Ultima Solem, Chapter 3
#2 of Ultima Solem
Yet another chapter. Again, work in progress (art is never complete ;) ).
Updates to the full story, not much but a bit. I'm working on longer chapters and might add some extra stuff
Read the full thing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12865329/
Chapter 3: Found and Lost
The cold rain dripped down Alistair's fur, streaming down into his eyes and making him squint. He moved slowly up one of the electrical towers that stood above the underground city complex. Alistair was being honest when he told Mellis he was in electrical management; he was the district lower manager and specialist for tower maintenance. Right now he was near the top of the 2000 foot structure, approaching the tech panel that appeared to be malfunctioning. The climb was aided by a Sprite Suit, aptly named because of the four large conductor wings that powered the exoskeleton. He grabbed the rungs of the ladder with large hooks on his augmented arms and feets, suspended wthin the machine by just the control grips and the straps that dug into his skin in unconfortable ways.
The towers were the only things that could collect power. The increasing storms that forced the world underground also generated more power than could be used. The lightning strikes were frequent enough that long term storage was not needed, instead large capacitors stored a fraction of the charge for the few minutes between strikes and the rest was dissipated into the ground. Alistair's job was to fix the things that his lackeys couldn't. Right now, he had his portable computer and replacement components just in case. The total weight was about a half tonne, but the Suit lifted it without hassle.
He finally reached the box, positioned the Suit's hooks on either side and removed his arms from the controls. He fumbled around in his pockets for the key, finally found it and inserted it into the lock. A cover folded out over the terminal and the panels slid back and into the tower, relieving the drenched hare from the rain. Nothing seemed to be smoking or melted, so this meant more work for him.
None of the components needed replacement, meaning that it was the software that was fried. The charges could sometimes corrupt it if there were too many strikes in a short period and they had been experiencing more than normal for the past week. He took out the computer, placed it on the small ledge and connected it in. Within a few minutes, he had located the bad segments and reinstalled them. He opened up the chat console on the computer and typed out a quick message to his ground-based partner.
Alistair: Nothing fried, just software, everything working?;
He waited a few seconds before the reply came back, making him smile.
Wendy: Alls good, come on back down;
Alistair closed the computer and tucked it back in its pouch and closed the terminal panel, cringing as a fresh wave of water hit him.
He grabbed a new dry towel from the stack in the locker room and walked into the control centre, seeing his canine colleague sitting behind the monitors sipping her coffee. He was now patting down his head and ears, finally starting to stop shivering uncontrollably. He had changed from his wet work clothes into his jeans and a white button up shirt. He tossed the used towel into a bin by the door and began rolling his cuffs up to his elbows and readjusting his outfit. He dropped into the chair next to Wendy, grabbing his own cup of now cold coffee and sighed loudly.
"They really have to start training the new guys properly, it took longer for me to get up there than it did to fix the damn thing", he complained taking a foul sip from his cup.
"Well, that's why we get the 'big bucks', we get to put up with everyone else's shit", the black and white Border Collie replied with far too much sarcasm and a small smirk.
"Hmmph, I wish, I've been living off of fake pasta and bread for the past week, why the hell they had to raise the power charge I don't know".
"Yeah", Wendy replied, "Whenever I'm putting in the equipment costs and wages, I can't help but wonder where the rest goes. I'm guessing we only see about one tenth of what they rake in".
Alistair leaned back in his chair, looking at the clock above the door, "Thank god it's almost time to leave", he commented. The clock read 4:48, the next shift would start at 5:00. It was also a Friday, making the numbers tick by even slower.
"Got any plans for the weekend?", his collegue asked, swivelling towards him with interest.
"Umm...kinda. I was just planning on staying in, catch up on some reading and housework. How about you?"
"Oh, not much, some of us were going out drinking tonight. You want to come with? We could always use some more people", she replied, almost pleading him to tag along.
"Probably not, it's been a long week and I could use the sleep", this was mostly true, worked sucked but he had other plans for his time off. Thask had been working on the Bots and warehouse problem they had encountered and had some interesting results to share with them tonight.
It had been a week since they saw the panther and his unknown cargo and the group had been working to find something of use. Azrael and Phen had been working with Reaver to figure out what the boxes were and where they were headed. They had gotten as far a a bridge near the district border, but it was not seen coming out. Even the cameras that should have seen the same truck were not matching up, it was like it was simply removed from the world. Reaver was pissed off about this going on in his own territory.
"Oh...Well, fair enough, hope that works out. I guess I'll catch you next week". Her words were punctuated by the opening of the main door. Alistair stood up and grabbed his cold coffee, nodding towards Wendy and the new staff that entered before heading towards the door and dumping his drink in the trash.
"Yeah, I'll see you later, gotta go".
Within a few minutes, Alistair was standing on the cramped and rusty 2nd level rail as it made its noisy may home. He lived close enough for it to be a quick trip, but he still needed another transfer and walk. The rails themselves ran in the circular patterns that outlined the comercial, industrial and residential areas of the metro. He lived on the 2nd level of an older section, near one of the first bunkers built. Unlike the previous world, this one expanded down, each level being newer and, therefore, more luxurious and well equiped. Alistair's parents had lived on the second level too, working as shop keeps and general laborers where available. He had thought that getting a high level job in the electrical trade would help him support himself and be able to afford more. Instead, thing had gotten worse, his parents had died almost a decade ago when he was seventeen and having no family, left him alone. He had always blamed his parents employers for the hard hours and poor wage, but in the past few years he had began to connect it back to those above them.
About five years ago, he had been the apprentice to another senior Sprite opperator, much like himself now, learning the systems that kept the power on. He took to it fast and was soon working with plenty of autonomy and free range. It was here that he came across the files for his parent's company and took a look inside. Not only were they paying their employees next to nothing for the work done, they were cycling them out after about a year. This got Alistair thinking and he soon found himself looking into other businesses around the metro. Several more were doing the same practice. More digging showed that their net income was as pitiful as their workers, most of it going towards debt.
After a few weeks of deep research, he was contacted by Azrael. Alistair was one of the more competent with security systems and had learned a bit of hacking to do his digging, but Azrael had sliped in without a trace, leaving him several secure files and a message on his computer.
Hope this helps. -Azrael
The files were bills tracking back to larger, government owned companies that took the money and bought up smaller successful startups and shut them down. This got him even deeper and soon he was contacted again
US, Fren's Cafe, 17th, 15.30.5.18. -Azrael
This was an invitation to meet, 3:30 on May 18th, the next day.
He was at the cafe a few minutes early, taking a seat on the outside patio. The cat that he now knows as Azrael took a seat across from him, dressed in his familiar hoodie and jeans. They talked for a while, Azrael was interested in recruiting him, but was smart enough to not give away too much. By the time Alistair left, he was the newest trainee.
The rail stopped at his final station, coming to a grinding halt before the doors slid open. He crossed the platform to the entrance to the residential area. Alistair strode briskly down the long gray corridor, making a few turns before arriving at his door. He unlocked the door, turned on the lights and went to his computer, like most other nights. As his monitors flashed to life, he was greeted with an unexpected chat message
Dramax: Hey Angel, what I miss?;
Alistair jumped at the oppertunity for contact with his missing friend.
Dark Angel: A lot, 13th tonight, major news. You coming?;
Dramax: Can't, got stuff, meet tomorrow? 10th mall garden, 1:00?;
Dark Angel: Sure, see you then;
Dramax is offline;
This was news that the others would want to hear this.
The perch in the 13th was the one that he had met Mellis at for the first time and was one of their prefered meeting places. The only others there were Azrael and Mellis, sitting at the desk in the far corner, they both turned as Alistair closed the door.
"I just got a message from Dramax", he burst out before making it to the pair.
"What?", Azrael said with a confused look on his face. "What did he say?".
"He can't make it tonight, but wants to see me tomorrow. He didn't contact you?".
"No", Azrael replied, looking more pensive, "He was supposed to be doing something deep...I'm surprised he broke cover. Are you going?".
Now it was Alistair's turn to be confused. "Of course, I imagine that's all you're going to say on the matter...Should I be going?".
Azrael leaned back and thought for a second. "Yes, you should. Just you though, if he hasn't contacted the rest of us, he just wants to see you".
Before Alistair could respond, they heard the door unlock. Azrael was on his feet before anyone else could move, his hand clamped hard on Alistair's shoulder. "Do NOT mention Dramax to anyone, this is just between us".
The door opened, revealing Thask's large sillouete walking in. Azrael released his friend and strode over to the new guest. "What do you have for us?".
Thask looked taken aback by Azrael's blunt greeting. "Umm...Well, I believe that I figured out our problem with the Bots...Should we wait for Phen?", he asked, looking around.
"No, she's not coming, I'll fill her in later", Azrael strode over to the screened table andbegan tapping his fingers expectantly, "What is this news?".
The group gathered around the table, Thask put his hand on the table, a green glow circling it. When he removed it, a diagram of the unknown Guard began to rotate on the surface.
"I did some sifting through the code Angel and I collected and found something interesting. This is indeed something we haven't seen. I took the liberty to go through my former employer's servers to see if I could find anything, but came up blank. It isn't government. The specs aren't much differnt from the normal Guards, but the piece we found is linked throughout the system and to each other Guard in the area. This means that even if we can kill it, we'll have every other one on us in a heart beat".
"They look like they're more armored than normal too", Mellis commented, spinning the figure with her hand. "I imagine this adds to things?".
Thask sighed heavily before answering, "Indeed. Dispite their new bulk, they also look faster than normal". He tapped the image, closing it.
Azrael looked at Thask exasperatedly. "So...we can't really get in alive if one of them sees up and we can't kill them...".
"Unfortunately, yes...", Thask replied, looking at his companions.
"So this pretty much means that we need to get through either the roof or basement, still assuming that those are still options?", Alistair piped up, sounding a little too hopeful.
"That is where I have some good news", Azrael replied, "Reaver, Phen and I found that the roof access is a possibility. We don't know where it goes, but it may work. The basement is too heavily fortified for that to work". He placed his own palm on the table and displayed a new warehouse wireframe, this one had the roof access clearly marked along with the interior entrance they saw. Lines of sight and Guard positions were also shown in glaring red.
Alistair looked at the cat for a few second, thinking about how this was going to work. "I do believe that I have and idea, but we need Phen for it to work".
Alistair walked under the vaulting cielings of the 10th district shopping center. Dramax was going to meet him in the gardens, located on the second floor. As usual, he was a few minutes early. The complex was filled with people, bright shops and plenty of noise. He took the elevator to the second floor and headed down the long hallway. The garden itself was the quietest and calmest part of the mall, with its fake trees and a stream. Before his side work started to consume most of his time, he would go there and just sit for hours, thinking.
Dramax was late, no real surprise there, he had a habbit of being late. Like Azrael had ordered, he hadn't mentioned the meeting to anyone else. Alistair had taken the night to wonder why Azrael had made that demand, was Dramax really on some secret assignment that they didn't know about? Or was it something else?
It was after a half hour of waiting on a garden bench that Allistair began to get bored, he had considered wandering around and doing some window shopping, but he knew that this was more important. He opened his HUD chat window to check for any messages, tapping discreetly on his seat. There was nothing new, just some spam in his email inbox.
He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the figure sit down next to him until he spoke.
"Waiting for someone?".
Alistair spun around, trying not to look too startled. The person wasn't Dramax, it was a black panther.
"Umm...yeah, he should be showing up soon...", Alistair replied, not really wanting to look him in the eye. He was much larger in person, his head the same height as the hare's ears, even while he was sitting. He was staring at Alistair with a look of contempt as he drummed his claws against his leg.
"hmmm, maybe not as soon as you think, Angel".
Alistair spun around to face him, bringing up his radar so nothing could take him by surprise.
"Don't bother with that, I'm alone. Can't say the same for you though...", the large feline said, turning to face him properly and looking up past his shoulder.
"Yeah, well, when someone mentions a ghost, I get a little cautious", he heard a voice say, it was Azrael.
"Yes, I figured that would get you here. I'm not here as a threat, just as a messanger", the guest said, looking calm. "My employers just want to warn you to stay out of their business. I don't think that I have to mention what will happen if you don't comply".
"And who would these mysterious employers be...?", Azrael asked, not backing down.
The panther looked quizically at the smaller cat. "Really? I thought you would have figured that out, especially with someone like Reaver working with you. I'd suggest you go see him about it". He stood up and smoothed out his suit, the same one he was wearing at the warehouse. "I should leave you with that, I hope to not have this conversation again". He turn briskly and walked in the other direction.
Alistair began to get up, only to have Azrael put his hand on his shoulder, he was hoping this wasn't becoming a pattern. "Best not", the cat said.
"So...", Alistair replied, turning to face his friend, "How did you know I wasn't going to be meeting Dramax?"
"That's easy. Dramax has been dead for a month".