“Technicians, as a division, are not for frontline assault. We help from the backline or the shadows—or through the system in the case of a hacker like myself. We need to work together, Kaiden. I know that you’ll take on the dangerous activities, so I’ll need to know how I can help you best for the test and any other situation we may have to face together in the future.”
“I…I see.” Kaiden felt a little humbled. He had mocked Chiyo’s suggestions, thinking she was being too methodical or even paranoid. She did have that special insignia for a reason, he reminded himself, so maybe he should defer to her for now. “Thanks…I’ll give you the time you need.”
“Thank you. I promise to work as fast as I can,” she said, her smile one of obvious relief.
Kaiden rubbed the back of his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll find something to do.”
Chiyo stood up. “Unless you want to look at anything else, we can begin.”
Kaiden looked at the screen for a moment, pressing a tab giving it a cursory study.
Synchronicity: 5
Tangibility: 5
Equilibrium: 5
“Nah, I’m good.” He moved toward the pod opposite Chiyo. “You got any games or anything loaded up, Chief? Maybe I can freshen up on my poker while are waiting.”
Chapter Twenty
“Mission beginning in ten minutes,” announced a synthetic voice as Kaiden appeared in the Animus. “Please make final preparations.”
He looked around and appeared to be in the middle of a forest. Focused now, he peered through the foliage to see the lights of a large building in the distance with a ten-foot metal wall surrounding it. “Chiyo? You make it in yet?”
He felt a couple of quick taps on his shoulder. “Behind you, Kaiden.” Chiyo stood in her gear, a dark-blue set of light armor. She had no helmet, but instead, a holo-visor completely covered her eyes in shimmering light.
“You look like you’re headed to a rave.” He chuckled.
“This visor allows me to run three times the number of programs and applications that I can normally with my basic optics,” she explained, bringing up her loadout window. “Along with allowing me to issue commands and actions mentally.”
“That certainly sounds nifty,” he said appreciatively as he opened his own loadout. “Can you cast with it?”
“Not like you can. I need to either hack into a system and make a path for Kaitō to access remotely or be granted permission.” She pressed an option to alter her armor, changing to a black bodysuit with a dark-grey chest piece, knee pads, and gauntlets.
“You gonna be all right in so little armor?” Kaiden asked with concern. “I would guess you can maybe take a couple of good shots before you’re down.”
“That’s why I have you here. You’re the one who will deal with most of the gunfire. Will you be okay?”
“I can dance around the fire just fine,” he declared. “Besides, if I kill them first, I won’t have to worry too much about lasers and bullets coming my way.”
Chiyo closed her loadout screen “I would recommend you change to a mostly non-lethal loadout.”
“Why’s that?” His tone sounded both curious and hesitant. “I’m game to take your advice this round, but non-lethal isn’t really my style.”
“Think of it as a chance to expand your repertoire,” she advised. “I told you that I’ll deal with most of the robotic enemies along with the security system. That leaves you with the security force. They are equipped with vita tethers that will alert other guards to your location if their heart stops beating. Stunning them or knocking them out will give you more respite before others come. In addition, most electric stun guns can overload simple locks and machines, giving you a quicker way to get through doors and shut down defenses.”
Kaiden peered back at his loadout, sighing. “Chief, you wanna lend a hand here?”
The bulbous EI appeared on the screen. “You know, while I’m going to agree with pretty princess logic, I have to admit I wasn’t prepared to ever have to look for a mostly ‘considerate’ loadout…give me a moment,” he requested, disappearing as the various weapon tabs opened and were quickly scanned through.
“Pretty princess logic?” Chiyo muttered as she walked up beside Kaiden.
The ace sighed. “His nicknames don’t usually stick the first couple of times. Don’t worry about it. At least he complimented you. I’m usually partner or dumbass if he wants to show he cares.”
“You two have an odd dynamic.”
“It works for the most part. At least currently…I think I’m going to hold off on giving him another Next-Gen upgrade, though.”
“Usually, I would tell you that should be a priority. However, your EI seemed rather advanced even in his previous state. I can only imagine what he can do now with an upgrade.”
“So far it’s only given him a glow-up and sparkles. I’m not quite sure what else he’s got in him,” he admitted.
“Done,” Chief shouted, and a number of option appeared onscreen. “Take your pick. All options have the Chief seal of approval.”
Kaiden looked through the choices.
Main Weapons:
Medusa Stun Rifle:
Description: A Nexus Tech designed stun rifle that, after a brief charge, fires a bolt of static energy that will knock out the target and lock up their muscles for up to an hour. The blast bypasses physical armor.
Amnesia Tranquilizer Rifle:
Description: A long range rifle that fires darts filled with a potent tranquilizer called the Amnesiac Sedative. The sedative works quickly, and each cartridge contains ten rounds. There is a brief moment of delay between thirty seconds and one and a half minutes before the target is fully knocked unconscious. However, they begin feeling drowsy and disoriented almost immediately after they have been struck.
Important Note: Remember to aim for exposed portions in the armor. The needles can burrow into bodysuits and other thin material but are not thick enough to bypass even light armor.
Kaiden cocked his head to the side. “Just two options?”
“It’s all you got at the moment that would work for this scenario. The other options are experimental stuff the Nexus techs are trying to test.”
“I’ll probably be going through corridors and hallways for the most part, right?” Kaiden asked Chiyo.
She looked at the building. “There might be some wider spaces in there, but if our priority is to retrieve the device and leave as quickly as possible, I would say that most of your time will be running through confined spaces.”
Kaiden reached out to press the tranquilizer rifle. “I guess I’ll go with this. Better to have something I can repeatedly shoot than something that needs to charge up each time to fire.”
“An understandable choice, but you’ll be sacrificing the possible boons of an electric weapon in this scenario,” Chiyo pointed out.
“Ah, but not so, madame,” Chief stated. “Wait until you see the sidearms.”
The rifle was accepted, and the screen changed to a new set of weapons.
Sidearms:
Jupiter Pistol:
Description: A compact pistol that fires blasts of electricity with one hundred milliamps, enough to cause pain and seizure in an armored target and fry most electrical devices.
Raijū Arc Pistol:
Description: This pistol ionizes the air, allowing one shot to travel through the air and hit multiple targets. Best used against synthetic targets but can still knock out the first target hit and cause pain to any other targets struck by the jumping electricity.
The Sandman:
Description: A small grenade launcher that fires explosive canisters that emit a cloud of anesthetic gas that causes disorientation and then unconsciousness after a few seconds of exposure.
Warning: Gas masks can lessen or nullify the effects.
“That last one sounds pretty cool…but considering I already have the tranq rifle, best to grab one of the other ones.”
“I recommend the arc pistol. I use them myself from time to time, and they will prove the most useful against any robots or drones that I cannot get too,” Chiyo suggested.
“I’m playing it your way this time around, so I’ll take your word for it,” Kaiden said as he selected the arc pistol. “What’s next?”
“Melee. I’ll speed this up since y’all don’t have a lot of time left.” Chief changed the screens quickly. “You can either keep your blade, or if you want to go whole-hog on this pacifist run-through, you can choose either a stun baton or a shock gauntlet.”
Kaiden’s interest piqued for a moment. “What’s a shock gauntlet?”
“What you probably think it is. It’s attached to one of your hands, and you can either tell me to turn it on or pump your fist three times to manually activate it. It delivers an electric smack that is enough to stun an opponent or overload any systems they may have in their helmet, so you have an opportunity to finish them off.”
“Does it work against bots?” he asked as he opened the description box and looked at the 3D visual.
“Not great against the hellcats and little scarab bastards, but it’ll probably be enough to knock them away if they get too close.”
Kaiden smiled. “I’m feeling experimental. Give me the gauntlet.”
“Coming right up.” Chief activated the selection. “Finally, there’s your gadgets. You’ve still got the shock grenades and barrier from before. They seemed good to me unless you wanna look at some alternatives.”
“The shock grenades might be a bit much in this scenario. Those little bastards are loud.”
“They’re grenades, so most of them are,” Chief noted dryly. “If you want, you can go with some smokes or knockout gas canisters, but those might be picked up in the sensors. Other options are a heart-rate radar to locate targets in a wide radius, thermal goggles, or you can try a security drone.”
“What does that do?”
“It has an electric blaster and has three functions, defense, attack, and patrol. Defense means it hovers behind you and keeps your flank protected. Attack means it assists you in battle and attacks any target you command it to, and patrol means you can control it remotely and use it to look around corners and the like. The downside is that it requires both gadget slots to use—one for it and the other for its chip that you gotta slide into your mask to control it.”
“Can’t I just cast you into it?” Kaiden queried.
“My guess is you can, but the loadout screen won’t let you choose only the drone. I keep running the command but no dice. It looks like Laurie hasn’t gotten to that little hotfix.”
“Of course not. Little details like that would get in the way of him creating a robot that shines your shoes while cleansing your colon.” Kaiden sighed. “Guess it’s fine. Sounds like too much of a pain, plus it doesn’t look that sturdy. One good shot and I’m out of a drone.”
“You want to stick with the current stuff?”
“Is there an EMP or something?”
“Oh, yeah, that wouldn’t be a problem,” Chief snarked.
“I would think that you were protected against one,” he argued.
“I am, but the rest of your gear isn’t. An EMP would be a last resort option. You would be hobbling yourself for a kill switch. Not to mention if you use it in the wrong place, you could knock Chiyo’s device out too.”
“Okay, good point. What are you thinking, Chiyo?”
“I believe what you currently have will suffice.” She nodded, and Kaiden and Chief looked at one another and finished the loadout. “We should prepare to depart. Should everything go as planned, then you will hopefully be dealing with minimal combat anyway.”
“As much as that makes for an easy time, it’s not really my style.” He accepted his loadout with a grin. “I mean, gotta have a love for your work, right?” His new gear flashed into existence on his back, hip, and arm as he spoke.
“I find joy in a successful mission, not during one,” Chiyo responded, walking to the edge of the forest. “Kaitō, scan the area.”
Kaiden leaned up against a tree. “I’ll get ya to cut loose when we do things my way. I mean, if you think about it, you’re kinda like a cybernetic puppet master, and that’s kinda like playing one of those strategy games.”
“With the exception that if I fail, it could lead to my death—or my team’s,” she retorted.
“Games can be played with high stakes,” Kaiden countered. “I know what it means to feel like you’re responsible for the lives of others. It’s one of the sad facts in life that you can’t control everything. So you gotta have a bit of fun with the things you can.”
Her scan completed, she looked back at Kaiden. “You can say this while we’re in the relative safety of the Animus, but what about in the field? In reality?”
“That’s when you really need it,” he argued. “If you’re in a bad place, panic and desperation are more likely to get to you when you shoulder too much and things don’t go your way. Gotta roll with it. I told you that before, remember?”
“I do, but every situation cannot be handled the same way. It’s an admirable outlook you have, but what if something should happen in which you have absolutely no say in what happens—where you have to follow orders?”
Kaiden took out his pistol and inspected it morosely. “I can play ball now and then like I am now.”
“What if you need to do so all the time?”
“Like where exactly?” he challenged.
“After we graduate, what if you’re sent to work in the military? Or perhaps in the security forces of a large company? You won’t be in command or even autonomous.” She looked back at the building, her gaze searching for an entrance. “Will you be able to cope?”
“Ah, right, almost forgot about that contract thing…” He gave it a few seconds of thought. “I’ll find a way to make it work.”
“Someone with your skills will probably have their pick of many potential contracts, so you might find one that suits you,” she stated thoughtfully. “But you’re still under contract either way unless you have the means to buy out your own contract.”
“That’s an option?” he asked.
“Mission begins in two minutes. Please prepare to depart starting zone.”
“Come over here, Kaiden,” Chiyo requested. Kaiden walked up to the edge of the forest and stopped beside her. She pointed to one part of the wall. “There’s a personnel door in that wall. Let’s start there. I’ll hack the door and any cameras nearby, but I’ll need you to take care of any guards in the vicinity.”
“Where do we need to get to for you to set up?” he asked as he withdrew his tranq rifle, checking the weight and balance quickly.
“A quiet area away from most of the traffic and the guards will suffice, but the best location would be in their security room or an area that would allow me access to as much of their system as possible—possibly the CEO’s office or a room with a central hub.”
“The CEO’s office would certainly be nice and posh, but they like to keep to themselves at the top of the building.” Kaiden looked up at the top of the tower. “Looks like that’s around twenty stories up—a bit of a climb with time being a factor. But a place like that probably has maintenance hatches and personnel shortcuts we can exploit. If you can find a map once we get in there, we can use that to reach the security room or central hub or whatever and find you a nice, comfy spot to do your thing.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “We’ll have to keep as quiet as possible to get there without catching the attention of the guards. If we’re caught or the alarm is sounded, I won’t be able to do much about it without setup.”
“Just got to be subtle about it,” Kaiden advised.
“I thought you said that’s not your style,” she said with a curious tone.
“Oh, it’s not,” he confirmed. “But that’s why I’ve got you, infiltrator. Do your thing while we make our way through, and I’ll keep as quiet as I can in
over a hundred pounds of armor and equipment.”
Chiyo glanced at him for a moment before showing a small smile and nodding. “Understood. Follow my lead for now, then when I’ve opened their system, I’ll follow yours.”
“Sounds like a deal,” Kaiden agreed, raised his rifle, and looked down its sights. “Give us the go sign, announcer.”
“Mission begins in five…four…three…two…one…begin!”
With that, Chiyo and Kaiden made their way toward the gate and the first test of their new partnership.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kaiden grabbed the lever, grunting as he forced it up, and heard the hiss of released air as the hatch opened. He ushered Chiyo into the crawl space and followed after her, reaching back quickly to grab a handle on the inside of the hatch and close it behind them.
“The ladder is straight ahead,” she said, as they scurried rapidly through the vent. “So far, no one seems suspicious, assuming they don’t find the guards you knocked out.”
“We’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I threw them all in the garbage bin. Unless they regularly check for their buddies taking naps among the trash, I think we’ll be in the clear for as long as we’re here.”
“You certainly seem positive about that,” Chiyo noted, pulling herself out of the shaft and into a small circular area with another ladder going up four floors.
“Are you suggesting I don’t know how to get rid of a body?” Kaiden asked, feigning annoyance. “I’ll have you know that was the very first merit badge I ever earned.”
“I don’t think that is an approved skill for the scouts,” she countered, pressing herself against the wall to give Kaiden enough room to climb out of the vent.
“Wait, the scouts have merit badges too?” Kaiden joked as he pulled himself up and held onto the ladder.
Chiyo brought the map up on her tablet, turning off her visor momentarily. “Up to the top of the ladder…that’ll bring us to the tenth floor and seventy yards from the security room. You go first and scout for guards.”
Animus series Boxed Set Page 48