Unyielding Resolve - Cecilia Alcott x OC

Chapter 7 - Nightmare

Bold: Time/Location
Italic: Character Thoughts/Internal Monologue
Underline: Author's Note(s)

IS Academy - James' POV

Ms. Orimura had guided me to my room like she stated she would. Before I got to ask her my question, she had already answered "No, there is no one else living here, though that could change easily." I closed my mouth, not wanting to provoke her any further seeing that she's clearly in a bad mood from having to deal with me. "I'll leave you be, get some rest." she ordered. Complying, I opened the door to my room and it was empty of any other individuals, confirming her statement about the current living arrangement. Sighing in exhaustion, I got to brushing my teeth in the bathroom and changed out of my tactical uniform that I had spent the entire day in. "You'd think given their need to be worn for long periods, they'd be more comfortable..." I complained to nobody. As soon as I sat on the bed about to doze off, a light on my metal hand started blinking. "I wondered when they'd try and contact me." I said, knowing full well who was trying to communicate. I twisted my hand with an audible swish from the couplings releasing at the slot in my wrist.

I retrieved the charger from my luggage for my prosthetic, plugging it into the outlet atop the nightstand followed by my hand being connected to the charger. A few seconds after that happened, the light stopped flashing and a hologram appeared being projected from the tip of the hand's index finger. "Agent Riker, mission report." commanded a female S.T.R.I.K.E. operations officer from the glowing blue hologram with a stern expression on her face reminding me of Chifuyu. She had short black hair, pale white skin, and piercing green eyes. "Commander Williams, I have successfully infiltrated the IS academy. Moments ago however, Ms. Orimura was extremely close to discovering my intentions here. Unfortunately she has confiscated my weapon. Besides defeating England's representative contender, things have been uneventful thus far. I have several leads on potential vulnerabilities in the IS but will need more time to confirm these prospects." I reported to my superior. "Not even a week and you've already managed to make considerable headway. I'm impressed agent." she complimented me with a slight smile. "Thank you ma'am." I acknowledged her comment. "I'll keep this as brief as possible as we're low on time. Operations left a jumpjet cloaked in the treeline by the shore in case you need it. There should be some spare equipment in it, including weapons since you stated yours had been confiscated. Please be aware that we left it there only as an emergency if extraction is needed, or you are in desperate need of supplies. You can also use it to communicate with us on a secure channel, right now we've hacked into the academy's communications with a virus embedded in your hand, but they will notice this soon. Continue your mission agent, the director is eagerly awaiting results. Williams out." she finished as the hologram promptly vanished back into the hand, the glowing projector flashing off.

"My own jumpjet. That makes things much easier." I said to myself, feeling extremely grateful for the efficiency of the agency's operations. I laid back on the bed and placed my left arm over my forehead, still wearing my white undershirt and pants, and dozed off to sleep.

Unknown Location - James' POV

I was walking through what I realized to be snow, and I was deep in it. For some reason, I couldn't feel the brush of the cold air against my skin or the weight of the snow against my lower legs. Unsure of how I arrived here, I looked around in an attempt to retrace my steps. I seemed to be standing within a lightly dense forest of frost glazed pine trees, and I spotted tall snow-capped mountains in the distance. Looking down, I noticed I was in cold weather gear provided by the agency. What surprised me the most however, was my left hand no longer being a replacement for the one I had lost over a year ago. "What...what is this?" A female voice called to me, pulling me from my thoughts of confusion. "Agent Riker! Could you do us a favor and try not to leave us behind? You're making the rest of us look bad." the woman said to me. Something about that voice was familiar, and when I saw who it was, I could not believe it.