[hr] [hider=Flashback Scene - Optional, but figured I'd indulge, as I haven't done one in a while] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi44YThhOGEuV2s1WUxUVXRNREUuMA/code.39-logitogo.webp[/img][/center] [hr] "About halfway into the Water Wars our tactics changed. Had to, with most of our supply and communication lines broken. While the Union negotiated with still-independent splinter regions, separatist states and privatized provinces, the last four-five years or so, most of our cells focused on very targeted strikes, shakedowns, agitprop, those kinds of things. It was quite uneventful, compared to what came before. Until, well... [i]*sigh*[/i] A strange time, strange time." [hr][center][h2]PSYOP: Firestorm[/h2] [b]Soundtrack[/b]: [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYWBHr-4uZU][b]Paul Ruskay - Plans Within Plans[/b][/url][/center] [indent][indent][indent][indent][b]Date[/b]: January 10, 2068 [b]Location[/b]: Alexandria, Egypt [b]Target[/b]: Munya Ashraf, grew up amidst the Great Drought of '61. Now a middle-rank in the unionite negotiation ring. Though she publicly critiques the new water policies, she has many critics of her own, calling her a naive advocate for inefficiency and Water Lords. It is clear whistleblowing isn't enough. She must be pressured into action. [b]Command[/b]: (on repeat) Some bridges have to be burnt. The Water Will Flow.[/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [hr] [color=Beige]"There are many ways to wage war, Rami. You know we've got members across the Union. It's all about gaining hearts and minds now."[/color] [color=Cadetblue]"[i]Don't[/i] call it the Union. Don't give them that. 'Comply or else' isn't unity! And Command says an actual founding treaty is still off by some years. We still have a chance!"[/color] [color=Beige]"Command shifted tactics,"[/color] Khaled spoke up, [color=Beige]"you know this. It isn't about full-on resistance anymore."[/color] [color=Cadetblue]"Cowards. After everything--[i]everyone[/i] we've lost?"[/color] Rami spit the ground. [color=Cadetblue]"Well, [i]I[/i] heard command has something big planned. A massive effort, coordinated between cells. It'll take time to prepare, but I've heard about some of the cryptic codes, the messages. And I hear the unionites are [i]scared[/i]."[/color] [color=Beige]"Yes,"[/color] Khaled said, lost in thought, then, after a few moments, admitted, [color=Beige]"and it scares [i]me[/i] too, Rami."[/color] He nodded, but kept an even temper. The [i]Masdar[/i] were serious about things to the point of dying for it. [color=Beige]"But for now, it's all about keeping up the pressure, evenly, [i]and[/i] randomly. Riots, targeted strikes, publicity, the Water Justice advocacy,"[/color] he gestured out towards just outside their improvised temporary hideout, [color=Beige]"they're all just another avenue in the fight. In a way we may be stronger than ever now. [i]We have people on the inside.[/i] Beating the Union? No chance. But a chance to [i]shape[/i] it? Perhaps."[/color] [color=Cadetblue]"Careful how you talk, Khaled. All that sympathizing sounds like treason to me."[/color] [color=Beige]"Careful how [i]you[/i] talk, Rami, I'm still your superior [i]and[/i] your elder!"[/color] Rami sighed and sat back in the chair. [color=Cadetblue]"You [i]have[/i] gotten old, Khaled."[/color] [color=Beige]"And you need to grow up already!"[/color] Khaled snapped back. [color=Beige]"Easy to call for fighting when you're not the one sending people to their graves!"[/color] [color=Cadetblue]"No wonder we're in the state we're in."[/color] Rami responded. Khaled stood up to speak, anger in his eyes, but before he could speak a pair of hawkish eyes and voice appeared beside him. "Problems?" The soldier known only as 5-01 spoke, with a lady he was escorting by his side. She seemed apprehensive. No wonder. She must've seen the weapons by his side. And the implication... Rami waved it off before he had the chance to speak. [color=Cadetblue]"I'm going already, I'm going."[/color] "Command wants her briefed." [color=Cadetblue]"Gotcha. Then, after you..."[/color] Rami said as he led Munya into the other room, and Khaled couldn't help smile a little. He knew the young man had a thing for the lady. Before she joined them as a Water Justice activist, she had been through a lot too in her own way, Khaled mused. He had seen the pictures of her with her late husband. And though she may have been a bit older than the youngster, she was wiser too. It seemed there was hope yet... A tense silence filled the room. Khaled glanced at 5-01. With their shifted tactics, he wondered what role was in for [i]them[/i], in that case. [color=Beige]"What have you been up to recently, number one?"[/color] "Classified." Khaled sighed. [color=Beige]"Of course."[/color] Some time later, on the news and assorted media channels... [code] >> News Feed for 2 February, 2062 [*] Second Supply Convoy Raided As Aswan Suffers Unexplained System Glitch. [*] Mysterious Oasis Appears Overnight in Libyan Wastes, Turns Out to Be Holographic X-Chan 'Performance Art.' [*] LOL!!! 😂😂😂 Satirical Union Flag Pictured As Moya™ Company Logo As Minister Revealed to Be Bought Off. [*] Muslims and Christians Unite Around 'Water Saints', Challenges Calls For State Secularism. [*] Second Vertical Algae Super-Farm Goes Live in Dubai: Projects 3% Protein Surplus by Year's End. [*] Self-Immolation at Water Justice Summit Sparks Reforms After 'Algorithmic Water Ransoming' Allegations. [/code] [/hider] [hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjE3OC5mMTk5MGEuUzJGcGN5QmFaVzVwZUEuMA/creattion-demo.regular.webp[/img][/center] [hr] Before Kais knew it, a veritable Wilhelm scream came over the railing of the yacht. Hamid, now-champagne drenched after being caught in the crossfire, looked past him with an impressed look bordering on shock, and when he turned around Kais noticed a bear-like man had joined him in the scuffle, full-on throwing the drunk pestering idiots overboard. Maybe they really [i]should've[/i] joined the other party. After the scene had calmed, as he had made his way to the bar and was about to down his drink, the man came up to him to speak. [quote][color=00aeef]“Hello Kais Zenix. I have been wanting to meet you. I am Alexander Knight, the crew chief for Team Valkyrie. I explained what happened to the guards. They shouldn’t trouble you about what happened. There is always someone who thinks they can offer advice on what pilots do as if they had an inkling of what it really takes to do the job. I explained what the idiots had done. I am a veteran as well. I know we served in different militaries but in case no one has said it to you before. Thank you for your service. It is only because of men like you that others can sleep soundly at night. I hope your evening improves.”[/color][/quote] And Kais scoffed a little, a mixture of amusement and apprehension. Alexander must've gotten the brief about him straight from Al Saqr's media team. 'Veteran' [i]was[/i] their preferred euphemism. It surprised Kais Alexander had decided to use that word, considering that he, as Kais understood it, had been a [i]counter[/i]-terror specialist. Was he pulling his leg too? [color=orange]"We can only hope, can't we?"[/color] He returned the handshake with a nod, leaving it open whether he was answering Alexander's final or second-final sentence. [color=orange]"Mr. Knight. It's unfortunate we would probably have been on opposite sides back then."[/color] Kais had imagined [i]some[/i] background tension in Alexander's comments because of it. He increased the firmness on his handshake before letting go, the tiniest gauge of how people responded, what they were like, what they could -or would- take. But Alexander didn't budge. Ex-military indeed. [color=orange]"Been hearing a lot about you recently, with the troubles in Valkyrie."[/color] He said, a slight return shot, but then hesitated. They may have been on opposite sides back then, like they were now. Or... [i]were[/i] they? Layla said Valkyrie could be trusted. And Kais could probably use some allies. [color=orange]"For what it's worth, I think you're doing a good job, with Paul."[/color] His gaze was tight, and there was a seriousness about him. No posturing now. [color=orange]"Keep an eye on him, and his associates. Between us, brother to brother, there are strange things going on, on the track..."[/color] Just as he began to make his way, he allowed one last comment. [color=orange]"And Mr. Knight... [i]Thanks[/i], for the help back there. Stylish throws too."[/color] Kais gulped his drink in one go, then had a better night. [hr] Kais took his place on the DH sofa after Paul, exchanging a brief annoyed nod in passing. How could he be so upbeat all the time? Every time Kais sat down in the yellow seat he felt such a contrast with the all-function matte-black carbon-reinforced cockpit that had come to feel like a second home at this point. Maybe he should ask around for how others managed it sometime. [quote]So tell me, what's it like in that moment? You're on the grid, ready to go. We can see through your eyes or near to it in the TV feed, almost feel the sweat on your brow and how you feel through the neural link. But what's going through your mind before you hit the throttle when the lights go out?[/quote] Kais sat up in his seat. [color=orange]"There's no feeling like it, Aurora..."[/color] [center][color=red]5[/color].[/center] Around him, he [i]felt[/i] the others. Through his sensors came the small wobbles of the ships around him, the shimmering in the air, the dust and dirt shifting under the purring of their antigrav drives. Ever so slightly. A connection. Slight and distant. But a connection nonetheless. [color=orange]"Compared to here, in this seat? All the politicking, the theatre, the popularity contest? It's gone, and finally you get to feel people for who they truly are."[/color] Yes, he didn't feel alone anymore. Not here. Not on the track. [center][color=red]4[/color].[/center] He inhaled. And a smile came over his face. His heartbeat quickened. Stable, strong, [i]faster[/i]. All that existed was anticipation. Challenge. Life and Death. His skin disappeared, melted into the ambient rumble of the suit, of the track, of the others. He looked at his hands - not even a tremble. And he was ready. [color=orange]"That moment before the drop? It's exhilarating."[/color] [center][color=red]3[/color].[/center] Kais had turned down the audience's audio feed all the way down. Adrenaline raged through his veins. He wasn't just a man anymore. Fire raged through his very neurons. Fire, and electricity, and unspeakable things. His vision tunneled towards the starting lights, the neural link fighting desperately to expand his consciousness back out to all around him. A buzzing sensation. An aliveness one could only get in the most extreme circumstances. [i]Finally[/i]... He exhaled. [color=orange]"And there's a calm there. That's what surprises people. Focus."[/color] [center][color=red]2[/color].[/center] [color=orange]"When those lights go out, Aurora...?"[/color] His eyes never blinked. [color=orange]"There's a feeling you know exactly what to do."[/color] Layla. Ava. Nora. He remembered the crash. He nodded. [i]Keep them behind me.[/i] Westwood. Hart. [i]Take them down.[/i] Han. Neves. His jaw clenched. [i]Take them down.[/i] Makara. Thorsdottiir. [i]Take them down.[/i] P... Paul... A face from the past flashed before his eyes. He felt his hands, the slightest tremble, just a fraction of a second. Kais tsked. He grabbed the controls fast. Eyes back on the road. [color=orange]"There's no fear."[/color] Kais said to Aurora. [color=orange]"No fear. Never. You can't. Not when you're staring down the barrel."[/color] [center][color=red]1[/color].[/center] [color=orange]"You just take aim, and..."[/color] Amy Stirling. Dorian Hornfleur. [i]...Take them down, [color=yellow]Ace[/color]...[/i] [hr]