Anthology snippet #2
Dec. 3rd, 2009 02:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
korsriddareThe Ventilation Safety Act was proposed and accepted by High Command during the infancy of the Terran Federation. The basic premise was that ventilation ducts and shafts employed in all military facilities must be impossible for a live human to fit into. It was a preemptive and compulsory measure put into place after suggestions by special op members who had successfully infiltrated enemy bases using this method. It also resulted in a major overhaul of multiple facilities throughout Federation space in order to comply with the new act.
Fortunately for Amanda Williams, Lieutenant Junior Grade, the Central Bank of New Hampshire was not a military facility. That also explained her choice of entry - crawling through a ventilation shaft after being inserted from the roof. The body suit she wore was comfortable enough, and together with her helmet served to keep her heat signature from showing up if her adversaries were using thermal scanners.
She shook her head as she paused to examine the schematics displayed on her visor. It was criminally stupid for the robbers to have no means of escape. InOp's briefing indicated that they had not expected the quick response from local law enforcement, and had likely panicked, taking everyone in the building hostage. Strike one. Strike two was that they had brought along military-grade weapons, which meant that the military would be called in. And to complete the three strikes, they actually shot a hostage, and thus High Command had called her in.
Amanda confirmed her location as her preplanned entry point, hooked her fingers into the maintenance hatch's handle, and waited patiently. The superimposed thermal view on her visor showed a warm body moving towards her section of the ventilation shaft, and she smiled. She was one of the more unique operatives, not just in her batch, but the entire unit. Her marksmanship was distinctively bad among her peers, even if it would still be considered excellent compared to the rest of the Defense Force. She shone, however, in athleticism and close quarter combat so much that she was considered a specialist within a specialist unit.
The figure passed directly below her, and she murmured a quiet "Mark" to start a sixty-seconds timer display at the side of her visor.
The hatch was pulled open as she dropped down on the unsuspecting man, her hands reaching out and twisting his head with such speed that the robber's neck broke before her feet landed on the ground. There were only six of them in total, and thus they had probably decided to have patrols close to the main hall where the hostages were kept. It was sound logic, but it also gave her a larger window of opportunity to work with.
She took three powerful strides, accelerating to her maximum speed. Having being picked out by military scouts when she was young, her education was supplemented by intense physical training, and the extend therapy all citizens of major star nations got meant that she had even more time to hone her muscles. The nanofibres of her body suit further enhanced her muscle output, causing one Amanda Williams to move at a speed of approximately twenty-five meters per second. She reached the hall in barely a second, and drew both hypertitanium swords out from the sheathes on her back, zeroing on the nearest man highlighted on her visor display. Even without the aid of the advanced software electronic suite, the energy rifle in his hands was a clear indication that he was one of her targets.
The average human reaction time was two hundred milliseconds. The man was talking to a fellow accomplice, and it took him an extra half a second to notice the black figure charging at him. In that half a second, she had travelled nearly three-fifth of the distance between him and the corridor she entered from. By the time he had recognised her as a threat, she was almost onto him. His arms were just about to lift his weapon up when a blade severed his head from his shoulders, as his body began to collapse.
His companion fared no better, as the other sword cut across his upper torso within the same swing, the flechette launcher sliced into two as well. Three more. Amanda utilised the momentum of her weapon swing to turn towards the next target, a pair of them standing guard across the main hall at the other corridor entrance.
She accelerated to full speed once more before the first corpse had even hit the ground, and the screaming of the hostages alerted the other two men to her presence. They brought their weapons to bear, but she was just too fast. In that hundreds of milliseconds for them to pull their triggers, she had already moved a little over four meters from the position they had aimed at. They noticed their mistake too late, and by the time they adjusted their aim, she had cut them both down.
Not stopping, she turned into the corridor, and flung a sword at the last man. High Command wanted at least one survivor for questioning, so she had to adjust her aim. The blade bisected the man's right forearm at a speed just above one-fifth that of sound, and the stunned gunman dropped to the ground, clutching his arm in pain.
"Hostiles neutralised, medical attention required for injured prisoner," she spoke into her comm, nodding with satisfaction as she eyed the timer. It still had forty-nine seconds to go.
Fortunately for Amanda Williams, Lieutenant Junior Grade, the Central Bank of New Hampshire was not a military facility. That also explained her choice of entry - crawling through a ventilation shaft after being inserted from the roof. The body suit she wore was comfortable enough, and together with her helmet served to keep her heat signature from showing up if her adversaries were using thermal scanners.
She shook her head as she paused to examine the schematics displayed on her visor. It was criminally stupid for the robbers to have no means of escape. InOp's briefing indicated that they had not expected the quick response from local law enforcement, and had likely panicked, taking everyone in the building hostage. Strike one. Strike two was that they had brought along military-grade weapons, which meant that the military would be called in. And to complete the three strikes, they actually shot a hostage, and thus High Command had called her in.
Amanda confirmed her location as her preplanned entry point, hooked her fingers into the maintenance hatch's handle, and waited patiently. The superimposed thermal view on her visor showed a warm body moving towards her section of the ventilation shaft, and she smiled. She was one of the more unique operatives, not just in her batch, but the entire unit. Her marksmanship was distinctively bad among her peers, even if it would still be considered excellent compared to the rest of the Defense Force. She shone, however, in athleticism and close quarter combat so much that she was considered a specialist within a specialist unit.
The figure passed directly below her, and she murmured a quiet "Mark" to start a sixty-seconds timer display at the side of her visor.
The hatch was pulled open as she dropped down on the unsuspecting man, her hands reaching out and twisting his head with such speed that the robber's neck broke before her feet landed on the ground. There were only six of them in total, and thus they had probably decided to have patrols close to the main hall where the hostages were kept. It was sound logic, but it also gave her a larger window of opportunity to work with.
She took three powerful strides, accelerating to her maximum speed. Having being picked out by military scouts when she was young, her education was supplemented by intense physical training, and the extend therapy all citizens of major star nations got meant that she had even more time to hone her muscles. The nanofibres of her body suit further enhanced her muscle output, causing one Amanda Williams to move at a speed of approximately twenty-five meters per second. She reached the hall in barely a second, and drew both hypertitanium swords out from the sheathes on her back, zeroing on the nearest man highlighted on her visor display. Even without the aid of the advanced software electronic suite, the energy rifle in his hands was a clear indication that he was one of her targets.
The average human reaction time was two hundred milliseconds. The man was talking to a fellow accomplice, and it took him an extra half a second to notice the black figure charging at him. In that half a second, she had travelled nearly three-fifth of the distance between him and the corridor she entered from. By the time he had recognised her as a threat, she was almost onto him. His arms were just about to lift his weapon up when a blade severed his head from his shoulders, as his body began to collapse.
His companion fared no better, as the other sword cut across his upper torso within the same swing, the flechette launcher sliced into two as well. Three more. Amanda utilised the momentum of her weapon swing to turn towards the next target, a pair of them standing guard across the main hall at the other corridor entrance.
She accelerated to full speed once more before the first corpse had even hit the ground, and the screaming of the hostages alerted the other two men to her presence. They brought their weapons to bear, but she was just too fast. In that hundreds of milliseconds for them to pull their triggers, she had already moved a little over four meters from the position they had aimed at. They noticed their mistake too late, and by the time they adjusted their aim, she had cut them both down.
Not stopping, she turned into the corridor, and flung a sword at the last man. High Command wanted at least one survivor for questioning, so she had to adjust her aim. The blade bisected the man's right forearm at a speed just above one-fifth that of sound, and the stunned gunman dropped to the ground, clutching his arm in pain.
"Hostiles neutralised, medical attention required for injured prisoner," she spoke into her comm, nodding with satisfaction as she eyed the timer. It still had forty-nine seconds to go.
