X43: Backseat Oversight

And as expected, he gave a nonchalant nod. Eliza continued to coordinate forces as she felt the thousands of datastreams pour into her mind. Armed with an upgraded mil-uplink that dug down onto her cheek and ear, stretching up to above her ear-lobe, she twisted to look at the thousands of monitors at her station. Beside her were a dozen books and data pads, piled on top of each other… Most were already finished.

"Thanks," whispered Eliza, glancing over at Sato. 

Sato glanced over towards her, looking more sluggish than usual from having to organise a large force. "No problem…" Her eyes then scanned over the amount of work she'd already looked over. "Fucking hell… You're fired up for this. Don't worry, when Archius started it took him a year to get good; you'll make it in a tenth of that!" 

A small smirk curled onto Eliza's lips. 

"Yeah…" said Eliza. She has a commitment, she doesn't know if she can; and compared to Sato or Archius, she's an inexperienced newbie.

"Hey!" Archius snapped his head over. His eyes skimmed over Eliza, and for a moment she swore she saw him glare at her… She shook her head, clearing her mind. Tired… She must be tired, Eliza thought. "Just relax, m'kay?"

Looking at Lilly's team, she noticed that they were pinned down in a hall. Quinn's fireteam was also present; up ahead was an intersection. 'Vallé, retreat Epsilon to flank around then retreat yourself. Bait them towards the intersection.'

'On it, let's go fuck them up' said Quinn, displaying his fiery shotgun, breaking off from cover as he turned into one of the nearby ventilation shafts. Lilly nodded, her stone-cold discipline ignoring bolts that slammed against her armour.

Quinn got into position, with Lilly's retreating team luring the Loyalists further in. Pushing themselves backwards, they hugged the indents in the wall as an AGENT fell, dragged into cover by Kiri. Lilly stayed calm. Eliza did her best, understanding that they chose this.

'No use! She's dead!' shouted Lilly.

'I'm in position… what's the fucking plan?!' asked Quinn.

'Vallé, attack. Epsilon, flank them and sew chaos.' ordered Eliza. She watched as the unit pushed upwards, cutting down the platoon of Loyalists as Deltastring stormed the intersection. 

Another team of Loyalists rushed in to check their advance.

Feeling the salvos from the guns, she looked up at Sato and Archius. She felt a sense of responsibility to Lilly's units… And for once, she felt proud of it. 

She gritted her teeth, igniting her crimson eyes as she focused on the mission, typing away and accessing the touchscreen. Using the blueprints, she highlighted all methods of access as she overworked herself, turning back to Kazuki's team.

'I've highlighted it,' said Eliza, blinking onto the system as a waypoint for Kazuki to get to the reactor room.

Kazuki said nothing, as she expected. She watched as a battle-map of the whole station whizzed upwards from behind her, sending shockwaves into her eyes with the blaring dots on the monitors. It depicted every agent and level. Explosions, fragments and hull depictions flicked off the station, only to be stopped by the Phoenix's Fury. Sporadic resistance turned the station into a game of whack-a-Loyalist as AGENTs fought in firefights in all levels of both commercial and industrial sectors. It was too numerous for one person to understand. 

But that didn't stop her. She has to do the best. The best. She repeated the words in her head as she pushed her mind into the fray. She watched as Kazuki's team deep-striked through the facility, beating back all in their way in a frantic blitz.

Highlighting Lilly's team on her uplink, she contacted them. 'Vallé, I'll send support your way.'

'Support?' asked Vallé, 'Sure, more the better.'

Lilly took a bolt to the shoulder as she ducked back into an indent. Eliza watched on the camera system as Kazuki's team pushed through the halls of the given path, eliminating every Loyalist in their way. Her worries were swept away as she watched them fight, knowing full well that they'll beat them back. She stomached their deaths much easier, knowing what they had done. So many civilians dead, this felt like justice - even if crude. Maybe that was the only similarity between her and her dad, she thought: justice. People die. Who'd care if some terrorists died as well? Slowly, she was becoming desensitised to it all. She knew that to the average person in the galaxy, this was a normal sight to see - but to a mid-born High-Table surfacer, this was cruel.

Anxiety crept in with each bolt that smacked into the team. Kazuki staggered sideways, Amyé shuddered backwards and Claire had to tend to them. As Kazuki grappled, she noticed that he was slower. From what she's seen, he's fast. Too fast sometimes, but now she can constantly keep track of them. Even if something was wrong, his exterior never changed. Though, even the slightest of differences spells out a magnitude of expressions and emotions.

'Keep it up. If you take a few corners you'll reach an intersection and staircase upwards.'

Even though she was never there in person, she could feel the stress seep in. Her mind slowly fatigued itself out, with each action pushing her slowly to her limits. Sato pointed at her own uplink, telling Eliza to keep reclocking it.

"Come on, Eliza." she muttered to herself, "Keep on keeping on" 

She pressed her eyes open, watching Phalanx Team reach the intersection. Kazuki's team rolled up behind Deltastring, firing down the hall as the Loyalists were stopped in their tracks. Amyé and Claire took cover with Lilly's team. Kazuki stood out in the open, ducking and side-stepping any bolts sent his way.

'Arbiter?' Lilly was confused as smaller shockwaves shook the station, 'You're the reinforcements, then, huh?'

'No.' said Kazuki. He paused for a moment. Eliza watched as the team slowly pushed forward, giving Kazuki enough room to ascend upwards on the staff-only stairs. 'Lazarus, Artillerist. Reinforce Vallé. I'll deal with the reactor myself.'

'Eh? Oh, come on! Don't stick us with Vallé!' Amyé jokingly complained.

'Oh, hello fuckwits!' cried Quinn, glancing towards Amyé and Claire. 

'Oh, fuck me, is this the mundane part of the mission?' asked Amyé. 'Doing jackshit whilst Mr. Shoot Shoot goes and beheads the enemy?'

The joke seemed to go well between the operatives, but Kazuki didn't seem too bothered. He simply nodded, acknowledging that it was most likely what he was going to do. And he patted her on the back.

Something slowly clicked within Eliza as she thought about it all. The cocktail of emotions clashed with her thoughts. Archius looked up from his station, over at Eliza. She was clearly in mental agony as she felt the thousands of data-streams break into her thoughts and feelings.

"Liz. Keep it together. Kaz will make it through." lied Archius. Eliza didn't see through it… but she felt the sparks of truth within his voice, she chose to believe him.

She shot her head towards Kazuki. He started to ascend the staircase. Another explosion rocked the station as another salvo from the dreadnought shattered debris to pieces. All the while, her mind continued to sway in emotions.

But if Kazuki chose this, she'll support him. She accepted him for who he says he is: the Contract-Breaker. But that never mattered for her. To her, Kazuki has always been that air-headed guy in high school. Though times have changed, she reminisced for a moment. 

"Maybe this is what they all feel…" Eliza trailed off, realising that she just accepted the thought of him dying. "Maybe…"

"Eliza." Sato said towards her. Archius gave Sato a glare. "Don't try to do everything. I've been doing this for the past decade, let me tell you: not fun. Just do what you can."

Eliza started to pull herself together as she sat up straight. 

Sato looked back at her station, her workaholic fervour permeating an aura in the command room. Eliza's crimson eyes glistened as she spoke, 'Vallé, keep as many Loyalists distracted. Arbiter… survive.'

Lilly chuckled for a moment before she grumbled back to Eliza, 'What do you think we're doing right now?!'

Eliza smiled. Her undertone was far different. She watched Kazuki ascend as he reloaded his weapons. Kazuki was slower, but he had to survive. After all, he's a member of the seven, one of the deadliest mercs in the galaxy. Despite that, her worry seeped in as he pulled the receiver back.

'Eliza. Keep guiding me.' said Kazuki, his voice slurred slightly. She could see small vapours exit from his respirator… She never knew why that happened. But after all this is done, she'll fix up his exospine again, something compelled her. Maybe she can fix it, permanently. 

'Arbiter, after this, I'll fix up your spine, alright?' said Eliza, gulping down her worries. She wanted an assurance from him.

Kazuki said nothing. He slowly turned away and continued to climb the stairs.

'Liz, don't you know?' asked Quinn.

'Huh?' Eliza trailed off. What was Quinn talking about? Did something happen? Looking across the camera, she could see Quinn, a strong grip on his shotgun.

'Epsilon…' Lilly started. 'Not now. We'll do this later.'

'She deserves to fucking know… People die all the time, but you never get to say goodbye to them!' Quinn fired away, reminding her of Riharia. If only she could ever say one last word to her. 'This is Arbiter's last op. All or nothing!'