots. She had an idea for her heading, but for now, it was time to walk.