Chapter 106: Arasaka's Interception
Following Joric's precise requisition list, Moiré established a secure link with the Militech "Probe" team using the pre-designated encryption key.
The message was concise: The transaction would occur at the edge of the Badlands, coordinates [Redacted], at 20:00 standard time, forty-eight hours hence. The exchange: all listed materiel for a complete formula of the high-performance structural alloy.
This transmission caused significant ripples within Militech's upper echelons.
The items on the list—specifically the 'Centaur' tactical exoskeleton platform and several grades of restricted alloys—were incredibly difficult to sanction, requiring strategic reserve access and special executive approval.
However, once the Technical Evaluation Division analyzed the alloy formula fragment Joric had provided as a sample, all hesitation evaporated.
Preliminary simulations showed the alloy's strength-to-weight ratio, energy resistance, and fatigue limit far exceeded Militech's best comparable materials. Its potential applications—from infantry armor to aerospace frames—were incalculable.
It was an offer they could not refuse.
Militech Security drafted a rigorous hand-off protocol. An elite tactical team was assigned to the transport, led personally by Major Richard Ward, who had previous contact with Moiré. Dr. Mela Sorenson provided remote technical oversight.
The operation was classified Top Secret.
However, Militech was not a monolith. Deep-cover spies planted by Arasaka, like viruses dormant in the system, detected the anomalies in the supply chain.
The intel was encrypted and beamed to the Counter-Intelligence Division at Arasaka Tower.
Executive Director Abernathy of Counter-Intel smelled blood immediately. She didn't know what Militech was trading, but for them to mobilize such assets for a deal with this mysterious new faction... the value had to be immense.
Her logic was simple: Why negotiate when you can seize?
It would cripple a Militech operation and secure high-value assets for Arasaka in one stroke.
She drafted an ambush plan. An elite strike team from Counter-Intel was mobilized, equipped with the latest reconnaissance and suppression gear. The objective: neutralize both parties, secure all materiel and technical data.
Night of the transaction. The designated coordinates at the edge of the Badlands.
It was the skeletal remains of an abandoned mining facility. Weathered metal ribs gleamed coldly in the moonlight, surrounded only by the ceaseless moan of the wind.
Militech's armored transport arrived on schedule. Major Ward directed his team to establish a perimeter.
Moiré appeared at the ruin's entrance right on time, wearing her dark grey combat-suit, her stride steady and efficient.
Per Joric's instructions, Rebecca accompanied her. Officially, it was for "assistance," but in reality, Joric deemed she needed more field-data to acclimate to her new wargear.
Rebecca looked eager, the massive Heavy Bolter on her back nearly as tall as she was. Her green cyber-eye scanned the gloom, hunting for trouble.
After a brief confirmation with Major Ward, the exchange began.
Militech soldiers offloaded sealed crates from the transport. Moiré produced the data-shard containing the full alloy formula.
The process was silent and efficient.
Just as Ward's specialist began verifying the shard and Moiré prepared to receive the crates—chaos erupted.
Blinding white beams cut through the darkness from the distance, flooding the transaction zone with harsh light—a coordinated strike of high-intensity flares and tactical spotlights.
Simultaneously, a high-frequency jamming wave slammed into the area, attempting to flatline all external comms and electronics.
"Contact! Cover!" Major Ward reacted instantly, roaring the order as he raised his weapon.
The Militech soldiers, well-trained, snapped into defensive positions behind cover.
The Arasaka ambush team materialized from three vectors simultaneously.
Clad in uniform black combat-suits with light armor plating, they wielded the latest Arasaka "Masamune" smart-rifles and deployed EMP grenades.
Their coordination was seamless. In seconds, they established a crossfire, raining a storm of lead on the Militech perimeter and Moiré, who stood exposed in the center.
Ward recognized them immediately: Arasaka Counter-Intel elites. He directed return fire while trying to hail support, but his comms were dead static.
The situation was critical.
Yet, standing in the center of the firestorm, bathed in blinding light and flying bullets, Moiré showed no panic.
Her body instantly entered a state of hyper-focus—a reaction burned into her instincts by countless battles and deep augmentation.
In her perception, the trajectories of the high-velocity rounds became clear lines in the air. Enemy positions, movement rhythms, even their likely next actions, were captured and predicted by her heightened senses.
An almost absurd thought crossed her mind: These people have no idea what they are attacking.
This realization brought no fear, only a cold, almost pitying detachment. A micro-expression, a faint sneer, touched her lips beneath her faceplate.
She did not seek cover. Instead, she activated the Sandevistan.
Time dilated to its limit.
Everything around her—the screaming bullets, the muzzle flashes, the slow, desperate movements of the Militech soldiers diving for cover—became a sluggish, frame-by-frame slideshow.
Moiré became a blur, leaving a barely perceptible afterimage as she moved at speeds defying human vision.
She didn't even draw her high-energy Transonic Razors. She relied purely on speed and precision.
She was a ghost, weaving through the gaps in the bullet-storm.
Every brief pause in her movement was punctuated by a precise burst of fire—she used the auxiliary sub-machine gun mounted on her forearm. It lacked the power of a main battle rifle, but in her hands, every round found a home.
An Arasaka soldier leaned out from cover; a bullet found the center of his brow before he could aim. He dropped silently.
Another wound up to throw an EMP grenade; a round punched through his wrist instantly, and the grenade tumbled harmlessly to the ground.
Moiré's movement pattern was chaotic, unpredictable. One moment skimming the ground, the next leaping from a rusted beam, attacking from impossible angles.
Her fire was continuous, a staccato rhythm of death.
The Arasaka formation collapsed in moments.
They couldn't lock onto her. They fired wildly at her afterimages, missing and hitting their own comrades in the confusion.
Rebecca had raised her Heavy Bolter the moment the ambush started, eager for a fight. But before she could even find a firing solution, Moiré had torn into the enemy ranks like a whirlwind.
She stared, dumbfounded, as Moiré executed a solo slaughter. "Hey! Leave some for me!" she muttered, frustrated.
She tried to aim several times, but Moiré was too fast, too close to the enemy. Fearing friendly fire, Rebecca lowered her weapon, relegated to watching guard as Moiré finished the one-sided purge.
(End of Chapter)