After taking a few breaths to calm herself down, however, she finally had the focus enough to look down at the curled-up man on the floor. But it wasn't a man after one good look as Sam's eyes widened, finding it difficult not to scream out. The familiar eyes that looked back in terror were Kerry's eyes, halfway hidden behind a few familiar locs strung across her tape-gagged face.

Is that really…

Sam almost dropped her pistol from her quivering hands as she struggled to react to both events in any way other than her current awkward pause. She finally put her pistol away instinctively and quickly shut the cargo container door behind her with a soft but firm tug to ensure it closed all the way. Then with a quick look over the oddly well-lit situation, she tried to catch her breath all the while noting the container looked more like a makeshift surveillance room the two men had been using. She then elected to save the questions for later as she swiftly averted her attention to Kerry. Kneeling over her, she gently tugged away at the tape over her mouth.

"Sam… Thank God you showed up…" Kerry was finally able to feebly whimper out as the tape's edge passed her lips.

"Kerry, what the- why- what'd they do to you?!" Sam loudly whispered as she lifted the tape away. And as she went to check her hands, which too were bound by tape, she immediately went to pull away at the edge.

"We have to hurry," Kerry pleaded through her huffs and pants as she tried to hold her arms and wrists firmly still.

"Hold on, save your energy for now, I'll get you out of here I promise," Sam answered as she continued to battle her own distress and fears. "I don't know how just yet, but I'll figure something out." She finished removing the tape and turned to pull Kerry upright, and the second she got her halfway there, she felt her arms wrap around her in a tight embrace.

Kerry pressed her face into Sam's shoulder, struggling to hold back her tears as she squeezed harder.

Sam suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to forget what troubled her in that moment as she affirmingly embraced her in return. No flashbacks, no reliving any particular moment from before, just pure and simple relief. She didn't know what anything else meant as it developed, but it only took that one single moment to realize if she had any regrets for what caused them to be ripped apart before, now could be a time to make sure it never happened again. "We'll get out of here safely, and whatever it is I can set straight, I will." And as she relaxed her embrace, she gently pulled back to check over her for any injuries, noting a swollen lump on her forehead with a small amount of bleeding.

"Sam, listen," Kerry resumed her pleading as she turned to crawl toward the nearest body Sam shot down earlier. "We have no time. This guy caught onto me and has…" She paused to hastily rummage through his jacket pockets to fish out what she was looking for, holding up a key carrier similar to the one Sam received earlier. "He took this."

"A Hexa LTAC transponder key- looks like one an 'A-P' would use," Sam spoke under her breath after a keen look-over, remembering the Ap-50 keys she watched being handed over to Renzo's crew last summer. "You brought an 'A-P' over?!" She then fussed out under her breath with a sudden change in tone.

"It's supposed to be mine but they were taking it to do who knows what with it!" Kerry fussed back as she took the pistol from the same man, checking the chamber and magazine before putting aside, looking for something else. "They said something about one of you two being a mole- which by the way, who did you come here with and where are they?!"

"Kaylen Rodgers, but neither of us are a mole!" Sam found herself kneeling over the same cluttered desk Kerry was now crawling under as if to help look for something she had no clue about.

Wait… She realized what that must have meant as she zoned out for a second. The mole IS me, or is it? Since I was the one who reached out to Tyrus and all…

"But you were right!" Sam quickly shook off her unnecessary doubts. "We do have to hurry!"

"Hold on. We can't go without…" Kerry paused through her struggle to reach for something she finally eyed, pulling the bags free from the case it was thrown inside of. "This!" She crawled back out and threw one bag to Sam.

She caught it, albeit off guard, noting it had the same look, feel, weight, and smell of what the Infinity standard issue gear bag would bring to her on a daily basis many months back. She then looked up to see Kerry holding the same second-generation flight suit she hadn't seen since Manila.

"I can explain everything later, but we need to put this on now and get back before it's too late," Kerry added with a different, more confidence-inspired sense of urgency as she pulled off her shirt and began unbuttoning her pants before she paused with a frown, looking back at her. "Hurry up and change, damn it!"

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

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Kaylen eased around the corner that took her right towards the container she aimed for, checking the area and listening for any sign of activity. Upon an eventless entry into the container, she turned back once more to once again confirm no sight or sign of Sam anywhere. As she entered the container more than twice the size of the others, she quickly noted the underside of the roller tires of an LTAC as she turned on her mobile's flashlight.

After gaining access to the cockpit door, she lowered herself in and took her uncomfortable time adjusting to the lie-down orientation of the seat and strapped herself in. With the push of a button on the dimly lit side panel, the hatches closed and the inner lighting intensified as she eyed the helmet just behind her head. She then looked back at the control sticks, noting they were already inverted with the regular pilot set facing upward and the special nodes for use with Reign facing the backside. Her focus remained there in suspicion of something for a few seconds, then finally reached for and put on her helmet and went straight into checking over the system diagnostics before startup.

[This is Emilia. Breaking radio silence,] she calmly spoke into her headset as she ran through the usual pre-launch verification processes.

[State the emergency,] a voice quickly responded.

[No response from Ella, no sign.]

[Any hostile encounters?]

[Negative.] Kaylen then paused her inputs to take in a breath. [Check into Ella's radio history.]

[For what?]

[Mole-like activity.]

[You're saying she's… a mole?]

[I don't know. I heard about a mole from an agent earlier when he passed us our keys. Just check into her activity. I can't trust this sudden disappearance from her.]

[Roger.]

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Sam and Kerry, both changed into their flight suits with their bags shouldered, reached a corner where their paths would split. It was still mostly dark, and other than hushed footsteps and suppressed breathing, only the occasional clanking of distant machinery could be heard.

"What was your plan to begin with, if that 'A-P' is for you?" Sam asked, breaking the silence as she turned back from peering around the corner.

"In case I had to fight my way back to port," Kerry answered as she finished tying her hair down by the base of her neck in preparation for wearing the helmet. "But again, you'll have to wait until I can properly explain everything later. We still clear on the rally point?"

"Clear as it'll get." Sam looked at the open barrel on the stolen pistol Kerry held at her hip. "Switch with me, you might need mine more than I do."

"Thanks." Kerry swapped hers for Sam's suppressed one and gave her a firm pat on the shoulder. "I'll get going first in case I use more time than expected. I'll see you on the other side," she added with a smile through the tension.

"Just like old times," Sam returned likewise, nodding as she watched Kerry quietly take off straight ahead. She then took her own deep breath before tearing off to her right.

I can't figure out where in the hell Kaylen has a part in this- IF she did, that is… but something says she knows more than she's telling me, and I am NOT letting her or anyone else try to fuck with us.

She frantically ran through several possible outcomes of her showing up to the Arondight with a stowaway along her trip to the marked container. Whatever plan she would come up with had to be quick as she approached the final corner.

There it is…

Upon entering the massive container similar to the one Kaylen entered, she drew her flashlight from her bag and immediately recognized the overall shape and color scheme of the Arondight's bottom frame as it lay in front of her. Shaking the desire to stare down the real thing in awe, she hastily ran up toward the ladder control switch and managed her way to the top where the main hatch awaited her entry.

Standing there she couldn't help this time but to look down in amazement mixed with an inexplicable dread. She felt as if she were in the presence of some kind of immense power and fighting force it would provide her, all strangely emanating from its aura despite it being a cold machine that hadn't seen the warmth from a pilot for weeks.

"This is what I have been chasing for… waiting for… hoping for… for so long," she muttered her thoughts under her breath. "All the empty promises and seemingly empty ambitions… so much I gave up for this. All for this… this emptiness machine. It's so surreal…"

Flashbacks poured in from the times when she naively spouted dreams of being a Harbinger and all through the times she cursed herself for the losses incurred by said choice, and the endless nightmares she endured felt like they all led up to this point. She knew she could walk away from the cause of her nightmares right there and then, but one last thing remained that never changed despite who she felt she was or how she felt about her choices: The machine called.

"I still hear you. After all this time I never once strayed." She then took one last deep breath before pulling out the key carrier to activate the hatch. "End this all for me, please."

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Lights on and helmet strapped on, Sam felt as excited and fearful as the day she first loaded up onto that first Ai-20 she piloted in Bogota as the visor came to life with a new kind of glow. And seconds into the pre-activation sequences, she felt something she hadn't in so long.

Antares…

Sam noted the system's markings revealed that the Antares system model was "Build 1.09X," catching extra attention from that last set of numbers. "Dad… did you…" she thought aloud as her nerves bunched up even tighter, fighting back a tear. She then finished her necessary activation sequences just as she did from her experiences with the simulator before running a scan on her container, noting the exit latch mechanisms. Activating all four, she awaited the pouring in of moonlight before starting up the stand-up protocol. And as she paired her in-ear communication to the Arondight's system, she now awaited the outside world that slowly came into view as she felt herself lifting up higher and higher.

I see you, she thought as she caught a similar sight across the holding yard as the silhouette of a similarly sized LTAC stood out in the corner of her vision. Alright, now. What's your move?

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