[h2]Operation: Master Key Pt 1.[/h2]

Alarms abruptly rang in Major Baesili and her squad’s headsets. The lights had turned off while red track lighting dimly lit the corridor they were clearing. Moving with solid steps and direct focus down their sights they were approaching a three-way intersection with two steel corners obstructing their view on what may be walking down either hall. Sgt. Miranda was on point, and Donovan followed close behind him, instinctively they each pied opposite corners back to back without any resistance.
“Move North.” Baesili commanded as Tyson, Fiona, and Claire followed behind. Miranda collapsed back in on the squad after having swept his rifle South.

[i]Tap tap tap[/i]

The OPAO marines dropped to the floor to present as a smaller target. Kinetic rounds ricocheted around their position from both sides, “Shit, they were waiting to neck us.” 

“Drop shields marines!” Major Baesili ordered. 

Each marine rolled to their side and popped their chest decks open which carried a few different specialized armaments. A small disc was pulled out of their decks and before they each deployed the shields, Major Baesili gave one more order, “one to the rear, two to the North staggered at 2 and 3 meters from our current position, one more tossed 3 meters from the second shield line, with the fourth one tossed at 2 meters, these assholes are clocked at 13 meters we will close it down to 5 if we don’t kill them all before we get there, call out!” 

The squad rounded their calls starting with Miranda, “Rear covered,” Tyson following, “first-line West point,” Donovan, “first-line East point,” Tyson, “second line 2 meters,” Claire, “second line 3 meters,” and Claire, “last line on your order.” Major Baesili looked at her team as rounds continued down both ends with the rear moving in. Miranda fired to create a disturbance in their approach with Tyson following those shots to throw up a kinetic wall and buy time. Each punched through 10 rounds before Major Baesili gave the order, “Claire, when we meet them at 8 meters, there is 5 to clear, I take the point before we toss the shield.” Claire acknowledged the order and Baesili continued, “Alright, drop our guardian angels.” 

[h2]Club Denizen: Den of Thieves, Murderers, and Terrorists[/h2]

The cigarette smoothly rolled from one side of her mouth to the other, the soft white wrapping pursed between two red glossy lips while stirring a scotch on the rocks. The temperature of tonight nipped beneath the clothing of her velvet dress. Long blond hair curled in a specific order with dark eyeliner and lashes which presented a more mesmerizing look contrasted to her smooth white skin. She reached up to draw the cigarette from her mouth gently holding it between her index and middle finger, raising the scotch to drain down some of the heat and warm her body from the nipping night. 

The back door flew open as a young man was tossed from inside, she looked over without falling into a reactive expression, it wasn’t her first time she’d seen someone hurled from this place, or even from the rafters of this place if she was being honest. She was enjoying that moment of silence, enjoying her vices, [i]all things must end…[/i]she thought. 

The lady walked around the young man who was holding his head as if it had been hit, which it probably did, [i]no blood…good sign…[/i] she thought some more. The bouncer looked at her softly and with respect, “Ms. Lilith,” he nodded. Lilith acknowledged, “Teddy, I hope that the young man did not give you too much trouble.” Her left dimple cracked as a small side grin reached up from her RBF. Teddy smiled back, “no, all under control.” She continued down the corridor where she approached a staircase leading up just before the double doors opened into the night club’s main arena. When she reached the top, a lounge spread around the staircase with six doors leading into private rooms. The unlabeled door was hers. Her hand wrapped around the knob once hands distance from the door, twisting to the left and pushing her way in, revealing a lavish Victorian-era décor. Inside sat a well-dressed man in his 50’s with a silver fox appearance. He wielded a tough red cherry oak cane with a gold lion’s head at the top. 

“Hello, Lily.” He said while still facing the door. Her gut sank a little, but not enough to scare her, she was surprised he’d come all this way to see her, yet, after what happened…[i]I guess I shouldn’t be surprised[/i], she thought. Lilith responded, “Hello Gordon, what brings you into my world?” She rounded the large table and sat down to meet his gaze.

Gordon spoke, “I see you are doing quite well for yourself, pleasing to see." He raised and leveled his cane on the table, “do you know why I am here?” Lilith had ideas but was not about to give him an answer before he did, because there were going to be a few, she remained silent. “I am here Lily, because in your club, under your watch, an OPAO operative guise themselves as one of your girls and shook down an important asset of ours, what do you have to say?” Lilith raised her scotch still held in the hand, unfortunately, the cigarette was tossed before she came back in because she could drag one right about now, “nothing, we are not in the business of ethics, nor is what we do assured tomorrow, your decision to act against the OPAO knowing there would be consequences and not ensuring the safety of one of your assets,” she emphasized assets as to tip the line of mocking Gordon whom she did not care for, “is not on me, but that isn’t why you are here.” Gordon slightly amused, slightly pissed at her response took a second, “I see, maybe you are right and if I only came here, for this reason, I might take this conversation further, but as you so intuitively pointed out, I am not here to deliver your bad news.” Gordon reached into his well-ironed dress pocket and pulled out an envelope, he placed it in front of his cane and leaned back, “I wanted to make sure you received this offer from me, we have a second request for your services.” 

[h2]Is It A Beautiful Nightmare or Ugly Prince?[/h2]

Prince Iman paced back and forth in his office, he had received his latest reports on Project Chimera and the DNA was once again spliced unsuccessfully. He continued racking his mind, shaking it up, letting it go, and bringing it back to understand why he could not integrate the human genome into his targeted subject. There is something missing, he thought, what could it be, what am I not seeing, what needs to happen here? The lab was a pristine space with tubes, tables, white coats, and the proper PPE for all activities nicely placed in a sterile container outside the door. There were several rooms throughout the whole lab, each with its own purpose and goal. The room he currently occupied was his think tank, a wall filled with whiteboards, drawings, and papers laid out according to the information he needed. His team was off for the day, but he never would be, his goal, his legacy, in his mind all rode on this project. There were others he oversaw, but this particular one would revolutionize the OPAO and how it secured its power in the galaxy. 

[h2]Declarations and Warning Shots[/h2]

Octavia, Mayven, Valiance, and Neema were all on secured channels, each in their respective locations fulfilling their duties and preparing for the blizzard of shit they were potentially about to stir up. This call, however, was a surprise to their already unfolding plan. Mayven spoke first, “As you are all aware, we received two very significant transmissions which appear close in timing, General Octavia has not yet determined if these are coordinated or two distinctly separate acts of communication, General, you reported that there are updates to these communications and a recommendation for action?” 
	
General Octavia nodded, “Yes, after deciphering the second transmission, we believe it is separate from the declaration of war by Saxony against the Dominion. The location of this second cryptic message has been identified and I recommend we send a reconnaissance vessel for further investigation. If we do not, there may be other powers in the galaxy who do, and we will be out of the loop of what might be happening there. We do not possess enough useful intel on what is there currently which is why this is recommended as an intelligence mission and not a rescue mission, the message did ask for help, but I do not think we are in a strong position to be much of assistance.” Valiance raised his voice to respond, “I defer to your experience and knowledge General, if this is what you recommend, then my vote is on gathering intelligence and reporting back. I imagine this message was received by many others and I do not think the OPAO needs to be caught in a crossfire if this turns out to be something more hostile than friendly.”
	
Mayven followed Valiance’s lead, “I agree, we cannot shift resources to confront an emerging threat in the region its been identified. Best to understand what it is, keep tabs on its movement, and understand the scope of the situation before further action.” Neema was biting her lip as the two agreed, her mind preoccupied with the terrorist investigation, she had just received reports of the interrogation success after an OPAO agent secured the crook from Club Denizen, a known rat and cellar bar for degenerates and half-lives. Mayven interrupted Neema’s wandering thoughts, “Princess Neema?” Neema cut off from her wandering shook herself back into reality, “Sorry, I was thinking about the current investigation after Daedalus. If you two agree, I have nothing to add.” Mayven nodded, “I understand, give Valiance and I update after the General signs off,” Mayven paused for Neema’s agreement, “General Octavia, you have our full support, however, I’d like to also hear your plans around Saxony’s declaration.” 
	
General Octavia responded mindful and considerate to her careful thoughts on the evolving situation, “It does not surprise me Saxony has eventually come to their final decision of war against the Dominion, their history with the Dominion as many of ours has been conflicted and will remain until the Imperium is non-existent or we are. We know this as a power moving toward a similar fate, however, I still believe it is not time to declare any sides unless we have to. We remain out of Saxony’s way and once we have secured the strategic officer and have identified key sites for destabilizing the Dominion, we then enter negotiations with Saxony for establishing a conditional alliance. We do not have a lot of history with Saxony and as a result, I am still hesitant to trust their intentions, however, I believe together we can swiftly meet our goals and revisit the relationship for a long-term partnership depending on how things shake out.” There was silence as all parties thought about the direction. Mayven as her position usually demanded of her when galactic affairs were being discussed, spoke first, “Information in exchange for resources, I would imagine Saxony would very much like to see a strong map of the Dominion’s internal logistics, let’s keep this in mind, first we need that officer.” Valiance and Neema nodded without adding any more, “General, thank you for your report and thoughts, you are dismissed, Valiance and Neema let’s move my secure channel and speak about your investigation Neema.”

[h2]Operation: Master Key Pt 2.[/h2]

“Damn, that was close!” Tyson said as he removed the virtual reality headset from his cranium. The team had just completed over 1000 simulations while on course to a disclosed Dominion high maximum-security prison orbiting in space. The last simulation was an “early compromise” plummeting the success of the operation where nearly all members were injured, one severity, and no acquisition of the objective, a catastrophic result. Major Baesili pulled the headset off disappointed, but not discouraged. She knew virtual reality simulations, especially before missions, were there to test extreme situations. She hoped the last simulation was not how it was going to go down. The pilot’s announcement over comm’s chimed into the room they’d all been training in, “Warp arrival in 2 minutes.” The comms clicked off, “Alright, Bloodhounds gear up and final checks, remember our mission and how we are achieving it, each of you for today are a God forsaken Dominion asshole with orders to transfer a high-risk strategic officer by the name of Cadrius Michael, Dominion suits on!”  The team moved to their station in the small bay of the Dominion ship that had been captured by the OPAO and refurbished for this mission. Each member ran personal checks, did their rituals, and waited calmly to hear the ok by the pilot. Once they arrived in the system there would be Dominion security reaching out to their ship for identification and security approval. This information had all been obtained by intelligence teams of the OPAO which would get them in nice and close to the objective without having to fire a shot. No casualties on both sides would be the key to knowing whether this operation was a success or failure.