*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Delaney groans as she pokes her arm out of her sheets and turns off her alarm. She sits up in her bed and reaches for a small knob near her blacked-out window. The sun creeps in as Delaney slowly turns the knob, and the windows tint fades. She looks out over the city center and watches people scurry around like ants in the distance.
After admiring the view for a few moments, Delaney eagerly hops out of bed and throws on some Cronus-branded clothing. She picks up her phone from her nightstand before stepping out of her room. Brick and Becca are already waiting by the railing as they look out over the Waypoint's main floor.
"Good morning guys," Delaney says as she steps out of her room and sees her friends waiting.
Brick and Becca turn around to greet her, "Hey Laney," "Mornin'."
Delaney looks around for Jasper, but he is nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Jasper?" Delaney asks the two of them as she steps toward his door.
"Dunno, but he's not in there," says Brick as he notices Delaney making her way toward Jasper's room.
Delaney stops and looks at Jasper's door curiously before pulling her phone out, "I'll text him, let's head downstairs."
"Where are you? Don't forget today is our first mission," Delaney types.
Brick, Becca, and Laney head toward the elevator and travel downstairs. They step out of the elevator and into the hectic atmosphere of the Waypoint's main floor. As they walk through the waypoint, Jasper messages Delaney back.
"Eating breakfast with Liam," the message reads.
"Jasper's in the cafeteria with Liam," Delaney says.
The three of them look around for a moment before finding a large electronic sign labeling the cafeteria. They walk toward it, and as they approach, they see Jasper and Liam sitting together in the back corner.
Delaney yells out and waves, "Good morning guys!"
Jasper and Liam seem to be deep in conversation, but quickly wrap it up before the rest of the squad makes it to their table.
"Good Morning," Jasper and Liam say in unison as the rest of the squad sits down.
Delaney snickers, "You two seem to be getting along."
"Just discussing the mission," Liam says as he picks at his food, "You guys should eat something, but don't overdo it, passing through a Fracture can be a bit nauseating if you aren't used to it."
"It's not like this is going to be our first time," Delaney teases.
Liam is unamused, "It's your stomach, do what you want."
Brick, Delaney, and Becca stand up and grab some food to hold them over till later before returning to the table to eat.
"So what's the mission for today?" Delaney asks as she digs into her meal.
"Standard Fracture sealing procedure, our target is a fast-growing Fracture a few miles outside of the city," Liam responds.
"You mean like, in the wasteland?" Delaney asks.
"Yes," Liam responds as he taps his phone to check the time, "We need to leave in 15 minutes, finish your food, and meet me outside the armory as soon as possible."
Liam stands up and walks out of the cafeteria as the rest of the squad eats their breakfast.
Delaney watches as Liam fades into the distance, "So what were you two talking about?" she asks curiously.
"Nothing," Jasper replies as he picks at his food.
Delaney notices a worried look in his eyes, "Doesn't seem like nothing," she says, concerned.
Jasper stands up abruptly as he snatches his tray from the table, "I'm going to get ready."
Delaney watches Jasper leave the Cafeteria, "What was that about?" she asks Brick and Becca.
"He's probably just nervous. To be honest, I get where his head's at. This is gonna be more than just another training exercise." Brick replies.
Delaney looks at Brick and Becca and notices their worried looks, "It's going to be alright guys, we haven't worked so hard for nothing, as long as we stick together and remember our training, I'm sure everything will work out fine," she says with a smile.
"Yea..." Becca sighs before standing up to leave.
Brick follows her lead, "See you in a bit Laney," he says with a forced smile.
Delaney's smile fades as she watches them fade into the distance. She looks down and picks at her food for a moment before standing up and making her way to the Waypoint armory.
The Waypoints armory is split into two halves, one for female agents and another for male agents. Each half consists of dozens of long rows of lockers, labeled alphabetically. Each personal locker contains the agent's bodysuit, their hover boots, a collar helmet, and their weapon of choice.
When Brick enters the male armory, he notices Jasper sitting on a bench in front of his locker. He makes his way over and sits beside him. He looks down and notices Jasper's hands trembling.
"Liam's previous squad died, right?" he asks bluntly.
Jasper clenches his hands into fists, "They were ambushed in the wasteland at the beginning of their last mission, they didn't even make it through the fracture," he says as his voice shakes.
Brick puts his arm around Jasper's shoulder, "Do you trust us?" he asks.
Jasper releases his fists, "Of course I do, but..."
"Then that's all that matters," Brick interrupts, "It doesn't matter what happened to those who came before us, all we can do is try our best, not for Cronus or humanity, but for each other," he says.
Brick stands up and smacks Jasper on the back, "We can't change the past, but we can mold our future."
Jasper looks up at Brick and sees him smiling at him before giving a slight smile back, "Right, let's do it."
Brick turns around and walks back to his locker to finish gearing up. Jasper looks back down at his hands and notices they are no longer trembling. He looks up at his open locker for a moment before standing up and putting on his suit.
On the other side of the armory, Delaney and Becca gear up silently as they contemplate the upcoming mission.
"Ready?" Delaney asks as she finishes suiting up and grabs her blade pistols from her locker.
Becca stands silently for a moment, "Yea..." she sighs nervously as she grabs her staff and closes her locker.
Delaney and Becca make their way out of the armory and see Jasper and Brick waiting for them near the entrance.
Liam approaches the squad with a long sword sheathed on his back, "Good to go?" he asks.
The squad looks around at each other, "Yeah," they confidently say in unison.
The squad makes their way to the Waypoints skyport. They walk through the massive hangar until they make it to a small high-tech aircraft with various gadgets protruding from all sides. The squad piles into the aircraft and gets buckled up to prepare for takeoff. Liam sits down in the pilot seat and takes a few moments to go through a pre-flight checklist before powering on the aircraft and taking off.
The aircraft jolts slightly as its hover engines power on and raise it off the ground. After a few moments, Liam eases the controls forward, and the aircraft flies out of the hangar and slowly ascends into the sky.
Once the aircraft reaches its cruising altitude, Liam levels it out and turns on autopilot as it speeds off. The squad watches the city fade away as they fly deeper into the vast wasteland. Liam stands up and prepares for the mission briefing.
"I know this is your first mission, but it should be a fairly straightforward Fracture Sealing procedure. When we land, be ready to secure the area. Once the Fracture is secure, I will run some tests while the rest of you watch my back. After this side of the Fracture is fully secure, we will pass through and seal it from within Latent Space. Once the sealing is complete, we will fly to the nearest waypoint and pass back into the Real World." Liam explains while the squad listens intently.
The aircraft begins to slow down, Liam returns to the pilot seat, and takes control as they prepare to land.
Liam taps his suit's collar, his helmet forms around his head before he chimes in over the radio, "Get ready, landing in 5... 4... 3... 2..."
The rest of the squad activates their helmets and inspects their weapons to ensure they are combat-ready.
The aircraft shutters, abruptly slowing down as its hover engines push hard against the quickly approaching ground. The aircraft kicks up a large cloud of dust and hums as the engines slowly power down. Liam stands up from the pilot seat and grabs his weapon before doing one last check and stepping out in front of the squad.
"Stay close and be on guard," Liam says as the aircraft door begins to lower, forming a ramp for them to walk off.
The squad looks around at each other as they stand up and line up behind Liam. The aircraft door finishes opening with a slight thud as it hits the uneven terrain of the wasteland.
"Let's go," Liam mutters quietly as the squad begins creeping their way out of the aircraft into the dense cloud of dust.
The squad takes a defensive stance near the back of the aircraft and waits for the dust to settle. They scan their surroundings as the dust slowly clears and their visibility gradually improves. As they continue waiting for the dust to settle, a series of horrific screeching noises in the distance grow closer.
"Contact!" Liam yells out as dozens of glowing eyes pierce through the thick cloud of dust, and the squad springs into action.