[hider=Flashback: Final Storm] [hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi44YThhOGEuV2s1WUxUVXRNREUuMA/code.39-logitogo.webp[/img][/center] [hr] [center][h2]Operation Final Storm[/h2][/center] [indent][indent][indent][indent][b]Date[/b]: August 4, 2068 [b]Location[/b]: [ENCRYPTED, [i]ImF1dHMiOnsiImh0dHBzOi8vZXCIXNhbWUifX19fQo=[/i]] [b]Target[/b]: [ENCRYPTED, COORDINATE-UNLOCK: [i]$LOCATION[/i]] [b]Objective[/b]: [ENCRYPTED, COORDINATE-UNLOCK: [i]$LOCATION[/i]] [table][row][cell][center][b]Rebel Forces[/b]:[/center][/cell][cell][center][b]Union Forces[/b]:[/center][/cell][/row] [row][cell][list] [*] YOU ARE ALL WE NEED [*] DO NOT DOUBT. [/list][/cell] [cell][list] [*] IT DOES NOT MATTER. [*] THE WATER WILL FLOW. [/list][/cell][/row][/table] [/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] [hr] [center][b]Soundtrack[/b]: [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fumXBGbpAk]Paul Ruskay - Mission Failed[/url][/b][/center] The Masdar had been scattered, their supply lines severed, relegated to stochastic terror more than anything. Still, for months, rumors circulated: coordinated strikes across all remaining cells. Targets were not chosen out of strategy, but for the shock value. The official name never made it into the field, but every now and again the higher ups could be heard whispering about [i]The Coming Storm[/i]. Its mission objectives were locked behind encryption until they reached their targets: civilian infrastructure, symbolic strikes, seeding chaos in important Union hubs. Entire districts, water pipelines, medical depots, even refugee shelters, were marked as pressure points. A dozen or so of the Union's largest hub-cities would thirst. [i]Together[/i], of course... all according to the Unionists's ideology. Its touted networked efficiency would collapse into civil strife and competition for what resources remained, and the Union's legitimacy, would collapse with it, wiping the slate clean. A salting of the earth. Or water, to be exact. It was as petty and desperate as it would prove to be ultimately ineffective. For ZNX-5-01, the operation began in a dark basement. Two handlers recited a keyphrase of meaningless syllables into his ear that made dormant parts of him unlock. Aggression exploded inwards, dopamine flooded his systems, and 5-01 felt color come into his world in the knowledge that violence was the only way. It surprised him that somewhere in the back of his mind, a calmer part of him was shocked, but that too was soon taken over by the giddy containment, ready to be let loose. Before deployment Command broke up the ties that had formed in the years prior. 5-01 was separated from Rami and Khaled. New fireteams were created, with no other explanations beyond 'orders'. But as 5-01 made his way towards his assigned team, another genomod soldier with the same build and blank eyes brushed past him, slipping into what was supposed to be [i]his[/i] newly-assigned team. The commanders didn't even notice it in the chaos of their preparations, but 5-01 and ION-2-02 shared a knowing look: both of them knew who they [i]really[/i] wanted to be beside when it all went down, no matter what the programming said. 5-01 donned his helmet, obscuring his serial code, and re-joined his old [s]fireteam[/s]... friends? As their craft swerved through the city streets, they all sat in solemn silence until the target objective came through: a critical desalination district. Its checkpoints were quickly taken, and the fight made itself inside. Workers screamed, Union defenders shouted, and 5-01 pressed on. When he reached his target, he saw Rami across from him with water-soluble beads of metabolism disruptors. "Traitors'll get what they deserve now," he whispered under his breath, his jaw tense, his eyes hard, a rage which 5-01 to his horror recognized as his own. Rami had always had a youthful recklessness, but now there was something truly fanatical in his eyes. He yelled of torching neighborhoods, of doing whatever they needed to do to draw the Union into the fight, and in that moment, Kais knew Rami wasn't bluffing. 5-01 tried to convince himself he could pull him back from the brink. He told himself a lot of things before his finger found the trigger. The [i]bang[/i] echoed in his chest. Rami staggered, eyes bulging. "Did you just shoot me!?" Rami gasped. "What the fuck!?" 5-01 came forward and grabbed his shoulder, then took his pack from him with not so much as a word. Rami was confused. "So what, you're with [i]them[/i] now?" 5-01 said nothing. "Tell me you’re still in there somewhere!" A butterfly skittered past their faces. A ridiculous moment, just as out of place here as it was in Aswan, and 5-01 couldn't help following it, and Rami's eyes widened with a pang of recognition. "Hey, you like butterflies?" 5-01, amidst the roar of alarms, nodded, just barely, and Rami grabbed 5-01's shoulders and pleaded. "Don't you dare forget me you fucker! Swear to me you’ll make it worth something!" 5-01 swore. Khaled appeared in the chaos, eyes wide as he rushed towards them. He wailed over the body, but 5-01 took his kit off of him, and pushed him away. "Bail," he said, his voice barely audible through the madness. "Get away. Now." Khaled hesitated, then turned and vanished into the evacuee stream. There 5-01 stood, dropped his rifle, and stepped into the Union enforcement lines. Two Union rounds found him: one into his side, one through his arm. He went down, and lay still. "Surrender," he said. A sedative was rammed into his veins, and the last thing he saw before blackness was a soldier talking into a radio about a live specimen capture. Then, isolation. Isolation, dissection, and re-programming, years of it. But that, at least, was a fate [i]he[/i] had chosen. [/hider] [hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjE3OC5mMTk5MGEuUzJGcGN5QmFaVzVwZUEuMA/creattion-demo.regular.webp[/img][/center] [hr] [center][h2][color=gold]Episode Ten: Changing Conditions[/color][/h2][/center] [hr] "How are you feeling?" Salma's voice was soft, but her eyes never moved from him, and Kais saw a glint of worry. They were in the medical wing, where Kais had just had his blood pressure and hormonal composition taken - aced them, of course. As for how he was feeling? Now that was another matter. Kais didn't answer immediately. He stared at his hands: not even a tremble. [color=orange]"Blood pressure's fine. You have the numbers,"[/color] "That's not what I asked." She studied him, waiting for all the micro-expressions she was taught to see. [color=orange]"It's... familiar to me,"[/color] he said after a small while. [color=orange]"Not the first time I've gone through a storm and someone didn't come back from it."[/color] "Do you think you should have seen this coming?" Kais breathed out through his nose, pushing himself to his feet. The chair legs scraped on the floor. His eyes stayed on the wall instead of hers. He clenched his fists. [color=orange]"[i]Final Storm[/i] was supposed to be the end of me. But it wasn't. And I swore to someone that day, that I'd make all that hell we went through, but..."[/color] He trailed off. [i]Braindead[/i]. [color=orange]"[i]I[/i] pushed for the upgrades then because I thought we could really [i]do[/i] something... And now, here [i]I[/i] am. And [i]she[/i] isn't."[/color] Salma lowered her tablet slightly, gaze softening. "Do you blame yourself for her, too?" Kais' jaw tensed, a flicker of a feeling broke through before he forced it back down. [color=orange]"This isn't helping. Session's over."[/color] And that was that. [hr] The announcement came as a bland piece of PR: Hamid Atlassi would be stepping up to fill Layla's seat until further notice. The official reason was 'health-related absence.' Comments section of chat groups and discussion forums were filled with prayers, conspiracies, people re-calculating projected points on spreadsheets, and a few came from other junior-leaguers wishing Hamid luck, along with some well-wishes to Layla, whom they would have gotten to know when she had taken some time for them off-camera. And Hamid did his part well, hiding the strange tension. He had always been loyal to the team, through many hours of test laps, finding the limits in their new prototype setups. But stepping into Layla's shoes was different. Her ship's neural link had been re-tuned, stripped of Layla's limit-breaking configurations, but Kais caught the hesitation in Hamid's eyes as he went in for the first time. The crew adjusted to him quickly, but there were still whispers: Hamid was no Layla. He didn't have her connection to the ship, her pushing of limits. He was competent, promising, but he was just so... [i]ordinary[/i]. Kais and Hamid never really did get along, but Kais did offer a curt nod. [color=orange]"You're not [i]replacing[/i] her,"[/color] he said, but neither of them fully believed it. [color=orange]"You listen to the race engineers, and you tell Nadia [i]every[/i] weird sensation, even the ones that make you feel stupid, understood?"[/color] Hamid nodded. [color=orange]"And when they stick a mic in your face? [i]Don't[/i] follow my lead,"[/color] and Hamid almost smiled. [hr] [center][color=gold][h2]Interviews//Interviews//Interviews[/h2][/color][/center] His hair still damp from the Belgian rain that was Spa-Francorchamps, Kais took up most space on the yellow couch, and felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb sandwiched between the petite Ward and Mulder. [quote][color=yellow]“Does anyone else feel like they are on the seat outside the dean’s office?”[/color][/quote] Kais sighed. [color=orange]"Like the talking-to they gave me after the Jamie incident wasn't enough... Serves him right, though. Idiot."[/color] [quote][color=yellow]“I mean I can see why Kais and Bea would be tagged troublemakers. I thought I was framed as the golden boy or gentleman like Dorian. What did I do to earn being lumped in with the bad boys and girls of the paddock?”[/color][/quote] [color=orange]"You know what you did."[/color] Kais answered. He put on his most serious face, but in all honesty he didn't know either. It was fun watching Paul's hamster wheel turn, though. Then Aurora spoke up. Were the cameras running this entire time? [quote]"Beatrix, Kais, Paul, welcome back to Delta Hyper. How were your Summer Holidays?"[/quote] [color=orange]"We worked hard,"[/color] Kais said when it was his turn. [color=orange]"Lots of simulator hours and test laps with Hamid. Takes a while to break in the new ones on actual Delta Hyper circuits."[/color] He grimaced a bit. [color=orange]"Old ones too. I watched a lot of on-boards of last race."[/color] He shifted uncomfortably, and didn't admit that really, it was only [i]one[/i] he had looked at a lot. Then, for a second the cameras would have seen the edge slip off of him, just slightly. [color=orange]"And I went to see some lions,"[/color] he added, as if it was the most natural thing coming from him. [color=orange]"[i]Prides of Africa[/i]'s new de-extinction program up in Egypt. Barbary lion's goin to be making a comeback."[/color] He shrugged. [color=orange]"That was my holiday."[/color] Later, during Qualy, he crossed the line P10. It wasn't good. It wasn't terrible either. [quote]"Kais, we won't go into the change that Layla has been replaced by Hamid, but how are you working with a fellow rookie in Al-Saqr, at such a critical point in the season? Do you think that position he took reflects him learning the ship in qualifying today?"[/quote] [color=orange]"Hamid's been Al Saqr's test pilot for some time now, probably knows our craft better than anyone. Learning the new tracks is more important at this point, and it's what we're focused on."[/color] And on the race day Kais got in 8th. [quote]"Kais, an impressive recovery, coming up from 10th to 8th today. While Spa might not have been your preferred circuit, what's your feeling on the momentum that Al-Saqr have this season, and would you say you're trading the handling focussed circuits for the ones where your ship will perform better?"[/quote] [color=orange]"We have to play to our strengths."[/color] Kais said, drying the sweat off his neck. [color=orange]"And that's speed for us, and the willingness to go there. Well, for me, at least."[/color] Kais glanced at Hamid... [color=orange]"We may not have the handling, but we'll make up for it with punches on the straights. We keep going. That's enough. For now."[/color] Hamid's first DH race had ended with a crash, an unfortunate run-in with Kofi. The first time he came back to the pits, he kept his confident pose, but his hands trembled behind his back, and his eyes didn't know where to look. Kofi came up to them in the paddock to apologize, slap their newcomer on his shoulder and tell them to have a good night's sleep. The team cheered for him, but back in the garage Kais saw the replay of Hamid pulling the neural link in borderline panic. First crashes were always difficult, he thought. Then later Hamid told Nadia and Remi in a hushed voice that "I was counter-steering and just when the crash was about to happen it was like... I [i]lost[/i] control just for a second there. I've never had anything like it happen. Phantom feedback, or something." He shook his head. "I sound insane." "Phantom sensations can be common on new neural links, the systems have to learn to work with you also," Nadia said carefully. "We'll check the logs." Nadia and Kais glanced at each other with some shared suspicion, and Kais spoke up. [color=orange]"You'll run my ship next time, see if you like the setup better. I'll take number 17."[/color] Hamid blinked at him, half-grateful, half-suspicious. Kais didn’t elaborate. He just set a hand on the battered hull of Layla's old craft as if testing its temperature, then walked away. [hr] For the entire month now the Al Saqr team had been busy with work on Layla and her ship. Restless code and data reviews, in triplicate. Brain measurements, trying to figure out [i]what[/i] had happened. But nothing. Remi Tewe pinched and rotated a 3D visualization of the before and after of the neural model Layla's ship had used. "There's nothing there. The Apex data cache is clean. Whatever malicious might have been there, it's gone now. If it's embedded itself in the network weights, that's going to be hell to debug, but we're working hard on it. I can insert some alerts to monitor it, and we're working with the experts at CryoDigital, combing through the networks to piece together what they can. But I'd say it'd be almost easier to start over with Hamid." "No." Omar didn't even raise his voice. "As you said, it's safe. We'll sift through the networks," Omar said. After the meeting, he kept Remi, Kais and Nadia behind and read to them a document. [center][b]The Last Testament of Layla Al-Nadir[/b] I, Layla Al-Nadir, being of sound mind, not acting under duress or undue influence, do declare that this is my Last Will and Testament. I posit that the human body is fragile and may fail, but that the mind need not fall with it. Thus, in the event that my body may have rendered in such a state commonly referred to as 'biologically dead', I hereby authorize the capture, instantiation and further development of my cognitive data by trusted Executors and Guardians. I expressly disallow for this data or any derivations to be destroyed or deleted, except under limited legal conditions of unacceptable risk, or by request from a demonstrably sound of mind branch instance of myself. To this effect, I appoint Nadia Yassine, Remi Tewe, Kais Zenix and Omar Hayawi as my Executors and Guardians for the management of my data, including authorization of further instantiations, and guarding my rights post-mortem. My biological care should continue only as necessary to gain a maximally accurate cognitive image. A Layla Al-Nadir Trust shall be established from my possessions and sponsorships to fund this operation and its continued maintenance. It is my wish that any derived instance of me be granted autonomy to continue my work in research, advocacy, and related endeavors. My personality rights and intellectual property shall remain intact as dictated by the civil law of the Arabic Union, with recognition of interplanetary by-laws where applicable. [i]We are wonders wrapped in tissue paper, going through a dangerous world. But we don't have to be. We could soar the clouds.[/i] - [b]Layla Al-Nadir[/b][/center] And Kais' eyes opened wide. If there was [i]any[/i] chance... [color=orange]"There's only one person I trust with this."[/color] [hr] [center][h2][color=gold]Episode Eleven: The Green Hell[/color][/h2][/center] [hr] The Mulder fundraising was an absolute blur. The amount of children he had to smack on the back of the neck for refusing to put on their gas masks when they spray painted the cycle was ridiculous. [color=orange]"You want artificial lungs now already?"[/color] seemed to do the trick, in the end. Still, it wasn't just a blur in that it was chaos. It was a blur because it went by so surprisingly quickly and, luckily, without any too-interesting 'incidents', so to say. In fact, it went by rather enjoyably. Kais saw Paul talk in interview after interview, and he was glad it was him doing it - not just because it wasn't [i]Kais[/i] having to do the interviews, but because Paul really seemed to be in his element. And in the end, the media vultures hadn't been able to get a picture of Kais on the dance floor. Kais couldn't dance, after all. But he did raise Paul and the rest of the pilots a drink with a smile. [i]#ForAuldrick[/i] [hr] The two looked at each other as Florence dropped into Kais' ship's expanded seat floating over the Nuremberg track, like they didn't know what to do with each other. Except for drive fast, of course. [color=orange]"Florence."[/color] "Kais." Then, without another word, he slammed the throttle forward and the ship roared onto the straight. "Who's your idol in Formula AG, past or present?" [color=orange]"No-one."[/color] Florence rolled her eyes. First question and he was already giving Kais-answers. "Oh come on, I don't believe you, not even Starcross?" [color=orange]"Hmm... Used to watch her with the repair guys before I decided to go into racing myself."[/color] "Really? Sounds like there's some admiration there." [color=orange]"Don't twist my words, I'm not a fanboy."[/color] "How about present?" [color=orange]"Beatrix, maybe. She doesn't flinch easily."[/color] Then he made a mental note to test that out someday. He thought some more. "Schnitzel or Strudel?" [color=orange]"Schnitzel or Strudel?"[/color] "Yeah, it just says that." [color=orange]"Strudel. I like sweet things."[/color] "Do you think about anything else while racing? Or is it just 'faster, faster, faster' in there?" [color=orange]"Faster?"[/color] He pushed the throttle and bared his teeth. Florence uttered a [color=red][bleeped][/color]-out curse as Kais swerved around an S-curve. [color=orange]"Don't pry too much, Florence, you wouldn't like what you'd find."[/color] "Who in the paddock would you ship as a couple?" Kais snickered internally. There was only one answer, obviously. [color=orange]"Paul, with literally anyone else."[/color] He was glad he learned what 'shipping' even was recently. [color=orange]"Or Amy and Han, they'd make short work of each other. Problem solved."[/color] [i]Or conquer the world, more likely.[/i] Kais thought to himself. "Best BBQ host?" [color=orange]"Kofi. Always brings a lot of food."[/color] "What's your dream historic car, money no object?" [color=orange]"Hmm, I don't like the mass produced ones..."[/color] All his own motorcycles were kitbashed Frankensteins, customs and concepts as well. Some didn't even run, but he liked them that way. It was the idea, the art of it that was important. He thought for a moment, then answered. [color=orange]"Cadillac Cyclone. Had radar cones for collision detection then already. Could be useful for certain people..."[/color] "What would you prefer, a race on Mars or at the bottom of the ocean?" [color=orange]"Ocean. I've had quite enough of space, thanks."[/color] For a millisecond he wanted to say 'Mars'. Strange how he felt Layla's influence even now... "Things that people might not know about you?" Kais said nothing for a few turns, then answered: [color=orange]"I can't sleep without noise. Fans, clocks. Silence means something's broken or something bad's about to happen. Anything that hums helps."[/color] When they emerged after the lap, Florence had her arm around Kais, still slightly off balance. Kais' style wasn't for everyone, he figured. [color=orange]"Good sport."[/color] he said. [hr]