Alexandria
**MISSION DAY - 4:30 PM.**

*Odysseus* Corp. Members buzz about the base of the *Vektet,* Its enormous shadow looming overhead, darkening the face of the impromptu military-base-esque perimeter established within the reaches of the Coventry. Identityless security-officers, donning face-shields, each armed with equipment akin to that of a militia's, shuffle about the central gate of the perimeter, coordinated by signals that buzz through their earpieces. Rifles in-hand, they seem to be on lookout — likely for the **Mercenaries and hired hands** That the corporation recently hired, having had sent **Personal letters** And extending **Scouting teams** To invite to explore the *Vektet.* That begged the question, however: this organization had "Security officers", who were armed more akin to soldiers than mere guards. They clearly possessed the raw resources to fund a reasonably-sized private army. Exactly *What* Held within the *Vektet* Could be so dangerous that they would need to hire *Even more* Proxy soldiers?

Opposite to them, further within the base and surrounding the Vektet itself, construction workers outfitted with exoskeletal assistive equipment finish work on erecting a secure scaffolding that covers the very base and entrypoint of the superstructure, serving as a backbone for, what appears to be, an incredibly fine-tuned monitoring and security aperture, keeping its single gatelike entrypoint sealed. A middle-aged man holding a cracked tablet glances up at the aperture, calling out a short phrase, as the construction workers disperse, filing off into large, temporary tents adjacent and some distance from the *Vektet* Itself. 

From even a long-distance's glance, everything seemed quite tidily managed, and while the perimeter had only been established some-48 hours ago, the grounds are incredibly well-secured. A barbed-wire fence surrounds the entirety of the perimeter, leaving only a **Single main gate** For the mercenaries to enter through.
Thelma
Alois peeks his head from one of the many tents within the fenced-perimeter that surrounded the Vektet. Glancing left—towards the Vektet—then right—towards the gate—he reaffirmingly nodded to himself, checking his watch. The young man had a youthful, refined aura about him, and a sort of nature that could perhaps be described as 'handsome'. Standing at only just about 153cm, and with a somewhat outdated — yet still formal and personable — form of attire, he stood out considerably amongst the well-equipped, armored, and considerably taller members of *Odysseus* Corp. Honestly, it almost looked like he didn't even belong in a place such as this. Nonetheless, a hire of the organization he was, and a member of prominent ranking to boot.

***`Now's the time for those mercenary-hires to arrive... If they're punctual. I believe the invitations said they were to wait at the gate, just around this time...`***

—of course, that information was accurate. Alois never misremembered details; remembering things, being polite, and acting as a supervisor were the only things he was useful for, after all. Briefly reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a small mirror, ensuring that there his *Outer layers* Weren't chafing... *`Yes, everything looks natural...`*

 Pocketing the mirror, Alois made his way towards the single entrance-gate. As he approaches, several of the security-officers turn to view him, before clearing from his path. Silent nods make rounds through the security team positioned at the gate, as Alois lifts his right hand:

*```cs
 it up!"```*

Wordlessly, one of the many members of the security team motions, and the wired gate slides open. Alois steps out from the perimeter, now stood in wait for those personally hired by *Odysseus* Corp. **Any of those who wished to enter the Vektet would first have to make introductions with him — then, they could enter the facility.**
Debra
"Well Shade, we're here. There's no turning back now, you got that?" Josh was standing near the entrance of the Vektet, wearing a stretchy yet durable suit of unknown material. His appearance was ghost-like, with a pure white, almost goo-like body, with two protruding, curled horns coming from the top of his head. Sticking out from his back was Shade, Josh's alter-ego with a similar appearance to him, but with a darkened color scheme.
Adrienne
"I'm still having second thoughts about this.. This thing is entirely alien who knows what the hell we'll find?"
Debra
"That's the point of it. If I'm right, there may be something in the Vektet I can use to upgrade the TPD. If that's the case, we, and many others, could escape this timeline and finally live in peace, without the threat of more timelines being pulled in.."

Josh walked up to the gate, and waited for the rest of the mercenaries to arrive.
Philip
Everything was uncertain nowadays.

The bandit was fresh off the boat used to transport him to Balfour — Apparently this corporation was able to persuade Balfour officials to let outsiders into the country for this specific situation, but that mattered not for the thief. 

```fix
"I don't intend to fucking get stiffed this time, no matter fuckin' what.
```

He grumbled to himself, his motorcycle approaching the perimeter of the super-structure that stood tall in the middle of The Coventry. Kuouo hit the brakes, the bike tilting as he gandered up at the structure. It was enormous — The bandit internally wondering how much bigger it was compared to the MVA headquarters he robbed many years ago considering it was the largest building he's ever been in. He clicks the kickstand onto the disheveled asphalt and shifted his bike back into capsule form. 

```fix
"If I had t' guess, the entrence is with the buncha mercs and shit."
```

Kuouo rustled around his inventory, digging through a disorganized mess before pulling out a crumpled up piece of paper. It was odd, really, how anyone was able to find him. He'd managed to find a dingy inn to stay at and when he awoke, there was a letter halfway through the door with an enticing offer, promise of danger, and transportation instructions. He inspects the letter one last time, looking forward towards the wired perimeter and making his way to the front.

In the sea of same-faced security officers, Kuo approached the only person that stood out — A well-dressed human with a pale complexion and polite posture. Kuouo snickered to himself, laughing at the fact that the only human he's seen this pale was his girlfriend. 

```fix
"Hey, are you the guy in the letter I'm 'sposed t' talk to or justa 'nother 'mercenary' meetin' up with us?"
```
Adrienne
"Yo, it's a goat-" Shade spat out before being silenced by Josh.
Debra
"Not the time, nor the place, Shade." Josh quickly responded.
Ken
```. . .In the sunlight, lives chance. Faithful, but never aloof elsewhere.```

*. . .The words were scribbled numbingly, nearly off the paper itself. . .*

The journal was concealed into her jacket, as an Asian woman of younger distinction made her way timidly behind those that'd arrived early. She'd prefer to tread behind out of overcaution, despite arriving much earlier then her eventual co-workers. It wasn't necessarily anything tactical, but it did offer the leverage of eavesdropping on those most eager to enter this 'Vektet'. Of course, she hadn't thought of that herself, and therefore wasn't frank with anything outside of her little bubble, momentarily.

A worn, leather-jacket, with cut-up, black jeans, and beat sneakers. In direct contrast, a stylish straw hat, with a wide brim, dark brown strip, and in good condition. Sometime ago, this would be considered an eye-catching appearance, but nowadays, especially here, this was almost the norm, and in her case, that was the hope. The size of the hat essentially hid her face, aside from the lips, which lightened her insecurities ever so slightly.

Coming from practically nowhere, yet operating with her head down, hands tugged against her sides, and heavy breaths, as if unsure of herself or her oncoming actions.

*Why* Is she here?

Well, the sun is setting fairly soon.
Kathryn
**```diff
- ...?```**

Amongst the chaos that the arrival of the superstructure was causing, a wild yelling echoed out from a short distance to the right of Alois. Two individuals stood face to face, exchanging various insults and disparaging each other. One of the two was clearly a security guard, dressed in black as night combat gear—not to mention armed with a rifle. The guard could easily be heard yelling at the man opposite him to vacate the area, but they would not back down.

"Vacate the area you damn nuisance! Civilians are not allowed inside the superstructure!" The security guard continued to shout at the man, but to no avail.

"No way in hell dumbass—do you have any damn idea how long it took to get here?!" The aggravated man refuted, tossing his arms down in rage as he spoke. The so-called civilian stood his ground, his shin-length cloak fluttering in the wind. He straightened himself, shutting his eyes before inhaling a large breath of air and shortly exhaling. His hand ran through the messy, brown hair atop his head, his eyes opening, "Listen man, I know you don't believe anything I say, but I swear on my mother's life..." The cloaked man took a step forward, "I am G—" The man abruptly halted his speech as the security guard shoved him down onto the ground.

"I said—vacate the area! Last warning, civilian!" The security guard was clearly fed up with the antics of the cloaked man. "Continue and you will be forcefully removed from the area!" The guard threatened the man, stomping his foot.

"Motherfucker!" The man vociferated, getting back to his feet and preparing to retaliate... But he did not. Brushing his cloak off, he turned away from the guard, "Dickhead," He murmured, looking back towards Alois. His eyes widened as he noticed the mercenaries beginning to arrive. A sigh of relief was let out, the man approaching a select mercenary: Kuouo.

_`What a stretch of good luck!`_

The bandit would definitely recognize the familiarity of the man's face as he approached—a face from many years ago. The cloaked man eyed Alois and gave a smirk as he passed by, wrapping his right arm around the goat's neck and turning to face the short overseer, "Hoho, man! You've got no idea just how coincidental this is, goat." He backed away from the goat, allowing Kuouo to get a view of his face up close, "Don't tell me you forgot about me over all these years, friend. Just to make sure..." The man flourished his cape with a push of his hand, "Gaige, back after an extended vacation! Good to see you again, thief." He warmly introduced himself to Kuouo, albeit gratuitous.
Daniel
Gaige moved to the bandit's side, "With that out of the way, can you kindly inform shorty here that I'm well capable of venturing inside this... Thing? It's been a long while since I've been out on a quest like this! Yet this pipsqueak refuses to allow me in, in spite of who I am, all-cause I don't have some 'invitation'," He placed air quotations around 'invitations' as he spoke, "This ain't some birthday party." He took a breath, finalizing his rant.

He brushed his luscious brown hair back again, calming himself. "This is besides the point. Can you _pleaaaaaase_ vouch for me, Kuouo? After all," He leaned in and whispered to the goat, "You really think some mercenaries—barring yourself—are gonna thoroughly inspect this place? They're just here to shoot, stab, and kill for whoever these punks are. Just imagine the secrets inside that thing... All ripe for the taking, thief." He ceased his whispering, standing straight again and giving Alois a large grin as he waited for Kuouo to rectify the overseer's mistake.
Debra
"Looks like we've got an interesting cast on our hands, huh Shade?" Josh said, quite literally extending his eyes to get a good look at the other mercenaries.
Adrienne
"You said it." Shade responded, formulating ideas for insults to throw at the crew in the case that he needed to.
Joe
```diff
- "Many things move in the shadows where none can see, many more passed before their very eyes that go unnoticed, such is the world with which we inhabit." -
```
He smiled, there really was not anything to the statement but it definitely *Felt* Deep, a grand commentary perhaps? It was mostly nonsense, though one such thing was currently making moves unawares.
A small scout frigate, moved through the waters around Balfour, no one however seemed to notice, with enough money anything was possible, even creating a device to obscure moving objects completely from view.
The ship pulled up to the side of the island, and a car disembarked, rolling out onto the boardwalk, the current state of Balfour left much to be desired, but the emptiness of the streets proved useful to any who would rather not be seen.
The vehicle - a 1952 Bentley R type continental, painted a solid black with windows tinted so heavily they were effectively opaque, was quite out of place in the Coventry, yet it was not the first time it had prowled the island's streets, and any involved in the city's criminal networks would no not to touch it.
The car rolled through the empty streets, weaving and winding between the buildings before coming to a halt at the perimeter, it would come to a park by the side of the road in clear view, almost in taunt, surely someone would not leave such an expensive car unattended in this part of the city? Something more must lay beneath the surface. 
Stepping out of the car was a presumably human man standing at a completely average height of 5'11, - presumed due to the fact that not a single part of his physical appearance was visible, he wore a strange combination of formal clothes, a shirt and waist coat with tie, and also sleek solid black armour inlaid with intricate lines that would seem to indicate mechanics.

His right arm indeed seemed entirely mechanical, the joints and muscles made of hundreds of small perfectly interlocking pieces of metal, he wore a strange helmet that looked like something you would find in a comic book and not in real life, solid black with 2 glowing eyes, and a metallic star for some detail. The outfit was entirely gray scale, black and white with the only colour being the magenta glow of the eyes.
The man came equipped with mysterious weaponry, a gun hung from his back, that was sleek and futuristic, looking halfway between a normal gun and something straight out of a sci fi, and what appeared to be a sword, or at least the handle of a sword attached at the hip, as well as many pockets and pouches with unknown contents.
Marta
Exiting the vehicle behind him was a strange creature, some sort of a drone, it was spherical, with the bottom half opening into 4 spider like legs and a single thruster, upon its top half lay an eye that glowed the same colour as the man's own mask, the drone shut the car door behind the man, flying up a ways, spinning its head around to scan the surroundings before landing on the man's back and clutching to his shoulder like a strange parrot.
Joe
The man adjusted his tie, making his way over to the entrance.
```diff
- "Woah woah, is that Kuouo Aiche Dee i spy?"
```
The man spoke with a very distinct Irish accent, and with a great amount of self confidence leading one to think he actually knew what he was doing, though he knew that wasn't exactly true.
```diff
- "I dont mean to interupt your convesation, you dont know me but i know you, i was expecting to see a whole load of nobodies but its reasuring to know we'll have a few competent people here" -
```
He gave a wink- though literally no one would be able to tell given his helmet, and a hearty laugh though, nothing he said was actually funny.
Before anyone could respond he walked off, making it kind of awkward if anyone were to try.