"Brimstone, Astra and I are over at the Alpha-Lotus site. Or.. Should I say what's left of it. We wanted to come back and see if there was any pertinent information here now that we know a little about these Scions of Hourglass group. Suffice to say while the Omega site is still bristling with radianite signatures, this place has been scrubbed clean. We've also been... One moment."
Participants:
Skye, Astra, and Harbor are heard running through a forest-like environment.
"Astra, Harbor, how we looking?"
"We're almost there."
"The Atlas troops are gaining on us!"
"Course they are. Hold up!"
The agents come to a halt. Skye activates her healing trinket.
"How far to the lost city? Any chance we outrun 'em?"
"It's too far, we need a contingency plan."
"Whatcha got?"
"We'll hold them here."
"There's no time, we must move!"
"Right. You two keep going, I'll stay here, slow 'em down."
"Are you sure?"
"Only you two can open the gate. No wukkas, I'll handle it!"
"Go, good luck!"
"Be safe, Skye."
"Ah, you know me..."
Astra and Harbor continue on their journey, leaving Skye. Skye takes a deep breath in and out. Motorbikes can be heard approaching. Skye takes cover.
"This way, stay sharp."
"Sweeping the area."
"Keep it tight, keep it tight."
Skye begins silently eliminating Atlas troops without them being able to raise an alarm.
"Perimeter control I said keep it tight! If I can't see you you're too far. Where the hell'd you go?"
Skye creates a Tasmanian tiger summon and sends it forward.
speaking into his radio "Field command, this is Titan lead, I've lost eyes-"
The squad leader is brought down by the tiger. Skye executes them with a Phantom.
"Titan lead? Titan lead, come in. Sector 7 ground units, Titan lead is not responding, check the position?"
"Roger, approaching now."
The Atlas troops can be heard walking by.
"Titan lead, you there?"
"Can't see crap out here. "
"Wait a minute. Shit, got a body here."
Skye creates a hawk summon.
"Titan lead down, call in-"
Skye commands the hawk to explode. She engages and brawls with the three troops, eliminating them with a knife, Phantom, and the last one with a shot from a Sheriff.
"in the distance Shots fired, shots fired!"
"Call it out!"
"West, sector 7!"
"Sector 7, we hear shots fired, report. Sector 7 ground, report in."
"Yeah, that's gonna be a problem."
"Who is this? Identify."
"Why don't you come and find out, mate?"
"Alpha contact, sector 7! All units respond, I repeat, Alpha con-"
Skye crushes the radio.
"Should buy 'em some time. "
More motorbikes can be heard approaching. Skye starts shooting down the incoming troops with an Ares. Some are heard exclaiming "over there-" and "get her out-" before they are shot down.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Skye creates seeker summons to chase after the Atlas troops.
"Kill them, kill them!"
The last remaining troops in the area are taken down. Skye picks up one of the motorbikes and hops on.
"Thanks for the ride."
"The ATV, she's on the run!"
Skye rides away on the bike, more Atlas troops in pursuit.
"RPG, bring her down!"
An RPG is fired at Skye.
"Oh, shit!"
The blast knocks Skye off the bike. She picks herself up, screams in rage, and opens fire with the Ares, killing all troops in the area until the magazine goes empty.
"Hmm"
A helicopter is heard approaching.
"You got to be kidding! Argh!"
She begins running as the helicopter opens fire on her position.
"Bloody hell!"
"She's heading for the waterfall!"
Gunfire continues.
"Don't let her jump, get her"
Skye successfully makes the jump and lands in the water below. She pulls herself to the surface and then to shore, exhausted.
"Harbor...Astra...you owe me. "
"Brimstone. Astra, Killjoy, and I finished our analysis. We looked at it a dozen different ways and it always comes back the same. The City of Flowers on Omega is a multiverse nexus. If Legion powers up that nexus with Alpha's version of the city ruined... there's nothing left to absorb the shock. The result...The result would be catastrophic, millions of lives in my home country, lost. That's not a scenario I'm willing to entertain. No one else can stop Legion from pulling the trigger, this is on us. So get a team ready, and make sure I'm at the top of the list!"
"Brimstone, it's Harbor. That was some new hire orientation, huh? Is it always that dangerous to join your crew, or did I get special treatment? Jokes aside, I owe you my thanks. You put your whole team on the line to save me, that's not something I'll forget. It's hard to trust anyone after being on the run. But seeing the stunts you pulled for a rescue, well, that's a start. But as for the immediate future, I'll keep watching my own back, just until the nerves settle."
Participants:
"And this is our research wing, you and I are going to spend a lot of time here."
"Hehe. At least it's near the kitchen."
"Now, that artifact. Let's have a look."
"Huuuh. Right here?"
"Chale. The time for traps has come and gone. No one is after your bracelet here. Trust me."
"I hope not. It's such a small thing, but there's so much power in it. I don't even know how."
"I do. See these engravings carved along the inside?"
"Yes m'am. I ran them against every record in the world linguistic archive. No matches."
"Because the script is not of Earth. It's in the language of The Guardians."
"The Guardians? So they're real..."
"Yes."
"And you can read it?"
"Only some. I am still learning."
"What do you recognize? Any touchstone words?"
"Guardian, flo-wer, gift, key."
"Key? I'd love to find a lock."
"Perhaps... Legion already has."
"What do you mean?"
"The knowledge left for me is vague. Incomplete. But the lock, I think it's a place. Something called "This Nexus", a lost city built by The Guardians. I could never find it."
"Because it's gone."
"Gone? Please explain."
"At REALM, I studied the city of flowers. Even tracked it down with a map we pulled out of Gulf of Khambhat. When I got there, well, it wasn't pretty."
"Ruined?"
"Worse. Decimated. Sabotaged. I couldn't even get close."
"Sabotaged by who?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry."
"Destroyed on Alpha. What about Omega? Maybe it's still there."
"Maybe and if Omega me activates this Nexus..."
"That is a question for Killjoy. Why don't we pay her a visit? Bring the relic."
"Yes m'am."