2050-02-09

From:              Lt. El Ray
To:                   Cdr. Ezra Stone

Subject:          Operation Antidote After Action Report

Event Summary:

Commander Stone

This report will serve as my debriefing for the failures during Operation Antidote.

As you may or may not know, sir Drilldrones are controlled by “the Box.” It’s a clunky, metal cube with thick, impact resistant, rubber on its corners. In its middle is a touch screen surrounded by dials and simple buttons to control its movements and action.

I direct the Drilldrones to burrow under the compound as intended. I pause them before taking out the compound’s infrastructure. I want to be sure GK Delta was in position to synchronize our attack to the moment the drones destroy the electrical and alarm systems.

Each Delta agent pings me over the AssaultComms a simple, predetermined signal which tells me, without unnecessary chatter that V.Y.R.U.S. might pick up on, that they were ready.

As I set the controls of the Drilldrones to attack their targets, the GUI disappears from The Box’s screen, and it goes black and text-based. Rows of white text scroll across the screen at rapid speed. I couldn’t read it fast enough, and it’s unlikely I’d have been able to understand what the messages meant anyway, but I specifically recall a large cat-face drawn out of ASCII characters scroll up before The Box lost all power.

I can hear the subterranean rumble and presently see a Drilldrone emerge from the underground between my position and the compound. I can hear more Drilldrones in the distance surface and, with several crashes, damage the compound’s walls and fencing in the process.

A klaxon sounds, and the area around the compound is lit up like a football field. Our positions are completely compromised. The V.Y.R.U.S. guards open fire on our positions. We all take cover… Except Hopper.

She must’ve been holding back during training because during the strike at the compound she is faster than lightning. Before, I’d wondered why she preferred a sword to a firearm and I had my answer. In an instant she quickly dispatches one guard after another. Like a fly, a flea, or a… grasshopper, she moves great distances before any human could react to her new position.

I order the team to surround the center tower to inhibit any reinforcements from reaching the armory. In the meantime, I focus on the primary objective trying to locate Dr. Syn. That’s when I hear the deep, suction of a turbine gradually get louder and more high pitched. With a sonic boom, Toxica and Dr. Syd ascend in a vertical lift jet into the sky at the speed of sound.