Varryance woke up to everyone already dressed, Vanesa shaking him awake rather harshly.
“Varry, wake up! You two morons should’ve woken him up in time!” Vanesa snapped with a growling tone.
Tanner let out a worried huff.“H-he was sleeping peacefully and well…” He hesitated, still pulling on his clothes.
“Huh… what?” Varryance muttered tiredly.
“We’ll skip breakfast it seems. Schedule is earlier than we expected today, we’ll run late.” Vanesa said, helping him up.
Varryance was barely awake.“Uhuh… yeah… sure…”
He stood up unsteadily and started dressing as fast as he could.
Troy and Tanner had left his supplier outfit hanging on the door handle before heading out.
“We’ll wait for you at the rig… I’d say take your time, but… we’re running out of it.” Vanesa said, holding his hand on the doorframe for a moment before leaving. Varryance didn’t even notice.
Varryance was tired, hungry, and confused as to why nobody had woken him earlier. Maybe everyone had the same issue… well, except Tanner and Troy clearly.
He stepped out of the room.
Mack was just leaving the outpost door, throwing a worried glance back before exiting.
Outside, the air vibrated with the rig’s exhaust, muffling every conversation nearby.
Varryance joined the group shortly after Mack left.
“We all ready?” Jax yelled out.
Isabel moved toward Varryance the moment he stepped outside. The sun hit hard, the heat from the day already unbearable.
“You okay?” Isabel asked gently, steadying him as he swayed slightly.
“Yeah… just woke up instantly and got dressed… didn’t even have time to piss…” He let out a small chuckle, joking despite how rough he felt.
“We can do this…” she said, hugging him briefly.
Felicia approached after their moment.
“Varryance… monitoring?” she asked softly.
Varryance nodded as she leaned in and activated it.
“Where… were you last night anyway?” he asked.
Her eyes widened slightly, embarrassed.
“…Not important.” she replied bluntly.
“It’s already active… alright, good luck you two.” she said, holding Isabel’s hands briefly before nodding at Varryance.
He only nodded back.
Felicia and Isabel moved to the back of the rig. Tanner was already in the passenger seat of the cockpit.
What was with everyone today? Varryance thought but quickly getting abrupted by Tanners loud yell.
“Varryance, let’s go, we’re late!” he shouted.
Varryance rushed toward the rig's cockpit.
IN THE TRAILER
The trailer was quiet as the rig began moving.
Troy and Celene worked at their computers. Kael was asleep, leaning on Vanesa’s shoulder. Felicia stared at the ceiling. Isabel sat with her knee pulled up.
“Troy, you gave the keypad unlocker to Varry?” Jax asked.
Troy answered without looking up.
“Tanner will hand him one.”
“Right… okay.”
“I am sorry but what the fuck is going on here?” Isabel suddenly spoke up.
Everyone except Celene turned to her.
“Sorry, what?” Vanesa asked.
Isabel’s gaze swept across them, landing on Felicia.
“You all look fucking shady today, especially around Varryance. What’s going on? I’m heading into certain fucking doom and nobody says a word. Not even a joke, nothing.”
Troy hesitated, then turned back to his screen.
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“Nothing’s wrong, Isa… we just all got woken up by SOMEONE who didn’t check the schedule properly.”
Felicia glanced at Jax.
“I am sorry, okay, I didn’t—” Jax started, but Celene cut him off.
“ENOUGH!”
She turned sharply toward everyone.
“It’s not Jax’s fault, it’s no one’s fault. Don’t start tearing each other apart when the Stormers and the government are right in front of us. We’re tired, we’re stressed, and yeah, things feel off—but we keep it together.”
She exhaled.
“Isabel is right. We’re acting pretty fucking shady today.”
Jax leaned back with a relieved huff.
“The fuck y’all yelling about… bunch of kids, bro…” Kael mumbled half-asleep, shifting his head off Vanesa’s shoulder.
A few small laughs broke the tension yet Jax leaned back into his seat again unamazed.
IN THE COCKPIT
Varryance looked out the window. Mack was driving, eyes locked straight ahead, while Tanner reached under the seat and handed him a device.
“Here… before I forget.”
Varryance took it. It was more advanced than the prototype, that much was clear. No exposed wiring anymore—now it looked like a bulky, reinforced smartphone.
“Thanks…” he said flatly, slipping it into his pocket.
He leaned back, squeezing it in place, then turned toward the window with a frustrated huff. Thoughts circled his head, mixed with a growing headache from the parasite.
Why is everyone acting shady today?Why wasn’t I woken up on time?Why does everyone look at me like that?
He ran through possibilities, but none of them led anywhere useful. It didn’t matter anyway.
They were already there:
Fort Marrow.
The rig slowed to a halt.
Mack stepped out of the cockpit while a Stormer began a search. Tanner worked his PDA, redirecting turret aim so they wouldn’t lock directly onto the vehicle—though they still tracked it.
Mack returned to the cockpit briefly while a guard circled the rig and approached the passenger side.
“You two. ID. Now.” said the Stormer.
Not one of Luci’s contacts. That alone set off something in Varryance’s head.
The Stormer’s voice, muffled through the PU's voice changer, sent a faint chill through him. For a second, he even forgot where he put his ID.
Tanner handed his over immediately, already focused on the PDA.
The Stormer exhaled sharply through irritation.
Eventually, Varryance found his ID and passed it over. The Stormer scanned it briefly, then handed it back.
“Arm supply. You were here yesterday, so you know the drill. Park where you did before.”
He stepped away, speaking into his radio.
“They’re here.”
The rig rolled forward again.
Varryance’s pulse spiked. The parasite’s influence already pressing in. He forced himself to stay steady.
Mack glanced over.
“Tanner, we’re hidden right?”
“Yeah, we’re all good.” Tanner replied.
Mack pressed the accelerator a bit more confidently, following the same route as yesterday until they reached the loading dock behind the building.
The rig stopped.
“Alright Varryance, this is your stop. Good luck.” Mack said, looking at him with quiet concern.
Varryance brushed it off, irritated, and stepped out of the cockpit.
Kael, Vanesa, Jax, and Isabel were already waiting outside.
“We do as planned,” Jax said, awfully confident and calm. “Kael, you and Isabel go through reception like before. Me, Vanesa, and Varryance take the roof entrance.”
Everyone nodded—except Varryance, who just followed.
“Good luck, all of you.” Kael said tiredly before heading off with Isabel into the loading bay.
Silas, disguised, was already waiting near the door.
Jax took point.
They moved into position near the building, waiting for a Stormer patrol to pass.
“Wait…” Jax muttered, scanning the area.
The patrol turned the corner.
“Now!”
Jax jumped first. A shockwave burst from his movement, pushing Varryance slightly back. Silent, but heavy enough to feel.
Jax grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up, Vanesa swiftly followed, with Jax helping her.
Then came Varryance.
His first attempt nearly failed—his grip slipped—but Jax and Vanesa hauled him up before he fell.
“Where the fuck is—” Varryance started, looking around as he got onto the roof with a huff.
No sharpshooters. Not where they were supposed to be.
“Shit… alright, we go without them. We’ll manage. Come on.” Jax ordered.
They moved toward the roof entrance.
The sun hit Varryance like a blade. Heat pressed down on him, sweat forming instantly, exhaustion stacking on exhaustion.
Higher up, wind picked up slightly—enough to give brief relief.
Jax peeked through the skylight.
Empty hallway below. Clean. Too clean, too easy.
But cameras were definitely there.
“Celene… can you give us a camera cooldown?” Jax said through the shared parasite link.
Varryance still wasn’t used to it. It made his headache worse.
“There’s one at the far end of the left hallway. Control room is in the center intersection, but it’s covered. Should I disable that one instead?” Celene responded.
“Yeah. We’ll rush it before anyone notices.” Jax replied.
“Done. Go, go!”
They dropped through the skylight.
Inside, everything changed.
Carpeted floors. Clean white walls. Paintings. Too controlled, too corporate.
Before Varryance could even process it, Vanesa grabbed him and pulled him forward.
A Stormer approached the skylight behind them.
“Vanesa, handle the camera. I’ll take the guard.” Varryance said through the parasite link, pain flaring as he spoke.
Vanesa moved immediately toward the wiring.
Jax rushed the control room door, using the keypad unlocker to speed it up.
Varryance waited behind the wall.
The Stormer turned, sensing something—but too late.
Varryance cut the comm wiring in the suit first.
Silence.
He moved in and snapped the guard’s neck before a sound could escape, holding the body steady so it wouldn’t hit the floor loudly. Then dragged it into the control room.
“Door’s cracked, come on!” Jax said.
Varryance dumped the corpse onto the control room floor where Jax slammed another Stormer into the console, breaking part of it before he could even react. Blood splattered across the keyboard.
The body slid off the chair.
Varryance locked the door.
Vanesa entered moments later near the controlpanel, a big screen covering almost an entire section of the wall with multiple folders, cameras and softwares.
“Guide me, Celene.”
No response.
Then—
Rotors.
A deep mechanical thrum outside, shaking the building. Varryance stepped to the window noticing a helicopter was landing, stormers moving to greet the pilots exiting, but he noticed on its side, clear lettering:
Institution of Anarchy Restraint Operations
“IARO...the fuck are they doing here?” Varryance said over comms.
A broken response came through Celene’s channel, distorted and muffled
“VA— so-me— o-e— ta-k—e, l-a-v-e..!"
Then—
The door exploded inward with gas canisters flooding the room. Varryance took the full blast head-on as he was closest to the door, Jax reacted instantly, dragging Vanesa and knocking her unconscious to get a gas mask onto her, then leaping through the broken window.
Stormers poured into the control room and Varryance staggered, coughing, vision fading as the gas hit hard the parasite tried to resist control—but failed due to the gas.