Keep Steady
It's dark out. The moon is high above the sky, showering the desert with its moonlight.
It's deathly quiet.
The ground rumbles as the wheels of a motorbike zip by, kicking up the sand and dust behind it. The man seen on the bike is dressed in all black, blending in with the void of the night. His eyes light up, connecting a call to somewhere unknown.
---
"This is Cpt. V reporting in, I'm in proximity of the AO."
"Roger that. Remember, don't get caught. Can't afford to lose our youngest Captain in Militech history," replies a feminine voice.
"Copy. Going dark."
"Good luck Soldier."
I cut the call off and slid a chip into one of my sockets. A special signal encrypter that makes sure I can't get detected by security chrome scans. Unfortunately, it also means that I'm on my own. I can't send out signals of my own. That's the risk that comes with these Black Ops. Whatever, I've been through this before.
Coming into view is the compound I've been assigned to "cause some chaos". Besides the perimeter electric fence, there are security drones silently buzzing along pre-programmed sequences. Militech Model Griffin. Ironic, I'm attacking one of our bases.
At the center of the fence is a fortress, Fort Johnson. Solid, 10ft thick, titanium walls, high enough to put the ancient Great Wall of China to shame. Maybe not as long, but it is definitely way taller and way sturdier. The fortress itself is shaped like a square, with towers at the corners. Spotlights scan the darkness and both drones and turrets stand at the ready. I've always wondered why spotlights were still in use, but I get the fact that Net-Runners aren't always reliable to fully detect any Third-Party signals.
I stop a few meters away from the perimeter fence, behind a natural rock formation. The annoying part of even getting close to FTJ is that it's located on a cliff, overlooking a dried-up river. I feel a wave of energy pass over me. The scanner most likely. I walk up to the fence and give it a little poke. A zap of electricity runs through me and a visible spark lights up for a split second. I chuckle a little and back up a few paces. Shock plating really does numbers, huh?
Facing the fence, standing about 10ft tall, not really to keep out people but mostly animals if any. I crouch down and give my legs a little stretch. I give a mental command to my legs, telling them to warm up. I feel energy rushing to my legs and the heat as it begins to compress. The back plating on my calf opens up slightly, exhaling steam. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I lean forward, placing a hand on the ground. I slide a chip out of a pocket in my combat vest and press it into a socket.
[CONNECTED: VISUAL BLOCKER AND CLOAKING PRIMED - AWAITING ACTIVATION ~ DURATION: 5 MINUTES]
The plan was to "cause chaos" and I plan to do precisely that.
[EXPERIMENTAL SUPER JUMP CHARGE 100%]
"Overclock 200%..." I say silently to myself.
[COMMENCING OVERCLOCK]
My legs get even hotter and the steam increases in intensity.
I brought something for fun, nothing useful or important. I slide a mask from sitting on the side of my head to resting on my face. It's an oni mask. Why? For fun, obviously. Gotta act my age sometimes, nothing wrong with a 15-year-old kid running into a Militech Fort wearing a demon mask and blowing it up. Damn, has it already been 8 years? Wonder how Ibarra and my siblings are doing. Not dead hopefully. I grab my shotgun out of a backpack that I brought with me. Model Militech Crusher.
Hah, ironic. I throw my backpack to the side, next to my motorcycle.
[OVERCLOCK COMPLETE - EXPERIMENTAL SUPER JUMP CHARGE 200%]
"Adjust OptoTrace Parameters: Lethal."
[ADJUSTING OPTOTRACE PARAMETERS]
[LETHAL MODE ACTIVATED]
[OPTOTRACE WILL NOW ADVISE FOR MAXIMUM CASUALTIES]
Perfect. Let's do this.
BOOM!
Like electricity, the energy in my legs discharges, providing insane amounts of power and force needed to jump to the moon. My nerves like lighting flash in my legs, as the coils and synthetic tendons and hydraulic tubes, release the force equivalent to 500,000 Joules. My surroundings become a blur as I rapidly propel in an arc shape over Ft. Johnson. The ground beneath me cracks in response and a mini sandstorm gets kicked up below me. A sound as loud as a rocket taking off rings throughout the desert, like a magnificent whip cracking through the air.
---
At the apex of his flight path, Van overlooks the compound with an impassive, unreadable face. From the view of the compound, a figure clad in black as dark as the void can barely be seen at the forefront of the full moon. An alarm rings throughout the compound and the turrets and drones come alive, glaring with a red light. Soldiers could be seen scrambling, confused about what dumbass had the balls to attack them. The turrets and drones come alive as they lock onto their airborne intruder.
BANG BANG BANG!
A hailstorm of bullets assaults the night sky. Van moves the shotgun to his right hand and pulls out a pistol with his left. Van cocks his pistol with his teeth and takes aim. Bullets wiz by him, some grazing his face and leaving gentle cuts.
POOM POOM POOM!
The crash of Van's pistol returns fire, some bullets colliding with others, some barely grazing past. In Van's vision, his OptoTrace is marking the estimated trajectory of the bullets flying his way, making it easy for him to avoid them entirely. Due to his activation of Lethal Mode, his OptoTrace is also showing his own weapon's projected flight path, as well as where to aim to deal the most damage. By the time Van began to descend, he had already taken three of the four turrets and 2 out of the 4 drones defending the wall, all of which exploded in spectacular fashion.
"Activate shock barriers: Impact Mode!" Van exclaimed to himself.
[IMPACT SHOCK BRACERS PRIMED - WARNING KEEP STEADY]