The vat was surrounded by state-of-the-art computer systems. It had many different programs tied to all the systems in the video he was watching.
Control Room|
It seemed like a regular floor in a regular building. Doors, elevators, offices, scientists, staff, maintenance workers. There was also a video room. It had a feed into the lower floors.
Observation Floor 1|
Observation Floor 2|
Observation Floor 3|
Nothing out of the ordinary. Just money, favors, and wonder being traded.
There was a sign.
Future Robotics
This site was called Accelerated Laboratories. A name change?
Control Tower|
Not 4 floors, but 4 well-equipped labs. Small initiatives that evolved into fully self-sufficient projects?
Forbidden|
The vat! Bodies were tossed in, riddled with injuries. The wounds closed up in seconds. Superficial treatment? People were held in cells, but they seemed hopeful.
Battle-suits were suspended in mid-air by floating rings. Hundreds of needles protruded from the back, injected something from microscopic tubes, tubes connected to some kind of black sludge rising from the ground.
The tubes and sludge reminded him of a specific line in a document.
//The subjects are making progress. The subjects have begun to bridge the worlds. The 7 suns. Rising in defiance. Falling with dishonor. We are gods. What are they?\\
7 suns? The only 7 he was aware of were the 7 floating continents. They were aloof from worldly affairs and had a separate ecosystem. 2 could be seen in broad daylight. The remaining 5 were hidden above the clouds.
The most obvious difference between them and the rest of the world was their hypothetical ability to fly. If they couldn't fly, how did they interact?
The scientists only paid attention to themselves. There was one in particular. The others approached her and her alone, never the other way around. She was definitely important. He wanted to isolate, maybe interrogate her. The feed wasn't excellent. Technically subpar. Luckily, the Holo-suit had miraculous upscaling abilities.
Peach hair, starting just above the roots. Peach eyeshadow, blush, and a bit of lipstick. A light, super short peach tank top tied to push up her breasts and accentuate them. Peach shorts accompanied by peach sandals. Everything was rather loose, the same way the skin hung off the fruit when peeled. Her posture and demeanor were also quite peachy and friendly.
Didn't take a genius to guess what her name could be. Her nickname, at least.
He recorded as much as he thought was relevant and downloaded anything temporarily stored somewhere.
He felt like the *elevator*, and the *11th floor* were dud leads designed to send someone on a wild goose hunt. The people being thrown into the vat were the same people still in the vat. Their injuries were healed, so why were they still here? Why didn't the scientists come back for them?
Most importantly, where were they now?
(Bzzzzz)
A quick look at the interface. He was startled. He checked the logs to confirm.
Log: Shutdown command sent 12:00 A.M. 01/17/3453
Log: Power-on command sent 12:00 A.M. 08/31/3453
Log: Feed time and date 11:58 P.M. 09/03/3453
Personal Clock: 11:58 P.M. 09/03/3453
The command to turn it back on had an unknown origin. He didn't know how long he had until they got here. Signals could be tracked down within hours. It was pretty easy to get here as well. It wasn't too difficult to navigate the many floors.
New Hope Capital was the center of New Hope Country. Like many other capitals, it was considered a Super-Capital, a bastion of top-tier defense and support. Major cities relied on them for critical intelligence. If you wanted the best genius, the capital was where you went.
City-states were responsible for the protection, negotiation, and problem-solving of a country's citizens and interests. They had robust political economies separate from the larger political landscape. If you needed a good arm or shield, that was the best place to find them.
City-states were roughly a few days apart from each other and the capital.
There were only minutes or hours left until the artillery arrived as he slipped into the darkness. He was anticipating a gathering of experts. He had only ever vaguely seen one in his dreams.
——|——|—|—|——|——
Sophia was about to jump down to the 10th floor when she felt the prelude to an oppressive aura, a moment between life and death. It felt like she was being toyed with in the palm of the opponent's hand.
She didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't good. She didn't want to find out either. She looked down. Sikhail had to be here. It was the best place to hide as well. Only a single vat illuminated the room. Anywhere else was dark.
Feelings of regret began to boil. She wouldn't be in danger if she didn't follow him. Every extra second looking for him meant more chances she would be exposed. However, she was young, so she dismissed those thoughts. With a few more years, she'd be laughing right now, excited about tangling with the strongest. She tightened her nerves and hoped that he felt something was off.
If she survived this catastrophe, she had to survive first.
——|——|—|—|——|——
He always had a blanket wrapped around himself, despite the natural protection of the battle-suit. As he later discovered, it was useful in hiding his shots. As a Rogue, this style was coincidentally quite beneficial to him.
5 years in the military had earned him the nickname Sharp.Eyed-Wolf. He liked how the military styled the WMRs, so he copied it. He was considered special. His trait expression affected his eyes for some reason. It wasn't too great, but enough to make a difference.
All blind spots were as open as someone revealing their hand in poker. Every time he aimed, as long as he saw a blind shot, it was impossible to miss. This made him so valuable that after his first tour, he was personally offered an invitation to a Hell's Forging Zone by the ranking General there.
The pay, the benefits, and the connections were impossible to resist. 3 years later, he started taking 1* Black Diamond mission. A few extra years, and he would be able to pursue 2* and 3* missions. The status afforded with those missions meant he was basically as important as the Governor of New Hope.
The mission this time was to scout out a possible nest that had long been discarded. There would not be anything useful, but there should be something. There were rumors that there were connections to that man, the fabled target of the Light Coalition.
Alive. If he was dead, that was unacceptable.
He was informed that a local military force had received intelligence related to a failed mission a few months ago. Shadows? He and several others had arrived at the end of a battle. All went their own way. He realized 4 WMRs fought against a strange enemy and managed to repel it. He did not recognize anything. He did not give a second thought to it. If he had arrived sooner, he would've lent a hand.
Just now, he thought he saw something. Maybe it was his eyes? The presence was too weak. Maybe a rodent or critter.
Over there! He moved his gun, but nothing. He looked down, pitch dark. Something was gnawing at him. It felt like something was scurrying around, but he couldn't lock on to it.
He shrugged, jumping down. His left foot, not his right foot. There was a bullet underneath it. He looked up.
A hulking brute with a machine gun on his back smiled back at him.
"Sharp Eyed Wolf," he pronounced slowly, emphasizing each word, tilting his head to the side as he finished speaking.
A bullet mark showed up on the wall behind him.
"Keep saying that, and I won't miss."
The hulking brute just smiled.
"A Hell Forged Soldier? Hell Forged Rogue?"
A young woman jumped down from above. The aura on her submachine gun was enormous and uplifting, covering her from head to toe.
"Why the hell would someone like you come here?"
The hulking brute was confused. The Hell Forged Rogue, he knew, understood. The Hell Forged Magician, he knew.
"Aren't you close to a promotion? Why would this interest you? It's just a wild goose chase."
"My sources tell me it's an abandoned Forsaken Research Depot. I don't need to tell you how valuable that is."
The hulking brute and the Hell Forged Rogue both inhaled sharply.
"What's the value of this place? Any idea?"
"It's not that valuable, so I don't mind. If there were more of us, that would be a different story. There are plenty of documents detailing pieces of the history of the Forsaken. The worth of that is obvious. It's closer to the end of their era, however."
"That's easily twenty years' worth of my salary on life-threatening missions."
The hulking brute looked at the Hell Forged Rogue in shock.
"I'm fine with even just one document. You don't mind, right Magician?"
"I just told you what I was here for. What do you think."