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Chapter 9 - chapter 9 : expaint

Codename: Operation Widow Pulse

*"Truth is never handed over. It must be stolen—from the hands of giants."

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Location: Hidden Resistance Command Cell – Subsurface Bunker, Earth Exo-Zone 07

A low hum from recycled air vents pulsed through the dimly lit chamber. Flickering holoscreens reflected off tired eyes. This wasn't just a briefing. This was the edge of war—drawn in digital lines and whispered bets. A plan built on desperation, precision—and pain.

Seer'ah stood before a glowing schematic projected in midair—an ever-shifting 3D render of the RaveLight Systems facility. The image displayed not only the outer structure but the sprawling, heavily-classified underbelly: 35 underground levels, each curving in an oval layout spanning up to 150x3 meters. The facility's surface level was nothing more than a ruse—abandoned walls, rusted locks, staged guards. But deep below... the truth rotted.

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The Structure: Layer by Layer

Surface Level (SL): Decrepit facility entrance camouflaged as a decommissioned nuclear waste site. Patrolled by low-tier guards and outdated tech to discourage exploration.

U-Level Entry Shaft: Secret tunnel drilled from Exo-Zone pipelines. This shaft provides covert access to inner infrastructure without triggering above-ground alarms.

From there, the floors of interest:

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U33: Outer Ring – Robotics & Fabrication

Purpose: R&D and production of drone units, exosuits, combat cyborgs, and basic components for advanced computing systems. Despite being the outer ring, it's a major choke point.

Security:

Mid-range defense drones rotating in overlapping patrol paths

Heat & sound-triggered suppression turrets

Security cyborgs running deprecated DraTech cores—unpredictable and prone to surge attacks

Magnetic rail corridors shifting cargo at 120 km/h

Environmental Risk:

EMP pulse zones

Cargo impact zones

Reason for Assignment: This floor requires brute force and mechanical improvisation.

Assigned Team:

Rav D'mon (Heavy Breaker) – Smashes barriers, clears corridors

Juno Vale (Stealth) – Silently eliminates rogue patrols

Needle (Daaz Veron) – Disables infrastructure, reroutes power

James – Provides real-time comms, drone overrides, satellite mapping

Objective: Retrieve Hyperconductive Resonance Tubes & Neuro-Matrix Drivers — essential for constructing the Conn Terminal.

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U34: Core AI & Biotech Lab – "Screaming Glass Hall"

Purpose: This floor pushes ethical boundaries—where biotech converges with sentient code. It houses semi-alive AI constructs, cryo-suspended test subjects, and psycho-reactive security drones.

Security:

Emotion-detecting sensory drones

Memory-linked cryo vaults (contain unstable subjects)

Neural barrier fields that cause mental lag

Environmental Risk:

Neural feedback radiation

Hallucination-inducing atmospheric shifts

Internal surveillance run by a parallel AI

Reason for Assignment: This level demands cerebral strength, biological control, and psychological resilience.

Assigned Team:

Kruu – Direct interface with systems, firewall neutralization

Eira Drahn – Handles bio-threats, cryo breaches, provides neural stability meds

Nia Kortez – Deals with rogue AIs, manipulates security language

Zyn Korr – Used as infiltration fallback if stealth paths become viable

Objective:

Extract Phase-Memory Crystals

Secure backup protocols of "Mira" — the Dra-Human hybrid AI that guards the Black House security core

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U35: Deep Core – BlackBox Vault / Conn Prototype Storage

Purpose: Considered a dead zone by staff, this level stores rejected black-ops prototypes, failed Conn experiments, and backup cores. Its security evolves in real-time.

Security:

Adaptive AI that changes tactics based on intruder movement

Gravity anomaly sectors (unstable time and force fields)

Memory walls that steal thoughts and reroute perception

One rumored DraWar-class sentinel—possibly dormant

Environmental Risk:

Spatial distortion

Light-delay corridors

Power-drain tunnels

Reason for Assignment: This level is a one-way-in zone. Solo operations limit AI adaptation. It requires someone who can survive unpredictable pressure.

Assigned Team:

Soy (Solo Deep-Insert Operative)

Seer'ah (Remote Command + Secondary Protocol Override)

(Optional: Zyn or Juno if extraction delay occurs)

Objective:

Retrieve the Quantum Entanglement Core & Firewall Converters

Identify and map security gates used by the White House lock architecture

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Why These Teams?

Each division was chosen based on biological tolerance, cyber-brain load capacity, and reflex profiling. RaveLight's lower levels are not built for linear combat—they react. The deeper you go, the more surreal the battlefield becomes.

Though not part of any floor team directly, Tichala remains the mission's silent architect beneath the chaos. Stationed near the U-Level access shaft, he controls all entry and exit pathways through remote uplink systems—rerouting auto-locks, disabling corridor traps, and mapping heat signals across the base in real time. His eyes are the team's second sight.

"Every locked door you open, every corridor you walk through safely—remember, that's me watching over you." – Tichala, over comms.

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The Team – Leftovers: Unit Zero

These aren't elite soldiers. They're the discarded. The survivors. The ones left behind after every failed mission—but who kept walking.

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1. Soy

Species: Dra'vahi (hybrid suspected)

Height: 5'11

Age: 29

Ability: Unknown

Role: Solo Operator, Strategic Combat Lead

History: Ex-Dra Military, rank unknown. Left voluntarily. Joined Seer'ah's rebellion. Keeps details buried.

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2. Seer'ah

Species: Dra'vahi (self-claimed)

Height: 5'8

Age: 27

Ability: DraTech Specialist / Master Combatant

Role: Commander, Plan Architect

Legacy: Granddaughter of Muc'vha Nuro'kha, led multiple resistance cells across Exo and Earth sectors.

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3. James

Species: Human

Height: 6'0

Age: 27

Ability: Satellite hacking / Tech Overwatch

Role: Surveillance, communication, bypass relay

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4. Tichala

Species: Dra'vahi

Height: 6'1

Age: 28

Ability: Mechanical Tactician, Tactical Mapping

Role: Engineering lead, AI pathway decoder

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5. Kruu

Species: Dra

Height: 5'7

Age: 29

Ability: Code Alchemist

Role: Firewall dismantling, AI interfacing

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6. Juno Vale

Species: Human

Height: 5'9

Age: 33

Ability: Stealth Takedown Specialist

Role: Silent ops, infiltration, sabotage

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7. Rav D'mon

Species: Human

Height: 6'8 (6'9 with boots)

Age: 40

Ability: Kinetic absorption, hybrid limbs

Role: Entry tank, demolition

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8. Nia Kortez

Species: Dra

Height: 5'8

Age: 25

Ability: AI Whisperer

Role: System confusion, vocal attack, AI suicide triggers

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9. Daaz "Needle" Veron

Species: Human

Height: 5'9

Age: 27

Ability: Subterrain breaching, exo-drill ops

Role: Entry tunneling, escape planning

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10. Zyn Korr

Species: Dra

Height: 5'9

Age: 27

Ability: Cloak field bending

Role: Recon, phase

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11. Eira Drahn

Species: Dra

Height: 5'10

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Ability: Bio-Medic / Hybrid Support Specialist

Role: Stabilization, bio-threat countermeasures, genetic defense

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