June 14, 4021 8:00 [Zìyóugǎng- Central Plaza]

Debris hailed upon Central Plaza, breaking up the paved concrete. Stray chunks of building and street flew into nearby shops and pedestrians, painting the ground a dark red. Wet splatters of blood and viscera coated Cecil’s shoes as he whipped around attempting to identify the source of the explosion. He looked up, processing the trajectory and flight path of the shrapnel traveling in their direction. “Blixtskydd!” he bellowed, an arc shield manifesting over their heads, shattering the oncoming projectiles. The others, momentarily shocked by the carnage, snapped into action. Akula wrinkled his nose, drawing upon the blood trails to identify the source of the disruption, the oldest exposed blood would allow him to pinpoint the origin of the blast.

“There!” He pointed in the direction of the Vechnaya Merzlota Embassy, a red trail leading to the ruined building amongst the other damaged skyscrapers in his mind’s eye.

“Everyone! Move, now!” Cecil yelled, barking orders at the rest as they ran after him, ducking under his arc shield. “Mirai! Aisha! Protect those two! Akula, come with me! We need to subdue and neutralize the threat immediately!”

Cecil rustled through his pockets and threw a small device at Mirai before running towards the embassy with Akula following closely behind. In the corner of his eye, he observed Mirai activating the device, a mechanism surrounding the four that remained in the plaza. Cecil plugged an earbud into his left ear, tapping it in a specific sequence to match Indra’s own frequency. Akula followed suit mimicking Cecil.

“Testing, testing, can you guys hear me alright?” Indra asked over the intercom.

“Loud and clear. We’re near the embassy, we’ll rendezvous with special forces and evacuate any injured civilians in the blast radius,” responded Cecil. “Akula will be my guide through the rubble.”

“Sounds good, I’ve got eyes on your position; Mirai and Aisha are aiding civilians in the plaza as we speak so just focus on your area,” Indra directed.

Cecil heard a light whir above his head, glancing upwards to see an owl-shaped drone hovering high above their location.

“Looks like Vivian’s drone came in handy,” smirked Akula.

“Its name is Uluka!” Vivian shouted over Indra’s line.

“Vivi! Give that back! This is serious!” Indra took back the device from the enthusiastic researcher.

“Sorry about that. Special forces are en route to your position now. There’s another ID; it’s Kǔ Shén’s forces. They’re encircling the building as we speak,” he explained.

“Any idea of what could have caused the explosion?” questioned Cecil as he reached ground zero of the embassy. A sign on the ground labeled ‘Consulate General of Vechnaya Merzlota’ lay caked in dust.

“Intel is still unclear, but we’re operating under the assumption that this is foul play. The building in question was recently reviewed for structural code, nothing came up as a red flag,” Indra answered.

“So keep an eye out for unfriendlies, yeah?” Akula summarized.

Cecil peeled his eyes straining his vision for signs of enemies hiding in the billowing smoke and ashes. He spotted Kǔ Shén’s cavalry, covered in sleek black body armor, a jade dragon etched on the backs of their bullet-proof suits, under an insignia reading “JSS”. They carried an array of weaponry, riot shields aptly protecting their entire persons, sleek helmets in the shape of an owl’s head masked their visage, while Virya rifles and shotguns remained unholstered. Snipers lined opposing buildings, their hidden sights trained on the exit points of the embassy. Strangely, there were no civilians, living or dead amongst the mountains of debris...

“So that’s Kǔ Shén’s Jade State Security? Those are some sweet suits,” Akula whistled. “By the way, where are all the people? There’s no way they could have evacuated that fast,” he commented uneasily.

Cecil agreed; the surrounding buildings had suffered catastrophic damage. Although most stood upright owing to the brilliant engineers of Zìyóugǎng, some had collapsed completely; the lack of civilian presence seemed improbable. Cecil raised the current surrounding him, charging the molecules in the air. He felt around for signs of activity using the electrons in the atmosphere, drawing current lines through the Virya weapons of Kǔ Shén’s forces into the Vechnaya Merzlota Embassy.

“I can sense around forty Virya signatures, within the confines of the embassy. Akula, how many individuals are inside? Can you determine their vitality as well?” Cecil inquired.

“On it,” Akula nodded, focusing on the scent of the blood inside the embassy. “I’m picking up a couple of hundred living individuals with heightened blood pressures and heartbeats. About forty of those signatures have lower blood pressures and heartbeats than the rest, but they’re still elevated enough to remain alert. We’re dealing with professionals here.”

“So what you're saying is we have forty highly trained threats and a couple of hundred hostages within the ruins of the embassy?” Indra asked over the comms.

“Right—”

“—How’s the construction holding?”

“It’s structurally sound at the moment, but I can’t tell if the perpetrators have any additional charges placed. There’s a lot of electrical interference with all these powerlines. The Virya is the only source I can differentiate in the area,” Cecil answered.

“Noted. I’m relaying your information to Commander Huā from the Jade State Security and Hyena Tengri, who’s on his way. Meet up with Huā; I’ll see if I can find a way inside the building for you. Remember, this is a hostage situation, minimal to zero casualties are the objective, so the use of lethal force is prohibited. Subdue the threat via nonlethal incapacitation and extract the hostages. Is that clear?” Indra explained.

“Roger,” Cecil answered before approaching the JSS soldiers. Commander Huā adorned a similar getup to his men, albeit sporting a dark flowing cape and a helmet with a golden faceplate in the shape of a hyena’s snout that shrouded his features. The only weapons he carried were a Virya shotgun and a dispersal sword, sheathed under his belt. “Commander Huā, I’m Cecil Dundra and this is Akula Krov from the Homunculi Squadron of Matriarch 07. We’ll be working with you to carry out a joint operation,” he said, introducing himself to Huā.

“Nice to meet you, son. I’m Commander Liègǒu Huā,” Commander Huā replied, sizing up the two Homunculi. “I’ve received intel from your friend. What exactly will you do to get those civilians out of this crumbling building? My men are ready to attack, but we can’t do that without exacerbating civilian casualties. We haven’t received any form of ransom from the perpetrators. For all we know, they could be planning to massacre the hostages. We have no idea what their goal is.” The tall, stocky man shook his head, leaning his armor-encased body on a crumpled transport vehicle.

“I may have an idea,” chimed Indra over the intercom.

“Oh, you do, kid?” Huā perked up surprised.

“Yes, sir. Attacking an embassy wouldn’t provide any monetary value, that much is obvious. These terrorists specifically targeted the Vechnaya Merzlota Embassy. Why? Well because Vechnaya Merzlota is Yuèliàngs’s largest supporter and ally. To put it bluntly, attacking the Vechnaya Merzlota Embassy would be like declaring war on the country itself. The terrorists haven’t sought any negotiations for ransom so we have to assume their intent is to harm their hostages and possibly have it broadcasted. If Yuèliàng were to fail in saving the Vechnayan hostages, our country would be perceived as weak and our partnership with Vechnaya Merzlota could end. The question is which nation is behind the attack? There are multiple nations that have issues with our country that could stand to gain from crippling Yuèliàng’s support. So narrowing down our options doesn’t do us any good,” Indra explained.

“They must be waiting for the media to cover the incident before enacting their plan. We’ll keep them out of the area. Dundra, Krov, I need you to gain access to the building. Find the hostages, but don’t engage. We'll circle around to your location and ambush the terrorists,” Huā relayed.

“That might not be a good idea, Commander,” refuted Indra over the intercom. “If the terrorists are dispersed throughout the building, an ambush could potentially serve to aggravate them and then we’d be in the same situation as before, this time with injured or dead civilians. I’ve got a plan if you’ll let me take the lead on this one.”

Huā rubbed his chin for a moment before relinquishing control of Cecil and Akula to Indra. “Follow his instructions, don’t put yourself in any unnecessary danger, and think critically about how you’ll maneuver through your environment.”

The two Homunculi nodded, sprinting to the back of the embassy.

“Indra, we’re in position,” Cecil announced.

“Good, there’s a ventilation system that leads into the basement. Enter the building through there,” instructed Indra.

Cecil looked around for a ventilation grate, spying one tucked in an obscure corner. Prying open the shaft he shimmied through the small opening, tailed by Akula. After a few minutes, they reached the basement of the embassy, kicking open the grate leading into the basement floor. Cecil rolled into a crouch, shrouding the area in electricity. Akula lay supine, tracking the scents of the people in the building, mapping out each terrorist’s walk cycle in his mind, calculating a route of least resistance.

“All clear,” Akula told Cecil, standing up. “No one’s on the basement or the first floor. They’re all dispersed between the second and seventh. The hostages are on the fifth floor. The emergency stairs leading from the first to the seventh have been caved in and the entrance of the first floor has been blown apart, blocked by rubble. The main stairs are heavily guarded and it would be reasonable to assume they wouldn’t leave the elevators functional. Our only point of exit is from this ventilation shaft, barring we knock down the walls of the second floor and jump. Unless they have more explosives, I doubt they could break down these reinforced walls with just Virya weapons—” Akula wrinkled his nose and grimaced. “—I smell cyanide, I think they’ve got pills with them.”

“They’ve effectively sealed themselves in this building. They have no plans of escape. It’s going to be a mass murder-suicide,” Cecil spoke to Indra.

“Bold statements require bold sacrifice. So they kill the hostages and then kill themselves. What a meaningless way to die. Indra, do you have any ideas on how to navigate this place?” Akula asked.

“I’ve pulled up a schematic of the embassy and modified it according to your description. All of the routes are blocked off based on the most recent floorplans, however, I’ve sifted through older floor plans and it looks like they built around a dumbwaiter shaft while renovating the building. The dumbwaiter itself is inoperational, but you could climb through the shaft to reach each level. The surrounding walls are just drywall, so you should be able to break through pretty easily,” answered Indra.

“Okay, we have a route but how do we neutralize the enemies without getting ourselves or the hostages caught in the crossfire?” Cecil questioned Indra.

“Cecil, do you still have those silver tags Vivi made for you?” Indra inquired.

“Yeah, why?”

“How many do you have with you?”

“About sixty,” Cecil responded, checking the box the tags were stored in.

“Okay, listen carefully, when you reach each floor, use your current lines to mark the terrorists with a silver tag. Work your way up from the second to the seventh floor, skipping the fifth floor, then wait for my signal,” Indra directed.

Cecil pieced together the gist of Indra’s plan. “Understood; Akula, stay on the line and let me know the exact coordinates of each terrorist, their pace, direction, and their vitals. Stay here in case we need to bail.”

Akula nodded, focusing on tracking the individuals stationed on each floor. Cecil knocked on the basement walls, listening for a hollow panel. A couple of taps in, he heard an echo behind a wall near the boiler room. Pushing forcefully, the drywall gave way and he crawled through the shaft, nimbly climbing up while avoiding any loud or sudden movements. He reached the second floor, whereupon Akula relayed the locations and movement of the individuals on that floor.

Akula measured the awareness of each individual based on their pulse and blood pressure, directing Cecil to incapacitate the most alert individuals first. Cecil followed Akula’s directions, calculating each individual’s position based on their pace and direction, creating current lines for each terrorist before marking them with a silver tag. He tested the current, using a voltage just high enough where he could confirm that he had made contact with flesh, but not enough to be noticed by the afflicted target. The two repeated these steps from floors two to seven, skipping the fifth floor. Once Cecil finished tagging the last terrorist he pinged Indra for further instructions.

“Indra, we’ve got thirty terrorists tagged, leaving ten unaccounted for. Akula detected the last ten on the fifth floor, guarding the hostages. I don’t think we can mark these guys without being discovered; the hostages might react to the flying silver tags and blow our cover,” Cecil explained.

“I understand the situation. Cecil, incapacitate the thirty terrorists you marked with the tags. Start at fifty-thousand volts and increase the voltage as needed to knock them out swiftly. Akula, use your ‘Blood Sense’ to determine if the terrorists have passed out or not,” Indra instructed calmly.

Cecil did as Indra instructed, conducting a high amount of electricity through the current lines he had established, listening for Akula’s directions on whether to raise the voltage.

“They’re all unconscious, Indra,” Akula confirmed. “Now what do we do about the ten terrorists with the hostages?”

“I’ve got a solution. Cecil, exit the shaft onto the sixth floor and slowly make your way to the center,” Indra answered.

Cecil tore through the drywall and climbed out of the shaft onto the sixth floor, treading lightly around the unconscious terrorists. He glanced at their uniforms, surprised at what he discovered.

“Indra these uniforms are military grade, specially designed for espionage,” he stated, bending down to observe the suits. “There are no identifying insignias, but there’s no mistaking the design and craftsmanship of this body armor. These guys are definitely from Levante Special Operations.”

“That’s not good. Once word gets out that LSO was behind this attack, tensions are going to mount with the Republic of Levante,” Indra replied.

“So the cyanide pills were to prevent them from talking, huh?” Cecil deduced as he reached the center of the sixth floor. “I’m at the center, now what?”

“You’ll have one shot at this. Akula, you need to give Cecil instructions, just like before in order to determine the enemy’s locations. Cecil, once you have the information, you need to determine the positions of all ten terrorists and pierce the tags through the floor, marking them all at once. Shock them as soon as you make contact with their flesh. You should also account for certain variables such as the thickness of the floor and distance from the ceiling to the targets,” Indra explained.

“Easier said than done,” Cecil sighed.

Akula focused his senses once more, pinpointing the locations of each individual, noting the position of their weapons, the target’s gait, his pulse, and the amount of blood reaching their extraocular muscles and tympanic membranes. Meticulously, he relayed the information to Cecil, who ran the calculations through his head at an inhumane speed. He could feel his head splitting, throbbing under the strain of processing millions of variables in order to converge the functions into one cohesive output. The theoretical design of this plan would predict a perfect outcome upon successful operation but the reality of it was grim. Even a second’s difference could mean life or death for hundreds of people. He remained silent, straining to count by the millisecond, running calculations simultaneously, waiting for the right moment…

Snap! The world stood frozen as Cecil’s mind clicked, with all the variables in place and accounted for. His hands moved on their own, slamming ten tags into the floor as he channeled electricity through them to burn through the ceiling of the fifth floor. He had accounted for the time it would take for the tags to burn through, the reaction speed of the ten terrorists as their ears pricked up, catching the sound of melting concrete and turning their heads upwards towards the source. He even determined when the acrid smell of the tags would reach their olfactory receptors by proximity, based on the data given by Akula. By amalgamating all the possibilities that Indra had required him to account for and acting in a way that accommodated these minute details, Cecil managed to mark all ten terrorists that patrolled the fifth floor, guarding the civilians. The instant that he felt ten lines of electricity in contact with flesh he sent one-hundred-thousand volts of electricity through the marked soldiers, unwilling to take any chances. He could feel the electricity searing their skin as a nauseating smell wafted up to the sixth floor, followed by the horrified screams of the hostages as burnt bodies crumpled to the floor.

Cecil worked his way down to the fifth floor via the stairs, now unguarded by the LSO soldiers, confirming that he had indeed incapacitated the targets. He signaled the “all-clear” to Commander Huā over the intercom before calling Akula up to help him untie the hostages and escort them to safety. The evacuation took no more than thirty minutes, with Zìyóugǎng Special Forces escorting civilians, many of whom thanked Cecil and Akula for their rescue. The Jade State Security rounded up the forty perpetrators, taking them into custody for questioning and sentencing, removing the cyanide pills they had hidden in their mouths and on their persons before transporting them.

Cecil leaned on the exterior of the building, sliding down the wall until he sat slumped against the concrete. He let out a sigh of relief, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. He checked his watch, 11:30. They had missed curfew; the Matriarch would be closed for visitation until the next morning. Akula laid on the ground next to him, arms and legs splayed, observing the night sky.

“Holy fuck, I’m tired,” complained Akula. “My brain’s turned to mush. You must be feeling even worse. I can’t imagine the headache you must be having after all that math,” he laughed.

“If you understand how fucked up I am right now then maybe you should quiet down,” Cecil strained, hiding an amused smile.

“When do you think they’ll get here?” Akula pondered.

“Who?”

“The others.”

“Soon. Indra said they were searching through the rubble for any survivors, although they’ll leave corpse retrieval to special forces,” answered Cecil.

Heavy-set footsteps approached their direction. Cecil picked his head up watching the source of the sound as he clomped over to them still in his JSS gear.

“Not a single casualty among the four-hundred-odd civilian hostages. You two finished so fast that Tengri had nothing to do! Haha! He was so mad!” Huā commended, chuckling to himself.

“Yeah, well not every battle has to be won through direct confrontation. The smartest strategy is to remove the players before they get a chance to make a move,” Cecil replied, cracking a smile.

“Ah, I see. So you’re of the preventative mindset. Hahaha! You Homunculi are as fine a group of soldiers as I’ve seen. I’ll take care of the logistics from here. I’ve already relayed the information you two discovered to Kǔ Shén. We’ll interrogate the prisoners and sentence them accordingly, don’t you worry. Regarding your accommodations for the night, Indra made it clear that your curfew has already passed so I’ve arranged for you to stay at the Precipice Hotel. I’m hoping you six will be comfortable for the night. Actually, I’ve also gone ahead and talked with Colonel Jìguāng to give you a couple of days off to explore the city and relax after all you’ve done. You can just stay at the Precipice while you’re here. I think it’s a well-deserved break, don’t you?” The commander smiled warmly at Cecil and Akula.

Akula sat up, beaming at Huā. “You’re not such a bad guy after all, are you Commander Huā? I had you pinned all wrong!” he grinned.

“Wait, what did you think of me before?”

“Well since you’re almost the same age as Jìguāng I figured you’d also be a grumpy old geezer like him,” Akula laughed.

“Well, I understand that sentiment. Jìguāng can be a bit shrewd sometimes,” Huā replied.

Just then, the four that had remained in the plaza showed up, Mirai carrying an exhausted Aisha joined by Indra and Vivian. They looked just as tired as Cecil, caked in ash and dust, Mirai and Aisha covered from head to toe in scrapes and bruises.

“Hey, you guys made it,” Cecil croaked weakly.

“Heh, looks like you guys did all the legwork this time around,” joked Indra.

“You better start pumping iron, Krodha. ‘Cause, we’re making you carry out the next mission by yourself! Manifest that Trait soon or I’m gonna whoop your ass!” Akula jeered.

Indra nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”

“Where are we staying for the night?” Mirai remarked, visibly worried.

“Don’t worry, I’ve made all the necessary arrangements for you to stay in the city and recuperate,” reassured Huā.

“Thank God,” Aisha piped up. “I desperately need a shower.”

“I think we all do,” laughed Vivian.

“Ah, looks like your transport is here. Come, I’ll help you get into the car,” Huā said, assisting Akula in lifting up Cecil as the group climbed into a Polaris Car, hovering a few inches off the ground. Once seated and buckled in, the driver pulled back the steering wheel, causing the car to lift higher off the ground. He maneuvered the gear shift into drive and propelled the vehicle forward. The Homunculi stayed pressed against the windows, absorbing the sight of the city’s skyline in awe, utterly amazed at the view from above.

The Polaris entered a hangar atop the Precipice Hotel, with the driver stepping out to help the passengers exit the vehicle. The group entered the hotel’s penthouse through a door from the hangar, elated by the posh decor that greeted their arrival. Chandeliers dotted the ceiling, glistening with a thousand jewels. Furniture had been carefully laid out in a manner that could only be explained as spiritually fulfilling. The group entered the dining room, finding a warm, decadent three-course meal spread out across the expansive dining table, containing foods that none of them had ever seen before. They sat down absolutely famished, digging into their food without a word, savoring every last morsel before returning the dishes to the sink and disposing of any scraps.

The six of them headed straight to their bedrooms after dinner. The penthouse consisted of three bedrooms and three bathrooms, to their knowledge, while the rest of the area remained unexplored owing to their fatigue. Vivian and Aisha decided to share a room much to Mirai and Indra’s dismay. Downcast, they decided to take the second room, leaving Akula and Cecil to share the remaining bedroom. They each quickly took turns in the showers, washing away the day’s hardship before diving into the plush mattresses awaiting their arrival, ready for the days ahead.