Operation: Liberator (CLOSED)

[Mani4c]

The operation's room of the Durendal was dark, the only source of light being a large holo-projector that sat in the center of the room. The room was much like an old roman forum, with a five rows of  seats arranged in a circle around the holo-projector. The room could hold upwards of 100 avatars, but at the moment only one was present.

Shepard gazed at the projector, it's blank display producing a hazy cone of dull blue light. Shepard's expression was grim, her jaw set and her eyes half-lidded, she was deep in thought, remembering a painful event from the past. A memory that filled her with rage.

She had dealt with this particular rage for five long, torturous years. Shepard was haunted by every officer that she lost, but in the end, their deaths had been avenged, their killers either arrested or deleted...except one. Every time Shepard closed her eyes, she saw her, her former leader, falling towards the engine wash of a large ship.

She saw the armored figure fly back, saw her arch her back in pain as the super-heated plume of engine exhaust boiled away her armor. She heard her cry out in pain as the force of the engine blasted her through the air, seemingly plummeting to her demise. Then she remembered the pain, her rage fueled assault against her commander's killer availing her nothing. She could still feel the burn of the man's blade through her stomach, still see his shrinking form as she fell from the ship...

Shepard's eyes snapped open, her breathing heavy. She had held this anger, this shame of failure tight inside of her for so long, she clenched it for dear life in her fist, even as it burned away at her heart. The flame of her rage becoming hotter and hotter, until it had become a roiling furnace...no, a star, a boiling ball of hate and anger directed at only one person, and today, she would unleash that hate, that burning fury upon that man and his soldiers...not a single one would live, and then...she would take her back, her friend, her mentor...'Huntress, I'm going to save you this time...and I swear, those pigs will drown in their blood for what they've done to you.'

Shepard was so consumed in her vengeful thoughts, that she didn't hear the door to the room open, when she looked up, she saw Mani4c, Noxus, Justicar, The Wave 2 Cyberblades, and almost 50 commandos sitting in front of her. "Where are the others?" Mani4c jabbed his finger over his shoulder, pointing to the door. "They should be here soon Boss."

[Saber]

Baretta, Saber, and Dagger followed suit not too long after, Rift, following suit as well, with his Feral Force avatars in tow, all in human form. Rift approached Shepard silently, his expression less relaxed than usual. "Before this operation begins, I'd like to have a word with you, commissioner..." Saber and Dagger glanced at each other when Rift spoke up, trying to understand what his intentions were, as well as Katana looking at Chakram and Claymore, surprised by his sudden request.

Baretta, con, fused, did what most officers were thinking "Director Rift, is now really the best time? We're closing in on the enemy's base as we speak." "Unfortunately, now is the only time for this, and I'm not willing to accept a refusal."

[Mani4c]

Shepard raised a hand, "It's fine Baretta, this shouldn't take long." Shepard walked out of the room, expecting Rift to follow.

Mani4c watched as Shepard left the room, only to feel someone lightly tap him on his right shoulder. Mani4c looked over his shoulder, a Commando in yellow painted armor giving a short wave. "Sorry to bug you man, but...you're Net Ops, you get around, you have any idea what the heck's going on? I know that's we're being sent in to rescue a captured NPD officer, but beyond that I know jack."

Mani4c shrugged, "I know that the NPD officer that we're rescuing has been being mentally, physically, and sexually tortured for the last five years, and that she used to be a commissioner. That's about it. I wasn't given a name, no info on where she is, just that she's in deep shit and we need to save her." The Commando nodded, "Damn, that's messed up man, and here I thought that Halberd and Abraxas was the worst it got." Another commando who was sitting behind the yellow armored commando, spoke up. "Unfortunately Scorch, this line of work unearths the worst of the worst. I hope you don't ever get used to it, when you don't feel anything, it mean's you've snapped." This Commando was wearing orange armor, and his tone made it clear that he had been an officer for a long time.

Mani4c arched an eyebrow, judging by the enhanced armor, he ventured a guess and determined that these two commandos were either higher ranked, or specialists.

[Saber]

Rift did follow, arms folded behind him as he tailed the police commissioner. Even as the other officers were talking amongst themselves, Rift paid them no mind, intent of speaking his mind once he and Shepard were alone. Once out of earshot from the others, Rift began to speak very calmly, as if trying to prevent any possible aggravation in this discussion.

"...Shepard, you're not going to like what I have to say, but hear me out...I want you to stay on the Durendal, and command the battlefront from here. I know about your history with the captive, and your emotional state may jeopardize the rescue. You are also the P.C. for the digital branch. Legally, you're not supposed to be getting involved in active police operations when danger is a major risk. This is the choice that you and Commissioner Burns accepted when the Mayor swore you in." He knew Shepard was going to get hostile, knowing someone was trying to keep her from joining in the rescue operation, but he had more to say "However! As the P.C. you also have complete control over the Durendal's armaments. Once the rescue is successfully completed, you can personally give the order to atomize their entire complex, before anyone can so much as lift a finger. We will also need an experienced officer at the helm in case of an aerial assault, and who better than an officer good enough to be chosen by the mayor as commissioner."

Baretta glanced at the two officers when they started talking about the upcoming mission, who they were up against, and how it would affect them "Emotions on the battlefield is dangerous, but sometimes necessary. However, in this case, reigning in your emotions is the best option for any officer, it prepares them to do what is necessary for the greater good, and try to avoid. But never let it affect who you are, or your career will be a short one, remember that." She drew one of her guns and started checking the sliders, to make sure it was primed and ready for combat "Our goal is one thing, the safe retrieval of a former NPD commissioner's data, emotions have nothing to do with this mission. Is that understood?"

[Mani4c]

Shepard grit her teeth when Rift told her that she had to stay behind, even the idea of blowing them out of the sky wasn't enough, SHE had to kill him! "To hell with the Mayor! Don't you get it, it has to be me, because of me she...she..." Shepard clenched her fist, her teeth grit. "She took a hit meant for me, it's all my fault that she went through this, please Rift...I have to go, I need to make this right!"

The orange armored Commando turned to Baretta, nodding in agreement. "Of course Captain, all I meant to say was that if you begin to feel nothing, without even needing to reign them in...I've seen it happen many times, good men who just...shut down, they became sociopaths to numb the pain. It never gets any easier to see that happen to your brothers, men you've fought and bled alongside."

The commando suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Amaterasu with a kind smile on her face. "The fact that you all have endured such hardship speaks volumes about your character Commando, I'm honored to fight alongside you and your brothers any time." The commando smirked slightly, "Thank you Ma'am, and it's Boss." Mani4c cocked an eyebrow. " 'Boss'? That's an odd name." The commando looked at Mani4c, "It's more of a nickname that became my 'real' name. Commandos and NPD SWAT aren't given names, we're given designations. Mine is NPD-C-1/138, but I went by 1138 for a while, when I was given the rank of squad leader, Scorch and the others stared calling me 'Boss', and it just stuck after a while."

Mani4c nodded, "I take it that you guys are the SEAL Team 6 of the NPD commandos?" Boss nodded, "Me, Scorch, Sev and Fixer make up Delta Squad." Scorch butted in, "We're the guys you call when you need stuff blown up, shot up, snatched or stabbed a whole bunch." Boss shot Scorch a look, and the other commando sheepishly clammed up. "Sorry boss."

[Saber]

Rift sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to understand Shepards feelings about this entire ordeal. But since he hasn't had anyone personally take a hit for him, he didn't fully comprehend it. Still, he knew that this was serious, if Shepard was willing to risk her career by breaking a career obligation that she swore to abide, this was incredibly serious for her.

"...Alright, alright...But I'm only agreeing to this under two conditions. Since I'd rather you stay as police commissioner, and not have the mayor replace you and commissioner Burns for allowing this act to fall through against your oath, you need to be in disguise at all times. You need to remain in the dark about your identity, and only reveal it to those who you trust not to rat you out. Second, I must ask that you wear a recall brace program on your wrist. Just because you're insisting on partaking on this, does not mean I will risk wild emotions jeopardizing the mission. If I sense that you're acting outside of normal behavior parameters, and not focusing on the mission at hand, I'm activating the brace, and returning you to the ship. This is non negotiable, or I'm locking exit from the Durendal to you personally, and barring you from joining the mission at all."

"That's good, we may need grenadiers and demolitions experts, depending on how well fortified the site is." Baretta holstered her gun, looking over to see that Shepard and Rift were still in a heated debate. For what, she had absolutely no idea "...I hope they finish up quick, we're almost on top of the base."

[Mani4c]

Shepard grit her teeth. "Fine, no one's seen my combat armor before, I had it updated, so I'll be hidden at least." Shepard leaned in close to Rift, her eyes blazing with anger. "Let me tell you this right now Rift...if you fuck me on this, I don't care if it costs me my badge, I will end you, your operator...everyone you care about. I will not be jerked around by some WNSC suit...considering the company that your boss keeps." With that, Shepard walked past Rift and back into the room, not bothering to listen to the man's response.

Mani4c and the others immediately stopped speaking when Shepard entered the room, turning their attention to the central Holo-projector as it came to life. The lights in the room dimmed as an image of the enemy's base appeared, it was less of a base and more of a massive ship, though slightly smaller than the Durendal, it was easily large and well armed enough to cause heavy damage to the NPD ship if it got too close.

"This...is the Event Horizon. It is a restored light cruiser that was stolen about a decade ago by the Sky Raiders, a group of over 1000 heavily modified avatars, the specialize in stealing military upgrades and using them to attack anything they find valuable...and this-" A holographic image of a man in a heavy armored suit flashed up on the screen, his image fuzzy as the snapshot was obviously taken from a security feed. "This is Brigadier, the groups' leader. Five years ago I was part of a task force, along with the previous commissioner, Huntress..."

Shepard was silent for a moment before continuing. "Huntress was critically injured taking a shot meant for me, and was assumed deleted, she was a Rogue, with no Operator and no backup. Her "death" is why I am required by law to have a backup on hand at all times, so such an incident isn't repeated. Now, the objective of the mission is to rescue Huntress and destroy the Event Horizon, our secondary objective is to delete Brigadier...That's right people, this is an assassination mission as well as a search and rescue."

Shepard inhaled through her nose, steeling herself for what she was going to say next. "I am going to join you in this raid. I have been...advised that I should not do so by Rift, and will be forced to wear a recall brace during the mission due to how I'm personally involved with this case. I was also told to keep my involvement a secret from you...I refuse to do so."

Shepard looked at every avatar in the room, her gaze determined. "I trust each and every one of you with my life, I would gladly risk my own deletion before letting harm come to you, and I trust you all to keep my involvement confidential." The commandos looked at each other, "If any of you wish to turn me in, think that I'm too invested in this mission, I will not stop you from reporting me. I would be locked in my quarters and mission control would be shifted to Rotor. But I ask...will you have me gentlemen?"

There was a palpable silence in the room, before Justicar stood up, He turned to the group and spoke. "Well? Are we going to deny Shepard her chance for redemption!?" The commandos stood up, bellowing a thunderous "NO!" "Will we stand alongside her and fight for our captured comrade!?" "YES!" Justicar turned to Shepard, his voice filled with righteous determination. "Shepard, you point us at the enemy and we will cut them down like wheat in a field!" Shepard smiled, "Are the commandos in agreement with you Justicar?" Before Justicar could answer, the commandos stood up and raised their Rifles, "MA'AM YES MA'AM!" 

[Saber]

Rift was unflinching, but Shepard's words did stick with him. He knew this was important to her, but he also knew that not only were they going to be dealing with an emotionally distraught leader, but an emotionally and physically troubled victim that may wish to lash out at her captors. For this mission to go as smoothly as possible, the chaos needed to be kept to a minimum, or things would get out of hand too quickly "Keep your repressed emotions in check, commissioner, and hopefully I won't have to, that's all I ask."

Rift followed shepard and stood on the sidelines as she made her speech to the men. Her closed his eyes when she came clean about everything, sighing softly. As risky as her actions were, she trusted her men, and he respected that. He just hoped that this wouldn't bite her in the ass later on. But the unity that was shared by every officer in this room, even Justicar, who was still on probation from his crimes, this was an impressive and very satisfactory dismissal of his concerns. As long as none of this came to light to the higher ups, this was going to be a successful mission.

Even Rift's custom team, the feral force, was joining in the rally, arms raised and letting out bestial roars of encouragement. The cheetah avatar, Sprint, started to voice his opinion recklessly, his tail flailing wildly in excitement "What're we waitin' for?! Let's go kick some hacker tail!"

[Mani4c]

Shepard smiled, "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is going to be a high-stakes operation. Thankfully, Delta squad was kind enough to assist me in developing a plan. Boss, you and the other Delta's take the floor."

Boss nodded and stood up, Scorch following his lead. From the crowd two more commandos stood up, walking to the center of the room. One of the commandos wore green painted armor, and had a rather stiff, proper bearing. The other was adorned in messily painted red armor, invoking the image of bloodstains, including what appeared to by a handprint on his face. The way he moved was almost predatory, each step possessing a measured grace to it.

When the four commandos had taken center stage, Boss stepped forward, the hologram changing to depict the ship, with four groups of colored arrows approaching from a distance, each group possessing five arrows. "We're going at this ship from five different Directions with five different Teams."

The first group of arrows, colored in red, enlarged to four times their normal size. "Red Team will be headed by Shepard and Noxus, and have a group of 20 commandos with them. The reason for the large support team is twofold, firstly, Shepard's safety is Priority Alpha, secondly, the other teams will be supported by a larger Net-Ops contingent than Team Alpha."

The first group of arrows shrank, with the second group, colored in blue, enlarging. "Blue team will be headed by The cyberblades, both waves 1 and 2, and have a contingent of 10 commandos with them."

The second and third arrows changed next, this group colored in gold. "Gold team will be headed by Mani4c, Baretta, and our squad, with 6 commandos in reserve."

Finally, the fourth team's arrow was altered, colored in green. "Green Team will be made up of The Feral Force, and all remaining commandos. Now, before we move on to the plan, does anyone have any questions?"

[Saber]

Katana raised her hand when Boss asked if there were any questions "Yeah! Um...Why are there two gold teams?" Saber chuckled and patted Katana's head, ruffling her hair and making her look up at her older brother "That's probably in the plan, let's just listen for now, alright?" Katana huffed, but stopped talking and faced forward "...Fine."

Rift looked around and noticed no one else was going to speak up "Proceed with your plan, officer."

[Mani4c]

Boss nodded at Katana, "That's a good question, and Saber is correct, it is part of the plan." Boss turned and tapped Gold Teams arrows with his fingers, the arrows begining to move at his touch. "Gold team is in charge of Sabotaging the Event Horizon. It's above an uninhabited stretch of the Network, and when it's reactor goes up, nothing will be left."

Boss turned and faced the group again. "Gold team's objective is to disable key components of the ship, the Anti-Air batteries, the ship's fire control center, and the Ship's engines. When the Engines fail, the ship will plummet out of the sky. Needless to say, we'll be using timed explosives for this task. As to why we have two teams, Team A: consisting of Delta Squad, Baretta and Mani4c, will be in charge of destroying the Anti-Air Batteries and the Engines. Fire control is up to Team B."

Fixer stepped forward, "but, to access the Fire Control Deck, as well as all other high security areas, we'll need to disable the Ship's internal security first, that's where Blue team comes in." Boss nodded, "Before I go into what the other team's duties are, does anyone have any questions?"

[Saber]

The dinosaur avatar of feral force; Raptor, stepped forward, letting out and irritable snarl "Rrrrrrgh! Enough with these trivial questions! Tell us the mission outline so we may decimate our enemies!" Raptor emphasized this by clenching his talon-like hand into what could only be described as a fist, the claws scraping together with a blood-curdling grinding sound. The gorilla avatar; Primal, placed a large, simian hand on Raptor's shoulder plate, giving him a cool glare "Easy there, Raptor. Our time will come, you just have to be patient so everyone understands their role."

Raptor shrugged off Primal's hand and focused his lensed eye on his superior, letting out a dull snarl in response to his attempts to calm him "Save your wisdom for training, Primal. This is our first mission, and if a group of seasoned officers need to ask questions to understand their role, then they are better suited for patrol work..." The rat avatar; Vermin, walked up and started poking Raptor's lower chestplate, narrowing his eyes "Ey! Why don'tcha cool your circuits, dino-breath! The fearless leader's got a point yknow, we can't rush into this, or we're all gonna die." Raptor bent down and met Vermin's glare, baring his serrated teeth at the smaller avatar "If I were you, I would shut your cheese-permeated breath, vermin. I have no interest in the why, only the how, and these questions are keeping that knowledge from me!"

Raptor's mouth was quickly covered by a blob of spider silk, a not too pleased female spider avatar; Widow, crossing her arms after webbing Raptor's mouth shut "And you're not helping, so how about you keep your own mouth shut, so we can continue with the briefing...Or do you want to wait longer for your precious mission info?" Raptor was caught off guard by Widow's sudden interruption, glaring at her as she lectured him, but inevitably relented, ripping off the webbing and snarling out of frustration "...Fine...Please continue with your briefing, officer."

Saber was watching this from the opposite side of the room, the five avatars loud enough for the whole room to hear. Silently, he leaned close to Dagger, whispering so he wasn't too loud "And people deemed our group as loose cannons, that was ridiculous." Dagger simply smirked at Saber's words, amused by his brother's comments, but not wanting to raise attention to themselves either, given their own bad rep.

[Mani4c]

Boss was silent for a moment before looking at the Commando in the red painted armor, he nodded at him. "Sev, show him why information is so important." The commando know as Sev walked towards Raptor, staring up at the avatar, who had a good 2 feet on him. 

The commando proceeded to drive the butt of his rifle into Raptor's leg, sweep his other leg out from under him, and plant the barrel of his rifle into Raptor's mouth, all in one swift motion. "Want to know how you lost? You didn't understand that you were a rookie with no experience. Our team's taken down A-Rank viruses with no backup, you nearly got deleted by Mani4c when he busted out a form he'd never used in combat before..." Sev yanked the blaster barrel from Raptor's mouth and walked back to his team, looking over his shoulder. "So understand your role, otherwise you're only good for patrol duty."

Boss waited for Sev to return to his position, "Now then, does anyone have anything useful to ask? Or does the man currently flat on his metal plated behind want to flex his muscles again?"

Mani4c tried and failed to stifle a laugh at Raptor getting humiliated, that was just perfect.

[Saber]

Raptor didn't see the cheap shot coming, and was caught off guard by the sweep kick "Whargh!!!" He fell flat on his back, about to strike with his tail at Sev, before the barrel in his face stopped him dead in his tracks, the tail a foot from Sev's chest plate. He growled angrily as Sev used his own words against him, but he was interrupted by Primal lifting him back to his feet by one arm, giving the reckless reptile a stern glare of his own, silently telling him to knock it off "No sir, no further comments." Primal politely responded, confirming Raptor's silence by giving him another glare, and turning back to the holo-map.

Baretta, while enjoying Raptor getting knocked on his ass due to his arrogance, was at least trying to stay professional, jabbing Manic in the ribcage with her elbow to try and shut him up, before they were next.

[Mani4c]

Boss nodded, ignoring MAni4c's outburst and subsequent elbow to the ribs. "Alright then, as I was saying...Blue team's objective is to capture the CIC, to do this, you'll need to hack the CIC's defense protocols. Mainly the ray shielding that protects the area. The controls for the barriers are separate from those of the rest of the ship for safety reasons. To assist in this objective, Chakram and Dagger will be given EMP det-packs, they'll scramble the circuits in the CIC's defensive barriers, allowing you to get inside and disable the emergency lockdown that will be activated when the assault begins."

Boss highlighted Green team next, looking at Primal. "Green team will be running interference, for the other teams, take out as many enemy troops as you can, and try to destroy or disable the Event Horizon's stock of disruption torpedoes, the gravity warps that those things make will overload the Durendal's defensive shielding, leaving the hull open to an attack from the five 250mm rail cannons that the Event Horizon is packing, one barrage from those things, and the Durendal is lost."

Finally, Boss highlighted Red Team, "Red team is in charge of our primary objective, rescuing Huntress. We're only sending two Net-Ops members in because they're job is strictly search and rescue, get in with the captured officer and get out, if they get Huntress to safety and decide to head back in to assist, they're to rendevous with Gold team and locate Brigadier."

Boss clasped his arms behind his back, shooting a sharp glare at Raptor, "Now, I ask one last time...any questions?" Boss tone was simply daring for someone to be a smart aleck in the middle of the briefing again.

[Saber]

The entire audience was silent, waiting for the rest of the briefing to conclude. Rift took this as a sign that everyone was ready, and gave Boss a nod of approval "I think we're ready to proceed, officer."

[Mani4c]

Boss nodded, "Alright then, Gold and Green teams will be assaulting the Aft docking bay, They'll swing in from the Northeast, coming at the doors from the side. Attempting a head on boarding will leave the gunships open to flak, so be prepared for emergency maneuvers." 

Boss then pointed to Red and Blue teams arrows, "Red and Blue team will be infiltrating via the Forward docking bay, the flak is going to be much heavier here, seeing as the bridge is in this area. The Dropships will be coming in vertically, going into a dive and then climbing as fast as possible, thankfully the G-compensators on the dropships will keep you from being thrown around."

Boss turned to the assembled avatars. "We only know the target area's locations aboard the ship, the exact configuration of the interior is still unkown, due to the heavy customization that the Sky Raiders have done to it...this is a priority 0 mission, I don't need to explain how important our success is. Now, if there are no further questions, let's move out."

Shepard looked to the group, her gaze determined, "Today we destroy one of the biggest non-viral threats to the Cyber World, ladies and gentleman. What you will accomplish will go down in history. Stay Alert, watch each others backs, and most of all...make these sons of bitches regret the day they were born!"

[Saber]

All of the avatars raised their fists int he air, roaring proudly as Shepard roused their spirits, ready for a battle. The larger, Rhinoceros avatar; RYNO, looked at Primal with a calm glare "...I'll fly, the damage level of the VTOL should be lower with me at the helm." "Alright Ryno, you have the chair. Let's roll out Ferals. Green team, moving out!"

Saber placed a hand on Dagger's shoulder, who looked at his slightly taller brother, nodding "Watch our backs out there, Dagger. Your our primary stealth support." "I understand, brother...No one shall get close enough to harm you or the others." "I fight best on my own, focus on watching the others' backs. Blue team, moving out!"

Baretta nudged Mani4c, smirking confidently as their half of the gold team started pooling together "Ready to pop a few hundred caps, lover boy?"

[Mani4c]

Claymore stood up, offering his hand so Katana could clamber up to his shoulder. "Let's go sister, we have scum to wipe out." Chakram chuckled and activated his armor, inhaling deeply and channeling his aggression to activate the Hado, when the telltale purple flames appeared around him, he exhaled and released the Hado, knowing that he could still tap it. "And I'm still in control...excellent." Amaterasu looked at her Children and smiled, activating her combat mode and summoning Solar Flare in one hand and calling forth Thunder Edge in the other.

Mani4c smirked salaciously at Baretta, a glint in his eye. "But of course, and once the mission's done we can come back, hook up in my bunk and have some...heh, 'R&R'." Mani4c had been more bold with their relationship since the...exciting end of their date, not really caring who was around when he flirted with Baretta.

Scorch whistled appreciatively and gave a round of applause for Mani4c and Baretta, before getting dope slapped by Sev. "Have some tact." Scorch scoffed, "Says the guy who calculates how to kill people in his sleep." Sev just snorted derisively, "And I'm one up on you in kills, what's that tell you?" The green armored Commando stepped between Sev and Scorch, his tone sharp and authoritarian. "Cut the chatter you two! We've got a mission to complete."

Sev scoffed, "We weren't arguing Fixer, just a little...competition." Boss chose this moment to step in, his voice stern but level. "That's enough, Fixer's right, we need to focus on the mission."

[Saber]

Baretta smirked and jabbed Mani4c in the gut playfully "You're insatiable, do you know that? Gold teams! Move out!" Everyone began marching out of the conference room, heading to the hangar bay for the mission's launch.

Once everyone was in their designated ships, the hangar door opened and they all started flying out in squadrons, by order of team. The mission was a go, and the pieces were all falling into place for the first move to be played.