-- December 15th, 6320 -- 1:34pm -- Mantle Level -- District 14 --
Dust, it was everywhere. There was so much of dust that tables, chairs, shelves and the floor were sitting under a one inch layer of it. Dust even floated in the air, illuminated thin beams of light through a boarded up window. The dust was a gray-ish brown. There was so much of it that all of the room's contents looked like some sort of empire of dust. The whole room was the same color, save for the orange light pouring through those cracks in the boards. There was no sound in this room. It made it seem tranquil, like a large field of virgin snow. It would have been an award winning picture for a photographer if one happened to come across it.
In District 14 of the Mantle Level, places like that existed everywhere. District 14 was an industrial district when the Mantle Level was first being formed. It was built to refine the massive amount of minerals being mined so that nothing went to waste. People who lived in District 14 during that time were housed in cramped apartment buildings. Every one of them was identical to the next. Next to the large refineries were blocks of apartments housing the thousands of workers that had fourteen hour shifts every day. All of the facilities in these industrial districts recycled the residues in an attempt to be as efficient as possible.
With the completetion of the Mantle Level, Districts just like 14 were shut down and abandoned. The facilities were left defunct. Over time, they became home to orphans, gangs, homeless, and everybody in between. The police hardly enforced laws here, the dust was thick enough that anybody not wearing a rebreather or had air filtering augmentations died within hours. It would be a costly effort to equip every officer being sent into these districts to find people whos' lives were inconsequential or whos' crimes were insignificant. Still, people managed to survive past a few hours and had turned the defunct industrials districts into great slums.
Vincent Toth stepped into the dusty room. His full face helmet filtered the dust out of the air so he could breathe. A small holo-light was attached to the side of his helmet; wherever he looked, the hard edges illuminated by the holo-light were highlighted. His tactical suit changed colors and texture to match that of the dusty room, he became another part in the empire of dust. His ballistic assault rifle was held in Vincent's hands. It was held low, he wasn't expecting any danger in this room. "Sam, would you please remind me when the rendezvous is supposed to happen?"
The shape of a woman appeared in the hololight, standing on top of the inch thick layer of dust on one of the tables. The woman looked around the room for a moment and then turned to Vincent and spoke with a smooth, synthesized voice, "Five minutes ago. You're late."
"Late? I'm the only one here. I'm early."
The hologram chuckled, something that always bugged Vincent. Sam was a Class 4 AI, whenever it displayed human emotion or used human gestures, Vincent got a chill down his spine. He understood that as a Class 4, it was programmed to be as human as possible. The prospect of an artificial being acting just as human as a real one didn't fly in VIncent's book. The AI pointed just next to Vincent, "Those shelves beg to differ."
"What the hell are you talking about, Sam?" Vincent asked incredulously. He turned his head, the AI remained in the holo-light and chose another spot to stand on. The holo-light highlighted more than dust covered shelves, it hilighted the ridges of armor, weapons, and the contours of human bodies. They weren't shelves at all.
Before Vincent could speak a word, the 'shelf' closest to him punted him in the arm. "Hah! Toth gets trumped again!"
The armor faded into view, that same dusty brown as the the rest of the room turned into a matte black. Then the rest of the supposed shelves did the same shortly after. The Dynamic Camouflage System, it was exactly what had made Vincent used to make himself look the same as his surroundings. Seems the others had the same idea and used it to pull a fast one on Vincent. "Hello, Spark..." Vincent sighed, how could he not have noticed the footprints in the floor that led exactly to where they were all standing.
The team all began to chuckle, even Sam, Sam! Even the damned AI was in on their little prank. If Vincent had the same childish sense of humor like the rest of his team, he'd try to get the team back some day. Vincent was regarded to be the most serious man on the team. Whenever there was a cheesy joke for a momentary laugh, Vincent never bought into it. He was the member of the team that focused on his job to make up for the childish nature of his team.
Spark rounded Vincent to stand in front of him. Vincent's gaze followed him, his holo-light highlighting the other man; Sam chose to sit on Sparks shoulder. Spark was the team's tech specialist, you could hand him the most single-minded gadget and he'd find other effective uses for it. Spark was the team's jester, always the first to crack a joke, always the first to ease tension. Vincent would usually scold him when he cracked some cynical joke in the line of fire. "Hello to you too, Corner."
Corner, Vincent hated that nickname. He had gotten it back in his boot camp days when he constantly forgot to check his corners. The habit tended to show itself at times. Every time Vincent didn't check a corner, that name would spring up from one of his team mates. It was easily the quickest way to get on his nerves. Vincent grumbled something, the full face helmet muffled his voice a bit so whatever he grumbled was inaudible. "If we weren't on the job right now, I'd probably be hitting you in that pimply face of your's, Spark."
The rest of the team hooted at his remark. Vincent moved into the center of the room and leaned back against one of the dusty tables. He nearly slipped when he forgot that the surface of the table was actually a surface of dust. Sam stood on the table directly in front of him. The rest of the team gathered around her, all masked by the identical full helmets, all shining holo-lights onto the same area to give more clarity to the holographic projection.The dust made the projection fuzzy at best. Sam looked around at all eight of the operatives. "Kill Team Two-Six, welcome to your new home for the next month."
Spark snorted, "This?! This is our new home? A fucking dust bowl?" he groaned, "Why do you always find us the shittiest places to live in during missions, Sam?"
The AI turned toward Spark and rolled her eyes -another thing Vincent was creeped out by- and put her hands to her hips. She leaned on one leg, she looked like a rebellious teenager in that stance. "Sorry, Spark. I didn't realize you were paid to complain. You knew what you were signing up for."
That witty remark managed to make Vincent chuckle, despite the fact that even her lifelike humor was unsettling to him. Spark waved his hand dismissively and crossed his arms, "So why sand-castle, Sam?" he asked.
"This location is close and discreet enough for us to conduct our next chain of operations. Our spies have found an immortal, but this one presents us with a rare opportunity, something we haven't been faced with before."
The team looked around to one another. Vincent shrugged when Spark turned his gaze toward him. They all returned their attention to Sam. The AI changed from a human appearance to a 3D map of a large apartment block. Every time she spoke, the lines making the building brightened. "Every immortal we've faced up to this point are thousands of years old. They predate the platforms, the moon landing, some even predate the Romans. While some have come about of the past few hundred years, we have never been able to determine their position before the Illuminati reaches out to them."
The team studied the apartment block, knowing that Sam was presenting them with their first place to investigate. They studied each hallway, each room, each point of entry and exit. They learned the building inside and out in just a few minutes. Sam continued, "What is so special about this immortal is that he was born only nineteen years ago. His birth is on official records. It only recently became clear that he is an immortal. If he's inexperienced and doesn't fully understand his potential, he could make an easy target to capture and study."
One of the other team member stepped forward. Oshiah, the new team leader, was a mountain of a man. He stood six feet and four inches. He was a wall of solid muscle, Vincent could've sworn that Oshiah's muscles weighed more than he did entirely. Oshiah had come from Kill Team Ten after all but Oshiah had been killed by an immortal and Two-Six lost their team leader at the hands of another. Oshiah's weight made his footfalls heavy and loud, he had such a presence that standing toe to toe with him made you feel entirely insignificant.
Kill Teams were the invisible squads the United Earth Government used to hunt down and eliminate immortals. Kill Team Two-Six had had the highest rate of success that the loss of their team leader was a critical blow to their effectiveness. Luckily, Kill Team Ten was a close second, so Oshiah was a good match for them. Kill Teams were infamous for more than their efficiency in handling immortals, they were called as such because rookie kill team operatives never made it past their first or second mission. If a soldier in the regular forces was out of line, they'd be moved into a kill team under the guise of a promotion, only to let natural selection do the rest. All kill team operatives were miscreants in one way or another; but those who survived became the best warriors humanity had to offer. After all, fighting individuals on par with gods took a certain amount of skill. But kill teams weren't so much of a fighting force rather than a team of coordinated assassins. Against an immortal, the only way to succeed was to get the element of surprise. These teams were nimble, quiet and loaded out with the latest in stealth technology. Getting into a head on fight with an immortal meant certain death, Vincent was lucky to be alive for as long as he was.
"What else can you tell us about this young immortal, Sam?" Oshiah's voice was deep and accented, he grew up in an Upper Level district reminiscent of Old Britain.
"The immortal's name on file is 'Dzakar Black'." she said.
Spark shrugged, his arms still crossed, "Interesting name. Clearly not his actual one."
Sam answered, "That is uncertain. In this region of the Mantle Level, names are a lot more convoluted. Some come up with their own names or are named after their actions. It's difficult to say if Dzakar Black is his real name or simply just a given one.
Rapture stepped forward, he was the only one not wearing any helmet or rebreather to fend off the dust. He was an ExHuman, entirely cybernetic. Breathing was a distant memory for Rapture, the dust didn't bother him in the slightest. His synthetic skin hid most of his cybernetics, and it was upgraded to have the same D.C.S features as the armor worn by the rest of the team. Rapture was a chameleon, he could change his skin color and texture to nearly anything, he could even change the shape of his skin slightly to look more like a rigid rock or tree bark. After Vincent, Rapture was the longest standing member of Kill Team Two-Six. The two had survived with each other for ten years as kill team operatives, and even longer if their time in the regular army was counted. His cybernetics and lack of breathing landed him a spot as the team sniper, he was the one who often delivered the shot to put an immortal to sleep for good. Rapture had the highest count of immortals put down out of everybody in the team. His count was ten, which was a pretty big deal since most kill teams could hardly achieve even one. Vincent followed behind him with four immortals. The rest of the team was fairly new and only had one or two immortals under their belts.
"If this immortal is new to the game, then he's bound to make mistakes. This should be a simple job, hopefully we'll only need to be in this 'sand castle' for a short time. Rapture explained, his voice was synthesized much liked Sam's was. It was a quick and easy reminder that Rapture was an ExHuman under that fake skin.
Oshiah nodded to Rapture after the point had been made. "Agreed. Blitz, I want you in the neighbouring districts tracking this kid down while we investigate the apartment block. He might think he's not in any danger and could have left his tracks uncovered."
The operative nicknamed 'Blitz' was a tall and thin man. He stood at six feet and weighed in at one hundred and eighty pounds. Blitz was quick on his feet and could easily outrun an olympic runner if he needed to. Blitz was usually the one to hold chase on a fleeing immortal or to quick relocate and flank a target. He kept his load light, preferring a small laser sub-repeater in place of his rifle. Unlike the rest of the team with their tactical suits, Blitz wore a synth-suit to compliment his high speed, low drag attitude. Blitz was also a natural talker, able to glean precious bits of information by guiding presenting himself in a way that'd appeal to the one he is speaking with. Blitz had been in acting school before he signed up into the military, the guy could pull off any character and any disguise. Him and Spark worked well together as wingmen in the bars.
Blitz nodded to Oshiah's order, "Understood, sir."
Sam reverted back to her human appearance and looked at each masked individual. "This apartment block has the highest likelihood of him Mr. Black being there. Remember, he may be new to all of this, but he is still an immortal. No slacking on this job. As always, our priority to acquire intel first, only engage Dzakar if you feel you have the best opportunity.
Oshiah nodded, then the rest of the team did. Sam smiled, "Good. Then for now, the briefing is over.
Oshiah looked to the rest of the team, "Alright, let's get this place turned into a proper base. Spark, Trapper, you two are setting up the defensive emplacements. Rapture, you're on overwatch. Blitz, get talking with the locals in the neighbouring districts. Thumper, notify mission control that the area has been secured and the powered armor can be transported in. Corners, Yari, you two are on clean up duty. I don't want to see a speck of dust in these rooms."
Vincent and Yari exchanged looks, if there was some joke in Oshiah's command, they didn't see it. Once the team leader left the room, Yari groaned, "How in the hell are we supposed to clean all this fuckin' dust?!"
Vincent shrugged, "Dust pan and a broom?"
Yari sighed and kicked a thick layer of dust toward Vincent, "I can't wait to see the day you develop a good sense of humor, Corners."
Yari was a rather orindary guy. He was mostly human except for some neural upgrades. He was assigned to Kill Team Two-Six after he unknowingly got into a boxing match with an immortal and won. Yari was an expert in hand to hand combat, he had mastered nine different martial arts before joining the military and coming to Kill Team Two-Six two months prior to sweeping inch deep layers of dust off the floor. The man's reflexes were almost on the same level as an immortal. Vincent was always convinced that Yari saw in slow motion while he moved in real time. Every time he tried to spar with Yari, he ended up on his ass in seconds. Vincent liked Yari because he was a team oriented operative, he never kicked his teammates' ass and didn't tell them why. He always showed the others of Two-Six their mistakes and taught them how to properly perform them.
The two looked around for something to start removing the dust, it was going to be a long and graceless task. But somebody had to do it eventually. Vincent sighed, "Maybe Sam could give us an idea."
"Dust pan and broom." the AI said to them.
Yari began to mumble something, "Why that cheeky little..."
In the next room, Vincent could hear Trapper, Spark and Thumper collaborating on where to set up defenses and where to call in the supply drops while maintaining discretion. Trapper was the team's expert in all things hunting. He grew up in the Core Level, learning to hunt from his parents as a means to survive. His family never liked eating processed foods, they always preferred to eat what they hunted. Trapper had a natural sense of direction, the guy never got lost and always knew where to go and how to get there. He could find a trail that nobody would ever notice and track it all the way to the source. Naturally, he was Rapture's usual spotter, using his keen eye to find targets for the ExHuman to pick off. He was the quietest one on the team, in the sense that he spoke at a low volume most of the time. Others in Two-Six would tease him and tell him he'd need to speak up.
Thumper on the other hand had a booming voice that could vibrate a room. He was almost as muscular as Oshiah and operated as the team's explosive expert and logisitcs officer on the field. He was from the gleaming Apex Level and even went to school for Nuclear Physics. Thumper was easily the smartest man in the team, but his large frame and deep voice would portray him as a knucklehead first. It was easy to confuse Thumper's looks and intelligence. He knew how to make explosions from damn near anything, it was almost unsettling. When Thumper had come to the team, Vincent had actually worried that he might one day turn his pillow into a high yield bomb, just to sate Spark's need for comedy.
The operatives of Kill Team Two-Six got to work. Once they managed to build their Sand Castle, they were headed out hunting.
----------
Sel'ket sat in an abandoned apartment across from the refinery. She was listening to an audio recording of the kill team's 'discreet' rendezvous. While listening, she looked out of the window next to her and watched as two pitch black anti-grav gunships flew overhead and dropped four suits of powered armor off. She could see the operatives setting up automated defense turrets and sensors all around the refinery. "It'd be a shame if a wave washed out their sand castle." she mumbled to herself.
Across the dark and equally dusty room, a hologram appeared. It was an AI, unlike the AI the Kill Team had, this one didn't take the form of a human. It was an orb of raw data, constantly changing shape and color as information sifted through it faster than the human eye could see. "Shall I mobilize the Illuminati, Scarab?
Selket shook her head, "Not against the kill team, not directly at least. I've heard this particular team has a bit of a reputation. While I could no doubt handle them, I'd rather not put myself in their hands should they somehow manage to kill me. So, we'll bide our time with them. Pick them off one by one." Sel'ket looked from the window and to the AI, "Sigil, notify the Illuminati of this new immortal. I need whoever that can be spared to the Mantle Level. Tell them to meet me in that one bar in District 20. What's it called?"
"Olympus?" Sigil guessed the bar she was talking about.
"That's the one."
"Understood, Scarab. I am sending the order now."
