Mission Archives: Entry 17-Source: Unknown-Filedate: 815 A.S.

[SL-X]

The drone of engines flying overhead and the bustling within one of many metropolises Manhattan bore as a claim to it's name drowned out the tiny buzz the hunched figure's comm device was producing as he listened intently through an earpiece. His back contorted as he attempted to make his head lower, a futile attempt to hear the voice through the sounds of commerce around him. While his behavior was not an unusual sight in itself, the man's clothing was oddly distinct from the commoners and tourists passing and commuting excitedly past the bench he occupied. Rather than the fashionable jacket the pilots sported, or the expensive suits the business men kept slick, the young man, no older than twenty, sported a rather thin looking cotton coat with an over sized neck garment, and old denim jeans. Few other men in the open roof shopping center had hair as long as his, almost none wearing it in his style, a tail with two bangs shielding the sides of his face. His strange clothing conformed tightly to his figure, slim, with soft features. The people passing him made little note of the enigmatic man, and continued on their rushed way with little more than a glance. The figure, completely withdrawn from the world around him, reluctantly rose his head from his lap, slowly scanning his surroundings before standing from the bench.

He dusted off his pants casually and continued to look around as he began to walk, a hint of fear staining his eyes as his gaze matched a pair of Liberty Police patrolling the shopping center. The enigma quickly assimilated into the crowd and made his way in the opposite direction of the officers post-haste. His hand flashed in a flourish as it made a swipe up past the back of his neck, catching the garment on it's way. The fabric followed up and over his head, a hood concealing his formerly notable hair style. Shouting from behind him caught his attention, and wheeling his head revealed the officers were pointing and yelling his way. His brisk paced walking quickly transformed into a full blown sprint as he began darting towards the nearest exit hall, pushing his way through the crowd in a rough and oblivious fashion as his feet pounded against the cold floor. Ducking into the hall gave him a short break, yet even so he remained vigilantly watching through the doorway, trying to conceal the his panting. A smirk claimed to his face as he watched the officers run right past the hall he had entered...And as soon as the smirk had came, it went. The officers snatched the hand of a young boy near a vendor's shop not twenty meters more than the hall he was ducking in, and withdrew a small stash of stolen goods from his pockets. Irritated, the man cursed himself for being so easily scared, and continued down the hallway, finding his way to the nearest door leading outside.

As the door crept open, a gust of mild, Libertonian air rushed into the stuffy hallways. The enigmatic man seemed almost at ease feeling the breeze engulf him, however his brief lapse of pleasure ended as quickly as it began, his gaze drifting down the street he had been opened up to. Many citizens this day and age did not bother too much with streets, much preffering the more modern and useful skybridges to travel building to building, however the primordial design was especially common around Manhattan's shopping centers, an aesthetic touch that pleased many of the tourists. The man walked down the street, cautiously removing his hood as he entered the sunlight. Sounds of ships overhead persisted all the same, however the echo was significantly reduced in the open air, as well as the people around him, their chittering muffled by the sheer size of the open area. The man scanned the area, and once again, sat himself carefully on a nearby bench leaned up against the wall. He pulled up his comm device, inherently pleased that he would not have to arch his spine to hear the tiny chatter he seeked, and attempted once more to listen in.

"Raiden, this is the Captain, do you read? Come in, Raiden!"
The irritated voice on the other end of the man's comm was short, stubborn, and very impatient.
"Yeah yeah, I read you. No need to bunch your panties Captain."
The young man spoke in a very carefree manner, disregarding his former concern, almost seeming spiteful of the older man's impatience on the other end of his comm.
"Raiden! This is not a game, do you understand? There are lives at risk, not to mention you could blow our entire operation with the slightest mistake! This is not the time for your witty remarks or your stupid pranks. What took you so long to contact me?"
"Fine, sorry. I had a bit of a noise problem in the center you suggested I stop in for recon. I'm just outside it now. No sign of the target."
"Damn, our intel must have been wrong. Look, he can't be to far from there, just keep an eye out. Oh, and Raiden, we're going to be switching planetside comms from now on, which could get dangerous with you being so deep in their territory. For this mission, your codename will be Solaris. Understood?"
"Solaris. Got it. But Captain, what should I call you?"
"Hmm... Captain Harvy. Call me Captain Harvy."
"Roger, Captain Harvy. I'm going to start my search for the target in the surrounding plaza. I'll update you if anything happens."
"Good. The frequency for the unencrypted comms channel is 466.92. Good luck out there Solaris. Captain Harvy out."

The young man rose from the bench, putting his comm device away as he stood. His thin figure managed to catch the eye of a few more ladies out in the open, however, he payed them little notice. There were more eyes on him than simple could-have-been lovers. The pair of officers who apprehended the juvenile in the mall had certainly took notice of his suspicious actions within the shopping center, and had exited the front door, looking through the crowd for Solaris. He began working an escape route in his head, and noticed a series of utility pipes on the building's exterior. An odd, yet a serendipitous finding, Solaris quickly replaced his hood and made his way to the pipes. His years of training paid off as he scaled the pipes with ease. About thirty meters up, his eyes drifted down and into the crowd, only to see the angry faces of the officers grow ever-so distant. A smirk slipped onto his face, and he continued up the pipes to the roof. The roof access door was conveniently located near the pipes, and he casually descended to the mall's top floor. He noted how much emptier the top floor was than the others, mostly filled with offices and people working intently. However, something more than the silence caught his attention. There, standing near the water dispenser no more than twenty meters away was his target. The man he sought was around his height, looked to be around 130 pounds, with brown hair stretching to the bottom of his ears. Yet the man kept his hair neat, combed, and matched it very sharply with his business attire, a blue suit that appeared to have been pressed that very day. Solaris paid it little mind as he approached the man, keeping his back straight and looking as professional as he could in his casual get-up. The target turned to him as he approached, sizing him up before speaking.

"Can I help you?" he asked, a rather uninterested look on his face.
"Why yes, I was actually wondering if I could speak to you about a new proposition I was working on for the company. I tried going through the channels and making an appointment, but your secretary simply wasn't hearing any of it from me. I s'pose she must have had a rough day sitting around on her ass, huh?"
"Hehehe, that's Genna for you. Come on over and let us discuss this proposition of yours. It's about that new Karmaliam plan, yeah?"
"Why yes, I have some very interesting points I'd like to have you look at."
His social engineering going off without a hitch, Solaris followed the target into his office. The space was walled off, with the door's fragmented window being the only way to see in and out of it. He gripped the blade hidden in his sleeve tightly with his fingers as he entered the office behind the target, closing the door behind him. The target walked around to his office chair and took a seat, gesturing for Solaris to do the same.
"Please, have a seat."
By the time he had begun speaking, Solaris had already sprung into action, his body pumping with adrenaline. Fueled by the rush of the situation he was facing, his vision entered a bullet time like state as he simultaneously lifted his arm and examined his target.
This man is about to die, and it's going to be because of me.
Why should I kill him?
His arm had leveled with the target's throat horizontally, maintaining it's arc in a forward motion.
What did he do that was so wrong I should need to take his life?
What gives me the right to take his life anyways?
As his arm inched forward the blade began to slide out from under his hand, trailing a cool sensation along his fingers.
What if he has a family?
What if he has children?
Solaris' mentality was wavering. He looked intently into the target's eyes, only just beginning to widen as he understood what was about to happen. The wavering mentality locked as Solaris cleared his mind, focusing on the task at hand.
He is my target.
I was sent here to kill him.
To stop him.
It is not my place to judge.
Only to take action.
The blade had departed from Solaris' hand and the wire attached started to trail along his fingers in the blade's wake. His intentions clear and doubt departed, his vision snapped back to real time as he watched the blade sink into the target's throat, grabbing the wire before it went slack. Cool metal slid directly into his windpipe.
"I'd rather stand, thanks." Solaris replied whimsically. The target gurgled in an attempt to speak, blood sputtering along the knife as he did so. Solaris snapped his arm back, the blade tearing from the target's throat and leaving a wider hole. The target attempted to make deep breaths and clutch his throat as Solaris caught his blade, blood spilling out from his fingers.
"Who...are you..." the target risked to ask, blood beginning to leak from his mouth. His eyes were closed as he winced in pain from attempting to speak. Solaris coldy inspected the blade, keeping his focus on it as he replied.
"Me? I am no one. I am simply the one who your story ends with."
He walked over to the man and and pressed the blade against the back of his neck. The cool metal pressed into his skin as Solaris leaned in and whispered into the man's ear.
"I am your reaper."
The target's eyes widened as the blade carved into his neck. With metal sharp enough to slice his spine in a clean cut, Solaris finished what he had started and completely separated his head from his body. The man's head rolled onto the desk, eyes still wide as a fountain of blood sprang from his open neck. Solaris quickly pushed the body onto the floor to avoid the spray, and coldly wiped his blade with a black cloth as he began for the door. The blade retracted into his sleeve as the wire was wound by the mechanism, and as it completely left sight he opened the office door. He faced the door as he tenderly closed it and nearly knocked over the small woman as he turned around.

"Goodness, I'm terribly sorry about that. Didn't see you there." Solaris lied, trying to distract the oblivious secretary. She was a few inches shorter than him, dressed as sharp as her former boss, wearing a formal shirt and long skirt. "Oh no, it was my fault, I shouldn't have stepped behind you. Is Mr. Karlson in there?" "Yes yes, I was just discussing a bit of business with him. Genna, right? He slid casually in front of the door's glass, blocking her view and trying to catch her attention. "Yes sir, I am Mr. Karlson's secretary. I was just about to run some files to him." "Ah, but I s'pose it's only natural for a pretty young girl like you to be a secretary for such an important figure. After all, they only hire the best, right? A signature smirk returned to his face, giving reason for her blushing.
"Oh please, you flatter me too much." She turned her face away, embarrassed slightly by the attention she was receiving. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and flirt with you all day miss, I'm afraid I must be off. Keep your face young for me, will you?" Solaris quickly stepped away and waved a hand over his head, not looking back as he made for the stairs. "O-of course! Have a nice day!" The young girl was stunned by his sudden leave, pausing momentarily before reaching for the door. Catching the movement in the corner of his eye, Solaris wasted no time and entered a sprint for the stairs. His pace quickened as a shriek came from the office's direction, bashing the door to the stairs open and only hesitating for a moment as he assessed which direction to go. The officers closing in on him left him little time, forcing him to take the shorter route up the stairs and back onto the roof. His body flew through the door as he ran to the edge of the roof, looking over to judge the potential fall. Seventy meters, at least, no way he would make that in one piece. The officers had appeared on scene, whipping their guns out and aiming them at Solaris.
"LPI! Freeze! I swear to whatever god you pray to if you move I'll put you down on the spot!"

This was it, Solaris thought. This is how I die. This is how my story ends, on the roof of a stupid shopping center, shot by a couple of cops. He turned around slowly with his hands in the air, his heart pounding in his ears. His head turned slightly as he looked back over the edge, gaze catching the pipes he climbed earlier. Thoughts swirled through his head in an instant as he felt the tip of his blade, calculating wildly in his head. "Hey, I mean it dirtbag, don't you move! Stop exactly as you are!" Solaris slowly turned his head back to the cops pointing their weapons at him, letting a smirk creep across his face. He let his balance fail and began to fall back off the roof. "Woah woah woah hey what the hell are you doing?!" The words of the confused officers fell short as Solaris' head fell beyond the roof, his body contorting as it did. He spun with a kick and zeroed in on the pipes, releasing his blade into them as he fell. The knife stuck into the pipes just enough for him to catch his body with the wire, swinging down into a crowd of wowed onlookers. A snap of his arm tugged the blade from the pipes as he landed, breaking his fall with a roll. He broke back into a sprint with his hand turned out behind him, catching his blade without looking back. Solaris' offhand rose quickly to his ear as he ran. "Captain Harvy, come in, this is Solaris. Repeat, Captain Harvy, do you read me?" "This is homebase, Captain Harvy speaking. What's your status?" "It's done, but I'm going to need a ride out of here. Fast." "Loud and clear Solaris. There's an evac waiting for you two kilometer's south as the crow flies."
Solaris was already off his comm and using his hand to catch a corner as he rounded to see the transport waiting for him. It was marked with a large, red number seven on it, signifying it was waiting for him. He closed in and dove into the closing doors as the transport took off.

Solaris sat back against the transport's wall, panting. His mission was complete, and albeit a bit sloppy, successful.