ON:
The two soldiers were standing in a very dark place, outside of an equally dark building. The back of it, at least, was that dark; off to the side, the L-shaped structure had a lamp in the bend projecting a pool of orange light over a door. That's not where the two soldiers would likely go, but it was up to them. The back of the building had two rolling doors and a single back door between them. It looked like the loading dock of a grocery store without the ramps.
The soldiers weren't at the back of a real building — it was a volumetric projection, as lifelike as everything else in the VR room, including the very warm wind brushing the hair of both soldiers.
"Now, you two," the voice of the VR simulation director said into their ear-mounted comm units. "Fifteen people inside. All are assailants. All must be killed. Race is unknown. Get in and do as you like. But don't fail."
Tsuya gripped her pistol firmly in both hands, pressing her back against the wall. She gestured with the weapon towards the loading doors, particularly towards the entrance in between them. "There."
Kaida frowned mildly at the pistol in her hands. She wasn't the best shot with it, and she honestly wished she had a rifle instead. That just meant that she had to rely on the element of suprise and trying to outmaneuver her opponent. Her violet eyes flickered between Tsuya and the door before nodding and taking position on the opposite end. "Any recon on what's the other side?" She was asking what they should likely do to find out what to expect beyond the door.
"None. No telepathy for now, in case." She tested the doorknob carefully with one hand, wondering if the small noise would alert anyone, hoping it wouldn't. "...should we try diplomacy?"
The director talked to both of them as they discussed their plan of attack. "Your Type 30 NSPs have LED flashlights and red lasers on them, and your eyes can see well enough in the dark. Don't expect your black body armor to save you; it's only rated to stop energy weapons, and we have no knowledge about what's on the other side." The turning of the handle stirred no one inside, as far as they could tell.
"No. You heard her. All must be killed. There's no reason for us to make more noise than necessary." Rather than point her pistol inside, she kept it pointed at the ground so as to not alert anyone inside with the laser flashing around.
Tsuya shook her head a bit, then twisted the handle, opening the door only enough to allow passage before she slipped in, gun pointed forward with the laser off. "Sh." She flicked her eyes around, surveying the interior of the building.
Kaida waited only for a second before crouching and moving in behind her, checking the opposite direction that Tsuya was.
In the dim light, the two Neko could see they were in a tall, mostly open room perhaps 35 meters wide and at least 10 meters tall. All the lights were off, but the two could see a red exit sign over a set of double doors on Tsuya's side. There was a fuzzy blob between them and the door; it appeared to be a vehicle of some sort. The rest of the area was empty, save for some discarded boxes in a corner on Kaida's side.
"...someone in that vehicle?" She gestured towards the fuzzy shape with her pistol.
"...Check." Kaida felt her nerves tense slightly. She slowly approached the vehicle, checking the area around her for any sudden movements at the same time. Once she reached the vehicle, she stayed crouched and quickly took a peek into the vehicle and quickly dropped her head back down in case someone was in there.
The vehicle, which had a low cab and a tall cargo bay, had no one in it.
"Clear..." Kaida whispered, she then proceeded to investigate the corners of the room, moving slowly and staying low. She wanted to make sure the room was completely clear.
Tsuya crouched down and moved towards the vehicle as well, pressing her back to it and using it for cover while she watched Kaida look for hostiles.
The room was indeed empty of people. The boxes made a tower that could not be penetrated, but nothing seemed to exist behind the front ones except more boxes. The other two corners had nothing but cobwebs.
"Room clear. No hostiles present." Despite Kaida's assessment, she still felt tense. Feeling a sense of unease, she looked up towards the ceiling, looking for anything like cameras or hidden panels.
"Ideas?" Tsuya asked.
All that appeared above them were old cardboard ceiling tiles, suggesting a drop ceiling, and square light panels.
Tsuya crept towards the back of the vehicle and opened the cargo bay.
While Tsuya investigated, Kaida breathed out a low sigh and kept her eye on the double doors just in case someone decided to enter.
The back of the vehicle's cargo bay was filled with what looked like flimsy paper bundled into stacks. Opening the door, however, made noise, as it was a roll-up door that squeaked at the top.
Tsuya winced at her foolhardy, hasty action, which had possibly given away their position. She slipped into the rear of the bay, crouching down at the bottom and pointing her pistol out at the warehouse. "Nagamira-hei!"
"Shh!" Kaida quickly tried to get her comrade to not raise her voice any in panic as she quickly darted around the vehicle, placing it between her and the entrance to the room, going prone to get a better aim but winced slightly when she realized how much that crushed her chest. She settled for crouching near the corner instead.
Dozens of tense seconds died amidst no movement from the building. No sounds were heard.
Once she was satisfied that there were no raging SMX coming in to tear them limb from limb, Tsuya crept out of the vehicle's cargo bay - with one quick look back at the stacked paper to try and determine what it was.
In the dim light, Tsuya could read words printed on the paper. There were pictures on it, too. Both words and pictures were the same from stack to stack.
Kaida slowly emerged from her cover. "...Let's move on before anyone becomes curious enough to actually check." With that, she moved towards the double doors and pressed her back against the wall off to the side.
Tsuya nodded and followed quickly and closely behind her partner, gun pointed down just in case.
The doors did not open for them, having small brass knobs on them. Still no sound from the other side.
Kaida took the initiative this time, turning the knobs -very- slowly to make as little noise as possible as she pushed it open just enough to peer inside. She held her pistol up, but with the laser turned off for the moment.
Stacks of paper were on the left side of a narrow hall that broke left after just a few meters. A single brass-knobbed door, painted a pale blue, appeared to be the only exit from Kaida's view. The door stopped her from seeing the right wall.
Tsuya raised her pistol and scooted around Kaida, poking the weapon and just enough of her head to see around the door.
Kaida noted no immedeate threat on her side, so she pushed the door open a little wider and aimed her pistol towards the opposite wall while scanning for movement.
Another blue-painted door greeted Tsuya. From the angle, it was likely the door that led back outside, into the bend of the "L." Beyond the door leading to the inside of the building, both Neko heard steps. A door creaked open, then shut with a bang.
Tsuya's ears twitched violently at the bang, and she snapped towards the source of the noise. "There. That way."
"Don't be hasty..." Kaida slowly advanced in the direction of the other door, but she began scanning the room as she did, looking for movement and/or security cameras and the like, just as the room before.
No cameras or personnel were present. To the left of Kaida, the hallway went a long ways down, likely back into the large, empty room they'd just left.
Tsuya crouched next to the inside door, checking her pistol over while Kaida scouted the hallway.
The two soldiers were standing in a very dark place, outside of an equally dark building. The back of it, at least, was that dark; off to the side, the L-shaped structure had a lamp in the bend projecting a pool of orange light over a door. That's not where the two soldiers would likely go, but it was up to them. The back of the building had two rolling doors and a single back door between them. It looked like the loading dock of a grocery store without the ramps.
The soldiers weren't at the back of a real building — it was a volumetric projection, as lifelike as everything else in the VR room, including the very warm wind brushing the hair of both soldiers.
"Now, you two," the voice of the VR simulation director said into their ear-mounted comm units. "Fifteen people inside. All are assailants. All must be killed. Race is unknown. Get in and do as you like. But don't fail."
Tsuya gripped her pistol firmly in both hands, pressing her back against the wall. She gestured with the weapon towards the loading doors, particularly towards the entrance in between them. "There."
Kaida frowned mildly at the pistol in her hands. She wasn't the best shot with it, and she honestly wished she had a rifle instead. That just meant that she had to rely on the element of suprise and trying to outmaneuver her opponent. Her violet eyes flickered between Tsuya and the door before nodding and taking position on the opposite end. "Any recon on what's the other side?" She was asking what they should likely do to find out what to expect beyond the door.
"None. No telepathy for now, in case." She tested the doorknob carefully with one hand, wondering if the small noise would alert anyone, hoping it wouldn't. "...should we try diplomacy?"
The director talked to both of them as they discussed their plan of attack. "Your Type 30 NSPs have LED flashlights and red lasers on them, and your eyes can see well enough in the dark. Don't expect your black body armor to save you; it's only rated to stop energy weapons, and we have no knowledge about what's on the other side." The turning of the handle stirred no one inside, as far as they could tell.
"No. You heard her. All must be killed. There's no reason for us to make more noise than necessary." Rather than point her pistol inside, she kept it pointed at the ground so as to not alert anyone inside with the laser flashing around.
Tsuya shook her head a bit, then twisted the handle, opening the door only enough to allow passage before she slipped in, gun pointed forward with the laser off. "Sh." She flicked her eyes around, surveying the interior of the building.
Kaida waited only for a second before crouching and moving in behind her, checking the opposite direction that Tsuya was.
In the dim light, the two Neko could see they were in a tall, mostly open room perhaps 35 meters wide and at least 10 meters tall. All the lights were off, but the two could see a red exit sign over a set of double doors on Tsuya's side. There was a fuzzy blob between them and the door; it appeared to be a vehicle of some sort. The rest of the area was empty, save for some discarded boxes in a corner on Kaida's side.
"...someone in that vehicle?" She gestured towards the fuzzy shape with her pistol.
"...Check." Kaida felt her nerves tense slightly. She slowly approached the vehicle, checking the area around her for any sudden movements at the same time. Once she reached the vehicle, she stayed crouched and quickly took a peek into the vehicle and quickly dropped her head back down in case someone was in there.
The vehicle, which had a low cab and a tall cargo bay, had no one in it.
"Clear..." Kaida whispered, she then proceeded to investigate the corners of the room, moving slowly and staying low. She wanted to make sure the room was completely clear.
Tsuya crouched down and moved towards the vehicle as well, pressing her back to it and using it for cover while she watched Kaida look for hostiles.
The room was indeed empty of people. The boxes made a tower that could not be penetrated, but nothing seemed to exist behind the front ones except more boxes. The other two corners had nothing but cobwebs.
"Room clear. No hostiles present." Despite Kaida's assessment, she still felt tense. Feeling a sense of unease, she looked up towards the ceiling, looking for anything like cameras or hidden panels.
"Ideas?" Tsuya asked.
All that appeared above them were old cardboard ceiling tiles, suggesting a drop ceiling, and square light panels.
Tsuya crept towards the back of the vehicle and opened the cargo bay.
While Tsuya investigated, Kaida breathed out a low sigh and kept her eye on the double doors just in case someone decided to enter.
The back of the vehicle's cargo bay was filled with what looked like flimsy paper bundled into stacks. Opening the door, however, made noise, as it was a roll-up door that squeaked at the top.
Tsuya winced at her foolhardy, hasty action, which had possibly given away their position. She slipped into the rear of the bay, crouching down at the bottom and pointing her pistol out at the warehouse. "Nagamira-hei!"
"Shh!" Kaida quickly tried to get her comrade to not raise her voice any in panic as she quickly darted around the vehicle, placing it between her and the entrance to the room, going prone to get a better aim but winced slightly when she realized how much that crushed her chest. She settled for crouching near the corner instead.
Dozens of tense seconds died amidst no movement from the building. No sounds were heard.
Once she was satisfied that there were no raging SMX coming in to tear them limb from limb, Tsuya crept out of the vehicle's cargo bay - with one quick look back at the stacked paper to try and determine what it was.
In the dim light, Tsuya could read words printed on the paper. There were pictures on it, too. Both words and pictures were the same from stack to stack.
Kaida slowly emerged from her cover. "...Let's move on before anyone becomes curious enough to actually check." With that, she moved towards the double doors and pressed her back against the wall off to the side.
Tsuya nodded and followed quickly and closely behind her partner, gun pointed down just in case.
The doors did not open for them, having small brass knobs on them. Still no sound from the other side.
Kaida took the initiative this time, turning the knobs -very- slowly to make as little noise as possible as she pushed it open just enough to peer inside. She held her pistol up, but with the laser turned off for the moment.
Stacks of paper were on the left side of a narrow hall that broke left after just a few meters. A single brass-knobbed door, painted a pale blue, appeared to be the only exit from Kaida's view. The door stopped her from seeing the right wall.
Tsuya raised her pistol and scooted around Kaida, poking the weapon and just enough of her head to see around the door.
Kaida noted no immedeate threat on her side, so she pushed the door open a little wider and aimed her pistol towards the opposite wall while scanning for movement.
Another blue-painted door greeted Tsuya. From the angle, it was likely the door that led back outside, into the bend of the "L." Beyond the door leading to the inside of the building, both Neko heard steps. A door creaked open, then shut with a bang.
Tsuya's ears twitched violently at the bang, and she snapped towards the source of the noise. "There. That way."
"Don't be hasty..." Kaida slowly advanced in the direction of the other door, but she began scanning the room as she did, looking for movement and/or security cameras and the like, just as the room before.
No cameras or personnel were present. To the left of Kaida, the hallway went a long ways down, likely back into the large, empty room they'd just left.
Tsuya crouched next to the inside door, checking her pistol over while Kaida scouted the hallway.
