Lachryma

The cleanup efforts for Invictus have been a nightmare, we roll in around a thousand people a day and our medical resources were running out, if not for the Navy bringing us what we needed.

They made an offer to buy out the station and use it as a Naval hospital but I couldn't do that to Marshall and Fareeh.

Speaking of...

Farah had been disobeying orders and on her feet daily nonstop helping with the constant influx of patients. Athena gave up on asking her to stop and just let it happen.

"She'll either burn out and give up, or she'll sleep when she's dead."

And ironically Fareeah came out of retirement to help, left her hubby alone at home with the baby. Barely months out of having a kid and she's back in the saddle unofficially. She's in scrubs and running around like she never left.

I fucking miss her.

R: Callie I know you're busy with all this, but the cryptids are sending their lackeys for you.

C: Fucking whoop-de-doo, they need a good reason because I'm busy

I have a two patients on two gurneys with one in each hand as I'm racing them down the hallways to surgery, I don't have time for this.

C: Tell them to call back! I'm busy!

I look ahead and see two suits walk past the corner, left to right, and just keep going. I sigh and signal two nurses who are on their mobis looking at patient data. They run over and take the carts, while I head for the elevator down the hall to go up to my office.

C: Fuck, they're in the station. I'll be up in the office.

R: They're already there.

Fuck. You.

I groan and hit the call pad when I make it to the elevator, after a few minutes it opens and I see two suits and greet them with a groan.

"I'm on my fucking way, quit hustling me!" I shout and they don't move in the slightest. I step into the elevator and they still don't budge. Except one of them hits the button for my office and we ascend.

"I can press my own buttons, thank you."

Still no movement.

Normally this elevator takes but a few seconds to get up to my office but for some reason this one felt like YEARS to get there.

Door opens and who do I see but Grand Admiral Bennington, the motherfucker I saw before I was sent off to my death and I reach for my LH-86 in the back of my scrubs.

And it's gone. I turn and one of the cryptids drops the mag and unloads the round.

"It's rude to steal you piece of shit!" I screech and they smile back.

"Calliope, the UEE would li-" Bennington starts and I snap my view back to him, hot in the face with rage.

"NO!" I yell, pointing a finger at him. "YOU SENT ME TO MY FUCKING DEATH WITHOUT A CARE IN THE FUCKING WORLD! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

He doesn't budge.

"Your presence is needed for another black-op. We-"

"NUH FUCKING UH! YOU'RE NOT GONNA PULL THIS SHIT ON ME AGAIN! Y'ALL CAN KEEP TRYING TO KILL ME BUT I'M NOT BUYING IT! FUCK. OFF."

Suddenly, my chair spins around and who do I see but the mega-cryptid, the shadow's shadow.

"And you, who the fuck are you!? What's your name?!" I yell and he smiles.

"That's classified, now if Admiral Bennington can get your attention..."

I spin around to get on the elevator and the doors close, terminal pad not responding and with a sigh I rest my head against the doors.

"What? What do you want?"

"It involves the Citizens for Prosperity, the ones behind your infamous Idris incident." Bennington starts. "They're making moves, and we need you to un-make them if not reverse them or make them change their minds."

I turn and shadow is gone. Completely gone and with the only entrance being the elevator I get nervous.

"The Idris incident was the Slicers, not the Shitizens." I growl.

His head dips a little, and I can tell he knows this is going to be a fight.

"The Slicers WERE the Citizens for Prosperity." He starts while I clench my fists. "They used it as a cover to start a war between themselves in the Pyro system and the Stanton system. They wanted Citizens to take up arms, so they could persuade them to help run the Headhunters and Frontier Fighters out. They wanted the system for themselves at any cost and were willing to drive criminals out to Stanton."

"So terrorists? You want me to kill a stronghold of terrorists? Again?"

His shoulders relax and he sits in my seat.

"You will have full support on this operation. You will not be in absolute radio silence and whatever you need we can get. Nothing is off the table, other than you MUST go this alone."

Fear spikes again.

"Why alone?! Where's my support?!"

"We can't afford to have untrained eyes on the operation, you will be working with our finest pilots and tech engineers."

This smells of kopion shit...

"I need Ravi with me on this. Fuck your demands for 'the best'. Ravija is THE BEST."

"I assure you they are not. Our best have this meeting locked down and there is not way in or out electronically or physically."

An evil grim crawls across his face, and I match it with mine.

"And how does that make you feel? You're inferior now I guess." I say and his confusion can be read like an hologram that says "stoopid" on his forehead.

"Frankly, I'm hurt and upset. Can't believe I've been replaced by people who are clearly better than me." Comes in through the speakers and he runs pale with wide eyes.

"Y'you can't be witness to this! This is a violation of UEEN law!" He whines and I just smile.

His mobi buzzes and even from so far away I see the message that just says "Hello!".

"Here's the deal, I'm gonna have Ravi on this IF I decide to take it." I growl. "She's my eyes in the sky, the copper, the fiber, ether, she's EVERYWHERE. Do not fuck with my Ravi."

He looks ready to explode, and Ravi goes for the glory kill.

"His records are sealed, redacted, confidential...his wife moved out after they sent you off to die and his kids disowned him. He's got nothing left." through the speakers and boy does he look like he's about to fucking panic.

"Genuinely impressive, we've had our eye on her for years and have been trying to crack her systems with our own..." from behind me, I spin around and the shadow is there in the elevator.

"Callie? He doesn't exist. All facial recognition, legal, illegal, open source, EVERYTHING, he doesn't exist!"

"Admiral Bennington, you are dismissed. Return to station."

Old dude stands up and straightens his uniform, salutes and marches right past me and I dodge his attempt to shoulder check me.

Shadow floats by me, his movements so silent and fluid that it's like he doesn't exist.

"Lovely place you built for your little family. Headstones tucked away in a forest is a beautiful touch." He says softly but I'm ready to remove his head like a bottle cap.

"We can give them back to you, we have the regeneration tech for it despite the ongoing crisis."

"Don't you fucking DARE." I hiss as he takes my seat. "Then their deaths will have been for nothing, and that whole op would have meant nothing. Leave my family alone, asshole."

He smiles, and the smile is so sweet and disarming, but his words pierce the soul.

"Jorg was an excellent operative, his loss weighed heavily on us. Ophelia was an exceptional asset as well but I am truly sorry for the loss of your 'sister'." He says with air quotes.

Murder murder death kill murder...end him, shred him, gut him, skin him...KILL HIM.

"You are free to try, I promise we will not charge you with anything."

"Bullshit, nice setup."

He stands, moves to the front of my desk and raises his hands to his side in a way that screams "try me."

"Your father would have been proud of this moment."

I lunge with no hesitation and wake up on the floor. No injuries, no scars, no blood, bruises. Like I magically decided to take a nap on the floor.

"R-Rav did you see what happened?"

Silence.

"Ravi?"

Nothing.

"Ravioli?"

Not even a peep and that terrifies me.

I look at my mobi to see a single message:

//We await your decision. We have many who can take this, but you're our top choice. Don't let me down.///

I get up and sit at my desk, the cloth seat so cold it's like it's been empty for weeks.

"Motherfuckers didn't even discuss payment..." I groggily groan and my mobi buzzes.

//Anvil will be returned to you, full financial control as well as new arm schematics.//

I look at my prosthetic and see it's been topped off with new vials and cleaned up. The Invictus rush has dried me out several times and it was coated in blood stains I spent every waking second cleaning.

"I know you're listening, always listening." I whisper as I lay my head on my desk. "Nothing happens to my crew, and if for whatever reason I don't come back, do not regenerate me under any circumstance. But if I do, I want a hundred Anvil T1 beds for the station. Give me a week to prepare, and I expect you to explain to my crew what's going on before I go anywhere. I don't want to disappear again."

//You have my word, Mrs. Cass. No harm shall come to your team and we will get you whatever is needed. Pleasure working with you directly.//

Oh...oh no...