It's almost nostalgic.That was Special Liaison Lei Qingshe's predominant thought, as the infiltration convoy sailed down the Mekong River, packed like sardines into two small boats. In the lead boat, with Noel, Myron and Ernesto, the Snake largely kept to herself, her body clad in standard military garments and gear. She was fiddling with a rifle in her lap, one she'd made herself, of course, even if it was the same as those her comrades were carrying. Today was a rare opportunity to see Qingshe actually make an effort to fly below the radar, having donned the trappings of the mundane and even going so far as to physically modify her green hair to a short, wavy jet black, no longer flying free and strikingly colorful. She looked like any other soldier you might meet, if perhaps a bit more beautiful than the average, but she'd gone out of her way to actually combat her own "perfection", deliberately applying a number of those little visual flaws that every person had to one degree or another.
She hadn't spoken much this whole time, having remained apparently lost in thought.
How long had it been since she shed the skin of an Arms Master and worn mundane garb? How long had it been since she'd actually needed to play things safe? How long had it been since she'd actually resorted to mundane weaponry and methods? It was honestly amazing to consider in hindsight. It felt like so long ago that she was just another conscripted soldier, being sent on borderline suicide missions just because she was a replaceable face in the crowd. Her country had so many Arms Masters at their disposal, that they could afford to
waste them, and until she had proven her worth, she'd just been one more expendable asset at their disposal.
Those were not good times, not even the times after -once she'd officially donned the title of
The Snake, but in some strange part, she couldn't help but look back on them fondly, almost like they were "simpler times". She knew that was nonsense, of course, probably some level of Stockholm Syndrome in spite of everything, but China was her home. It hurt to see what it had become these days...
As the convoy of two boats passed through the first chain checkpoint seemingly without issue, Qingshe finally put into action a plan she'd been concocting since before they'd even left. She hadn't said anything about it at the time, not back then and not in an official sense, as it was clear that -regardless of her efforts- ASEAN had severe information leaks. The enemy always seemed far too prepared, far too ready at just the right time and place, had even concocted plans with countermeasures specifically attuned to members of the Obsidian Task Force. Therefore, the only safe plan was one that was made on the spot, mid mission.
Slowly standing from her position, as the second checkpoint came into sight, Qingshe squeezed through the other people in the boat to lean over Myron's shoulder, her voice a whisper that anyone else would struggle to hear.
"Eyes forward. No need to respond," she spoke, as one hand came down to rest beneath his right arm, her oozing shadow bubbling out from beneath it into his lap, unseen. Her hand pulled upwards, withdrawing a small, circular device that looked almost like a landmine. Though its purpose was far more benign. Holding the device up just enough that Myron could glimpse it, the fingers of her other hand casually teased open a pouch, sliding the device inside.
"This device will emit a powerful and secure wireless signal," she whispered.
"It will be connceted solely to several other similar devices and should serve you well as a transport beacon. This one shall act as your anchor to the network, which I shall be setting up once we make landfall." She didn't elaborate further, but she hardly needed to. It would be obvious to someone with Myron's power that this would give the team exceptional mobility... provided the Snake could set up the network fast enough.
Her piece said, Qingshe stepped back and returned to her seat. The second checkpoint was looming ever closer, and her gaze narrowed at the dark bunkers and the former "comrade" she could see within the left one, The Dragon, Huo Ren.
What is he doing here? She couldn't help the thought being tinged with over frustration, lamenting the OPSEC of ASEAN once more. Huo Ren, after all, happened to be a particularly specific counter to Noel's own power. Oh, sure, there were plenty of other people and Noble Arms he "countered" simply through sheer firepower, but still, Qingshe couldn't help but think his presence here was no coincidence.
And then Huo Ren summoned a sun, and a lot of things started happening in rapid succession.The second light bloomed in the sky, Qingshe had reflexively spread her shadow about the floor of the boat she was in, tensely staring up in internal disbelief that their cover was blown so totally and without hesitation. She barely paid attention to the back and forth between Noel and Huo, only flying into motion once Ernesto took the initiative in Huo Ren's distraction.
As the burly man had guessed, the Snake was quite familiar with handling herself, and in this moment, she dropped into her shadow near entirely, a strip of her ooze flowing over the side of the boat onto the surface of the water and flashing toward the shore in seconds. Qingshe dove under without hesitation, briefly catching sight of the other boat being catapulted towards the shore by Marta's Noble Arm.
And then, the Snake's vision was swallowed by her darkness. For a moment she was alone, able to rage to herself just a little in the privacy of her shadowy world, swimming through an endless sea of thrumming black and green ooze. Her thoughts were a whirlwind that was rapidly being tempered by rationality, as she searched for the best way to salvage this. Yes, she had considered the possibility, but she hadn't expected things to go tits up this fast!
There's a major leak! There has to be! She found it hard to comprehend that the enemy could always be this ready for them! At least she had made some preparations.. So... yes, this should still be workable. She was feeling a bit calmer now, her temper less incited by the spurt of annoyance. She was just... so
sick and tired of things not going to plan. Was that so much to ask for? Maybe it was. But she was perhaps used to it by now. Regardless, this was no time for lollygagging. Every second she was here was a second she wasn't helping Task Force Obsidian survive this ambush.
As she carefully peeked back out of her shadow, which now composed a small puddle on the shoreline, the world Qingshe returned to was one of darkness, madness and blood. Clearly, Alonso had unleashed his power, and the results were distasteful to see, friend tearing into friend in a maddened frenzy of violence and waste of human lives. Screams of fear, rage and agony filled the night air, and the area was rapidly becoming far more akin to the gruesome sight of an open battlefield.
Noel and Myron were facing off against two Arms Masters that hadn't been there before. A trail of destruction had a been carved in the direction of the prison camps, which was probably where Marta and Nil had gotten off to. Qingshe could see no sight of Huo Ren or his sun, nor the three other members of the Task Force that had come along, so she had to assume the Dragon's absence was the doing of one of them.
Which meant she was not in a position to deal with him herself.
Lucky him. I'm not in the mood to play around today. Lips tightening, Qingshe glanced around, eyes fixing in the direction of the prison camps. She decided on her target, deciding Noel and Myron could handle themselves. Besides, if her plan went the way she was hoping, she'd be helping them regardless, even without personally aiding them in battle. For now, the priority was the mission they'd actually come here for.
Meanwhile, elsewhere inside Qingshe's shadow, inside a vast complex of black and green cyberpunk aesthetics, there was a room. There were many like it, of course, but this one was especially set aside for more militant matters. The room was a large, circular affair, occupied primarily by a massive roundtable, lined with chairs. In the center above this table, there dominated a holographic display, upon which was displayed a running feed of information.
There was a visual display that had only moments prior shown the team's stealth being very much compromised. Another display showed a running record of every bit of speech that Qingshe heard, sorted by who had spoken it and the context, as best she was able to provide, granting onlookers a running transcript of the situation. This feed had briefly cut off moments prior, as the Snake ducked into her shadow to make evasive maneuvers, before reestablishing to the sight of overt carnage. Noel's power was in full effect, and the bloody rampage of its victims was already making mass casualties... along with even apparently revealing more enemy Arms Masters.
"I don't like this." Qingshe's voice came from overhead, as if from speakers, practically omnipresent in the room's space.
"How could things go this badly already?" The feed was moving quickly now, zipping across the landscape, as Qingshe slipped between the maddened masses while half submerged in her shadow. Her gaze kept drawing towards the trail of destruction left by Marta's launched boat, only to flick over to where Myron and Noel were, as the insane enemy slaughtered themselves in droves.
"Is this the power he's been talking about making use of all this time?" Her voice was quite lacking in levity, an apparent rarity.
"It's quite amazingly horrible."“First off, gonna need you to turn down the volume a tad. Hearing’s still a bit sensitive.” The Greek volunteer sat in the shadow world created by Qingshe with his Noble Arm active, scanning and compiling the information being presented as best he can. Even still, he wasn’t a genius, and some thoughts were cast to the wayside for the sake of attempting to be prepared. But the sight of the carnage wrought by the power of Noel’s scythe made his stomach turn.
Thank heaven that’s on our side.After spending a few seconds rubbing his thoughts together and praying for a spark, the beginnings of a plan came together. More a concept than anything, but a concept founded in logic and reasoning.
“So, the Lieutenant’s Noble Arm is this, huh? Makes the nun seem almost pleasant.” Even as he spoke, his thoughts were branching out, trying to figure out a solution to at least
a problem with the time and knowledge they had.
“Three comrades and the paper dragon are gone. Four unaccounted Arms Masters appear, and now we’re getting shot at by a flying lady. Not great.”And still, he kept looking for a way to success, regardless of the odds. It was truly all he could do. And then, a bold thought popped into his head.
Three on two’s better odds when the two are green to begin with. It was not the most sound plan, or even a surefire strategy for combat, but Nico was more than confident in his swordplay. And the focus of Sunsetter only made him more sure of this tactic. Even if the battle dragged on, his absolute trump card would be enough. It had to be.
“I can take the two green Arms Masters with Lieutenant Alonso and the greaser. Got a way to put me near them?” "Hmm?" There was a note of interest in Qingshe's voice, before the volume lowered ever so slightly.
"And here I was sure I was keeping things fairly mild. Enhanced senses?" She chuckled.
"How interesting." The words were playful, as usual, but her heart didn't seem fully in it.
In the corner of the visual feed, Qingshe's gaze could be seen passing around the outside of one of the bunkers and ducking behind a bush, her hand reaching into view to secure a circular device to the side of the structure. This, Nico could easily identify, was one of the wireless beacons the Snake had promised to Myron to assist the team's mobility.
The holographic data feed had another display. This one was pulsing with signals on a map, the positions of all the beacons Qingshe had set down so far. One still on the intact boat she had rode on. One on the shoreline where she'd first touched down. Another on the side of the left bunker. One in Myron's possession, and another far back down the Mekong river on a distant shoreline, a prepared escape route and evacuation point to transfer prisoners to if need be.
A grim little chuckle escaped Qingshe, as she glanced back at Noel and Myron.
"Yes, I can get you there easily enough." Her gaze tracked to the figure in the sky.
"And I... shall deal with Ai Chen." There was a strangely vehement loathing in her tone.
"It's long past time we settled things, and based on what I know of her... proclivities... I shudder to imagine what she'd be doing at a prison camp."In the visual feed, Qingshe's shadow shot across the battlefield in a strip only inches across, the tip blooming into an opening of several feet once it got near Noel and Myron. Down inside the room Nico occupied, a section of the very air seemed to bubble and melt, creating a humming gateway to his allies.
Despite himself, Nico smiled softly, trying to seem brave in the face of uncertain odds and unforeseen events. Hearing the words of the Snake but not feeling the conviction made him want to bring a bit of levity to the moment.
“I’ll tell you what: if you kill Ai Chen before I can beat these newbies, I’ll owe you a favor within reason and vice versa. Fair?”A foolish thing to say in an active war zone with two enemy Zodiacs and god knows what else, but Nico knew how to dispel his own doubts. Stray thoughts were death, and he refused to die until he was ready for the inevitable. Even if Qingshe was a snake, she was still a comrade, and a good one at that.
She stuck up for me before Mischief Reef. I’ll repay her someday. I must.He walked towards the gateway and looked through it, gripping his Noble Arm tightly. He had to make it back, so he could sleep another night. To save someone else. To prove he could be someone reliable.
“Well, there’s my stop. I’ll be back when I’m done.” As he prepped his thoughts, he whispered a thank you and a quick prayer, before leaping through the gateway.
As Nico finally took to the field and left her shadow, Qingshe huffed to herself, racing towards the prison camps and closer to where she was sure Marta and Nil had disappeared to. The POW camp was nearing with every step, as she had left her shadow entirely by now, the bubbling ooze racing underfoot in a small radius around her. She was still wearing the disguise she had donned prior... Though, unbeknownst to any here, this "disguise" was just a return to an old visual form, the Qingshe of the past, long before she had modified her body in her transhumanist pursuits... before she had become the
Snake.
Mostly to herself, long after Nico would have been in a position to hear it, she also muttered,
"Hah... don't be ridiculous. This isn't the time to be making bets." Golden eyes shifted towards the sky and the ongoing rain of light arrows, her lips curling into a snarl of disdain, as her pupils narrowed to reptilian slits.
"I'm simply setting the record straight, just like I should have..."-from the very start.
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