“I will, thanks dad.” The communication screen then went blank as Sam let out a long sigh. I hope he knows what he’s doing. She saw the man next to her signaling her to head out. She made her way back to the exit, and as she passed through, she saw Dani waiting a few steps away.

“My boss and my brothers say they talked to your father. Very famous man. Says we are lucky to have you.”

“Huh? You know him?” she asked, surprised.

“Brothers say he was a famous Harbinger with lots of money and strong connections. He is Hexa now, right?” she asked as she pulled up his picture over her mobile on holographic display. “See? He is, uh,” she sputtered over the word ‘logistics’. “This man. He is sending us much better things tomorrow. He even is sending us the boxes that do the reading you say to us, what was it…”

“The NOx sensors, right, I heard earlier.”

“Yes. Those are almost here already, coming to other compounds.” She then flipped the screen to another page with the package contents. “Please tell him thanks for the new trucks he will deliver us. Very nice man to give us so much things we didn’t pay for.”

“He can be very charitable when he feels people have been screwed over, which we kind of had been,” Sam said off to the side before looking back to Dani. “I will help out with anything you need with the packages, but I have to explain some important technology details with Sebastian. When will he be back?”

“Sebastian? He will be back around midnight.”

“Midnight?! But isn’t the delivery tomorrow?”

“Yes. He will come home, take you and everyone to delivery site to wait.” Dani then smirked at the thought Sam might just be wanting to be with him more than anything. But before she could talk, her communicator went off as she turned it to the main channel. [What happened?] she said to herself, ready to listen in.

[Compound 4 Kennedy North has been hit hard. Communications from within are down. Explosives used. Many trucks inbound.]

[Shit,] Dani seethed as she turned and headed back for the garage. “Stay here! Don’t go out!” she firmly ordered Sam without turning around.

Norte, Sam mentally repeated the word she overheard as she grew concerned. That means north, so, that’s over that way, she continued in thought, walking outside to the same balcony as the night before, looking over to her left. “That.” She saw smoke billowing up from over and beyond the rooftops blocking her view. “They must be under attack.” She then looked down to see two trucks leaving, each with four passengers inside. I don’t know what they plan on doing with so few people. They really are stretched far too thin, she said to herself, not noticing she had developed concern for them. She then quickly walked back inside, down the hallway, and toward the elevator that led to the ground level with intent to catch up to Danni but found a man standing guard.

[No guests allowed.]

“Can you please let me down there? I think I could help somehow!”

[No guests. Go back.]

Sam gave up on trying to force her way through words, headed back to where she was, and looked for the communications room only to find it guarded and blocked off, too. “They weren’t kidding when they said stay inside. Shit.”

▽　▽　▽

Time and transition was not as kind to Kennedy North, evident by the much larger amount of concrete buildings that didn’t use the same protective layering as most modern cities had, leaving most of the surfaces appearing unfinished. The lack of routine maintenance also added to the visible disparity between here and the areas more towards downtown. As smoke crawled down one alley and spilled into the main street, a pair of Gamma LTAC frames could be seen approaching quickly up the main street from the distance.

Sebastian, piloting his next to next to Renzo’s, had his visor showing him the location of the compound under attack in sight. They headed down an empty drainage ditch to avoid traffic, trying to keep on course. [At least they got that sensor kit put up. Still no NOx trails detected. I think we are looking at ground only.]

[No shells fired so far, just bombs and rockets. Get the gas rounds ready,] he heard Renzo reply over the channel.

Sebastian turned up the ramped ditch wall, eased up on the boosters, and allowed himself to get his feet and wheels on the ground before turning the corner at the empty intersection. From there he could see the compound burning in the distance, quickly cranking up his forward speed. The closer he got, the more he had to be wary of the bystanders that grew in number. Why aren’t these streets cleared?! Have they gone mad?! Some had already paid heed to the yellow and red flashing light mounted on his shoulder, but most had remained an obstacle. [Clear the path! I don’t want anyone hurt!] he shouted over his loudspeaker.

Unable to get anyone to listen, he angled his grenade launcher and fired a pair of gas rounds for the compound. The loud thud got most in the area to run for cover, allowing him room to boost-jump into the grass clearing next to the compound’s main building. He slowly lowered himself to an area that just cleared of assailants and saw the main garage door about 20 meters away still with intruders gathered around trying to rush inside for cover. [Leave the compound at once! Anyone found inside will be taken down!] he shouted over the loudspeaker again.

He knew there wouldn’t be many listening as he aimed his shotgun attachment to the ground in front of him, discharging a shell. The deafening blast caused a shockwave reaction around him as the scattering crowd outside scampered away more hastily. From inside the garage a few intruders began to cower away and out towards the broken fence. [Last warning! I will continue to use deadly force!] he shouted again, this time aiming his attachment for the door. He scanned the area, not seeing anyone in that vicinity ID’d as Galeano members.

[Bas, I got the entrance cleared of any small arms activity. Are the rest holed up inside?] Renzo spoke over their channel.

Sebastian was already growing beyond nervous, knowing it was to be a race against time before reinforcements would become a quick, easy option for them. [Right, got maybe twenty or more inside. Hold on.] He then walked over to improve his firing angle, put his reticle over the back wall of the garage, waiting for movement. [Where is Dani?! Where are the rest of our guys? I don’t want to blow this whole joint up!]

[They’re inbound; give them about thirty seconds!] he replied before hearing a beep on his NOx sensor relay. [Wait, is that the new detection equipment? There’s no one in the room to tell us what or where. Bas, back up.]

Dani pulled around the last intersection before seeing the same street Sebastian used on his approach, seeing both MI-r’s standing amidst clouds of thick gas and smoke as coughing and dazed assailants slowly cleared the area. [Safeties off!] she shouted over her radio. [Bas gave the last warning order. Get in and run a full sweep!] But as her truck and the one behind her drew closer to the outer fencing area she saw Sebastian and Renzo’s mechs turn around the other way. [What is it, brothers?]

Sebastian started to run explosives scans towards the direction of those fleeing. [Dani, take everyone inside and get to work. Something is going on outside. New sensors went off. You’re not safe out here.]

[Do you know how to use those, yet?] she asked as she pulled inside the compound and into just to the right outer wall of the garage entrance. She then signaled everyone out as they lined up on the wall preparing for infiltration. She then tightened her tactical vest before quickly filing in front of the line, shouldering her rifle.

Sebastian waited in futility for a response. [We are blind without someone inside to read the parameters. All we know is there are detections, and I don’t have any explosives showing up.] Things started to fall uncomfortably quiet around them. [Renzo, what’s your call?]

[At least let Dani get her side figured out. Control, make sure the rescue response stays the hell away for now!]

▽　▽　▽

Sam had been pacing frantically around the breakroom for some time as made evident by the guard’s reactions. Now that pressure was on, trying to recall all those years of elementary Spanish was becoming next to impossible. She then took a seat, propping her head over her clenched fists. Think, think! If this is what I assume it is, they don’t have a clue how to utilize those new NOx sensors this early in the game. Just need one good line to get in there. She took a few long breaths before she started doodling over the table top with her right index finger. “Got it,” she said to herself as she stood up and started for the guard once again. “Sebastian… esta en… peligro.”

“Cómo?” he spoke back to her with a raised brow.

“Esta en peligro!” she repeated. “Yo puedo… ayudar! Puedo ayudar!” she continued with increasing exasperation.

“Esperate,” he told her as he turned around to the others, speaking something incoherent before looking back to her moments later. “Cómo puedes ayudar?”

Sam began making more frustration circles in place before hearing a familiar voice:

[I need help with these readings! Whole compound is not responding! Please respond!]

She couldn’t make out what was said but she knew for certain it was Sebastian’s voice, triggering what to say next to the man. “That, that! Puedo ayudar! Puedo ayudar!”

“Nh? En serio?”

“Hey!” she heard another man near him shouting, signaling the guard to let her through as he looked to her and said: “You! You need to come help. No one doesn’t comprehend Hexa’s bad instruction,” much to her surprise and offense.

Are you serious!? “You…-!?” she thought to herself wide-eyed in rage as she started to walk through. “Alright, I need to talk to Sebastian!” she said to him as she tried desperately to calm down, narrowly staving off the urge to hurl insults at the officer.

He handed her a headset that she quickly put on. “Sebastian, do you hear me?” she said with a click of the main switch.

“Samantha?” she heard his bewildered voice. “What are you doing in there!”

“Do you have the NOx sensor relay installed in your Gamma frame?”

“Yes, but nobody didn’t get any time to start reading the instruction. I can’t connect to the main room.”

“No, it is, it has to be by default. You aren’t looking at it right.”

“But all I hear are beeps. Samanatha,” Sebastian now asked in a growingly impatient tone. “I can’t chat. Help me later when I have time,” he said with a click of a button on his headset.

Sam let out a frustrated grumble at her channel being set back as one way. She then started looking around the room. “He doesn’t have time! Where is the main relay screen?!” Her eyes then closed in dejection. Of course. She only got a room full of confused looks. “The main relay! Sebastian and Renzo don’t have time! I need to help them hook up their sensor equipment!” she hollered in desperation; eyes still shut tight in utter frustration. She then started back for the door looking for the man who spoke English earlier.

I fucking swear! Where did that bastard go?! She could then hear indistinct chatter between several of the men starting to spread around the room. “Everyone, this is important!” She then started having another small breakdown with the language barrier becoming unbearable under such pressure.

Renzo took a few steps back toward the compound and away from the nearest alley he had approached. [Those beeps are getting a bit more frequent, don’t you think?] He then turned his camera behind him. [Dani, eyes for us, please.] He then saw a corner of his screen transmitting to him the feed from Dani’s headset camera, showing a garage area in ruins, all of their team slowly making progress on the main hallway. [No bodies or ID’s?]

[Not yet, but the ones hiding had rifles. I can’t confirm, but they looked like Deimars.]

[Rocha’s, of course. More foreigner-bought shit,] Renzo replied with a frown before another warning sound had him tense up. [Sebastian! That beeping is getting on my last fucking nerve! Get Cruella back on the line and get her to figure this out before something bad happens, damn it!]

Sam had been looking frantically across the room before hearing Sebastian’s voice pop back up over the intercom.

[There! I put up my NOx sensor detail on display! Now what do we do!?]

Sam could sense the urgency edging out rationality in his voice and words she couldn’t understand, electing instead to start looking around for what he was going on about. She then caught the main display behind her glowing with yellow cloud readouts around the Compound 4 map. “That’s it! That’s what I needed to see!” She then ran over to get a closer look. “Sebastian! Listen to me, transmit your display controls here as well! Can you do that?” Seconds later she saw the interactive screen take over the display, triggering Sam to rush even closer, having to nearly push several men out of the walkway.

“Here, hold on!” She reached up to a few of the toggle menus, knowing by habit where the buttons she needed to be were despite them all being in Spanish, adjusting display parameters until she saw a red pair of path tracing clouds that meandered around the outskirts of the main yellow cloud surrounding the area. Near each leading piece of the red paths was a timestamp. “Shit, Sebastian, the alley to the direct right of Renzo! Approaching active from five seconds ago!” she continued to bark out, completely oblivious to all of the collective ire she had drawn over the past minute.

Renzo could understand that one key word “right” as he turned to an old decrepit concrete parking building that sealed off most of that alley mentioned. He stared to walk straight towards it at a steady pace, left arm reaching for a magazine switch. [Sebastian, get those grenade rounds ready. Changing out mine as well.]

Sebastian heard Renzo’s thruster cooling fans start up as an explosives alarm went off at the rooftops behind them. [Rockets! Don’t jump!] he said with a spin to face their exposed side. [I think they’re waiting for us to make the first move!]

Renzo saw out of the corner of his visor Dani’s men diving in after tossing a smoke grenade, taking down several armed men before they got a clear scan on negative ID’s. [Eyes! What else do you see?] he asked before he got his answer on visual. He saw a slew of ID’d Galeano members’ bodies strewn across the exposed room.

[They slaughtered everyone here,] Sam heard Dani say over the radio as she continued. [It’s shots to the head like Bas saw two days ago. We will keep pushing to clear the building, but they’ve turned to armed executioner mobs.]

Sam then turned her sight to the upper corner of the map, seeing the explosives detections north of Sebastian. “Protocol said we don’t take the first shot. But that’s Infinity’s training. To hell with that shit for now. Hey, Sebastian!” she barked again. “Your grenades either take out that office floor or those rockets take out the apartments near Renzo! You’re screwed either way! Don’t let that hold you back!”

“No, better idea,” she heard him respond.

[Renzo! Jump! Take on that target now!] he ordered as he started his thruster cooler system and looked to time his jump with his brother’s. The second he saw him rocket upward, he hit the jump-boost full speed, aiming with his shotgun attachment at the ready. Without waiting for firing solutions, he swung his reticle over the office building’s rooftop and fired three consecutive shots, sending dust, concrete debris, and glass flying along with the scattering of a rocket launching crew. [Those rounds won’t go through concrete, right?!]

Renzo was unable to answer, focusing on his screen, watching for the hidden LTAC to pop up below. “Renzo, the trails all lead inside that one garage in front!” he heard Sam yell out over the radio. He took a second to think of what she meant, then realized the building below was a garage that possibly had large bay door access and landed his MI-r on the rooftop gently, arming his smoke rounds.

He lobbed three rounds down through the ramp up top before jumping back off of the back side and in front of a large bay door, firing two more inside. Stepping between several abandoned cars he had backed up carefully, switched back to explosive grenade rounds, and fired one inside from the first angle he could take. [Bas, over here! Now!]

Sebastian set himself down on opposite end from Renzo, preparing to switch rounds. But just then the cracked wall nearest to him burst as a mech flew his way as if to tackle him. He instinctively turned in his left shoulder to brace for impact, and in the next moment, felt the sudden jarring and screeching sound from it. His MI-r came crashing down, but took less of a fall than the attacker’s smoke-shrouded mech. He did his best to stand partly up, swiveling his aim just around enough to plant the shotgun over the cockpit area of the mech and pulled the trigger.

Renzo too had seen one more frame’s silhouette become visible with the added sunlight they let in, quickly firing a round right at the leg units of the attacker. [Bas, you OK?!]

Just as Sebastian heard the call, he felt a rumble resembling an earthquake. The parking building started to collapse.

Renzo backpedaled to a safe distance, but saw Sebastian’s location didn’t change. [Bas!]