by Tom Jones
The human walked over to his desk, and he looked at the body from where he was standing. When Zero arrived at his desk, he noticed that he received a notification on his computer from one of the Majestic 12 members. The human thought, ‘That’s weird. I didn’t think I’d get something during that.’ Zero opened the message, and his eyes widened upon reading the title, “Your base has been compromised.” The human was in denial, “No, that can’t be right.” The message contained an attached screenshot, and the Overseer clicked on the attachment to view the leaked image of Facility Zero marked on a map of Devon Island. Zero shook his head, but he quickly figured out how the information was leaked, “Somebody talked.” The human stood up, and he looked at the two anthros still standing in front of the door, their XMP-1s held at low ready. He then looked back over to his computer, and he opened up a program he planned to use later. Zero did not hesitate before activating the program. He looked back up at the two anthros, and they immediately exited the door within seconds.
Eleven stood next to a human ISG unit when both of them looked to their right to see a blue-tier anthro approaching. The anthro stopped, raised the XMP-1, and immediately fired upon the two humans who collapsed to the ground after receiving a few gunshot wounds to their bodies. Some ISG humans heard the gunfire, and they rushed over to the source of the disturbance only to find themselves quickly gunned down by the blue-tiered anthros. The anthros began to run down the halls while seeking out any human individuals who were not Zero. Three and Twenty-Nine exited one of the rooms, and they were immediately riddled with bullets upon exiting the room. After a few more Site Directors were sought out and killed, some of the human ISG members began to fire back at the anthros. Some anthros were killed by humans, but the anthros soon were able to overwhelm the humans due to their superior numbers.
Alpha 1 heard shouting and gunfire, but he was not sure what the commotion was. Alpha 2 was nearby, “I heard it too. Do you think CDI’s here already?” Alpha 1 shook his head, “It’s only been several days at best. Would they come that fast?” Alpha 2 shook his head, “Wait! Those shots sound like they were fired indoors. There’s no way they got in here without setting off an alarm.” Alpha 1 thought and spoke, “Do you think that’s an inside attack?” Alpha 2 reached into his holster and pulled out a black Sig Sauer P320, “Let’s not take any chances. We need to get to the Dreadnought. It’s time we use it and get out of here!” Alpha 1 removed his handgun as well, and both humans prepared to exit the door. As soon as they did exit, an anthro spotted them and opened fire, killing both ISG members instantly. The anthro looked at the two deceased Alpha-Omega members as it stepped over them in order to proceed with its mission.
“This is Scythe, we have a visual on buildings. Over,” the UAV pilot as he was able to spot Facility Zero on his screen. The pilot lowered his altitude and airspeed as he began cruising towards the complex. A CDI analyst watching the video feed replied to the pilot, “Affirmative, Scythe. Lower your altitude so we can have a clear view of the complex.” Scythe was not worried about automated AA defenses since the RQ-180 was designed in such a way to evade radar detection from automated air defense systems. The pilot pushed the stick forwards and watched his digital instruments report the aircraft’s altitude dropping. The lightweight aircraft lowered its airspeed as the pilot gave the engines less thrust, and he checked his instruments again to make sure that the plane was still maintaining the course marked on the flight plan. The pilot heard a different analyst speak to him, “Scythe, maintain your current altitude and speed. Over.” The pilot of the RQ-180 toggled a few options on his controls in order to program the autopilot to maintain its speed and altitude before replying, “Copy. Speed and altitude should be set. You should be able to see the complex now. Standby for clear video feed.”
Arcades sat in Bocchino’s living room with Jason and Jim. The cat spoke to the fox, “Do you think we’ll ever see the likes of that female fox ever again?” Arcades shook his head, “Probably not again this time. She didn’t experience the Foundation the first time I encountered her. She wouldn’t want to go back to the Foundation after spending time there.” Jason asked Arcades a question, “Did you blokes drop her off there last time? With that one coyote you told me about?” The fox nodded as he looked at the wolf, “Yeah. I remembered his face and voice. That first encounter was about a year ago, actually. It is August after all, right?” Jim replied, “Fifth of August. Yup.” Jason took the current date into mind, and he tried to remember back when Arcades infiltrated Facility Five, “After about a month, we’ve only managed to take down two facilities.” The fox kept a rather neutral facial expression, “Can’t take ‘em all down, not the four of us I suppose.”
The room fell silent, and Arcades turned to face the only human in the room, “Jim, what is Omega going to do now? As far as we know, they’ve only lost two facilities.” The human looked at the fox on the couch as he thought about potential outcomes, “Well, that all depends on if they still want you. If they’re looking for you, they’re probably gonna find you soon unless you change your name and hide someplace they wouldn’t look.” Arcades shook his head as he considered the possibility of having to change his name and relocate to a completely new place, “Would the same go for Jason? We both were taken to the Foundation.” The human looked over to the wolf, but his response was somewhat more prompt, “Ehh… Kurt was the one who did the most damage to the Foundation thanks to the evidence he published online.” Arcades said, “Speaking of evidence, do you think anything new came up since then? You do remember all of those anthros from Facility Five, right? CDI almost certainly has to have something. Either that, or somebody else found something and leaked it.”
Jim looked over to Bocchino and then looked over to the room which the cat kept his computer in, “It might be worth a look.” Bocchino forced himself into the conversation, “Hey, don’t do that shit on my computer. I don’t want the fucking Foundation bustin’ down my door. This is my house after all, and you assholes ain’t even payin’ to stay here.” Arcades addressed Bocchino, “Bobby, calm down, please. I have my own computer with me. It’s the disposable laptop I have Tor on.” Bocchino stared at the fox before replying, “Well as long as you don’t disclose the location of my damn house, you can do whatever the fuck you want.” Arcades nodded, acknowledging Bocchino as he left the room to retrieve the laptop, “Yeah, I’ll be careful.” The cat exhaled with a slight sense of agitation, “Do what you need to do…”
After a moment of silence caused by the absence of Arcades, the fox returned carrying a gray laptop with the lettering ‘ASUS’ on the top lid. The fox sat down, and he turned the power on the laptop. Waiting for the laptop to start, Jason came over to the fox and took a seat directly to the fox’s left. The wolf asked, “How does this Tor work?” Arcades explained, “It’s a web browser based on Mozilla Firefox. It’s capable of opening links which would otherwise be unavailable on conventional web browsers. I’m running a version of Linux on this laptop which has some tools available to mask my location. I’m also connected to a VPN to further protect my identity on the net.” The wolf questioned the fox, “So basically, you’re trying to stay undetected online, mate?” The computer booted up and Arcades nodded, “Well, yeah. You could say that to some degree, but it’s not entirely perfect. Any protection is better than no protection; I mean, we are dealing with the Foundation after all. I don’t want to risk them finding out where we are. Especially after what we’ve been through. If we get caught again, we might not get as lucky as we did last time.”
Jim held up his phone at chest-level and caught the anthros’ attention before Arcades could search anything, “Hey, I have an email from the Prince of Sealand.” Arcades’ ears perked up, “You do? What does he have to say?” Jim read the email and summarized the contents to the fox, “He’s saying that CDI has an aircraft carrier docked at the port Bobby and I left from when you and Jason were gone.” Arcades was surprised, “One of CDI’s aircraft carriers? Dang, w
hat are they planning on doing with it?” Jim continued scrolling through the message, “He’s telling me that he spoke with a friend who works at the port, and he told him that they are planning to go to a place in Canada called… Devon Island…” Arcades was confused as to why the human paused before saying the location, “What’s so special about Devon Island?” Jim looked at the leaked map which the Prince included in the email, “Omega doesn’t have any known facilities in the Arctic. This may be the location of Facility Zero.”
Bocchino raised an eyebrow, “Facility Zero? The fuck is that supposed to be? Sounds like a fucking generic bad-guy lair from a damn movie.” Jim explained, “One of the Alpha-Omega guys told me about the place at one point. It’s supposed to be a place where Omega keeps their most secret projects and developments.” Arcades remembered the XMP-1, “Wasn’t the XMP-1 supposed to be a secret project?” Jim shook his head, “No, not actually. Remember, this is Omega we are talking about. The XMP-1s were assembled at a regular Omega Facility. If I remember correctly, it was a facility numbered in the twenties.” Bocchino looked at the human, “Not all Omega facilities have anthros?” Jim shook his head, “No. Facility Five had the bulk of them in the US at least. There are quite a few Omega facilities which focus on communications, logistics, and manufacturing. The Foundation needs to function one way or another.” Arcades digested the information, “Interesting… They’ve really got a whole operation going on, don't they?” Jim replied, “For sure. Omega wants to be self-sufficient so they don’t have to worry about relying on resources and assets from outside the Foundation. The XMP-1 was a step in that direction, even though the proto-plans for the weapon were discovered in Hong Kong: The Norinco QTS-11.”
The fox remembered back to his mission in Hong Kong, “So, what did the Foundation use before they had the XMP-1?” Jim replied with what he knew, “Omega produced unlicensed copies of FN Herstal weapons before they made the XMP-1. The XMP-1 was designed to replace the bulk of their armament.” Bocchino was curious about the Stealth Hawk, “How about that fucked up looking Black Hawk? Did Omega make that as well?” Jim nodded, “They sure did. They have an entire facility dedicated solely on manufacturing those. They are basically unlicensed Sikorsky S-70 clones anyways.” Arcades spoke next, “My Pave Hawk is really just a heavily modified S-70 anyways. I had it use the avionics and equipment suitable for combat search and rescue operations, and I had an aftermarket refueling probe installed. After all, search and rescue operations are kinda what Fox Security did… Well, when it was still around, that is.” Jim had something to ask the fox, “Kurt, what are you exactly planning to do with that company, anyways?” Arcades shrugged, “Well, that’s kind of an issue. With the whole fiasco of going to the Congo and bringing all of us plus Jackie back here, we’re kinda low on money at this point. I no longer have the employees I had before, and I’ve gotta hurry up and do something at least. Since we are registered as an LLC, we are still legally allowed to have our select-fire weapons. I really don’t feel like getting thrown back in jail because I am in possession of ‘machine guns’ instead of my LLC.”
Jason did not understand the laws the fox was referring to, but he did have something to input, “Bloody hell, back where I’m from, it’s a huge hassle to get anything that’s a gun at all.” The fox raised an eyebrow and displayed a small smirk on his face, “Yeah, I’m familiar with how that goes in Australia.” Jason decided to broaden his topic, “In fact, if Kurt had his bag of restraints in most states in Australia, then he’d be looking at hefty jail time over there. They’re considered prohibited weapons in Australia.” Arcades shrugged, “Guess I’m glad I’m not over there.” Bocchino was becoming slightly impatient, “You guys can fuck around with that faggot shit later. Just leave me the fuck outta it. Jim, what are we looking at here anyways? Is this that Facility Zero place you were talkin’ about?” The human realized that the cat returned his attention to the email he was sent. Jim turned his phone’s display back on before scrolling down to read the rest of the message. Within the email were leaked screenshots from the RQ-180’s flight showcasing the arctic complex as well as the original leaked images posted by Alpha-Omega. Jim took a deep breath, “In my honest opinion. It does look like the place. I think this may be it.”
Arcades considered the situation, “CDI is planning to bring one of their aircraft carriers there. Are they planning on assaulting the base?” Jim looked back at the email before replying, “I mean, the Prince of Sealand seems to believe so. He took a few pictures of the deck. Do you know your planes, Kurt?” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, I’ll probably know them if you show them to me.” Jim enlarged one of the images of the deck before he turned the phone to face Arcades. The fox took a quick look at the carrier’s deck before identifying all of the tan-colored aircraft, “They’ve got Dassault Rafale Ms, Boeing F/A-18F Block III Super Hornets, Lockheed Martin F-35Cs, Sukhoi Su-33s, and NHIndustries NH-90s. Wow, they’re geared up for an all out war.” Jim showed the fox another picture, and Arcades mentally counted the aircraft on the flight deck as well as the cargo he could see being loaded on the ship, “Wow, they’ve got at least four of each craft type from what I can see. They might have even more inside of the ship. They’re also loading up on whatever they’re carrying in the ship.” Jason commented, and he was also looking at the images as well, “They bloody mean business, that’s one thing for sure. Those cunts ain’t going down without a fight.”
Arcades pondered the outcome of such a battle, “Jim, do you think CDI would be able to take on that facility?” The human looked back at the picture of Facility Zero, but he did not have a decisive answer for the fox, “I really don’t know. I’ve heard rumors that Omega was developing some sort of superweapon, but I have no idea how far along that is. I don’t even know if they’ve built anything at all. One thing I do know is that this compound has a pretty massive hangar bay. No clue what’s in there. It could be completely empty for all I know.” The fox was considering taking a risk, “What if we went out there ourselves?” Jim was not sure if Arcades’ idea was the best, “Kurt, the last time we went on an adventure to an Omega facility, it didn’t really go that well. Are you sure about this?” The fox replied to the human, “CDI is a corporation. They’re going to use whatever they have in there for their own benefit. They don’t actually care about the anthros tormented by the Foundation. We do.”
Bocchino shook his head, “Kurt, do you remember where that thinking got you last time? You were led off in chains and completely naked, mind you.” Arcades’ face showed visible embarrassment when the cat mentioned the fox’s capture, but Jason did not show any embarrassment despite the fact both anthros experienced the same treatment. Arcades took a deep breath to try and get his mind off of what happened in the Congo, “Look, we can get in there. We can use the Stealth Hawk.” Jim’s head recoiled upon hearing Arcades’ suggestion, “Kurt, are you sure that would be a good idea? We might attract more attention flying that thing than we would by flying a regular helicopter.” Arcades knew what the human was referring to, “I don’t care about some secret Sikorsky S-70 schematic. Anthros trapped in the Foundation are more important than people knowing what shape a Stealth Hawk is. Besides, the angular design combined with the radar-absorbing paint would allow us to get closer to that facility than other methods of entry. The Foundation will be able to see the carrier coming long before they can even reach the facility.” Jim brought up another objection, “Yeah? Well, how are we supposed to take on that entire facility? It’s larger than the facility from the Congo, and CDI found enough of a reason to bring in a damn aircraft carrier from Europe.”
The fox made a mental map of the location of Devon Island in relation to the port nearest to Sealand, “If we were to leave soon enough, then we should be able to get there about the same time CDI does. They’ll provide a large enough distraction for the Omega security forces there, and we would be able to come in with the Stealth Hawk while they’re distracted. Once we get in, we can work on shut
ting down anything that’s… evil.” The fox paused upon remembering what he had seen in other Omega facilities he had visited. Jim remembered the money which the group collectively spent on their trip to the Congo, “Do you even have enough money for this trip?” Arcades looked to Jason before looking back at the human, “Well, I should have enough, but we’d have to definitely sell something expensive upon returning to the US. I don’t think Bobby would be too fond of us staying in his house for a while as we all work to afford to be able to move out.” Bocchino shook his head and displayed an annoyed look on his face, “No, I would not like that. You fags ain’t stayin’ here for long. That’s for damn sure. I would’ve already kicked you guys out if you were a bunch of niggers.”