Chronocide: Mission Snowdrift


Published
3 years, 9 months ago
Updated
3 years, 9 months ago
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Chapter 1
Published 3 years, 9 months ago
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Mild Sexual Content Explicit Violence

(Missing first chapter) (unedited)

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Snowdrift Part 2


The Area was empty now. No guards. No sound. Hazel had all the time in the world to pick the lock. There was a click, the rattle of the lock's chain... and the door swung open. Inside, lit by only a single lamp, was a man in handcuffs.

He was a pale and worn looking man,  his hair the color of a caramel cream. It was messy, and a network of new wounds criss-crrossed his face. His blue eyes were downcast, and he seemed to be missing a leg. He looked up at them with a wince.

"Dr. Yoheim Adler" viper said with relief

 "Lets get him out of here," Hazel said, looking around the room for any sign pf traps

The room looked clear of traps... Though a mechanical leg was lying on the wall. Adler looked run down, and tired "are you from... The Pax Republic?"

"Yessir, Dr." Viper said, grabbing him and getting him out of the chair

"That's right," Hazel nodded, and grabbed the mechanical leg, assuming it belonged to the legless doctor.

The doctor struggled to free his wrists from the cuffs once again, his wrists already raw and bleeding from several such attempts already. He sighedwith relief "Oh thank the stars" He shook his head, "Your agents...they were supposed to come for me months ago."

Viper bent over, and began picking the locks of his handcuffs "I'm afraid things have gotten a little delayed Dr." he gruffly stated "World's on the brink of open war"

"Yeah, things aren;t looking good," she said. "but we came." She looked around for some way to help- and just to keep an eye out.

There was a small desk to the left. And...lucky for her, it seemed to have some documents on it in nondescriptt manilla folders.

Hazel bustled over, and sifted through them quickly, looking for anything relevant.

There were grainy photographs in black and white of a large ...something...lurking in the frozen forests of Uldolvia . It was the size of a small building, and Hazel could make out the shape of what looked like many large, powerful legs. The tip of a missle peeked from the treeline. Below it read...

The Titan: Test 2.

She raised her eyebrows, and tucked the documents into her pouch. "The titan, huh?"

The handcuffs fell to the floor, and Viper helped to strap the man's mechanical leg on, wiring it into a small metal panel on his missing leg's thigh.

Dr. Adler looked miserable "It's all my fault" He said quietly "I'm a scientist. And sooner or later, all scientists are forced to make something terrible in the face of a war." he grimaced as a shock jolted his skin "The Titan is my mistake. The collectivists. Under Comrade Gagarin. They wanted a weapon that could strike the republic from anywhere in the world..."

Viper paled, and his lips tightened into a sharp line "And you helped them build this?"

"How complete is it?" Hazel asked. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. This was pretty much the plot of oh, say any ten different spy novels....

"It..." the worn, blond haired man looked devestated "It's still in development. It hasn't even had it's first live fire test. But... But if I stay here, they'll finish it. And the world won't stand a chance against Gagarin's ambitions" he shook his head vehemently, and with the whir of servos and grind of metal...his false leg helped him stand up straight "Even the Uldovan Government thinks he's too hungry for war..."

"Oh boy," she said dryly. "In that case, lets definitely get you out of here."

Viper stood, and slipped his gun back into his hand with a curt nod to Hazel "are you ready to escort him to the LZ , Heron?" he asked

The man walked for the door. Whirr-clank, whirr-clank went his mechanical leg, matching the stiff movement of his walk.

Hazel nodded, and followed the man, drawing her gun just in case. She slipped past him, and opened the door just a sliver to check what was beyond.

Beyond was the open stretch of clearing before the frost-coated evergreens of the forest hugged the narrow path they had crept in on. It seemed clear...and if no patrols had found the unconscious guards , the path ahead would be a straight shot to their evac.

Viper flicked the safety off his gun regardless.

Hazel nodded and opened the door, shepherding the worn scientist out to the forest path. "It should be clear, but keep your head down just in case."

They stepped into the waning light of afternoon....only to hear the ker-chack of readied rifles surround them from the back and sides of the small building. Just out of what would have been their narrow view from the door.

A platoon of soldiers in sharp black uniforms and red berets  held their guns trained on the trio of spies and defectors, their features obscured with black masks. The insignia on their berets was obvious and familiar ...the collectivist globe and crossed rifles.

From the roof of the squat building behind them came a slow, mocking clap.

Hazel grimaced and looked around,  gun in hand. She swore, so far under her breath it might only have been a breath.

There was a scuff of movement, before a figure leapt off the short roof, and landed  on the ground before them with practiced skill. Framed by the black clad soldiers and the dimming sky, he stood with his back to Heron and Viper. He wore a black uniform like his men, with red epaulettes decorated in the Collectivist Globe in gold. Red gloves covered his hand, and a red beret covered his silvery blond hair.

He turned, and his hands sweapt out in a wide arc, as if presenting his soldiers to his captives, a grin crossing his handsome, but sharp featured face. Something about him...something very subtle ...was a bit familiar to Hazel, but what it was, it was unclear. Perhaps just a trick of the light.

"I have to say" He sneered "I didn't expect you to _actually_ walk right into our little trap" he laughed, and his men laughed with him "But, one can't always count on the cleverness of _prey_ "

Hazel looked at him with a mixture of calm and annoyance. What a ham.

"Looks like the circus is in town, huh?"

The young man's face twisted into an expression of anger "Circus?" His hackles raised like an angered cat, and he growled "LYNX!" He called "Tell her who _I_ am"

Viper had his gun lowered just enough to keep the enemy from opening fire . The look of fire in his eyes told her that he didn't need this introduction "Panther" he growled under his breath.

Dr. Adler cowered, and tried creeping back into the building behind him.

At the man's side appeared a a girl, younger than him by perhaps a year or so, in a feminin version of the same black and red uniform, oddly enough with a a short pleated skrit featuring. She wore the red beret over a pair of long, dark pigtails and she was holding on to a large gun. She saluted sharply.

"Yes sir! Who doesn't know the famous Panther, commander of the famous Panther Squad!"

Hazel stared in disbelief.

Panther grinned maliciously "The very same Panther who helped our nation secure the Jorvelin Satillite state? Who Slayed the rebel leader with nothing but a single throwing dagger? That's me" He said, and gestured with his hands again, dramatically "And my squad of highly trained special troopers. And here you are. Helpless in our clutches"

Viper grimaced "wondereful. Not only is the circus in town, but the clowns all rolled up too" he smirked a bit dryly.

"Looks like," Hazel muttered in agreement. "Anyway, never heard of you," she said, louder, to Panther.

Panther stiffened , and his sharp amber eyes narrowed at her. "You must live under a stone then, spy" He smirked "but it doesn't matter" He pointed at the cowering Adler "Give us the scientist, and perhaps we'll let you live out your days in a Collectivist prison camp"

Viper looked at Hazel, frowning "We can't let him have Yoheim. "

Hazel shook her head. "Obviously," she muttered. She looked over Panther and his squad, looking for weak points.

Panther drew a long knife. Not one suited for military operations, surprisingly, but a sort of hunting/skinning knife with a curved tip. In his other hand, he held a set of throwing daggers between his fingers. He grinned, and began spinning the knives with expert skill

"ah , ah ,ah , Mutts of Soteria." he said "we can't have you go running off with our little egghead just yet. Isn't that right, Lynx?"

His squad ooohed and ahhhed at his knife tricks. There wasn't really a weak spot that looked viable. Not with so many men....except, perhaps, the leader's ego.

Lynx nodded, pointing her gun at Viper. "That's right! We need that egg of his right here!"

Hazel's mind ticked away, esspecially as she saw the knives, and she thought of a trick she'd read a character use in a particular novel.

"Damn, I know this is the circus, but I didn't actually expect to see juggling," she said. "how often do you drop those? they're weighted all wrong."

Viper's gun rose in a flash, and leveled at Lynx's chest "How old are you, Kid?" he growled at her, eyes narrowed "You look a little young for the battlefield.

Hazel's words had quite the effect on the man. HIs body stiffened, and he began actually juggling the throwing and skinning knives with skill, his eyes narrowed "Drop them? I never drop my knives. I'm an expert!" his voice cracked, just the slightest, and one of his throwing knives fell, nearly skewering his foot as he jolted and backed out of the way of it.

Hazel snorted, taking a step forward. "I thought as much. You need uniform knives in order to juggle them effectively," she said, "and you're using throwing and skinning knives interchangably. Not that either of them look like they'd be any good in a serious fight."

Lynx pouted, taking the safety off her massive gun. "Says who, grandpa?"

Panther caught the knives in his hands, and spun them into a combat position. HIs eyes narrowed "I'll show you how good they are in a fight, Soteria's Mutt." he said. His men all raised their rifles tto shoot Hazel down, but the boy raised his hand, with a widening grin "no. No. Boys. All of you but Lynx, step down. It's time to teach this capitalist dog some manners"

Viper's finger started to compress the trigger "you should go home , kid. Following this clown'll earn you a spot in an early grave"

"I don't think so," she said. She fired at him, a high calibur slug.

Hazel drew her own combat knives from the hooks on her pants, and held them practically.

VIper and Lynx fell into an elaborate exchange of bullets behind them, reports sending birds scattering from the trees.

It was then that Panther charged Hazel, his lips parted in a wicked grin. He was quick, his lithe body moving like the jungle cat he was named for. One of the throwing knives flung from his fingers, attempting to strike Hazel's leg.

Hazel was fast, dodgeing it as it flipped past her ear, tailing only a few strands of hair with it. She let Panther come at her, digging in her heels, and waiting to defend with her two large, long knives.

Panther closed the gap between them, and attempted to slash across her throat with the hooked curve of his blade. He was quick...and clever, as his other hand moved to try and sneak one of the throwing daggers into her side while he distracted her.

Hazel caught the upper blade on one of hers, letting the hook catch the edge of her blade. The other, she moved swiftly away from, rotating around so she was on Panther's other side, as she moved to stab him with her second blade.

He frowned, and attempted to pry his skinning blade from her combat knife, hissing as her knife split the cloth of his uniform, and trailed a few drops of blood into the air behind it. He kicked out at her shin with his heavy boot.

She looped her leg around his as he kicked out at her, not letting herself fall, pulling back to gain some distance for a moment, drawing breath.

He didn't fall, as expected, but used her motion to throw his body into hers. His broad shoulders hit her heavilly, with a thud of impact. A blade sliced across her thigh, the long, dragging hook of his skinning knife just bairly catching skin.

She kissed , and solidly returned the kick, moving around him again, looking for an opening.

Those knives weren't good for real fighting. She was right. His left arm was going wide, with the attempt to get the knife back in a position to strike with any efficiency, while he had trouble holding onto the daggers in his right hand. He was open. "I'll send Soteria your regards, dog" he growled

She smirked subtly, and went for the opening, a fast, accurate jab. "You really need better knives, kitty."

She hit him, and it was enough to make his knives tumble from his fingers as he staggered back. "W-what? how? How's this possible?" he stammered, hand clutched to his injured side.

Behind him, Lynx went down with a bullet to the upper thigh, Viper's gun trailing smoke into the cool air.

"I told you, you have the wrong equpment." She scooped his knives up and hurled them away with disregard.

Lynx was looking shocked, on her knees.

He limped into a sitting position,, grimacing as he propped up on the building's wall. "The wrong equipment... " his voice was distant as he grimaced and looked towards Lynx "Dammit! Boys, Get Lynx and I to the rendevous" He said, voice cracking as the contemplative , frustrated look played over his features.

Viper pulled out his tranq gun, and , for good measure. shot Lynx in the neck with it. "Lets go , while they're distracted" He said, grabbing the cowering doctor and pulling him to his feet in the frenzy of panic that followed Panther's defeat.

Hazel nodded, hurrying to secure their target while the Panther team huddled, several of them picking up the now-fallen Lynx. There was an awkward moment where they tried to decided if their leader needed to be carried, but hazel wasn't paying attention to that.

The two spies vanished into the frozen wood, dragging the limping scientist behind them. The sun had begun to set, pink and yellow light filling the sky like a work of art.

"That was... special,..." she muttered after they were well away, toward their destination.

Viper nodded "Yeah" he shook his head, as they walked through the crunching snow back towards their rendevous point. "believe it or not, that clown was the youngest commander in the Collectivist Special Forces. He's supposed to be a big deal" He murmured

Adler stumbled after them, looking anxiously at the treeline as they ran.

Hazel looked after Adler, making sure he didn't fall too far behind.

"Some big deal," she muttered back. "Doesn't even know how to hold a knife." Still, despite her bravado, the small wounds he had scored did sting.

Blood had soaked parts of her snow fatigues, compromising her camoflage.

"His tagalong was using a rifle far too big for her frame, too" He said "A girl that size should probably have stuck with a smaller calibur rifle. Perhaps compensate the loss in effectiveness with proper ammo selection. Hollow point and the like"

"But how would she compensate for the loss of compensation?"

"Actual training" He said with a thin smirk "But knowing her boss, she's likely to simply buy a big sword instead."

Adler was close behind them as they came to the bridge they had so much trouble crossing earlier. The guard was still taking a long, chilly nap in the snow to their left.

Hazel smirked back at Viper, and nodded as she saw the gaurd still napping. "Looks  like we should be able to cross alright."

Viper nodded , his expression serious again "alright. Lets cross the bridge and get out of here." He helped adler step onto the first few planks of the swaying bridge.

Hazel kept her guard up as they started to cross. Something about the familiarity of the situation made her uneasy. Bridges in action stories... generally turned into a place for action.

Viper put his hand to his ear, and his voice crackled through both their headsets "General, we've got the scientist. We're almost at the LZ . Is the stealth copter in place?"

Static answered him, as they walked a quarter of the way acrross the bridge.

A chill crossed the air, followed swiftly by a sheet of white fog and snow that buffetted the bridge as the wind began to whip up. Their vision was too obscured to see more than 5 feet in front of them.

"dammit!" Viper hissed

Hazel shielded her eyes, and tried to look around, "I was afriad of this...."

The wind swayed the bridge, causin Adler to cling tight to Hazel to keep his bad leg from pitching him over. Their communications hissed and the ice cold wind stung their faces.

"we have to press on and get off this damn bridge, Heron" he said, as a wolf howled in the distance.

Heron nodded, and picked Addler up bodily, pressing forward as best she could.

Adler yelped in surprise, prompting Viper to hush him in irritation. The wind drowned out everything except it's morneful howl, however.

The rope bridge suddenly swayed again, as if new bodies had stepped onto it's creaking length.

A figure appeared at the end of the bridge, tall, and solidly built, dressed in pure white. They stepped commandingly forward. Viper recognized her immediately. Lionheart.

Heron had seen her, during the Collectivist Riots. Death had followed in her wake.

Viper's eyes went wide, and his drawn pistol slowly lowered. His breath hitched in his throat "Boss? Lionheart?" he asked, shock clear in his tone "The Major said you were on a mission in the polar seas."

Heron raised her eyebrows. She hadn't immeditely recognized her, but she did as she got closer.

"Viper," the woman said in a low voice. She nodded to Heron as well. Heron felt someone else step on to the bridge and looked behind her. It was another from the riots. Tigerfang.

Tigerfang stood beside a large armored wolfhound. It's bloodied teeth were bared in a snarl that mirrored the ginger-haired woman's own grin as she leaned on the support rope of the bridge, giving a lazy salute to Lionheart.

Viper's hesitant smile faltered as he looked over his shoulder "....Lionheart. The Major didn't say you'd be our rendevous..."

Strangely, their comm links had gone to static. Hazel saw one of the wires slowly corroding.

Lionheart held out a hand. "No. The Major didn't send me here, Viper. I'm here on my own."

Heron frowned. This was wrong. Very wrong.

Viper gripped his gun. It was clear the very same conclusion was dawning on him. His face was carefully neautral, though the corner of his brilliantly blue eyes crinkled and his lips sett into a hard, thin frown.

"On your own?" He said, his voice strained despite the attempt to keep it level. "Heron and I finished the mission, boss. You don't need to step in for us. We just have to get to the rendevous, and we can all go home."

Lionheart shook her head. "I'm afriad not, Viper. The truth is, I'm defecting. And I'll need you to give me Addler."

"

" "How about no," Heron said scoffing thickly, and holding Addler more firmly.

Viper's carefully neutral expression broke. Distress crept into his face as he swallowed, and raised his gun in a swift motion, aiming it at his mentor. "I can't do that, Lionheart" his voice shook, just the slightest, before he steeled it and continued "You can't defect. What about our country ? Soteria?" he grimaced "What about the Body?"

Tigerfang laughed , short and clipped, behind them as she advanced with her snarling wolf.

Hazel turned, and holding Addler with one hand, trained her gun on Tigerfang.

Swiftly, and effeciently, Lionheart stepped forward and grabbed Viper's gun, elbowing him in the stomach at the same time. She disaseembled his weapon in a fluid motion and threw it over the bridge.

Tigerfang grinned at her, and winked an emerald eye. Her hand waved in the hair, as she whistled shrilly.

The scream of a hawk broke through the sound of the wind, and a pair of sharp talons whipped past Hazel, and raked against her arm, before flying up and away.

Viper's gun fell to pieces as it tumbled down into the river below. He grunted with a pain that was more than just physical. He grabbed his knife from it's sheath in a smooth motion, and turned his lurch into a grapple "Lionheart..." he growled, "What in the goddess of peace's name can the collectivists give you to make you betray your country?"

Lionheart grappled with him, grabbing him, and disaearming him again. "You'll understand someday, Viper. But not today. You're young. Idealistic.  You think you know what war means."

Hazel hissed, as blood was drawn. "What the hell?"

Adler screamed and stumbled away from her as the hawk came back for another pass. The woman laughed again, and crossed her arms "you might as well hand the egghead over, dearie." She purred in a silky smooth voice "We need him a little more than you do at the moment."

Viper grunted in pain, his knife clattering to the ground. "Then teach me!" He hissed "like you promised. You said I could join the Body. So _teach me_ what war means. Don't _do_ this"

"Here's a lesson for you, Viper. In war, you never know what side you'll be on, and when today's friends will be tomorrow's enemies." She grabbed him, holding him prone in front of her with a knife to his throat. "Tell her to give us Addler."

Heron grimaced, as the waomn had laughed at her. She looked at the situation.

Viper froze, his eyes wide as he was pressed to the swaying bridge. He grimaced "Heron . Extract Adler. Don't worry about me" he hissed. His breath was shallow "The mission."

Tigerfang snapped her fingers, and the wolf suddenly leapt and pounced onto Adler. There was a horrible screech, as it bit into the wires connecting his mechanical leg to his body and tore them away. The man's scream echoed through the forest...

Followed by a cheerful clap from behind Lionheart.

Hazel grimaced, and swung around to see who was clapping.

Lionheart meanwhile, kept the knife at Viper's throat.

Viper froze, and held his breath. HIs body tensed below hers.

A man stepped out of the snow. Tall, broad shouldered with long black hair tied back in a ponytail and set under an olive green cap with a red globe crossed with rifles emblazoned on it's front. He wore a matcing olive green military duster festooned with medals of honor. His chiseled jaw and sharp face wasn't traditionally handsome, with it's criss-crossing scars, butt it wasn't entirely unatractive either. He had a cruel grin on his face, and he clapped once more witht his strangely gloved hands "Well isn't this all a touching reunion" He purred in an Uldovian accent.

Heron frowned. Things were just getting worse and worse.

Lionheart have the man a terse nod as she held Viper.

Tigerfang snapped him a quick wave of her hand, as the wolf began to drag Adler screaming back towards her.

The man's grin grew broader as he saw Viper's precidament, and the tense Heron. "Old Soteria must not want my dear Dr. all tthat much. " he chuckled without humor "If she has sent an untrained dog like him and a mere child to retrieve Adler. " He gestured between them with a scoff.

"Maybe she just doesn't think much of the competition," Heron quipped.

His eyes grew hard, and now he was looking directly at Heron. His eyes traced from her to Lionheart with a slight raise of his eyebrow. A smirk formed under those ice-cold eyes. "I see. Do you know who I am? Do you recognize my face?"

"Gagarin, right?" she said smoothly.

He nodded, genially "That's right, little girl. How clever of you to notice. " he purred. "Lionheart. Do you have the device I asked for?"

Viper grit his teeth "boss..." he hissed between them "Please. You know what this man is planning, don't you?"

She nodded sharply, and raised what was in the arm that wasn;t pinning viper. She held a metal briefcase." The peacewolf scan engine."

He bent down, and took it with a chuckle "With this and Adler, things should be...as your Pax Repulicans say... a piece of cake" he said , opening it and looking at it's contents.

Adler was off the bridge now, pinned in the snow by a snarling wolf.

Viper tensed again, his body ready to move.

"good, good" Gagarin said with genial good cheer. Without even looking up, as if it meant nothing to him, he continued "Now Lionheart. Welcome to the Collectivist Union" He smiled thinly, and closed the case

"do me a favor and kill the squirming little dog and the little girl. I can't permit spies to run rampant in my country like rats, after all"

"Of course."

As Lionheart spoke, Heron came at her. She couldn't fire her gun- not with her using Viper as a shield. But in a flash, that wasn't a problem.

"Until we meet again," she said in a low voice to Viper, as she suddenly tossed him off the bridge.

Viper shouted in surprise and confusion, grabing at her as he fell, desperate to grab something to hold onto.

TIgerfang whistled again, and the hawk made a screaming dive for Hazel's gun arm, talons bared.

Gagarin laughed heartilly, and clapped his hands "now the girl, Lionheart" He purred "Quickly, quickly. We have a chopper to catch. Things are going to get a bit hot here very soon"

Hazel had her gun pointed at Lionheart now. She even got a shot off- not that it landed- before the woman swiftly and easily grabbed her- and tossed her off the bridge as well.

As Hazel fell, casting out for something to grab, she wished she had the wings of her namesake.

The sound of the approaching chopper as it passed overhead thrummed in her ears as she fell in what felt like slow motion. Her fingers just brushed the woman's white uniform, but they were unable to find purchase as she hurtled down towards the rushing rapids below.

There was an impact...and then nothing. Blackness and the sound of rushing water.

The blackness embraced her.

The darkness was a relief from the pain. But itt was short lived. The pleasant darkness was forced away by the thrusting of hands on her chest, and the coppery taste of blood on her lips as someone blew into her water-filled lungs.

Her bodiy tried to shoot up, her hands still clawing for purchase.

She clawed across the scruffy face of Viper, who grabbed her wrist with an intake of breath "Put the talons away, Heron" he wheezed in pain. Blood dripped from uncounted wounds, and his face spoke of thousands more that could not be seen from the outside. "you're...you're safe"

Above them, in the distance, choppers cut through the air.

She sucked in a long, painful breath of air, and coughed, letting her hands fall back on the gorund. "fuck."

"My sentiments exactly." His voice was hoarse. With tears either spilled or held inside, it was unclear. He looked up at the sky, and sat next to her "this can't be happening..She wouldn't betray the republic like that. Not Lionheart.."

Hazel pressed a hand to her head as she set up. "Who knows what's going on. Hell, it could be a triple cross."

The legion of helicopters flew above them with the whipping of blades through the air. In the distance, the trees rattled like something massive was walking through them. "She tried to kill us, Heron" he said with a tight frown "It waws a damned miracle we survived that fa...." There was a tremendous sound ,as whatever walked through those woods fired. The ground tremored, and they had the moment of hesitation to watch as a large missle hurtled through the air in an overhead arc. It cleared them, and just kept going....until it struck down at the milittary facility they had rescued the scientist from

Heron cursed unde rher breath, watching the trajectory and shelding her eyes from the explosion.

The explosive went off a second later....and after that , there was nothing but the heat, the light, and the sound. Wind rushed past them as Viper shoved here to the wet mud of the riverbed, hot air whipping above them  in time with the explosion's roar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLoytewvn0g

Revolutions often started with a single shot. A single moment. One failed mission and the decimation of an Uldovian military outpost in a single act of treachery. This bomb was a herald. An announcement that one way or the other, things were about to change.

Paths were to be forged. Not just for the nations of Terra, but for the two spies huddled in the mud , skin burned from winds of fire, bodies soaked and battered in the winter snow.

{Embed}

Gemini Moon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLoytewvn0g

Midge Ure - The Man Who Sold The World (1982 Studio Version) [HQ]

We passed upon the stair We spoke of was and when Although I wasn't there He said I was his friend Which came as some surprise I spoke into his eyes I though...

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLoytewvn0g/maxresdefault.jpg

Rescue came eventually, and after that...the hospital. A room in Soteria's personal complex was chosen. The two spies lay in beds on opposite sides of a small end table. The last week was a haze of drugs, questions, panic and sleep.

Hazel had never spent a long time in the hospital before. Had never been more seriously injured than a broken bone or too. And her mother wasn't there, which distressed her more than it should, but she bore it with grace. Simon, at least, was there.

Simon, who had practically bullied and threatened his way past security personel and military guard, sat by her bedside pretty much the whole time, fretting over her and helping out when he could.

Her mother wasn't there...no...how could she? They were cut off, years and years away from when her mother came to this world.

Hazel had Simon though. Which was more than Viper got. The young man...who looked all the younger as he lay in his cot and stared at the ceiling for hours, pain etched in his face... He only had the official visitors. The doctors. The politicians milking him for details about the confrontation. No friends. No family.

Hazel felt for him, and tried to be there for him a mcub as she could, considering. She didn't ask why he didnt have friends or family. She was sure the answer woiuldn't have done them either any good.

She'd talked to him a bit. Enough to know he had a vauge interest in spy novels. In outdoor expeerience. Recreational camping. In animals. The man, it turned out, honest to god loved animals.

He had a cat in his barracks.

But those days blured together far too fast....and soon, when they finally started feeling better....That was when Soteria and Knight came to visit.

Hazel was almost able to sit up for her, too.

Viper did sit up, and saluted tthe woman with a tense expression.

Soteria smiled at them both "Please...settle back down. There isn't need to strain yourselves on my account" The woman said kindly. Hazel could see the woman she'd become in her face. Her hair was shot with streaks of grey. Her eyes were tired and ringed with dark cicles. She looked, unfortunetly, like a woman who'd spent most of her night crying.

Knight pat her shoulder, and gestured tto the two spies "at ease, i you don't mind"

Hazel nodded. "Sir. Ma'am."

Soteria sighed, miserably. She grimaced, hesitating before saying, softly "we have a situation.."

Viper looked away "If you mean Lionheart....she has to be a triple agent. She can't really have defected"

Hazel pursed her lips. She couldn't believe they were bringing this to them, while they were still in the hospital.

Soteria hesitated again. She clearly didn't want to be here. Not with this information. Not now. Her shoulders were tense. and her eyes were averted. Anxiety and misery filled her warm brown eyes as she shook her head.

Knight pat her shoulder again, and nodded reassuringly "allow me, Madame." he looked right at Hazel , then at Viper. Pointedly "I'm afraid that while _none_ of us want to believe it, the point remains. Lionheart defected with an  experimental AI technology that she gave to our current enemies. She assisted in the decimation of an Uldovian military facility. She cost you the mission. And worst of all, she's stirred up the Uldovian Government like a nest of bees. I'm afraid Gagarin's fringe  faction has caused quite the international incident. "

Hazel sighed softly. "Sounds like its a mess."

Knight nodded "They're blaming us. They claim our ex-agent...that Lionheart..." he grimaced and had to sit before continuing "That we sent Lionheart to aid Gagarin's faction in exchange for giving him the power to lead a revolt against the current leadership. That if he's allowed to finish building this weapon of his, they hold us responsible. The cold war can turn hot any minute now"

Viper's hands balled into fists, "So they think we're making a play for a change in leadership? But Gagarin's one of our most outspoken enemies"

"Why woud they think we'd be working with them?"

"simple. You two were spotted on your mission, shortly before the entire place went up in flames ...the very same day our Soteria's most trusted bodyguard and soldier defected with her entire unit to assist him in his power grab. " He narrowed his eyes "you have to admit it looks terribly suspicious . And not only that....but Gagarin may have  been outspoken against our republic, it's a known fact that his true enemies are those to the south of him  and in command of his own country"

Hazel made a thick, displeased noise. They'd been seen? By _whom_ ? "Of _course_ ."

Viper winced "...Panther and the Panther Unit." he muttered. "They saw our faces. One of them could have been a mole for the main Collectivist regime. "

Knight noded "precisely . So I'm afraid all of us. And I do mean all of us. Including me, are in terrible trouble of becoming the scapegoats in this little venture."

"I would never!" Soteria protested.

"But _they_ would! And they could use our continued existance, unpunished, as a cause for open nuclear war!" Knight said with a grim frown. "It could wind up being that you don't have any choice at all"

Hazel frowned deeply. Of course. Panther.... they should have finished them off. Damn it.... "What are our options?"

Knight grimaced "The war council met yesterday" he said grimly "And it seems the only thing that'll keep the Collectivists from deciding we're to blame , is to take responsibiltiy  ourselves"

He paused to take a breath, visibly steeling himself

"By stopping the Titan Project....and..." he gripped Soteria's shoulder. The woman 's entire body was quivering. She didn't look strong. Or in control. She looked like a woman on the verge of tears, caught up in a heartbreak she couldn't bear.

"And by killing the traitor ourselves. To prove we are not supporting her from the shadows. "

Viper looked sick ,  and sat up suddenly with a wince

Hazel sat up too. "Seriously? I was under the impression she was a war hero. There's no possibility of bringing her back for trial?"

Major Knight frowned and shook his head "She'd being held accountable for a war crime. War hero or no, she betrayed us. And in the process facilitated the deaths of a good many Collectivist men and women. Their council calls for justice. And if we were to drag it out with a trial, things would only get worse. I'm not any happier abou this than you are"

Soteria 's lips moved quietly "I still think they should give time for a trial" She whispered.

Viper frowned  "Are you saying there's nothing we can do about this , Major?"

"save for finish it? no. Not unless you want to be dragged up in front of a military court alongside me "

Hazel scowled. This was clear bullshit. but were they in any position to do anything about it? It would probably be easier to clear things up in the field...

"why are you telling us this, Major?" Asked viper wearilly.

"Because it has to be you two. To clear your names. To prove we're all innocent in this. "

Hazel grunted. Of course.... fuck.

Viper's lips pressed hard together. He was silent tfor a long moment, his eyes not on either of them, but on the fluttering Pax Republic flag outside their window. He silently nodded , once, at the Major. Like a good soldier.

Hazel stared up at the ceiling. This was ridiuclous. But in a way, hadn't she asked for this? She'd have to reflect on that. She nodded too.

Major Knight saluted them both "We appreciate the service you're about to undertake for your country" He took a deep breath "The briefing is tomorrow at noon. I've been informed your medical needs will have been met by then"

Soteria looked sadly at Hazel and Viper "I...will retire to my chambers now. I have a lot of...of work to do for this mission"

/Hazel nodded. "I understand." She gave soteria a sympathetic look. But seriously? frshly out of the hospital and into the field....

Soteria bit her knuckle. There were old cuts there. Healed wounds from this particular nervous habit. The woman bowed her head, and turned to walk away. The rattle of a pill bottle in her pockets echoed each step she took as she hurried out the room.

Knight nodded "I suppose I should let you rest. This is a critical mission..and" he sighed "we don't have much time at all. I have your team assembled. You'll meet them tomorrow. "

"In that case, yes, we'd better rest..." not that she was likely to be able to. Viper even less so....

And rest did not come easy to either of them. Night fell, and she could see Viper stir and shift. At one point, he even moved to sit on the edge of his bed where he watched the night wind ripple and rustle the Pax Republic flag, bathed in moonlight from a nearly full moon. Light reflected against his face. Perhaps tears. But he never made a sound.

Hazel stayed in bed. She was thinking  of the future, and in a world far away. She did try to talk to Viper at one point though, when he seemed least caught in his own thought,

Viper had started, and looked towards her with a small nod. He listened, waiting for what she had to say.

"The situation might change, on the field," she said. "You never know. We'll be the ones down there."

He had laughed at that. A short, hard sound "Yeah. It might. Things on the field never go as the men in the control room plan" He  closed his eyes "But I won't hope for that. We're soldiers, Heron. Our country has to come before ourselves..."

Heron declined to point out that this was not her country. She nodded. "The needs of the man must come before the needs of the few."

"Thats right" He nodded "Personal feelings can't get in the way of the mission. Not when thousands of lives are in danger." he sighed, and almost seemed to read her mind "Where _are_ you from, anyway? you don't have any sort of regional accent. You don't sound like you're from outside Pax, either though"

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter where I'm from. My mom was a scientist. We moved around."

He nodded , eyes half closed as he looked back at the flag "Heh. A scientist, huh?" he asked "I'm no stranger to moving aound myself"

"I bet," she nodded. "ever end up anywhere interesting?"

Viper ran his hand through his hair "No. It all blends together after a while. Variations on a theme. " He lay back and looked at the ceiling "I hardly remember what it felt like to have a real home."

"Yeah," she nodded, laying down herself now, though peering out the window.

"If your mother is a scientist, Soteria's got a pretty good military and civilian science division" he murmured, changing the subject.

"I think my mom would feel right at home there, yeah."

He nodded "That's good" He looked back at the ceiling "Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

"It sure is. We should try to get some sleep."

He nodded "Good luck, Heron" he said simply, before turning over. It wasn't clear when sleep would claim him that night. Maybe not at all.

"You too, Viper." She closed her eyes. She'd meditate, at least, and maybe sleep would take her.

And take her it did. Into that deep, endless darkness full of dreams and images.

She'd be thankful of it in the morning, one of the few things she'd be thankful of that day.

Morning came too soon. A tinny alarm clock stirred through her rest, sometime in the early afternoon.

It woke her easily and she sat up, more refreshed than she had hoped for.

That refreshment carried her through a surprisingly lush breakfast, showers, and being suited up in the snappy military garb of the republic.

The culmninatiton came when Viper and Hazel were escorted by guard into the lower briefing chamber to meet their support team.

It was a large, oval shaped room, with a podium and chairs inset to each row of the tiered stairs before it. But it was empty , save for the light coming from a side door, and Soteria herself, who stood leaning on the podium with far more composure than she'd had yesterday.

Hazel stepped in, looking around curiously. She'd never really been in a room like this before- aside from when she was small, and had to sit through a meeting or two with her mother.

They were seated right up front, and Soteria looked down at them with a thin smile "thank you for coming...."

Hazel nodded, giving her a smile of encouragment.

Viper sat, and watched her with quiet intensity.

"The situation from yesterday still stands" Soteria began softly, her voice amplified. "Lionheart's defection has lead to a rather dramatic split in the Collecttivist power struggle. And while a weakening of our enemy is good, this however is not. Due to your presence being known just before a major disaster destroyed a valuable military facility and the fact that Lionheart...was...my most trusted soldier..." She took a deep breath "The Collectivist Council is holding us responsable and are likely to declare open warfare if the matter isn't resolved in another week. " She bit her lip "This is because one week is the deadline given until the experimental weaponery that required our AI technology is complete and battle ready"

"One week," Hazel muttered. "jeesh...."

Soteria nodded "you see  now why we...we had to rush your recovery a little bit. This is a critical incident. And if we don't stop Comrade Gagarin, the likelihood of nuclear war is...well...too high for my comfort"

They certainly didn't want that. Hazel was confident in her success of course, having come from the future, but....

"You must stop the superweapon, and kill Lionheart and her unit. It's the only way to reset the doomsday clock currently set in motion" She gestured to a clock on the far wall. It was ticking downwards from 7 days. She sighed "I ...I wish there was any other way. But the people of this world...of our republic and beyond, can't die for one woman's betrayal." her voice cracked slightly. But she closed her eyes

"But you won't be alone. You have a support team"

Hazel raised her eyebrows.

"While you two will be going in as a pair, we have some experts who'll be helping you with matters in their own individual fields. First, ah, is a young fellow you may know well, Heron"

She gestured "Simon Erikson. If you would"

Simon came out, dressed in a military uniform not unlike Hazel's. Save for this one had a skirt and hose and a little beret. "Thank you Lady Soteria" he curtsied before taking the podium "While I may look young, I've been brought on as the personal advisor to Heron, as well as a general advisor on battlefield psychology and on-site stress techniques"

Hazel had to give him a thumbs up, just for the outfit alone. She was glad she'd have him with her .

Simon winked at her, returning it "I had to fight, claw and prove myself to get this comm position, Hazel. You're welcome" he teased, and stepped off the stage without much else to say.

An older man came out of the door next. His skin was dark, and wrinkles lined his eyes and the corners of his mouth. He smiled slightly at the two soldiers in their chairs "Call me Bravo. " he said "may not look like it, but I'm a noted zoologist. You're going to be out there in the dead of winter, but  one thing you'll learn quick is that Uldovian beasties don't like to nap their way through the cold. I know what's safe to eat. WHat'll kill ya. And what'll make you lose the rest of your lunch. " he paused "And Tigerfang is one of your enemies. You need someone who can tell you how many tranq shots can fell a full grown grizzley"

Hazel nodded, thinking back on Tigerfang, and the incident at the bridge. She'd be glad to have this guy, too.

"I can also tell you just how to survive out there on your own in the cold of winter" He continued "If you need any refreshers. I've been told not all of you went through basic training"

Viper crossed his arms with a slight shrug.

Hazel nodded again, and gave this guy a thumbs up too.

He returned it, and stepped off the stage.

Next was a woman. She strolled through the door with an arrogance that almost defied the senses. She was tall, built like a ballerina with toned grace and straight black hair. Her eyes were an exotic shade of violet that pierced through the crowd. She stood at the podium, and turned her nose up. An Uldovian accent poured thickly through her lips as she spoke "You may call me Stilletto. It is code name I have kept for many a year. I vill be on your support team as a tactical and weapons advisor, in addition to giving you information on the area in which the operatton vill take place."

Hazel's gaze was immediately arrested by the woman. She raised her eyebrows looking at her.

The woman looked at her with those cool, piercing eyes "If you have any questions about Uldovian miliary. Come to me. I am expert in these matters. I vill tell you vhich ammo is best in vhich situation. How to fell an enemy vith only a knife and a bit of elevation. And if you vish to know about my former comrades, I will have your ansvers." She nodded curtly.

She nodded back at the woman. If ended up stuck in this past for any amount of time, maybe she'd ask the woman out.

Stilletto left the stage with a thin smile , and sat in the row behind Hazel and Viper.

Another figure came through. A man in a set of white fatigues, in his late thirties. A cigarette hung from his mouth and he slouched up to the podium with a thin smirk "Soldiers.. Just call me Dr. Renfield. I'm the man who'll tell you how to excise bulletts from flesh and bind a wound with only a bandage, a knife and a piece of string"

"Well, that'll probably be useful," Hazel muttered. She nodded to him.

He nodded "Don't hesitate to call if you need to brush up on first aid . I also know a fair bit about medicinal herbs" He winked playfully "But some of 'em will have to wait until your mission's a success before I can recommend them."

Hazel chuckled a little at that. She was starting to almost feel more relaxed.

Dr. Renfield earned a disapproving look from Soteria, laughed, and left the stage.

The final member of the support team walked before them then. She was dressed in a masculine suit of grey with a blood red tie, and appeared to be somewhere around her late twenties. Dark sunglasses rested on the bridge of her long, slightly sharp nose, contrasting with her deep-red lipstick. She was of average height, perhaps a little smaller, with a wiry, thin build. Her skin was as white as snow, almost translucent in spots under the burning spotlights. Her hair matched her skin, a silky silver cut into a professional pixie cut. She wore long sleeves, and red gloves.

And she looked far too familiar to the pair from the future.

She tilted her glasses up to nestle in her hair, and glared out at the crowd with intense red eyes. "I am Dr. Nadia Kovalenko" She said sharply  "And I am the scientist in charge of the top secret AI program that wound up in Gagarin's filthy hands" Hazel's mother's voice barked out of the woman's mouth.

Hazel's eyes widened as she stared at her. How could it be? They were practically twins! was this the alternate universe version of her mother?

She  looked like she could be. She even had the expression her mother wore when she was especially tempermental about something. Like her employers. Her mother had scars...strange, lightning-burn marks along her hands and arms. And as the woman stood there, her sleeves riding up her arm just the slightest...did this Kovalenko have them too? it was hard to tell.

She looked at Hazel and Viper without recognition, her eyes still hard "I am the only one who knows just how the Wolf Engine works. Just how it thinks and how thinks and how to subert it's programming. Gagarin is going to use it to create monsters, then fine. We will set the monsters on him" She paused "And in doing so, perhaps we can prove Lionheart's innocence and end this without sacrificing one of our most esteemed soldiers"

Soteria looked uncomfortable "that isn't possible Dr. Kovalenko.." she said softly "Please remember to respect the chain of command while you're in this unit or you will be dismissed."

Hazel however, met the woman's eyes (as best she could) and gave a quite subtle nod. She was still awestruck by this doppleganger of her mother. It was exact....

The woman's hard glare softened, and she returned the subtle nod to Hazel. Her mother's doppelganger tugged on the wrist of her glove and nodded more firmly to Soteria "Yes Lady Soteria. Of course. I know my role in the mission. I am not going to fail you" She said cooly, and walked to go sit in the front row, not far from Hazel.

Hazel couldn't help stealing small glances at her, as occasion allowed, but she was careful not to appear to be staring, lest the woman get the wrong impression.

The albino woman didn't seem to mind. Perhaps she was used to it. Her eyes were focused on Soteria as the leader went on about drop sites and displayed a few maps of the supposed infiltration sites. Information was sparse however, and itt seemed a lott of on site recon would be key.

Nadia though, seemed irritated throughout. Her lips were formed in a hard line as she listened , her shoulders tensed. Anytime Lionheart's treachery was meantion. Or the goal of this mission, she looked somewhere between angry and sick, something most wouldn't have noticed. But Hazel grew up with a woman too-like this Kovalenko. And her expressions were easy to read, like a copy of her mother's own.

It was a fascinating and strange thing, and it made it hard to keep her mind on the briefing- however with difficulty, she managed. It would be important.

They would be dropped in the Uldovian mounainside surrounding the top-secret military outpost of Frostwolf (Pax Republican translation) , where they were to infiltrate and retreive information on the Titan project from the previous test site on the western boarder. From there they had to cross the mountain, including the network of bridges across one precarious section, to follow whatever coordinates they found there to find and destroy the Titan.

They would have help. A double agent by the name of Spider should be waiting for them in the first area, where they would impart some wisdom they had managed to gather while working undercover for the enemy.

Aside frrom that, they were to track Lionheart's Unit, and eliminate them. If this could be done one by one, it would be preferable, as they were extra effective as a team.

Hazel took it all in, cool, for the most part, despite the strangeness. A part of her was very irritated at their failure before, and doubly insistent to succeed this time.

The meeting was ajourned. And they were dismissed. They'd have two hours before the plane was set to take off. Enough time for a lunch. And for their infiltration to happen at night.

Dr. Kovalenko stood to leave without a word, her eyes hidden once more behind those sunglasses.

Hazel took a moment to approach her. She had to.

She caught the doctor just she made it outside the main doors. She'd been prepared to walk to the left, but faltered as Hazel approached.

She raised one pale eyebrow and asked "Can I help you, Heron?"

"I'm... not sure," she said. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Dr. Kovalenko looked at her studiously for a moment before nodding "come with me to my office"

Hazel nodded, and followed her.

The woman wasn't all that differently dressed than her mothere, save for the swaying ID badge in her front pocket. Instead of the CIA, it read PRI for Pax Republic Intelligence. She didn't say a word until they came to a locked door at the end of one of the more sterile hallways in the building. It was clearly work area, if the warning and safetty signs on the walls were any indication.

Hazel waited patiently and intently in silence.  She was very curious about this woman.

The woman unlocked the door with a small key, and pushed it open.

She lead Hazel inside a large workroom. On one end, her office. On the other, a mass of wires and cords leading into a cyllindrical device, a keyboard and screen on an attached console. At the back of the room, mounted on the wall was a horribly deformed metal door, with a cracked porthole window. It had a small plaque on it.

Nadiya walked over to her desk in the corner, clearing off one of the other chairs. It was covered in schematics and papers. Small models of upright robots straight out of anime, 3-d diagrams of a mechanical 'brain' and photographs littered her work covered desk.

Some pictures showed her and a likewise pale haired young boy together. Her holding him. Or watching a show. Or playing with him at the playground. Others were turned flat against the desk and shelves, hidden from view.

Rustling came from nearby. They didn't seem to be alone.

As they came into the room, a small boy, no more than 3, with frizzy white hair and big, wide red eyes ran up to Nadiya holding on to a stack of papers. "Mama! look I drew!"

Nadiya bent down, and smoothly scooped him up into her arms to hold him, raising one eyebrow over her sunglasses "You drew, did you? And what is it you drew, Calvin?" She asked in her cool , level voice. Though her lips had quirked into a little smile.

Hazel looked a bit surprised that this woman had a child who wasn't well, _her_. But he was a cute little kid.

"Look!!" he held up his drawings. They appeared to be (for a three year old) remarkably accurate replicas of advanced weapon schematics in crayon.

Nadiya looked them over with one hand, bouncing him in her other arm as she chuckled "Well then" she said with a smirk "These _are_ clever little designs" She leaned forward, and poked his nose "So you know what momma's going to do?"

"What, what?" he looked delighted.

Nadiya held them slightly up in the air "Momma's going to _steal_ them. and become the greatest wicked scientist to ever live" She teased. "Workplace espionage!"

Hazel could remember being teased almost just like this as a child. It was her mother's sense of humor.

Hazel bit her lip, feeling a wave of nostalgia. It really WAS her mom, some how...

The little boy gasped. "No way!! nuuh! I'll stop you!"

Nadiya wiggled them in the air above the little boy's head "Oh I'm afraid you're just too tiny to do that, my dear boy" She pat his head.

She looked at Hazel "ah, Heron. This is Calvin. My son." She gestured to the boy with the schematics still in her hands.

Hazel smiled. "Nice to meet you, Calvin. Don't worry I'll help you steal the plans back."

"My hero!" calvin giggled, shyly covering his face.

Nadiya laughed, a short and quiet little sound. "Oh dear. It looks like I'm outnumbered." She handed the drawings to Hazel, and rustled her son's hair as she set him down in one of the chairs.

"Now, don't draw on any of mothter's programming notes now, dear" She chided and handed the boy his crayons and some blank pages. "Have a seat, Heron" she gestured to the free chair.

Hazel sat down in the free chair, trying to hand calvin back his drawings, but e had already bustled off to go  draw more.

Nadiya folded her hands on her desk, and quietly turned over another one of her framed pictures before meeting Hazel's eyes with a thin smile "So you wanted to speak with me? You can be free. I keep my workplace free of _insects_ if you understand me"

She nodded. "Of course," she said. "I.... wanted to say you aren't the only one who doesn't believe Lionheart has defected."

Nadiya flipped her glasses to the top of her head again. the room was dark. But that wasn't surprising in the least. So had rooms back home been. "I see... you don't believe it either then?" she asked "I know Lionheart, young lady. Perhaps more than anyone. And she wouldn't just _defect_ for no reason"

"Viper isn't convinced either," she said. "I doubt Soteria really is. If there's an opportunity to find out the truth, I intend to."

Nadiya nodded "ah. One has to wonder why we're bowing and scraping to the collectivists then" She said darkly "Instead of finding another way." She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair "Thank you. For telling me this. It means a lot to know I'm not alone in this." her eyes closed , and she took off one of her gloves.

A lightning-burn series of scars radiated down her palm, wrist and upper arm. It was the same pattern as her mother's. With her bare fingers, she lifted one of the photographs on her desk. She looked at it for a long moment, before giving Hazel another thin smile "You may not know this, Heron. But you look so very much like her"

Hazel rubbed her neck. "You think so?" She tried hard not to stare at the woman's scars, but they were the same as her mother's.

She hesitated before turning the picture around. It was of a younger Nadiya, who seemed to be in her early twenties or late teens. She wore a labcoat and no gloves. Her pale skin was unmarred. She was awkwardly smiling while standing quite close to the woman Hazel saw in the snowstorm. A woman who indeed had some physical simularities to her.

They stood in front of a strange metal pod, with wires running all along it's length .

She raised her eyebrow. "Huh, is that the two of you? I guess I see the resembalnce."

Nadiya nodded "That is indeed. During one of our old projects together" She smirked fondly "the fool woman seems to consider herself a career test subject sometimes, I fear" she sighed in mock exasperation. "but yes. It's interesting, isn't it?"

She nodded. "It certainly is," she said. "Can I ask what you two were working on?"

"it was a large team. Not just us. " She admitted  , casually "I was fresh out of college" She brushed the back of the frame idly, distracted "It's technically classified" she looked at the girl with lidded eyes.

She nodded. "Of course."

She got a slightly mischivious look on her face, "Perhaps I'll let it leak. go look at the door on the far wall. if you would."

She nodded and stood, going to look at the door as instructed.

The door hanging on the far wall had a plaque that read '1957 Chrononaut Project, Pod 1.' . The door was beaten to hell and back. If someone was in there when it got like this....

Hazel examinied it cureiously. "I see. Chrononauts...."

Nadiya nodded "that's right. It was a failed project, mind you. It's been all but disbanded. Artificial Intelligence and it's use in keeping the peace and security is the new frontier"

She nodded back, and came back to the chair. "I can trust you with a secret, can't I, Nadiya?"

"i've trusted you with the fact that I clearly care deeply for the woman you're about to kill" she said dryly "so yes. You can. "

"I am a chrononaut as well, albeit, an accidental one."

Nadia raised her eyebrow, and rooted around in her desk "Is that so? From the future or the past?"

"The future," she said.

Nadiya pulled out a small device, and turned it on . It immedietly awoke and began making squealing beeping sounds in her hand, it's flaps waggling up and down "If you could take this, and go walk...." She pointed to a place around ten feet to the left of her son "that should be far enough"

She nodded and tood  it, walking as Nadiya directed her.

She stood in the corner, away from the door  , Calvin and Nadia.

The machine still wailed and beeped, lights going crazy on it's readout.

"I see" Nadiya commented "do you see that, Calvin? what do you think it means?" she tested her son

Calvin put a crayon in his mouth. "Does it mean she's yucky?"

Hazel stifled a chuckle.

Nadiya laughed again "no dear. But it means she might be telling the truth. That particular radiation detector is meant to take readings on temporal radiation. Or, rather, the radiation one is exposed to during time travel"

"So she's time-yucky," he nodded to himself, understanding.

Naidya chuckled "just like your mother , Calvin" She said "time-yucky indeed"

Hazel chuckled too and sat down again. "Sounds about right."

Nadiya took the device and silenced it "So you're from...the future" She mused "and what is it you're doing here? During this utterly abysmal time in Terran history"

'"Apparently, saving the day," she said shrugging. "like i said, i didn't mean to time travel.

Nadiya nodded slightly "Ah, so you stumbled through a temporal anomoly?" She asked "Then you must know some about Terra's future? Or have we been wiped from the map?"

She shook her head. "Still going strong."

Nadiya smiled thinly "I suppose it's too much to ask if in your particular future, Lionheart is there?"

"I wish I had a good answer for that," she said carefully. "I don't know all the details."

"it doesn't mattter anyway" Nadiya said "your future might not be our future.  It's rather messy once you've actually seen it."

She nodded. "It really is. Who knows, honestly...."

Nadiya offered her now gloved hand "welcome to our time then, Chrononaut. The fact you made it through alive might just be enough to restart the project."

She took her hand. "Thanks, doctor."

"you're welcome. " she closed her eyes for a moment "is there any other news you wish to tell me, Heron?"

She reflected on it for a moment, and shook her head. "Just that I'm glad you'll be on my comm team."

Dr.  Kovalenko smiled thinly "I'd say I'm happy to be there, but that isn't quite the word. Accept that I'm happy someone sympathetic tto the situattion is involved on the ground, instead"

She nodded. "Of course." she paused for a long moment.

The doctor regarded her long pause with a cool, slighly inquisitive expression.

"I'm sure you couldn't tell me," she said, "what Lionheart's given name is."

The doctor hesitated for a moment. Her carefully neutral expression cracked, briefly into one of indecision and heartbreak, before she spoke up "This will not leave the room, understood? But you're on the squad sent to deal with her" She lapsed back into her neutral expression "so it would be important for you to know her alieses, in case she's started to drop the name of Lionheart" She took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment.

"It's...ah. Natalie."

She tried to keep the tension out of her face, as she nodded, but she was reeling inside. She had thought so, but this was confirmation.

"I.... see. Thank you," she said.

Nadiya nodded, and flipped the photograph down flat again. "You're welcome. You didn't hear that from me, understood? People are getting a little fussy with security lately and I have a son to prepare for. And perhaps another on the way."

"Of course," she nodded. "Another?"

Nadiya smiled a little thinly "The method in which I have children isn't what one would call typical, young lady . I won't say much more. Just know that I would rather not wind up in the execution chamber while I have children to care for"

She shook her head. "I doubt you'll have to worry about that."

The doctor nodded "Good. I take that as a good sign..."

She smiled slightly. "I'll let you get back to your work, and your son. I shouldn't start the mission on an empty stomach."

Dr. Kovalenko bowed her head, and stood to offer a firm handshake to Heron "Wise words. Please, get get some food and rest. If you need me, they'll tell you my codec number in the field. Don't hesitate to call me up"

"of course," she nodded. She shook the doctor's hand, taking another look back at the boy who was still absorbed in his drawing.

The doctor spoke up "Calvin, say goodbye to the nice Special Agent"

Calvin looked up and waved shyly at her. "Goodbye nice agent!!"

Hazel smiled. "Goodbye, kiddo."

Dr. Kovalenko chuckled "I'll see you when this is all over, young lady" She said with a small smile "perhaps then you can tell me about the future"

"I'll tell you all about it when I can," she agreed with a smile.

"Wonderful . It's been a joy meeting you, Heron." She opened the door with a nod "Good luck"

"Thank you," she said warmly. "Its been a pleausre." she headed out, her mind filled with questions and worries.

The woman pat her on the back, and nodded "Indeed. But I shouldn't keep you"

And with that, Heron headed away.

Lunch was once again, distractingly opulent. Like the offering before a sacrifice. It passed without event, and once again Viper and Heron found themselves sitting in the rattling interior of the transport plane. They weren't allowed to take much. Procure on site procedure was necessary. They were, however, each given a cyanide tablet, their choice of knife and handgun, and the communications device that would allow their handlers to see and communicate with them during the infiltration"

The cyanide tablet was probably the thing that made heron the most nervous about the whole thing. But she consoled herself with memories of her favorite spy novels.

It was a presence in the back of her mouth... a real reminder of the sort of mission this was. Of what she, in her young age, had become.

A soldier. A spy. Not unlike the young man seated across from her, his eyes hard as he once again filed down the back of his gun, testing it's weight and sights, and trying again.

The thought both excited and frightened her. She was a soldier and and a spy now. It was... what she had wanted. What she had trained for.

Be careful what you wish for, went the old saying. Now she was hurtling through the air, about to be airdropped on Uldovian territory. All to kill a national hero with the same name as her mother's 'AI girlfriend'.

Viper closed his eyes, and put the gun on his lap. "Heron?" he asked.

She looked up. "Yeah?"

"Why do you think she did it?" he asked, over the pilot's announcement that they'd be dropping in three minutes.

Hazel thought about it. She chewed on the bottom of her lip. "Duress, of some kind?"

He made a slight face "maybe. Dammit" he put his gun away "regardless...this is it. Fresh out of the hospital and into the field"

"So much for months of physical therapy,' she joked

He smirked slightly "I've been through worse" he said, as the plane shuddered "you ready to pull of another HALO jump?"

"Its a jump we have parachutes for, so, yeah."

"This time we're jumping onto a mountain. Should be fun" he said with a thin smirk.

"Lets try not to get stuck."

He nodded "have you goten much wilderness survival training?" he asked

"Some," she said. "Not as much as I'd like."

"Follow my lead then. We aren't on an extraction mission anymore. This is going to be some pretty advanced survival for both of us. Snowy mountains aren't known for their abundant harvests"

She nodded. "Yeah, so I gather," she said. "Heh, maybe we can swipe some enemy rations."

He laughed, quietly "yeah Maybe we can , Heron. Honestly, that's going to be our best bet . We have to raid their stores to survive. Maybe eat some of the beasts still brave enough to walk the snow"

"Polar bears?" there was a slight joking tone to her voice.

He smirked thinly "They taste terrible" He said with matter of fact tone. The light flashed overhead. They had to suit up

Hazel chuckled and started to get ready.

Viper pullled on his helmet and parachute with a nod to Hazel "Remember what I told you last time, about the landing"

She nodded. "Got it."

He flashed her a thumbs up, as the cargo bay began to hiss open. Wind whipped in , and fluttered their combat gear. A countdown started over the intercom.

She got into posution, feeling the wind on them.

3...2...1...JUMP! came the pilot's voice through the intercom. With decisive action, Viper leapt from the plane and into the open air above the craggy, forested mountains and their valley.

Hazel was right after him, leaping through the air with less hestiation than before.

They weren't very high. And he sensors in their chutes would beep when it was time to pull the chute. They rushed down through the air, passing an especially high mountain with a sort of station at the top.

It was when the trees started to resolve into individual things that the sensors blared.

Hazel pulled the chute immediately as the censor went off, bracing herself for the sharp tug of the thing opening.

There was the flap of fabric, followed by the sudden *thwump* of the chute openingg. She was tugged backwards, and her body jerked sharply.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the chute went off, guiding it after Viper's/

Viper aimed for a clearing by a small cliff near a path that lead towards their rendevous with the mysterious Spider.

She followed him, hoping neither would get stuck in a tree.

The ground came up far too quickly for comfort, but with a skillful movement, Viper managed to land and use his momentum to lessen the impact on his knees. Snow pufffed up in a billow around him as he slowly stood from his dramatic looking crouch

Hazel put her practice into practice and managed to do the same, lessening the impact as she landed in the snow. Her breath puffed up around her.

Viper stood, his snow white and light gray sneaking suit helping keep him nigh invisible to casual observation. He had a headband over his eyes, to keep hair and sweat away from his field of vision.

He took a breath, stretching the arm that had been wounded, before pulling out his pistol and knife.

Hazel's hair was completely pinned back and up as well, to keep it out of her face, and keep anyone from pulling it. She immediately got down, and took a look around.

The landing zone was at the edge of a cliff...one that overlooked the burned out remains of the facility they had first attempted to get Adler from to the south, and lead into a sparse mountainside forest to the east. One that theoretically lead down and towards the destroyed facility. That was where they were meant to meet their contact. But it was doubtless guarded along the path and road.

She made a face. Down the cliff huh? "Could have just parachuted a little further," she chuckled slightly

"I'd agree with you, but the area might be patrolled by enemy soldiers. We can't risk making a scene this early"

"Point," she smirked.

He nodded, and cleared the chamber of his pistol. "Besides. We can deal with a few stragglers on a forgotten pass to a burned out husk of a facility. Come on" he crept slowly towards the road.

It was quiet up on the mountain. Birds called, here and there. A crow , a hawk....the sounds of wind through evergreen trees that carried the scent of pine and sap.

She held her own gun, and nodded, following him, creeping slowly, trusting her training and her senses. She was much calmer now than she had been in the hospital.

He moved through the trees with smooh, gliding steps designed to minimize the foot prints he left in the shifting mountain snow. He had purpose in his eyes, a calm and relaxed mask of a man on a mission.

Hazel's earpiece beeped, as they came to a mountain path.

She paused, and touched her ear, signaling for them to speak.

"Heron, it's ah....Red Fox" Simon's voice came "I gather we aren't supposed to use actual names , because the Major glared at me when I suggested I just use my regular one, and I don't wan to make too many waves" He blabbered for a momentt before getting to the point "But...never mind that. It looks like you're about to head down one of the supply routes towards the destroyed outpost in the valley."

They stepped to the treeline, and in fact a small road through the trees wound downwards. It was similar to thte first path they came to in the original Snowdrift mission.

She chuckled. "Alright, Red Fox," she nodded. "That's right, we're heading down the supply route." She looked it over'

It was a thin path. It was probably used predominantly with all terrain vehicles or bikes for small transportation work alongside general troop deployment.

"the Major says you can expect at least one or two guard stations along the way, but he believes the actual meeting place will be empty, as Spider is meant to secure it. My advise is perhaps to take this slow.. The last thing you want is to be ambushed by a pack of Communist soldiers"

Viper paused, and looked up at Hazel with a quizical expression, cutting into the conversation "what's a Communist?"

Hazel winced. "Another word for collectivist," she said hesitantly. "Thanks. we'll take it nice and slow. We'll sneak up on em."

Viper shook his head, but nodded. He crept along the treeline, weaving between the trunks of trees.

"thanks. oh, and if you come across an empty guard station, be sure to raid it for rations. Or perhaps reading material. Maybe you could use it to distract the enemy in a pinch"

"Distract the enemy?" she asked dryly as she crept along, eyes peeled.

"wouldn't you be distracted if a copy of the Collectivist Manifesto, or like, it's erotic equivelent was just sitting there in the middle of a hallway?" He asked cheerfully. "Don't be afraid to use innocuous materials as impromtu infiltration tools is all I'm saying!"

Viper snorted softly through his nose, ducking under a branch. THe path wove like a snake through the mountainside, hard to see if not for the small reflective signs on some of the trees to mark them.

"Thanks for the tip," she smirked. She ducked down as well, and pulled herself back. She looked for any evidence of people nearby.

A single motorcycle track wound it's way through the center of the path , twisting down it's serpentine track with what looked to be excellent control, given there wasn't any sign of it spinning out .

Viper frowned "A supply bike ? or our contact?"

"hopefully our contact," she said, inspecting it. "guess we'll find out."

It had the tread marks of a bike that was built for difficult terrain.

But the two spies wound their way through the trees...quiet as mice despite the snow and hidden sticks. They took a turn, and hazel saw the squat confines of a fairly large guard post.

She pulled back, and kept down below cover to observe the gaurd post before walking out to it.

The guard post was...quiet. Too quiet for a post with smoke still coming out of the chimney pipe. Viper approached it with gun drawn, knife held tactically against it's grip. He moved like a ghost towards the back door, and listened carefully.

She followed, from another angle, trying to keep him covered, just in case.

She saw , against one of the glass windows, a small streak of blood

Viper gestured to his ear, and swiped his hand in a 'no' motion , indicating no sound from within.

She made a small gesture- calling his attention to the blood.

He frowned, and began to ease the door open. Enough to see inside. He gave her the all clear to enter.

She nodded, and followed the direction, easing herself inside and keeping her eyes open, gun and knife drawn.

They entered a bloodbath.

Two men in the standard dark green uniforms of the Collectivists lay slumped in chairs, their guns dangling from shock- frozen fingertips. Bullet holes pierced their skulls, the wounds still fresh, blood still glistening.

A third man lay sitting against the wall, a smear of blood along the floor and a slash across his throat. The radio was smoking in his hand.

Someone had certainly been here. Hazel certainly hoped that it was their contact. She whipped her gun around, looking for them.

Nobody was there...but there was something under the lip of the built in desk. Something glistening in tthe dim light.

She frowned and peered at it, drawing Viper's attention to it.

Viper flipped on a small light attached to his gun, and bent low.

Drawn in fresh blood, was a small, crude drawing of a spider. It's legs pointed down the path towards the site. Taped to the underside of the table above it was a simple key. Possibly to one of the buildings down there.

Hazel gingerly took the key. "Looks like our contact wants us to meet them."

"looks like it" Viper wiped up the mark with his sleeve, to hide it. "Best not keep him waiting"

The outpost was quiet...but it did have some lockers if she wished tto loot a little. There were, at least, weapons in the dead men's hands.

There was no point in leaving any good stuff behind. She did a check over, starting with the lockers.

In the lockers was a small pile of rationed crackers and preserved meat, some strange looking fruit paste, a pornographic magazine, and a small pile of automatic rifle ammo. Indicating that perhaps one of these men had one on their possession.

SHe grabbed the rations and shoved them in her bag, and the ammo, without hesitation. She had to take a moment to stare at the mag, howveer.

On it was a stunning bombshell. She had silky brown hair cut in a _very_ 1960's bob. She was wearing only a silky pair of panties and showing off her wide hips and heavy CC breasts. She held them rather suggestively while giving a playful wink at the camera.  Her name was Natalia Cosmos

On the next page over, was a familiar face. This must have been an old magazine, because Stilletto, looking a Quite a bit younger, glowered at the camera with violet eyed intensity, her lithe dancer's body posed in a ballerina's leotard that was 'tastefully' altered to show quite a bit of her bare breasts. Her name was listed as'Natasha Borovich' the Uldovian ballerina.

Hazel looked at this page perhaps longer than she might have. She wordlessly slipped the magazine in her pack, and went about looking for the automatic rifle.

There was a sudden beep at her comm-set.

There was a cabinet next to the door, perhaps the gun was in there.

She jolted, and answered the beep. "yeah?" she went to check the cabinet as she did so.

"Private channel" Barked Stilletto's clipped, Uldovian-accented voice "You vill tell nobody of this magazine you find, yes?"

Inside the cabninet....

Jackpot. Not only was there an AK-47...or sometthing just like it, there was a strange set of goggles, and two military issue batteries for them.

She grinned, and took the goggles and the batteries, and then the ak. "Our secret, " she murmered. "And hey, I got a new gun too."

"good. Hold it up to the Camera." She said with a trace of warmth in her voice, and a bit of teasing "Not the magazine. That is best in private. But the gun." A moment of inspection later, glee replaced the sly teasing in her tone "Oh! that is the famous Verner Von Romanov Automatic Rifle. Model..." there was a moment "35. Called, for short, VR-35. Very powerful veapon, my dear. Takes 7.62 Uldovian Rounds . It vas vhat helped vin the war against those Gilded Bastards in the Great Var."

She chuckled. "Sounds like a nice gun. I got some rounds for it in the locker."

"Vonderful" She purred excitedly. "That veapon can tear a man apart at medium range. But it has slight problems when you hit the long range. Best for medium range combat, if you vant someone dead fast. But varning. Is very loud. Stealth will not be an option if you use this in a crowded area."

"Good to know," she said. "I'll keep it for when quiet isn't an option."

"Good, good. I alvays loved the feel of a varm VR-35 in my hands" Her voice fell into a purr "the scent of those Uldovian rounds still hanging in ze air"

Viper motioned for Hazel to follow him. He'd looted a SMG from the corpse of the knifed individual.

She nodded, and followed after Viper.

"Gun oil can be quite a visceral smell," Hazel added.

"It is one of my favorites" She purred "more so than the scent of flowers cast upon a stage"

Viper crept out of the room, cocking his pistol and stticking close to the wall as they entered the open road before the guard post.

No camera. This must not be a high security area.

Hazel followed after Viper, her own pisol held at the ready, keeping watch inc ase someone came up from behind. "Maybe we can discuss that more some time, _ballerina_ ."

They walked down the thin path without much incident so far. It was strange...this area was just so...dead. Perhaps it was because Gagarin bombed the hell out of this place with the Titan's test barrage.

Stilletto made a soft nose of what might have been embarassment, but she recovered enough to chuckle "I vill take you up on this, Heron"

"Oh good," she purred quietly. She felt strangely vulnerable in the dead place. It was good to have someone to talk to for a moment.

"You learn many things on ze stage. Not just the beauty of dance. But the expression of the body itself."

Viper crept long beside her, but stopped when he passed what looked to be a massive crater beside the road. A scalded body, half frozen and half charred, lay in the epicenter of it, partially buried in upheaved dirt. A victim of the falling bombs.

Hazel frowned at the body, and then right past it, moving on. "I imagine you can express quite a lot."

Viper grimaced, but silently  made his way down the increasingly scarred road.

This was a dead place. The cries of birds were distracting in their absence. Even the wind seemed to fall silentt.

"Pain, Tragedy, Joy....Eroticism" The woman purred "I vas one of the best vhen it came to the stage."

"Im sorry I missed your preformances," she murmered, following down along the way, the hairs on the back of her neck pricking up. She renewed her grip on her gun.

"If you ask politely and return the favor with a firearm demonstration, I vill give you a show upon your victory here, Heron. Consider it...Incentive"

Viper stalked uneasilly towards the end of the road. There...just beyond the iron fence, was the old, burned out husk of the facility they were at just a mere week ago.

"Incentive considered," she nodded, stalking just behind and to the side of Viper, keeping watch. She kept waiting for trouble.'

The fence had a portion compromised by the bomb-crater that gave enough room  for a grown man to crawl under tthe chain link.

"Want me to go first?" she asked Viper.

He nodded, "i'll cover you. Anyone comes, I'll drop them before you're at any risk"

She nodded, and got down on her knees, moving to wriggle through as fast as possible without tearing her camo.

She felt the cold, hard dirt under her belly as she wriggled under the fence. The chain scraped down her back, but never caught or tore at her camoflage. She found herself out and on thte other side moments later, as Viper moved to follow.

She hopped up and immediately got out her gun to cover him as he came through.

He crept out of the crater, and rolled free with a small grunt of effort. It was a tighter squeeze for him.

But the silence and stillness continued.

By the main building there was a motorcycle. A military issue unit with thick, fat tires and deep tread. It was parked in front of one of the intact buildings.

Hazel paced forward, taking point for the moment, keeping her eyes open as she approached the building.

Viper crept alongside her. His gun leveled in his hand "This is eitther our contact or an enemy" He murmured "Be ready to fire."

She nodded sharply, quite ready.

He held out his hand for the key, giving her a nod as they came to the door of the building. A scratched out patttern on the charred wall formed a spider, small and hard to spot, by the door.

She handed it to him, letting him open it.

He unlocked the door with a soft click, and slowly swung the door open with his free hand while aiming his pistol with the other.

"Now is that any way to treat a lady?" Cooed a voice from inside the darkened room.

"Depends on the lady," Hazel said, piinting her gun as well.

The room was a simple scientist's office. Devoid of papers and tools, it was just...an empty and spartan room with a desk.

A desk occupied by a figure sitting on the edge of it.

A feminine figure with flowing curves clad in a Uldovian military uniform sat before them, her features obscured by a mirrored motorcycle helmet "How about ladies who aren't altogether fond of allies pointing guns at them?" she cooed.

Hazel looked her over, quietly, and with some suspicion. The gun stayed.

Viper raised the gun higher, and growled out "The Doomsday Clock is Ticking Backwards."

The woman waited a moment, before taking off her helmet and shaking her dark, silky hair free.

She smiled with ruby painted lips, as she looked them over with chestnut colored eyes . She had the face, not of a soldier, but of a supermodel. Chinese ancestry, potenttially . Or whatever Terra's analogue was. She raised an eyebrow, and slowly unzipped the front of her uniform, showing off quite a bit of cleavage "After a cataclysm comes a new beginning" She purred in a sultry tone.

Viper seemed to accept this. It _was_ the answering phrase...

Hazel still didn't like it. But it _was_ the answering phrase. "So you're...."

"Spider? Yes" She said,  fluffing her hair out with an amused smile. "And you must be the little bird and the serpent sent to tempt some information out of me?"

Viper frowned slightly "You've been working undercover within Gagarin's forces for a while now, right?"

She nodded "They believe I'm an agent of Shenzhou" she said with a thin smirk "whom Gagarin is hoping to ralley to the Collectivist cause under his warlike rule."

Heron nodded. China. The whole planet looked just like earth, just with different names... "Oh, wonderful."

Terra, from all the evidence so far, really did seem to be an alternate Earth.

"Well, here's hoping that your litle stunt here this week will shatter those hopes hmm? Can't ally with a dead man" Spider chuckled with a flirtatius wink towards Heron "I've been feeding information to your secret service since I was stationed here. I'm Gagarin's _personal secretary_ "

Heron had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "We're glad for any information you can provide."

Spider leaned on the desk "Oh, I've got some good stuff hidden up my sleeve"

Viper looked at Heron, but nodded "We're listening"

"First, your scientist is still alive. For now" she laughed "Gagarin is working him like a dog preparing that doomsday device of his."

Heron nodded. "I imagine they'll keep him alive until they test it successfully."

"And then, he'll probably be buried with the other poor things who irritated ol' Gagarin." She mused, and shook her head "You're going to find him in the Colossus Compound" she pulled out a map, and marked the furthest valley.

"But before that you should know the base has an anti-air and anti personell securitty station...." She pointed to the top of one of the high mountains, past a number of drawn lines that may have been bridges. "That should be ttaken care of before you cause too much of a fuss."

Heron nodded, and looked to Viper. "Hit that first, then?"

Viper nodded "Take out the enemy's eyes and they can't see you coming" He responded.

"Gooodie" She said with a wide smile "There's an automated lift up the other mountain...." She pointed to a supply depot "here, at the Hawknest Supply Depot."

"Is it operational?"

"oh, it is" She nodded "But if you ask me politely, I could try and pull some strings. Maybe make it sound as if an outbreak occured , or an infestation. If you can procure gas masks, I could have them drop pesticides on the area that should clear out most personell"

She looked at Viper, gauging his interest in the plan.

Viper contemplated it "maybe" He murmured "Maybe. Thoughts Heron? ON one hand, could be risky. Could cause suspicion. And we have reduced visibility. On the other, we have cover. We have less guards and we have a way to get to that elevator"

She considered it, and then nodded. "It sounds like a good plan."

Spider blew her a kiss "I'll get working on that right away. Give me a day to get it arranged. You have about ... three hours of walking between here and the depot. I won't lie, you will probably have to deal with patrols. And, well, garrisons "

She nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. Do you have intel on any patrols?"

"oh, there's an encampment here" She pointed to a cluster of dots to the north "But...Panther controls troop movements."

"_oh boy_" she sighed

"I'm not privvy to that. " She bit her lip "Lionheart is here . She'd been directing her unit personally, and they could be anywhere in the  mountain range. She sometimes goes out on her own...." She tapped the map "Sometimes right around this complex. But I wouldn't recommend approaching her"

Viper's eyes, however, were locked on that area just to the northeast of them. A cliff, it seemed, that overlooked one of the lower valleys by a mountain lake.

Heron looked it over thoughtfully. "You have something, Viper?"

It was the same place Spider was pointing to "...No. Nothing much" he growled quietly

She nodded. "Alright. We'll make our way to the encampment, and take it out. and any patrols along the way. Does that sound good?"

He nodded "Then perhaps we should find a good place tto rest, with those patrols taken care of. The Supply depot won't be flooded with gas till tomorrow. "

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest" Spider confirmed

Heron nodded. "Right. And it gives us time to take care of anything unexpected as well."

He nodded "that's the plan then. Take out the Encampment, any patrols and any surprises, then raid the depot" He paused "the encampment should have gas masks, if it's a full encampment. "

Spider saluted them "well, handsome, I'm afraid you're going to have to figure all that out on your own" She purred "I have to go make sure the Comrade doesn't miss me too much" She winked, and made for the door, her ass swaying with every step.

Hazel shook her head. "Thanks for the intel."

She blew her a kiss over her shoulder "oh don't worry honey" She winked "you can pay me back later"

"Heron!" Called Red Fox over the line "What happened in there?" He asked in desperation as the door closed and Spider left "we lost contact with you once you entered the building!"

Hazel frowned. "Is that so?" she said in a low voice. "No worry. We just met up with the Spider."

"Oh ah, how'd that go? We didn't catch any of it. "

"She gave us some decent pointers," she said. "There's a supply depot."

Papers rustled in her earpiece "The...ah, Hawknest Supply  Depot? It's an active one, Heron. Beware. It's likely one of the Body will be stationed there"

"One of the body huh? good to know," she said. "Spider's promised to help clear some of the fodder out with soem pesticide."

"Intense" Red Fox chuckled "but please, be careful. Even without a number of the fodder, I've been told the Body are a force of nature."

Viper leaned on one of the walls, and checked his gun. His eyes were narrowed in thought.

"We'll be careful," she said. "we;re not heading there til tomorrow in any case. Spider needs time to set up the op."

"oh, are you turning in for today?" He asked with  a bit of confusion.

"No, we're going to take out a nearby encampment, and clean up any patrols we find," she said.

"Probably for the best, Heron! Contact us if you need anything. Red Fox, out!"

"later," she muttered, and turned to Viper.

Viper looked up "Ready?" he asked in a low voice "We should probably leave here before someone decides to poke around"

She nodded. "Ready."

He pushed open the door, and peered outtside. The coast was clear. He slinked into the waning light of the afternoon, and began winding hrough the alleys between squat, utilitarian buildings. His steps carefully avoided the debris brought with the facility's destrruction.

"Heron" he spoke up

Hazel picked her way through the debris as well.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we should visit that ridge? The one Spider pointed out" He asked in a low, hardly audiable voice.

She nodded slowly. "I think so."

He nodded "maybe we can head this off now. Convince her to end this" he covered his mouthpiece as he spoke

She nodded again, thoughtfully, saying nothing. Better that way.

They walked towards the far end of the compound...furthur into enemy territory than they went last time . Behind them was the bridge they'd been betrayed on. And forward....perhaps a chance tto end this with a single deteor. "

It was optimistic. Perhaps foolishly so. Still Hazel nodded. She sensed that Viper needed all the optimism he could muster.

Viper worked towards the far end of tthe fence, which was open. The reason why was pretty obvious as they passed over the furrowed track of Spider's bike, the faint scent of exhaust and strong perfume lingering in the air.

Hazel shook her head. That perfume- a spy shouldn't wear something so strong. or was it to mask something esle?

Perhaps it was. A distraction technique? Only Spider knew for sure.

It didn't matter. Not to Viper especially. The serious faced young man's eyes were set in the direction of the cliff. The road ahead was empty. It would be...too easy to get there at this rate

Hazel followed after him, keeping an eye out just in case. This felt... wrong.

Now that the thought occured to her....yeah. It felt wrong. It was _too_ empty. This was enemy territory in the middle of an actual political coup. A top secret mountain facility.

And it was....deserted.

No patrols in sight. No living guards. Even the birds were silent.

She frowned. Should she tell Viper this felt like a trap? he had to know....

The way his eyes scanned the path, despite his obvious distraction...he did. And he was clearly getting unnerved. "This isn't right" he murmured, stepping through the trees, and along the winding path.

She nodded. "feels like a trap."

He nodded, and aimed his gun around a sharp turn in the path, that split in two. Another empty guard post, this one free of blood and corpses greeted them "I don't like it"

"why's this place empty?" she hissed, looking around suspiciously.

"Spider may have done something . Or..." he paused "maybe it's because a member of the Body's preparing a surprise for us"

"Im betting on that second one," she said

He took a deep breath "Then it'll be one less member of that unit to worry about when we're finished" he said with a trace of bitterness "come on, to the left is the cliff"

She nodded, and followed. No point not seeing it through....

They turned into the woods, off the path and down the memorized trail towards the area Lionheart was said to go to on occasion. The furthur they went into those forboding woods, the heavier the air seemed to get.

Whispering. Whispering seemed to play just at the edge of her hearing, only for it to turn out to be the wind whistling through the evergreens

It distracted her, making her point her gun whereever it seemed to be coming from.

Wind, like breath, played against her neck. More whispers? No. The wind. It was too dark out here. Night was approaching. Night was approaching and these evergreen trees choked the little sun they had into shadow.

She frowned more deeply. She did NOT want to be caught out here again.

There was light, though. Breaking through the trees dead ahead. Viper hurried towards it, frowning just as deeply as her.

Hazel followed after him, a sinking feeling in her stomach,