Ma-tek
05-03-2004, 20:14
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IC:
Operative 21-Gamma-5 - more commonly known as Sulkat Esperallya-Rihad - was not especially suited to remaining hidden.
Indeed, if it were not for the fortune of his heritage, it would be nigh on impossible for him to remain hidden from any eyes - no matter how close to blind. He was a walking behemoth, standing at well over seven feet tall, and, unusually for his species, was nearly three-quarters as wide.
He hadn't always been Operative 21-Gamma-5. In fact, he had once been little more than the Imperial Weapons Master - noted for his ability with or without the blade. Indeed, he had fought for the Emperor Si Ling I's honour at a bloodsport competition out on one of those Eru-forsaken moons of Saturn or Jupiter - he couldn't remember which, now, as he'd not really paid much attention on the journey or as to where he was, so focused on his task and 'quest' had he been - and had returned victorious.
That had not won him renown. Far from it. It had won him scorn. It had cost him his position as Imperial Weapons Master, also - not for his victory, but for the nature of his victory. The Emperor of the day, Si Ling I, had not approved of the brutal nature of his fighting style during the competition. Had called it 'dishonourable'.
Sulkat did not feel this was the case, but one did not argue with the leader of the greatest civilization to ever bless Ambar with its presence. Naturally, only those inside the civilization in question actually felt that it was indeed the greatest civilization to ever bless Ambar with its presence - the Humans called the planet 'Earth', or 'Terra', or any number of other names - but there had once been no doubt in Sulkat's mind that the Empire of the Eternal Dawn was the pinnacle of social evolution here on this Earth. Of course, he had other ideas now, knowing what he knew about this 'glorious' Empire. - He suppressed a minor yearning for home; oh, how much more comfortable his old home had been... there were any number of small comforts that living in a truly high-tech and sophisticated society had brought. He missed them - and shoved such thoughts aside immediately.
Not that the word 'evolution' actually implied to him that which it implied to others, others who sat squarely in the secular camp. There was no question in his mind that 'evolution' was merely an invented word; yet another lie spread by Morgoth and his ilk...
Yet all this was irrelevant as he attempted to bypass the oh-so-complex security system that guarded the most well-defended and important military asset in the entire Empire of the Eternal Dawn: the High Command Citadel.
Indeed, few even knew of the presence of an entire city, full of military personnel and their families, deep beneath the capital of the Empire, Nenya.
What made the secrecy all the more effective was the fact that Nenya itself burrowed deep beneath the ground - some four miles, in fact, in some places, although there were no people living so deep - and so none would suspect that there would be anything of note beneath the city beneath the city, so to speak.
A city beneath a city beneath a city; it was, to Sulkat's mind, the ultimate deception. How could one ever know it was here, unless there were a leak?
One could not.
Which was how Sulkat knew it was here. He had... informants. Unfortunately for the informants in question, they were not aware that they were informants - a pang of guilt pricked at his awareness for a moment for the duplicity - but informants they were.
Sulkat resisted the urge to grunt as the console that opened the massive metal door that lead into the Tertiary Access Tunnel pinged its acceptance of the code that the small metal instrument which Sulkat held in one massive paw had entered. Features carefully impassive, almost bored, and oh-so-very aware of the multitude of surveillance systems which were monitoring him already, Sulkat bowed his head to the door as it opened.
He had observed such a response from a high-ranking IDF AF officer just moments before - the IDF AF officer had not seen him, of course, as the officer in question was merely Human. Fortunately, it was unlikely that the discrepancy between the officer's memory and the surveillance system recordings would be noted; if it had have been, Sulkat would surely have been in severe trouble.
Replacing the small metallic object - disguised to look like an ordinary small military comm device - in a secret pocket designed to hold the device, Sulkat strode purposefully into the Access Tunnel and towards the mag-lev train that would take him to his destination.
It was several miles to the Citadel itself, from here; walking was not an option - he was on the clock. It was, after all, only a matter of time before a scanner noted that the skin his body constantly slothed away was not possessing of a genetic code that matched any known employee.
Fortunately, this would take some time to occur: he had sprayed himself down with a special solution that would prevent such problems - for a time. The solution would not last forever; it could not, as if it did, he would likely suffer from heat stroke. Thus, he had to move slowly, despite the fact that time was of the essence. It was a paradox, to be sure.
The journey was brief; the train itself moved pretty fast, and the journey was just as smooth as one would expect - mag-lev piste systems were always far smoother than the primitive rail systems that so many nations still relied on. As he marched through the clean, sterile corridors of the Citadel, Sulkat noted that there were few people around at this time of the morning - it was 4am Nenyan Standard Time, unless the constant use of the transferance system was confusing his sense of time again. Which was eminently possible.
The signs were well-spaced and informative; it was almost bizarre to be walking through a high-security military installation that was so confident in its own security that it told you exactly where the most sensitive materials were. Barely breaking stride, Sulkat noted that he had indeed chosen the correct route - the sign he passed noted that it was 250metres to the Communications Division HQ, and 730metres to the High Command Chamber; Sulkat wanted the CDHQ, not the HCC.
It did not take long to walk the distance - Sulkat had a long, loping stride, even though he was attempting to walk slowly; he was sweating profusely underneath the spray-on siliplas bodysuit he was wearing to mask his genetic code from the security scanning system.
It was somewhat ironic, really, Sulkat considered as he entered an empty booth in the busy, high-ceilinged hive of activity. It was ironic indeed that the only place that boasted a secure enough communications grid in order that Sulkat could make contact with one of his subordinates was, indeed, so difficult to gain access to. He could possibly have made the call from elsewhere - but here, where security was so tight, there would be very little chance of discovery. The lie hidden within the lie - the repetition of the theme brought a small smile to Sulkat's features. Locking the door and activating the 'secrecy' system, he worked at the controls before him with expertise - and as rapidly as Nenyanly possible.
Within a few moments, the trimensional 'visor sprang to life, and the wall before him transformed-
"Greetings, Operative 93-Epsilon-2," Sulkat stated softly, the tiny smile still in evidence on his amber-eyes-dominated face...
IC:
Operative 21-Gamma-5 - more commonly known as Sulkat Esperallya-Rihad - was not especially suited to remaining hidden.
Indeed, if it were not for the fortune of his heritage, it would be nigh on impossible for him to remain hidden from any eyes - no matter how close to blind. He was a walking behemoth, standing at well over seven feet tall, and, unusually for his species, was nearly three-quarters as wide.
He hadn't always been Operative 21-Gamma-5. In fact, he had once been little more than the Imperial Weapons Master - noted for his ability with or without the blade. Indeed, he had fought for the Emperor Si Ling I's honour at a bloodsport competition out on one of those Eru-forsaken moons of Saturn or Jupiter - he couldn't remember which, now, as he'd not really paid much attention on the journey or as to where he was, so focused on his task and 'quest' had he been - and had returned victorious.
That had not won him renown. Far from it. It had won him scorn. It had cost him his position as Imperial Weapons Master, also - not for his victory, but for the nature of his victory. The Emperor of the day, Si Ling I, had not approved of the brutal nature of his fighting style during the competition. Had called it 'dishonourable'.
Sulkat did not feel this was the case, but one did not argue with the leader of the greatest civilization to ever bless Ambar with its presence. Naturally, only those inside the civilization in question actually felt that it was indeed the greatest civilization to ever bless Ambar with its presence - the Humans called the planet 'Earth', or 'Terra', or any number of other names - but there had once been no doubt in Sulkat's mind that the Empire of the Eternal Dawn was the pinnacle of social evolution here on this Earth. Of course, he had other ideas now, knowing what he knew about this 'glorious' Empire. - He suppressed a minor yearning for home; oh, how much more comfortable his old home had been... there were any number of small comforts that living in a truly high-tech and sophisticated society had brought. He missed them - and shoved such thoughts aside immediately.
Not that the word 'evolution' actually implied to him that which it implied to others, others who sat squarely in the secular camp. There was no question in his mind that 'evolution' was merely an invented word; yet another lie spread by Morgoth and his ilk...
Yet all this was irrelevant as he attempted to bypass the oh-so-complex security system that guarded the most well-defended and important military asset in the entire Empire of the Eternal Dawn: the High Command Citadel.
Indeed, few even knew of the presence of an entire city, full of military personnel and their families, deep beneath the capital of the Empire, Nenya.
What made the secrecy all the more effective was the fact that Nenya itself burrowed deep beneath the ground - some four miles, in fact, in some places, although there were no people living so deep - and so none would suspect that there would be anything of note beneath the city beneath the city, so to speak.
A city beneath a city beneath a city; it was, to Sulkat's mind, the ultimate deception. How could one ever know it was here, unless there were a leak?
One could not.
Which was how Sulkat knew it was here. He had... informants. Unfortunately for the informants in question, they were not aware that they were informants - a pang of guilt pricked at his awareness for a moment for the duplicity - but informants they were.
Sulkat resisted the urge to grunt as the console that opened the massive metal door that lead into the Tertiary Access Tunnel pinged its acceptance of the code that the small metal instrument which Sulkat held in one massive paw had entered. Features carefully impassive, almost bored, and oh-so-very aware of the multitude of surveillance systems which were monitoring him already, Sulkat bowed his head to the door as it opened.
He had observed such a response from a high-ranking IDF AF officer just moments before - the IDF AF officer had not seen him, of course, as the officer in question was merely Human. Fortunately, it was unlikely that the discrepancy between the officer's memory and the surveillance system recordings would be noted; if it had have been, Sulkat would surely have been in severe trouble.
Replacing the small metallic object - disguised to look like an ordinary small military comm device - in a secret pocket designed to hold the device, Sulkat strode purposefully into the Access Tunnel and towards the mag-lev train that would take him to his destination.
It was several miles to the Citadel itself, from here; walking was not an option - he was on the clock. It was, after all, only a matter of time before a scanner noted that the skin his body constantly slothed away was not possessing of a genetic code that matched any known employee.
Fortunately, this would take some time to occur: he had sprayed himself down with a special solution that would prevent such problems - for a time. The solution would not last forever; it could not, as if it did, he would likely suffer from heat stroke. Thus, he had to move slowly, despite the fact that time was of the essence. It was a paradox, to be sure.
The journey was brief; the train itself moved pretty fast, and the journey was just as smooth as one would expect - mag-lev piste systems were always far smoother than the primitive rail systems that so many nations still relied on. As he marched through the clean, sterile corridors of the Citadel, Sulkat noted that there were few people around at this time of the morning - it was 4am Nenyan Standard Time, unless the constant use of the transferance system was confusing his sense of time again. Which was eminently possible.
The signs were well-spaced and informative; it was almost bizarre to be walking through a high-security military installation that was so confident in its own security that it told you exactly where the most sensitive materials were. Barely breaking stride, Sulkat noted that he had indeed chosen the correct route - the sign he passed noted that it was 250metres to the Communications Division HQ, and 730metres to the High Command Chamber; Sulkat wanted the CDHQ, not the HCC.
It did not take long to walk the distance - Sulkat had a long, loping stride, even though he was attempting to walk slowly; he was sweating profusely underneath the spray-on siliplas bodysuit he was wearing to mask his genetic code from the security scanning system.
It was somewhat ironic, really, Sulkat considered as he entered an empty booth in the busy, high-ceilinged hive of activity. It was ironic indeed that the only place that boasted a secure enough communications grid in order that Sulkat could make contact with one of his subordinates was, indeed, so difficult to gain access to. He could possibly have made the call from elsewhere - but here, where security was so tight, there would be very little chance of discovery. The lie hidden within the lie - the repetition of the theme brought a small smile to Sulkat's features. Locking the door and activating the 'secrecy' system, he worked at the controls before him with expertise - and as rapidly as Nenyanly possible.
Within a few moments, the trimensional 'visor sprang to life, and the wall before him transformed-
"Greetings, Operative 93-Epsilon-2," Sulkat stated softly, the tiny smile still in evidence on his amber-eyes-dominated face...