Mission Sterling –SGDF HQ
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
“Hey, thanks! I’ll make sure to let you know if there’s any trouble!”
The voice of the junior technician echoed down the hallway behind Mission before the door shut, leaving her as the only one in the general vicinity. Although the shout behind her was one of gratitude, the work that had been put in to get to it had been tedious and taken a lot longer than it should have. The call for assistance had come in over two hours ago, and although the techie had meant well by the help he had attempted to give it had become obvious quickly that he had no idea what he was doing. In all fairness, he was new and doing tech work wasn’t his strongest aspect, but that just brought up the question of who had thought it was a good idea to assign him here. Unfortunately, it had been a two-person job, so it had been impossible for Mission to do all of the work. His bumbling efforts, combined with the mess that the system had been in, meant that she had been forced to work on it for the last hour and fifty minutes.
It was a bit surprising, really, the difference between her and most of the techies that spent all of their time in the HQ. Looking at it from her perspective, it would seem that the SGDF really didn’t take in all of the smartest people to work their machines. Of course, in reality this wasn’t quite true, although the fact that Mission knew more about the systems than most of the people working on them couldn’t be denied. There were only one or two people in the whole building with her knowledge and experience, and one of those was the man that was in charge of everything. There were likely others outside of the HQ that could come close, and undoubtedly there were people in other countries that might count, but in the general area there were few with her skill.
Even in the middle stories of the Headquarters where activity was highest, the halls were mostly vacant, as most of the soldiers that had been on duty during the day were on their way home right now. Those arriving for the night shift weren’t scheduled to arrive for another ten minutes, although assuming that many of them were parking and exiting their vehicles right now was most likely correct. The shift actually began at eight o’clock, and since most of those on it were fairly professional, as was expected of an SGDF soldier, they arrived a little early to make sure they were there on time. There were a fair number of them that were lazy, and came into work as close to the time that they were supposed to that they could, but those people still performed well enough when they were sent out. Nobody was here that shouldn’t be able to handle the job that they were given.
Mission’s time here was almost up, too. In fact, if she hadn’t been working on the system it was likely she would have been out by now. Officially, the shifts for those here for the day ended at seven thirty, with just a small contingent remaining until eight to make sure there were people around to respond to emergencies. Of course, there were always bases outside of the city that could be called to for responses, as the schedules of the SGDF soldiers in different areas were decided by the commanding officer of that area. At least, that is how it was for North America.
She was about halfway to the elevator when a voice came over the building’s speakers. The voice was immediately recognizable as that of Kristina Pelagius, one of the few people, or possibly the only one, that Mission really considered a friend in the SGDF.
“Private Sterling, could you please come to the lounge on the 102nd floor?” she asked, before the speakers went quiet. The call wasn’t really an oddity, as people were called to various places of the building all of the time, although the reference to Mission as Private Sterling usually meant there was something official that needed to be discussed. The lounge was thirty-four floors above where Mission was currently, a trip that would take several seconds in the elevator, and then halfway down the hall right in front of her.
Be that as it may, though, Mission’s official shift was up, and so she was within her rights to reject the call if she wanted to. It was also likely that Kristina knew this, so she must have considered what she was calling about either important or something that she wanted to talk about before she forgot. Either way, what she decided to do was Mission’s choice.
“Hey, thanks! I’ll make sure to let you know if there’s any trouble!”
The voice of the junior technician echoed down the hallway behind Mission before the door shut, leaving her as the only one in the general vicinity. Although the shout behind her was one of gratitude, the work that had been put in to get to it had been tedious and taken a lot longer than it should have. The call for assistance had come in over two hours ago, and although the techie had meant well by the help he had attempted to give it had become obvious quickly that he had no idea what he was doing. In all fairness, he was new and doing tech work wasn’t his strongest aspect, but that just brought up the question of who had thought it was a good idea to assign him here. Unfortunately, it had been a two-person job, so it had been impossible for Mission to do all of the work. His bumbling efforts, combined with the mess that the system had been in, meant that she had been forced to work on it for the last hour and fifty minutes.
It was a bit surprising, really, the difference between her and most of the techies that spent all of their time in the HQ. Looking at it from her perspective, it would seem that the SGDF really didn’t take in all of the smartest people to work their machines. Of course, in reality this wasn’t quite true, although the fact that Mission knew more about the systems than most of the people working on them couldn’t be denied. There were only one or two people in the whole building with her knowledge and experience, and one of those was the man that was in charge of everything. There were likely others outside of the HQ that could come close, and undoubtedly there were people in other countries that might count, but in the general area there were few with her skill.
Even in the middle stories of the Headquarters where activity was highest, the halls were mostly vacant, as most of the soldiers that had been on duty during the day were on their way home right now. Those arriving for the night shift weren’t scheduled to arrive for another ten minutes, although assuming that many of them were parking and exiting their vehicles right now was most likely correct. The shift actually began at eight o’clock, and since most of those on it were fairly professional, as was expected of an SGDF soldier, they arrived a little early to make sure they were there on time. There were a fair number of them that were lazy, and came into work as close to the time that they were supposed to that they could, but those people still performed well enough when they were sent out. Nobody was here that shouldn’t be able to handle the job that they were given.
Mission’s time here was almost up, too. In fact, if she hadn’t been working on the system it was likely she would have been out by now. Officially, the shifts for those here for the day ended at seven thirty, with just a small contingent remaining until eight to make sure there were people around to respond to emergencies. Of course, there were always bases outside of the city that could be called to for responses, as the schedules of the SGDF soldiers in different areas were decided by the commanding officer of that area. At least, that is how it was for North America.
She was about halfway to the elevator when a voice came over the building’s speakers. The voice was immediately recognizable as that of Kristina Pelagius, one of the few people, or possibly the only one, that Mission really considered a friend in the SGDF.
“Private Sterling, could you please come to the lounge on the 102nd floor?” she asked, before the speakers went quiet. The call wasn’t really an oddity, as people were called to various places of the building all of the time, although the reference to Mission as Private Sterling usually meant there was something official that needed to be discussed. The lounge was thirty-four floors above where Mission was currently, a trip that would take several seconds in the elevator, and then halfway down the hall right in front of her.
Be that as it may, though, Mission’s official shift was up, and so she was within her rights to reject the call if she wanted to. It was also likely that Kristina knew this, so she must have considered what she was calling about either important or something that she wanted to talk about before she forgot. Either way, what she decided to do was Mission’s choice.
Ciel Cruxell, Andrew Jackson, Kendrick Mendoza –Outside a “gentleman’s club”, somewhere in New York City
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Although all of them had arrived at slightly different times and by different methods, the destination was the same: a gentlemen’s club in one of the nicer areas of the city. Any method of arrival would have been acceptable, as there was room on the street for a car or motorcycle, a bus made a stop at the end of the street, and going anywhere on foot was still possible provided one felt like putting in the time and effort. While stereotypes of insurgent groups might dictate that a meeting would take place in some shady establishment in the ghetto sections of a city, this establishment in question was fairly well-kept, placed in a two-story building with no visible exterior flaws as well as a well-made lit sign reading the name of the establishment. Some might consider it shady because of the business that it ran, but that was purely personal opinion as everything going on here was completely legal.
The message had come through to the three Vespa agents via the typical network. It differed for each person, typically taking the form of either a phone or computer message that gave them the information required for a meeting. The meeting would then match them up with whoever was supervising whatever was going on, and they would learn what they were supposed to be doing then. While not a perfect system, nothing ever was, and this was as close as they were going to get. Every so often there were stories about the meetings going wrong, but those were few and far between. In fact, it was almost strange how few of the meetings went wrong, given the current state of monitoring technology. Still, if it was due to luck, nobody in the Vespa would complain about it.
Contents of the message had been fairly sparse, giving each individual the instruction to come here between 7:50pm and 8:00pm. There had also been included a picture of each of the other members they would be meeting, with the exception of the one that was supposed to be the one in charge. They were told that her name was Auria Silvandros, and that she would recognize them. Of course, it was obvious that someone just acting as her would work unless there was some sign that she should give, and so it was told, through a way that anyone else reading the message wouldn’t detect unless they knew exactly what to look for, that when she spoke to them for the first time her left eye would have the image of the Syris flag on it. They were told that she would make it as obvious as possible, but that they would still need to be on the lookout for it.
That she was the one meeting them at all was a bit of an oddity. Although few people actually knew Auria or got in touch with her on a regular basis, it was common knowledge among Vespa in this region that she was a paranoid individual that rarely had any solid connection to anything that went on. Her job was a lot more abstract and in the background, keeping the Vespa agents safe and alive through indirect methods.
As always, the message had reminded all of them, in no uncertain terms, that carrying any kind of weapon to the meeting would be stupid. The reasons for this were obvious.
Upon arrival to the sidewalk in front of the club, all three would be greeted by the sight of a line of a few people as well as a bouncer that was holding a scanning device to use on anyone that was trying to get in. As with everything that had a required age, each person’s chips would be scanned to make sure they were old enough to be allowed inside. In situations like this, that was the only information that it would relay to the bouncer, as it was mandated by law that no invasive scanning was authorized to take place without a legitimate security reason. At first, this had not been followed well, until businesses realized that Syris employees were going through the process with chips that could detect what were being read, and those performing the invasive processes were arrested. That cleaned up everything quickly, and although there were still people that were willing to risk it, they were incredibly few in number.
Apart from the line in front of the club, there was nobody else on the street. As each person arrived, the bouncer would give them a quick look that told them he was trying to see if they were some kind of threat. It wasn’t particularly thorough, and it didn’t seem like he cared all that much. Since each of them had seen pictures of each other, they would recognize the other two in their group upon arrival, and were free to introduce themselves, or not, as they saw fit. The only thing they had to keep in mind was that the allotted time for their arrival would be ticking away if they spent too long out front.
Although all of them had arrived at slightly different times and by different methods, the destination was the same: a gentlemen’s club in one of the nicer areas of the city. Any method of arrival would have been acceptable, as there was room on the street for a car or motorcycle, a bus made a stop at the end of the street, and going anywhere on foot was still possible provided one felt like putting in the time and effort. While stereotypes of insurgent groups might dictate that a meeting would take place in some shady establishment in the ghetto sections of a city, this establishment in question was fairly well-kept, placed in a two-story building with no visible exterior flaws as well as a well-made lit sign reading the name of the establishment. Some might consider it shady because of the business that it ran, but that was purely personal opinion as everything going on here was completely legal.
The message had come through to the three Vespa agents via the typical network. It differed for each person, typically taking the form of either a phone or computer message that gave them the information required for a meeting. The meeting would then match them up with whoever was supervising whatever was going on, and they would learn what they were supposed to be doing then. While not a perfect system, nothing ever was, and this was as close as they were going to get. Every so often there were stories about the meetings going wrong, but those were few and far between. In fact, it was almost strange how few of the meetings went wrong, given the current state of monitoring technology. Still, if it was due to luck, nobody in the Vespa would complain about it.
Contents of the message had been fairly sparse, giving each individual the instruction to come here between 7:50pm and 8:00pm. There had also been included a picture of each of the other members they would be meeting, with the exception of the one that was supposed to be the one in charge. They were told that her name was Auria Silvandros, and that she would recognize them. Of course, it was obvious that someone just acting as her would work unless there was some sign that she should give, and so it was told, through a way that anyone else reading the message wouldn’t detect unless they knew exactly what to look for, that when she spoke to them for the first time her left eye would have the image of the Syris flag on it. They were told that she would make it as obvious as possible, but that they would still need to be on the lookout for it.
That she was the one meeting them at all was a bit of an oddity. Although few people actually knew Auria or got in touch with her on a regular basis, it was common knowledge among Vespa in this region that she was a paranoid individual that rarely had any solid connection to anything that went on. Her job was a lot more abstract and in the background, keeping the Vespa agents safe and alive through indirect methods.
As always, the message had reminded all of them, in no uncertain terms, that carrying any kind of weapon to the meeting would be stupid. The reasons for this were obvious.
Upon arrival to the sidewalk in front of the club, all three would be greeted by the sight of a line of a few people as well as a bouncer that was holding a scanning device to use on anyone that was trying to get in. As with everything that had a required age, each person’s chips would be scanned to make sure they were old enough to be allowed inside. In situations like this, that was the only information that it would relay to the bouncer, as it was mandated by law that no invasive scanning was authorized to take place without a legitimate security reason. At first, this had not been followed well, until businesses realized that Syris employees were going through the process with chips that could detect what were being read, and those performing the invasive processes were arrested. That cleaned up everything quickly, and although there were still people that were willing to risk it, they were incredibly few in number.
Apart from the line in front of the club, there was nobody else on the street. As each person arrived, the bouncer would give them a quick look that told them he was trying to see if they were some kind of threat. It wasn’t particularly thorough, and it didn’t seem like he cared all that much. Since each of them had seen pictures of each other, they would recognize the other two in their group upon arrival, and were free to introduce themselves, or not, as they saw fit. The only thing they had to keep in mind was that the allotted time for their arrival would be ticking away if they spent too long out front.
Leo Parker ‘Reaper’, Jonathan Edge – Outskirts of New York City
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Cars whizzed by, heading down the street behind you and away from the city. While not a highway, the traffic content of this road was great enough to warrant the installation of a walkway that reached from one sidewalk to the other. It didn’t help that this was the trailing edge of rush hour, so the outflux of people from New York was at one of its highest points. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, the sidewalks were almost completely clear, only a few civilians meandering around, and they stayed clear of the SGDF strike team standing on the sidewalk.
The team was small, made up of Leo, Jon, and two others. The commanding officer was a 25-year old Lieutenant named Tyler Harken, and the other was a 19-year old Private by the name of Alicia Orchard. While it was true that Tyler and Jon were the same rank, Tyler had been given command authority for this mission.
Although the Lieutenant and Private Orchard had appeared to work together before, if their conversations on the way here had been any indication, neither Leo nor Jon had ever met any of the others before This team had been one of those put together to handle this particular situation, and was unlikely to remain together for too long. At least, that was the way it typically was. Knowing the SGDF, if the team managed to work well together, they might be stuck with each other for a lot longer.
Glancing around at the street through the visor of his helmet, which Tyler has kept on the entire time since they had left the HQ, he waited until the area around them was clear before speaking.
“Right, you should all know what we’re doing, but I’ll go over it again to make sure. We’ve got an insurgent in that apartment complex,” here he indicated an apartment building approximately a hundred feet down the street on the opposite side from where they were standing, “And we need to move in and arrest her. We think she knows we are coming, though, and so we’re here expecting a trap. That’s why they sent a team, and not just a single soldier.”
“Sir, do we know who this person is?” Alicia asked, not sounding worried by the fact that it may be a trap. Her helmet was held in the crook of her arm, and her weapon of choice, an automatic-assault shotgun, was held by her other hand.
“We have a name, but it means nothing to anyone.” Tyler said with a sigh. “Apparently her name is Ashley Baker. An average civilian by all counts, with the exception of recent events that seem to tie her to a few sabotage attempts in some factories. It’s expected that, if she’s expecting us, there’ll be some kind of explosive device ready for us. If that happens, either Edge or I will take care of it. I will take priority in this matter, as I have experience, but as I know you have some too it will be your task if I cannot.”
The last bit of that was directed to Jon, and Tyler turned to face him as he spoke. No reply was really needed, although a simple ‘sir’ would not go amiss here.
“And you, Reaper.” Tyler said, turning to face Leo. “I want you on the roof over there,” he pointed to a building across the street and one building down from where the apartment building stood, “making sure nobody tries to escape off the roof or out the front door. Do not shoot without my approval, make sure you have a visual confirmation on the target, and whatever you do, don’t kill anyone. We need her alive. Is that understood?”
Upon receiving a reply, which would no doubt be affirmative, Tyler turned to the other two and finished with, “Alright then, let’s move. Private, I want that helmet on your head right now. Nobody in my team is breaching a potential danger zone without their headgear on. Reaper, double time. I want you on that roof before we enter the apartments. Signal me when you are in position.”
With that, the Lieutenant began walking at a brisk pace towards the bridge, Private Orchard close behind. As soon as they had begun moving, she had begun quickly fixing her helmet on her head as per the Lieutenant’s orders, and quickly motioned to Jon when he didn’t begin moving immediately. Leo was left on his own, although he had more ground to cover than they did and so it would be prudent to make haste.
Cars whizzed by, heading down the street behind you and away from the city. While not a highway, the traffic content of this road was great enough to warrant the installation of a walkway that reached from one sidewalk to the other. It didn’t help that this was the trailing edge of rush hour, so the outflux of people from New York was at one of its highest points. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, the sidewalks were almost completely clear, only a few civilians meandering around, and they stayed clear of the SGDF strike team standing on the sidewalk.
The team was small, made up of Leo, Jon, and two others. The commanding officer was a 25-year old Lieutenant named Tyler Harken, and the other was a 19-year old Private by the name of Alicia Orchard. While it was true that Tyler and Jon were the same rank, Tyler had been given command authority for this mission.
Although the Lieutenant and Private Orchard had appeared to work together before, if their conversations on the way here had been any indication, neither Leo nor Jon had ever met any of the others before This team had been one of those put together to handle this particular situation, and was unlikely to remain together for too long. At least, that was the way it typically was. Knowing the SGDF, if the team managed to work well together, they might be stuck with each other for a lot longer.
Glancing around at the street through the visor of his helmet, which Tyler has kept on the entire time since they had left the HQ, he waited until the area around them was clear before speaking.
“Right, you should all know what we’re doing, but I’ll go over it again to make sure. We’ve got an insurgent in that apartment complex,” here he indicated an apartment building approximately a hundred feet down the street on the opposite side from where they were standing, “And we need to move in and arrest her. We think she knows we are coming, though, and so we’re here expecting a trap. That’s why they sent a team, and not just a single soldier.”
“Sir, do we know who this person is?” Alicia asked, not sounding worried by the fact that it may be a trap. Her helmet was held in the crook of her arm, and her weapon of choice, an automatic-assault shotgun, was held by her other hand.
“We have a name, but it means nothing to anyone.” Tyler said with a sigh. “Apparently her name is Ashley Baker. An average civilian by all counts, with the exception of recent events that seem to tie her to a few sabotage attempts in some factories. It’s expected that, if she’s expecting us, there’ll be some kind of explosive device ready for us. If that happens, either Edge or I will take care of it. I will take priority in this matter, as I have experience, but as I know you have some too it will be your task if I cannot.”
The last bit of that was directed to Jon, and Tyler turned to face him as he spoke. No reply was really needed, although a simple ‘sir’ would not go amiss here.
“And you, Reaper.” Tyler said, turning to face Leo. “I want you on the roof over there,” he pointed to a building across the street and one building down from where the apartment building stood, “making sure nobody tries to escape off the roof or out the front door. Do not shoot without my approval, make sure you have a visual confirmation on the target, and whatever you do, don’t kill anyone. We need her alive. Is that understood?”
Upon receiving a reply, which would no doubt be affirmative, Tyler turned to the other two and finished with, “Alright then, let’s move. Private, I want that helmet on your head right now. Nobody in my team is breaching a potential danger zone without their headgear on. Reaper, double time. I want you on that roof before we enter the apartments. Signal me when you are in position.”
With that, the Lieutenant began walking at a brisk pace towards the bridge, Private Orchard close behind. As soon as they had begun moving, she had begun quickly fixing her helmet on her head as per the Lieutenant’s orders, and quickly motioned to Jon when he didn’t begin moving immediately. Leo was left on his own, although he had more ground to cover than they did and so it would be prudent to make haste.
