Mission 4: Present and Unaccounted For

As, Silas gives a nod of acknowledgement to the members of his sister team. They seem to be short one person, hopefully he didn't get caught up in the incident.

With the current iteration of his team gathered, Silas takes the opportunity to introduce himself. "Let's keep this quick, given the circumstances. I'm Silas Floros, team medic. I've been on three missions so far, all of which turned into a mess by the end."

Nearly there. Just a few more stitches. The sudden blaring of alarms jolted Blake's hand, nearly ruining the stitches. What in the blazes was that racket? Oh...a convenient warning blares out supplying the flamboyant young man with the pertinent explanation. And what an explanation it was. Loathe though he was to leave the monogram unfinished, the good of the city came first.

Blake glides through the bustling rush of Technicians, subtly excited to be headed towards something that wasn't further training or just busywork. He responds sharply as the Lieutenant calls out his name along with the other two. He nods in agreement to Thoron's suggestion before bursting into a font of words. "Silas! How wonderful to make your acquaintance! I am Blake Rowell; Blake will do. I'm sure we'll all get to be friends as we're working together after all. My own experience is more limited. I've trained in some more martial arts but my assignments were uneventful. Pestering the higher ups eventually got me transferred to active duty. A much better use of my talents if I might say so!" The whole while, Blake's giving his explanation he is trying to vigorously shake Silas's hand. Probably for too long before turning to Thoron for a similar affair, "Ahh and the same for you Thoron! Charmed, I'm sure!"

Blake nods in agreement, either missing or ignoring the others more cynical undertones. "I know it's so exciting! Dangerous yes, but it still beats staring at crates all day." His face wrinkles as he has a more unpleasant thought. "The only thing I can't figure out is who would want to break in in the first place. Seems like the worst place for a robbery with all the Technicians around."

Silas frowns at Thoron's analysis. Underestimating the enemy is a dangerous game. "They must think that it is worth it. For all we know, this is just a distraction to cover a different operation. I doubt we'd be be able to respond to something more subdued in another district right now."

Approaching the area that the group of you were sent, the sounds of combat can be heard. Rounding the corner, there's a sight of a large, spiked, walking crag being punched into dissipating energy by a red metallic bug with claws for hands, that's standing in the center of a four-way intersection. Nearby is Cain, breathing heavily, as well as a handful of the smoother varieties of Porygon.

While the immediate area is clear, further down the hallway is a small mass of about a half-dozen Pokémon. They seem to be hanging back, though, as more reinforcements trickle into the group of 'Mon. Upon your approach, Cain turns to the newly arrived Technicians, breathing a sigh of relief. "Ah, good. Impeccable timing." There's a bit of a wry smile on his face, more of an air of informality than he's really shown before. "So, this is rather a bit of a mess that we've found ourselves in, wouldn't you say?" He casts a glance over each of the group's faces, tossing a Pokéball up and down in his hand. "You guys feel ready and awake enough to try and stem the flow?"

"Impeccable is my aim, sir." Blake chips in. He stifles a yawn while staring down the group of Pokemon. "How bad is the situation? And where the devil did all these Pokemon come from?"

Oh right, Pokemon. He had remembered to bring his own then hadn't he? A panicked pat down reveal them, in one of the inner pockets. "Right. Maybe those questions would be best answered by jumping in ourselves."

"Too many," Cain replies to Thoron. "I'm already down two Pokémon, and three Porygon. Didn't have too much stationed here because, well... didn't really expect anything to happen here. But happen it did. This may be the main connection corridor to the rest of the base, but there are other offshoots. We just won't be able to hold them back forever."

Cain turns to Silas, that wry smile still on his face. "Close. That was my objective. You are going to solve the problem, while I try to keep them from flooding the rest of the base." He reaches onto his belt and deftly tosses a Pokéball over to the Technician, and points down the left-hand corridor. "You'll be heading down that way, until you run parallel to Research Bay 5. It's empty right now, but use Aegis to punch through it into Bay 6. You'll find something that I'm sure two of you will recognize." He nods towards Thoron and Silas. "That wall section you got us to bring back? We couldn't get anything out of it. Were starting to think that it was disconnected or something. But... well, you can see that's not the case. Activated a little bit ago, and Pokémon started flooding out. We need it smashed. Doesn't matter how many 'mon you need to blast through on the way. If that portal stays open to letting things shortcut in, we're screwed regardless. Any questions?"

Silas fumbles with the tossed Pokeball for a second before he can get a firm grasp on it. Having one of Cain's Pokemon will likely prove invaluable once they actually get to the source, not to mention its shortcut creation utility. When Cain asks for questions, Silas just makes eye contact with his superior. "None that need answering now."

Of course, Silas has plenty of questions, starting with the standard set: who, what, where, when, why, and how. At least 'what' and 'when' can be approximated, but the important details of 'who' and 'why' remain a mystery. Then there are less abstract questions, like 'why would you keep a teleporter into your base when a hostile force has the other end'. Surely some precautions were taken, right?

"It's not 'open and stable'," Cain says, shaking his head. "Not in that way. It's more like a tap than a doorway. It turns on for a moment, and something comes out. But, if you figure out a way to learn exactly where the other end is... well, that could prove useful. Anyways, yes, enough chatter for now. Go!"

Hurrying down the hall, Bay 5 is, thankfully, unsealed due to being currently unused. It's fairly large, and undisturbed, giving you time for last minute preparations, and to release your own Pokémon, as well as Aegis. The large metal spider waits for your signal, before rending a hole in the thick metal walls with its sharp claws.

On the other side of the breach is a much... less tidy picture. In the center of the room is a slab of wall, obviously where the portal is. Chunks of detritus scatter the room, mostly from the gaping hole torn where the door on the other side would be, but also from some of the machines around the room. Many of them are computers and other instruments along the walls, but surrounding the wall chunk are the warped remains of what seem to possibly be some sort of automated turret system, although you can't tell for sure.

What you can be sure of, however, is that there are a fair amount of Pokémon in the room. Flying around the room are many letters with eyes in them. You get the nagging feeling that they're trying to deliver a message, but all they spell is gibberish. Over on one side is a pile of cats, clambering over top of each other, seemingly unconcerned with invading... although they perk up upon seeing the group of intruders.

Getting spit out from the chunk of wall is a serpent, joining a collection of them at the base, while behind them a colossus towers above, turning its fiery gaze upon you. Floating nearby is a purple glowing jellyfish, which looks serene as it hovers in the air, apparently unperturbed by your entrance.


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