The three Rangers trekked toward the eastern sector of the crater, where the horizon was dominated by monolithic concrete towers. These structures rose like jagged gray teeth against the chemical sky—vast, hollow shells that served no current purpose other than to stand as monuments to pre-war ambition.
Case looked at them and saw something. Maybe one day, they could carve something useful out of that dead stone.
Jacob led the way.
Any Nightstalker that slinked too close or any Lobotomite that stumbled into their path was met with a crisp, suppressed burst from his assault carbine. Jacob had insisted they didn't need a robot escort, trusting in Ranger steel and reflexes, but Case knew better than to rely on luck in the Big Mountain.
He stationed two Sentry Bots to guard the X-13 entrance and requested a backup squad of six Rangers to hold the extraction point, aka the door.
Beside him, Milla was visibly uneasy. Her hands adjusted her gear over and over, her eyes darting toward the X-13 Research Facility looming ahead. She knew why she was here. Case had made it clear: the success of this objective rested squarely on her shoulders.
She had the stealth, the light touch, and the nerves to dance through tests that would make a man like Jacob or Markus enrage by frustration. Case was betting the future of their "Cavalry" on those skills once again.
As they approached the facility, the air grew thick with the hum of high-voltage security fields. The Sentry Bots Case ordered into position stood like iron sentinels at the blast doors, their red eyes scanning the surrounding area.
"You okay?" Case asked, leaning closer to Milla so Jacob wouldn't hear. "I know it's a lot to put on you, but you're the only one who can move through that place without setting off any alarm and do the test."
"Why should we do this, is this dangerous, Case?" Milla asked, unease.
Case shook his head, his expression softening to reassure her. "No. There might be Robobrains inside, they aren't hostile to us—at least, not by default. This is an infiltration test. The goal is avoiding detection: motion sensors, sound dampeners, and laser tripwires."
"Really?"
He stepped closer, placing a hand on the shoulder of her tactical vest. "Yup, Don't worry. This isn't a slaughterhouse; it's a playground built for someone with your feet. Nothing in there is designed to kill you if you're smart, and you're the quietest we've got."
"Alright, kids, let's head inside," Jacob announced, his voice muffled but authoritative behind his mask.
"What? We aren't waiting for the backup squad?" Case turned, looking at the veteran Ranger.
"No use. If we can't handle a lobby, they'll just be more bodies in the way. Trust me, kid," Jacob said. He stepped up to the massive blast door of the X-13 Research Facility and hauled the manual override. With a pressurized groan, the doors slid open.
The entrance area was a tomb of sterile white floor tiles and flickering fluorescent lights. To the right, a shimmering blue forcefield hummed, guarding a side laboratory. Case grabbed his sonic emitter and fired at it.
The field hissed and vanished. He quickly looted the room, pocketing a few high-capacity energy cells and a key labeled X-8 Kernel. That key itself was the key to releasing the Nightstalkers for the next phase of testing in X-8, but Case had no intention of playing the Think Tank's games today.
He wanted to speedrun this facility before Mobius or Klein could react.
"Okay, what next? Seems quiet," Jacob commented, his eyes scanning the ceiling for automated turrets as he flicked the safety of his assault carbine to 'Safe.'
"Let's split up," Case commanded, his voice taking on a sharp, tactical edge. "Jacob, Milla—scour the side labs for any functioning components of the Stealth Suit Mk II. If you find boots, armor plates, or the internal haptic processors, gather them up. Milla, you start suiting up as you find the pieces. Once you're geared, follow the signs to the primary testing area. I'll meet you there at the control booth."
"Uh-huh," Milla nodded, though her eyes were wide. "This is nuts. But fine—let's go with the crazy plan. Find the parts, suit up, and then you give me the mission, right?"
"Correct."
"Alright, Major. Let's move," Milla added, giving Case a quick, nervous salute.
"Please... just Jacob," the old Ranger answered, his thumb flicking the safety back to 'Fire' with a metallic click.
As the two disappeared into the gloom, Case stayed behind at the central hub. He had a different objective. He knew that in a place like this, information and raw energy were just as valuable as the armor itself. If New Vegas was any indication, this place was a goldmine for LAER mods.
He scoured the facility with a practiced eye. When Jacob turned right, Case turned left. He made his way toward the testing area's overlooking platform, systematically accessing each terminal he passed. There were no quest markers to guide him here; it was up to his own intuition to search every shadow and sub-menu.
He pocketed every small energy cell he could find, his hands moving with efficient speed. Every time he stumbled across a data packet containing a LAER mod, he immediately beamed it back to The Sink's central database. Amidst the digital clutter, he also flagged a file for Implant Y-7. He had forgotten exactly what it did in the heat of the moment, but the data entry suggested a potent metabolic booster of some sort.
"Case, Jacob here. We're waiting downstairs."
"Copy that, Jacob. I've finished scouring the floor, heading down now," Case answered, his pack feeling significantly heavier with the weight of stolen energy cells and data drives.
As he made his way back to the central hallway, he passed the massive blast door to the VR facility. He noticed the heavy scoring on the frame—the result of a mental breakdown by a long-dead researcher, if he recalled the logs correctly. He didn't linger; he took the elevator down, his eyes still peeled for any missed loot. He found a final terminal, extracting one last LAER modification before the doors hissed open to the lower level.
Milla was already there, standing in front of the test terminal, alongside with Jacob. Seeing the Stealth Suit Mk II in real life was entirely different from seeing it on a screen. The matte-black polymer seemed to swallow the light around it, making her silhouette look blurred and indistinct even in the bright laboratory lighting.
"What took you so long?" Milla asked, her voice slightly muffled by the suit's integrated neck-seal.
"A little bit of a trip left and right... and oh my," Case breathed, walking a slow circle around her. He took in the reinforced carbon-fiber spine, the dull-colored haptic sensors on her gloves, and the micro-hydraulics of the noise-dampening boots.
It was a masterpiece of pre-war espionage tech, strange and awe-inspiring all at once. Two earpieces were also attached to her ears, something that weren't in the game, but made sense since the suit has an onboard A.I.
"What's with the 'oh my'?" Milla squinted her eyes, her hand resting on the suit's sleek hip-plating.
"Nothing," Case said, quickly shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Just... it's exactly how I imagined it."
"Alright, let's do this." Milla reached up and retied her black hair, pulling it into a tight, practical knot to ensure not a single strand obstructed her vision. "Weird suit, though. It doesn't look like much, but it feels like it's gripping and squishing my body in an odd... but pleasant way. Like it's constantly calibrating my skin."
Jacob stood firmly at the top of the stairway. "I dunno about the suit, but I'll be right here covering the exit."
"And me too," Case added, stepping toward the control console.
"So you two are going to let me go into the danger of the Robobrains and this shithole all alone???" Milla glared at Case, her eyes sharp through the gloom.
"Well, no—listen. The task is simple," Case explained, keeping his voice steady. "You need to sneak in and retrieve the documents. We have to do it four times with varying difficulty, then we're done—we get the blueprints for the Think Tank. And oh yeah, if you need to, just disable those Robobrains. Kill them if you have to; it's alright."
Milla sighed, the suit's haptic lights pulsing a soft green as she breathed. "Fine. Jacob, may I borrow your assault carbine?"
"Isn't your service rifle enough, kid?" Jacob asked, though he was already unslinging the weapon. He handed her the suppressed assault carbine, its matte finish matching her new suit perfectly. "Sure thing, though. Watch the kick; it's got a bit more bite than what you're used to."
Milla tossed her service rifle to Jacob in a clean exchange. She turned toward the security terminal, her footsteps already sounding muffled by the suit's specialized soles. She initiated the first test sequence. The heavy doors to the testing floor groaned open, and a sterile, pre-recorded voice broadcasted the instructions aloud.
"Alright," Milla whispered, her hand tightening on the carbine's grip. "Wish me luck."