SoV-18

=Scars of Victoria=
==Chapter 18 - Critical Mass==
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===Appreciating the Sunset===
Leeward Arcology, Linear City District - Victoria, Capellan Confederation - 1/12/3049
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Yuri Vulkan piled into All Stars Karaoke Club in Leeward’s Linear City, the portion of a continuous town that straddled the subway that connected the arcology to Fort Lee and its Starport. An office lady, roughly late twenties, early-thirties with straight black hair stumbled beside him. The man behind the reception desk looked up at the camera as they approached, “Booth for two?”
A random collection of Yuan coins fell out of his pocket and clattered onto the faux wood desk, “How much will that get me?”
The receptionist looked at them then to the fridge behind him, “In alcohol or time?” 
She leaned onto Yuri’s shoulder then toward the receptionist, her words slurred, some blouse buttons undone, and gestures wide and wild. “We are going to need, like, all of it.For.for.both.” 
Her sudden gestures caused his hat to fall off yet he recovered it handily, “Of those things.”
“Time.” Yuri turned toward her, “Olivia, don’t you think you’ve already had enough to drink?”
“You’re really cute when you say.” They were face to face, almost kissing, “Dumb things like that to me.” Olivia awkwardly stood up and raised her hands and voice, “I can go all night!” She stumbled on her heels before Yuri caught her, “Wooah!”
He counted coins and handed them a receipt slip, “Two hours in booth five and a six pack from shelf A in the fridge behind me.”“Spas-ibo.”
They locked the soundproof door but could feel the vibration of the nearby subway through the built-in couch. Olivia removed the heels and massager her ankles before taking off an errant hairband and combing her hair straight. “You really know how to sell the drunk office lady act, Adept Mu.”
She took her time redoing her blouse buttons while Yuri presented her a glass. “It took years of practice. You think you’re the only interstellar salesman or military liaison officer that tries to pick up girls like me after work? Sometimes they’re even fun, or at least full of interesting information for ROM. Especially on a place like Victoria.”“What can you tell me of the targets?”
Papers and photos appeared from within her purse, “They keep a standard schedule most days, Minoru has a dedicated undercover and his companions aren't slouches in a fight either. Kuan-Yin Liao has one as well, and they spend a lot of time together. Although never at each other’s rooms, mostly on campus.”“That would just be too simple, wouldn’t it?”“Riva’s apartment is in a restricted zone with private security, she has a BCJ constable on duty at her office, and VIT Aug Labs is a fortress with its own security system and backup utilities separate from the grid.If you don’t catch them by surprise, you won’t get them if they make it there. Unless you have a Battlemech and lots of time.”“We need to make sure they are serviced before we leave. My surprise is a little more powerful than a Battlemech, but I can’t be sure its enough. Phi branch wouldn’t let me bring anything more potent.”“For an organization as powerful as COMSTAR they can be so cheap sometimes. Speaking of money though.” She undid the top two buttons to show off her peach bra and pale skin, “You could stay at my place and just give me whatever expense money was authorized for your hotel. It will give me some extra spending money on Venus when we are through.”“I think that would put you before an ethics board for accepting a bribe as a city official.”
Olivia crawled toward him to settle in his lap, her finger gently caressing his jaw, “Its not like I’m going to have a job next week if everything goes to plan.” Her other hand reached down further, “and I’ve never been with a cyborg before.”
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===Commando Drop===
Fort Lee - Victoria, Capellan Confederation - 01/18/3049
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Local Time: 17:38
“You sure you don’t want to try out for the Vanguards?” Kuan-Yin said after she swung for the fences but missed. She removed the helmet and patted her forehead with a handkerchief.
“Even though I’ve gotten better. By teaching you, I still don’t think I have enough time. Besides I don’t think it would be fair to someone with more time or talent than I can devote to it.” Minoru’s bat issued a crack as it caught the ball dead on and drove straight into the adjacent batting cage’s net. “I’ve other things to contribute to the University.”
She smashed the ball the simulator projected a home run over the left wall. “Because I think you’d look cute in the uniform.”
Her comment broke his concentration and the ball whizzed past him daringly close to hitting his hand. “I already have a uniform.”
Kuan-Yin paused the pitching machine, “It looks like a Hibachi chef,” she said with a smile.“It does not!”
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Fort Lee’s Air Defense Command monitored its airspace from a network of RADAR installations in the area. The large screen above a darkened pit lit by console light showing a composite of everything within four hundred kilometers of Fort Lee and Leeward City. The Leeward Starport was filled with shuttles awaiting the final boarding calls of their passengers and cargos up to Varangian or across the whole of the planet for the night. 
<<“Tracking incoming contact. Ares shuttle Victoria Heavy Lift Company Eight Oh Two Seven.”>>
VHLC-8027’s transponder report appeared alongside its RADAR blip as a triangle of vectors from directional RADARs confirmed its velocity and location. One of the dozens of Ares landing craft operating in Victoria’s airspace connecting its disparate domed settlements due to the poor weather and lack of water inhibiting normal ground or sea transport.
“Eight Oh Two Seven, you are early. Leeward is full.”
Adept Rho V Caster adjusted the yoke of the Vampire II Class Transport DropShip with his co-pilot on the flight deck to level off near their target area. Their white jumpsuits displayed the Valkyrie insignia of COMSTAR’s elite Aerospace Corps. “Apologies, ADC. I thought our paperwork had been forwarded. We will boost for another orbit and arrive at our previously agreed time. See you in ninety.”“Roger that Eight Oh Two Seven.”
A clock ticked down from 120 minutes.
Within the cargo bay the green light went on and eighty-four paratroopers wearing full SCBA’s slipped through the four bay doors on static lines. Their parachutes unfurled in Victoria’s freezing air as they troops unfurled their bat-suits to land on the gravel as the sun set under black silk. Ten of these troopers allowed a heavy bag to hit before them while the others had smaller packs.
{{S(i/y)dney ‘felt’ an exterior door open and its attention focused on the two individuals that had done it. 
{{Olivia Post, City Official Rank Three, Five years seniority at the Leeward Utilities Company, prolific reader of romantic books and regular at the All-Stars Karaoke Club in the Ninth Ward of the Linear City. Holding a box.}} 
{{The other was Yuri Vulkan, NETC Sales Representative, from Tikonov, on business to sell environmental monitoring systems to Leeward City Utilities Co and responsible for the Capellan Rim District and Taurian Concordat according to his public NETC job profile.}}
{{On the other side of the door were many men, their faces were covered from the cold so no positive ID could be read, and they weren’t carrying locators, which weren’t mandatory but were preferred for such a late exterior expedition for search and rescue. They wore the uniforms of the BCJ Constabulary and Leeward City Utility Company and were carrying large bags as they entered.}}
{{Olivia opened the box and passed out a tag for each of the men, a curious practice but not against the rules. S(i/y)dney’s processors generated a breach of conduct report for the City Commissioner for the unsafe practices of Olivia Post and Yuri Vulkan, but he had already left for the day and its attention was needed elsewhere in a city of almost a hundred thousand.}}
“Kazashimo shinshi e yōkoso,” (Welcome to Leeward, Gentlemen) Yuri said as former Sho-Sa Ikari entered and removed his balaclava.
“Doa o akete kurete arigatō” (Thank you for opening the door Comrade) The former ISF Major disguised as a Constabulary officer replied.
“Kōeidesu” (My pleasure), their duffels opened to reveal pistols and power tools, ten of the men shouldered heavy rucksacks but were otherwise unarmed. Olivia accepted one of the pistols and hid it in her waistband. “We will show you where to put it for best effect.” 
Yuri handed an envelope to the BCJ disguised former ISF. “You have two targets, take three men each and handle them quickly and quietly. They should be at these locations but report in if they aren’t. I need confirmed kills on them if you want your bounty, and we must be on schedule for pickup.”
Eight men nodded, “The rest of you will be needed to take control of the starport for our exfil and the rail station to stop any reinforcements from Fort Lee, the BCJ is a numerous and well-trained force but if CCAF infantry arrive we are as good as dead. We can't get that kind of firepower.
The placer team will join you when it is done. Remember its already armed and we only have.” Yuri looked at his watch as he holstered the offered pistol. “Eighty-nine minutes to get out. It will detonate twenty after that and there’s no stopping it, we don't have the codes.”
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===Hunting for Targets===
18:43
Two Constables from the BCJ were outside Kuan-Yin Liao’s dormitory room. The hallway empty of students either in class or at dinner, one crouched at the door while the other kept watch.
‘click
A pistol was drawn as the other Constable opened the door into the dark room slowly. Light crept into the room although the door was closed carefully behind them. Their night vision revealed a mass beneath the covers. They passed the shelves of textbooks and classical poetry held up by plush stuffed animals. Gestures were exchanged before one sharply pulled the sheets back.
All that waited them was a pile of laundry, a disappointed sigh passed through them. “Kappa reports Negative.”
More BCJ constables scanned Victoria Institute of Technology’s meal hall, “Lambda reports Negative.”
The library was similar bare of targets, “Theta reports Negative.”
Another pair of Constables waited in the dark within Minoru Kurita’s dorm room, “Delta reports Negative.”
Yuri Vulkan sat at a bistro table watching the rush hour commute of Leeward Arcology’s citizens toward the Linear City where most of them lived. The Constabulary was in force as usual, but they would be rotating downstairs soon. “Proklyatiye! Kuso!Check their rooms. Alpha try to get it out of your target if we can’t find anything.”
Four men walked toward VIT’s Biomedical Engineering College faculty offices. “Ryōkai shita.”
Olivia kept her jumpsuit’s pockets unzipped as the work continued behind her, her eyes occasionally looking down at the radiation badge on her chest. Ten men in similar outfits drilled holes into the cement floor near the physicals plant and combined arcane components with well-practiced alacrity.
“What are you doing here Miss Post? And who are these guys? Outside contractors?”
Her curiosity had drawn her attention away from her role and two City Works employees she knew had snuck up on her. She let out a silent curse but transitioned to her bubbly role.
“Well, these men are installing an environmental monitoring device we just purchased from NETC.I am their escort and guide. You know how it is.”
One of the ISF/ROM agents looked toward them and paused in his tasks, reaching into his pocket.
“There are already tons of environmental sensors here, this is near the Arcology’s reactor complex.Do you have your SCSF-Five-oh-Eight?”“Sure do, its posted right here,” a work order from the City Commissioner adorned the nearby gray wall with a half dozen stamped papers hanging from it, “as per city ordnance thirty-five-oh-seven-two.”
Both men looked over the forms, “Well everything seems to be in order. Don’t linger here too long.”“Thank you.” 
She presented the radiation badge clipped to her city ID, “As you can see. I’ve got it under control.”“We’ll be at the Fireside in LC if you’re interested.”“Sorry I can’t make it Rong. I’ve got other plans.”“Well, if those change come and find us.Goodnight, Olivia.”
Ikari appeared beside her to watch the other men depart, “You did a good job. If we had to kill them, it would have blown our cover.”“Of course, I did, I am a professional.”
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===Forgotten Phones and Phoney Police===
18:55
Kuan-Yin rifled through her small gear bag, “I can’t believe I forgot my phone.” She slapped her forehead, “Riva would be so mad at me.”Minoru shouldered his bat which supported his bag like a bindle, “It’s probably still in your room. It’s not like you can’t just reach her via Sydney or using my phone.”“You’re probably right. It’s still really embarrassing. I can be such a ditz sometimes.”
Riva Allard sat behind her desk and before the setting sun in the window behind her. Her phone rang, Damon her secretary’s extension appeared on the caller ID. She put it on speaker. 
“Doctor Allard, there are some constables here to see you.”“Regarding?”“They say it involves Kuan-Yin.”
Despite her best attempts to obfuscate her location Riva knew Kuan-Yin was at 'batting practice' with Minoru, despite her attempts to dissuade her, and he hadn’t reported anything amiss.
“Is that so?” 
Her hand found the cool metal of the pistol holstered under her desk. The other one switched her monitor’s view to the pinhole camera installed in the reception area. Four BCJ Constables waited on the other side of the desk from Damon. She activated the silent alert to police HQ downstairs before locking the deadbolt on her door and turning the light off.
“Tell them I’m busy right now, but if they can wait a few minutes.” Riva kicked off her heels before crouching and holding the pistol at a high one-armed ready, her back against the wall. “I would be happy to talk to them.”
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===Flashback of Riva Allard===
Whiteglen Manor, New Avalon - 3022
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The window to the reception area revealed little through the fog which helped conceal this baroque manor hidden away in the pine filled hills beyond St David’s. Atop an increasingly uncomfortable chair a young woman clutched a thick folder sitting a rapt attention wearing professional attire. A man stepped out of the door walking down the short corridor without making a noise due to the carpet then paused to look at her, “Good luck in there.”
A pair of NASDF soldiers stood ramrod straight guarding the corridor lined with masterpieces of art. “Good luck out there.” He continued his walk as the guards closed the door behind him.
Another person appeared from the door, “They are ready for you now.”
She was escorted into a parlor under three sets of eyes and a video camera. The one closest to her sorted through a stack of papers.
“Candidate Three Oh Two Two, Five hundred eighty-one.Lady Riva Allard of Bristol.Recent graduate from New Avalon Institute of Science with Latin honorsBachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering.Age Twenty-Two.Scored in the top two percent of our aptitude tests.”“Now just because your father is the Minister of Information, Intelligence, and Operations. This doesn’t mean that you won’t go through the full panel.”“I expected nothing less.”
“Good, that is not always the case with our candidates.It is a good screening practice we have implemented since our founding.”
More shuffling of papers between the board members as the warmth of light could be felt on her face, “Riva, we are of course honored that you have considered a term of service in MIIO. Our first question is of course the most important, we want to understand why you wish to join The Ministry. You could excel at any field that you dedicated yourself too, that much you have made evident.What do you wish to gain from your service?”
“When I was girl, I had so many night terrors while my father was away on assignment.Once they were so terrible that I woke Daniel and drove him to tears as well. My mother walked into the room to see us clutching each other to protect ourselves from the boogeyman that was surely coming to eat us.She attempted to console us to no avail but then she told us that our father was out fighting boogeymen.That nothing would ever happen to us while he was away.That he was protecting us from everything bad, and I believed her and never had night terrors again.That’s why I want to serve with MIIO. As a woman now I know there are bad things out there that aren’t just in my imagination, and I know that I can stop them.”
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‘Fogbank’ MIIO HQ, Avalon City - Federated Suns
Across the Thames from Castle Davion and deep within the secure facility Quintus Allard watched the tapes of the latest Whiteglen Candidates. A rare tear came to his eye, but he dabbed it away with a tissue.
“That is some daughter you have, Minister.”“She sure is.I couldn’t be prouder.”
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===Resisting False Arrest===
19:00 (38 minutes remaining)
A hard crack followed by a crash from Damon’s office could be heard through the wall. Her eyes focused on the light coming from the hallway through the glass. “Sorry Damon, but you were just on the wrong side of the door.”
The doorknob rattled violently, and she heard the grunt before the kick landed, the deadbolt locked into the wall behind her shuttered as they increased to two kicks, coordinated to ‘ich, ni, san.’ She felt the wall driving her forward with each impact.
She covered her face as the first shots were fired into the lock plate of the reinforced door. Reinforced walls and door or not they would get through if they had enough ammo and skill unless the security team arrived soon.
Two minutes later the door crashed inward its hinges buckling from the combined might of three men and almost as many pistol magazines. Riva shot the first one in the head once undisturbed by the door’s catastrophic failure mode. His blood sprayed out onto the laminated copies of her degrees.
His dead weight was shoved into the man to her right knocking him off balance and to the floor. Five shots went into the back of the one in the center splattering crimson on Dr. Zhou’s newly repainted door before he could wheel around from his mule kick. Four went to the one on the left zippering into his neck. She shoved him down with her off hand then stomped on the third’s exposed gun hand. Before he could respond three more shots boomed executing the prone man until her pistol locked out with a click.
Their pistols were kicked clear away onto the carpet, her blouse was covered with blood, and some buttons were ripped away in the struggle. Five BCJ Constables in heavy armor carrying rifles appeared on the other side of the corridor. Riva put her hands up, tossing the gun away in the process. They lowered their weapons upon seeing her, “Riva, are you okay?”“Yes, but I’d be a lot more okay if you had shown up two minutes ago.”“Five minutes is our best time, Doctor.”“You need to put in more cardio then or wear less armor.”
“Who were they?”
Riva recovered his pistol and gestured toward the squad leader for another magazine. She slipped it into the well and racked the slide. Two officers zip-tied the corpses’ hands together to make sure they couldn’t wake up and continue the fight. One of them carefully examined Damon and radioed in his condition to the paramedics just behind them.“I don’t know for sure, but I have to get to VITAL.”“We’ll escort you there.”
“No!” Riva flipped her phone open, “You need to get to Minoru and Kuan-Yin and keep it off the common channel in case they are listening.” The officers turned off their helmet cameras and microphones. “Where are they?”“They are beneath Shengli Stadium, in or around the batting cages, escort them to VITAL. They have a much longer walk.The assassins were disguised as policemen so your challenge phrase will be Dragon, and his countersign will be Canary, it will make sense to him.”
“Yes, ma’am.” One of the other officer’s offered her his spare sidearm magazine as well which she accepted. She texted their pre-understood code of an imminent threat to Minoru and Kuan-Yin, a stop icon.
She slotted her phone’s earpiece in and dialed as she checked corners on the lonely walk to VITAL’s secure elevator. “Max, where are you?”
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===Urgent Phone Calls===
19:05
Dr. Maxine Valle watched the clammer of her fellow hospital employees in the quarter-dome atrium. “I’m still at the hospital, of course. Are you calling to see what I’d like for dinner tonight?”“No, four assassins just tried to kill me in my office.”
A concerned look drew the attention of the other people on the balcony, Maxine withdrew and faced the wall, “Oh me Deus! Are you hurt?”“No, but I want you to stay there somewhere public. The assassins were disguised as police but there could be others so stay vigilant.”“What about Kuan-Yin?”“I’ve asked some trusted cops to get her and Minoru to safety.”
“Is there a bigger threat?Should I call for a condition orange?” Maxine whispered into the handset with trepidation.“I don’t know yet. Sorry, but I have to go.”
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19:08
Minoru’s phone rang and rang as Riva stepped lightly through the campus tunnels. It went to voicemail, “Minoru Kurita! If you aren’t answering because you are too busy shtupping my niece. I swear, by God and Davion, that I will kill you myself if these assassins don’t.”
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===Short Phone Call Conversation===
19:10
Riva dialed Kuan-Yin and a man answered, she switched to Japanese, “Anatahadare?” (Who are you?)
“The man that has your niece and the prince as my hostages.”“If that’s true then why are there four dead men outside my office?”“I wanted to send eight.”
The call dropped and somewhere in the rail station a man wearing a technician’s jumpsuit rejoined the crowd after tossing a mint green phone into the trash. “Alpha failed, Riva knows, shed skins and make for the exfil point.”
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===Lockdown===
19:12
Something about liminal spaces aways made Riva feel uneasy particularly when she was facing armed guards on the other side even if they worked for her. She paused in the security post, “VITAL is going into full lockdown. Shoot anyone other than Minoru Kurita or Kuan-Yin Liao that tries to come down the hall.”
Both guards nodded and tapped the ‘full alert’ button which would warn off any bystanders. They reconfigured their Federated-Barrett M42B rifles into the SAW format and rolled bullet resistant barriers into position to take up posts behind the bipod mounted guns and their boxes of ammo, as Riva descended.
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===Buying time in unfriendly skies===
19:08
<<“Eight oh two seven, there has been a signals problem at the Leeward City Starport. Give us at least ten minutes to clear the way.”>>
Adept Caster looked over at his co-pilot his gold tinted helmet reflected his white spacesuit into the other man’s. They exchanged a slight nod as the new route was uploaded, “Roger Mount Lee ADC. Eight oh two seven, adjusting course.”
They switched to internal communications, “Think they are on to us?”“If they were on to us, they would have already scrambled fighters.”
Their Vampire II climbed higher into the stratosphere spiraling around Fort Lee as Victoria’s sun dipped below the horizon. Beneath them Swordfish Sub-capital missiles waited beneath pitched steel silos and Home Guard Interceptors did so behind hanger doors dug deep into the mountain.
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===Pistols and Bats===
19:12
Minoru finished dressing then stepped out of the showers to see Kuan-Yin, fiddling with her loose raven hair for lack of a phone. “Why don’t you dry your hair all the way?”
He dropped the towel into the bin between the men and women’s showers, “It’s easier to tie if it’s a little damp.”
The pair shouldered the cinch bags that held their practice clothes and helmet while using their baseball bats as faux canes while ambling along. “Minoru, do you think I should try out for the Vangals?”“I though the women’s teams were called The Vandals.”“Maybe officially, but I kind of like Vangals.”“I think you would look cute in the uniform. But aren’t you to young to play for the university team?”“I can still try, maybe I’ll get on the junior team. I have just been taking yoga for my PE credits.” 
Kuan-Yin jumped forward then dropped into a sword fighting stance with her baseball bat held out like a saber toward him. “If I had known sword fighting was so fun, I’d have taken Wushu.”
Prince Minoru locked eyes with her then held his out like a boken and tapped it against hers to her delight. They pretend sparred near the T-intersection that led toward the university campus. “I think you are shaping up to be a formidable opponent Kuan-Yin. Much more so than when we first met.”“Well, you’ve already proven I’m worth fighting for. What woman wouldn’t take that as high praise.”
A BCJ officer with a drawn pistol leaned out from the corner. Minoru shoved Kuan-Yin to the ground with a shriek louder than the suppressed pistol. Minoru rolled toward him rising with a swing of his bat toward the gunman’s knees, cartilage and his meniscus popped. 
He crumpled as his knees failed him, but Minoru was already up and used his bat like a hanbo to disarm and throw an accomplice standing behind him by trapping and levering his arms. 
This man executed a break-fall to prevent his injury and reached for his belt to draw a tanto. Minoru crashed with his full weight onto the kneecapped man driving him into the concrete. 
His pistol fell from nerveless fingers amid cries of injury as his partner’s razor-fine blade slashed the air where Minoru’s legs once were.
The assassin switched to reverse grip his eyes trained on the young Prince who’d rolled back to standing beside a still Kuan-Yin. He spoke in Japanese, “Well all good things must come to an end. 
She’s just a more worthless Capellan girl now, but I hope you enjoyed your short-lived conquest.”“You’re ISF.”
He fully extended his bat, its reach giving him precious centimeters of reach over the lethal blade. They jockeyed for position as Minoru backed away from the other assassin and Kuan-Yin. Her bat cracked and failed as it smashed across the assassin’s head with all her might. Unprepared for the surprise attack the assassin crashed to the ground and went limp. Minoru ran forward as she turned pale, he caught her with a groan, then gently lowering her to the ground.
----
===Passwords & Escapes===
19:15
Dozens of gunshots rang out from somewhere else nearby. Minoru rushed toward the knee capped and KO’ed assassin. He picked up the fallen pistol, cycled the mechanism then took cover on the other side of the wall. Something odd and gun like poked out from the corner and he fired toward it. “Dragon!”“Dragon?”, Minoru whispered to himself.“Oh right,ah,Canary!”
Four SWAT officers formed up and walked toward him, two looking back and two forward. They aimed at the knee-capped man and tied his hands and secured his weapons. Minoru pointed toward the other one, and he too was tied up and his weapons secured. “What’s going on?”“Four assassins tried to kill Riva, but she handled them and sent us after you. We downed three more of these guys nearby after they shot at us.”“Why didn’t she warn me?”“We saw her send the message, but that only works if you check your phone.Lucky for you we could use a truck to get here faster that we could help her.” He whispered, “Not that she needed it,” then returned to his authoritative tone, '“Are you or Kuan-Yin injured?”
Minoru patted himself, “I’m fine. I think she just fainted.”“Well get her up. Who knows how many more of these guys there are.” The squad leader watched the hallway for more potential hostiles, “We’ll send a cleanup team to handle these two. The other ones are lost causes.”“What should I do?”“Just give her a gentle slap.”
Kuan-Yin looked so pale, frail, serene, and defenseless lying on the floor. “I’m not going to slap her.” 
“Look Minoru, we don’t have salts or time to do it properly, so either you wake her up and help her walk out of here or you are carrying her. We’ve got the armor, guns, and training for force-on-force.”
Minoru paused and took a deep breath, “Sorry about this.” He slapped her across the cheek. She snapped awake and tried to punch him in return. Her lurching punch missed its mark as he ducked out of its way. Then she almost fainted from exertion.“What the hell! Why did you slap me?” She said groggily.“You fainted.”
An embarrassed blush came back as the first bit of color other than his palm mark that she covered with the other hand, “I don’t do that.”
“You did, and probably killed the guy, or at least gave him a TBI.”She carefully rose to seated position with his help, “I did?”“and maybe saved my life.” He pulled her to standing although she was wobbly. “That doesn’t seem like a thing I’d do.”
He slipped his other arm through hers, holding her up, ready to pick her up if she passed out again. “Well, I wasn’t sure either, but now we know otherwise.”
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19:20
They walked through the deserted tunnels beneath the stadium sandwiched between the BCJ SWAT team toward the utility road. The fifth officer was waiting for them in the trunk, the other four helped them into the bed while two held onto the siderails and the last pair manned the cab. 
“How many times have people tried to kill you, Minoru?”
Despite everything his smile reassured her that things would be fine, “Five, if you include the two times your brother attempted it.”“Kai, wasn’t going to kill you.”
Their truck rolled onto the utility road that circumnavigated the arcology and connected all its major structures with lights and sirens blazing. “I’m not entirely sure that’s true.”
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===Storming the Hangar===
19:18
William Yoshimaru was at the computer terminal when the alarm went off. Riva stormed in with a pistol in her hand and murder in her eyes, “Move over, Yoshimaru!”
Her fingers danced over the paired keyboards, when she pressed ‘enter’ the room grew noticeably cooler as the HVAC system and core temperature increased, {{“What did you do, Riva?”}}”{{“Unleashed Sydney so it can help.}}”
OOC - J-Rap plays (Most anything from AKLO but I wrote it 'Dirty Work')
SYDNEY’s latent ‘Chenghuangshen’ (City God) sub-routines activate and both VITAL’s and the University’s supercomputers augment its own. Its awareness expands to a real time map of the entire Mount Lee area with the expanded processing power and access to Fort Lee’s military sensors and Air Defense weapons.
Curls of smoke erupt around a sleek predatory starship as it brakes for landing. Visual identification is negative for an Ares shuttle, but unavailable within the recognition library. It barely makes it through the closing hanger door.
A man checks his watch then lit a cigarette despite sitting below a ‘no smoking’ sign. His other hand reaches into a duffel bag.
“You can’t…” He fires the folding stocked rifle through the bag at the speaker then into the air. Everyone screams out and ducks except for the onsite constables. Other gunmen drop them before they draw their own sidearms to return fire.
Multiple explosions rip through the Arcology’s crowded rail station. Casualties are high, the station is rendered unusable, automatic signals terminate the connection at the nearest linear city stop. All passengers are ordered to disembark, and all trains are routed to Fort Lee.
Constables rush toward the event, but are shot dead by assassin’s pistols. Their killers rip the badges off before they fall, taking the rifles and shotguns left behind to immediately use at incoming backup.
Sirens wail throughout Fort Lee and across the Linear City. Interceptor pilots and MechWarriors rush to ready their vehicles. Home Guard Infantry and backup BCJ officers storm toward the armory, rail station, and motor pool.
An ORANGE alert is automatically triggered in the Victoria University hospital. Medics form up into triage and trauma teams awaiting casualties.
Every screen throughout the complex flashes ‘Police Emergency.’ Each BCJ, Fire Brigade, and Ambulatory Service badge throughout the complex automatically activates calling for an all hands response.
Steel fire doors begin to close, sealing the entire city off sector by sector, locked to anyone without the proper badge.
Civilians take cover in the stores flanking the concourse as running fire fights continue between the BCJ and terrorists. More officers are dispatched to respond to the incursion.
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===Concerning Information===
19:25
Minoru Kurita and Kuan-Yin Liao arrive at VITAL; their rescuers take up defensive positions alongside the lab’s detail. The security envelope opens momentarily as the lab switches to full parallel systems, its reserve power diminishes noticeably as the computer core draws from it on both ends.
Riva Allard and William Yoshimara sat side by side in the computer core, Sidney’s honeyed tones spoke through the speakers, “Doctor, I have found two concerning pieces of information in my cache.This.” A still image shows a large group of unknown men, 84 in total, escorted by Olivia Post and Yuri Vulkan arriving at around 18:00.
“and this.” Another still image shows a roughly cylindrical metal object assembled by ten men then anchored into the concrete floor, slightly more than a meter in height and diameter.
“Can you conduct a facial match for these intruders compared to those that attacked us.”
Four grainy faces appeared and were matched perfectly to the intruders that attacked Riva. Five more matched those that had been dropped by Minoru and the SWAT team that rescued him.
“What is their current status?”“I have dispatched all available officers to intercept but most of them are near the Starport now.”
A real time feed from the Starport’s main hanger showed a large group of gunmen in plain clothes exchanging fire with the local officers. Within the hanger a small dropship turned on the hanger’s turntable, four chain ladders dropped from hatches positioned behind the struts of its landing gear. Sidney focused in on one of the gunmen.
“Olivia Post has been identified but Yuri Vulkan is still at large. Based on his C&I form he has multiple cybernetic prosthesis and extensive combat training.”
----
===Timely Arrival and Excuses===
19:30
His whole squad was waiting for him in the vestibule, Ryuun had a bandoleer of shells over his broad chest and semi-auto shotgun in his hands, “Minoru, Kuan-Yin, it’s about time you both got here.”Dereck carried an assault rifle and extra magazines stuffed in his cargo pants, “We were going to come looking for you.”
Aria had a sub-machine gun in her dainty hands and more magazines in her belt, “What happened?”“I think Kuan-Yin killed a guy with a baseball bat.”“Minoru saved me from getting shot. It felt appropriate.”
They rested their weapons on their hip, “So that is where you both go on Thursday evenings.”Ryuun slapped Dereck’s shoulders and they both made air quotes with their free hands, “Batting practice.” Aria and Kuan-Yin shared a look that caused her to look away with a blush.
Riva and William rushed out from the computer core, he had Riva’s pistol tucked into his belt while she carried a computer tablet. “We have a problem.”
----
===Mysterious Metal Cylinder===
19:30
Everyone peered at the computer tablet showing the mysterious metal cylinder, “What is it?”“My guess is some kind of explosive. Something they left behind to damage the reactor, everything else they are doing is just a distraction.”“Can we get Fort Lee’s EOD team out here?”“The rail station has been damaged and they weren’t on alert. I’ve escalated it to the Colonel, but Fort Lee has a duty to ensure their own security before they can render aid to us. Shengli is sealed, just in case.”“What about the City Bomb Squad?”“They’d be easier to get, but Sidney has more traces on potential bombs throughout the arcology like the ones that blew up the rail station.This one is probably the priority but with so many injured, the rails damaged, and the lockdown they will be slow to respond,And I don’t know if we have the time.”
The ominous warning from Riva caught them by surprise. “What makes you think that, Doctor Allard?”
She flicked the screen to a real time feed from the Starport, where the terrorists dropship just completed its rotation. “Whoever they are working for brought some updated version of the Vampire dropship.”“I’ve never heard of that before. What is it?”“Fast.”
They looked around at one another as more VITAL employees arrived through the security perimeter, “What do we do then?”
Minoru stepped forward, “I can do it.ODIHE is ready to deploy,I’m the only one that has operated it so far, or who has any idea about how to disarm bombs. 
We’re right here, we know, and we’re out of the chain of command.So, I’ll go.”
His friends were dumbstruck, “I can’t ask you to do that, Minoru.” Riva said, “It’s too risky.”“You said it yourself we might not have enough time to call in the bomb squad. 
ODIHE is a walking bomb squad. We’ve tested it, and everything works how it’s supposed to.It’s not an elegant solution but it is an available one.So, I’m ordering you all to suit me up.” Minoru looked over toward the officers near the desk, “Bring the truck around. We don’t have any time to waste.”
----
===Escape into Orbit===
19:38
Yuri fired his assault rifle as he leapt onto the chain ladder holding on with his augmented strength as it was reeled into the Vampire’s ventral hatches. Their sudden, ferocious attack caught the BCJ by surprise, but the police had inflicted dozens of casualties on the underequipped task force. None of that would matter if their plan came to fruition however and they were ‘volunteers’ so they knew what they were getting into. He ripped off the balaclava to sit next to Olivia, his arms ripped the harness down holding the bars closer to his chest in preparation. Both ROM crew chiefs checked the red lit passenger bay ensuring that everyone and any loose cargo was secure.
Outside BCJ officers withdrew to safety outside the hanger their small arms being ineffective against an armored starship. Rockets fired forth from doors hidden in its angular fuselage into the hanger’s door as its thrusters disintegrated anything behind it. It lurched forth, crashed through the compromised barrier with a horrid screech just audible over its thrusters, before leaping into the sky.
Fifteen ton Swordfish sub-capital missiles erupted from their silos in pursuit dropping their boosters into the talus before firing their main engine. Chaff and evasive maneuvers broke Fort Lee ADC’s lock and the missiles crashed into the weapon’s test area downrange from Mount Lee. 
CCAF Thrush interceptors attempted to pace it, but couldn’t match its 6gs of sustained acceleration and had to turn back when they reached bingo fuel. By that time, it was too fast for even orbital gunships from Varangian to have a chance.
----
===Suiting Up===
19:40
Despite all his training and the cool air blowing over his face Minoru had trouble breathing in the helmet as Ryuun locked it into position. He felt a nudge as the ECLSS pack was slotted into position. The suit integrity icon blinked green then disappeared into the bar below. Dereck faced him and put his hands on his ears, “Comms check.”“I hear you loud and clear, Mochi. Everything reads green.”Another pop was felt more than heard behind him, “You’re on independent power now.”
Minoru flexed his fingers and the armature responded as designed, walking was clumsy at first until he slowed his gait to match what the suit’s exoskeleton was capable of. “This feels a lot lighter than usual.”“Probably just your adrenaline. Just do as you’ve trained. We’ll walk you out.”
ODIHE ponderously processed through a double line of VITAL’s robotic and human denizens. Minoru checked his arms to ensure all the sensors and tools built into the suit were in good condition.
Kuan-Yin and Ryuun waited for him as he descended the steps, “Be careful!”“This is the exact opposite of that, but I’ll try.”
Ryuun handed him the shotgun, “It’s all magnum tungsten slugs. In case you need them.Don’t get yourself killed but chicks dig scars so if do get hurt do it somewhere visible.”
Corporal Lie and the VITAL guards hit the gas and burned rubber toward the target location with ODIHE’s legs dangling from the truck bed. Their side mirrors ripped off as the truck passed through places not designed for even the narrow body automobiles of Leeward.
----
===Unpleasant Discovery===
19:48
“This is as close as we can get Minoru. You’ve got maybe ten meters. We’ll withdraw as soon as you step off.”
“Arigato.” 
Minoru shifted the suit’s weight forward and landed on his feet awkwardly. ODIHE’S legacy radiological sensors picked up slight increases in background as he walked toward the reactor enclosure and the mysterious cylinder beside it.
He rested the shotgun on the side as ODIHE kneeled beside the mysterious cylinder. Minoru attached a fine metal sheet on the other side and rested the suit’s hands on the device. A clicking sound emanated from his palms as low powered sonic pulses bounced through the device. 
An algorithm developed by VIT in the computer decoded the signals and rendered a slice by slice density map of what lay inside as received by the sensitive microphones built into the metal foil on the other side. This density map was overlaid on his AR visor replacing the previously opaque cylinder with one in false color.
A blob and void at the top of the device caught his attention as did the strange geometry within of its other components. With a density approaching 19.8g/cc it could only be a few elements, and only one of them made sense.
“Plutonium.”
----
===Faithful Decisions===
19:50
Riva and the others monitored Minoru through ODIHE’s connection with Sidney. “Excuse me, Minoru, did you say Plutonium!?”
“Yes, Doctor. This is a nuclear bomb next to the reactor.”
Their faces were taut with fear and uncertainty as the hologram of the bomb’s density map appeared before them beside the video feed. Kuan-Yin hugged Riva who stroked her hair, William rested his chin as Aria embraced him, Dereck and Ryuun gave each other a friendly embrace. “Ride or Die, brother.”
“Can you disarm it?” Minoru severed comms after Riva’s message. 
He stood and paced around the reactor. His AR showed him the same symmetrical geometry with precise positioning of each sub-component before the whole thing was bolted to the floor.“Maybe I’m wrong.It’s just bad sensors.We didn’t have time to calibrate them properly and it’s just a regular bomb with a tungsten EFP. A big one but just an EFP.One I’m way to close to. What could it weight? Maybe a hundred or two kilos?Ten guys carried it in maybe?”
Doctor Allard’s message haunted him still although he verified the comms were severed,“No Riva!I don’t know how to disarm a Nuke!They didn’t cover that in my six weeks of Sapper School!”
He picked up the shotgun resting on the wall. “Nothing prepared me for this!”
Minoru lifted his head up toward the lights, “Anything from up on high for the Warrior-Sage of Hachiman?Why me?Did I bring this evil upon Leeward and Victoria?This city accepted me. It’s as close to me a Masamori was, and someone tried to kill me there too.Is it just pointless?”
The barrel pointed toward the cylinder, but he thought about turning it on himself. Falling on his own sword for failing to measure up to his assigned task.“If I wasn’t here, would this be?Could I have put all my friends in danger by my mere presence?”
His breath steadied as he looked back to everything that had happened to him since Luthien. Ironheart, Crash School, Capella, and now Victoria. 
“No, they knew what they were doing.They trusted me to make wise decisions and while I may have strayed. This is exactly where I should be.It’s just a bomb.Like any other piece of machinery.It does what it is supposed to do but it can break, it can fail.Nothing is certain about the future.The present is the only thing I can control.So if I have to embrace the Void, where there is no evil.”
A surrealist state came over him as he aimed the shotgun at the nuclear pit atop the bomb visible in his AR visor from five meters away, “I will do so with both hands and full intention.”
‘Bang
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