Written by Blackharvest
Yaboy and Austin walked through the now decrepit corridors that lead to the special operations quarters. As they walked through the barren halls, Austin came to realize how modestly designed the entire building was, no fantastical designs lacing the pillars unlike the old capital. He understood their restrictions coming from how meager their resources were but it was still a slightly saddening sight. It still bore the traditional style of alien structures, with the pyramid-like shape of the roof and the minimalistic matte metal inlay, but it felt too different to be homely. It was a trend that didn’t change as the duo turned a corner revealing a stone staircase descending deep into the ground. As they went, Austin noted the major bundles of thick metal cables protruding out of the walls, running down towards their final destination like the arteries of this dying building. They finally reached the quarters, and the duo was united with the rest of the team. Some attempted idle chatter but the conditions weren’t particularly ripe for speedy friendships. They finally assembled around the war table, a massive panel riddled with circuitry and thick cables, all powering a supercomputer that ran their combat simulations and projected the results in real time on a holographic display. The holograph quickly displayed the planet Darwizzy resided in. The capital planet itself, Rhuqes. The flickering display suddenly jumped forward, zooming into the temple built around where Darwizzy lived. Though not much information was present regarding the guards’ positions in the temple, almost all of the inner structure of the holy building was laid in front of the team members in the holograph. One path in particular had been highlighted to showcase the route to the false prophet’s seemingly lavish lair.
After unraveling the plan of the building to each of the team members, and the members familiarizing superficially with one another, Yaboy quickly took a glimpse at each team member before his eyes turned towards the cyan hologram of the temple. He had a stern look, his gaze entirely absorbed and dedicated to the objective at hand and nothing else. “As you all know, a perilous task awaits us all. For the future of renegades and our race as a whole, it is imperative we successfully infiltrate the temple, capture our target, and exfiltrate without any compromise from the objective. Even though we are seeking to take Darwizzy out of the compartment, if the circumstances are dire, you are permitted to execute the creature swiftly. We cannot let the zealots keep it any longer, even if regrettable blood is spilled.”
After everyone agreed they understood, he turned his eyes on Austin, “Now, coming to the role of each team member, let me first start with you, boy. You are tasked with reconnaissance. You will position yourself in a discreet location not too far from the temple, with your invisibility running of course. You are going to feed us live information regarding the status of the guards patrolling in and out of the building, and of any visitors that might cause us trouble whatsoever. As our team members move slowly in, you are also going to follow them as much as your invisibility allows you to do so. You cannot go in, because the heat readers would capture your presence, just as ours did.” Austin was slightly disappointed with this assignment given to him, lightly sighing at the seemingly lesser role. In truth he wanted to be face to face with Darwizzy, wanting to see the alien that could start all this. However, reconnaissance was better than nothing. Yaboy did not notice the slight disappointment in Austin and continued with Gijo. “Next, we have Gijo in the field. You also are not going to go deep into the temple’s inner compartments, however you are going to accompany Zay to a nearby corridor located here.” Yaboy pointed at the hologram highlighting a bendy hallway a short stretch away from the target. He continued, “Gijo is going to give information about the internal workings of the temple of which Austin cannot tell us. You are going to have a disguise as a guard to secure the exit route, escorting Zay and the creature out while also dealing with any guards on the way.”
Zay was the one responsible with the kidnapping, whilst also being the one infiltrating the deepest into the temple. He naturally had the most dangerous and the most sensitive part of the operation on his shoulders, and from the face of Yaboy, this was a scary proposition. Despite this, he continued with his briefing, eventually meeting eyes with Zay who was deep into some thoughts that evidently troubled him. Zay was thinking about how he had finally managed to leave his life as an assassin, and how he was ready to leave everything behind to be a simple man living in serene solitude. But fate always seemed to turn him into that which he feared most. A killer. Upon realising this distraction, Gijo interrupted the briefing. “Is everything in order, Zay? We need to keep ourselves together if this is to be a success.” To which the troubled alien quickly gathered his attention back towards the hologram. “Yes, everything’s clear.” Yaboy then quickly finished his briefing about members’ roles. “Zay, you need to use your past experiences to the utmost potential here. Any shred of doubt from the guards is going to jeopardize this entire operation. We have a guard willing to ‘drop out’ during our infiltration, giving you the perfect opportunity to act as if you are meant to be there. You will get out the target room with darwizzy and another guard to accompany him to the main square and, when you are close enough to Gijo, you are going to incapacitate both and get back to our nearby ship. I am going to be following you both close enough, giving you live input, while also being ready to join you in combat if things go awry.”
Things were mostly set up with the team and the plan. Yaboy quickly summed up the entire plan with his final sentences, “If our roles are entirely clear, then it is also clear that we can only conduct this plan in a special event where access to the wisened one is more plausible. Two days later is the anniversary of Darwizzy’s discovery, so they are going to bring him outside for everyone’s appraisal. That is our golden chance, and our only chance. We do not know too much about the position or the number of guards and precautions present, but we know that once we let Zay in, the guards will most likely be preoccupied with the swarming zealot crowd. Now it is our time to get absolutely ready for all that is to come. You and I are all entrusted… for a better future!” The other team members accompanied him, “To a better future!”.
Everyone picked their equipment up, and walked to their shuttle, setting up everything they needed before taking on the mission. The team was silent as they walked out with all the members trying to maintain a confident atmosphere, except Austin who had a perturbed look on his face. He was troubled by the “meager” assignment given to him by Yaboy, being a mere scout for the team. His eyes were on the ground first, then slowly turned towards Yaboy angrily. Gijo noticed the brewing anger in Austin and slowly looked at the irritated and frustrated alien, an effort to comfort that may have gone unnoticed. Luckily, Gijo had a warm and embracing look on his face, the type that would alleviate the deepest of fear. Austin soon realized Gijo was looking at him and turned his gaze towards his teammate. Gijo, gently and slowly nodded his head, with his eyes closed, showing some desire for restraint in Austin. Austin realized the meaning behind his looks, growled within himself and quickly turned towards the sky instead, meanwhile also slowly managing to overcome his temper as he was breathing a bit more heavily.
The team managed to get everything ready in time, making the necessary adjustments on the space shuttle. It was a civilian tier space shuttle, made for personal use only, therefore it would not garner any unnecessary attention from anyone. The aliens wore their disguising outfits of robed pilgrims, with Gijo and Zay having guard outfits, the falsified ID cards now jutting out of their tailored pockets. Beneath these attempted costumes, every single one of them had been adorned with a variety of technological gadgets, from portable EMP devices to concealed communication devices. Each member was branded with swift blades under all their disguises, whilst also possessing a smaller pistol. The event was soon to come, with only a day left, and so they departed in the civilian freighter equipped for the sole device that would provide their escape. This technology was a novel warp device, specifically designed for the usage of smaller ships, however extremely expensive due to the required energy to power it. To not draw the attention of unwanted security, they refrained from using the device until it was time to depart with the captured alien.
After passing through the security check on the planet, the shuttle safely landed and all of the team members positioned themselves accordingly before the appraisal event. Austin slowly climbed a hill with some other pilgrims adorned with very similar outfits, and he laid his back on a rock, scouting over the stone and platinum inlaid pyramid. Though initially Austin was consumed by a feeling of overwhelming disgust, he was still astonished by the immaculate architecture of the temple as well as the evident environmental engineering. The square in front of the temple was covered with vibrant decorations and eye-catching fountains that flowed into a statue-littered pool. Statues of granite and metal were erected in honor of Darwizzy and the team that found the creature, Yaboy now missing from the line up. Austin did not miss the detail of excluding his idol, now not only confused but also infuriated. He had a mission nevertheless, and he tried to clear his mind to prepare for his scouting duty.
Whilst Yaboy moved slowly into the temple behind the duo, Gijo and Zay went inside with all the other travelling pilgrims. They were passing through the gate, trying their hardest not to marvel at the architecture. To the team’s surprise, the area was guarded more tightly than expected, and Austin had started reporting renowned military personnel amongst the typical crowd. One such individual was Ultratie, a very loyal zealot successful inquisitor who found and punished any renegades on sight. His presence alone put more stress on the team than expected but, after hearing the news from Austin, the rest of the team still kept their composure. They slowly moved into the square, where Darwizzy would arrive an hour or two later for the appraisal event. After following the duo for a while, Yaboy got mixed into the crowd revering the statues and the architecture of the temple. The team leader did tend to look down upon these individuals lost in zealotry, believing them as weak to believe in such lies, but now was the time to act like one, not judge them. Reluctantly, he walked around the square as if he was a worshipper, a peasant even. Austin tried his best not to lose track of the trio inside the crowd of zealots, with Zay and Gijo moving closer and closer into the temple. From now on, things were on an even finer edge between success and failure, Gijo and Yaboy needing utmost awareness and combat readiness and Zay; his espionage expertise.
Zay and Gijo had started to move through the seemingly endless corridors of the pyramid, still indistinguishable from all the personnel and pilgrims filtering from the square. They all knew that a guarding brigade was soon to form and get prepared to escort Darwizzy for the appraisal event, so they needed to be quick. The duo ventured deeper into the temple, getting closer and closer to the compartment the zealots kept Darwizzy in. They walked through dark stone chambers and pillars of polished granite to reach their destination, each crevice of this corridor adorned with gilded engravings and lavish decors. Gijo was filled with sadness, seeing how their valuable resources were being wasted for such nonsensical worship, Zay instead entirely focusing on finding the entrance to Darwizzy’s compartment. The furthermost part of the corridor, thought to house the entrance to their target, had very few guards patrolling around. The infiltration had been timed correctly. The duo were relieved to see that they would have less chance of being challenged whatsoever by these guards on duty, but both knew cockiness is the truest flaw. The very few guards in front of them entered the compartment, leaving the two disguised aliens alone in the corridor. However, when peeking around the corner of the door the duo could see nothing but what appeared to be a luxury museum. This was slightly different than what they were expecting, the plans of the building showing that this was supposed to be the ‘chosen ones’ resting place. Yaboy received live information about this surprising room, and made a sudden change of plans. Whilst Gijo was previously supposed to stay inside the worshipping area, he had now been instead instructed to accompany Zay into the inner compartment. Though his disguise was not as good as Zay’s, it should still suffice given his unique powers.
The museum they had now started to move into was home to luxurious looking furniture to various experimental relics and gadgets displayed in gold and marble display cases. As they continued forward, they could not truly take away their eyes from all the things that this room contained. But then, from the observational camera implanted in Zay’s eye, Yaboy spotted something unusual: one of the pieces was missing from its place, the display case slightly ajar. It was possible that the piece was somehow being used for something today, and so dismissed as simply not worth noting. Despite this, the duo inside the temple stayed vigilant, moving slower than usual and looking around themselves, fully aware of the possibility that one of these devices may help. Then suddenly, a small creaking sound emanated from nearby. Both stopped moving, with the entire corridor burrowing into silence. They stood still, until they felt the air moving behind them. Even though Zay did not manage to react fast enough, Gijo sensed the psychic energy of another individual nearby, directly behind them and approaching fast. Gijo realized that it was another invisible alien nearby, one who was most likely not on their side. He did not react in any way though, and allowed the alien to move close enough. When it was time, he made a sudden controlled move mid air and grabbed the neck of the hidden alien. The chokehold made the alien struggle out of his invisibility, revealing his true identity. He was holding what appeared to be an experimental dagger in his hands, but was unable to move his arms fast enough to stab the defenders. Zay drew his axe from his back, putting its edge near the alien’s head whilst Gijo read his mind, finding, to his surprise, that the alien in stealth mistook the duo for zealot guards.
With this information in mind he slowly released the alien, both seemingly surprised by this outcome. Gijo quickly looked at Zay with an affirming look, telling him that this alien was not a zealot trying to take them down. The ex assassin then withdrew his axe away from the alien, though still maintaining a stance ready to cull in case anything went wrong. Yaboy, who had been watching and listening to everything happening, requested Gijo to let him speak to the alien through the communication device. “You must be Bigio, yes?” The silent alien then quickly responded, “Who are you, how do you know who I am? Renegades?.” Yaboy paused before replying, evidently deciding his options, “Yes, renegades indeed. I trust ,since you were smart enough to steal that, you can predict what we want from you at this point.” Bigio was shocked by this sentence, his thievery exposed without trouble. Reluctantly he nodded, not too excited to comply with the implication. “I know, but I don’t have the incentive to help you leave. You are going to need to offer me more than just “safety” as we both know you aren’t killing me today”. Yaboy retaliated “Being on neither side offers you nothing, Bigio. A man like you should know better.” Bigio was dissatisfied, as he expected some sort of compensation from the other side, “Nah, they at least… lets say ‘provided’ me this pristine dagger”. Caressing the blade on either side, Bigio then continued, “Besides, all it takes for me is to scream, and I mean scream very loud, to incapacitate you and call all the guards on your asses.”
Just as Yaboy was about to respond, Zay interrupted him, “And be assured that we would take you with us. None of your sly tricks would save you from my swift axe nor my friend’s grasp. Or did you already forget?” Bigio was admittedly intimidated, but he was well aware that chances were more in his favour. “Fine. You got me there. But I am sure that you wouldn't wanna push your luck here, amirite?” It didn’t take Gijo’s mind reading to be aware of the tension building up and so he intervened. “I can sense that you are repulsed by the zealots just like we are, we indeed have a common enemy even if we do not share common goals. It would be in your best interest to cooperate with us, especially considering we seek no harm on your behalf. We only wish to put an end to this madness.” Zay looked at Gijo anxiously, still having some mistrust towards Bigio. At the same time, the alien thief was getting relaxed seeing the genuine interest of the team, especially of Gijo. He was still reluctant to outright collaborate with them, but was still more eager than before to meet some middle ground. “Well, well we got a gentle one here. I will give you credit where it is due, to all of you.” He then became more serious and shifted from a more humorous and indifferent tone, “You are indeed… here to get Darwizzy… right? Only makes sense this far into the temple. You guys are putting your lives in danger to save us all?”. Yaboy quickly came back into the conversation, “Indeed, those are our motives. We respect your option to not directly come with us, but at least let us not fight one another anymore. We let you get out, and you tell no one, and I mean no one, of what happened here. What say you?” Bigio was impressed by the initiative, “We’ll see what is to come for both of us, I…” The speech was interrupted by a door creaking sound coming from the other end of the corridor. Some guards were passing into the room, to eventually gather at the compartment. Gijo quickly nodded towards Bigio, signalling him to leave immediately, the now invisible now sneaking away to a corner. Gijo and Zay on the other hand proceeded moving towards the inner compartment, before the guards on the back took notice of anything unusual. Thanks to their forged identities, they went into the sanctuary past the museum without any issues whatsoever. Unfortunately, so did the guards, who were now right behind them.
Spin Characters Involved:
Yaboy - Season 1 (Ya Boy)
Austin - Season 1 (Austin)
Bigio - Season 1 (Big_Io)
Gijo - Season 1 (Gijoe)
Zay - Season 1 (Zay)
Darwizzy - Season 1 (Darwizzy)
Ultratie - Season 1 (Ultratie)