Part Eight: Undercroft
Team Two had arrived. Alex, ever the expert, dropped from the top of the Atrium, his descent slow and measured as he floated down toward our level. Behind him, Markus kept firing occasional shots from his rifle toward the commander. But it was too late. The commander had already entered the ship.
"They tried to take Nathan... it's the Cortex group." Jesse's voice broke through the tension, the words heavy with meaning.
Alex nodded grimly, his eyes scanning the scene.
Then, as if the atmosphere itself had shifted, the ship began to pulse with a faint red glow. Within seconds, the Atrium—once bathed in shadow—was bathed in light, the cover of darkness vanishing as if it had been sucked into lightspeed.
"What the hell was that?" Lance's voice broke the silence, his eyes wide as he stared toward the sky, the glow still lingering in the air.
"I'm not sure," Jesse replied, his tone colder than usual, his gaze never leaving the ship.
"Killjoy," Jesse continued, snapping back to the task at hand, "can you get Commando to help with any civilian casualties? And get Echo to detain that one." He pointed at the girl with daggers who was now unconscious on the ground after her fight with Lance.
I felt the world blur before me.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up in my bed again, the room still dim with the light of late afternoon filtering through the blinds. Veronica sat in my chair, spinning slowly, absorbed in the game on her old handheld device.
"Hey, V," I muttered, the words coming out slow, my body sore as if I'd been through a fight of my own.
Veronica looked up, clearly startled to see me awake. She scooted her chair closer, setting the device aside.
"What happened?" I asked, the question sounding stupid as soon as I said it.
She didn't answer, of course. Instead, she flicked the TV on, the flickering screen coming to life with a report. The news anchor's voice crackled over the static, playing a summary of the chaos at the Atrium.
"… today, it seems the attack was led by the shadow group, Cortex. No one knows their motives, but their actions have resulted in the deaths of twenty-three people. The massive hovership that appeared… seems to have disappeared just as mysteriously as it came. We have no comment from the four out of five Venator squads here in New Angels."
I sank back into the bed, the weight of the news settling over me like a fog.
Sighing, I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the ache in my bones.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. I limped around the building, trying to keep myself busy. The healer from Eagle is most likely at the Atrium.
It wasn't until I was sitting in the mess hall, picking at my food, that the rest of my squad returned. A message from Jesse notified me and I couldn't shake the feeling of uselessness, not having been there to help with the aftermath. I had been lying in a damn bed while they were out in the field.
But I wasn't going to let them see me as a bedridden liability. I pushed myself to stand and made my way down to the Undercroft, where they'd be arriving. They needed to know I was still in this, even if my body didn't quite agree.
I stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind me with a soft clank. The air felt thick—heavy with questions, and the soft hum of the machinery was the only sound that filled the space. I leaned against the wall, feeling the vibrations beneath me, but my mind was elsewhere, a million miles away.
What did the Cortex group want with me?
They'd tried to take me. I had seen it in their eyes—their determination, their cold precision. They wanted something with me, but what? It wasn't just about the chaos they'd caused at the Atrium; it felt personal, like they were after something buried deep. But what could I possibly have that they wanted? What was all this talk about the Visitor, the Ascension?
I ran my hand over my face, still trying to wrap my head around it. Maybe they didn't care about me specifically. Maybe it was just a power play, a message sent to whoever was watching. But something told me it was more than that. The way they'd come after me, so calculated, so... familiar. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was only a small piece of something much bigger.
I thought back to the moment before everything had gone dark. My dream. The shadows, the whisper of something just out of reach. It felt like I had been walking a path I didn't understand, and now, Cortex was trying to steer me in a direction I didn't want to go.
The elevator hummed lower, and my thoughts raced faster. Was I the target? Or was I just caught in the middle of a war I didn't even know existed? Had they been watching me for longer than I realized?
Before I could go any deeper into my spiral, the elevator jolted, snapping me back to the present. The doors slid open, and I exhaled sharply, shaking off the weight of the questions for now.
Whatever their game was, I wasn't about to play by their rules. I had a score to settle, and answers could wait until I had the upper hand.
The elevator came to a soft stop, its metal doors sliding open to reveal the Undercroft. The space was buzzing with activity—Venator squads in their combat gear, talking in low murmurs, exchanging stories, preparing for whatever came next or the end of their day. The air felt thick with a mix of exhaustion and anticipation, but what stood out most were the quiet moments of camaraderie, of Venator who knew how to laugh even in the face of chaos.
I stepped out, leaning against the wall as I took a deep breath. My muscles still ached from the battle, and my mind was spinning with unanswered questions, but I had no intention of letting that show.
The second I hit the main floor, I caught sight of my team gathered at one of the long tables. Jesse, Lance, and Veronica were deep in conversation, their heads bent over a holo-table, the flickering lights casting long shadows across their faces. Alex was there too, sitting with three other people in which I assumed to be his team.
"Look who's finally awake," Jesse's voice broke through the hum of chatter, and I saw his eyes snap toward me as he grinned. His usual cocky expression softened for just a second. "You sure know how to sleep through the clean up."
I managed a small smile as I moved toward the table, trying to ignore the way my legs felt like they were made of jelly. "I figured you'd want to get all the glory without me in the way."
"Yeah, right," Jesse laughed, shaking his head.
"You're lucky we weren't carrying your sorry ass around while you were out cold. That was one of Commando's soldiers." Lance gave me a look from across the table, smiling and drinking from his flask—something that made me realize they were genuinely glad to see me up.
His aura still shimmered faintly around him, though it looked more subdued now, he must be passively healing his fatigue.
"Well, I'm here now," I muttered, dropping into a chair.
A man with jet black hair, camouflage face paint and a bandana stood. His figure and frame were massive, chest hair erupted from his jumpsuit. He raised his massive hand to shake mine.
"Pleasure to meet you son, the name's John Whitmore, I prefer to be referred to by my callsign, Commando." He spoke with a militant voice.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nathan."
Another girl stood up to shake my hand. "Hi! I'm Tara! So stoked to finally meet you!" Her highpitched voice rang in my head, she sounded like a valley-girl.
"Oh you're Veronica's roommate right?"
"Yeaaaaa! Me and Veronica are BFF's! She looks up to me like an older sister."
I looked at Veronica, I could read her face and tell that she did not agree.
I smiled and looked at the last squad member, he was wearing earbuds and was thumbing through his music player.
Tara slapped him on the arm. He sat up startled. "Hey dummy head, introduce yourself to the new guy!"
"Okay sorry." He sat up, took an earbud out, and shook my hand. "I'm Markus, I shot you down from that wire when that staff dude tried to take you into their ship. Did the whole thing with my eyes closed and one hand behind my back too." He smiled.
"Yea right, you used a promise, I know you did." Tara said in protest.
I smiled, "Thanks for saving my ass guys. I really appreciate it."
"No problem! Luckily my gift for the day was Levitation." Alex said.
"That was you? So your gift is making stuff float?" I asked.
"Noooo dummy, he gets a random new one each day." Tara responded. "Conveniently today it was Levitation."
"Woah, that's crazy. So you have to learn a new ability everyday?" I asked.
Before anyone could answer, the sound of boots echoed through the room, and all conversation between us died. The squad turned as one, their attention shifting to the woman who had just entered.
Amelia.
Her presence was undeniable, radiating authority and calm as she walked toward us. She was older than the rest of us, her sharp features framed by red hair. A seasoned leader. John quickly stood from his seat at attention and saluted Amelia.
"Oh sit down Commando, and I told you to stop doing that." Amelia said.
"Yes ma'am!" John sounded off as he sat back down.
"Good to see you're awake, Nathan," she said, her voice firm but not unkind. There was a glimmer of something in her eyes—relief, perhaps—but it was quickly masked by her usual professional demeanor. "You've been out for a bit."
"Yes ma'am," I muttered. "Guess I'm not as tough as I thought."
She gave me a small, knowing smile. "Don't worry. You're tougher than you think. I see you have used your gift frequently." Amelia turned her eyes to the rest of the room, scanning the team leaders. "Alright, gather round, Bluejay."
The room fell silent as the eight members began to assemble around the table. The other squads had already left the Undercroft. Eagle and Woodpecker worked in this building with us while Crane and Seagull worked in the adjacent building. I recognized a few faces now—other Venator squads, people I hadn't met yet. Some were younger, their faces eager but wary, while others had that hardened look of veterans who knew all too well what it meant to survive.
Amelia's voice rang out, strong and commanding. "We're heading to the briefing room. The situation has escalated. We need all Bluejay members ready for a new mission. That means now."
There was a rustling of movement as everyone started to file out of the Undercroft, following Amelia's lead. I stood up, brushing myself off as I joined the group. Lance was right behind me, his hand briefly resting on my shoulder in what I could only interpret as a silent show of support. Alex walked alongside me, his usual smirk back in full force.
"Guess we're about to find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes," Jesse said, his voice low.
"Yeah," I muttered, glancing at the other squads filing past. "Hopefully we're not in the dark anymore."
As we entered the briefing room, the mood shifted. The same large table dominated the center of the room, and sitting at the head of it was Amelia, already poised and waiting for the others to settle in. Her sharp gaze swept over us, ensuring that everyone was present before she spoke.
"We're dealing with something far bigger than we anticipated," she began, her voice steady. "Cortex is moving fast, and they're not acting like any group we've encountered before. We've been hit hard, but that doesn't mean we're out of the game."
The room fell into a tense silence. Every Venator in that room knew the stakes.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it," Amelia continued, her gaze locking with mine for a brief moment. "Cortex has something planned, and they're coming for Nathan. But we're not going to wait for them to make the next move. We strike first."
A collective murmur passed through the room, but Amelia's steady voice cut through the noise.
"The map you've been provided with is our first target zone. Due to second teams reconnaissance, they were able to track a suspected Cortex sympathizer from Bayview to this location. We've identified it as a possible Cortex safe house and suspected gathering point within the city. This warehouse seems like the location where they develop their advanced technology and where we can maybe seize the information on how that ship was able to make an FTL jump, which this nation has never seen before. We need to hit them hard, disrupt their operations, and find out whatever we can about their motives. This will be a full squad mission, as Bluejay has been assigned as the special task force for this."
She paused looking at Alex, "Team two will take lead on this since you all had eyes on. Infil through the southern roof access and keep situation reports coming through, I need to be updated."
"No problem sis!" Alex said giggling. He couldn't take her seriously.
She shook her head, then looked at Jesse, "Team One you will set up a cordon around the warehouse, no one in or out. If Team Two needs support, you'll be on standby."
"Yes ma'am." Jesse replied.
We continued with small mission details and we're told we would be departing in two days. Constant surveillance would be done on the warehouse.
When the briefing concluded, I stood alongside my team, the weight of the mission sinking in.
Lance slapped me on the back. "Looks like we're going to find out what those freaks wanted with you."
I gave him a half-smile, my mind already on the task ahead. "Yep haha."
With that, we walked out of the briefing room, the rest of the Venators splitting off to prepare for the operation. There was no time to waste. Every second counted now, and no one knew what to expect.
But one thing was certain—I finally felt a part of something. Something bigger than myself. A team, a squad. I finally knew what it felt like to have friends.