In the door that's slowly creaking open is a figure so small we actually miss her on first look since we were expecting someone like Marianne who's almost a good foot taller than the rest of us. Instead we find someone who's likely around 5 foot tall walking through the doorway.
Her pristine white hair sparkles with salt crystals as she brushes it behind her ears that appear to be fairly normal human ears. We're all a little confused by that since we were expecting a beastkin but we're not disappointed.
When the girl moves her arm to brush her hair behind her ears we see a flap of skin connecting her arms and her torso together. It looks light and fairly fragile and it appears to limit her arms mobility since she has a little job trying to get her arms up to her ears.
Looking at her face next it's absolutely adorable. She looks like a child of no more than 13 maybe 14. Her eyes are like the baby blues my sister always complained about except instead of feeling childish and mischievous like Sophie's they give off the aura of ice crystals.
Her outfit is the next thing to catch our attention. It's almost indigenous like Marianne's except it's made with modern technology and covers a lot more. Honestly I'm relieved I'm not sure I could go the whole mission without commenting on her clothing if it was as revealing as Marianne's at her age.
She's covered in a massive coat that's clearly too big for her. The coat has furs patched on all over it as though it was made DIY style by somebody who had no sense or perhaps no need for fashion. It clearly looked warm and the only reason we can see her face is that the hood on the coat is not currently up.
Even the hood is a patchwork of fur and cloth clearly made with the rest of the coat and then sewed on as we can see the stitching and the absolutely awful job someone did of attaching the hood to the rest of the coat.
Her hands are also covered in a pair of gloves that have a similar patchwork feel. Almost all the fur I've been talking about is white by the way. It gives her gloves the feel of a feral pair of claws. There are no claws on the gloves obviously but still just looking from afar you'd think she was a patchwork polar bear.
Her shoes are very different from the rest of her outfit. While her coat goes all the way down to her knees and even the trousers I see beneath that are covered in patches of fur the shoes are the complete opposite. They look like she stuck a pair of tennis rackets to the bottom of her feet.
Well they do look like proper shoes if you take a closer look at them but the wiring on the bottom of the shoes is incredibly conspicuous and stands out quite a bit more than the normal, albeit amateurish, black leather on top of the wired mess.
Once she heads a bit further into the room and shuts the door behind her we finally see some more of her beastkin parts. Specifically her tail. Though originally hidden behind her thanks to the angle we were viewing her at we now notice that the tail is actually taller than she is.
It's so fluffy it looks like a cloud and stands perfectly straight with the exception being the tip which curls backwards. We all recognise the tail to mean that she's some form of rodent beast-kin. Guessing by the skin flaps she has to be a flying squirrel type though it's weird for them to be all white like this.
Her tail bobs along behind her like she's listening to a tune we all can't hear as she doesn't even greet Marianne before sitting down in the seat prepared especially for her. Her tail goes through the hole fairly easily and it continues to bob along to it's own tune while the girl's expressionless mask, which she's kept since she walked in, stares almost vacantly at the holo-table.
Everyone's stunned by her brazenness and yet the chilling 'do not talk to me aura' she emanates keeps everyone from complaining at her. For some reason we just all get the feeling that she just doesn't think anything of any of us.
Unlike Marianne who cares about power above all else and therefore treats you like a servant if you don't have it. This girl feels more like she won't be interested in you no matter what you do. It's like she just doesn't care about people at all. Worse if you get anywhere near her she'll attempt to murder you.
The tension in the air mounts until you could cut it with a knife. That's exactly what Emily decides to do as her knife like voice penetrates the silence as cleanly as slicing through butter. "Since Miss Lumi has failed to introduce herself and acquaint you with her abilities I shall make introductions for her."
Emily's explanation is about to start when 'Lumi' I believe her name was cuts in with a voice so cold and uncaring you'd think it came from the frigid area she clearly lives in. "I refute your assertion that I failed in any task given to me. I chose not to introduce myself as I find communication both pointless and troublesome. I have given you a list of my abilities as per Mainframe's request and thus have fulfilled my obligation. Do not treat me as a failure after fulfilling your role to expectations. I am only here as a means to gain what I want from Mainframe. So long as I get that, the rest of you mean very little to me."
It wasn't just her voice that was dispassionate. Everything about her screamed I don't want to be here. At the same time she also appeared almost like a child who wasn't good at talking to people in the way she described communicating as troublesome.
She even made this interjection when she clearly did not need to clarify something so trivial. It was clearly a jab from Emily for being impolite to everyone but Lumi appeared to take the term failure rather seriously. She honestly seemed a little like an autistic kid we had at the orphanage for a little while.
You had to lay everything out in steps or he would just throw a tantrum and scream at you but treat him the way you should and he was actually really diligent. He also got hung up on little things like this and took jokes way too literally. This might be a problem but I guess that's why I and Marianne are here.
Marianne is here to deter people like Delilah from acting out and I'm here to take care of the problem children like Lumi and perhaps Marianne herself. Mainframe sure thought this through but at the same time I feel like she's putting way too much on me.
Clearly Lumi's attitude rubbed a few of us the wrong way. Marianne seemed surprisingly ok with her attitude so perhaps she thought Lumi was being childish or perhaps she respected her strength of conviction. Either way Marianne wasn't going to be an issue.
Tommy was grimacing but appeared to be doing so more in resignation than anything malicious. He probably realized the same thing I did and now that I think about it he was likely meant to share my role. He was used to taking care of kids too and would likely help me reign Lumi in if we had to.
Dahlia appeared to take the same stance as Tommy surprisingly. I'm not sure if she's used to kids or just resigned to dealing with someone like Delilah anyway but either way she appeared to just be taking this as it comes.
The problem was the other two. Delilah was openly scowling at Lumi, not that she noticed or cared apparently, and Emily was smiling her dagger like smile. Isn't Emily supposed to be an arbitrator here on Mainframe's behalf? Yet she's still annoyed with this kid's attitude?
I suppose personal preferences and work don't always coincide. Either way they're going to be a problem. Especially Delilah who looked like she was ready to blow a casket any moment now and blow Lumi up with her.
In an effort to mitigate contact between the two and conflict as a rule I signalled Dahlia to drag Delilah off somewhere else. She sighed helplessly at me and gave me a look that said 'I really don't enjoy this' before taking Delilah's hand and dragging her to the other side of the room and apparently hearing out her complaints.
We couldn't hear the specifics from where we were but we could all hear the shouting coming from the direction they went and though it was indistinct it was fairly obviously hostile. I looked over at Lumi hoping she'd take the hint or at least not react to this.
Luckily though she didn't appear to be reflecting at all she did at least not react to anything around her. Not just the shouting she was ignoring the rest of us too. Well that's better than going around picking fights I guess.
Now that the disturbance was mostly over Emily apologised before continuing her explanation. "I apologise Miss Lumi for my remark. You are correct you fulfilled your duties well enough." It appeared even in her apology she had to get that last barb in. At least it didn't seem to bother Lumi though as she just nodded along contentedly.
Finally she started the explanation of Lumi's abilities likely as a preamble to the mission. "As I was saying before. Miss Lumi here is a skilled pilot and one of your only means of escape. She may have no interest in communicating with you but she doesn't need to communicate with you to save you. So treat her well."
With that she went into the details of the plan. "First Miss Lumi's role is extraction only. While she may perform diversionary tactics as the situation requires generally she is your escape route and nothing more. You will have to both get in and complete the objectives on your own. Thankfully we have access to their lowest tier of security already so even if you were to enter through the front entrance we could divert cameras and get you through the locks"
Her explanation then goes into the targets we're after and everyone listens up for what impossible objective we're going after with an elite team like this. "Let me first explain that ideally the Flux corporation headquarters will exist for only a few more days after the mission is completed. Essentially, you're taking down the whole branch"
Emily's description makes all of us smile. Sure we expected something difficult but this is an almost insane ideal. They expect us to take down an entire branch of a major intergalactic company. Clearly they're confident. Which means we've either been roped in by a fool which is unlikely by this point, or…
"Your objectives are twofold. The servers on the 20th floor and the branch manager if you can manage it. Though the servers are your highest priority. The branch manager is someone we'd like to get rid of but won't be too overly displeased should he survive the encounter."
They're ambitious. Is likely the thought going through the minds of all the members of the team. Taking down an entire branch of an intergalactic corporation is not an easy feat or one that most would attempt. Yet the way they describe it they're shooting higher.
"Let me first explain the planet this branch is located on." Once Emily finishes her sentence the holo-table whirrs to life and illuminates the rest of the room in it's afterglow. On the table is a large ball of light with intricate detailing showing the rough visage of the outside view of the planet.
The ball of light is covered in metal buildings and man-made constructs. They all seem complex in a way only the craftsmen who made them could understand. From the bird's eye view however they just look like several piles of metal on the planet's surface.
The planet itself is medium sized if the projection is to be believed. Considering while it's highlighted there are other balls of light that appeared on the table as well. Actually the table is currently projecting the entire Abby system. The highlighted planet is the fourth planet from the sun so it's clearly prime real estate in today's era. Expected of a corporation branch really.
Once all our attention is drawn to the highlighted planet Emily continues her explanation. "Planet Machina. Fairly well known as the most expensive planet to live on in the Abby system and filled to the brim with corporation branches, rich people's mansions and generally rich and corrupt people. So obviously the security is rather tight."
The view zooms into planet Machina and enlarges to show us what the defences around the planet itself are like. We all make some sort of noise involuntarily. I and Delilah whistle that impressed little tune some mercs prefer. Marianne seems unmoved but apart from her everyone else is looking at the defences apprehensively.
"1 thousand ships per station and the stations are placed in intervals of roughly 10 planetary miles. Meaning there are 10 such stations on the planet. 10 thousand military ships protect this planet overall and they have very few if any blind spots." Emily goes on to dispassionately explain that essentially our odds of sneaking in or breaking through are nigh nothing.
We look at her confused but her smile doesn't waver and she simply continues her explanation. "Luckily for you. Your 'client' has managed to procure some identification for you to get through the border. Getting on the planet won't be too much of an issue. Though if you get caught you're dead for sure." She says the last part in the sultry tone of a seductress. Everyone but Delilah just ignores her. Delilah obviously scowls but Emily is excellent at ignoring her.
"Once you get through the border protecting the planet the identification we made for you will identify you as an unmarked vessel heading for a particular house of a certain person who's known for getting their hands dirty. So make sure you live up to your cover identities and look like shady mercenaries. I'm sure you can manage it." Once again we ignore Emily's barbs and Delilah's even grimmer face as we think about the reality of what she said.
So basically act suspicious and we won't be considered suspicious. Of course a place filled with the rich and corrupt would need us to pretend to be on a dirty job to DO a dirty job. If we're supposed to be visiting this rich person though, won't they be suspicious of us if we head in a different direction. I decide to pose the question since this could matter quite a bit.
"Does that mean we're on a time crunch until the security realizes we aren't going to this rich person's place?" I ask not sure having a time limit right from the start is a good idea. I'm sure there's a cleaner way to get in without a time crunch.
"Yes and no. The person you're supposed to be visiting is the head of security for the Flux branch. The border patrol likely won't follow your movements anyway but even if they did they would assume you are going to deliver something to him at work. It would be suspicious but not grounds for immediate arrest."
Emily's explanation appears to dispel the tension that was mounting in the room and everyone except Marianne and Lumi let out relieved sighs. That's good enough. It won't be an immediate jail sentence meaning that so long as most things go to plan we won't even have to worry about it. It even has some leeway for things to go wrong and take longer than expected. They sure are being careful about this.
The next words bring a different kind of tension between me and Tommy however. "Oh and did I mention that the head of security is a boy named Lewis. I believe Amelie and Tommy might be acquainted with him. You will likely meet him on the mission so you should be ready for that." we both freeze and tension crackles between us.
Lewis. As in the quiet boy who left a few years ago. He's here as head of security. I knew he was into some dirty work but I was under the impression he was working as a merc or assassin. He's working for flux? As head of security? That means he's been here a while huh? There's no way they'd let someone from the orphanage that high unless they proved their loyalty.
The comment was likely meant for us and no one else as everyone ignores the tension between us and simply nods as though this is the normal course of action. We however take a moment to let this sink in. We're going to have to fight and likely kill someone from the orphanage. Someone we used to look after. He's going to end up dead after our mission is finished.
Wasn't the whole point of this mission to avenge someone from the orphanage. Why do we have to kill one of our own to get that done. THAT DAMN IDIOT! THEY'RE BOTH IDIOTS! Why? WHY DID LEWIS HAVE TO JOIN FLUX!? WHY DID SOPH HAVE TO DIE!? Why?
My mental screams manifest as an extremely pained look on my face. I'm not sure if it's a smile or a grimace since I can't see my own face but I'd say it's likely to be closer to the latter than the former. I guess I have to boil the decision down to whether I think taking revenge is worth a member of the orphanage's life.
I could also think of it from the perspective that we'll be saving all of the future orphans but humans are fickle creatures. We tend to ignore long-term gains for short term ones and so the idea of the future orphans I don't yet know being saved by the death of an orphan I know now doesn't really sound so appealing to me.
I take a glance at Tommy and he appears to have the same reaction. On his face is a pained smile. Well it's nice that he actually managed to pull off a smile in this situation. I'm not sure what kind of resolve he had going into this mission but I bet it was just shattered. Now all we have to do is ask ourselves is it worth it to pick up those shattered pieces and continue?
Personally Soph was far closer to me than any other orphan. Sure I see them all as family but Sophie was my sister. I'd do just about anything for her. But for her memory? I think I'm just going to have to do it. I'm here now anyway. I'm just going to go along with it. I don't have a choice.
As if mocking my weak resolve a bright shining light comes through Tommy's eyes as I look through the corner of my eyes at him. A light of resolve starts burning like a hearth on a winter night slowly illuminating his whole face until his usual smile is back on his face.
I guess that's the level of resolve I need huh? I think to myself looking at his now determined gaze. It sparks something in me I can't quite understand and my own embers of resolve once again start to blaze using his hearth as kindling. That's right I can't take this so lightly or it'll be shattered again. What are my rules? He's in the way of my mission and I've been given an order I can't refuse. That's reason enough to eliminate him.
Slowly the light of resolve starts to shine from my own face. This whole interaction happens while Emily continues to explain things such as the terrain of the planet, the path we'll need to take to get to the building and other such details. While we listen in and memorise the layout on the side we stare into each other's eyes and give a resolved nod at each other ready for anything.
Once we're finished affirming that we once again turn our attention to Emily's explanations in full. Ready for any more she can throw at us. "Since I previously mentioned the name of the head of security I shall introduce the person's of interest before I begin to explain the infiltration plan."
Once she draws our attention once more to the holo-table we all stare at it intently as it morphs into the faces of different people. "I shall start with the head of security. Lewis Felavar. 17 years old. Former assassin. At the age of 6 Lewis Felavar started training to be an assassin under the tutelage of several experts from the Flux corporation including the viper herself." that last bit of knowledge has me stunned.
Anyone familiar with Flux knows of the Viper. She's middle to upper management at Flux and in charge of the majority of their military assets. She holds a good amount of sway and is incredibly skilled in all forms of combat.
Penelope 'The Viper' Flux. Trained from a young age in the arts of combat she's a human killing machine and the top of the Flux military hierarchy. Her career only started recently and her meteoric rise through the ranks at Flux was noted by nearly all the major players in the intergalactic community.
If Lewis was trained by her from an early age I can see how he'd end up at Flux and in a high position. Any one of her apprentices could get a position in Flux just about anywhere if they wanted it and he was trained from a young age. She clearly indoctrinated him while she was training him. Which explains why someone as quiet as Lewis would join Flux.
Emily continues after our shocked looks have faded from our faces. "After training for 4 years or so under the viper and her companions he ended up working as a freelance assassin for a while. Though it's rumoured he already had connections with Flux at that time. We were unable to confirm that however so you may treat that information as bias. After working as a freelancer for another 4 years he ended up being absorbed into Flux and has been running covert missions for them since... Until he was assigned to this post two years ago."
So Lewis has become a veteran assassin with a good few years of practical experience under his belt and thus as a head of security he knows exactly how people would infiltrate. Just great. My thoughts appear to mirror those of my companions as we all grimace at once.