Project Maelstrom - Interactive

Part One: The Site

"Selina?" Angel asks, a bit confused. "Chilling in her room, last I've known."

It calms me a bit, but not entirely. I could've swore she was the one Jet was testing.

"Hey, you've awoken at around 2 in the afternoon. Lunch should still be available in the cafeteria," Angel mentions. "May want to get some fresh air in the courtyard."

"Yeah, will do," I mutter, walking towards the door. My legs evidently hadn't been active, so I put extra thought into keeping them straight while I head for the door.

~ operative aurum ~

"What's our status?" I hear over the mic, coming from Diane. Us two, Dominik, and Natalia were on standby, overlooking an old factory building in Vietnam, close to a new Maelstrom site. Southeast Asia was probably the most resistant to the company, outlawing their operation in 16 countries in the region. Vietnam wasn't one of them.

A number of vigilantes against the company had been preparing a siege on the site, to delay its construction. The site was meant to be a hub for deep-sea exploration and to mediate the diplomatic mess that was the South China Sea.

"Bridget, what are you seeing on Digit?" Natalia asks, fastening a buckle on her gear.

"Mines are all over the main entrances," I respond, looking at the camera coming from my bird-like drone. "They're set up on the third floor. Gotta bust in, or rappel."

"We enter through the second, then," Diane commands. "Weapons are hot. Move in!"

"Here, I'll send Digit in to check the room," I tell Diane.

"I've got it, Bridget," she retorts. She was the one person in the squad I could never get along with. She hated my upbeat person, and I hated her complete seriousness.

"Sure thing," I mutter, knowing she was commander of the mission. Normally it would be Capris, but both him and the other Canadian, Devin, were on leave for a few weeks. The SEALs, Steven and Mena, were doing concurrent training with the Seal Team Command. It was good for relations, or at least that was what the CEA, Raleigh, had told us.

The four of us move to the west wall, tossing our rappel hooks up to the roof and scaling the wall. Then, we press off the wall with our feet, using the momentum to send us into the room.

We land inside an office-in-progress, aiming down the dark corners as we move to the main stairwell. I watch the flanks as Exo, Oriole, and Rattlesnake aim down the path we were to follow.

"Hostiles, 10:00," Exo says over the radio, pulling out a suppressor from his pouch and screwing it onto the end of his SABR rifle. "Flashbang out."

The small, skinny grenade lands in the room, exploding with a bright white light and nearly sending the people to their grounds from the intensity. Dominik sends in some well placed rounds, eliminating seven tangos with seven rounds.

"Room cleared," Natalia confirms, stepping in silently and feeling for pulse. We rush into the room, hearing footsteps coming our way. "Guys, tangos approaching."

"Exo and I will deliver firepower," Oriole commands. "Aurum, get an updated drone scan. Rattlesnake, do your thing."

"Yes ma'am," we say in unison. I activate my touchpad, piloting the canary-esque drone to the top of the building. "Trying out a new tool," I say. I'd send developing it in the lab for a while, and I was certain it would work now.