Agitation drowned Lucaen as his access was denied by the security. A large translucent door covered the entrance of the building, blocking his pathway. It's a sight to behold, the respected descendant of the Anubis lineage-- locked out of his own workplace. A building where those with devoted loyalty to the people of Elysium be of service.
Lucaen glanced at his HUD. [0758], The time glows bright gold, seemingly unaware of his own restlessness against it.
Another two minutes.. before my name is listed as late
His feet clicked on the marbled floor in a rhythm, an agitated rhythm. He is far aware that the other Generals are in, already preparing their gear before the Optic issues them tasks for the day.
Elysium ceased to know harmony as long as that gremlin still breathes. Lucaen grumbled. His white exosuit is the embodiment of clarity yet, he is void of it. Not often, but today.
As the clock in each HUD of synced Elysians hit [0800]. The door parted in the opposite direction smoothly with a hint of a polished click. Reveals an inspection drone, its carbon body glinting from the lighting inside of the building, dimmed ever so slightly before gleaming with the rays of the sun. The model carved to it 'IOD' in bright yellow smoothly exited the door and turned to hover by it. A clear sign that the day is starting.
Lucaen hesitates, his eyes dart from the drone to the door; he could have just stormed through the door. He is more than capable enough to do so, but before he could entertain the idea, his conscience won over with a stern remark.
How...undignified.
Lucaen took a step back, eyeing an image of him breaking in. No doubt, such behavior is fit only for a mindless fool. His attention diverted back to the drone, raising his hand ever so slightly to gain its attention.
"Pardon, I am Lucaen Theron. The Third Generation of the Theron-Anubis lineage. Request entry" His words immediately registered with the drone, clear and assertive. The interface of the IOD reflected his words and concluded with a stern refusal.
[Access Denied]
Was seen in its interface. Lucaen froze, obstructed by the situation he's in.
To be rejected..by an IOD no less..is dehumanizing.
Lucaen peeked at the interface with a shift of his eyes before looking to the side, as if it would change its mind. Well, system. Such mechanics have no chain of thought to begin with. The time still glowing ever so brightly in his HUD, is slowly increasing his irritation. [0805] The more he notes it, the more he finds the time mocking him. Lucaen fixes his robe by his shoulder, preparing to ask for assistance from Caius. The only General in mind that would take this as seriously as he is.
He brought his wrist up, his metallic claws caressing a port by his left arm. The syncing port, or shall be said the second most important system in one exosuit after the core. Responsible for syncing the rhythm of their own core to the very planet they operate on. Synchronization works like the branches of the tree, connecting them to the very roots of the planet.
While rejected sync would result in rhythm disruption, and that opens the way for infections virality of the enemy of the whole galaxy, the Helminths. The sync as well works in linking all of Elysians together. Makes it possible for Lucaen to send a message to anyone who accepts his request.
He let out a soft sigh, the air condensed around the nuzzle of his jaw, testifying to the heat in him around the cool, sterile Elysium.
Anything but a late admittance..
As if the world could not be better, the IOD rammed its tiny carbon body right onto Lucaen's armored leg. Like that'd somehow fix anything. Yeah. Very helpful. Really. The impact did not budge Lucaen, only making him scowl as his head dropped low. His eyes slowly settled onto the now dented carbon,
"Listen, there is this glossy.., deafening General"
[Referring..]
The sudden change of the IOD in its interface made Lucaen cocked his head in curiosity. Perhaps if this drone could guess correctly, he would forgive this little machinery after all of its treachery towards him.
After some breezing wind, it concluded with a soft ping.
[General Aurelius Everhart] continued with presenting the hologram of the smug-looking guy in front of him. Any Elysians would have shrieked to have a hologram of Aurelius. Unfortunately, the sight of him only makes Lucaen's fists harder. Small pieces of EXA metal echoed through the marbled floor.
"Correct, that obnoxious-" He palmed his forehead. A low sigh mingled with the wind. A part of him wished that sigh reached Aurelius's ears. Let him know how a burden he is to him, no- to the whole institution.
[General Aurelius. Do Refer To Him With The Utmost Respect] the drone scolded. Oh, how Lucaen wishes to make the drone the new material for the floor he is stepping on.
"Good riddance. Yes, General Aurelius holds my insignia. Contact him for me, will you?" Lucaen did not bother to shift his head as he looked down on the IOD, clearly getting late by the minute to this useless system. The time settled to a begrudging [0820], a constant, cruel reminder.
[Access-]
With a sudden shift, Lucaen felt an ominous presence moving at a rapid speed from above. His body instinctively tensed before dashing three feet apart from where he was looming over the IOD. Before it could finish its security process, the marbled floor cracked under the sudden weight of this 6'2ft General with its grandeur introduction.
[Access Granted]
Finally, a sight that had Lucaen waiting for so long. The door slid open for him as it registered the insignia the presence brought-- revealing the interior of the HQ, bustling with many types of exos mingling, some were lounging on the resting area while others were seen rushing to their destination within the HQ. Many departments laid on sight right behind the spacious reception desk.
[Welcome, General Lucaen Theron]
[REPORT: A PRIORITIZED Mission Has Been Archived This Morning]
The report paradoxically went through Lucaen's head as the star of today's day finally decided to show up. In front of him, the so-called,
General Aurelius with a face of no remorse. Lucaen glanced at his kneeling form, the urge to grab and tear his wings was present. What a show off.
Before he could indulge in his fantasies, Aurelius' voice snapped him out of it.
"Morning, Luc. Up and early as usual, huh?" Aurelius stood from its landing, retracting his left hand that held Lucaen's insignia from the IOD. He patted his right knee, shoving some debris away to fall to where it originated.
His voice alone feels like grating my system.
The greetings were left unanswered as Lucaen rested his arm on Aurelius's shoulder from behind, "Are you not aware of the time right this instance?" Lucaen's words were dripping with venom. If it were visible to the naked eye, perhaps Elysium would have been flooded. Aurelius, on the other hand, met his deadly gaze and boldly covered Lucaen's hand with a gleeful chuckle.
"Oh? Look at that. always the busy guy."
"Relax." He chimed.
"Give me back my insignia." Lucaen called out, grasping Aurelius's shoulder tighter.
Aurelius genuinely tilted his head at Lucaen's question. As if he were awestruck by the audacity. "Why would I?"
"It is mine, Aurelius."
"Because of you I am late. Look at the time, for once."
Aurelius tried to defend himself, pushing Lucaen's hand away and mockingly raising his hands up. "Is it not your fault as well that you were careless with it?" With that, Aurelius went into the building, towards the center hub followed closely by the grumpy Lucaen.
"The audacity of you to assume I was inattentive with it. You stole it from my desk, were you not?" Lucaen groaned, as their path was immediately met with General Nefertari's unapproving gaze on the path to the arsenal.
Lucaen bowed slightly as they passed her, her gaze alone enough to make any synced cores to be self-aware. Would you look at that? Another half an hour and it would be the delightful 9 o'clock. If it were not for him being a General, today would have been the last time he saw the sun.
Aurelius shrugged at General Nefertari as their gaze met. "Well, it was in the second from the top drawer of your desk, to be exact."
"I regret inviting you into my sanctuary."
"Too late for that, Luc. You were so eager to show your new collection. Couldn't avoid that." Aurelius fisted Lucaen's chest slightly, the sounds of Tungsten metal meeting EXA echoed the place in the briefest moment. A mocking camaraderie.
They stopped two feet away from the Hub, an enormous piece of quartz with a live info board splayed out. Aurelius quickly wandered to his section. The general section, made for all four protectors of Elysium. To his surprise, his name was not listed as active, and neither was Lucaen. Their name lay in a discriminative grey.
[G. Aurelius Everhart//INACTIVE]
[G. Lucaen Theron//INACTIVE]
"This is weird." Aurelius pointed out while glancing at Lucaen. "Are you seeing this?" His name and Lucaen are almost unseeable.
Lucaen took a step back, analyzing it while he crossed his arms. "IOD acknowledged us. This should not have occurred."
[G. Nefertari//ASSIGNED//STATUS: ACTIVE]
[G. Aurelius Everhart//INACTIVE]
[G. Lucaen Theron//INACTIVE]
[G. Caius//INACTIVE]
"If I'm not mistaken, the IOD also mentioned something like a prioritized mission?" Aurelius glanced at Lucaen. Subtly demanding answers.
Lucaen averted his gaze to the most right. Aurelius sensed the sudden shift as he followed his gaze. Everyone's names were listed, so this is very abnormal. Lucaen unknowingly held his breath, and Aurelius shut up as if they both had a silent agreement.
"Don't tell me-" Aurelius broke the silence with a gnawing look to Lucaen.
"A prioritized mission, what do you expect?" Lucaen hesitantly set his eyes on the jarring red colored text to the farthest right.
[EMERGENCE]
Was written by the far left section. A section where no one, even the Generals wanted their names there. Either a very hard mission to the point of no return, or a mission where the civilians of Elysium could not sleep at night restfully again. No in between.
Lo and behold, the day finally went to what Lucaen expected.
[EMERGENCE]
[G. Aurelius Everhart//ASSIGNED//STATUS: PENDING//PENDING]
[G. Lucaen Theron//ASSIGNED//STATUS: PENDING//PENDING]
[G. Caius//ASSIGNED//STATUS: IN PROGRESS// LIVE UPDATE>60% Completion]
A long, low whistle was blown by Aurelius, "Would you look at that? A partnered mission. Guess the Optic knew we were meant for each other." A rumbling laugh was heard right beside Lucaen as he tried to ease the tension.
Who in the Elysium sane mind nominated this guy worthy of admission as a General?
"It is an emergence mission, not a child's play. More so with you as a partner." Lucaen glared at Aurelius. A silent order to know when to joke and not to.
Aurelius waved a dismissive hand, "I knew it, something was prickling at my back. I thought it was your never-ending jealousy of my prowess, but guess I was wrong."
"Not funny." He had a deadpan look as he stared at Aurelius.
Aurelius lets out a sigh, "Alright, party pooper. I'll be heading for the lab for a little bit, yeah?" As much as he was trying to hide his excitement, part of his core was warming up in a surge of adrenaline.
An emergence.. How thrilling. Aurelius thought to himself as he strode, leaving Lucaen by himself.
The HQ remained occupied as usual, its bustle drowned behind Lucaen, enhanced by Aurelius' departure. Gradually, his enormous wings with the glitter of gold merged amongst the crowd in front of him.
This day has been a tiring one, despite just starting the day. Something gnawed on the back of Lucaen's mind. Something, does not align, as if something is happening under the radar and his.
What could the emergence possibly be? The helminths?
That does not make absolute sense. Lucaen dismissed the thought, not breaking his gaze with the Hub. He strode amongst the crowd as they parted to the opulent staircase that destined his intention, his office. The pace of his legs quickens with no pressure valve to release his unease. With each step--echoed behind him, declaring its presence.
General Nefertari purged them just two days ago.
Another breach? But that simply does not make sense. Even if, that would explain why Caius is in emergence with his agile exo suit for breaking in.
The HQ was a rather comforting yet a strict place, its cold temperature a soothing balm to every exos. But that element failed to be implemented on Lucaen's weary self. Was he overthinking things? scared? There is a first time for everything after all.
What is happening?
A droplet of his restlessness fell a step behind him as he ended his movement. His office lay in front of him, everything as it is-- untouched, cold. He went in, logs in the system as another IOD starts operating the moment it senses Lucaen's here.
[Good Morning, General Lucaen]
[An Unread Inbox Had Been Archived]
"Emergence was it?" He groaned, not bothering to look at the IOD as he went for the board in his office. The board laid the active case of missions. Lucaen's head slowly followed his eyes from the farthest right,
A breach handled by Caius.. His eyes slowly hover to the left, to the whole board as he takes note of the sudden rise of cases. The IOD chimed,
[General Aurelius Status Has been Updated]
The information caused Lucaen to turn his attention to the IOD, before hovering his index and middle finger over the board. "Give me a moment." The tech echoed blue, illuminating the room.
He closed all of the cases that presented. Hovering over an interface that records the Emergence cases. The file flickers slightly under Lucaen's presence, unlocking it with a touch.
Without a moment to spare, the board instantly filled with a graph of the case reported. Yet with the emergence, the room reflected violet throughout the room. The office was loud with the hums of machinery meeting the silence of Lucaen's thought.
The case rate had increased 10.5-fold week-over-week, from 1 case per 7 days to a projected 10.5 cases per week based on the recent 2-day surge of 3 cases.
[Current Week Case of Emergence]
[//ASSASINATION//G. Aurelius>G. Lucaen//PENDING]
[//BREACH//G. Caius//COMPLETED]
[//ANNIHILATION//G. Nefertari//COMPLETED]
[//ANNIHILATION//G. Nefertari//COMPLETED]
[//EXTRACTION//G. Aurelius//COMPLETED]
[//BREACH//G. Caius//COMPLETED]
[End of Report---]
[Last Week's Case of Emergence]
[//SABOTAGE//G. Aurelius//COMPLETED]
[End of Report---]
These are the emergence cases we are dealing with, not normal missions.
Lucaen hesitantly takes a step back, the revelation in front of him did nothing to ease his restlessness. He searched for the IOD, looking for the drone amidst his office. When his sight landed on it, Lucaen confirmed with a flick of his wrist, closing his board.
"Accept it."
The IOD turns to face Lucaen as it processes the permission.
[Updating Status]
[G. Lucaen Theron//ASSIGNED//STATUS: IN PROGRESS//IN PROGRESS]
[Details of the Mission Will Be Transferred Shortly]
[Your Patience Is Greatly Appreciated]