Chapter 9 OPERATION DEMIURGE (PART THREE)

...

“Archon 1-6 to Intervention, we've linked up with Second Squadron, awaiting extraction. Over.” “Intervention to Archon 1-6, we copy, ETA in 10 minutes. Out.”

Winters and the rest of the Task Force were now awaiting extraction in the other world city. They failed to find Snafu, but at the very least the information and Intelligence they've discovered within the city is good enough to not consider the trip as a total waste.

Winters checked his watch, though it was probably a little bit inaccurate due to him being not on earth anymore, it was obvious to see that it was rapidly approaching dark, and they had to leave this area at night due to security and risk reasons. He stood back up, facing his fellow colleagues, all sitting in a circle and having some sort of meeting among each other about what they saw and discovered. From the weird connections to Russia, the architecture, the vehicles to even some saying that they've seen this city before in the past. From what they've discovered, all answers just led to more questions, they were lost in their theories.

But the topic that was most intriguing was the girl First Squadron found and the masked people Second Squad had encountered, and killed. They didn't want to take the lives of the first locals they saw, but they didn't want to get impaled by a crossbow bolt on the chest either. Their first contact on this world leading to a river of blood wasn't the expected or favoured outcome of the operation. The old phrase; No plan survives on first contact rings through once more. But they were used to plans going to shit, and so, as usual, Conner was taking center stage of the discussion.

“So apart from one guy carrying a goofy looking mortar, you're telling me that they went at you with medieval wave tactics?” Conner asked, talking to a Second Squadron member. “Yep, shit was abominable, felt like they didn't care that they were literally killing themselves by just running at us.” He said, then he took a black long stick-like object strapped in his bag pack.

He grinned behind his balaclava, and with a boasting tone, presented his scavenged artifact. “I was allowed to take this thing.” He showed off the Reunion weapon he picked up from a corpse, letting everyone see the sword as he held it up in the air. “Kinda looks cool, right?” “Jesus man, already picking up souvenirs eh?” Conner said, taking the regular soldier’s sword. He glanced at the roughened handle with bits and parts of it damaged and scarred, the worn and torn nature of it indicated that this sword had been used for a long time. Then his eyes climbed up to the blade and noticed a small marking at the lower edges.

“Hey, something is written on it.” “Huh? Where?” Conner pointed out the small etching to the second squadron guy. “Hey ain't that-” “Yeah I think it is.” Conner said, then he looked for Ivan in the crowd. “Ivan! You can read right?”

The ex-Spetsnaz stared back. “What? More Russian shit?” He said back, then started walking towards Conner. “Yeah, take a look at this.” Conner said, handing the sword to Ivan. The Russian examined the sword carefully, his eyes locking in with interest and curiosity upon seeing the Russian characters hastily inscribed by what seems to be a sharp object made by maybe a knife or a similar object at the blade of the sword.

“Надежда.” Ivan said, with his thick accent. “What?” “Pronounced Nadezhda, it's a girl's name in Russia, it means Hope.” Conner took the sword back from his hands. “A girl's name?” He said. “Well I hope we figure out what that means.”

“We'll figure that out when we first get out of here!” Winters, who was listening in on the conversation, interrupted. After all, talking casually in a place where deranged mask people that seem to come out of nowhere doesn't seem like the brightest idea.

After shutting them up, Winters then turned his attention to the medic. “Roe! How's the girl doing?” The medic didn't take long to answer, he was sitting at the ground while writing his observations on his small black notebook. “Snug, taking a real comfy nap right now.” Roe said, with the girl’s head currently laying on his lap. He laughed a bit at the ridiculousness of all this, they came here to find a bloodied and grizzled old vet, yet ended up with a young girl with animal features with the most exotic hair they've ever seen. Life could truly take you anywhere.

The girl's hood was back on, covering her head to prevent the curious soldiers from trying to play with her animal ears. Her weapons were all dumped into a zipped bag and her hands tied, just for extra precaution and security of course. The problem was her long obstructing tail, at first they argued whether it was potentially dangerous or not and if they should tie it too, but fortunately they left her tail alone by Winters’ command.

“How long till she wakes up again?” Winters asked, walking closer to the sleeping demi-human, or at least that's what Roe classified her race as. “Dunno, only made her swallow light doses of anesthesia pills, so probably six to seven hours but that's on her.”

“You really think she'll be happy with us kidnapping her?” Asked Michael, who was also nearby. “Well, I did patch her up from a potentially lethal injury, maybe she'll come around?” As the lieutenant and engineer were observing their soon to be guest with great interest, their comms blared unexpectedly.

“SkyFather to all Archon Units, twelve masked combatants are observed to be nearby the area 800 meters east to your current position. Out.”

Winters clicked his tongue, it was those white masks guys that the Second Squadron encountered multiple times already. They just seem to pop out of nowhere all of the sudden. The theory the Task Force came up with was that there is an underground network of tunnels in this city where they just suddenly pop out from. Not too surprising since this city was built on a platform that was moving, but it was nevertheless baffling. Winters put his thoughts aside then looked for Speirs, the leader of Second Squadron.

“Speirs!” He shouted. “Have you ever tried talking with those guys?” Speirs who was nearby sighed, recollecting what happened at their first encounter. “We tried diplomacy Sir, hands up and guns down, not a single word yet and they started pelting us with crossbow bolts, didn't have the chance to say we come in peace.” “Fuck are they? Territorial animals or something?” Interjected Bull, who was listening in their conversation. “Well we are intruders, or even aliens in their territory.” Replied Speirs. “How about interrogating them?” “We didn't get a chance to, we were focused on the drone.”

Winters nodded, then he thought about what they should do to the nearby group of weirdly highly aggressive locals. He looked at the skies, it was truly getting dark and this gave him an idea, and with a plan in mind, he contacted Command. “Archon 1-6 to Intervention. Requesting permission to meet the local inhabitants for interrogation. Over.” “Intervention to Archon 1-6. Permission granted. Make it quick. Out.”

Winters shut his radio then turned to the men of First Squadron. “Alright! Since Second Squadron had all the fun so far, we'll take care of this one aye?” “Aye!” “Roe stay behind with the girl! Connor! Ivan! Bull!, Michael and Speirs! On me! We don't got that much time left! Move!”

...

Winters led his squad through the city of ruins and debris once more, this time however they had their Low Light vision activated while they moved to their target's location with the help of the Predator's mapping in the sky. After some minutes they encircled a small open area in the street that the white masks were going to walk through. They hid themselves in ruined buildings, corners and rubble that made them invisible with the cover of dark and night, in preparation for an ambush.

“So what exactly do you plan to do?” Conner said, while they were waiting in cover. “We're gonna give 'em a little spook, or maybe a jumpscare?” Winters' replied with a slight sadistic tone to his voice while installing his AN/PEQ-4, an advanced laser sight that could switch from visible and IR modes. “Everyone, equip your lasers.” He whispered through the IVAS' communication systems. “They're coming.”

Just right after Winters spoke, a voice was heard, coming from the other end of the road.

“Seriously, where did those 4th sword platoon guys disappear off to?” “My bet is that they went looting one of the untouched areas again.” “Hmm, makes sense. The moment Mephisto is out, they all suddenly lose all their discipline!" “Yeah I've noticed that, Talulah ain't gonna be happy with this though.”

As interesting as the info that the white masks were talking about was, it wasn't the info they needed right now. So Winters decided to act, now or never. He opened his radio and communicated to his nearby units. “Everyone, prepare to switch your lasers to Visible Light at my signal. Out.” Winters then positioned himself to a second floor terrace of a broken house to have a good view of the White Masks while still being hidden relatively well. And in an instant, he signaled the switch in lasers then shouted through his balaclava with his commanding and authoritative voice.

“We have you surrounded! Hands up and drop your weapons now!”

The white masks were suddenly startled, with six red lasers pointing at them in every single direction. They tried to look where these lasers lead to at their end but all seemed to fade in dark corners, their originium lanterns being too weak for them to see what there was in the distant dark. They didn't even get a chance to see who was challenging them. Though they didn't really care. They defeated Chernobog and decimated its military, no one could challenge them here, or so they thought. And so with blind ignorance and arrogance that they would soon regret, they ignored the warning.

“Who do you think you fuckers are! Huh!?” One of the White Masks said, he then unsheathed his sword and shouted with unbridled rage. “Your stupid animals are in Reunion Territory!” “You think we are scared?” “Soldiers of Reunion, Charge!”

A flash of light in the dark, and with it followed the bloodcurdling boom of thunder ending with the thud of falling corpses.

“Last warning! Drop your weapons now!”

The remaining Reunion Soldiers were left in shock. In an instant, in a single moment that felt shorter than even a split second, most of the group was laying in the ground dead. Their dark blood painting the cold concrete red.

“What the-!” One of the Soldiers instinctively charged his crossbow in response, panic started seeping in all of those who were left. Unfortunately the thunder returned the moment he raised his weapon, his fate, no different from the others before him. And in a single moment, their lanterns broke and only four were left standing.

“I said drop your weapons and don't move!”

This time the Reunion Soldiers were more reluctant to even hold their weapons. Fear was now present, and it controlled them. “M-Monsters! R-Run for it!” One of the four said, dropping his sword, his legs turned in flash and panic and started running away like a fleeing rat with two more followed his brave tactical retreat, however it was proven futile by the fact that there was now lead stuck in their skull.

Only one was left, frozen totally still in shock like he was stuck in blue ice, maybe his brain was still processing what just happened. But it didn't matter to Winters.

“Drop your sword now!”

Winters’ voice called out again, all lasers now pointing all over the last Reunion Soldier. His hands gave, dropping his sword and kneeling to the ground. “D-Dont kill me! Please! I'm just a recruit of The Reunion!” He pleaded. Fear and total dread marked his voice.

“Get up and take off your mask!”

The man then slowly stood up then removed his white mask, splattered red by the blood of his once-comrades. A young man, unremarkable features and dull face except for the fact that two bear ears were shivering in fear, so was his dark brown eyes. Tears were running across his face, his body hair stood up like tall grass and his hair wet with sweat that ran across his entire body.

“What's your name?”

Winters asked, the shadow of his cover and his pure black attire still making him practically invisible to the young man.

“M-My name? Uhh! It's Pavel! Pavel Smerdyakov!” He shouted back, his voice still shaking like there was a tremor on his tounge.

“What are you?” “M-Me? What do you- I mean I'm an Infected! Infected!” He repeated. “I mean, what race are you?” Winters said back, being confused by his initial answer. “O-Oh, Race? Ursine!” “What’s this place called?” “C-Chernobog, Sir!” The Ursine man was now obediently answering Winters’ questions, not thinking about why they were even asking such simple and obvious questions.

“Okay, what happened here?” “R-Reunion took it over Sir! We took over the local government then the catastrophe struck!” “Why?” Pavel hesitated in answering for a small bit, but he continued. “R-Revenge Sir! The Ursus Empire had been treating us infected like total trash! So the Reunion took Revenge-oh! But I'll leave Reunion and live a life free from trouble if that's what you want Sir!” “What's the Reunion?” “Uhh- it's a massive movement which seeks to end the suffering of the Infected!”

There was a small awkward moment of silence before Winters spoke again.

“What's an Infected?”

Pavel was scared, really scared, but his confusion was now growing higher than his fear. Why ask a question like that? It's common sense to know what an Infected is, everyone who lives in Terra would consider all of these questions common knowledge. Maybe they are testing him? Playing mind games? Or maybe just simply making fun of him? Was he being made a clown?

“I said, what's an Infected!?” Winters’ voice echoed again, Pavel didn't have a choice but to answer.

“Ah- apologies! Infected refers to people infected by Oriphathy! And uhh- Oriphathy is a terminal disease contracted by exposure to Originium!”

The voice from the dark didn't respond.

“S-Sir? P-Please don't kill me! W-Wait- I'm a helper of an assistant of a Reunion Commander! I-Il work for you if you just spare my life!”

“Work for us?” “Yes Sir! Though the Reunion might be the light of the Infected, they've done nothing but treat me as cannon fodder, so please! I'll do anything!” Pavel was now pulling everything out of his ass to try to keep his life, but at the same time he was telling the truth. Not everyone in the Reunion was as dedicated or committed to the cause, a few had already started seeing its flaws in both its idealism and leaders. He was one of those few, even more so after his Brother died in a meaningless charge ordered by one specific commander.

“Fine then, first of all, we never talked here. You understand?” “Y-Yes Sir! I completely understand what you're getting at!” “Second, we can find you anytime we want, so you better keep your word.” “Y-Yeah! I will!” “Good, close your eyes.”

Pavel reluctantly shut his eyes. He was sweating, he was shaking, he was pissing his pants, he really didn't want to die, his eyes started dripping with tears. Now he was second guessing his decisions again. What were these mysterious guys planning for him? Who were these guys in the first place? Pavel's mind raced for answers, ““Rhodes Island? No, they usually don't operate this way. Then who could it be? the only other Nomadic City which was relatively close to Chernobog was Lungmen-wait, Lungmen? Were these the famed Special Investigation Unit of the LGD?”” Pavel shivered at the thought.

“C-Can I open them now?” He asked, to no response. He waited for another minute and asked again. Still no response, now this was getting weird. After what he thought was five minutes, he slowly opened his eyes. “H-Hello?” Nothing greeted him, except for the slow tapping noise of dripping blood flowing from the corpses that surrounded him. The many menacing red lasers that were aimed at him disappeared, leaving him in complete darkness as Terra's Twin Moons had finally hovered high above in the starry sky.

...

Winters and the squad were rushing their way back to the extraction zone, 20 minutes late. “Are you sure that was a good idea Sir?” Conner asked while they were running, after all the original plan was to kill all of them after the questioning. “Well, Command seemed interested in keeping him alive, besides him asking to work for us could be very useful.” Winters replied. “Yeah you believe him?” “Eh, not that much, that's why I told Michael to put that bug in him, so even if he did lie and report us to the Reunion or whatever, we would know.”

Michael spat. “I stuck the bug at the back of his vest, didn't have the luxury to properly hide it but I did my damn best, besides it's already a miracle that he didn't notice me standing right behind him!” “If he finds out or not doesn't matter, we still get something out of it.” “Even if he reveals our existence to the Reunion?” Conner asked Winters.

“Even if he does, we didn't give him a glimpse of what we even look like didn't we?” “Thats true, and we already killed dozens of them so, y'know.” Added on Michael. Winters nodded in agreement and continued his original statement. “Besides that's IF he betrays us, there's still a good chance he'll keep his word.” “Why do you think that Sir?”

Winters smirked beneath his balaclava upon hearing Connor's question, though it was unnoticeable to the rest of the squad. “I was a case officer once, and let me tell you something. First impressions of a person tell you everything about them in just a single glance. Even more so when you hold them at gunpoint.” “Uhh, I didn't think case officers threatened people.” “No, no, no, just saying when people think their life is threatened they tend to be more truthful.” “Ah, sure that makes more sense, but why didn't Command ask us to just take him with us like the girl?” “Command is probably being overcautious or has some other plans to get info from him, I bet that bug is already connected to the Reaper's systems anyway, what do you think Ivan?” With Winters directing the question to the Russian, he thought about it for a small moment before speaking his thought. “Well, in my opinion, it would be because the helicopter is already fully packed.”

As they were speaking, their comms activated, the voice of their pilot, Kanssen echoing through it. “This is Aeon-1 to Archon 1-6! We've been waiting for a damn while now! Whatever you're doing, make it quick! Out!” Winters quickened his pace. “Right, you heard him! Let's not make the pilot angry people! let's go!”

...

As First Squadron with Speirs made it back to the extraction site and unto the Valor, they admired the starry night sky of this fantastical new world they found themselves in. The agents were staring at the astral beauty of the Twin Moons and in return they observed the otherworldly visitors in silence. The operators decided to stay relatively silent this time, choosing instead to relish in the moment. After all this would be their first night in this world that all came from a stupid portal and a rock.

The Valor took off again, departing from the BFMC that they now know is called Chernobog, silently leaving the city at a strategically pre-planned route where they could lessen the chance of being seen. What they didn't know at the time, is that with their egress, they left behind a part of themselves, the ghost of their actions.

To the Central Intelligence Agency operators involved, it was nothing more than a job, something that they've done a hundred or maybe even more times before, just in new soil and air, same shit, different world as they now say. But for the original inhabitants, it would be the starting point, the origin of many other strange and faceless incidents and events that have yet to come, some would be noticed though most of it would be forever hidden, eternally buried in all consuming dark of secrecy.

…

The morning twilight came, then the first rays of solar light shone upon the land. A new day has dawned upon the inhabitants of Terra, to most it would just be another day in life but to the Reunion, it would be a very, very distressing day.

“Please, I ask for all of us to calm down.” A long silver-white haired girl said. Her striking silver gray eyes locked in a state of equal concern and deep thought. The concerned posture aimed at another attendant of the ashen walled room she was in. The girl was undoubtedly under stress, with small beads of sweat rolling down her cheek and the slight scar on her nose. The girl's long bunny ears implanted on the top of her head, slightly shaking, shivering, showing distress, yet her bold face maintained a stoic and calm expression.

Unfortunately the unusually high temperature of the room she was situated inside was close to breaking her still and unchanging expression, but she did her best to hold on. Taking a glance at the cause of why the room she was in felt like a high powered microwave, she opened her mouth.

“In a situation like this, I think the best option is to try our best to remain clear headed and calm.” She said, her head turned to another white haired attendee.

“I think, Yelena, correct in her assessment.”

A very rough, very distinct voice of a towering male figure whose heads were adorned in twin antlers warped and extended in multiple diverging branches combined with the terrifying visage of his ox skull shaped armor coupled in with his haunting red eye which intimidates all those who attract its gaze. He leaned closer, his great step forward producing a loud stomp that echoed throughout the room due to his weight combined with his unbelievably cumbersome armor and shield that could easily pass as an impenetrable wall. Not forgetting his crude incredibly long double sided halberd of brutal metal with a storied history of centuries of blood currently resting upon his back.

He too stared at the women seated in front of both him and the white haired youth named Yelena, also known as Frostnova, one of Reunion's Commanders.

The mentioned woman, also with white hair and two extending draconic dark horns with another smaller set below it gave off the feeling of both elegance and sharp noble strength. She was wearing an eloquent long dark dress with a long flowing orang armband on her arm which exudes power and authority which were exemplified by her dark draconic tail and her eyes. Her piercing eyes, clouded in gray but with a spark of orange dark, glared daggers at everyone. But after a small moment, which felt more like a millennium, she resigned with a sigh. Closing her eyes, she withdrew her arts, the burning inferno in the room slowly dissipating at her command, making all the other people present sigh in relief.

“Talulah, I know the plan didn't go well, but we were still successful in taking Chernobog.” Frostnova said. The draconic woman is known as Talulah, the leader of the Reunion. Crossing her arms and leaning back, she said. “But with victory comes cost. Sacrifice is inevitable, but to lose so much in a single battle, it's unacceptable, don't you agree, Patriot?”

She glanced in the direction of the towering male Wendigo. Patriot, as he was called, put forward his opinion. “The loss of CrownSlayer and the state of Mephisto, and his army, are not favorable.” Talulah nodded her head, then turned to face the other Reunion commander in the room.

W was leaning on a wall, silently listening to their conversation. “W, what do you think?” W smiled, turning her head to make eye contact with Talulah. “Me?” She said with her usual playful attitude. “Well, it's obvious that something outside everybody's calculations and all so intricate plans have interfered.” W stopped leaning and instead walked her way towards the group. “We all know Rhodes Island was involved, but I do not think they themselves are responsible for the deed.”

“Then, who?” Asked Frostnova. “I don't know, yet.” W continued. “But if there's one thing I'm sure of, is that whoever this mysterious party is, I have a feeling they won't just stop here.” Unfortunately, for the Reunion, W’s guess was accurate.

KNOCK KNOCK The banging of the doors to the room took everyone's attention. “Come in.” Patriot's voice signaled for the person to enter, and with it came an Elite Reunion Swordsman entering the room.

“Speak.” Said Patriot. The Swordsman stumbles a bit, but shortly gathers himself afterwards and with a salute, he said. “Sir Patriot!” He glanced at the others, “Oh!- and Leader Talulah and Fr-” “There is no need, continue with your report.” Said the draconic woman, quickly telling him to shut up and move on. “Understood! So remember yesterday afternoon? When an entire platoon of soldiers suddenly stopped answering their radios?” He held his breath for a bit, he was nervous, he really didn't want to be the one to deliver this piece of Info, to the leader of the Reunion no less.

“Well, I've sent a search party for them that night, and uhh- the search party also disappeared, that time I-I thought it was nothing serious and maybe they were just useless men who tried to desert the Reunion, b-but then just this morning-”

“What?” Said Talulah with impatience, the room's temperature suddenly skyrocketed again. “I-I don't know how but, the missing platoon and the search party was found laying in the ground, d-dead.” The room was shocked with almost everyone having a bewildered expression then followed by a brief moment of silence before Talulah spoke again, her tone changed. “Was there any survivors?” “I-I dont know, we haven't found all of the corpses yet!” “Why am I hearing about this now?” The soldier gulped. “I-Its my fault for not being vigilant! I didn't look into it that much last night because I thought there were no possible threats for the Reunion in Chernobog after we made it ours! S-So I thought that they were just being a bit disobedient and we'll just find them with the sun's light tomorrow morning, b-but-”

Talulah had enough of the soldier and decided to ask Patriot something crucial instead. “Patriot, aren't your Guerilla ShieldGuards protecting each and every single entrance to the city?” Patriot said nothing, instead reaching out for his radio. He contacted his men, and with his strong and authoritative voice he spoke.

“This is Patriot, to all units, have you seen anyone entering the city yesterday?” The originium radio responded instantly. “Negative, we have seen nothing.”

Their report did nothing but increase the confusion in the room. Patriot's Guerillas are top class soldiers, they were so competent in war fighting that they managed to hold off the Emperor's Blades one time in the frigid snow. There was no doubt about their ability, so if they didn't see anything, how did Chernobog get infiltrated?

Patriot faced the trembling soldier, staring at him eye to eye. “Is that all?” “N-No, uhh- actually there were loud booming noises at the outskirts of Chernobog yesterday, I ignored it because I thought it was just the aftermath of the Catastrophe- buildings and rubble collapsing in the distance making noise, y'know?”

Frostnova narrowed her eyes and leaned closer, giving a question of her own. “Loud booming noises? Could it be a gun?” “A gun? No I don't think so, I've heard Sankta rifles before and they aren't that loud, what I heard was more like a distant thunderstorm.”

This was a perplexing situation for everyone in the room, an entire platoon suddenly getting killed in Reunion territory and no one having a single clue on how and why.

“Wait, they didn't even use their radios to report an attack?” The soldier thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, I don't think so. I don't remember a single report about an attack last night.” Frostnova considered the puzzling situation carefully. “So, if there was no report then that means they were killed so fast that not a single operator had the time to communicate back for help.” After Frostnova spoke, the temperature in the room abruptly started increasing.

“Have they performed an autopsy yet?” Talulah said with glaring eyes. “N-Not yet, my apologies.” “Unbelievable. Our own comrades, fellow brothers and sisters, dying in the dark right after we liberated Chernobog, right under our noses no less.” Talulah’s voice was stern, cold, biting and maybe even somber. There was a trace of pain in her tone, but anger was also evident, anger and hate.

“There's only three ways someone could've killed our brothers and sisters right in our territory.”

She stood up from her seat, then talked while walking to her weapon. The room's temperature steadily getting even more higher. “One, there's a hidden group still stuck with us here, in Chernobog. Surviving the initial attack and hiding in the streets and alleys, planning attacks from the dark.”

Talulah picked up her sword, letting her hand slowly touch the sheath of her sword as flames manifested into her fingertips, burning away the sheath. “Second, a flying machine or special vehicle might have been used to enter Chernobog through the skies, similar to that of Rhodes Island.”

“Rhodes Island? I see no reason why they would-” Talulah cut off FrostNova’s sentence and in a flash she drew her sword with the sheath fully burned down to ash revealing the dark grim blade of her sword pointed and raised at the Reunion Commanders at the room. “And third, one of you, one of us, right here, in this very room-” She paused, letting the room reach its melting point and with fiery eyes, she spoke. “Is a traitor.”

…

Rhodes Island

The Doctor was sitting on a chair, she's nervous. Beads of sweat rolling down her chin with her hands clenched, she tried her best, but still couldn't properly hold a proper conversation with the light green haired feline woman in front of her.

“Really, that’s all I know and that's the end if it.” The Doctor said while trying to avoid the seemingly murderous glare directed at her by the unofficial head of Rhodes Island. “Hmm. Then, you are dismissed.” Kal'tsit said, her eyes turning away from her and instead to the stacks of paper reports on her desk.

““Why was she staring at me that way? D-Did I offend her in some way before I lost my memory?”” The Doctor thought. She didn't know why this person had such high animosity towards her. Amiya told her it would be fine, but no, this was not fine at all, not in the slightest. Maybe she could try asking her why? Or is that a bad idea? The Doctor didn't know, but you could never know if you didn't try.

“Uh, Dr Kal'tsit?” The Doctor said to the head of Rhodes Island, known as Kal'tsit. She was busy reviewing the report of the Chernobog operation when The Doctor’s voice reached her feline ears. “You're still here? I asked you to leave, didn't I?” She said, her cold, unapologetic voice reverberating across the room.

The Doctor changed her mind, it was definitely a bad idea to ask that now. So she decided to change her question on the spot. “Sorry, I just wanted to ask someth-” “Then ask away.” “Ah- I just wanted to know if I would still be of use here, considering my memory and all.” Kal'tsit looked away from the documents and once again stared daggers at her. “Yes. The combat reports state that you at least have commendable strategic ability.” “That's good to hear-” “Is that all?” “Oh, no-I also wanted to know if Snafu would be alright.”

Kal'tsit stopped glaring and instead looked back at the reports laying on her desk. “Snafu, the man that first found you?” “Y-Yeah, him.” “He would be fine but several weeks of recovery would be needed for him to properly fully recover.” “T-Thank you Dr Kal'tsit, that's all I wanted to know. I'll be leaving now.” The Doctor said, getting up from her chair and finally escaping the prison which was Kal'tsit’s office, but before she could even open the door, Kal'tsit spoke from behind her.

“Do not forget about our check-ups. Every day before dinner you come to visit my Office, understand?” “Yes, I understand.” “Then, see you this evening.” “See you too Dr Kal'tsit!” The Doctor said, then gently shut the door to the office leaving the green haired feline alone in the room.

Kal'tsit sighed, her expression softened, the glare and stern attitude fading and replaced with a more thoughtful, concerned one. The Doctor left, though her thoughts immediately drifted back to her. ““So she lost her memories, thats- No. That might be for the better.”” She sighed, again. She should not be thinking of this now. So instead she tried to focus on the more pressing matters at hand. Taking the pile of documents on her desk, she pulled a specific report. The report was hastily written, with tons of question marks, blanks and the general incompleteness of it making it stand out from the others.

It was the report of the mysterious man that first found The Doctor and helped Rhodes Island survive through Chernobog. The man only known as “Snafu”. She also pulled the medical report she read earlier to The Doctor for comparison, her eyes narrowed at one specific, single detail that could single handedly impact Terra itself. One of the oddities discovered in the clinical analysis of Snafu, was that there were absolutely zero traces of Originium found in his body.

___ (Arknights is not owned by me) A/N Here is a big chapter. If you have any questions concerns or criticisms feel free to comment, thanks for all the support, oh and i might post this fic to other fanfiction platforms, revising some minor parts of it in the process, have this small edit i made in celebration for 100+ votes



(Should i make more edits like this?)