The following evening, as the polluted twilight of District 7 bled into a deeper, more ominous night, The Crimson Coil prepared for its first operation. The mood in the warehouse was tense, a mixture of nervous energy and focused determination. Kai, Roric, Shift, Breaker, and Zip were gathered around a makeshift planning table – a large, scarred plasteel sheet laid over stacked crates, displaying a crude, hand-drawn map of the Greywash sector and the approaches to Sub-Station Epsilon.
Kai, despite the crimson and shadow jacket lending him an air of authority, felt the familiar knot of anxiety. His Anima Core Stability was at 70%. He'd completed his Daily Quest – "Urban Stealth Practice," which involved navigating a crowded market sector without drawing attention or making physical contact, rewarding him with +30 EXP and a "Sensory Dampener (Minor)" consumable that supposedly reduced sensory overload for a short period. He now had 8 undistributed attribute points and 1 skill point, still held in reserve.
"Alright," Kai began, his voice low and steady, addressing his new team. "Shift, you're up first. Roric has confirmed there are some old, unsecured public data conduits running near the perimeter of the Greywash. They're mostly static and noise, but the Rust Phantoms might be using scavenged comms that leak onto those frequencies. Approach with Breaker as your close support. Get as near as you safely can. We need any hint of their numbers, routines, or internal chatter. Prioritize your safety; if it feels too hot, pull back immediately. Your Anima's range is limited, so don't overextend."
Shift, her Phase Spider Anima causing faint, almost invisible light patterns to trace the cybernetic filaments near her temples, gave a curt nod. "Understood. Passive listening, minimal digital footprint. Breaker, stick to the shadows and watch my six."
Breaker, a silent monolith, simply nodded, his Gorgon Anima giving his presence a weighty stillness.
As Shift and Breaker departed into the urban gloom, Roric turned to Zip. "Your turn will come once Shift establishes if there's anything to hear. If their comms are dead or too encrypted for a quick passive scan, your visual recon becomes even more critical. Remember Kai's instructions: short, sharp bursts. Multiple angles if possible. We need to know what we're flying into."
Zip, practically vibrating, gave a thumbs-up, his multifaceted Dragonfly eyes catching the dim warehouse light. "Ready to buzz 'em, boss!"
Hours passed. Kai and Roric waited in the tense silence of the warehouse, broken only by the distant city hum and the occasional System notification for Kai, mostly irrelevant environmental scans. Kai found himself pacing, the responsibility for his team's safety a heavy burden.
Finally, Shift and Breaker returned. Shift looked drained, the light patterns around her temples dull. "Well?" Kai asked immediately.
"The public conduits are a mess, mostly static and corrupted data ghosts," Shift reported, her voice tired. "But I picked up intermittent, extremely low-power, unencrypted voice comms from within Epsilon's presumed perimeter. Very localized, probably using scavenged short-range handsets. Bad discipline. I couldn't get a clear count, but it was definitely more than a dozen distinct voices over a thirty-minute listening window. Mostly disorganized chatter – complaints about rations, boasts about minor scores, arguments. No mention of leadership structure or advanced defenses. They sound like typical Scavenger rabble, but there are enough of them to be a problem if they're all armed."
"Any mention of MODs among them?" Roric inquired.
Shift shook her head. "None that I could discern. Their concerns were… mundane. Survival, petty squabbles." The System pinged Kai: [Intel Acquired (Shift – Phase Spider Anima): Rust Phantoms – Estimated 15-25 individuals, low-grade weaponry, poor discipline, no confirmed MOD presence. Recon successful]
"Good work, Shift," Kai said, a measure of relief easing the tension in his shoulders. "That's a start. Zip, you're up. Based on Shift's report, they're numerous but disorganized. We need visual confirmation. Stick to the plan: quick glimpses, multiple approaches if you can manage without burning out your Anima. Breaker, go with him. Overwatch. If anything looks even slightly off, you both pull back immediately."
Zip, now accompanied by Breaker, was gone in a flash of barely contained energy. The wait this time was even more nerve-wracking for Kai. Zip's Dragonfly Anima was built for speed, but also for fragility.
Another hour crawled by before they returned. Zip was sweating and panting, his usual manic energy visibly depleted, but his eyes were bright with a mixture of adrenaline and success. Breaker was, as always, an impassive rock.
"Okay, boss, okay!" Zip gasped, leaning against a crate. "Place is a fortress, but a crumbling one. Saw at least twenty, maybe twenty-five Phantoms, mostly milling about in a central courtyard area. Lots of scrap metal barricades, but they look… sloppy. Main entrance is a mess of debris, probably a death trap. Found three, maybe four, less obvious potential entry points – a collapsed maintenance tunnel on the west side, a rusted-out ventilation shaft on the roof, and a ground-level breach in the southern wall that's poorly covered."
He took a deep breath. "They've got some projectile weapons – rusty autoguns, a few hunting rifles. Mostly melee stuff, pipes and blades. Saw no obvious signs of heavy MODs. One guy looked bigger than the others, maybe their alpha dog, but nothing like… you know… Crusher." He shuddered slightly at the memory. "My Anima held up for four quick bursts. Fifth one would have had me seeing double for a week." The System updated Kai: [Intel Acquired (Zip – Dragonfly Anima): Rust Phantoms – Approx. 20-25 hostiles confirmed. Basic projectile/melee weaponry. Multiple potential infiltration points identified. Recon successful. Conduit Anima (Zip): Near burnout threshold.]
Kai looked at Roric, then back at his team. Shift was already cross-referencing Zip's visual report with her comms intercepts on a data-slate. Breaker was quietly observing, his gaze thoughtful.
"Good work, all of you," Kai said, and he meant it. They had operated within their D-Grade Anima limitations, pushed themselves, and delivered valuable intelligence without casualties. It was a small victory, but a crucial one. "You've given us what we need to start forming a proper plan of attack."
Roric nodded in agreement, a rare hint of approval in his eyes. "Indeed. The Rust Phantoms are numerous, but they sound like a house of cards waiting for a firm push. Sub-Station Epsilon is within our grasp."
The first mission of The Crimson Coil was well underway. The whispers from Epsilon had been heard, and now it was time to decide how to answer them.