Valete, Liberi

Valete, Liberi A story by Sid Gokhale Tuesday, XXIII | December MMMCIX - 1:40 a.m. Arjun paced around the darkly lit room, stopping every few paces to sip a dangerously full flute of mazlac wine. His patience grew thin, and much like the sparkling clear forty-proof liquid, it wouldn't be long until he ran out of it. After walking a mile's worth of the room's thinly carpeted floor, he resigned to the king-sized bed where Alyss was sitting, letting himself flop backwards into her embrace. "They both might be the only remaining members of your family. You know that," she said softly. "I know that full well. What I do not know is what's making me not want to look for them," he replied, sighing a low sigh. "You haven't met them in almost twenty years. I'd like to think that you're just nervous." "I...I'd like to think that as well." They both lay silent for a while, thinking about the multitude of troubles that lay in store for them over the next week. Alyss played with his hair as Arjun slowly drifted into a deep, deep sleep. She -eventually- ceased waiting for their handler to contact them and lay down beside him, slipping her arm in his. The day's fatigue took over her consciousness almost instantly, lulling her into a dreamless sleep. [[Two days later]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 2:35 p.m. A loud knock on the door woke up Armin as he sprinted towards the sound, his tail wagging furiously. Alyss walked out of the kitchen and rushed towards the door, shooing the pooch away. "May I?", said the familiar voice of the Spectre Huntsman from beyond the door, as she scrambled to get it open. "I did not expect you Huntsmen to be so blunt," she remarked, not letting their grey-clad handler in just yet. "We aren't. Not usually, at least. I just presumed it would be better if I took it upon myself to debrief you guys of a rather problematic hitch in your operation." "And I do not suppose you'd cut to the chase and tell me about it right away, would you?" "No...no. Afraid not. I am fairly certain, however, that a cup of tea will jog my memory a bit." "Fucken' Hell, just come on in," Arjun yelled from inside the bathroom. Alyss held the door open for the Spectre agent as he let himself in into their kitchen, taking a seat at the glass dining table. Arjun walked out of the bathroom towards the kitchen in his towel with a half-shaven face. "Hubba, hubba!" Alyss teased as she set a kettle on the stove. He flipped her off and sat himself at the table opposite their handler. "So...?" she enquired. "So. The Aquitaine HQ, a few hours ago, received orders from The Nexus in Elysia to elevate the hunt status for Emhyr and Karisa Urpalainen. I have been instructed to inform you that you are no longer required to bring them in. As of this moment, two previously dispatched Hunstmen have already located them, and are en route to the location approximately fifty eight kilometers from here. While your orders are to strictly spectate the operation from a live feed, I am allowing you both to accompany the dispatched agents, seeing your relationship to the two targets." "You have no more than a few minutes to make up your minds," he added, after a few moments of silence. [[Spectate the operation]] [[Accompany the Huntsmen]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 2:35 p.m. "Poster children for obediance, aren't you? Command is already satisfied with your performance on the previous mission. I'm certain they shall appreciate your adherence to direct orders." "I just want to see my mother and father once this is over," Arjun said, his tone low. "But of cour-" "In person." "Listen, lad. I've read your recruitment files over a course of almost two years. Believe me when I say this, I know what you have gone through." The couple sat silently for a while, as the Huntsman attached a receiver and some cables to their television on the kitchen counter. Several minutes later, after he was done setting up the operation feed, he walked over to the dining table and tapped a small remote on Alyss's shoulder. "Use this to cycle through the cameras of the two Huntsmen," he said. "Will we be able to see everything all the way through to the end?" Arjun replied." "Indubitably. Spectre Huntsmen are required to wear three micro-cameras on their bodies whenever on an elevated mission." "Alright." "Now, please excuse me. I shall leave you both to your matters. My presence is required at the Aquitaine base. I promise to be better at returning your calls this time, madame Alyss." "Yeah right, and I promise to be the Queen of Demetria by tomorrow." He ignored her and walked out of the kitchen. Armin started barking again as the door shut loudly behind the Huntsman. Alyss threw him a meaty treat and he curled up at her feet under the table. "Well, let's fire it up." said Arjun. [[Turn on the television]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 2:35 p.m. "I knew before I even knocked on your door that you would insist on it. However, let me warn you that this is an elevated mission. Newer recruits are normally denied any participation in them due to lack of enough experience." "You know they're his parents." "And that is the only reason why I am allowing you both to participate in it. Despite blood relations, you forget that they are two lethal rogue Huntsmen who have the ability to topple entire political high-organizations. Do not, and I repeat, DO NOT tread lightly." "We understand," she replied, as Arjun nodded. "I'm guessing you keep your weaponry in this apartment itself?" "Upstairs, at the blacksmith's." "Convenient. Well, suit up, will you? You leave within the hour. I'll meet you both outside." The two left the kitchen to change into their outfits while the handler helped himself to a second helping of the tea from the kettle before leaving the apartment. Arjun put on a solid navy suit with a faint herringbone pattern and a matching waistcoat, while Alyss slipped into a slim, solid grey suit beneath a matching trench. The two arrived upstairs with Armin. Arjun left the husky with the blacksmith's snow white shephard. "You won't have any need for a full armory for this one. Just grab two small ballistic pieces and we're all set. Your role in this mission is, after all, a passive one. You shall follow the lead of your two superiors, and provide them support in case of a firefight." The couple nodded, retreiving two gunmetal grey TVF standard-issue M3911 repetiérpistoles from their suitcases. "Hop into my car. The location of the operation is near the route to the Aquitaine base. I might as well fill you in on the details about the operation beforehand." [[Leave for the mission]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 4:40 p.m. The two were glued to the television for almost two hours until something piqued their interest. The abandoned hospital through which the two Huntsmen were treading looked exactly that - abandoned. Arjun remarked about recognizing the place before the hospital riots defaced several medical institutions a decade ago. Alyss noticed that the female huntsman who was leading the search stumbled upon a series of perfectly laid out traps. The nimble-footed huntsman dodged a rusty, serrated knife which was flung from a mechanism from a door across the hallway. She called out to Arjun to come out of the bathroom. He stumbled out, a quarter side of his jaw still unshaven. "Quick, you fool." He jogged towards the television as Alyss zoomed-in on the booby-trapped hall in the hospital. The second Huntsman arrived from the corner of the female huntsman's camera vision and tossed a small metal disk towards the center of the hallway. It exploded with an electric blue flash and and emitted a short high-pitched sound. An electromagnetic pulse, Arjun thought, they wouldn't have expended that disk unless they knew the targets weren't behind one of the doors of this hallway. The female huntsman abruptly turned towards her partner's torso camera. All of a sudden, following screeching sounds, every single camera feed on the television turned static-blank. "The fuck?" It dawned to them only after a few moments of panic, that the two Huntsmen had taken off their body cameras and smashed them. "They know we're watching. They know that HQ is watching! Why the hell would they do that?" Alyss yelled at the television. "Because we are watching." [[Contact the handler]] [[Gear up and move out towards the mission location]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 3:46 p.m. The handler dropped them off at the derelict hospital's parking lot. They made their way towards the main entrance, stopping only once to load ammunition into their handguns. The inside of the hospital was trashed all over the place. The couple ran towards the staircase, avoiding tripping over upturned chairs and desks on the way. Where are they, where are they, Arjun thought to himself, frantically looking in all directions on the second floor. Alyss, from the corner of her eyes, caught sight of the huntsmen in an empty office. "There!" she yelled! Arjun halted abruptly, almost making Alyss crash into him. He saw the two huntsmen in the room sizing them up quietly. He took his partner's hand and entered the office, standing straight in front of the suited huntsmen. The four briefly made their introductions. The two agents divulged necessary information about the operation to the couple. "We had located the two targets five stairs upwards from here last night. There has been no movement in this building ever since then, and we strongly believe they haven't moved an inch. We need to leave now." "Are you expecting any resistance?" Alyss asked. The targets were skilled in terrain-based traps during their time in the SVF. However, recent information from the Aquitaine base suggests severe inactivity since the past five years. The four got moving upwards following that. As they arrived on the sixth floor, the female huntsman suggested the two teams cover the two opposite hallways on the next floor, where the targets were presumed to be holed up. Alyss and Arjun agreed, starting towards the next floor from the service staircase on the westernmost wing of the building. [[Proceed to the target floor]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 5:00 p.m. Arjun rushed into the living room and dialed the number of their handler on the old phonograph-shaped telephone system. "Yes?" The codger answered on the third ring. "Arjun here. We can't see anything on the television. They killed the cameras. They killed the fucking cameras. "I know. We, at the base, have no eyes on them either. Command has gotten word of this. They are suspecting the two have ulterior motives. Spectre-Aquitaine isn't doubting their integrity to the SVF as of yet. I personally, on the other hand, am afraid that your parents won't live to see another day." "What." "Your mother and father crossed a lot of people in this organization when they defected, Arjun. While Spectre agents are trained to maintain the utmost professionalism at all times, human tendency isn't something that is conditioned out of even us." "I..I don't understand. Why..what is going to happen to them?" "The two huntsmen dispatched for this mission are android humans, lad. When your parents escaped from their holding cells in the Aquitaine naval base five years ago, they caused a massive hydrogen-induced explosion in the portside area. It killed a few huntsmen, and gravely injured others. Survivors had to have entire sections of their body rebuilt in robotic housing." "These two never forgave my parents, did they?" "No, they did not. We did not foresee them breaking code, however. Not in a million years." "They're going to kill my parents. You need to DO SOMETHING!" "I'm sorry, son. They are most certainly already dead." [[Fin.]]

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 5:00 p.m. The two hastily put on coats over their casual attires and grabbed the surveillance cables to use with their tablet on the way to the abandoned hospital. Sprinting out towards the crowded street, they grabbed two daggers from their cache at the blacksmith above their apartment. "Taxi!" Alyss yelled. None stopped. Arjun received a call on his mobile phone from their handler. "Hello?" he answered, panic setting in. "Listen to me," the huntsman's voice replied tersely, "go back to your home. Your parents are dead." "No. I want to see them!" "That is impossible. You need to listen to me, lad." Arjun cut the call and frantically began looking for taxis. Unfortunately, none in the vicinity stopped for him, lacking an open fare. He started towards the nearest railway station. Another call rang through. This time it was Alyss's phone. "You two need to go back to your apartment. Do not attempt to go to the hospital. You need to convince Arjun to give up his futile efforts. His parents are dead, the two huntsmen killed them. They are already being extradited away for their postmortem. "I..." "I am sorry. Please, just return home." [[Fin.]]

This is the end of the story. Arjun's parents were beheaded almost instantly after being found by the two huntsmen. They were in no shape to put up a fight, lacking the peak physical conditions of their glorious Spectre past. Arjun grieved for a brief while. Having never known his parents, his bereavement did not last long enough to hinder his dedication to serving the Spectre Vanguard Force.

Thursday, XXV | December MMMCIX - 4:05 p.m. Out of sight and sound of the huntsman, the duo reached the seventh floor and cautiously made their way towards a large hall. They spotted a few carefully laid-out traps which would have been otherwise invisible would it not have been for the bright sunlight spilling from the completely broken windows. The ICU room doors to the right of them had old, rusted traps that had lost their posture. Someone's been here since a long, long time, Alyss thought. They carefully navigated around the mechanized traps, taking their time so as not to trigger any of them. After they had reached the far end of the hall with all their limbs intact, they found themselves facing two doors on both sides, and a single door ahead of them. [[Search the door ahead]] [[Search the two doors to the right]] [[Search the two doors to the left]]

Nothing. The floor beyond the door had cracked and fallen below all the way to the second floor a long time ago. The debris was massive and untouched since the hospital riots. The duo headed back into the hall. [[Search the two doors to the right]] [[Search the two doors to the left]]

They searched both doors; beyond the second one, Arjun spied a hidden trapdoor through a partly burnt, heavy grey carpet. If not for the charred see-through part of the carpet, the trapdoor would have never been found. Alyss carefully lifted the door open, revealing a short ladder downwards. They both descended slowly, being careful about making even the slightest of noise. Arjun closed the trapdoor behind him before making his way down. "Hello, Arjun." Arjun, thoroughly startled, stopped moving halfway through the staircase. He looked at Alyss, who was staring cautiously at two older individuals sitting next to each other on a small bed. Holy hell, Alyss thought. "We've missed you very much," continued the woman, presumably in her mid-fifties. Arjun made his way down and stood before his parents. They were dressed in full Spectre uniform; it was visibly old, unwashed and tattered in places. He was at a loss of words. He did not know what to say to his only remaining family. "We shall explaing everything in due time. Right now, you need to go back upstairs and let the two huntsmen know that you failed to find anything this side of the building. "Y-yes. I just...-" he was bewildered, sweating profusely. Alyss took his hand in hers. "Everything in due time. For now, go back upstairs." Not wanting to make another attempt at forming coherent sentences, the two hurried upstairs towards the other wing of the hospital. "See anything in that part?" "Nope" "I have to give them some credit, I guess. Old bastards still manage to be cunning enough, even after so many years," the female huntsman remarked. "Well, we will have to report back to base. Command won't be happy they gave us the slip within a night. It is what it is though, I guess," her partner replied. The four walked outside to the parking lot, where a vehicle without registration plates was waiting for them. "Get in then," said the female huntsman, looking at Arjun and Alyss, "we can drop you off to wherever you go." "We'll be taking the train back home, thanks a lot though. Much appreciated." "Suit yourself." The huntsmen entered the car, while the chauffeur closed the gullwing doors behind them. The car took off towards the highway with astonishing acceleration. Arjun and Alyss looked at each other, then made sure that the car was well beyond eyesight. They stayed outside for a while longer, not willing to take any chacnes. "You ready?" Alyss asked. "I don't think I will ever be ready to go back up there, seeing how I cannot even think properly in their midst. But yeah. Let's go." With that, they turned towards the grey, gloomy relic of years bygone and walked back towards their fate. To be continued.

Nothing. Both doors opened to empty offices containing shelves of files and medical instruments - all broken and torn apart. The duo headed back to the hall. [[Search the two doors to the right]] [[Search the door ahead]]