October 17th, 2026. 10:36. Compound near the wall of the Evolved Zone.
It has been a while since many of the patrols have recently received some rest from the constant surveillance in South LA, days after days of firefights, ambushes, and even some backstabbing involved in most corners of the town, it even looks like they will need a better performance when it comes to hunting all dissent on behalf of the Zlocu. After all, the amount of sleepless nights and constant wounds is not going to automatically solve their spirits overnight. For that, it's where a warrior's place for a break can come in, no matter how brief it can be, so as long it can vitalize the troops as needed.
The compound is full of crates loaded in lines of cubes, either transported by some of the mechanical walkers or some of the enforcers around the area, it all depended on the weight of the cargo, whether it has weapons, food or any other supplies to keep in stock for future missions. All while lines of enforcers patrol certain areas while others dress off from the heavy gear and vests that they usually wear in the line of duties, either by chatting with the other men or just drinking a couple of shots, whatever they can think of for their break time.
For many of them, it's a good time of respite to brag about, or perhaps a time to hang out with the best of companions they can find.
But for others, it's a moment of uncertainty, as the increasing number of assaults and attacks, combined with the increased presence of soldiers and equipment in the city due to being the last bastion of Zlocan control in the USA means it's only a matter of time before they can face adversaries, ones that can be ones beyond their control and training. And when it comes, they will do anything to "defend" the city.
By all means necessary.
In one of the stations around the wall, deep inside a room where the dull greys cover each corner of the walls aside from two windows with the curtains upwards, ones where one can see the sight of the activities outside, albeit much more difficult if it comes to blinding sun rays that can come through the windows at the most unexpected of times.
There is only a bed and a table with some rifle magazines that are in a horizontal line, with the AR15 rifle above them and some cartridges next to it. On the other side of the table is that of a Glock pistol with the magazines also removed from the cartridge, where it's below the barrel of the Glock. And below that is the standard combat knife, one with enough edge to cut through the most sensible of flesh.
All while a certain figure sits near a table with a mirror to look at. Said figure is actually Cynda Riley, using a towel to wash away all the dirt and bleeding that's present in the face while wearing a white shirt, all without changing one bit of her frozen expression. The eyes, the mouth, and even the nose, all remain static and immobile like a statue that has been alone for a long period of time, devoid of any Human contact.
Each swipe is swift and timed, almost like the speed from a cold machine programmed for a specific job at a time. And right after one last swipe, she remains on the seat for a while, as identical to a machine that hasn't received any orders yet.
But as she sits and stares through the mirror, one where she sees the reflection of her empty gaze, a knock is heard from the door, two light knocks to be exact.
"Present," Cynda says in a near whispery tone without glancing at the door, her eyes and mouth as unchanging as possible.
"Well, yeah, it's obvious you'd be there, but care to open the door, please?" Rio's voice says. Cynda remains still and silent despite this. From there, some sigh is heard from Rio.
"Sergeant Riley. The Quripeno twins request a personal meeting with you, it's all that they want to know, that's all," Erik's voice says. From that, Cynda stands up and walks steadily to the door, her expression still the same as usual. As she opens the doorknob, she sees the sight of a smiling Rio, with Mora holding his hand closely behind and Erik folding his arms in his back while glancing away for a bit with a frown for a bit. From there, it seems that there's more to this personal meeting than it looks.
Cynda only blinks for one second.
"Enter." From there, the twins and Erik enter the near-empty room, where they glance at the other door that presumably leads to the bathroom, the table with the guns and the bed with a few clocks and nothing much. Rio rubs his chin while narrowing his eyes for a bit as he glances at each corner of the room, with Mora still holding close to him.
I hope you two don't screw this up... Erik sighs while leaning near the table as the twins settle in.
"Wow, not much else to get for yourself, it seems like," Rio says while looking around the room at all the dull grey corners he can see, even whistling a bit.
"You shouldn't expect much from Steelhound like this, Rio, especially when it comes to dealing with stressful dangers like what we saw," Mora adds.
"I'm awaiting further orders, nothing else," Cynda adds while she sits down again near the table where she can see herself once more, her frozen expression at its fullest capacity.
"But there's some R&R to enjoy as well even for the calmest ones. Haven't you tried some baseball or kart racing or something?" Rio says while standing behind Cynda, even smiling for a bit as if expecting something else to come from her.
Cynda only replies with one blink without ever glancing at Rio.
"Cynda, Rioso just asked a question regarding you, is there something wrong?" Mora asks as she observes a certain choice of words that Cynda follows in most ways.
"I can't distract myself from any distracting or frivolous activity. My presence for command is of utmost importance to me," Cynda replies with the same tone as ever. Erik only shakes his head in response.
"But, there's always the need for some break time once in a while, you know," Rio says while leaning for a bit.
"I have to concentrate on all future assignments, a single slip will be enough to cause my death," Cynda replies once more. Rio sighs in response while glancing at Mora with a frown.
"You can sound like you're treating too much like a machine, you know."
"Every order is everything, it's what helped me survive."
"But what happens if there's no danger left for you?" From that, all individuals are silent for a bit as they process the question for a bit. Thinking of what to do when ending something is a question many few manage to answer well. One is so focused on the moment, that a long-term plan seems almost like an unthinkable option to take, for it means that fate can be something malleable, something to twist about, even if it seems impossible to do.
For Cynda, though, after some seconds of silence, gives her own answer about it.
"Wait for what Captain Sellers will tell me." This alone makes Rio stand up and gasp for a bit, all while Mora stands up and holds Rio's hands for a bit.
"Why does it have to be someone to dictate you something on everything? Like, what gave you that idea?!"
"Rio, calm down..." Mora says.
"It's what works best for many, especially for me," Cynda replies, still without glancing at the twins and Erik. Rio takes a deep breath for a bit while keeping an arm's length between himself and Cynda, who almost seems dedicated to following a very rigid protocol for herself.
"But... Don't you have any families or friends that care for you or even look for you? Even if it's just one?"
"That is irrelevant to me. Nothing more." For that alone, Rio gasps audibly with eyes wide open while Mora stands up and holds his hand tighter even more, for this sort of answer is something that reveals even something more unpleasant from Cynda than many could anticipate.
"I guess that's enough for today, you two, best not to worsen things," Erik says as he heads for the door from before, with Mora following suit, still with narrowed eyes and a big frown while Rio can't help but to keep staring at Cynda as he leaves the room with Mora.
There has been a handful of people Rio met before of varying degrees of openness and such, as well as how affable or hostile they can be to them. But nothing ever compares to what Rio has seen in Cynda, something that can be too complex for him to comprehend at this stage. It is for that that once the three lock the door once more, Cynda remains at her seat like how she started after cleaning herself up.
Nothing else aside from a blink.
Outside, the twins and Erik walk away from the station while heading near the camping tents in the compound, all while Rio looks down for a bit with Mora still holding him.
"Hey, at least you tried knowing more about her, that's something compared to mere silence," Erik says while glancing at Rio.
"But still... What happened to her? Why is she adamant about not having self-worth?" Mora adds while walking.
"Honestly, it's best for you two to wait just a few more days or weeks because at the moment, it... Let's just say that it may worsen the mood for you two," Erik replies while sighing for a bit.
"If you say so," Mora adds while still following Erik's lead.
If there can be something worse than many unanswered questions, it can be one answer that may shatter one's soul over what it is, for only the bravest of souls can even take one look at what it is.
***
Around the same time when the three leave the station, on the other side of it there is one room with lots of command consoles and other electronic equipment, with the machinery whirring heard in many corners of the room, with some windows on the left side of it. The one individual who is checking some documents on the table is one peculiar lady with bob-cut hair, her eyes reading through page after page, word after word, all while only wearing a vest and her blue pants without most of the gear from before.
Certainly a good time of solitude for a former apprentice of a particular cowboy cop.
But just as she continues reading, the door opens behind her, showing none other than Damian with clenched fists and protruding eyes as he walks into the room.
"I didn't give you the order to head here, Sergeant Dahn," Barb says without glancing at her.
"Well, long story short, we need a talk about that one Eddie we faced before." Due to this, Barb slightly raises her head without still glancing at Damian as she raises an eyebrow due to this.
"Do we now? At this moment? You're overstepping your reach, young man." Damian scoffs in response.
"Do you think we can trust someone like you if you didn't tell us about that maniac before?! We lost many because you new paid attention to him!"
"One more word, you unruly-" Barb says while her tone growls for a bit only for Damian to step in even closer to her.
"If you hadn't wasted all your time in preaching those Zlocan platitudes, then we could have afforded in having those fucking EWs dead by now!"
"And I told you that this is something that should be heard from those who deserve to know, and you don't fit that criteria yet." From that, Damian slams a fist on the table with Barb merely leaning a bit to the right.
"You fucking think so?! Those are the ones our men fear the most! The jammers, the fortress, the big-ass machines, all those fliers that kept this city safe, all gone because of those powered freaks!" With that, Damian grabs Barb's shoulders as she now stares at the man close to her command, with one twitchy eye as he goes on. "But no, you think that all is fine now because that geezer related to you is probably gone, and now his friends may go after us!"
Within the blink of an eye, Barb then reaches for Damian's head who then proceeds to slam him right under the table below her, an impact enough to make Damian groan and wince while she tightens her grip on the unruly enforcer.
"You forgot your own place. I came here both thanks and despite him, the difference was that he was too much of a naive coward to understand the dangers of society. I witnessed far more than you can think and dealt with all threats in our way with every technique he taught me, and yet here you are, a former street urchin who thinks he knows shit. Can you know why I'm captain even?"
Damian can only wince a bit while Barb's hold on him tightens, the force of the hand around the neck getting stronger with every passing second, and yet despite this, Damian doesn't utter a word.
"I said, can you know why I'm the captain!?"
"How, Barb? How did you...!?"
"I did it by knowing when it was the right time to lead the blinded ones to a society that tore them apart, and that time is when the Zlocu arrived at this forsaken planet of ours. They had everything we wished for, and everything we aspire to do, and now we can get rid of all our weaknesses thanks to them." With that, Barb releases her grip on Damian's head while slightly shoving him away from the table and herself, all while he breathes steadily but still keeps his scowl at her.
"And what if the EW do manage to stop that?!" Damian says.
"Stop bothering yourself with pessimistic assumptions. If I were you, I'd plan out every possible trap for them to tire them out until they surrender our asses to us, and if they refuse, well, they'd kiss my ass for not getting another chance. You got that?" But before she can get the answer from Damian, the pocket from her pants, to which she raises her index finger and shushes him as she takes it out. It's a call from a certain number, to which she presses the button from the screen and turns around while Damian clutches to his head.
"Yes, Diego?" She stands still for a moment, hearing what Diego has to tell or ask her. After a minute, she smirks a bit. "Oh, certainly, we had located most of the places where the rebels are hiding, what's the matter about it?" Another pause, and she nods to everything Diego tells her about, all while Damian walks away from the room, still with clenched fists.
Then, after hearing everything Diego tells her about the base, something from the call makes her smirk turn into a wide grin as she chuckles for a bit.
"Oh, it will be a perfect one, more than the first one you pulled off. Trust me..."