●　● Approaching Dhaka City, Bangladesh

It’s been only ten days since Project Antares Mk.2 started with our instructor changing quickly from just Director Norris to her and her old compatriot Gabriel Silva. They told us two weeks to train, but their combined gut feelings had us work double overtime and leave four days early. They never told us why, but here we are, arriving to port on a small carrier cruising up the Buriganga, and what a God-awful smell it has been, Sam thought to herself as she continued typing in her online journal entry under her save-for-later folder. Bogota in the end was a place I really felt I could adjust to fully, even actually enjoyed the latter half of my stay, to be honest. But this place, I am getting some cold vibes. I do feel for the locals in that sense; I see what they would hope for and expect by this point in time. It’s the 2170s, and I feel like I am still peering into the 2050’s before the third World War that “reset” the globe. Or so one might think, especially from the perspective of us from space.

“Ah, there you are,” Sebastian spoke to her as he climbed out from the stairwell that led outside, facing the railing where Sam was leaned against. “Still doing that?” he continued, easing himself behind her, looking over her shoulder, one hand propped against the railing. “Why don’t you just call your mother since you stopped social media?”

A few moments of silence, interrupted only by the humming of the engines and the occasional splashing of the river against the hull, passed as she hesitated to respond. She hadn’t talked to her parents much since her decision to stay on Earth. Guilt played a part, knowing she promised her the last time they spoke that she would immediately return home, and she had not yet found the words to explain what was going on. Fear played the other, not knowing what scolding or wrath she would face after essentially lying. And her father, she knew he was too busy as things were. He would call her when he had a chance, which was fine with her as she had already exchanged messages with him about the mission on a few occasions. “It’s hard to explain.”

At least Sebastian has been doing so much better and more like his old self again.

She closed her mobile, letting out a sigh as she leaned back against him. Her eyes wandered off into the distant, barely visible morning sun that was hidden behind a layer of overcast clouds, noting their approach towards a large bend which would take them to their right. She was unaware of the eyes watching them from the banks of the river as they passed small shops and houses of the towns along the way, slowly graduating into larger apartments, mills, and factories.

“I don’t know why you stay out here. It smells bad, like… I don’t know. Is it the river?” he continued, not realizing the cloud cover was mostly photochemical smog. He then grinned at the thought of something ironic. “Don’t tell me you like the hot weather now.”

“It’s peaceful, regardless of how hot it might be,” she responded with a roll of her eyes. “I still can’t get comfortable around the others, you know? You and Andre seem to get along, but to be honest there’s something about him I can’t quite trust. Same for Kerry and the director.”

“Even Mr. Silva? It’s been a long week,” he shrugged before putting his hands on her shoulders comfortingly. “Maybe we simply need to do real work together, and not just only practice. Even I was getting angry at practice.”

“Well, yeah,” she calmly conceded, feeling a bit more relaxed despite the increasing industrial clanks and drones of distant traffic. “Not that I have a problem with Kerry leading everything now, I would like to think there’d have been chances to try to figure her out… but she’s always reading maps.” She then turned her head up to face him, returning a similar grin he had given moments ago. “Like you with your news every single night!”

“Yes. I like knowledge,” he said with a laugh. “And I also like knowledge about new places, too. Do you know what this city is?” he said with a point toward the other side of the river bend as the carrier began to take its turn.

“Yeah, yeah, we are headed for the capital city.”

“Do you know what makes it special?”

“I don’t know, the food?”

“The streets system,” he flatly replied, catching Sam by surprise. “Do you know what Kerry has been studying? Streets. Street maps. I did, too, and you should, too.”

“Yeah, I knew that; they explained that already. I thought you… nevermind.” What a mood killer. I was hoping he meant “special” like… ugh who the fuck am I kidding? She thought as her head sank, embarrassed at the notion. That sounds like the me that thought about shopping of all things before dropping over Colombia. I really need to keep my shit together like everyone else. The thought then popped up again as to why they would be on edge. They did after all come here to face whoever it is that almost killed them. I must admit, they have the guts I don’t quite have.

Sebastian too was now preoccupied in thought as the two continued to stare out aimlessly into the slowly narrowing horizon. [I still want to ask about what I found on the news, speaking of, but something says now isn’t the time to talk about politics. Maybe I should wait until things settle down and we find our new holding house.]

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●　● Akkadia One, Eden Space Territories

Vincent walked into the executive board meeting room which was now the most cluttered scene it had ever been. Map overlays, papers, folders, and projected holographic images were covering most of the expansive tabletop between the six seats, each filled with the exception of the lone seat towards which Vincent approached. “I assume they are making their final approach now?” he asked as he sat down, feeling the tension in the air much more apparent.

“Yes, and all this monitoring is what we have been up to for the past six hours,” Al calmly but exhaustedly responded as he spun his holographic display around, showing the aerial view of the carrier containing the three Ap-50s and the Axiom along with Sam and her team. “So far, and this is of course to the best of our abilities to gather information on such short notice, we have not spotted any major Underground activity on the surface for days, and riots have actually remained at levels prior to the holding house breach.”

The gentleman sitting across from Al, Symo Zaeras, joined in. “And our insider has provided us some highly invaluable information on the election trends. The Awami League has taken some hits after some scandals had been revealed just this morning- some serious money laundering issues that tie in with international interests. The press is releasing their statement later today.”

Vincent let out a somewhat relieved sigh as he straightened his posture. “I take it Ms. Sur has the greenlight, then?”

“Yes, sir,” Zaeras continued. “At this rate, the BNP should solidify their re-election win and this will allow Ms. Taneesha Sur the much needed, under-the-radar opportunity to move our men into the right places. Only then can we get PM Khan to sign our extension.”

“Re-election isn’t until next week, so don’t forget what all can go wrong until then,” Lucian chimed in. “Just under seven days, men. Let’s hope our little shift in plans works out for the better, and the PM keeps his head on his shoulders.”

“Knight,” Vincent continued as he eyed the zoomed out strategical course of action map that had the central-most part of Dhaka City on display. “Update me on our lady, Ms. Norris. Any news?”

Al scooted over a bit to zoom in one of the screens to a closer aerial view of the Buriganga near Old Dhaka. “She is looking to be on point for the rendezvous under the Babu Bazaar Bridge which is in less than five minutes. From there they seem to have a clear route to the temporary holding house. All routes from the LTAC drop point to that holding house is also clear. And I already had specific instructions delivered to Director Norris and her squad leader Melancon about when to make their first moves to retake the first base. Streets in the old town are not on surveillance, which is a plus, but they are an absolute tangled mess, especially with those sectioned-off reconstruction zones sitting just beyond them.”

Vincent took a moment to digest the scenarios playing in his head. “How are their chances looking? I realize this is really a do-or-die type of situation, and I would like confidence before I pull the plug for their lives’ sake.”

“Frankly, Vrey,”Al replied with a continued calm expression, although with a hint of irony. “We should have been doing this long ago. You have a highly experienced war vet- a Harbinger at that, in charge of infiltration, extraction, and placement strategies. If we had her instead of Marian for that Colombia Drop Op, we would be looking at a whole different narrative. And with highly detail-oriented Melancon in charge of field ops alongside the excellent on-field adaptability Nguyen possesses, all it takes is Sam’s proven technical knowledge and prowess and Navarre’s natural shooting and overall combat abilities to round off this infiltration group near-perfectly.”

“I must admit, I never knew Director Norris had such effective pilot training skills.”

“And it’s not just her, mind you, it’s your granted permission to move forward with Antares Mk.2. This might be the game changer.” And it’s a damned good thing Silva hasn’t been noticed. I pray he makes it back to Space without getting caught.

Lucian got a hold of their attention as he raised his hand. “Gentlemen, they’ve arrived. Establishing contact with Ms. Sur in the next minute.”

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●　● Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Sam was seated between Sebastian and the back corner of the small passenger vessel that was ferrying them from the carrier to the shore of the river just beyond the large bridge’s underpass. She was by now, to a degree, subconsciously accepting of the smells coming from the river and from the shores, but she looked back away from the approaching dock to Kerry and Andre, seeing the most uncomfortable expressions as they silently tried to hide their shock. Not a word was spoken as they were all too nervous to come up with anything. Even their ferry operator remained silent as he calmly approached the dock, awaiting a secure link before opening the gate lock.

The four pilots stood up and carefully made their way off of the ferry, walking towards the only standing person at the end, seemingly waiting patiently for them. Despite none of them being in proper Hexa Infinity attire, it was as if she knew the faces of who was to come. And it was then that nervousness had fully set in, gripping Sam by her stomach. These feelings were akin to what she went through her first time through the streets of Colombia. The sense of fear, however, kicked in two-fold as she was only protected by the unmarked duffel bag on her back and the non-uniform shirt and pants ensemble she wore. No metal alloy to protect from the unexpected.

“Welcome to Dhaka City,” Taneesha called from the exit as she motioned them to approach. “My name is Taneesha Sur. I will be your travel guide. I will take you to your place of stay, so please follow me to our private shuttle taxi.” She wore a pants suit that emanated the sense she was a typical business woman, unlike the time she met with Marian in her expensive, high-level designer suit, but her smile was as warm and accepting all the same.

“Hi,” Kerry said as she led the line, giving a subtle wave in return. “I’m Kerry, here in place of Ms. Danielle Norris.”

“Ah yes, of course! Follow me to the shuttle,” Taneesha again insisted, turning to the stairs that would get them to street level. The four ascended, now getting a full view of one of the oldest parts of Dhaka City, un-renovated, unscheduled, and un-sectioned. What Sam felt as a glimpse into pre-2050 Earth was now solidified, taking in the moment as Sebastian next to her did the same, never seeing such scenery. Groups of auto rickshaws alongside several smaller trucks and busses passed by noisily, showing that electric and natural gas vehicles were still the norm unlike hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to which they had been accustomed to all their life. Sam’s eyes then wandered over to Kerry and Andre, leading the pack, seemingly calm on the surface. They were here for weeks before. This might all be the same-ole’ for them, but they have got to be on edge. I hope Danielle knows what she’s doing, putting us in an old non-surveilled part of the city. She then took another look at Taneesha, who was now motioning the driver to open the doors to the small shuttle bus. And can we really trust this chick?

As they walked to the opposite side of the bus to load, Sam quickly approached Kerry from the side and whispered, wide-eyed: “Are you sure this is a good idea? Remind me of why we are here and not a more developed area.”

“I told you!” Kerry returned in an impatient whisper-shout, remaining just barely audible over the passing noises. “No surveillance means no hacking… and that means no cloaks tracking us!”

Sam of course knew that was the logical answer, but she still hated the thought of where they would be taken, given the surroundings already gave her plenty a clue how their provisions would look and feel. She had remembered during the precinct map study that they were only a short drive away from Motijheel and Dhanmondi Precincts, both fully renovated, clean, and modernized. The thought only further strengthened her discontent regardless of how well she knew it was all for the better.

All of this could be read on her face by Sebastian, waiting for her to climb aboard. He put a hand on her shoulder, once again warmly reminding her that everything would be alright. They all took their seats with their bags placed at their feet, buckled in, and felt the gentle pull of their vehicle as it merged with traffic and turned up a street that would take it up the hill.

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From the top of a stairwell access to the bridge just above them, just barely out of plain sight from the shuttle bus that pulled away, Marian took another bite from her street stall-sold shingara. Munching away using one hand with guilty satisfaction, she awkwardly one-handedly typed a message on her mobile: “Guess who our girl on tabs picked up just now?” As she finished the last bite, a return message came back from Reaper.

“Meet me at the Bangabhaban Garden in 0:30 hours. And try to stay away from the vendors. Eating slows you down too much.”

She rolled her eyes with a nasal laugh, readjusting her shoulder-slung bag and continued down the bridge’s pedestrian walkway.

(*Mangsher Shingara)

▽　▽　▽

The van-sized shuttle bus slowly made its way down a narrow, pedestrian and auto rickshaw packed lane. As the driver carefully and gently maneuvered the street and its unpredictable flow, Sam was able to take in the surroundings much as she had tried to do since approaching by river.

These streets are much more packed and narrower than it felt looking at maps alone. Not even many buildings over three or four stories tall and no room for an LTAC to fit in between. This means Kerry was right. If we were to hide not only from surveillance, we had to hide where only those on foot had a chance to do anything. And this is REALLY out in the middle of nowhere it seems.

Kerry was, on the contrary, only watching the driver and Taneesha, who sat in the passenger seat, speaking the whole time in local Bengali dialect, almost as if waiting for something to pounce on. This was noted by Sebastian, feeling the urge now to switch from simply being nervous and observant to vigilant, almost as if he were back home, deep in Rocha territory.

“Ms. Sur!” Andre spoke up out loud over the engine and road noise, shattering the silence.

Oh, shit! Kerry thought as she realized what Andre just noticed.

“Sorry, but we were ordered by our director to stop at the Balurgat Inn!” he continued, noting they had passed up the street he had been waiting for to show up.

“We are almost there!” she spoke back to them just moments before the van creeped to a halt in front of an old four-story hotel building. “Here. Now we are here.”

“Kerry,” he whispered to her discreetly. “This is not the spot. Be ready, follow my lead.”

What? Oh no, not this shit again! Sam thought as she was barely able to make out what was said. And so, there it was again, the feeling of her stomach tightening into a knot with nerves approaching their limit. She kept her breathing under control this time to keep her faintness from making its ugly return, however, something she had been stressed to do many times by Danielle over the past week.

Andre then then looks to Sebastian and Sam, holding a finger up in equal discreetness. The door then opened as the four quickly but carefully hopped out, reshouldering their bags, staying alert.

“Here, inside,” Taneesha motioned them as if she too were on full alert, hinting that they might be in danger.