Chapter Text
Solo City, Dimension 03
4th of July, 2042
Fireteam Seek, Group Two - Jensen, Tourne, Bright
How did it get this bad?
One minute Elias was tethered to his allies, leaving Lunia and the rest of the Lunia Citizen’s Militia behind and giving a silent prayer that the people manning the breach’s console weren’t screwing up, the next Elias was running for his life by some fanatics with enough EMPs and heavy weapons to lock the team down. Elias was lucky to have gotten out, but even then he didn’t know if his team would be alive.
‘Best case scenario, they took them out and don’t like that I ran,’ Elias thought to himself. ’Worst case, they’re dead.’
Elias turned a corner down an alleyway, taking the time to catch his breath and look himself over. His hands were still shaking from the out-of-nowhere gunfight and the temporal booster prototype he’d taken. The tiredness that had hit on arrival was still there, but subdued like it was in a headlock. Even in this state, he felt like he was on edge.
“Goddamnit.” He exhaled in German.
Elias checked his rifle, unloading it. It had taken a hit or two in the fight, but it looked like it could still function. He inserted the magazine again and patted his pistol for security. He patted the rest of his pockets before freezing.
The USB, the ever-so-important USB they were given in case the one from the first team was broken or lost, was not with him. It was with Fireteam Leader Jensen.
Elias slammed his fist against the wall of the building he leaned on, the red metal hand leaving several cracks in the wall. He couldn’t go back, not in this state. They’d be expecting him. He needed to find help.
“Jameson. He must be here too.” Elias muttered in German.
She had to be - she used to run operations in the desolate Shatter City, and from what Elias could tell this place had to be the same. At the very least, he’d need to find a way to get to her. She could help, she could always help.
Elias looked down the other end of the alleyway, progressing down it with his rifle firmly in his hands once more. If this cult of fanatics were after him, they’d expect him to be on the roads, so staying away from them would be his safety net, at least until he could get to the other side of the block. Turning down another corner and going in between another set of two buildings, Elias found himself at an open road. After a quick glance to either side, he sprinted across, getting between another alleyway between buildings. A few people were shouting in Russian, not English like the cultists had. This place could be in Russia, but the chance was more likely they were a gang from elsewhere.
As Elias turned another corner, time seemed to slow down for a moment - for him, at least. A man with long, dark blond hair went from looking behind him to Elias, and almost immediately brandished a knife. From the looks of things, he wasn’t with any of the cultists, but he seemed to have something against Elias.
The field operator raised his rifle, finger on the trigger only for the gun to be pushed from his grip with surprising force. The man’s knife went towards Elias’ organic arm, slashing up his jacket sleeve while Elias dropped the rifle. As he swung with his right arm, the man quickly jerked back, striking at Elias once more with the blade at his other arm. With the other hand, the man grabbed onto Elias’ wrist and pulled him forward into a headbutt that sent Elias stumbling. Then, Elias found himself pushed up against the alleyway wall, a knife to his throat. He could feel the blade cutting in already.
“You’re coming with me.” The man muttered in a cultivated Australian accent. “Need to stave off your friends.”
“My friends?” Elias managed to say.
“Shhh… Not a word, auggie.”
Elias wanted to punch the man with his other arm, even draw his pistol - he could very likely get away with it - but he mentioned his friends. If his fireteam was nearby…
Not that he had much choice - the man pulled Elias off the wall and in front of himself, knife still pressed against his throat.
As the pair shuffled the way the man came, a few people with small arms weapons showed up, unfamiliar to Elias. The knife to his neck was pressed firmly, already covered in a bit of blood from how deep it had gone. The group consisted of two men and one woman, with a bald-headed man with flashy cybernetics leading the group. He held a fist up as Elias’ captor approached slowly before stopping.
“You want your friend back?” The man spoke. “Let me go. ‘M sure you’d love to not bury him, yeah?”
The leader of the others looked back to his teammates before grinning.
“He’s not ours, Johnny.” He grinned. “Open fire!”
In a flash, the man named Johnny threw the knife past the leader to get the man in the back right in their left shoulder, stealing Elias’ pistol and kicking him forward. As gunshots started flying, Elias threw himself to the floor, watching as Johnny quickly fired a shot at the throats of the remaining pair, having lowered his frame a bit more. With the attackers down, he made his way over to each of them, firing a shot at the first two before hesitating at the leader. The man laughed, gargling on their own blood before Johnny fired a finishing shot into their eye. With the others dispatched, Elias grabbed the man’s knife, holding it pointed towards him in a defensive manner.
“You’re not going to get me with that.” Johnny said, pointing the pistol at Elias with one hand.
“I’m not letting you kill me.” Elias exhaled.
“Got no reason to.” A smirk appeared on his lips. “You’re not with them, then you’re not-”
Johnny hesitated, pointing his gun up as he put a finger to his ear.
“Talking here, Jameson.” He said. “Give me a moment?”
Elias froze. Jameson. The same one as his?
“Yeah, got your dreamcatcher. How’s Sofia?”
Elias watched as John turned away from him slightly, keeping the gun trained on him still. His eyes were focused on Elias in his peripherals.
“Tell her to sit tight, I’ll grab her soon. Thanks again for watching her.”
Another bout of silence.
“Give me ten, I’m busy.”
John’s fingers left his ear and he lowered the gun, flipping it so he was now holding the barrel.
“Sorry for the hostilities. John Smith.”
“Elias Leopold Tourne.” Elias muttered, lowering the knife. “You mentioned a Jameson, yes?”
“My boss.” John answered. “You want to meet her?”
Elias swallowed, croaking out, “Yes.”
John walked over to Elias, handing his pistol to him.
“I want answers, first.” He said. “Who you’re with, why you look so shaky, and why you want Jameson.”
Elias grabbed the pistol in his other hand, giving Johnny his knife back.
“I’m with the LCM.” He said. “Lunia Citizens Militia, Dimension 02. Field Operator.”
“Mm.” John pocketed the knife, taking out an opened pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Where’s this LCM stationed?”
“Lunia, island over near the previously-united U.K. Dimension 2.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Like I said, Dimension 2.”
John lit the cigarette, inhaling it before blowing out a plume of smoke.
“Yeah, that doesn’t make a word of sense to me.”
Elias zipped open a pocket on his jacket, taking out an ID card and handing it to John. He looked over it, coughing from the smoke and nicotine.
“Wilson Breach Expedition, huh?” He commented. “Fuck’s that?”
“Seen any weird cracks in the sky?”
“One in the city, yeah. Bunch of aug-happy crazies over there.”
“That’s a Wilson Breach.” Elias answered. “They send you into a dimension and put you to sleep right after. We’ve got one in Dimension 02 harnessed, figured out there’s one specific breach we can use to link places.”
John snuffed out the cigarette on his boot. “So you’re here to link it?”
“We sent a team here a couple of months ago.” Elias explained. “My team was sent to retrieve them and finish the mission. Two of them were captured by your crazies.”
John nodded, handing the card back to the operator. “Walk with me, Elias.”
As the pair made their way out of the alleyway, John took the knife out again, wiping off the blood on his sleeve.
“What’s with the shakes?” He asked, voice hinted with concern. “Your eyes are bloodshot.”
Elias produced an empty syringe from another jacket pocket. On the side was written “Dimensional Adrenaline - JAB ON TOUCHDOWN.” John squinted at the text before nodding, looking away.
“What’s it do?”
“Prevents you from falling asleep from the next 24 hours, fights off the fatigue.” Elias said, putting it away. “They made them last week, so we were warned they could be faulty. Prototypes.”
John coughed, thumping on his chest. The man’s outfit was rather casual, but Elias had noticed a bullet hole or two in the outfit, underneath patched with bandages.
“Why d’ya want Jameson?”
Elias exhaled slowly from his nose, adjusting his turtleneck to wipe some of the knife wound on his neck.
“Quartermaster Jameson’s one of ours.” Elias said. “Aurum Gabriel Jameson for a full name. He’s been doing the job since we pulled him from a hellhole like this one, and every operator gets told to find him first thing in a new dimension. He knows more than I.”
John smirked. “Well… here, she’s a lady named Justine. Been working for her since 2036. Working with some friends.”
“Is Sofia one of them?” Elias tilted his head.
John gave a short laugh. “Yeah, kid’s 20 as of January. We both got given jobs today, hers was a simple snatch n’ grab, which she pulled off by the time I was ready to go. So she waits for me back with Jamie. Jameson.”
John stopped at a car, opening the driver’s side door and grabbing a set of keys from under the seat.
“Is this your car?” Elias asked.
John nodded. “I leave it a bit away. Gives me time to lose any pursuers. Don’t want to wreck it.”
John started the car, gesturing for Elias to get in behind him. He did so, buckling up as John shut his door and pulled onto the road.
“Get comfy, kid.” John said with a wink. “Five minute drive. I’ll try not to hit any potholes.”