Vicarious

[Zerstorendar]

Indrick couldn’t help but notice Fettel’s eyes glaze over as Syukata mentioned “heavy armour� and “automated weaponry�. Indrick attempted to delve into Fettel’s mind, but found the way blocked. How odd, perhaps Fettel really was more than he seemed. However, Syukata’s touching his forehead was curious…

The Ravager himself was becoming excited. Trigger-happy guards? Industrial facility? Automated weaponry? Now this was more his speed, and while he did get the impression Syukata had a plan, he decided to voice his own. Before he could do so, however, Syukata poked him in the forehead and a rush of information ran into his head.

“…What the fuck?� Fettel flinched as a great amount of data swarmed into the recesses of his mind concerning the capabilities of Xenonians.

“Multiple bodies? What? Tereza-damned sorcery, that shit is.� Indrick raised an eyebrow, and Syukata just grinned. Indrick made another attempt to enter Fettel’s mind, but he was protected. If Syukata had told him something, she must have done it through touch. Crafty. He would have to quiz Fettel soon on what he heard. The Ravager, for his part, shook his head and unsuccessfully regained his composure. He voiced his plan anyway, while looking directly at Indrick:

“My Ravagers and I can trash that fucking place, and looking at those schematics-“ Fettel was looking at the datapad in Indrick’s hand, “-we can plan our attack in about an hour. Come on Spectre, this is as good a chance as any to kill these Tereza-damned fucks.� Indrick shook his head, despite his interest in Fettel’s sudden display of competence:

“No, I believe our Xenonian friend-“ Fettel’s eyes blazed as he voiced the last word, “-has a plan of her own. For now we’ll do as she says�. Fettel looked defiant, but relaxed slightly. Fine. Perhaps they could better know their enemy, for now. Syukata, for her part, looked mildly entertained by this power struggle, and Fettel rubbed his forehead where she had poked him. She looked ridiculous in her kipper new outfit, and Fettel wanted to step on her. Tereza knows he could in this body at least, but she was letting him in on secrets she wasn’t giving Indrick. He had no idea why

Syukata just smiled, while Fettel bridled. Fucking sorcery, lucky she’s useful…

Indrick twitched slightly as he received a message from one of his fellow Spectres, a movement Syukata noticed. That was odd. He should have given no visible reaction. The Spectre ran a status check of his person while he processed the contents of the message. Interesting. This was relevant, so he may as well share:

“One of my Spectres has assumed the identity of a guard at this industrial facility.� Fettel raised an eyebrow, and said quizzically:

“’Assumed the identity’?� Indrick nodded.

“Yes. He tracked the man down, interrogated him, mindripped him and absorbed his personality, assumed his physical characteristics, and effectively replaced him. He is making his way the facility for a guard shift. I believe we can use him.�

“What do you suggest, then?� asked Fettel. Syukata’s expression seemed to be asking the same question.

“Well, I am assuming that Syukata is planning on some sort of appeal to the guard’s emotions to infiltrate the outer facility. However, she obviously has no plan to stay inconspicuous-“ Fettel twitched as he looked at her top hat, “-and so we must assume that we will be staying out of sight. As a guard, he can help Syukata with her plan which, I imagine, involves an explosion.� Despite himself Fettel grinned, and quickly turned it back into a scowl. He then spoke:

“It sounds to me like there is a lot of potential for shit to go up in flames. My Ravagers should at least be put on standby while we enter the facility.� Indrick thought for a moment, then nodded. Fettel grinned again, and moved his wrist up to his mouth to speak into a small, concealed comlink:

“Endlich (Corporal), get the men to the coordinates I’m sending. You’re going in cold, don’t be seen by the local populace. I want you in full fucking gear, do you hear that?� A clearly entertained voice replied:

“Rip and tear sir?�

“Tereza willing, Endlich. Tereza fucking willing�.
Fettel put his arm back to his side, and didn’t stop smiling, even as Syukata started dancing in front of him. This mission was finally getting fun. Indrick shrugged.

“We should get moving. My Operative will be in position very soon. Lead the way, Syu-Syukata�. Odd. He was experiencing psychological fluctuations. The interference was consistent with a mental attack, similar to those he himself was capable of. Fettel’s grin wavered slightly, Syukata gave no indication she noticed at all.

Indrick decided he would have to be wary of his own status. Something was wrong, though he doubted it would interfere with the coming mission.

[Xenonier]

With a far clearer expectation of exactly what the Rendari intended, Kata went over the specifics of her plan with all involved in great detail, stressing the significance of disabling the primary lines of defense. Timings were discussed, changes of guards and all other relevant information was presented in order to work out the best attack angles, as well as calculate orders of change and control well beyond the initial contact. Eventually, with all parties satisfied that the approach would work (beyond Fettel expressing a desire to tear the bots apart himself.), they could get moving around the streets once more. While it necessitated a change of uniform once more for Syukata herself, she wasn't complaining. Things were going swimmingly, why complain?

On the streets once again, she found herself acting as the tour guide once more. Having a clear idea of where to head this time, 'Kata herself was able to speed along the backstreets, actively challenging Fettel to keep up without actually breaking into a jog. While her antics were not punctuated by constant and seemingly random blatherings this time around, Syukata appeared as carefree as ever. This facade of carelessness however, almost seemed to have been broken open at one point, as they passed one of the upper scale clubs in the entertainment district. While weaving in and out of the rather exhausted patrons, 'Kata's attitude seemed to harden just once, in the aftermath of a near-collision with a man in a suit of rather odd stature. Dodging around his feet (as her small form tended to do) brought the fact that he was holding the exhausted and rather sickly form of an unconscious blonde woman into the spectrum. At this point, Syukata's face darkened momentarily and she muttered the words "It's going to take you people years ... to recover from all the damage" in a weak voice, before continuing onwards.

Despite this, 'Kata felt a stronger desire to talk at this point and started a fairly one-sided conversation with Indrick and Fettel, her voice chirping about.

"Certain Situations is often considered an odd organisation by outsiders. Many find it difficult to grasp that the organisation's purpose extends well beyond diplomacy and encompasses an exceptional range of specialized operations for the purposes of the Irregularity itself. In many ways, this goes a long way towards explaining why people cannot grasp why CS exists, simply because the doctrines of the organisation add the possibility of accomplishing just about anything. Serves as a fantastic testing ground for the most advanced technology of the irregularity, in truth."

As the little excursion progressed, the design of Rabona began to change into the demure, rusted colours and monolithic shapes of the heavy industrial sections. Military checkpoints of the intrusive kind gave way to observation towers, automated defense stations and turret/sensor constructions at every street, highlighting this era as of key importance to the government. They were running out of time before dawn, adding a certain quality of haste to the movement of the little group. As the specific facility came into vision, Kata herself scanned the area, observing the roads that encircled the perimeter. She prepared to leave the Rendari, and to carry how her action in the little plot.

"Well boys, even if we've been over this once, I like redundancy. I like it a lot. As we said, If I'm not adhering to my part of the plan in thirteen of this planet's minute cycles, go rip and tear." She cautioned with a smile, before darting away, in the direction of the nearest vehicle bay.

[Zerstorendar]

As Syukata raced off to enact her part of the plan, Indrick decided that it was not in the interests of the mission to stay with Fettel. They both had very different roles to play now. The Spectre spoke quickly to his fellow Zerstorendarian:

“I will be meeting up with another Operative to infiltrate the facility in the ensuing carnage. We’ll be gathering information and nullifying threats, but you probably won’t see us. If you enter the facility with the Xen-Xenonian-“ Fettel’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, “-you will be accompanied by another Operative. He will be in the guise of a gate guard. He will have a scar on his chin, if that helps you identify him. Good luck Ravager.�

With that, Indrick ghosted off at a considerable pace, Fettel quickly losing him amidst the industry surrounding them. Something was wrong with Indrick, and the Spectre knew it. Fettel doubted he knew exactly what was wrong, however.
The soldier smirked. It wasn’t often that an Operative of the Blitzmord didn’t know something, but this was a special case. The other Spectre soon to be accompanying Indrick would be watching his fellow closely. While Fettel had been told that Indrick’s failsafes were strong, it was still possible that the enemy could still manipulate him.

Nonetheless, he finally had a genuine military operation to focus on. Fettel looked up, seeing a rusted steel balcony hanging about two metres above his head. He smiled, and jumped, easily reaching it. His enhancements were top notch after all. Perhaps the Zanekrieger was right. Perhaps he could even fight a Spectre.

Hopefully he wouldn’t have to.

He made his way with a stealth belying his size and temperament to the rendzervous point. His fifty Ravagers were waiting for him, fully suited and busy making last-minute checks of their equipment. Fettel’s Endlich, or Corporal, turned and saw him enter the empty warehouse. The Corporal’s face was hidden behind the Thwarter Powersuit’s integrated combat visor, a functional mask outwardly featuring little more than a rebreather and two glowing eyes. The Corporal was obviously testing the infra-red.

“Sir, we have your equipment prepared�, stated the Endlich in a deep, mechanically filtered voice. All Ravagers looked and sounded exactly the same when wearing their Powersuits. Fettel nodded, and moved to suit up while giving orders:

“We’re out of here in two minutes. Two Spectres will be infiltrating separately, and one will be accompanying myself during the initial entry. I want you and the rest of the lead Subalt (10 man squad) to follow behind at five hundred metres with full active camouflage. Until I say so, and I will very likely say so, you don’t engage. The rest of the Digit (the entire 50 man unit) will stand down, but when I say so, all guns blazing.
I’m also willing to bet this fucking planet knows more about the Cult than they care to admit it, and any Ravager fired on by anyone may respond with full force.�
Having done it thousands of times, Lich Dirk Fettel finished putting on his armour as the Endlich acknowledged his orders and bounded to the upper floor of the warehouse. As he climbed out of a window to drop nine metres to the ground, Fettel said one more thing:

“I want a report every two minutes.� The Corporal saluted as Fettel disappeared and the crunch of his body hitting the ground outside was heard:

“You heard the Lich, we’re moving now! He says we’re going to do some killing today, but let’s keep it clean until then. Go!�
Behind their expressionless masks, most Ravagers were smiling as they left the building in different directions (and from different levels) to take their designated positions. Some just weren’t the smiling type.

For his part, Indrick had already met up with his fellow Spectre. The two exchanged no words, simply watched. As soon as they saw the explosion, they would be inside. They were both fully armed and armoured.

Indrick twitched slightly, and his fellow Spectre pretended not to notice.

[Xenonier]

Now reasonably confident the positions of everyone for the upcoming operation, Syukata could now endeavor to carry out her own plan, which she had specifically designed so as to be as outrageous and unbelievable as possible. The vehicle she had in mind for this little bit of unwholesome driving was something she'd been saving for a while, a veritable masterpiece of her jury-rigging skills. One turbofan driver sports vehicle, top of the line, with a heavy duty Xenonian suppression device and wired with a relatively small fuse, as well as the composite nanites to take the thing apart after she'd used it and wipe out any nasty memories. The Authorities would simply end up assuming the explosion knocked out the guards, or ... assume little. Either way, it wouldn't concern her.

Firing the engine up and looking over the fairly mundane interior, the Xenonian operative moved over the passenger seat before running her hands through her hair. It was one thing for this form to get a chance to drive, it was entirely another to be given such opportunities for raw chaos. She'd love to see this in a regular snuff film. Powering the control panel and manipulating the input codes, Syukata felt the motion of the vehicle immediately. Inertics just wasn't working with the average Rabonan's techbase yet. Nevertheless, this little contraption could still manage to output plenty of speed, which is exactly what it was preparing to do. Bringing the vehicle along the road and watching the speedometer start to kick into the stages that might worry a careful driver, Syukata was absolutely aware of the grin that encompassed her face from one end to the other, even if she wasn't actually holding onto the steering wheel to drive the damn thing. Before actually starting up the vehcile, she had taken the time to attach a sticker she felt was rather appropriate to the rear.

"Kinetics. The science that will pull rug from under you, if you don't keep up. And even if you probably did ..."

'Kata doubted anyone could have picked a better phrase.

Ater the turbofan on the right started to give out, a spark seemingly announcing this imminent event (those tasty nanites proving their worth once more) and the whole thing span horribly out of control, she doubted any onlookers had the time to reflect on a superior slogan either. So it was that the laws of physics promised an incoming projectile on the facility's defenses, and one absolute nutcase of a Xenonian with it.

As this rather movie-esque contraption of explosions, errors and imminent danger was being constructed, the average velocity of another two figures was becoming an important consideration. Those suited people, or more specifically two of the four were blazing their way through the streets of Rabona, moving with just the right combination of speed and control to avoid the eyes of bystanders (except people in their homes, but being awake at this time of the morning will make you see things anyway, so it worried neither of them). Upon arriving at the Industrial district however, they slackened their pace, trusting the capabilities of the gunfire sensors and heightened military presence to take actions to stop them otherwise. Arriving with enough time to find a place of sufficient perspective to watch the oncoming chaos took some doing, and more than one Rabonan resident could have swore they saw two odd figures leaping over car roofs, housing complexes and everything in between.

"Oh hey, on time, on target. No need to even use our badges. Diplomatic core, heh." Was all the first, the blonde woman had to utter to her companion, as they took the time to watch the positions of the Rendari from a nearby rooftop cafe. Both her form, and that of her companion's was still draped in the suits. While the cafe itself was closed, the combination of a soundless arrival and the senses of each figure was more than enough to prevent any civilian interference in their spectating. Besides, there was plenty of options if someone spotted them at this point by accident that skirted around violence. The male figure, simply smiled and turned away for a moment, looking back on the path they had used to arrive here.

"Actually, we're early. But then again, the very act of talking between us is rather redundant. You certain seem to enjoy it though. Since we're on the topic of redundancy, now that we've got the girl, so that gives us even more presence for the main event. After all, given the time one has to express the opinion that you might even get to end up watching the sunrise and drink those alcohols you happen to be so fond after al ... ah ...

Even the trajectory was perfect. Gotta rate that collision highly."

A bizzare chorus of screeches and tearing metal followed this odd moment of praise.

[Zerstorendar]

Dirk Fettel lay on the roof of a small building where he was close to the soon-to-be-unfolding action, his active camouflage rendering him almost invisible. He smiled inwardly. Hopefully he wouldn’t need it soon. He ran over the memorized schematics of the facility for the umpteenth time, ensuring every aspect of his plan was sound. His Ravagers could sweep the entire facility in under ten minutes, positioned and moving so that nobody could escape through the net of supersoldiers. Not a single room or person would be left untouched. Yes, unless Indrick tu-

“By fucking Tereza, that little…� Fettel’s face twisted under his visor as he heard, then saw, the vehicle Syukata had chosen. It was a jury-rigged turbofan driven monstrosity, and as he watched, it began to spin out of control. Fishtailing, spinning, bouncing but generally accelerating, the vehicle zoomed forward at a wildly fluctuating 220-odd km/h, according to the watching Ravagers’ combat visors. Fettel was sure his Corporal would be finding this amusing. The Lich himself just hoped the stupid girl got herself hurt. She had more bodies anyway.

Though he doubted the undercover Spectre he had already identified at the gate would let her die. No fun, those Blitzmord bastards. And fucking dangerous, in the case of Indrick.

The other two Spectres watched impassively, hidden completely by a far more powerful active-camouflage than used by the Ravagers and boosted with the Spectre’s own powers of the mind. Indrick’s thoughts conflicted as he saw the out-of-control vehicle speed toward the now-concerned gate guards. He wasn’t concerned about the safety of the undercover Operative, he wasn’t concerned that Fettel would botch the mission, and he was even less concerned that he and his counterpart would fail their own part. So what was it?

Ten seconds before impact, however, he focused once more on the job at hand.

Fettel couldn’t help but be excited. He saw the Spectre-guard call a warning to his ‘fellows’, and the gate guards scattered. He could just hear Syukata squeal in abject terror (or not) as the vehicle straightened slightly, picked up speed to just over 300 km/h, and slammed right into the metal gate.

The effects were entertaining, to say the least.

The gate was smashed open, pieces of metal flying everywhere as the now badly-crumpled but still-moving vehicle careened into a small guard structure, smashing it to pieces. The vehicle’s front slammed into the ground, flipping it into the air. It span crazily for a few seconds, then landed in a shower of twisted metal and broken glass. Fettel grinned. That was fucking brilliant. He took a couple of seconds to clamber down the building. It was time to get just a little closer before the real action started.

The guards ran over to the trashed vehicle, yelling and panicking in an attempt to reach the occupant. Fettel could hear snippets of their words:

“Quick, is she alright!�
“Fuck, she can’t have survived!�
“Open it up!�
“Hold my gun!�
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT IN THERE�
“Shut the fuck up and help me!�

Fettel noticed they had completely abandoned the gate in favour of trying to rescue Syukata. Idiots. If he was the gate commander, the first thing he would do is fix the gate.

The Spectre was the only one who was even close to calm, but he still had an amusingly antagonized expression. To keep in character, Fettel supposed. Nobody seemed to notice the ease with which he pulled off a part of the car to reach the bloody girl inside, but were too wrapped up in the miracle of her survival. They were crowded around her as the Spectre suddenly sprinted, bleeding and comatose little girl in his arms, towards where Fettel was hiding. The Spectre, sprinting at quite a bit faster than the human norm, jumped over the ruins of the gate and ducked around the wall, out of sight of the confused guards.
The guards expressed initial confusion: “Hey Tarik, let us have a look at the girl!�, and “Come on man, you know we’re not supposed to be popping shit while on duty!�, and an isolated “She was pretty cute…�.

As the guards began to move away from the vehicle to see why ‘Tarik’ had ran off, the real surprise activated. One guard heard something click, and turned to look at the wreck. A rather quick-minded individual, he almost had time to scream a warning:

“FUUUU-“

And then it exploded.

Fettel was grinning wildly now. The explosion wasn’t significant, throwing several guards through the air. However, a suppression wave of some sort echoed outward from the initial activation, slamming all of the guards to the ground and knocking them unconscious. The Spectre held the now smiling Syukata still as the wave was mostly absorbed by the wall to their backs, but Fettel fancied he could feel it from his position. Potent device. Perhaps the Xenonians could spare a few…

Lich Dirk Fettel stood and made his way to the unpertrurbed Spectre and excited, blood-covered, Syukata.

“Let’s get this started, Spectre.� The Operative nodded, letting Syukata down from his arms, who brushed the dust off of her skirt with blood-stained hands, paying no attention to the stains she was creating.

Indrick and his companion sprinted at their maximum operative speed, similar to the average civilian vehicle’s cruising speed. They bounded over the walls, landing with very little sound, and clambered up the side of the structure to enter through a vent the schematics had revealed. This would hopefully be a seven minute operation, and Indrick couldn’t wait for it to be over. As soon as he entered the building, he developed a headache, and it was getting worse. Since when did Spectres get headaches?

As Fettel, Syukata, and the third Spectre made their way toward the facility entrance (quickly, as no doubt the crash would attract attention), Fettel decided the moment was ripe to say what he had been wanting to say all day:
Speaking into his comlink: “Ravagers, execute Operation Seaking.�

“Fuck yeah, sir� came the reply. His Corporal knew him too well.

Fifty-four Zerstorendarians were thinking some variant of the same thing: about fucking time.

[Xenonier]

Now that the first chords of the following chaos had begun, the suited figures observed carefully. They scrutinized every detail, watching the plans of the figures below swing into action with a certain detached amusement that such a ridiculous idea had ever been accepted. Allowing his head to lul back and forth, the Male figure allowed himself a moment to smile, before opening his mouth to communicate once more.

"This redundancy is rather catchy really. Popular music of the average galactic nation should take notes, as should all the raceing drivers. Quite an achievement in chaos, really". He expected no response from the woman, nor did he receive one. Taking out what appeared to be a rather retro styled Terran mobile phone, he flicked the lid before typing in a number. The receiver was picked up in around half a second.

"Hello ... how may I ..." The voice that answered was carrying the intonation of an Airavuni native, someone of high education by the sounds of things. They managed no further Query before the suited figure cut down them down.

"Greetings. My name, while ultimately irrelevant to your livelihood and rather beyond your ability to pronounce, is colloquially Christoph Neate. My Profession, is that of a cleaner in the Xenonian Defence Forces, subsection, Certain Situations. I'm afraid to be the harbringer of your world onto a very dark path, but you reap what you sow, senator." Christoph heard only a strangled whine in response, before the voices firing back started to multiply. At first it was only several voices, challenging this pronouncement and demanding to know how he had accessed these supposedly 'private' numbers'. Despite the mass of yelling, it took Christoph but one second to silence them all.

"Ah, that would be everyone. Hello gentlemen, ladies, Senators of the government of Airavuni ... Senators who just so happen to have supported the growth of the Cult of Claire and their subsequent ties to paramilitary organisations. Sadly, your Cirno's have come home for summer, with the intention of leaving you all as still-warm corpses. To answer the question I know you're all asking, your funding made a major mistake in terms of controlling your investment, dears. See, the pirate militias your people funded, slagged a planet under the auspices of the Projected Irregularity of Xenonier. Which in itself would not be a problem, but then you had to make it personal, by shooting our diplomat in the face and attempting to dispose of the body. Quite the left wing society you are. Just as an aside, I would like to to note she's very much alive, and her blonde hair is as beautiful as it has ever been. The blood stains took a while to get out however, as did the reconstruction of her entire brain. " A pause was added for dramatic effect, just enough so that Christoph could listen to silence at the (ends) of the line. Behind him, Blonde-Hair coughed in an attempt to stifle back a giggle, proving ultimately fruitless since Christoph could 'hear' it over the Neuralinks anyway.

"Yes, we're aware of that little mistake on your part. You're going to have to excuse me when I state to us, that's essentially a declaration of war. Now, Xenonians don't like war for the most part, but you people just had to resort to violence, of a rather blatant and clumsy kind. As a result, I'm here, on your little sanctuary of rabid drug use and mindless, over-extended government megabloat, to push back. To prod and pull and castrate key parts of your little empire, until it falls apart. We Xenonians adore irony and in my mind, as well as that of the people I represent, nothing will be more amusing than watching your little sandbox fall apart, with you inside it. So by all means, retreat to your homes and your bodyguards, believing yourself safe from military escalation. It's a comforting delusion, but it's irrelevant, since as the people of Airavuni are innocent where you are not, we won't be destroying the country itself. In this situation, I choose to take my enemies apart piece by piece on a different level, something you people are about to experience. It's a little more than just murder, it's all about the genocide of dreams and ambitions, psychological plays that you may or may not recognise, depending on your competence. The best part as far as I am concerned is it uses only your own guilt as a weapon to 'hang' you, both metaphorically and ... should your people reinstate that punishment, even physically. That process is set to begin just about now, by the way. In conclusion, good day to you all, and I hope you read the news this morning. I'll be giving each and every one of you atleast fifteen different reasons to end yourselves, or consider fleeing the borders of this little paradise. Mind you, the moment you leave those boundaries, you are effectively committing a rather perverse form of suicide"

Now, corrupt politicians of Airavuni ... I have a criminal empire of yours to seize control of, staring here, in Rabona. May you all sleep soundly alongside your families, for you won't have the state of mind to recognize them at the very end, before you an hero.

Toodles!"

With that, the phone was returned to the pocket. Ultimately, he wasn't at all concerned if they managed to track the signal. The worst they could was send a gunship to deal with him, after all. His mental meanderings were interrupted by a moment, from his partner standing behind, now clutching a very familiar guitar. As it stood, the other two were hurrying back, the girl with her.

So far, things had gone rather well.

[Zerstorendar]

Fettel, the Spectre, and Syukata made their way through the industrial complex, heading for the administration offices. The colour, tone, and irregularity of their surroundings made active camouflage highly effective, and Syukata was doing a surprisingly good job of staying hidden. However, Fettel was quickly tiring of hiding. The enemies were expendable, and they wouldn’t be able to hide easily from the security bots.

Speaking of which, a guard flanked by two bots clanked over the gangway above the three. The bots buzzed, detecting the presence of intruders. Before the guard could issue a report to his fellows, the man crumpled, gasping in mute pain. He fainted. Fettel was glad those sorts of Spectre tricks wouldn’t work on him, but it was handy to have a companion who could do such things to power-armoured men.

His reverie was interrupted as the bots whirred, detecting danger, and activating their weaponry. Before they could sound an alarm, Fettel and the Spectre fired their weapons through the steel walkways, one at each bot. Their suit AI’s supplemented their weapons with an EMP charge, incapacitating the bots as their systems were overwhelmed. Syukata smiled as if nothing untoward was happening. Fettel knew her body was not as potent as her combat forms, but still had its advantages.

Nothing compared to himself, however.

Fettel ordered his suit AI to check the receivers and positions on the other Zerstorendarians in and around the facility and relay the knowledge to him, the request taking well under a second and the response being much faster.

Indrick and his fellow Spectre were currently butchering their way through a number of bots and guards. The AI-communication network stated that the two Spectres had so far not been fired at. Tereza be damned, Fettel was hoping that Indrick wouldn’t turn, as likely as it was. Indrick’s suit AI was reporting a number of irregularities, all in keeping with the precursors to an indoctrination-fracture.

Fettel noticed that his lead ten Ravagers, led by the Corporal, had entered the facility and were holding position. The rest of his soldiers were still scattered around the facility, awaiting the attack order. Everything was going to plan, then.

The three clambered up to the gangway and made their way along it quietly, though Fettel noticed to his frustration that he was not as quiet as the Spectre. They were like fucking ghosts. Spotting a guard office with a single occupant, Fettel took the lead: he opened the door, and only the low hum of an energy blade’s activation alerted the man before it lanced through his head. Kicking the body under a desk, the three continued to walk, climb, and kill their way through the facility.

Fettel was in charge, and his heavy-handedness would eventually result in the alarm being raised, but it was irrelevant. Trained for this sort of thing he might be, infiltration was firmly the domain of the Spectres and they were hardly being subtle either. Guards, bots, whatever. They were small-fry, the only thing in the facility that was a real danger to the Zerstorendarians was Indrick himself.

As the three leaped several metres high (Fettel holding Syukata by the scruff of her neck) to reach another level of walkways, he considered what the Blitzmordlich had told him when he had been given this mission:

[center]++++[/center]

“You come highly recommended from my brother Klaitus (the Zanekriegerlich). I trust your new enhancements are not troublesome?�

Fettel shook his head: “No sir.�

“Good. They are very similar to those used by Spectres. In fact, with the mind alterations you have been given, you should be immune to many of the advantages that we Spectres have over men such as yourself. Now, have you been told WHY all of this was necessary?�

“No sir.� Fettel had simply been told he was to receive a number of experimental tertiary enhancements to supplement those he already had. He simply followed orders.

“You simply followed orders?� Fettel frowned, and Blitzmordlich Sindri smiled.

“I’m not reading your mind, I’m reading you. That’s something you won’t be able to avoid Operative Indrick doing, but I am counting on that. A man of your…disposition will be written off by Indrick as impetuous, arrogant, a useful tool but not an equal. You want and need Indrick to underestimate you.� Sindri’s mouth twitched. “But you already know this. Now, the WHY.�

“The Cult of Clare, during the Rebellion, did everything they could to infiltrate the Blitzmord. We had agents in their network, but they had none in ours. This was simply because Spectres, while not infallible, are far above the level of even the most erudite of rebel spies. They are smarter, faster, stronger, more creative, and have a long list of advantages that you know by now. The only way to infiltrate the Blitzmord is to do the unthinkable: insert a traitor Spectre.� Fettel cocked his head.

“Permission to speak freely�. Sindri smiled and waved him on. “Is that possible? To turn a Spectre?�

“Oh yes, very much so. Spectres are tools that can be controlled with ease. However, only their masters can control them. Even if they had the means, capturing a Spectre would have had no results for the Cult: there are no weaknesses they can exploit.� The sitting Sindri steepled his fingers and his gaze dimmed, as if the light had gone out of his eyes. It was a trick all Spectres could do, the exact reasons for which the Ravager officer did not know. The standing Fettel found the effect disturbing. Sindri looked up with his dead eyes:

“However, what if a Spectre is given the wrong orders? Their loyalty to the system is infallible, but the system is not. We learned a valuable lesson during the Rebellion. Could you believe, Ravager Fettel, that something as mundane as a Spectre’s AI-communication matrix, could be hijacked? Yes indeed, with the use of a number of illegally-enhanced psychics, an illegally-acquired super-AI, and some perfect manipulation of circumstances, and Operative Indrick, the Spectre in place to stop the activation of a superweapon in the vicinity of the Kaiserlich, was compromised. He resisted strongly, refusing to follow the new orders he was fed, but his programming resisted his own resistance. Spectres are created to follow orders, and I am no exception,

“- the light returned to Sindri’s eyes, “-they are incapable of refusing orders. But if the Spectre knows he is being fed false orders? Fatal paradox.�

His enhanced mind shattered, and he killed a number of Ravagers, a much larger number of rebels, and even a fellow Spectre. It was because of this unforeseen internal rebellion that the rift generator was able to be activated without our knowledge, and was only stopped just in time to save the entire moon by another Spectre. It was remarkable foresight and planning by the rebels to attempt this on only a single Spectre, the one senior Spectre that stood firmly in the way of their plans.�

Fettel shifted uncomfortably. He would never have a problem like this with his Ravagers… Sindri cleared his throat, a calculated gesture that was physiologically unnecessary, and continued:

“We put him back together again as best we could. We had never seen a Spectre broken before, we did not even think to simulate such a paradox. A fatal flaw that has since been rectified, but Indrick remains the single example in the Blitzmord of a rogue Spectre. He has been unstable ever since, but there was one interesting result: Indrick became hyper-intelligent on a level that we have not yet seen in the Spectres. He does not even know how intelligent he potentially is: he has a number of fragmented personalities held together by our conditioning. He is useful to us because he can see, know, assume, conclude things that even an AI would struggle with. So he is more useful than ever, and more dangerous.

In this upcoming mission on Airavuni, Indrick will be the leader of the Spectres there. His two companions are informed, and eminently capable, but there is no doubt that Indrick is moreso. My concern is that the Cult, who without a doubt has been tracking him to the best of their abilities, will attempt to unravel his mind once more. They cannot control him, but they can unleash him. They will set a trap, and he will walk into it, knowing fully what is happening. I believe the genius-within wants to be free, and insanity is the only answer.

I have allowed the Cult to monitor Indrick. Of course it is ludicrous they could ‘track’ a Spectre�, Fettel was thankful for that, at least, “but I must see if my failsafes can keep Indrick’s mind intact. This mission will be his most important test, to see if he is the Blitzmord’s most potent asset, or deadly liability.�
Fettel interjected: “Exactly what is it you want me to do, sir?�

“You, my dear Ravager, will be his companion, watchdog, slave, and if necessary, executioner. The Zanekriegerlich has made it plain that a presence of an officer as capable as yourself is needed on this mission, but you can serve far more use than that. With the new enhancements you have been given, you can fight Indrick on equal terms. Of course, I could have given you a killswitch, but I imagine you would prefer to test yourself, am I correct?�
Fettel nodded.

“This is a test of your abilities, as well. You are a man that Zerstorendar has never seen the likes of, and your performance will decide whether or not they will again.

Carry out your mission as a Ravager, but do not forget my objectives: observe Indrick, and assist the other two Spectres in suppressing him if necessary. I would prefer him alive, but I very much doubt that will be possible.

Your abilities be with you, Lich Fettel. Advancement awaits if you pass this test.�

[center]++++[/center]

Fettel strongly suspected Indrick would fail to resist the pressures being exerted on him for much longer. This facility was definitely the center for the Cult’s AI, the same AI that had broken Indrick several years ago.

Killing another guard while the Spectre disabled another pair of bots, the Ravager hoped his own men would not receive the full fury of an insane Indrick. According to the reports, only assisted by both Spectres did Fettel stand a chance against Indrick. Even with his enhancements.

The superhuman, power-armoured and elite Ravagers waiting outside would stand no chance at all. The fact that Indrick could single-handedly wipe out every foe in this facility did little to alleviate Fettel’s apprehension.

Syukata, however, was probably going to die.

[Xenonier]

Considering the previous events in their own unique light, Syukata felt now was about the time to push things along. Leading the way, displaying her uncanny abilities to avoid all sorts of fire with every step she took, the frenzied race to the major control sectors of the facility continued. Whenever a bot appeared nearby, it was either barraged with attacks from her Rendari 'companions', or she was able to disable it with her own unique systems. In terms of actual fleshy problems, they were beginning to peel away in numbers and firepower as the group got progressively closer to their target, which matched up with what the plans had said. The closer one got to the primary defence control systems, the greater the amount of security handed over to the automated and/or AI controlled systems themselves.

The next door however, might offer a problem. Shielded and armoured, with shielded and armoured turrets packing rather serious firepower. For all the Cult of Claire's failings, at least they took the time to guard the inner sanctums with a degree of competency. Big indeed.

A quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that Fettel was still right behind her, while the Spectre was checking the last hallway they had passed, expecting the presence of a particularly heavy bot, as indicated under the plans of the building. Just the right time for her little plan, even if she'd only have one attempt at this (slowdown or no). Grasping her right hand firmly, Syukata ran into the field of vision she knew the turrets were working with, braced herself on the wall, and leapt right at the turrets. As she was propelled foward, Syukata twisted her hand in what should have been an anatomically impossible position, netting a rather ominous 'click' for her trouble. Hitting the ground with quite impressive speed, 'Kata rolled along the ground, pulling herself with her now handless arm aimed straight at the door, just as the turrets swung on her and began charging.

Her maniacal grin never faded, nor did the glee in her voice.

"Hadoken time"

Fettel's observation at this point, would have noted time itself seemed to slow down, affecting every viewable aspect of reality with the exception of Kata's detached hand. The hand itself flew smoothly at the doors, before it struck the shield. Upon this point of contact, the shields, and both the turrets and door seemingly began to flow. The metal of both managed to appear shimmering and moving as if it was an ocean itself for a few brief moments and then, there was a voluminous whine. Once the strange little moment was over, Kata was standing alone, with neither shielded door nor turret now marking her person. She spun around, noticing both Fettel once more, as well as the Spectre hurrying to join him. Reattaching her hand took only on a momentary action, which she ended with a jibe.

"Next?"

Their goal awaited. One set of server banks, which maintained a handy amount of information on everything the Cult happened to be planning. The extent of those servers, be they run by sentient AI or something completely different was unknown to Kata, not that she really cared. Overpowered AI or no, it hadn't done nearly enough to stop the fruition of her plans, or the plans of the Rendari so far, nor did it appear to have the capability to do so, based on all the knowledge she possessed.

[Zerstorendar]

The Spectre seemed unimpressed, but Fettel couldn't help but be fascinated by the big bag of tricks Syukata was turning out to be. But slowing down time, or speeding herself up, or whatever she did? Tereza-damned sorcery shit right there. Still, she was handy.

Syukata stood there smiling, allowing Fettel to take the lead. The Spectre disappeared down a hallway for a moment to finish of a sentry bot he had spotted, then reappeared, and the three of them stepped through the now-open doorway. Fettel checked on the status of the other two Spectres: they were converging on the same area. It appeared that the two groups would soon be uniting inside the inner sanctum of the Cult.

Two guards, wearing far more powerful suits of power-armour and holding top-of-the-line energy rifles, raised their weapons to fire as they spotted the trio. One crumpled immediately as the Spectre crushed his mind, and Fettel's combat AI allowed him to react at ludicrous speeds: running forward and firing railgun blasts into the enemy's helmet, Fettel killed the man and kicked his body to the floor before the soldier was able to fully raise his weapon. Top notch enhancements indeed, he doubted he was quite that fast as a regular Ravager.

Fettel ordered the Spectre to move ahead and eliminate enemy guards while he himself monitored the situation of his Ravagers. His Corporal reported that Airavuni Military Forces had been detected converging on the facility. Per-

Indrick's status appeared to be deteriorating. The Spectre accompanying the lead-Operative was reporting inconsistencies in his counterpart's behavior consistent with growing mental instability. The AI used to break Indrick in the first place was nearby, and the closer Indrick came to it the more power it exerted over his mind. It was evidence as to how strongly Indrick was resisting that something as trivial as distance mattered to an undoubtedly high-level AI. It seems the Blitzmordlich's safeguards would fail after all. Unsurprising, considering Indrick was something new entirely. Fettel decided it was time Indrick stayed back.

“Operative Indrick, as ranking officer in this operation I order you to leave this to myself. Hold your position.�

“Negative, Lich.� Fettel grimaced. It was worse than he feared. Catching up to Syukata and the third Spectre, the latter in the process of disintegrating corpses, Fettel informed them of the situation:

“Indrick is unstable. We may have to deal with him soon.� The Spectre nodded, Syukata kept her now-defining smile unwavering. Fettel now faced a difficult decision: go forward and confront the leaders of the Cult and risk Indrick throwing things awry, or deal with Indrick and possibly allow the Cult to escape.

There was one alternative: he needed his Ravagers. Before he could open the comlink, his Corporal's mechanical voice materialized:

“Sir, Airavuni PDF are surrounding our positions. They have not attacked yet.� No sooner had this been said than the sound of military gunships echoed down the armoured halls of the inner sanctum. A significantly boosted voice boomed inside and outside of the facility, and alarms sounded in the background:

“This is the Airavuni Planetary Defence Force. You will surrender immediately or be dealt with using deadly force.�

“I suppose you heard that, sir� said the Corporal.

“Weapons free.�, ordered Fettel.

“Acknowledged�. No sooner had this been said than the various sounds of Ravagers at war erupted. Having prepared for this eventuality, the Ravagers instantly engaged enemy ground forces within their vicinity and prepared to use the facility itself as a defensive bulwark. Once the enemy force was scattered around the facility in a siege, it would be easier to break out. The Corporal and his nine Ravagers unleashed their full fury on the now-alerted guards and bots of the facility itself, and fighting erupted both inside and outside of the facility. Fettel's hand had been forced.

“Let's go, we're going to finish the Cult right here and now�.

Subtlety thrown to the wind, the trio killed a number of guards that moved to stop them as they approached the entryway to the Cult's command centre. The ludicrous strength of Fettel and Spectre combined allowed them to force the door, and Fettel regretted his involvement in the infiltration as reports came flooding in of enemy artillery and armoured units forcing his Ravagers to fall back before they suffered casualties. The battle outside was so far bloody, and Fettel wished he was there.

Entering the rebel command centre, Fettel and his Spectre companion killed two more guards and charged in. Some unarmoured Cult personnel could be seen trying to escape, and they were cut down by rapidfire railgun blasts.

“Sir, gunships are engaging second and third Digits. Falling back to the facility.�

“Fourth Digit has overrun an enemy armoured unit.�

“Cover Digits two and three�, Fettel ordered.

“Digit Five is falling back, gunships are proving difficult to damage.�

As this battlefield chatter came through, Fettel was still killing Cult members. To think these were the people responsible for the death of the Kaiserlich four years ago, and he was receiving the honour of killing them! The Cult of Clare would end this day.

The trio approached the top floor of the command center, where the Cult's supreme leaders would no doubt be cowering along with the server banks of their illegal AI. Bounding up a short flight of stairs toward the door protecting the last of the Cult of Clare, Fettel's AI informed him Indrick had been separated from their operational network. Knowing what this meant, Fettel turned. They were so close to final victory, but this could not be ignored. A brief message from the second Spectre confirmed his fears:

“Operative Indrick has gone rogue.�

The distinctive sound of crumpling metal and energy blades clashing against each other rang out as Indrick and the loyal Spectre fought. Fettel gave a general order to his beleaguered Ravagers before leaping to join the not-so-distant fight against the rogue Spectre:

“Blitzmord Operative Indrick is how hostile. All Ravager units terminate on sight, tertiary priority.�

As Fettel and the third Spectre emerged into the lower floor, they saw the new Indrick fighting, and overwhelming, the second Spectre. It was immediately apparent that he was now something different. He grinned and laughed as his emotionless foe parried and dodged attacks faster than the human eye could follow, and it was still too slow. The energy-blade emitters on both of their arms flashed and sparked as they absorbed excess energy from the powerful blows, four blades in total creating the effect of a blur of light. The metal walls of the command centre were crushed and buckled from incredibly powerful impacts. The Spectre swung hard at the rogue's head, and his arm was knocked back with such force that it left another, very noticeable, dent in the solid steel wall.

As if to remind the group that they were not the only ones fighting, a massive explosion sounded as an artillery shell impacted inside the facility.Yelling could be heard as PDF troopers were slaughtered in their initial attempts to enter.

Fettel and the second Spectre leaped to join the fight, while Syukata considered her options. Indrick laughed, and leaped unharmed through the flashing blades of the Zerstorendarians before bounding up the stairs to the command centre's top level. As the group gave chase, the rogue Spectre's voice rang out:

“Nobody can control me! I'll make them believe it, and then I'll make you believe it!�
Indrick's thoughts were his own in more ways than one, however, and he knew that escape was unlikely in his current predicament. He would have to find a way to even the odds. For now, however, misdirection.

Somehow, a shadow of Indrick's powers penetrated the mental protection Fettel possessed, and a thought that was not his ghosted weakly into his mind:

“Indrick is dead now, and so are you! Oh, this will be fun Lich...�

[Xenonier]

The Neuralinks were processing one continuous stream of information now – all provided by Kata herself As it now stood, the situation had evolved well beyond the parameters that the emissaries of Zestorendar seemed to have constructed and hence the real challenges were starting to mount up. The arrival of the local defence forces had transformed an already chaotic situation into the equivalent of a slaughterhouse, of which the bodies were going to be mounting up along all sides.

None of this however, seemed to phase the CS operatives looking onto the battle, crouched behind a convenient amount of wreckage. While the woman had grit her teeth upon analysing the capabilities of Indrick, Christoph hadn't even made an attempt to breathe (not that such processes were necessary in the first place). His vision never stopped tracking a pair of PDF gunships, reinforcing the image of him being completely unconcerned with the events unfolding around them. It took several moments of rather uncomfortable conservation (in the perspective of his partner) for Christoph to commit to an action, which filled the corners of her mind. Christoph's movement had an auxillary objective in mind. As the figures moved, they attracted increasingly the attention of one of the gunships themselves, which were skirting the perimeter, looking for more hostiles to target. Upon analysis of the new information indicating Indrick’s seeming lack of information on the rapidly tightening PDF cordon, Christoph’s features changed to a rather grim smile, his statement echoing the sentiment.

“Just as planned.�

One tenth of a second later, he was on the move again, leaping straight into the line of fire between the Zestorendarian forces, and the Airavuni PDF. While neither Xenonian felt particularly threatened by the firefight itself, it would complicate their next set of objectives, demanding that Christoph divert attention to resolving that little scuffle to boot. As they advanced they were shadowed by a another pair of suited figures, whom advanced to the firefight as close as nearby cover would allow before halting. As the two moved, the Woman seemed to be almost bristling at the energy and excitement of it all. Sure, none of the Xenonians were at any serious point of threat so far, but the ability to actually get involved in such a conflict when the major highlight of her presence on this little system so far was being shot in the head, provided an entirely different kind of exciting nevertheless.

"One of the more exciting things I've been able to in the past couple of years, I suppose" was the major train of relevant thought in her head as she easily scaled the approaches to the facility itself, weaving in and out of fire when it presented an incoming obstacle. Now able to move freely inside the facility, it took her less than a second to correctly guess that there would be little, if any interruptions from security personnel at this point. Those had already been neutralized or bled off to deal with the hailstorm outside, leaving the sanctum doors open to Christoph and co alone. Choosing the path that Kata and her 'friends' had cleared, the two Xenonians found themselves standing in front of the sanctum doors. These were also shielded and armoured, to a greater degree than that of the ones Kata's body had been able to remove with her myriad of tricks.

Ultimately, however, Christoph had never intended to destroy them anyway. He simply walked over to the door and put his hand through it. The end result was a direct battle between whatever resources Christoph had, and those of the AI itself. As he initiated the action, he turned towards his female partner, and motioned slightly.

"Well, ready to take a risk?"

All around her, the lights were flickering and the Neuralinks themselves reported all Airavuni communications across the whole planet had become overrun with static, failures and interruptions. Christoph himself had already pulled his hand from the door, which had obediently responded by opening. Ghosting their way inside, the pair took a momentary analysis of the now subdued AI, Christoph eventually settling to watch the other attend to their equipment.

With the expected caution, Christoph and his partner were standing well outside the radius when they triggered the detonators. The significant levels of protection afforded to the inner sanctum in both shield generation and capital-ship level blast doors had proven themselves invaluable twice over. Nevertheless, both the Cleaner and his companion had extended their own personal shields as a supporting measure to the door, should some unknown variable decide to play god with their ordnance expectations.

Outside, rocks were falling in the purest metaphorical sense. The PDF, having the advantage of a significant presence in the industrial sector and being rather handily warned, had fallen back from their initial attempts to extricate the ravagers. Artillery, Heavy Armour and superior infantry assets were already beginning to arrive. Already they had found the Ravagers to be a rather barbed hook and with fear still in their minds, they were concentrating a significant number of assets for the next assault.

As capable as Indrick may have been, he wasn’t getting through that.

____

In the confines of a somewhat more familiar, red-haired stepchildren abode, Kata was observing the battle between Indrick, his kin and Fettel, something she was now holding grave reservations about. The brief moment Indrick had been able to 'work' on the original Spectre alone had allowed him to land a series of telling blows, which clearly impaired their fighting ability. Fettel and the other Spectre on the other hand, while collectively being able to force Indrick back with blow after blow, hadn't been able to kill. Ultimately, the ramifications for the CS agent were highly disturbing. It was clear Indrick’s realisation that there was no avenues of escape gave them a far larger window of time to attempt to finish he presented, however the risk of failure was also rising. This consideration would not leave Syukata’s mind chiefly because it was becoming increasingly apparent Indrick was fighting a lot smarter since his ‘change’.

The first consideration came from the parameter change itself. While Indrick hardly possessed the strength or speed to defeat all three of the still-loyal Rendari at once, he was still throwing around clearly superior abilities. Superior strength or speed in most aspects may have offered only a strictly linear increase, but when those abilities were tied together they made Indrick exponentially stronger. In a fight this close between opponents of this a great skill level with such powerful weapons, margins of victory became increasingly smaller, making the exponential skill increase all the more deadly. Furthermore, Indrick was demonstrating so far the intellectual ability to not only fight all three opponents on reasonable terms, but also to use their strengths against each other. Although some of this was instinctual, Kata caught him positioning himself so as to use his advantages over the trio in more than ninety eight percent of the situations, keeping well within the limits of his body. All of these considerations added up to a fairly simple conclusion. They couldn't take Indrick down without risking their own lives to do so. While there was no doubt in her mind this was a price the Rendari would be happy to pay, it was a dangerous tactic in itself. By risking their own lives for a gain that was neither statistically acceptable, nor definite, the Rendari ran a very possible risk of Indrick surviving their attempt, and managing to take out the weaker Spectre, evening the odds considerably.

The only other factor was her. This was not lost to her and yet, as serious as the situation should have been, Syukata found herself humming the tune to Do The Whirlwind the whole time.

Edging further towards the battle, maintaining a safe distance so not as to disturb the combat awareness of any of the combatants, she waited until the right opportunity raised itself. As another leaping parry from Indrick slightly disrupted Fettel’s balance and Indrick was forced to dodge around a series of clinical attacks designed to remove his head from his neck, she leapt. Scrambling onto his shoulder, she performed an action that while, certainly not likely to be appreciated by Fettel, would serve a very effective purpose. Detaching the other hand upon receiving the Ravager’s grudging approval; she leapt into the combat, becoming the fourth directional Indrick was getting slugged by.

It was at this moment, that observers would have noticed a veritable roar shake both the building and everything within a kilometre. The lights of the complex dimmed and then faded for the last, while the structure of the entire complex was strained to the limits of its superstructure. K-sinks burned their gauges well beyond the intended levels in absorbing the blast emanating from the center of the facility, while much of the still-standing outer walls collapsed into rubble.