▽　▽　▽

Only the four had entered the hangar bay area as they had to leave room for the equipment carriers to park and unload. Much of the building had been gutted of vital maintenance equipment and other essentials, leaving much to be done to restore the facility to minimum operational capacity. But for the time being, the infiltration crew of four were to rest.

Sam’s cockpit doors opened as she felt the instant relief of her harnesses retracting and the ability to properly stretch her arms and legs out, even before taking the time to unstrap her helmet. Did I really just live through all of that? Did we really just blast through an entire stronghold in that short of a time frame? She then flipped her visor up and unbuckled the strap clamps, pulling the helmet off as trails of loosened, damp, sticky-from-sweat hair stuck with it.

“That’s why I locked my hair way back,” she heard Kerry jab from just outside beneath. “Nothing worse than helmet hair, huh.”

She quickly climbed down, liberated by the solid ground welcoming her two feet, looking up to see Kerry approaching with a wide, satisfied grin and a right palm up.

“Nice work out there!”

Sam gladly extended her hand but saw that it wasn’t the intention as Kerry’s arm continued around her back shoulder and pulled her in. “I saw you take that shell for us. That was some real shit, now,” she continued as she released from her warm embrace that still had Sam halfway thrown off. She was left unsure how to respond, but it didn’t matter as she now had Sebastian and Andre coming up to the two, doing much of the same. It was all somewhat of an emotional blur for her, almost a surreal experience as she never imagined what she signed up for would roller coaster as it had. And then it hit her. Everyone, including herself, stunk. Real bad. Please tell me there is running water here.

▽　▽　▽

And there was no such luck for them.

“Lovely. Showers will be up tomorrow morning before lunch,” Sam grumbled as she read the notice from her watch. She was sitting sprawled on the floor of what used to be a make-shift crewman’s quarters room, complete with a set of towels, water bottles, and their belongings. Her head tilted to her side to see Sebastian doing the same, hands clasped under his head, eyes closed but still awake. She felt the exhaustion still leaving her drained, but not enough to muster the strength to scootch over, placing her head over his chest. “A bit upset the Cloaks weren’t there? Because I think maybe it’s best they weren’t.”

“No,” he mumbled before taking in a deep breath. “I’m just trying to understand the system we use. Our sub… subconscious…”

Her head rose and fell as his chest did so, ending with a long exhale, and she had felt some anxiety in between. “Right. Not only that, because yeah, it creeps me out a bit as well… but I don’t think this is over, do you?”

“I… maybe it was made easy because of the system but I still think it ended so fast that it wasn’t even real.”

“Sebastian,” she said as she rolled over some, now able to see his face. “You know… we have like thirty of us here, now. Maybe it was because the Cloaks didn’t show, but what will they do, now? Take all of us on at once?”

“But I don’t think that’s the problem,” he continued, aware he might irritate her with his persistence but was refusing to fully relax. [I still can’t relax knowing everything was so quiet all day, and that even after all that noise no one came to their rescue to stop us. Why is no one else noticing this?]

“You still worry too much,” she resigned with a weak chuckle, rolling back to how she was prior. “I just, I don’t know, feel like we should take things as they come, you know? That was a lot to go through, and it seems like that was quite the feat we accomplished according to command.”

The sound of hand washing could be heard behind the restroom door not too far from them as Sebastian thought of a more sensitive response. “I will wait until the morning, then, to continue worrying. And then you can worry with me, too. Does that sound like a fair compromise?” he jested.

“Hey, where’s dinner?” Andre joined in the joking mood as he passed out of the restroom. He saw the two still lying on the floor, now staring up at him in confusion. “What,” he returned with a crumpled brow. “You don’t smell dinner coming?”

The door opposite from them was gently flung open as Kerry bumped it out of the way with her hip, holding two delivery bags. “Fresh from the delivery drone,” she sung as she walked over to the three, gingerly setting both bags down and sat cross-legged next to Sam, looking upon the bags with hungry impatience. “Biryani?” she asked to her in a goofy tone.

“I… don’t speak Bengali like you,” she responded with a shake of her head. But the smell did wake her up, causing her to arise to an upright position.

“Who even said I did? Besides, it’s not Bengali, dummy, it’s Biryani,” she dryly retorted, opening the bag to pull out one of the containers and a spoon and napkin set before extending it in her direction. “Wait, hold up, you’ve never had this before?”

She took the container and couldn’t help but pause after taking in a better whiff of the aroma of the many spices. “It… what is it?” she pondered aloud, confused by the complexity of it. Was it spicy? Herbal? Sweet? Pungent? Savory? All of the above at once?

“Man, look,” Andre began to state as he took a container from her, passing one to Sebastian, before taking his own and joining the circle without leaving much room for comfort. “You come to this part of the globe and you order take-out you get Biryani. You need something on the run? You get Biryani. You stuck in a dry-rot hole like this? You get Biryani. Eat up.” He wasted no time removing the top and digging in, releasing more of the strong aroma Sam may need time acclimating to. He sensed the discomfort in her, causing him to chuckle carefully without choking.

“Right, see?” Kerry added, now leaning up against her, shoulder to shoulder, using her spoon handle to point to her container she held in front of her. “You got, um… meat… this special kind of rice obviously, and some special spices and shit they mix in real well… real good and never get tired of it- you gotta try at least one bite, girl, I’m tellin’ ya.”

The combination of all of what was in front of her nose along with the stench of the four of them all in such a tightly packed circle, not to mention the already stale smell that had lingered in the quarters, was becoming a bit overwhelming for her as she had by now lost most of her appetite. But something told her not to disrupt the mood, noticing even Sebastian was busy stuffing his face, not seeming to notice her discomfort. “I can try a bite, I guess,” she feebly responded in defeat.

“Good, here,” Kerry spoke with a smile, passing her the last container and spoon set. “That reminds me,” she said just as she started grabbing her first bite. “Andre, we need to hook these two up.”

“Shit, with those, you mean?” he replied with a cocked brow, mouth half full. “Could they even work them right?”

“What are you people talking about?” Sebastian joined in with a laugh, something Sam hadn’t seen in that manner since her first day in Bogota. “What is hooking up?”

Sam, who wasn't half paying attention, was now holding up a spoonful, having carefully avoided the chunk of lamb which she wasn't able to recognize as anything she knew. The texture wasn't putting off, and the smell wasn't necessarily unappetizing.

“My bad, y’all. I forgot we would have to wait for Ms. Norris to get back,” she said with a hand over her mouth, saving some of her dignity while chowing down. “I won’t forget.”

Sam finished inspecting the meal and took a bite, quickly finding amazement in the manner of which the spices had started to spread throughout her mouth, even without any chewing.

“Yeah,” Andre nodded. “Especially seeing we all here might be a real thing from this point on. And I mean, we might have to move on foot a lot more than we are used to, just like this morning.”

“This is so amazing!” Sam blurted out after realizing what she sensed was not only delicious but almost exhilarating, causing everyone to jump.

“You always wound up so tight,” Kerry joked with a light shove from her shoulder, making her faced crunched and tensed up out of jest before it broke down into laughter along with the rest, including Sam. “See? Loosen up sometimes!”

She’s right. All of this… is one for the vlogs one day and I mean this whole scene, I can tell already.

.

.

But from their distance they were unable to hear the distant rolling of tanks and LTACs descending upon the Parliament building.

.

●　● Akkadia One, Eden Space Territories

The pre-programmed sunset was triggered as the simulated sky panels slowly phased from a bright, clear blue to a soft, amber glow. Amelie was curled up in her plush basket chair, half asleep with her mobile lying next to her. The heater setting in what she called her “basking room” might have been the cause for her drowsiness, and the warming colors of the setting sun began to amplify the effect. There were bags under her eyes, making it seem as if this was a permanent feature for everyone in her family, and her unfocused gaze into space showed her exhaustion. She had spent the entire morning since before dawn waiting by the TV or her mobile, constantly waiting on each update from the operation happening down in Bangladesh, and she was only able to keep up with what she could through Al feeding her bits and pieces that he was able to divulge as the events developed.

Who am I kidding, she thought to herself as she rolled over on her back, kicking her legs out and over the edge, letting them dangle just above the floor. Why did I let her do this to herself? What stopped me from putting my foot down? How did I ever let anyone convince me there was nothing I could do? Pent up frustration was peaking as of that morning when she was alerted of the operation going sooner than planned with warning there would be complete radio silence in what was essentially enemy territory. Surely there is something I can come up with instead of just sitting here waiting.

A vibrating buzz shook her from her locked gaze with the ceiling as she hastily scooped up her mobile to see who was calling. It was rather a notification of Bangladeshi media outlets reporting breaking news, prompting her to quickly sit up and open the media connection that was linked in the headline. Oh, shit… holographic display was brought up, showing the live broadcast being reported by international press reporters:

“We bring you live what has been not only confirmed to be over two dozen tanks and just over fifty smaller scale mechs known as LTAC’s, but also an armored motorcade leading in what is alleged to be Lt. General and former Awami League Party member Rakib Hossain as they approach the National Parliament House, locally known as the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban,” the man spoke with a Singaporean accent.

A junta taking over… of all things… she thought as her heart raced faster.

Camera angles changed to show the lines of tanks headed down the street directly facing the parliament building, steadily rumbling onward. “Most current updates also speculate the origin of such force.”

“As you can tell, this is not the Bangladeshi Army you see on the move. The split came just moments ago, blindsiding the entire military administration, leaving them in no position to make any immediate moves,” his counterpart added with an Australian accent.

“For those who weren’t in the know, the split from India’s support network after the dissolution of the Confederacy left Dhaka relatively unprotected by what had been appropriated to them just prior to the split. Miniscule in comparison to their neighbors, military protection had always been a massive cause for concern, hence the motives behind the hiring of Hexa International’s Infinity program many months back.”

“We can only assume this has to do with the Underground forces that drove Infinity out from the borders weeks back.” The cameras then panned back to incoming LTACs from the flanks.

Hands trembling, Amelie could only continue to watch in bewilderment mixed with anger. Al, how the hell did this get by anyone?! If you knew, why didn’t you tell me of this?!

.

.

Across the satellite nation at Hexa’s central office, the executive board meeting room was full of tension and tumult, each as surprised as the other that a coup was underway. Al, who had just pushed his chair from one assistant’s makeshift worktable behind him back to his own seat, checked back with a screen showing a flight path from Kolkata to Dhaka leaving at 5 AM. “Heads up, I will be pushing Norris’s flight to 12AM. We need that backup there ASAP as I really don’t feel like taking chances with their diplomacy,” he spoke to those around him at the main table.

“But we haven’t even heard from anyone officially!” Lucian argued back, afraid to push too many buttons all at once. “We can’t afford to look like aggressors any more than we just did, am I wrong?”

Vincent entered the room from his office with a heavy brow, reading from his watch before joining the rest at the table.

“You heard the news, right? That’s the Hossain’s we just finished looking up- and you want me to not get too aggressive?” he huffed, continuing with his adjustments to Danielle’s departure. “Tell that to the kids we ju-… to the pilots we just had do all that dirty work for us when they decide not to be nice anymore!”

“He’s right,” Vincent firmly stated from his seat, hands clasped under his chin. He had been almost motionless in his office since the approach on Parliament started up and had been lost deep in thought until entering the room that previous moment. “I came in here to suggest something on the same note. Knight, don’t just speed up her flight, speed up the one behind her, but empty the reinforcements. They need to get the hell out of there now that everything has been completely compromised. No more losses in that country for us.” He then put a hand up before a few of the men across from him could object. “We will of course wait to see what Hossain has up his sleeve before we clear any authorization of force, but we can’t get caught in the open, allowing something unfortunate to happen first.” He then looked back to Al with a nod. “Push those two launches up to midnight and get those drop units on base at Tejgaon Air Field to stand by. We should expect things to be executed much more smoothly and efficiently with Norris flying and watching overhead- don’t let her touch down.”

“Got it. Should I have Melancon’s group up as well?” Al asked as he got to work on his monitor.

“No, let them rest. They at least deserve a few hours of it.”

.

.

.

Back at Amelie’s residence, she was already up and looking out the window, impatiently waiting for Al to pick on the other end of her voice call she had outgoing. “Damn it, Al, this is our daughter you toyed with!”

“I can’t bicker with you, clearly,” he grumbled with a subdued voice as the chatter and commotion died out instantly with the closing of a door. “Keep it quick! I am clearly very busy trying to ensure she has the safest route out now that we’ve shifted the whole op to an evacuation op!”

“Then I expect you’d send those two down there right now! I don’t trust anyone else to get the job done right!”

“Who the hell are you even talking about?!” he shot back through a whispered shout.

“You know who I am talking about- quit playing games! I don’t care what clearance they don’t have! You know good and well I have strings to pull after they get sent back- IF they get sent back!”

A long, thought-burdened pause continued before Al finally came back with a more composed voice. “Very well. I will send them the nudge.”