Monotony and Alpha 1 » The Trains We Rob
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| Infobox | |
| Canon: | none |
| Series: | LAPITH |
| Canon: | none | Series: | LAPITH |
A dream.
3 individuals, standing round an operating table. Despite the anesthetic, despite the drugs, despite the machines, Jesse was still horrifically aware. The scalpels cut through their skin, the tools dug into their flesh, the hands worming through their insides. But Jesse could not move. It was agony. Their teeth grit, spittle dribbling from their clenched jaws, spewing from their mouth, and the masked men gave no reaction.
“Retractor.”
The sensation of flesh pulled apart.
“Specula.”
A sharp, direct pain, an overwhelming sensation suppressed only by experience.
“Forceps.”
Something taken out, and then, something set inside. Something foreign. Something alien.
“Saw.”
Suffering. The whirring sound. Blades spinning.
“Jesse.”
Let me scream. Let me out. Set me free. Rain.
“Jesse.”
Who?
“Jesse!”
Jesse turned to face the sound with a start. Their eyes sharpened, losing their dazed confusion. The sound of blades and the rain falling continued, though. The man Jesse found themselves facing was sitting next to the side of the helicopter they were apparently riding. He raised an eyebrow.
“Jesse? You alright?”
Jesse looked down at their hands. Their right hand wasn’t organic. But when they flexed them, they responded the same. They looked the same.
Jesse shrugged.
“…alright, then. You had that thousand-yard stare again. Just wanted to let you know we’re almost to the AO.”
“Right. Right.” Jesse leaned back into their seat.
The man, whose name was Ransom or Randy or something along those lines, shook his head. “Would you like me to brief you on the mission one more time before we land, or..?”
Another shrug.
“Ah. Well, we’re heading for a Kabashaki-” “Kabushiki.” “-Kabushiki Kawaii facility out in some dockyard warehouse. Recon says there’s several augmented individuals, so that’s why she’s sending in, ah, you. GD-EAST, I mean. As in, GD-EAST is sending you in, she won’t be-”
Jesse turned back to Randy. They gave him a tired look.
“…right, sorry. Your mission is to bust in through the door on the roof of the warehouse, work your way down, get to where we believe is a server room, and there’s a specific file referring to a ‘Cordatus Circuit’. We’re not sure where it is, but I imagine you’ll find a way. Save it into this USB stick right here-” Ransom pointed towards a pocket on Jesse’s duffel bag. “And don’t make too big of a mess, but know that cleanup crews can handle the rest.”
Jesse sighed. “Remind me why the Board is sending Central Alpha-1 to combat Kabesheki-” “Kabushiki.” “-Kabushiki Kawaii, of all people.”
“That’s funny, you know, since Kabish-, uh, KK by no means has lax security. They want their products getting where they’re going, and they’re not against augmenting their staff to enhance their abilities.”
“Right. And it’s just me?”
“Any more and we’d be risking detection.”
They leaned forward. “Really? Risking detection with what, three people?”
“Not enough room-”
“This helicopter can easily carry about a dozen.”
“But the time-”
“This facility isn’t going anywhere, is it?”
Randolph put a finger to his chin. “You’d be surprised, honestly, how quick they can move.”
Jesse squinted. “I won’t press, then. For now.”
An awkward silence. Rupert broke it. “Ah, no need for prisoners, by the by. Nobody high-ranking is stationed there, from what we can tell.”
“Great.” Jesse assumed that much. You don’t send a lone augmented soldier to take hostages.
Half an hour later Jesse found themselves standing on the roof of a massive warehouse. The rain became almost deafening.
Setting their bag onto the ground, Jesse pulled out their suit, the USB, and a pistol, which was a SIG P320 or something along those lines.
The USB fit snugly in a slot that opened in their hand, and the suit was custom-built so that it would fit them perfectly. The gun, though, slid awkwardly into the holster on Jesse's side. They kicked down the door.
Every mission tends to blend together in Jesse's mind. The details rarely mean much to them. The first guard down the stairwell being choked out before he can scream, a shot going through the head of the other that stood a bit-too-close to the railing and falling over. Probably an alarm or something going off, but this time it didn’t seem like it. A third guard running up, and Jesse leaping over the railing, falling down right on top of him, their foot sending his head through one of the flimsy metal steps.
They went down to the bottom of the staircase, opened the door to the ground level, and-
Buckshot round to the head. The sound of the helmet's visor cracking, the ringing of the ears, the confusion of the mind. Jesse stumbled backwards, their vision blurred.
The sound of a shotgun being racked.
Jesse dove towards the wielder, sending them both to the ground, Jesse barely able to see as their sight became a thick sludge of various colors. A thick grey mass that was assumedly the gun slid across the floor, the sound of a man struggling to breathe. Jesse’s hands wrapped around his neck.
Jesse loosened their grip so they could draw their knife with their right hand. The blade glided through the man’s throat. He died. Jesse felt deja vu. Or maybe the other way around. Rarely did anything that interesting happen during a mission like this.
They preferred having partners. Maybe Jesse would make a funny quip or two over the radio, have the team’s stoic-and-strict leader correct them, but admit Jesse was nonetheless efficient, and then the whole team would agree and they’d say something corny together as they slaughtered at least a dozen people or so.
It all tends to blend together in Jesse's mind. A thud. Another. Wait, footsteps. Presumably large ones. They turned towards the now open door and saw someone walking from behind one of the massive shipping containers across the bay.
A gigantic figure, easily 9 feet tall, stood between Jesse and the door to the lower levels. A black uniform, bulletproof vest custom-fitted, motorcycle helmet with nothing visible beneath the visor, and a sort of hydraulic exosuit fitting drilled along their arms, legs, and spine. He pulled out a ridiculously huge baton and strode towards them, giving a supposedly intimidating chuckle.
Jesse walked out, and drew their firearm, emptying what was left inside of that magazine to the inside of that oversized cargo guard’s left leg. While his armor stopped the bullets, he stumbled, and Jesse sprinted towards them, punching them square in the shin, making sure to do it with their prosthetic hand so that they didn’t break the other. Crack. He fell onto his knee with a yelp. The sound of breaking bones had become background ambiance to them. Jesse practically scrambled up the man’s body and slit his throat. He grabbed Jesse with his opposite hand and slammed them into a container with a Thud. They felt something that time.
He pulled back the baton, no doubt to try to kill them. Jesse stretched out their hands, grabbed the exposed hydraulics of his exosuit, and Ripped It Out of his arm.
What was a sickening scream to somebody else rang out as strings of flesh, cable, and skin came out with it. Jesse fell to the ground, and so did the giant, his arm limp, his leg broken, and quickly bleeding to death.
They took in the momentary peace given by lying flat on your back before getting back on their feet. The door was still across the bay. Wandering down it, Jesse saw a few of the cargo inside of the containers.
A nervous system, wiggling, squirming, suspended in slime. A woman with various animal parts grafted onto her, desperately trying to rip off her own skin, stopped only by the heavy restraints. A humanoid machine, motionless on the floor, screaming. Various horrors. They walked towards the door that the computer in Jesse's head said would take them to the room the man on the helicopter told them to be.
They went through the door, pistol drawn. Three scientists in labcoats turned to face Jesse and raised their hands.
“I’m looking for info on something called a Cordatus Circuit. Show me where that is.”
None of them moved. Jesse sighed, and pointed the gun towards the one on the left. “You. Tell me.”
He laughed. “You won’t actually kill me, since if I’m dead-” A shot rang out and he crumpled to the ground. The other two gasped. Jesse pointed the pistol towards the one on the right.
“He was right, I do need you alive. But I only need one of you alive. The one in the back is lucky- or rather, unlucky. I’ll have to torture her to find out. But you are, as it stands, disposable.”
He nodded. He turned to his computer, went through a few folders, and showed Jesse the screen. “There, that contains all the data we have on the Circuit.” They nodded. Jesse pointed to the wall opposite the computer. “Face it, press your hands against it, and don’t move an inch until the others show up.” The two complied. Jesse pulled out the USB and downloaded the folder and a few others that caught Jesse's eye.
Jesse turned to leave. But their eyes focused on the scientists for a moment. A writhing nervous system suspended in slime. A woman bound to a table so she won’t tear at her own skin. A man drugged and modified beyond all recognition to be an oversized security guard. Jesse drew the pistol again, shot one in the leg, and left.
“Amazing work, Jesse. Mission accomplished. Meet me at that bar down the street and we’ll get you out of here.”