Cyberpunk: Arasaka Secret Son

At 7:00 p.m the next evening.

Rebecca had to leave before Iron Beast closed. Driving Maine's customized Chevillon Emperor, she headed to the sub-district of Santo Domingo, to the location that Sora had sent her in a message.

Upon arrival, after getting out of the Chevillon and surveying the group that awaited her and the cargo they planned to load into the vehicle, Rebecca couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Confused, Sora asked, "What's a joke?"

Not letting Sora's feigned ignorance provoke her, Rebecca retorted, "Where do I even start? Let's begin with the most obvious. Do you expect to fit all of this into the car?" She pointed at a couple of weapon crates, several backpacks, three large rectangular boxes, and what seemed to be a metallic cube-shaped cooling machine.

After following her gesture and taking a look, Sora nodded and said, "Of course, we'll need it!"

Still containing her frustration, Rebecca replied, "Tch, whatever you say... you load it. Second-"

"No problem, I have help for that, shoot," Sora interrupted.

"Since you mention it, then... who the hell are these guys?" Rebecca asked, now pointing to the people around Sora.

Addressing the person beside him, Sora said, "She's Lucy, the Netrunner, and they're her brothers. Behave yourselves..."

"Hello," greeted Lucy.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Chancellor," said a young African-American man wearing a cap.

"A pleasure, you can call me Lewis," the friendly-faced giant introduced himself calmly.

"Yeelo! I'm Esme!" exclaimed the youngest of the four, animatedly.

Upon their friendly introductions, Rebecca, no longer containing herself, exclaimed while looking at them, "WHAT DO I CARE?"

Her response prompted Sora to facepalm and sigh at his friend's behavior. "Ahmm... Rebecca..."

"Don't give me the 'Ah, Rebecca'...This!..." She pointing with her open hands towards all the people and stuff in front of her, finished. "This isn't what we agreed upon," annoyed at having to spend the night outside the city with a bunch of strangers.

Not understanding, Sora asked with the same tone, "What did we agree upon then, huh?"

As they argued, Esme, Chancellor, Lewis, and Lucy talked among themselves, unable to take their eyes off Rebecca.

"She's like the antithesis of Lewis, short and cranky!" " exclaimed Chancellor, surprised to encounter such a specimen.

Esme nodded. "Right? I was thinking the same thing." Even Lewis fell silent as he scratched his chin, in agreement.

Lucy enjoyed hear her brothers' casual attitude, chatting among themselves without being bothered by Sora's friend's peculiar personality.

"Chibi, stop complaining and let's go, they're good people, you'll like them," ignoring her new complaints at being called Chibi, Sora turned to Lewis and Chancellor and added, "Come on, you two, help me load."

Out of nowhere Lewis, even after being warned, did not realize and said "Yes, waka-sama" performing a respectful bow.

Causing Sora to change expression and warn coldly, "If you call me that one more time, I swear you'll need Crome to speak again."

Seeing his brother pale, Chancellor intervened, "Don't blame him, even I find it difficult to address you after knowing... the truth," commented Chancellor, looking at Lucy, who avoided his gaze guiltily after revealing the real relationship between Hanako and Sora during dinner yesterday.

"Waka-sama"?" asked Rebecca, confused by what she had heard, unable to dwell on it much when Esme deliberately approached her, changing the subject. "Nice to meet you, Rebecca. I hope we can be friends!"

"Uh, yeah, whatever you say... Hey, if you're siblings, why are you all so... different? Are you adopted?" Rebecca questioned.

"Something like that. We're not biologically related, but we grew up together and consider ourselves siblings," explained Esme.

After loading everything into the car, Sora grabbed one of the backpacks and began placing devices resembling small spiral shells on each corner of the vehicle, as well as two on each rear and front license plate.

Seeing him placing them, everyone wondered what he was doing, until Rebecca, impatient to wait, asked, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You'll see, just give me a second." Once finished, Sora rolled up the left sleeve of his jacket and activated the devices he placed on the car from the small screen inside his forearm armor.

"Maine's car can be used to identify us... and given who we're going to rob tonight, it's better to be cautious," explained Sora as he moved his finger over the color palette on the screen on his forearm.

Everyone could see how the Chevillon Emperor in front of them momentarily became blurry as small holographic hexagons covered it, saturating the air and causing small discharges before starting to change color: red, blue, orange, green... until it was completely black.

Then, Sora changed the color of individual parts, with the doors and hood acquiring an ash gray tone, even changing the surface texture to resemble carbon fiber, also changing the license plate numbers.

"This will help us maintain a low profile and avoid being identified," said Sora with a proud smile at his latest creation.

Everyone fell silent, as it was the first time they had seen something like this, even after spending years alongside Hanako and supposedly having access to the latest Arasaka technology. Until Rebecca exclaimed, "WTF! That... WAS AWESOME!"

"Heh... cool, right? I'm quite proud. I was thinking of offering this technology to Rayfield International for their luxury cars... for a modest price, of course..." said Sora, smiling, imagining himself bathing in Eddis.

Meanwhile, Lewis, Chancellor, and Esme, noticing the expression on Sora's face, began discussing among themselves.

"He looks like..." said Chancellor.

"Yeah, he definitely looks like her," Esme agreed.

Lewis even expressed the resemblance he found. "She doesn't usually smile, but their eyes are similar when they think about profit in some deal, their eyes definitely look similar"

Listening to them, Sora said annoyed, "Tch, cut it out! And move your asses, we're running late, we still have to pass through the border wall."

As Sora went to get into the driver's seat, Rebecca put her hand blocking the door from opening and said with her charming character, "Why do you have to drive, huh? I asked Maine for the car."

"Oh sure, since lying suits you so well, why don't you tell the customs agents what we're going to do outside the city, huh, Chi-bi?" Sora responded sarcastically, matching Rebecca's tone and attitude.

"Don't call me that!" she said forcefully.

"Make me..." he responded, matching her tone.

Seeing how the two supposed "friends" had their heads bumping like two goats, Lucy had to shake her head and cover her embarrassed face with her hand at the posture her boyfriend had to assume to match her friend's short height. Meanwhile, the rest of her siblings resumed their chatter amongst themselves.

"Are they really friends?" Lewis asked, puzzled by the conflicting friendship they displayed.

Agreeing, Esme replied, "Right?"

This prompted Sora and Rebecca to shout at them simultaneously, "SHUT UP ALREADY!" x2

Being the best liars, Sora took the driver's seat, with Lucy beside him as the co-pilot, Chancellor behind Lucy to speak for Lewis if questioned beside Sora, and the ones who were worst at it, at the back, with Rebecca in the last row alongside Esme.

Twenty-five minutes later, as they drove along Highway 101, they reached the border checkpoint between the NUSA state of Southern California and the free city of Night City.

As the Chevillon Emperor slowly maneuvered through the traffic to reach the customs checkpoint, intermittent holographic warning phrases flickered, illuminating the surrounding area with flashes of red.

Approaching, they could see how heavily fortified the border checkpoint was with Militech mechs and Octants patrolling alongside soldiers.

Before it was their turn, Sora turned back and pulled out five black chips with colored markings from his jacket pocket. "It's our turn now, take these," he said, handing them out.

After Lucy asked which one was hers, she was the first to grab her chip, with white markings, and without hesitation inserted it into the port on her neck, asking, "What are these for?" as her question was answered before her eyes, seeing the chip come to life, altering her name, personal information, and citizen number on her ID.

"They're fake identities. When Militech asks, we can't have our real names showing up in the city's exit registry," explained Sora, distributing the chips to each person in the car as they inserted them into their neck ports.

Knowing from experience how difficult it was to create a fake identity, Lucy carefully examined her new identity and was surprised to see that it had every detail, from medical history to legal records. Coming out of her astonishment, she asked, "Incredible, but will they work when we're scanned at customs? Editing just the IDn isn't enough."

Before he could answer, the blockade in front of them lowered as it was their turn. The checkpoint speakers activated, with a metallic voice resonating around the vehicle: ["Please direct your vehicle to the inspection area."]

As he accelerated, Sora said, "Don't worry, these identities are registered in Night Corp's server."

Just as they entered the checkpoint, sensors activated and, detecting weapons in the vehicle, as a precaution, automatic turrets rose, pointing at them, while one of the patrolling soldiers stood in front of them. ["Turn off the engine and keep your hands on the wheel,"] ordered the customs control operator. ["Reason for leaving the city?"]

"We're university researchers, testing the boards we've designed... we plan to start a company, Arib, in the future!" said Sora respectfully, using part of the equipment they had in the car as a cover.

["Hmm... According to the scan, you're all armed, and my colleague with visual on you... says you all look like mercenaries."]

Upon the operator's accusation observed through the scanners and cameras, Sora jokingly said, "Really?" Acting like civilians waiting to enter the Afterlife, he added, "You heard him; we look like mercenaries, guys, great!"

Those who understood followed suit;

Rebecca added, "Thanks, choom!"

Lucy, doubting if it was a good thing to resemble, said/asked, "Thanks?"

While Lewis, looking at his clothes, asked his brother, "Do I look like a mercenary?"

"Shhh!" who silenced him.

Taking over again, Sora leaned out of the window, waved to the intimidating guard in front of them, and said aloud, "Thanks for saying that, it's just the look we were going for."

This caused the operator to sigh ["Uhh"] before letting them leave the city, not before warning ["Before you leave, we'll scan your IDns, so if your bodies are brought back, we can identify you."]

With the same giggly tone, Sora replied, "Terrifying, but... of course!" addressing the extension next to the car, where the microphone capturing their responses was located.

The guard in front of them approached the vehicle while taking out an IDn reader, a small device that, when pointed at the vehicle, displayed the 5 fake citizen numbers of the occupants on its screen.

After what felt like ages to Lucy, the guard nodded satisfactorily after a few seconds scrutinizing the numbers, when he received verification from the servers, and commented something over the radio. Moments later, the floor blockade descended, giving them a clear path.

With everything in order, the metallic voice of the customs control operator resonated one last time: ["Watch out there, at the slightest hint of running back to the city, the Badlands... is not a place for a bunch of kids like you to be camping."]

Stopping acting, with his usual tone and attitude, Sora replied, "Thanks for the warning, but... you don't need to worry about us" reconsidering, Sora changed his mind. "Or maybe... you are right and... should?" before accelerating to the maximum towards the Badlands.

-

35 kilometers later...

Sora halted the vehicle in a suitable spot for camping atop a canyon with a direct view of the Militech base just 2 kilometers away.

As they finished unloading the gear and setting up a small camp, night had fallen, creating a dark moonless night perfect for a heist.

While they waited, Sora briefed them on the plan, prompting Esme to inquire, "Do you really think the Wraiths will attack a Militech base?"

"I believe so... I have faith in them," Sora replied, genuinely trusting them, given the apparent calm reigning over the Wraith camp from the images shared by a couple of Fool drones hovering over it.

Sora stood up, shrugged off his jacket, and from one of the backpacks, he retrieved his tactical poncho along with several cylindrical containers, placing them in the center where everyone was seated.

Opening one, Rebecca exclaimed, "Hoo!" upon seeing a row of appetizing onigiris. Before taking one, she looked at Sora and asked, "Are these from Aoi?" After tasting one of them one night when Sora shared, the memory still lingered in her mind from time to time

"For you, it's Aoi-san, and yes, they are," he replied.

Excited to learn they were from Sora's grandmother, Rebecca paused again to say, "Itadakkimasu," before taking one. This amused Esme, Chancellor, and Lewis, who, accustomed to the tradition, imitated her before enjoying the onigiris.

Seizing the opportunity, Sora began distributing the "gifts" that would be useful for the mission.

"Big guy, because of your size, you took the longest," Sora said as he handed Lewis a sleeveless coat with various textures on the back and sides.

"Hmm, thanks, but what's it for?" Lewis asked as he put on the coat.

"It's camouflage, similar to what I used before in the car," Sora replied, feeling too lazy to go into details.

"Chance, since I know you won't part with your stupid cap, here you go," he added, handing Chancellor a hooded poncho similar to his own and a black cap.

"It's not stupid... it's fashion," he retorted.

"Yeah... from the 2000s, take it and hush," Sora handed him the poncho, then turned to Rebecca, "Rebecca, since you won't be raiding the base—" Unable to finish his sentence...

When Rebecca, with her mouth full and two onigiris in her hands, interrupted, "Why won't I raid the base, huh? Because I can't ride a stupid board? That's discrimination!"

"That's not... You'll stay here and cover us with the Grand," Sora said, not bothering to respond, pointing to a long gun case.

"Wow!" Excited once again, Rebecca accepted the task without hesitation. "You should've said that earlier!" She stood up and, without releasing her onigiris, used her feet to open the case, admiring the sleeping beauty inside.

"Once I give the signal... get the hell out of here, heading towards the city," warned Sora.

"Don't we wait for you?" She asked.

"No, we'll make our own way out," Taking out a mask from the backpack, Sora added, "Here, as I promised... If they chase you, put it on, don't let them see your face."

"Got it!" Said Rebecca, "Liberating" one of her hands to grab the mask, more interested in it than his warning.

Sora continued assigning roles and equipping the team. "Lucy, as we discussed, you'll use your helmet to take care of one of the servers," he said, handing her one of the backpacks with her helmet inside.

Finally, it was Esme's turn, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, wondering what she would receive. "And you, Esme, will take care of the other server; we'll climate-control the inside of the vehicle to serve as an 'ice bath' so there won't be any cooling issues."

As Esme's eyes dimmed, thinking for a moment that she would be the only one without anything, contrary to what seemed, Sora reached into one of the backpacks again, reigniting Esme's excitement, until he pulled out another cylindrical container with more onigiris and placed it next to Lucy, to eat.

The three siblings exchanged tense glances, looking at Esme, who was left hanging like a program, watching Sora eat with a vacant expression.

Lucy approached Sora and whispered near his ear, "Don't you have anything for her?"

Confused, Sora took a moment to understand the situation before responding in the same manner. "Despite how you're taking it... these aren't gifts, I just thought of things necessary for the heist. Esme only needed the refrigerator to lower the temperature inside the car... I didn't think she would want anything..."

"Give her something, she just wants you to give her something... look at her," Lucy said, nodding toward Esme, who was biting her lip as Rebecca teased her with her new mask.

"T-take this, Esme, I almost forgot," Sora, unsure of what to give her, reached for Getsuga's sheath, grabbed the small tanto, magnetically attached, quite beautiful, like an updated version of classic tantos.

"If you notice, there's a small wheel you can move at the base of the handle; the blade contains a vial of potent homemade paralyzing tetrotoxin. Depending on how you move the wheel, the dosage will be larger," Sora explained, reluctantly giving away a tool that he might actually need for the heist.

"Great... How long does the minimum dosage last?" Esme asked, examining the weapon.

Sora thought for a second before responding, "Hmm... I'd say about 30 seconds—"

Unable to finish, Esme unsheathed the blade and pierced a few millimeters into Rebecca's arm. "Huh?" Rebecca reacted, surprised like everyone else, before falling to the ground with wide eyes, unable to speak but fully conscious.

"Hahaha, who's laughing now!" Esme laughed like a villain, grabbing the mask from Rebecca that she liked.

"Gmvw nw thd bmwk!" (Give me that back!) Rebecca tried to say, unable to move her mouth correctly.

Instead of responding, Esme put on the mask she stole from Rebecca.

As she did so, "I wouldn't do that," Sora warned her, while eating.

"Do what?" She asked with the mask on.

"That," Sora replied, just as a needle with the same tetrotoxin pricked Esme's forehead, causing her to fall to the ground, facing Rebecca, who, upon seeing her, attempted to laugh at Esme in the same situation.

"You see, Rebecca, she asked for it because of her annoying brother, so that only she could use it, and if her brother were to put it on, something would happen so she could laugh at him... and for me, being paralyzed for a couple of minutes seems funny..." Sora responded to Esme lying on the ground in the same position she was in before the toxin took effect.

Seeing Rebecca recover and pick up her mask from the ground, Esme tried to say, ("It's not fair!") but instead blurted out an incomprehensible stammer, "Ils mot fwir!"

While they laughed at the situation, Sora received an alarming update from the Fools: "Get ready, the Wraiths are on the move..." Growing a smile, he added, 'Looks like this is going to be even more fun than I thought.'

Pleasantly surprised by the Fools' broadcast, which showed four fuel trucks arriving at the not-so-quiet Wraith base, mobilizing them all.

A few seconds later, more than 30 vehicles and 4 fuel trucks... were on their way to the Militech base.

-

Minutes later, with everyone in their respective positions and the Wraith convoy in sight.

The emergency lights of the Militech base flashed frantically as they detected the large number of Wraiths speeding towards it, causing the ground to tremble with the roar of their engines accompanied by the psychotic screams of each Wraith, high as a kite.

As the base alarm blared, the twin turrets activated, swiveling towards the convoy and unleashing bursts of bullets that illuminated the night with a grim glow. The leading Wraith vehicles, protecting the tanker trucks, were quickly reduced to scrap metal under the relentless turret fire, forcing their occupants to bail out before they exploded, being picked up by their comrades to rejoin the convoy.

Observing the scene, Sora spoke up loudly, "Lucy, Esme, it's your turn," addressing the two women in Chevillon with sub-zero temperatures and a small foldable antenna installed on their roof.

Following his orders, the two submerged.

In cyberspace, Lucy and Esme used the backdoor managed by Sora to infiltrate the base servers. Lucy skillfully navigated, thanks to the enhanced assimilation offered by her helmet, through the server while Esme patiently waited, ready to follow her instructions.

"Esme, give me a few seconds to reach the secondary server," Lucy indicated before leaving the main server and heading to the secondary one to act in sync.

"Understood," Esme responded, as Lucy quickly disappeared from her claustrophobic and limited perception of cyberspace into 8-bit.

When Lucy reached the secondary server, she communicated through the group call, ["All set, Sora, when you give the order."]

Before giving the order, Sora, without using his Okami helmet to avoid detection, only his eyes visible with a glowing blue circle in them due to the hood of his poncho and his active cylindrical scarf covering the rest of his face, turned towards Lewis and Chancellor behind him on either side, the three almost matching with their coats and black ponchos of the same style. 

In perfect sync with his words, the jaws on his scarf moved as if his question was escaping through them. "Are you ready?" while grabbing the black board of 140 cm long and 23 cm wide span magnetically strapped to his back.

Lewis, with the lower half of his face covered by the collars of his coat, simply nodded respectfully to the youngest member of the Arasaka family, mimicking him and also grabbing his board on his back, it being the first time he would ride one in real life... Not counting the nearly 2000 hours in simulations.

Meanwhile, Chancellor, using the collar of his lycra shirt to cover his, accompanied by a black cap, replied, "Whenever you say."

["Activate the program!"] ordered Sora, prompting Lucy and Esme to simultaneously execute the software he provided on the base servers.

Surprisingly calm, despite about to infiltrate a Militech base mounted on an Airb board, part of Hanako's peculiar and unique training plan for them... as if she had been preparing them for this kind of thing for years.

Upon activating the program, both could witness how it quickly branched out, taking control of the server. From the data core projection that was the software, they saw it transforming into the familiar album cover for Lucy, followed by guitar chords resonating within the server... and beyond.

The next instant brought about another change throughout the base as the turrets abruptly ceased, and from the base's PA system, those same guitar chords began to resonate throughout.

Unaware of what was happening, the bewildered and surprised Militech soldiers and personnel began to hear a song that almost seemed to explain what was going on.

[♩ I can't stand it, I know you planned it ♩] 
[♩ I'm gonna set it straight, this Watergate ♩] 
[♩ I can't stand rocking when I'm in here ♩] 

[♩'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear ♩] 
[♩ So while you sit back and wonder why ♩] 
[♩ I got this fucking thorn in my side ♩] 
[♩ Oh my God, it's a mirage ♩] 
[♩ I'm tellin' y'all, it's a sabotage! ♩] 

Immediately after, the chaos erupted. 

The base turrets came online, ruthlessly firing at any Militech target within reach, whether they were drones, mechas or soldiers.

Meanwhile, two kilometers from the base, seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, Sora mounted his new Airb, a longer and sturdier version of urban boards, and launched himself off the canyon edge, hurtling at breakneck speed towards Militech's base, with Lewis and Chancellor following closely behind

As the trio regrouped, Sora activated their camouflage along with their boards, vanishing from Rebecca's sight, leaving only a faint trail of sand from their boards, as she watched enviously from the Grad's scope, determined to learn to ride when she returned to the city.

[♩ So, so, so, so listen up 'cause you can't say nothin'♩] 
[♩ You'll shut me down with a push of your button? ♩] 
[♩ But you, I'm out and I'm gone ♩] 
[♩ I'll tell you now, I keep it on and on ♩]

The Wraiths seized the moment as well. Without being the targets of the turrets, two of the four tanker trucks surged ahead, leading the assault. As they neared the base wall, the drivers locked the accelerators and bailed from the vehicles. 

While The rest of the Wraiths slowed to create distance between them and the imminent explosion.

[♩'Cause what you see you might not get ♩] 
[♩ And we can bet, so don't you get souped yet ♩] 
[♩ You're scheming on a thing that's a mirage ♩] 
[♩ I'm trying to tell you now, it's sabotage ♩] 

Suddenly, the music reached a crescendo. The instruments and singer halted, creating a moment of tense silence, followed by haunting guitar chords that seemed to foreshadow the impending explosion.

Then... The trucks collided with the wall just as the song's lyrics asked... ["Why?"] 

The resulting deafening blast shook the ground and illuminated the entire valley between the canyons where the base lay. 

"On the opposite side of the base, disregarding the colossal explosion, Sora and his companions utilized a rock located a few meters from the wall, protruding from the ground like a ramp, to vault over the wall amid the explosion.

They were jostled mid-air by the shockwave and the blast of hot air from the flames

[♩ (Our backs are now against the wall?) ♩] 

When the blaze subsided and the scorched area could be seen again, the wall had vanished in a 30-meter radius from the explosion's epicenter.

At full speed, the other two tanker trucks raced through the smoke where the wall once stood, their pilots leaping from the trucks just as they entered the base perimeter, letting them roll freely before their imminent collision with a building and subsequent explosion.

[♩ Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage ♩] 

Once they landed on the opposite side where the assault was taking place, concealed behind the shadow of one of the buildings, Sora contacted one of the Fools, hovering above the area, relaying images of what was happening.

["Take control of the trucks... Bleed Militech dry,"] Sora ordered, not content with just assaulting their base and stealing the Blackbird but aiming to make them lose as many eddies as possible.

[♩ Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage ♩] 

Acting swiftly, the Fool hacked the two trucks, directing one towards a hangar full of expensive fighters and AVs, and the other towards the workshop where mechs and drones were stored.

[♩ Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage ♩] 

Again, as if the song were explaining what was happening, two more explosions rocked the entire base, exponentially increasing the economic losses Militech was suffering, losing millions of eddies worth of equipment.

Before slipping into the shadows of the base, Sora communicated through the group channel: ["Lucy, Esme, don't let Militech be overwhelmed; prolong the conflict as much as possible and also attack the Wraiths."]

["Are you sure? I thought you knew them,"] Lucy asked.

["Know them...? I'm just using them. A handful of rapists and psychopaths less"] Sora replied.

After Sora's response, Lucy said, ["Got it,"] and Esme added, ["Okay,"] confirming their orders, projecting a view of the base in front of them, controlling turret targets from it.

Once the conversation ended, Sora turned to Chance and Lewis and said, "Let's go." With camouflage activated and boards on their backs, the three moved through the base's shadows undetected.

---

A few seconds before, Tristana Mayers, far from her usual luxurious dresses, was wearing a dirty mechanic's jumpsuit, immersed in her work at the Blackaquila in its private hangar. Suddenly, the emergency lights began to flicker frantically, accompanied seconds later by the thunderous sound of turrets opening fire.

Despite the familiarity of the scene, having experienced something similar just two days ago, the current attack was dangerous enough for the emergency alarm to be activated. As she thought that, Tristana remained watching the hangar's spinning red light absentmindedly, as if the emergency didn't personally affect her.

The next instant, Tristana's head of security and his full team of nine people burst into her lab. The seriousness on their faces indicated the gravity of the situation as they prepared to escort Tristana to the safest place on the base.

"Miss Mayers, we need to evacuate you to the operations center immediately... given the magnitude of the attack, there may be a breach in the perimeter," declared the head of security with a firm yet respectful tone.

Tristana nodded silently, acknowledging the necessity of evacuation and the seriousness of the situation. She trusted in her personally crafted server security system, separate from the base's dual servers, which would lock down the hangar, securing the Blackaquila.

She was quickly escorted outside by her security team, each member highly augmented, trained, and armed, surrounding Tristana as they made their way through the bustling base where all her active soldiers, drones, and mechs were mobilizing to defend against the attack.

Just before reaching the armored building housing the operations center, the team leader ordered a halt, sensing a troubling shift in the base as the sound of turret gunfire abruptly ceased.

Surprised and bewildered, just before chaos erupted, the sound of guitar chords and lyrics from a song warning of what was happening echoed throughout the base, followed by the sound of turrets firing again, but not against the invaders, but against the base's own drones, mechs, and soldiers mobilizing, even upon them.

Faced with this confusing situation, the group closed ranks even tighter around Tristana, advancing as one towards the operations center. As one turret fired at them, shattering the arm of one of the soldiers before they could take cover in the building.

The team leader, despite his long experience, couldn't help but loudly express his frustration at seeing one of his subordinates injured. "What the hell is going on? How is it possible that our own security systems are attacking us?"

Although he only wanted to vent his frustration, he still received a response from Tristana, who gave the simplest answer: "That's because the base's server has been hacked."

This prompted the team leader to exclaim again, "Impossible! The double system—" before he could finish.

Without needing to hear him finish to know what he would say, Tristana interrupted him, correcting his mistaken conception. "That only means that if one is attacked, the other blocks it and vice versa... I warned that this could happen in my complaints to the board about the double server system... we would be just as exposed... if both servers were hacked simultaneously," explained Tristana with the same calm and measured tone of voice, out of place for the current crisis situation.

As she contemplated the meaning behind her own words and the difficulty it would entail to carry them out, especially hacking both servers simultaneously...

This led Tristana to internally question herself; 'If it wasn't impossible, it seemed like they had a backdoor with the server.'

Moved by this conclusion that could well be a hunch, Tristana, without saying anything else, began to make her way alone towards the operations center. The team leader, after instructing Technician-241, who was present at the entrance of the building, to take the wounded soldier to the infirmary, followed Tristana.

Tristana Myers burst into the bustling operations center where the same song playing throughout the base could also be heard, surrounded by her security entourage. The young heiress, with her characteristic somewhat absent expression, ignored the frantic activity of the personnel and approached the base captain, who didn't notice her presence as he was too busy.

Tristana asked in her monotone voice, "What's happening, Captain?"

Before the visibly nervous captain could respond... a deafening explosion made everyone stop what they were doing to hold onto the nearest surface due to the tremor that shook the entire base.

Ignoring the president's daughter due to the circumstances, the Captain demanded a "Situation report!" from the personnel monitoring the few systems they still had control over.

"Captain, we couldn't stop the tanker trucks and there's been an explosion in the wall section 117, blowing up the adjacent sections from 088 to 152," an operator reported.

Immediately another operator added nervously, "Captain! Two more trucks have breached the base perimeter!"

Upon hearing this and knowing what was coming, everyone in the room held an unsettling moment of silence. Which made the lyrics of the song stand out in that brief moment;

[♩ Listen all y'all, it's a sabotage ♩].

For Tristana's peculiar mind, it was as if the song was the only thing answering her question.

With nothing more to say or do to stop it, the captain only ordered what he could. "Prepare for another explosion!"

As he had correctly warned, a few seconds later, two more explosions occurred, one after another, shaking the base and everyone in it.

Without needing to be prompted, one of the operators, with a trembling voice, upon seeing the projected losses on his screen, said, "Sir, the main hangar and the Mechanic Warehouse have been destroyed."

The base captain's legs trembled at the thought of the exorbitant losses he would have to report to the board when informing them about the attack, with a part of him wanting to grab a weapon and go out himself to defend the base, hoping luck would kill him before he had to report to the shareholder council.

Interrupting their possible courses of action, Tristana said with her usual monotone and slow tone despite the circumstances, "Captain... it's the second time she's asked... and the last... what's happening at the base... I want a full report." The leader of her security team took an intimidating step forward, giving weight to her tepid threat.

The captain, still pale, replied, "Miss Myers, the base has been attacked by a convoy of over 30 Wraith vehicles, although the attack seemed improvised and chaotic... it turned out to be perfectly planned and synchronized, simultaneously assaulting our double servers, turning the base's turret systems against us.

We've already ordered the base Netrunners and those from the headquarters in the city to retrieve the server... but they're still trying to breach..." Struggling to finish, with a touch of shame the Base Captainconcluded heavily. "Our own firewall... we don't know how the Wraiths managed to bypass it without us noticing."

Upon hearing this, Tristana, as exasperated as her numb emotions allowed, wasted no time in asking rhetorically, clearly indifferent to the incompetent captain's response. "Do you really believe the person behind this attack is a Wraith?"

Understanding her implication, the captain responded, "Are you referring to the suspect who fled on a motorcycle? But Miss, with all due respect, the Wraiths would never undertake a job that required them to rely on our defenses being disabled. I can accept they might be hired for a smaller-scale attack like the previous one, but... this assault, the Wraiths are willing to die to execute it."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE DETAILS!" Tristana shouted, surprising every one on the room even herself. "I don't care if they're being paid, used, or deceived... All of this, this attack, is nothing but..."

Before she could finish her own sentence, Tristana fell silent, stunned as she realized that the shameless and true mind behind the attack was revealing it through the very song; this wasn't an attack... 'it was sabotage!'

"A distraction." Tristana concluded, both verbally and mentally, with one word.

Immediately afterward, a question arose in Tristana's mind that unsettled her: 'A distraction for what?' Her eyes widened as she arrived at a troubling answer... Tristana bolted from the room, so focused on verifying it that she didn't even consider her own safety or protection.

-

Meanwhile... the mastermind behind the attack... and his team.

"Are you going to take much longer?" Chance asked, bored of waiting, standing in the middle of the practically invisible base as gunfire and combat raged all around.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Sora responded irritably, attempting to unlock the strange security system of the Hangar that separated him from the Blackaquila, unlike anything he had ever seen before. It made him wonder if whoever designed it was on the spectrum due to its peculiar design.

"No, man... just asking," Chance replied, leaning against the door that Sora was trying to open.

"Then shut it," Sora added.

A few seconds later, Chance asked again, "Should we ask Esme and Lucy for help?"

This prompted Sora to divert his attention from the window with the security system code on his IDn and reply, "Can't you keep quiet, Choom? Seriously, were you trained by Arasaka?"

"No! I'm not Arasaka; I was trained by your mother's orders, it's different," Chance replied, getting annoyed by Sora's words.

Returning his focus, Sora said sarcastically, "Oh sure! My bad, totally different..."

Their "irritated" exchange prompted Lewis to intervene, "Calm down, both of you, it's not the time to argue."

Ignoring his peaceful brother, Chance didn't drop the subject. "What do you mean? If you have something to say, say it, don't hide behind sarcasm..."

His words made Sora roll his eyes and say, "Tch, here we go again... I can smell the fortune cookie phrase... one from Oda? Bet you learned it from Ojii."

Hitting the mark, Chance replied hurriedly, "What does it matter where it's from if the quote is good?"

"Come on, I'm right, and it's from O...d...a...." Sora slowed his words as he concentrated, finally exclaiming, "Got it! Tch, fucking security... gave me more trouble than the entire base." He added after successfully bypassing the Hangar's personalized security.

Being the first to enter, as the lights came on and he deactivated their camouflage, Sora raised his arms like a proud father and asked, "Ta-da! This is tonight's objective, what do you think?"

"I've never seen a ship like this before," Lewis replied, genuinely impressed by the futuristic ship in front of him.

Annoyed by the earlier conversation and unwilling to say anything good, Chance said, "It's... peculiar."

Provoking Sora to retort, "Your face is peculiar!" Then, he hugged his future Blackaquila and said, "I don't think there's anything more beautiful in creation than these graceful curves," whispering to it as he continued hugging, he added, "Don't worry, I plan on getting you out of here."

"I'm going to tell Lucy and Judy..." Chance said, exposing his resentment.

"Tell them, Judy respects my beliefs, and she already knows that Omnissiah comes first for me," Sora joked as he approached the central terminal, which controlled the Blackaquila's security anchors.

Causing Chance to ask, "The Omni- what?" And Sora lazily replied, "The god of machines."

While Chancellor and Lewis examined the Blackaquila and Sora's fingers came to life on the terminal, a strained voice, not used to running, shouted, "Halt!"

Tristana's cry caused the three intruders dressed in black to freeze momentarily as they were detected before stealing the ship. Without saying anything, the three grouped together, facing Tristana and her 8 security members who aimed their weapons at the three suspects.

Contrary to their quiet demeanor, their group call was the opposite.

["What do we do?"] Chancelor and Lewis asked. ["Do we take them out?"]

["What other option do we have?"] Sora responded before warning, ["Don't use firearms; behind them are the hangar servers, if we damage them with a gunshot, the system will lock up, and I won't be able to release the ship's anchors."]

Preparing to dodge, Chancelor complained, ["Tch, then you better tell them..."] as the 8 Militech soldiers pulled the trigger of their weapons.

-

At the same time, in cyberspace, while listening in on the conversation, Lucy decided to try to help, first heading to the main server where Esme was.

"I'm leaving you in control of the turrets, I'm going to help the guys," Lucy said.

"What? W-wait!" Unable to stop herself, Lucy handed over her part of the turret controller to Esme and disappeared from the server.

"Okay?" Esme said alone in the server, with no other choice but to accept her sister's command.

She left the Militech server, aware that the Blackaquila's private hangar had its own. However, that wasn't her objective.

Lucy's objective was something that had been bothering her: the strange connection her helmet had. When she used it with Sora, she didn't notice it because they were so close... but now that they were separated, Lucy felt a thread... a metaphorical thread connecting her to something... beyond the cyberspace of the net.

She didn't know why, but Lucy had a gut feeling about where this metaphorical thread led... 'Towards him,' she thought.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy ventured to follow this thread/connection, although she wasn't entirely sure where it would lead her... she plunged into the unknown... exiting the cyberspace of the net... to enter a private one...

Thanks to the connection with her helmet, Lucy entered this new and surreal cyberspace effortlessly, which unfolded before her like a vast expanse of land floating in the starry space, with a surreal flat earth-like shape.

From the visitor's perspective, it seemed to be suspended in nothingness, surrounded by the infinity of emptiness.

Great mountains rose majestically, forming an imposing barrier that embraced and protected a lush forest. The green trees stretched in all directions, their intertwined branches creating a canopy of shadows beneath, thanks to the artificial light of the stars.

In the center of the forest was a vast lake, its serene surface reflecting the stars and moon that illuminated the sky as if it were a mirror. The water seemed to flow endlessly, a constant stream that overflowed into two gigantic and terrifying waterfalls into the void.

Not knowing what this place was, Lucy was paralyzed in front of the beautiful lake.

Although she was an intruder... this cyberspace unconsciously welcomed Lucy, causing the trees to change to beautiful cherry blossoms wherever she passed, and the tall grass at her feet cleared wherever she decided to go.

Without knowing why, but at the same time... knowing it, Lucy couldn't help but smile as she moved within "his" cyberspace, stroking the trees that changed in her path and the high and damp grass that emitted the smell of wet earth.

Suddenly, as Lucy became so engrossed in the surroundings that she lost sight of her objective, "What are you doing here, human?" something asked behind her, sounding like Sora for a moment and then changing to an unfamiliar tone for her.

Turning around, Lucy was surprised and fell into the grass, which became thicker to cushion her fall, seeing that in front of her was the face of a Blue Wolf... not entirely, its legs were formed of unreadable white code that looked like socks on its large paws, extending across its chest as a second color in its fur made of code.

Without shifting her gaze from the AI before her, Lucy inquired, "W-what are you?" Terror laced her voice as memories of her past harrowing encounters with AIs flooded back, making her realize she might have erred by intruding without invitation.

Arc didn't know how to respond, on one hand, his blue code... wanted nothing more than to throw the human in front of him out of his cyberspace... but the other part conveyed by the white code didn't want to... scare her.

Resigned to feeling this contradictory sensation, Arc repeated his question, "What are you doing here, Lucyna?"

Hearing the artificial intelligence in front of her say her name, sounding like Sora again for moments, Lucy replied, "I... wanted to help yo-... Sora. I thought I could do it by following the connection with the helmet."

"Ahm... I warned him that this would happen as I saw him doing it." Turning around and heading towards the lush forest, Arc, before disappearing among the trees, said, "This is what you are looking for."

In an instant, Arc created a complex program collecting information from all the nanobots, both in Sora and in the tables, as well as from Lewis and Chancellor's clothes. Pushing the resulting code core towards her with his snout before disappearing between the trees.

Without waiting for a response, "Thank you," that came from the surprised Lucy. But who still managed to hear perfectly.

Inside the idyllic Cyberspace, when Lucy touched the program in front of her, a live recreation of the hangar's surroundings appeared around her, where; Sora, Lewis, and Chancellor were taking cover from the shots of the 8 soldiers.

Having the same kind of gut feeling that led her here. Lucy, as if she were truly there, raised her hand towards the 8 soldiers while her eyes lit up using the Daemons/Quickhacks, equipped inside her cyberdeck.

-

At the same time, inside the hangar, Sora, Lewis, and Chancellor lifted their heads from their respective coverings when suddenly the soldiers ceased firing, their weapons malfunctioning as if they had been hacked.

Following this, one of the soldiers began sparking from his cyberware, while another overloaded, bursting into flames and sustaining injuries before the effect ceased.

Without pause, the arms of another soldier started moving against his will, grabbing a grenade from his harness and pulling the pin. The hangar filled with a cloud of smoke, obscuring everyone's vision and making blind shooting impossible.

At that moment, Sora's nanobots automatically moved, recreating the sensation of hands resting on his shoulders, followed by hearing a familiar voice whispering, "What are you doing standing still? Let's counterattack!"

As he charged into the smoke to "counterattack" as the voice instructed, followed by Lewis and Chancellor, Sora asked within his mind beyond the call, 'Lucy?'

'That's right, really the name of Okami has more than one or two meanings, doesn't it? What's the name of the AI in the form of a wolf within your... cyberspace?' she asked, reaching the most logical conclusion she could find.

Understanding what was happening, Sora replied, 'Architect,' as he approached the first soldier. Concealing his movements under his coat, Sora quickly thrust his right arm towards the soldier's trachea, sinking it and lifting him a few inches off the ground by striking it with the edge of his black palm.

As the soldier brought his hands to his sunken throat, Sora grabbed him by the sides of his head to knock him out with a brutal knee to the face.

Within the smoke, two nearby soldiers, observing how Sora knocked down their comrade, drew their sidearms. Before they could fire, Lewis and Chancellor swiftly passed by Sora's sides, preventing them from attacking him.

Chancellor seized the hands holding the pistol of one of the soldiers and, with his other arm, deployed his mantis-blade for a moment, making a fluid movement that cut off the soldier's mechanical arms from the wrists. Following the momentum of his cut, he agilely jumped, spinning around himself, reducing the size difference with the soldier, and knocking him out with a violent elbow fan to the temple.

Meanwhile, Lewis positioned himself in front of the other soldier's gun, remaining still, almost as if he were waiting for him to shoot. The soldier didn't hesitate and opened fire several times with his pistol. Then, Lewis raised his arms, deploying several armor plates from his forearms that magnetically attached, forming a rectangular shield that absorbed all the shots.

Once the soldier ran out of ammunition, Lewis acted in brutal self-defense, slowly placing his large metallic hand over the soldier's head. He then promptly closed it, driving his metallic fingers into the flesh of the soldier's face, before brutally smashing him against the ground, shattering both the floor and his skull.

Simultaneously, the team leader ordered the four soldiers surrounding Tristana outside the smoke cloud to back off, where flashes of gunfire, brutal blows, and cries of pain emanated.

As they slowly retreated toward the door they had entered, as if retreating, Tristana questioned, "What's going on? You're not thinking of withdrawing, are we?"

"My top priority is to protect you, miss. Perhaps you hadn't thought of it because you're usually right, but what if the intruders, instead of targeting the Blackaquila, were here looking for you?"

The scenario presented by her head of security unsettled Tristana, who hadn't considered it, beginning to worry about her safety.

Even more so when a loud bang preceding the cloud of smoke could be heard accompanied by the body of the last conscious bodyguard, shooting towards his feet as if he had been kicked.

To immediately witness the three intruders walking out of the smoke as if they hadn't just incapacitated 4 elite Militech soldiers in mere seconds.

Sora stared at the leader of the group near the door, his eyes carrying an expression as if he was silently asking, 'What could it be?'

Instead of responding on his own, the leader inquired, "Miss, I would recommend withdrawing, but I will accept whatever your order may be."

Observing how the intruders remained motionless, awaiting her decision, showing no sign of concern for her other than her decision, made Tristana choose the incorrect answer, "We stay. They're here for the Blackaquila, and I won't let them take it."

Without objecting to her orders, the leader of the bodyguards split his remaining four men; two with what appeared to be subordinates, and two with the apparent leader of the intruders.

As he stood guarding Tristana, his only recourse was to carefully scrutinize the intruders, particularly the leader, who confronted just two of his men. They unsheathed their knives and lunged at him.

Beneath his hood, his bright eyes could be seen moving rapidly, tracking the knives approaching him from different angles. Keeping his arms under his tactic cloak, he easily dodged the attacks, making small backward leaps or minimal body movements, without counterattacking.

Until the soldiers activated their Sandevistan and positioned themselves in front and behind him, blocking his path and attacking him simultaneously from both sides with their knives.

For Tristana, everything happened too quickly and hazily, unlike the leader of her bodyguards, who was able to see everything clearly. As the intruder spun around, his cloak opening up like a flower, he extended his arms, striking and deflecting the knives approaching him with the armor on the outside of his fists.

For Tristana it was all too fast and blurry, unlike the leader of her bodyguards who was able to see everything clearly...

The intruder executed a spinning jump, his tactical cloak unfurling like a blossom, as he extended his arms, skillfully parrying and redirecting the incoming knives with the armored exterior of his fists, with such force that caused the knives to escape from the soldiers' hands. 

After landing, he raised his metallic hand, opening it towards one of the knives on the ground. In an instant, a blue circle illuminated on the back of his black hand, simultaneously causing the knife to fly magnetically towards it

With the knife in his hand, the intruder momentarily disappeared from even the leader sight, reappearing in his initial position as if he hadn't moved, but now with empty hands...

The knife he had just grabbed was embedded in the chest of its owner, the same one who had attacked him moments ago aiming for his heart... returning both the attack and the knife.

The soldier collapsed forward, his own knife plunging further into him, so much so that white artificial blood began to pour from his back.

His other companion wasn't faring much better, blood seeping from the stab wound in the middle of his spine that had left him immobile. Once again, in the same spot where he had previously aimed at Sora's back. Who simply returned what he received.

He did nothing further, remaining still as he felt Lucy like a ghost leaning on his shoulder, also waiting. Until the unconscious bodies of the other two soldiers, those same ones who had been injured by Lucy's Quickhacks; Short Circuit, and Overheat, were thrown towards Tristana and the leader of the bodyguards by Lewis and Chancellor. 

Who, after dealing with them, approached and positioned themselves once again by Sora's sides and, unknowingly, Lucy's as well.

Due to the poor decision to stay in the hangar instead of evacuating, now outnumbered, Sora glanced at Tristana, internally debating whether it was worth it and if he could benefit from her kidnapping. However, the heat that would attract by kidnapping the president's daughter and the unclear gain he would get from it made Sora dismiss such an idea.

But his gaze fixed on Tristana as he weighed that idea was caught and interpreted by the leader of the bodyguards, who, preparing to gain as much time as possible, said to Tristana before attacking, "Run, return to the control center, and don't leave from there!"

Without waiting for her response, the leader of the bodyguards lunged at the intruders, drawing his gun and firing at Lewis and Chancellor, while with his other hand, he grabbed his knife and attacked non-vital points of Sora, not with the intention of protecting his own life, witnessing his mindset of returning what he received, but to buy as much time as possible to distract them so Tristana could escape.

She ran out through the door she had entered, but now without a team of bodyguards following her.

Seeing this and with an aerial view over the base, Sora, while moving his shoulders minimally to dodge the fierce stabs of the leader of the bodyguards, spoke to him for the first time, "Wrong decision. She was right. Our target is the ship, not the president's daughter. You should have evacuated with her."

"You only say that because she's now out of your reach," the leader of the bodyguards retorted, continuing his attacks and still shooting at the shield Lewis had deployed, protecting his brother and himself.

Provoking Chancellor, annoyed at receiving his shots as if they were making them stop, interjected, "Dude, if she were our target, we'd already be going after her" to which Lewis added, "True" in agreement

"Besides... Who's going to protect her from the Wraiths invading the base, huh?... Like I said, wrong decision," Sora added, after dodging one of the stabs, he grabbed the wrist holding the knife with his black hand, and with a fluid movement like a martial arts lock, in this case his recreation of the same name 'CQC,' he struck the elbow joint with his free hand, forcing the arm to bend.

Still holding his wrist, Sora guided the knife toward the bodyguard's shoulder, effectively stabbing himself in a way. The veteran soldier fell to his knees, realizing the mistake he had made.

Even though they had just killed several of his men, they had also spared the lives of most... with this thought in his head, the leader of the bodyguards had no choice but to plead, "P-please, I beg you, don't let them do anything to her!"

Sora, looking at the desperate old man holding onto him, unconcerned about his wound or his own life as long as he could safeguard Tristana's, made him release him with another knee to the face, knocking him out.

As he headed towards the terminal, Sora clicked his tongue, "Tch..." before saying through the group call, ["Rebecca, do you have visual on the girl who ran out of the hangar?"]

A second later, she responded, ["I've got her."]

["Guide her back."]

["It looks like she's encountered a group of Wraiths. Should I help her?"]

["Yes, go ahead, don't let them touch her."]

Excited to finally have some action, Rebecca exclaimed, ["About 'FUCKING' time, damn it!"]

Two kilometers from the base, Rebecca adjusted her crosshairs on the Wraith's arm that was about to touch Tristana. Although she lacked confidence in making this kind of shot on her own, she relied on the fancy tech that Sora had installed in Grad, correcting her aim to the recommended spot.

Despite Sora's precautions, who had literally bolted the bipod legs to the ground to prevent 'Chibi-Rebecca' from flying off when firing.

When Rebecca pulled the trigger... the powerful recoil of the rifle transmitted through her entire body, escaping towards the ground. Giving rise to a somewhat comical image if Sora were to see it, where Rebecca's small lying body, as if it were just another accessory to the gun, rose a few inches above the ground while clinging tightly to the weapon.

-

A few seconds earlier...

When Tristana rushed out of the hangar alone, she was greeted by a chaotic scene: the sky was filled with ashes from the rising smoke columns, tinted red by the fires spreading throughout the base.

As she ran, she could see lifeless soldier bodies and damaged mechs scattered everywhere, and hear the sound of gunfire and the trace of battle echoing around her, leaving her unsure which way to go back to the operations center building.

Turning a corner sharply, her heart pounding in her chest despite having covered only 50 meters from the hangar, Tristana collided with something or someone, sending her tumbling to the ground.

As she looked up, a shiver ran down her spine as she found herself face to face with a Wraith, and not just any Wraith. The Wraith she crashed into had an intimidating appearance: outdated Monovision instead of eyes, teeth as sharp as a shark's, a face marked by scars and cuts, and a large scar adorning the top of his head instead of hair.

Tristana stared at him for a moment, paralyzed by the mocking cries of the other Wraiths around their leader, relishing in the terror reflected on Tristana's face as if she were a fragile doll they were eager to break.

Seeing the Wraith leader order to grab her, Tristana desperately tried to get away, crawling across the ground as fast as she could, while hearing the gleeful and chilling laughter of the Wraiths, like hyenas, closing in on her.

As one of them eagerly stepped forward as if being the first to capture her meant his turn to "test" her would be shortened, and raised his dirty hand to grab Tristana's hair, who crawled in panic with tear-filled eyes she tried to contain... a whistle prevented him from touching her.

Seeing the end of his comrade's arm fall to the ground, the hyenas stopped laughing, causing a moment of silence that didn't last long, due to the subsequent scream of pain from the Wraith as he felt his arm blown off by a shot... ironically, it didn't last long either.

When another whistle brought back the silence again, stopping his scream as half of his head was blown off. This silence lasted as none of the Wraiths dared to move or laugh to avoid becoming the next target of the sniper shooting at them.

Tristana, unaware of what was happening, continued to crawl away as fast as she could, even standing up to run, upon seeing this one of the Wraiths moved inadvertently before stopping again... Causing all the Wraiths around him to stare at him...

Immediately after, a new whistle sounded accompanying a bullet that made a hole the size of a fist in his chest, staining his comrades who looked at him and their leader with his own blood.

As the frightened Tristana headed in the wrong direction, another shot shattered the ground in front of her, "guiding" her back to the hangar she had exited from.

Without getting lost as she entered the hangar, the Wraith leader pushed one of his own. After surviving a few seconds later, the Wraith leader headed accompanied by the rest of his hyenas towards the hangar... where the wolves... were waiting for them.