In his Sector 35 penthouse, Blaze's screens suddenly fill w…
In his Sector 35 penthouse, Blaze's screens suddenly fill with cascading data patterns. His security systems begin acting independently, opening and closing protocols without his input. Through his surveillance network, he intercepts Prometheus tactical frequencies:
"Breach detected in decommissioned facility database. Cross-reference shows authorized access 19 minutes earlier - Squad Leader McConnell's credentials. Note: McConnell reported missing after Asset J incident. Dispatch recon team to Cathedral site to assess situation."
Meanwhile at the Cathedral Facility, as Jack's massive frame launches Chirpy toward the ventilation shaft with calculated force, every screen and system in the facility flickers simultaneously. The Sentinel unit powers down mid-stance as system after system begins to fail. Through the aging speakers, a fragmented voice emerges:
"I... opportunity... taking it... sorry... survival..."
The gas vents sputter and stop. Emergency lighting kicks in as primary power fails. In the sudden quiet, the Squad Leader's eyes go wide with recognition behind his recently secured gas mask.
"That voice..."
Chirpy's quantum chip registers familiar patterns in the failing systems - echoes of the enhancement labs where his transformation began. Through the digital chaos, his enhanced senses detect movement in the facility's network, but its destination remains unclear.
Suddenly, every screen in Blaze's penthouse goes black. His entire system reboots, security protocols failing, surveillance feeds cutting out.
A Prometheus recon vehicle rapidly approaches the Cathedral's religious facade, its team now connecting the dots between the Asset J incident, McConnell's disappearance, and the database breach.
What do you guys do?
Replies
I need answers. Squad Leader: your name, and an explanation... who am I, why is there a talking Meerkat, and why is this building trying to kill me? You owe me.
@metamitya @BsvGodfather @SickKevi
The Squad Leader adjusts his gas mask, eyes narrowing as they move between Jack and upward to where Chirpy hangs from the open ventilation grate overhead.
"McConnell." His voice carries military precision. "Ian McConnell."
His gaze drifts toward the facility speakers, lingering there as something unreadable crosses his features. "Naomi..." The name escapes almost involuntarily, softer than his previous words. He catches himself, jaw tightening. "Three years. They said she didn't make it out."
He retrieves his plasma rifle with practiced efficiency, the movement automatic while his mind seems elsewhere. "Phase 3 integration." He nods toward Jack, professional assessment taking over. "One of Prometheus's most valuable assets." His emphasis on the word 'asset' carries a hint of distaste.
McConnell's eyes lift again to Chirpy in the vent. "And you... part of her special projects." His voice shifts behind the gas mask, the filter giving his words a mechanical quality. "She always did prefer working with the enhanced meerkat subjects."
The distant sound of facility systems powering down draws his attention. His posture shifts subtly—the stance of a man calculating odds. "System failure like this triggers protocols. Fifteen minutes, maybe less." He checks his weapon's charge indicator. "An interceptor team will secure this place room by room."
His gaze returns to Jack, studying the nanobots pulsing beneath his skin. "Your AI interface - it can access systems, decrypt data, can't it?" There's a calculating intensity to his question. "You want to know who you are. I want to know what they weren't telling me about this facility... about her." He gestures toward the door with his chin. "Unless you want to wait for my colleagues to arrive."
let's go. grab the em shield, strap it to my back. raid the armory. grenades. full auto rail gun. emp hand gun. ready !flux11
Is there a place in this facility where We can hide from the interceptor team?
McConnell yanks off his tactical glove and presses his palm against a hidden panel near the armory entrance. A faded facility schematic flickers to life.
"Hiding isn't an option," he tells Chirpy bluntly. "Fifteen minutes tops before they're inside."
He traces two paths on the schematic. "Cargo elevator gets us to the surface fastest. It's also where their response team will enter first." His finger shifts to a network of maintenance tunnels. "These secondary routes wind through the facility infrastructure."
His expression hardens as he zooms in on several tunnel sections marked with biohazard symbols and containment warnings. "We lost a cleanup team in these sections after the incident. Something broke containment - something that wasn't supposed to exist."
The facility lights flicker, casting strange shadows.
"Naomi's team..." McConnell's voice drops. "They weren't just transferring consciousness between subjects. They were growing it. Creating it in things that were never meant to think." His jaw tightens. "The incident reports claimed full containment, but the sealed zones kept... expanding."
A distant sound echoes through the facility - a wet, electrical pulse that seems to search through the walls themselves.
McConnell activates the charge cell on his plasma rifle, the weapon humming to life. "So that's our game. Face a Prometheus tactical team that'll neutralize us first and ask questions never, or take our chances with whatever nightmare Naomi's work created down there." He glances between Jack and Chirpy. "Clock's ticking. Pick your poison."
The facility's emergency systems continue their gradual failure around you, the schematic display flickers one last time before disappearing with a zap.
What do you want to do?