Faction The Frozen Hell | Eternal Empire

[Darth Imperius]

Aurelian Sigismund
Overlord of the Eternal Empire, Hegemon of Zakuul and Vandemar, High Imperator of the Eternal Legion, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Exarch of Zakuul

Objective: I. Into the Unknown
Location: Camp 9, Hangar
Tags: Wahlrin Cato Au' Umbra Ingrid L'lerim Kaz Zorbas

Aurelian marched down the middle of the corridor himself, the large Lancer held in one hand as his sensors and scanners which were inbuilt in the systems of his armor did a lot of the scouting work together with the vanguard and apparently the Empress as well. Like her, he was not too invested in the idea of utilising the Force when not necessary. Neither a lack of ability nor external factors were reason for that, but the simple fact that he despised the Force and its influence.

The Overlord was carried forth with heavy steps. On his HUD Sigismund followed the 'Clear!' signals transmitted after every room was checked by the Ultranauts. A portion of his attention always on the units, map and overall situation to not suffer from any surprises, to maintain cohesion and organisation. Hence why he immediately noticed that Cato Au' Umbra decided to split from the group. The Overseer was not a frontline battler but as far as Aurelian's own observation and intelligence yielded, more than capable to protect himself.

<< Stray not too far. Maintain radio contact. Good hunt. >> He sent as a brief message, composed by a mind-impulse to the comms of Cato.

The combined force continued without incident so far. The warning of the Empress came together with a question. The Zakuulan would never yield field decisions to a voting or collective input, the variables and unknowns of a deployment were already too great to let too many people in on the decision-making and cause both distraction and confusion, at worst even disorganisation and conflict.

<"We focus on securing who we can, fly out non-combat personnel and then purge the place. I advocate against dividing our forces in this chaotic environment, even by knowing and having the plans of the facility, we are not able to determine yet how much is still intact and what ways the targets have found.">

The golden titans voice came forth with unyielding determination and conviction, his approach clear. The fact that he did not stop either highlighted that Aurelian was adamant on the approach and would only offer the Empress the chance to overrule his command. The armored boots shattered ice and most other things which lay in his path, the gilded plate cracking waste below it effortlessly.

And yet the topic was done for the moment, not by choice or command, but by the simple fact that all hell broke loose.

It was not the vanguard having contact, but the shooting started in one of the nearby rooms, the blaster fire lighting up the doorway and ground around. Screams, human and inhuman, cries of pain mixed with shrieks of terror as they heard the meaty clash of armor and weapons. The found something vicious and it was about to pour into the corridor in their midst, more than ready to cause murder and mayham . . . .

Part III​

 

[Wahlrin]

Tags: Darth Imperius Ingrid L'lerim Cato Au' Umbra Kaz Zorbas
Location: Camp 9, Kalidan
Equipment: In Bio (To Be Submitted)
Objective: 1 - Into the Unknown

Screams were what were heard. Growls, fighting, and screams. This dead vestibule of the prison where bodies lay frozen in the permafrost was only an entryway. My grip on my maul intensified. The Empress' reprimands were received, and I would give a hesitant nod. The sounds of battle taking place in the other room distracted my attention. Formalities could be decided later. Battle was upon us, and the excitement for it carried more weight in my mind that formalities and ways of addressing.

The old man left us. For that, I hoped death would find him fighting, as it was clear it would find him soon. I only just learned their language recently. Modifications in my helmet has helped me at least understand and sound as if I spoke their tongue. Even then, linking in with their communications would likely be too much. Too much distraction from blood that needs to be shed. The group seemed to continue a bit. Rooms were cleared one by one, while the violence seemed to avoid us for now. The cries echoing away from us was like birds calling out while hunting in the wilderness.

One thing was noticed as the Overlord and Empress were present. It appeared as if there was something of a command discrepancy. The confusion of who would be in charge and who would give the orders. The Overlord commanded as he did, though seemed rather conscientious of the Empress. It looked as an air of confidence and caution. Something like this was incredibly strange. Had this been Rhiinalh, that would only come about if the Commander was trying to challenge me. Here, it almost looked as if the Overlord did not know how to be subordinate to the Empress. Yet, also, perhaps it was a sign that the Rhiinul and these Imperials of Kalidan were not so different ultimately.

I would turn to the two of them upon hearing the fighting away from us. "If we do not split our forces, whatever we run into will be overwhelmed. Time to crush them." With a few bangs on my breastplate, and a bellowing roar, I began advancing. The soldiers I brought with me bellowed as well, and followed. It was a slow advance, as to not leave anyone behind them by much. However the hulking Rhiinul seemed to be like living barricades for smaller soldiers to take cover behind. Said advance would keep pace with the Overlord's Praetorians, but would keep moving as to encourage the an offensive. The time for glorious violence has begun!

 

[Augustina 'Gussy' Nargath]

Location: Orbit over Kalidan, straight above Camp 9 in outer space
Equipment: Tyrant II Missile Cruiser
Tag: Ingrid L'lerim | Valkoryen Sunfell

"We've arrived, commodore," Lieutenant Damar noted as the lumbering ship; the EES Angron managed to haul itself towards the best point it could take. Despite the news which had come from the admiralty, the comms were now dead silent, with no messages or missives coming through from said admiralty while earlier they seemed to have been abuzz made the Lieutenant worry. However, as he looked over at the Commodore, this nervousness melted away like winter's snow under the blanket of a proper bombardment.

What the lieutenant saw was a commander, a cold and calculated military mind who saw reality not as a multitude of laws, desires and passions, but as a singular unified force protected solely by the logic that dictated stability and advantage. Her eyes hidden behind the crimson goggles, her respirator making her sound menacing and practically inhuman, Commodore Nargath looked down upon the atmosphere, glinting at something further down below, upon the planet itself. A feeling, a gut instinct told her that whatever was going on at Camp Nine, was nothing in the ordinary sorts of things. No, it was something uncontrollable and something that was going to be difficult if not impossible to contain.

"I generally don't dislike scientists, Lieutenant Damar," The commodore huffed, turning her attention towards the lieutenant as she walked over to his console in order to have the same view beyond the atmosphere as he did. "But those who aren't properly kept in check always end up being a liability. To grant too much freedom to such absent-minded, feeble individuals is practically begging for something to go wrong."

"I agree ma'am, but what's the point of worrying about it now that something HAS already gone wrong?" The lieutenant let out a sigh, practically knowing the answer. He had walked straight into that one and he knew it.

"If we can't control it...we contain it, if we can't contain it...we purify it and if it can't be purified, we annihilate it," The Commodore reached for her datapad and connected it to the console, allowing for a subroutine to allow her access to the ship's mainframe in the form of the ZEUS. Connecting the datapad itself to the vocoder inside her respirator, the Commodore allowed her old ship to do the very thing it was feared for in the olden days: to threaten the perceived problem into submission. "Prime missile launchers One through fifteen, Command protocol Nargath A-189743."

A loud hissing noise could be heard throghout the ship as the massive missile ring at the center of the cruiser started to prime the required number of tubes, a shudder going through the ship as the thrusters started to burst to life and began to slowly turn her into position. Lieutenant Damar, the ensigns and the rest of the bridge crew held their breath, awaiting their commanding officer's next move.

"This is Commodore Augustina Nargath to Camp Nine controle...this is Commodore Augustina to Camp Nine control..."

Turning her attention momentarily towards her subordinates, she shrugged her shoulders when it seemed there would be no response. Motioning at her chief communications officer and second in command, the Commodore clearly gave him the sign to have the ZEUS try and patch into the comms system of the very penal colony they had decided to monitor after the strange missive coming from the admiralty. When the powerfull and unique, though somewhat outdated AI would finally work it's magic, Gussy's harsh and vocoded voice would boom through all of the comm systems within Camp Nine, alerting all of her intentions.

"Compliant with Protocol, in case of no response from Camp Nine command, it is implied that containment procedures have failed...If such is the case, protocol dictates Purification and Annihilation,"

A moment of silence followed, it was a standard military protocol to allow a moment of thought to both the one having to exact the protocol as well as those who would be considered as collateral damage afterwards.

"Open tubes one through five, locations... target Outer connected road and railway," Letting out a sigh, the Commodore seemed to look at this as nothing but another ordinary day. "Open tubes six through ten, target the most eastern and western sectors of Camp Nine, Open tubes eleven through fifteen, targeting the most southern and northern sectors of the detention facility."

Another series of hisses and another shudder ran through the ship, as over a dozen missiles were launched from outer space through the atmosphere and towards the designated locations and targets...if anyone would be in those places, the Commodore knew no ordinary people could or would survive the hell she was about to unleash upon the Penal colony for the sake of following protocol.

"Beginning Purification and annihilation, to all living souls still within Camp Nine... Praise the Eternal Empire and good luck."

 

[Cato Au' Umbra]

Objective: Find survivors and discover source of dead or possibly insane Blackwatch agents
Location: Camp 9
Equipment: Staff and Robes
Voice: Death
Theme: Revelation
Tag: Kaz Zorbas Darth Imperius Ingrid L'lerim

Leaned over the console heavily waiting for the reserve power source to kick in. He sighed heavily as he waited, nothing was ever quick and easy. Everything was a struggle, even when it came to computers apparently. He hoped that the console would hold some camera footage of what caused the outage in the first place, or had some form of information of where possible survivors could be.

<< Stray not too far. Maintain radio contact. Good hunt. >>

The old man was snapped out of his thought process as he felt the comms go off in his ear. Cato had forgotten that he was still connected to the comms channel. He immediately turned his comms off. It's not that he didn't like the fact that the overseer had reached out to him. It was that comms could be intercepted and possibly recorded. The last thing he needed was some form of key communication to be relayed to him over comms and be intercepted by some form of enemy. Some would call him paranoid. But he considered this standard operational procedure. The old man intended to respond to the gold overlord but he would do it in his own way. As he waited for the console to load Cato closed his eyes slowly focusing, feeling that awful power flow through him. The Force, his enemy and his weapon he bent to his will. Brutally forcing it to do his bidding despite it resisting him at every moment. He felt his mind reach out and lightly scratch at the edges of the gold giant's psyche. He didn't want to invade the Overlord's mind, especially in the heat of battle, but if he allowed the old man through, and to form a link he would hear;

"If you wish to communicate Overlord, this is where it must be done. A man such as myself values his discretion I am sure you can understand that." The voice booming from it's force enhanced projection of the old man's mind. The sound of his voice directly to his will and command of the force.

During this brief moment of focus Cato had lost track of his surroundings as his mind was lost in the attempt to communicate with Aurelian. It was then that he was disturbed by a loud crash and bang as a group of five men appeared to be fighting behind him The old man whirled with an inhuman like speed on the five men behind him. He quickly assessed the situation and could see that four of them were fighting one man. The man in question was rather capable, immobilizing three of his assailants before the fourth and final man aimed the blaster at Cato's would be saviour, although it pained him to think that he had just been saved.

As he was about to fire Cato sighed and flicked his wrist, the blaster suddenly pointing upwards and the discharged laser going straight into the assailants neck. The smell of burning flesh filled the room as the laser went through the man's brain. His body slumped to the floor adding to the pile of corpses that littered the floor. Cato stood there looking at the man who had bravely decided to fight four armed prisoners. He was either capable or a complete idiot.

"You're either a brave man or a very stupid one. But either way I thank you stranger." He said softly with a courteous nod in the younger man's direction.

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Empress of the Eternal Empire and Terraris

Information

Objective: Solve the problem
Location: Camp 9, Kalidan
Equipment: 2x Sigra vibroblade | 2x Striith vibrosword | The Soulsabers | Heilagr MK. I Assassin Armour | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tags: Darth Imperius | Wahlrin | Cato Au' Umbra | Kaz Zorbas | Open

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Ingrid, of course, had not a moment's hesitation about how to proceed. But she was constantly testing her subordinates, so to speak. Sometimes this was done in a tangible and visible way, at other times with subtle hints and manipulations. After all, she had been the leader of the Empire for quite a long time and had a great deal of experience, through which she was close to being alive for four hundred years - because of her time in the Netherworld. Last but not least, the red-haired woman had never suffered from a lack of self-confidence. However…

… she has never been on a mission with the Overlord and the Overseers in such a high position. Although Ingrid didn't bring it to anyone's attention, only her family knew that she had a rather large distrust problem and that she didn't trust anyone; only a handful of people. So now it was a challenge for her and she had to study and take a test. As did the leaders of the Empire. Anyway, she felt a rather strong urge to question the Overlord's words, if they had to stay together, why did he allow Cato to be in a separate place? However, the Empress didn't want to humiliate her own people, especially not in front of the others, so she didn't ask the question for the time being. After the mission, it was time to do so.

She also nodded at Wahlrin's words; it was true, but until then, who knows what the various groups would do. Ingrid personally preferred a small number of fast teams looking at several places in bed at once. As a spy and agent, it was either that or work alone. On the battlefield, it was typical to have a woman at the head of the army. Although even there she often preferred to lead ambushes or agent troops behind enemy lines. But right now, while the red-haired woman was partly thinking about that, the other half of her mind was fully focused on the mission. At times like this, she always thanked her genetics that she could do it.

Meanwhile, she continued to search around in the Force, looking for something. Someone, to be precise. The Wardens of the Shroud had a project in the basement under one of the buildings. Ingrid even found the person who was in stasis, or rather in some kind of prison. All that was certain was that the man was a Sithspawn who was half smoke demon, but not a Darksider nonetheless. All of this piqued Ingrid's interest, for in that respect the man was similar to the woman. She has done her best since because of Onrai she became a semi-Dark Side Force entity, but she was able to remain neutral in the Force. So far she has succeeded, but the temptation has always been great. She hoped that if she could study him or talk to him, it would help her.

And of course, it might also help the Wardens' main goal of finding a way to destroy the Force. Some Wardens have already made advances about this and are reportedly making good progress. They were going to show this to the Empress in a few days, but that's when the incident happened.

<"The underground complex houses secret state projects. We have to secure them first."> she said loudly.

Then she continued telepathically, just for the Overlord.

~ One of the most important Warden projects is still in place, I can feel its presence. We need to get there before it is compromised. ~ she "told" him.

 

[Darth Imperius]

Aurelian Sigismund
✠ ✠ ✠
Overlord of the Eternal Empire, Hegemon of Zakuul and Vandemar, High Imperator of the Eternal Legion, Lord Commander of the Wardens of the Shroud, Exarch of Zakuul

Objective: I. Into the Unknown
Location: Camp 9, Corridors
Direct Tags: Wahlrin Ingrid L'lerim
Objective Tags: Cato Au' Umbra | Kaz Zorbas

[ R Y S E ]​

KALIDAN-LYSENIA | SOUTH POLE | CAMP 9

The Overlord did not respond to the first telepathic attempt to communicate. The message reached him but it would not meet any recognition or response, both due to him not requiring one as he said his part via the secured channels of the command frequency and he did not consider telepathy a valid communication method unless it could be helped. The Force was to be used as a tool but it did not need to be part of the decision making process. To cast it down and destroy it, one should not be reliant on it, especially not for simplistic messages with little to no tactical content, not even mentioning strategic.

It was a different case when he was talked to by the Empress. He knew she was more attuned to the Force and probably even vastly more experienced in the more subtle ways of its usage, but that played little role in him opening to her communication. It was a matter of command and authority. While having served under the previous Emperor, he felt more attuned to their style of leadership, but dwelling on the past was not affordable anymore. It was part of their agreement, their alignment. Aurelian had fought alongside imperials for the past decades, even against the Kalidan Empire at one point or another, but ultimately and eternally, there could be only one goal.

With little more than a thought, his HUD was updating the data and re-adjusting the path, leading them to the next staircase into the vaults below. He looked over the path before pushing it to the squad and the other members of their party. Not with any details of destination or elaboration, simply going along with what the Empress said out loud. While he did that, he was also responding to her.

<Understood. I will make sure to have the area secured and guarded once we arrive, so we can secure the data and/or objects/subjects. Expectation towards opposition?>

His lancer came up as the minor chaos unfolded only few meters away from them with an Ultranaut - at least her upper half - being thrown out of the door she just had entered to secure. Three loud, blue discharges of energy erupted from the weapon into the torso of a mutated fleshling. It tore the body apart in consecutive explosions and threw the rest backwards into the room it came from. The matter was over as quickly as it had unfolded. The Ultranaut was dead, her comrades paying silent tribute to her death by continuing to do their duty, including the securing of the room.

<"Route adjusted. We proceed to secure the project.">

There was not much more to say or elaborate, he simply confirmed the operational decision of the Empress with a tactical directive in support of the adjustment of the path few seconds ago. The way forward continued, not that he had stopped for any of the moments past. There was no other direction than forward, never.

<"High Nelvaanian"> | "Basic" | <Telepathic> ​

Part IV​

 

[Wahlrin]

Tags: Darth Imperius Ingrid L'lerim Cato Au' Umbra Kaz Zorbas
Location: Camp 9, Kalidan
Objective: 1 - Into the Unknown
Equipment: In Bio (To Be Submitted)

I found it quite unclear what exactly was going on among these Imperials. The Overlord and Empress were giving strange looks to each other after she mentioned secret projects below us. I decided it would be better spending my energies fighting whatever was coming our way in these corridors. A grunt of understanding exited my mouth before I turned in the direction of the violence. Screams and blaster fire rang out ahead of our position as some of the forward troops began engaging the enemy while they secured rooms. I was ready with my maul. My steps thudded along the floor with my weight as I prowled ahead waiting to find something to kill.

The Overlord was not out of sight here. The Human soldier was also seen. Eventually I found a room that was forgotten by the looks of it. The door was locked, but with a strong ramming of my shoulder it was newly open. It was dark, but my helmet helped there. The grip on my maul tightened as I felt eyes watching in the shadows. A growl and a roar would be heard as some beast charged from the shadows. I did not get a chance to evaluate its appearance, and after multiple hard swings of my maul splattering its body, discerning its nature would be an even harder task to perform. While it was quick, the rush of smelling that irony smell was good. Finally, I tasted battle once more since becoming Emperor of Rhiinalh.

I would emerge to reunite with the main contingent lead by the Overlord. My soldiers accompanied his. We would press on with the Rhiinul firing away with large slugs pulverizing most foes that emerged from the shadows. One of those creatures, something that looked like these Humans but with much of its skin removed, lunged from the flank. It was unclear if this thing was held here for a long time, or whatever shut this place down might have caused its creation. I roared back in defiance before I crushed it down into a puddle of crimson ichor and bones with one swing directed atop its head. Something made me worry that I still had to do more to put this thing down, so a heavy step overtop it while continuing on would do the trick to confirm its end. Another kill. A satisfied chuckle resonated from my mouth. It certainly was a strange thing working with these Imperials. As we walked down the corridor, a small lull in the battle was found. Assuming the Empress was still with us, I turned to my side where at least the Overlord would be standing. "For a people who prize strength and ability, you Imperials of Kalidan do not seem to enjoy using either despite your gifts in both.", both levity and confusion were palpable in my voice.

I then thought back to the past two kills of mine. These Imperials seemed intent on keeping this place's secrets. The mention of "projects" made me think this was more than just a prison. If not used for entertainment, perhaps knowledge would prove a better use for keeping such people alive in captivity for so long. "How much longer before we go down?", I would ask with malicious curiosity, "Would any of these projects you speak of try to go up from their hole in the ground? So far, I have not seen any things that would be prisoners of your kind." It would be time to see if these Imperials might indulge me in some of their knowledge. Perhaps I could receive a funny look too from either the Empress or Overlord?

 

[Valkoryen Sunfell]

I. INTO THE UNKNOWN - STEADFAST
[ T H E M E ]

Objective: Protect the Wardens secrets
Location: Kalidan-Lysenia, Camp 9
Command: Alone
Tag(s): Ingrid L'lerim | Wahlrin | Cato Au' Umbra | Darth Imperius

​

It was a rare occurrence that He was on Kalidan. No, it was actually beyond rare. He had not been to the capital of the Eternal Empire in about one and a half decades. The time He had spent to build His powerbase on Zakuul, to consolidate His claim and prepare for everything that He foresaw. Only recently the time had come to venture out and seek to establish an alliance to join and support Him. It was on His way back from Midvinter when He saw it.

Coldness. Blood. Frost. Shroud. Death. Shadows. A vision of freezing flames and burning ice.

Valkoryen knew the place He briefly saw, He had been there so many years ago, had locked away a demon. With immediate instructions the ship changed its course to Kalidan-Lysenia. For most the arrival in a heavily militarised and controlled space would not be easy, it would be a tedious process of customs and controls if they were not shut down on the spot of course. But His secret Warden identity offered Him access to codes which made Him nearly untouchable by the ordinary authorities.

The Epicanthix had arrived in Camp 9 less than a day before hell went loose. Venturing deep into sections only His biometrics would grant Him access to, guarded by silent soldiers He slipped into what was one of the most classified and secured areas of the Wardens of the Shroud. It was about three decades when He was here to deliver a 'demon' for research and custody. A former Sith Lord who had embraced something they did not understand then and even now only Valkoryen had glimpses of what it meant.

When everything went dark, the shadows began to move. The shadows began to bear teeth and claws, scales and armor, vicious and insidious.

The other Wardens stationed on the level were quick to assemble and prepare. Most battle-hardened veterans of many fights as this was no place for initiates. Clad in armor, wielding the Shroudsabers and more than ready to counter whatever may come to disturb the group seemed quite capable of defending a narrow corridor with only four doors. One entrance and three projects. Valkoryen seemed to fill the corridor all by Himself, His mighty armor shining even in the darkness, the spear, Dawn, steady in His hand.

The group easily repelled the attackers who desired entry into this section. Rebels, mutants, lesser Sithspawn and whatever scum and villainy the upper levels of the prison held. Few injuries were suffered, exhaustion only set in after many hours, but they rotated to allow each warrior to rest and recover. The pile of ashes in front of the entrance bore proof to the success of their labor, the enemies felled. But it was not to last.

Dawn pierced through the torso of a mutant, cutting through muscle, sinew, bone and cables alike while severing the spinal cord. A wound which would have stopped most beings dead in their tracks, disabling their ability to connect their body. But the mutant's stim-overdosed and adrenaline flooded body was too stupid to understand the fact that it was not working anymore and it tried to charge further. It struck Him like a bright light. He SAW. His confusion and distraction allowed the mutant to get close, the claws digging deep across the breastplate, ruining the dragon depicted there. It pulled Valkoryen back into reality as He cracked the skull of the beast with straight punch of His gauntletted fist.

In urgency He turned to look into the corridor behind. It was empty. One of the doors was narrowly open, light escaping it. He knew what it was in there and with all the swiftness the tall figure could muster, He ran towards the door and moved through . . . .

Part I​

 

[Ingrid L'lerim]

Empress of the Eternal Empire and Terraris

Information

Objective: Solve the problem
Location: Camp 9, Kalidan
Equipment: 2x Sigra vibroblade | 2x Striith vibrosword | The Soulsabers | Heilagr MK. I Assassin Armour | Viper Mk. I Skinsuit | The Last Gift || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m
Tags: Darth Imperius | Wahlrin | Cato Au' Umbra | Kaz Zorbas | Valkoryen Sunfell | Open

"Galactic Common" | <"High Nelvaanian"> | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

Ingrid thought for a few moments; most of the people here were people waiting to be executed, or deserved to be. So she would have liked to say immediately that they should all be killed, but there was that certain 'but' or 'if'. There were test subjects or other monsters here whose loss would have been irreplaceable. Not only because they were difficult to obtain from various places, but there were also creatures whose creator had died and could not be recreated. And cloning was no longer perfect. The state needed all this to move forward with their plans to destroy the Force.

<"From now on, let's take everyone alive, because the test subjects may be among them, even those we can't lose. Stunning or freezing are the two options."> she finally said.

The redheaded woman had also seen one of the Ultranauts die, but there was no time or opportunity to worry about that at the moment. Every soldier knew that any minute could be the last and that was the way to prepare. So was she. Yes, she was still there with Wahlrin and the Overlord, but she didn't react to his first words. And as for the funny face, it was unlikely that anyone in the Empire had ever seen one; I mean, not one that was sincere. For the Empress was a very good actress, and when she played a role, it was usually much more casual and direct than her real personality. It was much closer to the way she behaved with her family or her few real friends.

<"It's up to the Overlord and you. I am only here as an observer and sometimes give advice."> she said in response to Wahlrin's question.

She reiterated that this time it is the STRATCOM leaders who are in this role and not herself. Ingrid's face was not visible under her helmet, i.e. her whole face was covered and not even her hair was visible. Since she said she would need the test subjects alive, she put her swords away and got a rifle from an Ultranaut and switched it to stun mode. She'd had several types of military training, so she was also a good shot, though she really preferred hand-to-hand combat, or being a sniper. But this, normal combat with a rifle or two pistols, was no problem or strain for her.

She looked at the Overlord to see if it would start to descend, if not, she took control from that point of view. While Ingrid could always ask MANIAC to project a floor plan of Camp 9 onto her retina, she didn't need to. She had been here countless times since the prison was built and knew the place by heart. As they went on they met no resistance for a short distance and finally reached the staircase. In any other case the woman might have led the group to the lift, but now the lifts were not working, so it would have been pointless to go there.

The door of the staircase was open; in fact, perhaps open wasn't the best word for it, but that something had torn it open from the inside and others had come out through it. Some of the tears in the door were somewhat bloody, but it must have been frozen long ago. And inside the stairwell, only freezing darkness awaited the newcomers.

<"Let's go!"> she said in a cold voice.

With that, she stepped through the door and into the darkness.