Preparation to even attempt an idea as ludicrous as this one was lengthy, but even after two and a half weeks Cassie was beginning to regret this decision. Luckily, her drive and determination to see this through kept her going.
To begin with, several hours of lessons and images were given to her by SA. He had opened and showed her every file in his hard drive relating to Sovereign City. This helped in many aspects including how to navigate the tumultuous planet because of constant lightning strikes. It was exhausting but immensely helpful. Cassie took notes of everything important on the backs of Channing's journal pages.
As they proceeded, they realized the challenges of succeeding. First, security was the strictest in the galaxy. No one got in if they looked even remotely out of place. This meant two things if they were going to try and blend in. Both her and SA would have to dye their hair black since that was the only acceptable fashion in the city and they were going to have to find another army suit for SA to match Cassie. Luckily, the market sold hair dye and they bought that on one of their routine stock trips, but to get a uniform meant testing their sneaking and planning skills out on the mining facility.
They had produced a plan to tackle this about a week later, but the executing of it made Cassie nervous. She couldn't go with SA to do it since only male Sovereigns oversaw the facilities. This meant she had to sit in their little bunker for the full twenty hours he was gone, worrying whether the plan had worked.
But amazingly it had.
SA returned unscathed, unnoticed, but not empty handed. Besides the uniform he also managed to steal a schedule log of departing and arriving shuttles to Sovereign City. Cassie and SA could then set a date to execute their trip.
However, they still had a lot to do before committing to a date. Now that they had dressed the part, they needed to act the part. One of the things Cassie had come to learn from all the lessons were that people at the heart of the Regime were the ones who embodied the hatred and ultimate supremacy tones she had gotten to know on the outside. They were people with short tempers, eyes focused on finding any kind of flaw and personalities with edges so sharp, they forced everyone to stay in a perpetual state of uncomfortableness.
SA and Cassie did many run-through practice scenarios through all they thought they might encounter. SA's ability to download video manuals and reports so he could in fact act the part was invaluable because whenever she messed up, Cassie could really begin to feel the pressure and the problems this whole mission. Still, she overcame these and soon felt confident enough to set their departure date.
They continued to practice all the way up until the day before. It was here where after Cassie had just dyed SA's hair, she found her thoughts spinning as she was about to do her own. She sat on the edge of the counter mixing her dye. It made her sad to lose her blonde, but if she didn't do it, she knew they couldn't make it past the port on this planet. She gazed up at the mirror while the dye set and ran a hand through her hair one last time.
Cassie hadn't thought back to the Keimei in a long time. Part of her knew it was because of what she was doing and how she would get the scolding of a lifetime for undertaking this. She refused to even think of Ash. But in a sense, he was driving this for her.
She quietly put in the dye and then let it soak in before rinsing it. She then looked at herself in the mirror and shuddered. She didn't like the black at all.
"You okay?" SA said from behind her.
Cassie looked back at him and sighed. "No, but it's not like something I can change."
"We could still quit this. Go somewhere else."
"I can't. This is something I need to do. It might be my only answer..."
"Answer to?" But Cassie stayed quiet as she began to clean everything up. SA just looked down and said, "I do trust you, but I wish you would tell me."
"I will. As soon as we are done." She then smiled weakly at him, and he turned away. For Cassie, even though SA had pledged his loyalty to her, she still questioned his commitment and wondered if he would turn on her. She had trained harder than ever while he was away preparing just in case the worse came to pass.
That night was barely restful. Her mind just couldn't shut down enough to rest. But instead, she just began to prepare herself for the task.
The two began early in the morning. They quickly got dressed in uniform and put their helmets on. Then they boarded their ship and began their route onto Simera. It was still dark out and it made navigating the moon's craters a bit difficult, but SA's muscle memory kicked in from all his trips and he expertly manoeuvred them into the planet's orbit.
In the dark, they landed out on the far edges of the port and the farthest away from the mining facility that they could. Before exiting the ship, the two slipped on the Sovereign's helmets and then began to make their way closer to the Sovereign sector. Not many were out except for a few guards and in the dark of night, their black uniforms lent themselves to blend in well enough for the two to find an ideal hideout in the docking back that a shuttle would be arriving.
As the orange and yellows began to fill the world around them, Cassie and SA stayed calm and still behind one of the small porticos where shipments sat. After the morning set in, the sounds of a large spacecraft echoed around them, and the time neared for the first substantial risk of this mission.
A black shiny spaceship began to land. It was like the small ship aboard Ash's ship however she recalled what Ash had told her about how much more updated their ships were. This in fact was true because as it landed, Cassie got to see its engines turn upward like they were gliding into place for a more stable landing. Also, the build was sleek and full of weaponry so cleverly disguised that it was near impossible to make them out in the shadows of the ship.
Many more Sovereigns soldiers appeared while the ship powered down. Once the hull opened a group of at least twenty men popped off the shuttle and saluted to an officer standing by the entrance bay. They began talking briefly before breaking off either to fuel the ship or leave the bay itself.
Cassie glanced back to SA, and he just stared back. Their plan was to sneak aboard in the cabin while they loaded the cargo but that meant leaving their shell. They needed a good opportunity to walk aboard without drawing to much suspicion especially since now, Cassie could not recognize their speech without the assistance of SA's translations.
The two intruders carefully treaded away from the cargo and paused at another dark enclave. A couple of men who had set up the fuelling hoses were now beginning to open the cargo hatch. Cassie watched but when the men went inside and the other followed, Cassie nodded and signalled to sneak aboard. Obviously, they were swapping cargo and that would work perfectly to climb aboard.
SA followed behind her as she quickly and quietly made her way to the ships entrance. The doors opened for them, and they marched inside as proud as they could. Cameras monitored each entrance in case of any intruders looking to do harm. They then made their way to the door behind the cabin and entered it to go down the hallway towards one of the storage rooms.
They were about to hack into one of these coded rooms when a pounding from the other side of the wall stopped them. Cassie held her breath listening but then when it quieted down looked back to SA. Just for safety they moved to the room next to it and then began again.
He expertly hacked the system in a couple of minutes and then the two made their way inside. It was a small room with nowhere to sit down and be comfortable since it was the two of them, but once he looked at Cassie after having relocked the door, she let out a small sigh of relief.
"Safe for now," she whispered.
"Now we'll just have to endure getting there. It's going to be a bit of discomfort the next couple of days," he whispered back.
Cassie was about to say something when the banging from the far room was heard again. She looked over her shoulder at the wall and felt her heart beat a little faster. "What is that?"
"I don't know..."
They waited until it quieted down again before meeting each other gazes. Cassie sighed and then leaned against the other wall. "As long as it doesn't come out then we're good. Phase one complete?"
"Yes, but now the real danger is going to exist," SA said warningly.
Cassie knew that to be true but quieted down and physically tried to get as comfortable as she could before their trip would commence.
They stood there for two hours before hearing movement in the ship. Knowing it was because they were departing soon, Cassie just crossed her fingers hoping that they wouldn't be discovered but luckily the Sovereigns had no use of the room they now occupied. The banging noise next to them only seemed to engage when lots of movement seemed to be happening but the sensation of that terrible noise only made Cassie more nervous.
The journey to Napolyon would take a mere three days, but that meant relying on her old habits of sneaking around to remain alive. At night, she would take the most precaution in leaving the room and procuring tiny amounts of food for her to survive. SA of course did not rely on this and that was lucky since more food missing meant more of a chance of arousing suspicion for the crew on board.
Every time she ventured out though, she was hesitant to move because of their neighbour. She was sore to boot from staying as still as she could in that little room, which especially while sleeping proved difficult. Still because of the amount of time perfecting her sneaking skills on the Keimei, no one came looking for them or seemed to even be aware of their existence.
As they made their way into Napolyon, the shuttle itself got more turbulent. SA told her this was in part to avoiding all the lightning that they could, while also dealing with all the air pockets the atmosphere had. But Cassie was focused more on the idea that they were now in hostile territory.
Another few minutes and the ship seemed to land securely, the mechanisms on board beginning to power down. SA and Cassie waited calmly until the ship had cleared and was again settled before exiting their room.
The hallways were now lit by only small emergency lights, but this was no matter for the two intruders. The banging however was ongoing as they passed by the door, but no one else appeared to be on board to hear it. They approached the main cabin door, but it was closed. Cassie hung back while SA confidently walked towards the keypad and began to cleverly unlock the code. He made sure that his back was covering his actions from the camera and again in a couple of minutes the door opened, and they exited.
The hangar they were in was lit brightly by large white lights and the sudden change event through the helmet made Cassie squint, but they kept walking. A few other ships were also sitting nearby that were identical to this one. A couple of Sovereigns were fuelling them, loading cargo, or doing some repairs, but they didn't pay any mind to the two as they walked out.
From the hangar, they entered an identical hallway with many more Sovereigns, talking or exchanging information with each other. Still the two walked on as confidently as they could and so far, they did not attract much attention. SA led the way through the port until a large sign that read "Welcome to Napolyon" loomed in front of them and they walked side by side.
Before they could exit though, they heard a whistle and turned. A man in a dark black uniform with red stripes approached them, his squared jaw line in a heavy frown with his black eyebrows knitted deeply. He began speaking to the two of them in deep clicking tones.
Cassie felt her heartbeat pick up, but she stood as still as possible. SA began to answer him in those same clicking sounds, but she was worried their whole journey was ending right here. What she wouldn't give to have a translator chip.
After a couple of exchanges the man looked Cassie and SA up and down before clicking his tongue and then walking away. SA did not glance at her or address her but began proceeding towards the exit. Cassie followed him and fought every urge to look back, wondering what had happened.
However, her attention was instead quickly met by the outside scenery surrounding Sovereign City.
Just as she had seen through the stored images in SA's databanks and aboard the Keimei, Sovereign City was not for the warm and loving. Above dark purple and grey clouds surrounded the city were bursts of lightning, including bursts of greens and reds, pierced through the sky with cracks so loud they shook parts of the ground. Skyscrapers towered up towards them, looming in the dark scenery by being completely black, save some grey light pouring outwards from the windows.
The street they occupied was filled with Sovereign soldiers all in black and blue either with or without their helmets on but all looking dreary, focused, and pissed off. They however were not looking around as vividly and so Cassie did her best to look the same although she was so curious about her surroundings. There were flashing neon signs on most of the buildings to signify what they were and what services they provided. It was distracting and bright against the harsh background, but the two pushed on until they entered the main square.
Here even more people were walking or marching, noticeably in straight lines through an empty space between the buildings. There was nothing to sit on or relax by and instead, the cobblestones just leaded up towards the silver stairway that led to the silver building called Napolyon's capitol.
It had three main towers rising from the base where the emperor, political leaders, and army leaders, all held conference and resided, respectfully. They could look out above all the rest of the buildings and watch all that was happening in the city but because of this there were lightning rods connected to the top that constantly took in bolt after bolt of electricity. This fuelled the entire city, but Cassie noticed it also seemed to be a means of weaponry as there was nothing guarding them from traveling to the base and people who were too close got a small charge.
She shivered but hid it as they walked towards the base of the capitol. It was here that their business would have to be conducted. For past the towers, the base extended into the actual military training facilities, engineering labs, and jailhouse that they needed to keep the whole of the universe functioning and at their beck and call.
They approached the doors, following a small platoon of children no older than fifteen and then walked inside the grand lobby. The first thing Cassie noticed though was suddenly she could catch conversations and words people were speaking which meant luckily there was a translation filter much like what was on the Keimei. This eliminated the means of securing such a device now because it would be imperative for her to understand what people told her as they continued.
The lobby itself held many silver statues of what she guessed were past emperors or contributors to Napolyon's success, but she quickly looked past it to the signs of where she could go. There were many ways to approach this mission but since most of them required clearance to get it, she motioned to SA to head towards the information centre. He gave one nod, and they entered a sunken chamber filled with many of the computers Cassie remembered from the space station. Many people and militants gathered around them, mostly in groups but luckily a few remained opened.
"We should check our new assignments," SA said calmly as they approached one.
"Of course," she replied keeping the tremor out of her voice. "You first."
SA nodded and began to log onto the computer while Cassie briefly glanced around. Their conversation was identical to many around them which was the point, and she was glad none of them had paid any mind or were spying on anyone else's monitors. This allowed them to look up the information they vitally needed to continue.
SA was checking directories of various labs so as they could find out where their machine might be located. It took many minutes, but still nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. However, SA's frown only deepened as they continued. Cassie felt a knot growing as he switched to looking up people in the database. He began typing in Channing's name and Cassie whispered quietly, "Problem?"
He met her gaze and gave a nod. "It appears we won't be doing the duty we thought we would," he whispered quietly. "We need to visit the courthouse and pull up the video logs of the incident since they were recorded. This will give us a better idea of where we might find this troublemaker."
Cassie raised an eyebrow for a moment but then looked away. He was keeping his talk somewhat like typical Sovereign protocol so no would get suspicious, but she wasn't sure what he meant. Then quietly he glanced around as others left their near area. He logged off the screen and motioned back towards the other end of the room where the mainframes were. He then stopped and turned to her.
"Wait here a moment," he said.
Cassie felt her heartbeat pick up but did not dare protest and instead stood quietly. Through her helmet she glanced up near the roof to notice all the cameras pointed towards the computer lounge. She had a feeling that this would be difficult should their plan alter with all the prying eyes, but she didn't like waiting here wondering why SA was stalling.
He returned moments later and said calmly, "Follow me."
She did what he said, but as they turned to exit, she felt a little betrayed. They were supposed to do this in one fell swoop, not leave, and come back. Was he about to turn her in or confess he couldn't do it? She exited out of the capital building her fists now clenched.
SA led her through more of the main city, turning down side streets and alleyways before appearing before a small door with broken lights on it. He pushed it in, and they walked into a small hole in the wall restraint with only a few other people. The strange thing is they did not appear to be eating, but when the server suddenly approached, she now understood.
She was a large woman though shorter than Cassie and her hair was a curly black, rounding her shoulders. Her eyes however were scrolling pixel after pixel just as SA's. SA took off his helmet and she immediately smiled now that she knew he was also an android.
The two androids began talking and Cassie just smiled every time the woman turned to her. She then motioned towards a door on their left and SA bowed before pushing Cassie towards it. She hesitated but he nudged her a little more and they entered a smaller room with a small table. The room was coated in steel and when they had shut the door, an inner door also sealed their entrance.
"There," SA said gently. Soundproof so no android's owner would face the humility of watching them charge. "Now-"
"What the hell are we doing here?" Cassie said her fists still clenched after she removed her own helmet. "None of this is part of the plan! I thought you were supposed to be charged for another week or so!"
"And I am," SA said calmly. "We needed a place to talk without the worry of someone overhearing us, Cassie. Like I said, plans have changed."
Cassie sat down quietly still angry but at least she was willing to hear him out. SA sat down in front of her and then pulled up a virtual floor plan in between his hands.
"The laboratories where we assumed we would find this machine are here. However, the only ones labelled through our low-level security did not seem to mention anything about the machine we're after. I tried to see where Channing's lab once existed, but the only information given to me was that he is still in Sovereign custody, just not on Napolyon. Without any other clues I wasn't sure where to begin looking for this machine without raising too much speculation."
"But then what do we do? We have no other way."
"Not exactly," SA said. He closed the floor plan and then brought up a small movie. The movie depicted a small group of Sovereigns guards gathered around an official. They were listening to a man talk in a white coat, but SA could not play sound so explained, "I went into the hard drive room, hopefully undetected and sneaked out this video from court archives. This is the day they first tested Channing's machine now with the regeneration element included."
Cassie watched as nothing more happened until a man in handcuffs was brought forward. Then the video seemed to freeze before a large white light encased them and they had to cover their eyes. Once it disappeared, they began to clap very enthusiastically.
"I don't get it," Cassie said softly. "How does this help us? There isn't any footage of the machine."
"No, but there is this." He took one of his fingers and zoomed in towards the corner of the room. There were some dashes were scrawled across the wall.
Cassie just stared blankly and shrugged her shoulders. "Still don't get it."
"That's a room number." SA smiled. "Now I know what room to go to but getting in will be tricky because it requires higher level security. I think I can hack in, but we also need to be there when no one else will find us. I had to deviate here until there was a better time to go."
"Oh," she said softly a blush rising to her cheeks.
"I know you were worried that I was giving up. Please don't feel bad as I would have assumed the same."
"Sorry," Cassie said. "But my only question now is there a better time to go? I mean I can't imagine the Sovereigns shutting down for the night, you know?"
"And they don't. But there is a period in the early morning when only military squads can enter. I will admit that it makes it a little bit scarier because there will be more scrutiny should we draw attention to ourselves. The calculated risk falls short of the outcome though. By successfully sneaking to the laboratories where it won't be as crowded, we have a better chance of breaking in with no notice. Does that make sense?"
She felt a little queasy. At least with scientists, if they did get caught, she felt confident to fight them off. Ash had the Sovereign training background and was undoubtedly the best fighter she knew. Going up against more than one of him was not an idea she wanted to wrap her head around. But SA had a better point coming from a non-combat background.
"I do understand and truthfully it makes sense. It makes me nervous though."
"While I don't understand nervousness myself," SA said pushing his glasses up his nose. "I do see the distress it causes you. We could still sneak away and end this adventure."
That nagging feeling hit her again. This really was more anxiety now that they were here. But she still felt that she needed to do this. Otherwise, she would be more stuck than how she felt here. She thought back to her family back on Earth and pain hit her immediately. What they must think of her now. It had been so many months since she had been gone. In fact, it must have been over a year now.
Shaking her head, Cassie took a deep breath. "I can't give up. Not now."
SA just nodded. "Your determination is admirable. Let's take it easy for the next couple of hours and then we'll leave. Right before they shut down everyone else, we need to get it without any eyebrows raised. Luckily, I noticed they had a translator atmospheric barrier which will help you."
"It was a relief. I hopefully can talk my way out of things if they get tricky then."
They nodded in agreement and then SA went ahead and charged up a little while Cassie sat in silence. It really sobered her thinking of home which was something she could not take her mind off it. Her parents, she could just see crying and worrying as they sat in the living room waiting for the phone to ring or even a message on Facebook to pop up. She wondered when they started asking the police. Thinking about when they gave up made tears slip down her face. God, she missed them. She missed her home and that feeling of safety. Thinking about what she was doing made her tremble. How she could ever face them again was something she hoped she could do, but it would not be pleasant.
Hours ticked by until SA finally returned to his normal status. He then nodded to her, and they stood. He extended his hand though and while it surprised Cassie, she took it and gave it a firm shake.
This was of course the point of no return and the madness of it could in fact be the death of both. But she was grateful to have him on her side. They then left the metal room with their helmets back on and stares came from the rest of the androids. But they shook these off and left the small café making their way back to the Sovereign Capital building.