Private Edge of the Abyss

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

Mistral stepped on the boat and looked at the other two with a bow of his head as he spoke. "We have no idea what is out there but we can make it work... hopefully. Worse case scenario I can be a little more useful and shoot a few people." He said it more as a joke as the twi'lek looked at him and nodded with her head. The seat opening up with a small remote and showing a bunch of guns. "We'll have what we need for that." She said it but the boat was heading out as a map came up and a security bubble formed around the area of the boat. "So where are we headed?" She asked it as Mistral gave a nod of his head and showed the island that had started it all.

"Here is where we'll investigate first, since they seem to have come in a small force hopefully there won't be a lot of them on the island and Kono will keep them busy." He said it and hoped it worked while he was checking the weapons and they had the destination. Aya looked at it as she spoke. "Well it isn't the dark waters but it isn't a place we like to go. Gun runners and contraband like to avoid the larger islands." She smirked though setting the course as the shark woman came over and looked at it. "There are caves under the island, if I was setting anything up I would use them. I would also avoid places that far off the fishing lanes. It screams suspicious."

That got a small laugh though when she was looking at it all and Mistral spoke. "WHen I approached it was from the south and I snuck to the cliff face... that was about as far as I got before encountering people. I was only able to observe instead of being able to get close enough to listen or do better recon."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stepped fully onto the deck after Mistral, the subtle hum of the security bubble settling around them like a held breath. She didn't go for the weapons immediately. Instead, she studied the holo-map as it stabilized, eyes tracking the island's contours, the caves, the blind approaches—already overlaying probability and movement in her head.

When Mistral finished, she nodded once, thoughtful rather than reassuring.

"That fits," she said quietly. "Small force, temporary footprint, enough presence to control access but not enough to hold ground if they're challenged directly."

Her gaze shifted to the cave markers, lingering there.

"If they're using the island as a relay point instead of a base, the caves make sense. Easy concealment, quick extraction, and plausible deniability if something goes wrong."

She glanced briefly at the shark woman, acknowledging the insight with a faint tilt of her head, then back to Aya at the controls.

"Avoiding fishing lanes means fewer witnesses, but it also means fewer excuses for being there," Ana continued. "Anyone we see will be intentional. No tourists. No accidents."

Her attention returned to Mistral, expression steady. "Coming from the south again won't work. They'll be watching that approach now, even if it's only out of habit." A brief pause. "We should come in quietly, from an angle that looks inconvenient rather than clever." She rested one hand lightly on the edge of the console, feeling the vibration of the engines beneath her palm. "We observe first. Confirm numbers, routes, and timing. No engagement unless we're forced."

Then, softer—dry enough to match his earlier humor without undercutting the seriousness: "If it turns into shooting, we'll treat that as a failure state, but we'll survive it." Her eyes lifted to the map once more, already moving ahead of the boat as it cut into the darkening water.

"Let's see what they're hiding."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod, Ana was direct and analytical which did help in the situation where he stood. Aya looked at them and shrugged as she could make the movement and went towards the wheel of the ship as they were casting off. Something different when the repulsors lessened... dropping gently the boat into the water itself with a spray going behind them as they moved. He was noting it also drastically cut down on the engines usage and their heat being produces. THe spray being cooler waters to further obscure it as well as cool down based on the steam he was seeing hiss upwards. Aya was setting the course as the twi'lek nodded with small adjustments but they were heading on and the shark woman spoke.

"The caves, will be easier for me to check that whole air thing makes you incredibly unstealthy." She said it while pulling a fish from a container and held it as she was eating. Aya turning back to look at her. "And I imagine that if the selkath are there you'd be able to warn from ambushes as well?" She said it as a question with a raised eyebrow as the shark spoke. "Well most of them, haven't had a beta selkath, though their snouts remind me of gungans minus the tongues. I'll make it work." She laughed to herself though while sitting there with the fish as Mistral looked at Ana with a breath. "We'll make it work, I've survive this long at least and like living."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana listened without interrupting, her attention split between the low thrum of the engines, the shifting spray behind them, and the quiet competence with which Aya handled the vessel. When Mistral finally looked to her and spoke, she met his glance easily.

"You're still here because you plan," she said, calm and even. "Not because you're lucky."

Her eyes flicked briefly to the shark woman as she spoke about the caves, then back to the holo-map, already adjusting her internal picture of how this would unfold.

"Caves give us options," Ana continued. "Entry points, fallback routes, and places to listen before we're seen. If you can scout ahead underwater, that gives us warning instead of surprises."

A pause—then a slight, almost wry shift in her tone.

"And if Selkath are involved, knowing they're there before they know about us is the difference between observation and a firefight."

She turned more fully toward Mistral now, not dismissing his humor, but grounding it.

"We keep this clean. We watch. We learn. We leave before they realize they've been noticed."

Then, quieter, but firm:

"I don't intend for this to be the night any of us stops liking being alive."

Her gaze settled forward again, out over the darkening water, posture steady as the boat carried them toward whatever waited ahead.

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

There were nods of agreement all around, interest in what they had as the skies continued to darken and Mistral went towards a seat. The waters going from open to showing rocks in some areas that they moved around, the waves moving morre and more as the ship went darker. The lights going away and there was an overlay to the screen that was protecting from the waves. The low light amplification letting them be able to see the rocks when Mistral was sstanding there. Interest in a few of the rocks as he showed where a dock was and they were moving around towards another area. The rocks being able to conceal them on two sides and Aya looked at it as she spoke.

"Alright, we'll be here, it offers the best approach for getting away but be smart about it." Mistral looked at her and gave a nod of his head. He looked towards the cliffs and got a cord that they were using as the sharrk woman was stripped down. Her form on the back of the boat before she was leaping in. THe twi'lek offered him a weapon as he slid it into a holster with a nod of his head. "It will be fine, they sent nearly twenty guys to one place... if they had more then that it would be more then obvious right?" He said it mainly to himself over them as he started to climb and set the anchors in the rock going up. Reinforcing it in his mind that there wasn't a massive army waiting for them.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana watched the shoreline resolve out of the darkness with quiet focus, the low-light overlay painting the rocks in muted contrast as Aya brought the boat into position. The shift from open water to jagged cover registered immediately in her posture; this was the kind of terrain where mistakes echoed.

When Aya spoke, Ana inclined her head in agreement, eyes never leaving the cliffs.

"This approach buys us time," she said evenly. "Cover on two sides, water masking our signature, and a clean withdrawal path if we need it. You chose well."

She glanced briefly toward the shark woman as she stripped down and launched herself into the water, the splash swallowed almost instantly by the waves.

"Scout first, then signal," Ana added, more for confirmation than instruction. "If the caves are active, we don't rush them."

As Mistral took the weapon and started securing the line, Ana stepped closer to the rock face, one hand resting lightly against the stone as if measuring its texture and incline. She didn't challenge his assumption aloud, but her voice carried a tempered caution.

"Twenty sent to one location means confidence," she said quietly. "Either they believe the rest are unnecessary…or they believe this place protects them."

She looked up toward the darkened cliffs, expression composed but intent.

"We proceed as if we're being underestimated," Ana continued. "That's when people make mistakes."

Then, softer—grounding rather than ominous:

"Anchors first. Observations second. We don't confirm their assumptions for them."

With that, she shifted her weight, ready to follow once the line was set, the darkness ahead no longer empty—but mapped, measured, and waiting.

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod to that as he started to climb and was taking it slowly. He had faced worse situations... didn't mean he wanted to face more of them. He was not as young or agile as he used to be and this horde wasn't trying to eat him.... His hands stayed up as he set the anchor prepared for anything. Comlinks were on and in his ears when the sounds of the water was all around. The higher up on the cliff he started running his hands into groves to anchor himself for the moment to set more. He looked back only to expose his hands to the air and dry them before switching and he kept going. THe rope ready in case and Ana was showing her skills as an operator.

"Almost to the top." He said it as he found the edge and held himself there for a moment. Finding a place to grip so he would be able to pull himself up and look over. He didn't see anything for the moment and moved himself up slowly where he kept as little disturbed as he could. Holding himself prepared and at the ready for anything... and then he went over the edge and brought a boot up when he pulled the rest of himself up. Eye scanning the area but he moved into a crouch. He secured the rope with an anchor point and then two more for security and safety. His eyes going over the rocks while he was searching and there were buildings in the distance.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana waited until the rope went taut and steady before moving, giving him the space to finish his work without pressure. She listened to his breathing through the comlink, the subtle shifts that told her more than words ever did—pace controlled, movements deliberate, no spike of alarm yet.

When his voice came through—Almost to the top—she exhaled once, slow and measured.

"I've got you," she replied quietly, more reassurance than instruction. "Take your time. Nothing up there is worth rushing blind."

She began her ascent only after his anchors were set, hands finding purchase with practiced economy. Ana climbed differently than he did—not faster, not slower, but cleaner. Every movement had intent. Where he tested for strength, she tested for silence, choosing holds that wouldn't betray them with loose stone or scraped metal.

When she reached the lip, she paused just below the edge, listening. Wind. Distant surf. No voices yet.

Only then did she rise beside him into a low crouch, her presence almost ghostlike as she settled in close enough to share cover without crowding. Her eyes followed his line of sight toward the distant structures, cataloging angles, distances, and shadows.

"I see them," she murmured. "Sparse layout. Temporary construction, not permanent housing. Whoever's here didn't plan to stay long—or didn't think they'd need to."

Her gaze tracked the terrain between them and the buildings, noting the natural funnels, the dead ground, the places where sound would carry wrong.

"No perimeter lights," she continued, voice low and steady. "That suggests confidence, not carelessness. They're relying on isolation more than security."

She shifted slightly, one knee braced, weight balanced and ready.

"Good anchors," Ana added after a beat, quieter still. "If we need to leave fast, we can."

Her eyes never left the compound as she finished, already mapping routes in and out.

"Let's watch first. See who moves, and who doesn't."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He stayed there and watched what was happening for the moment. Noting more of the island area with the buildings and in the dark it wasn't as easy but the lights painted a brighter glow and emphasized areas. He was seeing two guards moving as he looked towards the armor taking in smaller patterns to it. "Those are haphazard, either they stole it or have been repairing. THeir weapons look military but the belts have extra power cells which tells me either two things. They are lower grade and expend the energy quickly for powerful shots or they expect to be in sustained fire fights. Their knives are grooved for the specific hand though."

He was moving now and went quietly not rising up but spider walking with his fingers on the stone and dirt. He moved more into a shadowed area and rose up hugging the wall as his hand went to his belt. Slipping a dagger out for a moment he twirled it between his fingers... mentally calculating the distance and what he needed. Then he peaked and grabbed a second one for a moment... sliding his fingers to divide the blades when he came out. Standing for a moment before he pulled back and he let them loose, the blade pointed but spinning end over end mid way through with more of a skilled throw. The pommels striking the heads of the two as he was running forward.

His foot steps were quick and practiced, muffled when he caught them and went to the side with the sound of scraping but they were alive and he started searching them for two things. The first being restraints which slave binders would have to do and the second as he finished stripping them of equipment, comlinks and anything useful. He went to their outfits and pulled sections off to tear and stuff in their mouths. Muffling for when they woke up... and then their hands and legs were further restrained. He was making sure they couldn't be seen or heard but he waasn't going to kill them unless he had to as he retrieved his blades and slid them back into his belt.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stayed where she was, pressed low against the rock, eyes tracking everything he saw and several things he didn't need to say out loud. The way the guards moved—the pauses between their steps. The uneven rhythm spoke of boredom more than discipline.

She didn't interrupt while he catalogued them. She trusted his reading.

When he slipped into motion, she adjusted without a word, angling herself to cover his blind side, attention split between the compound and the approach vector they'd just used. Her breathing stayed even as the blades left his hands.

Impact. Collapse. Silence.

Only once the bodies were secured did she move, closing the distance with quiet efficiency. She crouched beside one of the guards as he finished binding them, eyes scanning the equipment he'd stripped away, fingers hovering just long enough to confirm his conclusions.

"You were right," she murmured, examining a power cell before setting it aside. "Modified civilian stock. Overdrawn capacitors. They're compensating for poor quality with excess supply."

Her gaze lifted toward the compound again, recalculating.

"Which means they don't expect reinforcements quickly," she continued, quieter now. "Or they expect to burn through opposition fast and loud."

She glanced back at him briefly—not questioning, not impressed, just acknowledging the clean execution.

"Good call leaving them breathing," Ana added. "If people start going missing, camps tighten up. This way, they wake up confused, embarrassed, and late."

She rose slightly, shifting her weight to peer past the wall toward the nearest structure, mapping shadows and angles with practiced ease.

"We've bought ourselves a window," she said. "Short, but useful."

Her eyes flicked once toward the bound guards, then back to the path ahead.

"Let's use their absence to see what they're protecting, and why they thought two guards were enough."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod of his head while they were going. One comlink from them going to his ear as he listened but he was pointing over to the alcoves and shadowed paths while securing the door itself to where they were for additional security measures in it. He was moving and the buildings were prefab set ups, he had seen them on hundreds of worlds and it meant cheaper to get, easy to set up and most importantly they had standard equipment within. He was moving towards the back and stopped as his blade came out and popped a panel from the back of the building. The controls within set up as he stripped a wire, cut it and then wrapped it onto another.

The window opening as he spoke motioning with his head. "Inside three meters to the right, there will be a bank of monitors and computers. They aare made to be automated communications and systems, They might get to set their own passwords and security codes but the system is standard. Do a feedback loop for the audio over the headsets and tie it to a datapad if it is there." He was assuming she could but he knew how it was just easier to lift her through a window. "We can check in with their voices and as we take out patrols spoof theirs... also will give us a clear idea of patrol numbers." There was also the chance for discovery or making it so outside communications were routed to them.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana followed his movements without crowding him, slipping into position as naturally as a shadow finding its source. When he popped the panel and exposed the wiring, she leaned in just enough to see the configuration, committing it to memory in a single glance. Prefab systems really were comforting in their predictability.

She nodded once as he outlined the setup, already pulling a slim datapad from inside her coat. The screen flickered to life, its interface muted and darkened to avoid throwing light.

"Standard comm-relay spine," she said quietly, fingers already moving. "You're right—same architecture they use for mining camps and forward depots. Whoever set this up was optimizing for speed, not resilience."

She slid closer to the window, careful not to silhouette herself, and keyed the pad to handshake with the exposed line he'd rerouted. A soft vibration confirmed the link.

"I'll loop their audio through a local buffer and mirror it here," Ana continued, voice calm and assured. "Latency should be negligible. If they're using headset IDs instead of biometrics, I can ghost our signals right over theirs."

Her eyes flicked up to him briefly, an unspoken check-in, not for permission but alignment, before returning to the screen.

"Once we're in," she added, "I'll tag every active channel and map response times. That'll give us patrol density, overlap gaps, and how fast they escalate when something goes wrong."

A faint, almost wry curve touched her mouth as the first data packets began to scroll.

"And if they try to call for help?" She finished softly. "Those calls will come to us first."

She shifted her weight, ready to move through the window when he was.

"Lead. I'll make their systems lie for us."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

She was good and he moved maintaining a cover and protection as he gave a nod when she was speaking. His eyes tracking and scanning for any signs. Before he was moving as she had everything set up. "That will be a bigger help." He was moving quickly in the shadows but not altering his confidence level. He wasn't going to rush it and alert them even if they had a delay or even block to it. If they fired off shots it would aat the least alert eaach other guard even if they were saying the situation was normal. He was moving as he scanned but was checking each building they came across for two things. Information and in case there was someone within that they might miss.

He was checking out more of it while he went in and stopped... not in surprise... well kind of as he looked over areas of it. "These people need a secretary... or a droid at least a droid to clean up." He said it and was looking over the mess that was charts, datapads, information and food, half eaten, on plates and cups. The man was disgusted but he wasn't looking to move what he didn't have to while he was going over the screens. Slipping a small blade out so move things to the side. "I ah... I don't even know if I would recommend touching anything in here without protection." He said it as the comlink buzzed. "There were four in the tunnels, now there might be one if you put it all together."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stepped in behind him, careful where she placed her boots, eyes flicking once over the chaos before settling into something calmer and sharper. The mess didn't bother her the way it bothered him—not because she liked it, but because disorder always told a story.

She angled her datapad toward one of the cluttered surfaces without touching it, sweeping a low-power scan across the nearest pile of abandoned gear. Her expression stayed composed, but there was a quiet note of agreement in the way she exhaled.

"You're not wrong," she murmured, voice pitched low enough to stay between them. "This isn't just sloppiness. It's people who don't expect to be here long, or don't expect anyone else to get close enough to care."

She shifted slightly, adjusting the feed on her datapad as new data rolled in from the comm loop she'd established. Patrol chatter, clipped and routine, threaded together into something more revealing now that it was stripped of distance and delay.

"I'm pulling identifiers off the active channels now," she continued, glancing toward the screens he was examining. "They're recycling call signs and rotating watch patterns unevenly. That tells me they're compensating for missing people rather than running a clean schedule."

At the update about the tunnels, her eyes lifted to him, focused—not alarmed.

"Four reduced to one means either they've already consolidated," she said evenly, "or someone didn't report in when they should have. Either way, the system's starting to lie to itself."

She stepped closer to one of the terminals, still not touching, using the datapad to bridge instead. Lines of code ghosted across her screen as she overlaid live audio with positional estimates.

"I can keep feeding them 'normal' status pings for now," Ana added, tone steady. "But the longer we stay, the more likely someone notices the pattern drift. We've bought ourselves time—not silence."

A brief pause, then a faint, knowing tilt of her head toward the cluttered room.

"So let's take what we need and move before this place remembers it's supposed to be guarded."

She looked back at him, already aligned, already ready.

"You clear. I'll listen."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod of his head, he wasn't entirely sure what he was looking for information wise but he would hopefully know it. "Never enough time." He was looking around so that he could see more parts of it as he moved around but was looking over the visible information. He was not checking it all just for the key words or coordinates that they would be able to use, his blade out to flip a few things he stopped as he looked over manifests. "Might have something." He smirked a little to himself when he held it and checked for anything nasty. Going over the information and not making a show of it but he spoke.

"You can do a lot of things I have learned but the most important and reliable place is payroll. Even mercenaries like to be paid and their equipment." He said it while going over the ships that they were renting and bringing out for all to see. Checking on parts of it though was giving him a better idea of what they bought and how much. At least if they wanted to try and not have it come out of their own pocket. "It ins't much but they are using a local dockyard to ship and shipping is controlled by the workers. Makes it a little easier as they have to handle bribes to them to not be bothered." He set it back while adjusting it so any disturbances would just look like a shifting of the mess but was moving.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana leaned in slightly as he spoke, her attention sharpening the moment he mentioned payroll. That did it—her expression shifted from broad situational awareness to something more intent, more precise.

"You're right," she said quietly, moving closer to the manifests without touching them, letting her datapad skim the data instead. "People lie, cover stories change, equipment gets rerouted. But credits?" A faint, knowing breath left her. "Credits leave trails. Always."

She pulled the shipping and payroll data together, overlaying it with the dockyard references he'd flagged. Names, dates, transaction windows—patterns began to align, imperfect but telling.

"A local dockyard means fixed hands, fixed routines," Ana continued, voice steady and thoughtful. "Bribes don't disappear; they stack. Someone there is either very comfortable or very nervous—and both talk eventually."

Her eyes flicked to him, a hint of approval there, unspoken but present.

"If they're renting ships instead of owning, it suggests short-term confidence," she added. "They don't plan to hold this position long, or they expect to move operations once pressure builds. That gives us leverage."

She carefully saved a compressed copy of the relevant data, masking the access so it would register as background system noise rather than intrusion. Then she straightened just enough to scan the room again, listening to the hum of distant movement through the comm feed.

"This dockyard is a pressure point," Ana concluded calmly. "Not today—but soon. Once we step back and let them think this place is still clean."

Her gaze settled on him again, aligned, resolute.

"Good find. That's enough to start pulling threads without tipping the whole weave."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He gave a nod. "My experience the people in control of the docks on a world like this can go a long way. Assuming they control the ports for shuttle and starships and cargo. They will usually take offense to anyone trying to step into their businesses." He was looking at it with a nod of his head while he was going for a moment. He paused as he was finishing it and something flashed, the computer activating a droid head that was set up there and being worked on. "Hmmm." He said it as a hologram was showing and it was small but he looked at it and turned the optical lens over to be rightside up. His eyes narrow. "This might be something... or someone pulling strings."

The form of an ebony-skinned woman stands with her back partially turned, her rich deep brown skin glistening under soft light, sculpted muscles rippling across her broad shoulders and down to a narrow waist that flares into powerful hips and thick, rounded glutes. Minimal golden chains drape elegantly across her bare back, connected by an ornate medallion at her neck, her platinum-blonde hair pulled into a sleek high ponytail that sways gently. She glances over her shoulder just as the form of a bronze-skinned woman with long, flowing raven-black hair approaches quickly, kneeling slightly on the warm stone edge beside a shimmering pool.

Dressed in a light, strapless beige dress that hugs her toned figure and reveals smooth, sun-kissed legs, the kneeling woman reaches out, her hands trembling as they grasp the other's arm, her dark eyes wide with fear. The large woman speaks as she seemed to change her stance looking more vulnerable. "Please... you have to listen." she whispers urgently, voice breaking with fear, her full lips quivering. "It happened so fast this morning, they ambushed me. A synox capsule... it's implanted in me now, they knew about us my love. THey knew that you have credits and a rich husband." She pauses, breath hitching, fingers tightening as she digs her nails into the strong oiled skin of her forearms.

"There's only one way to save me. Strangers are coming soon they're bringing a package, the only chance we will have to get off world and survive where no one knows us. You have to help them... protect them when they arrive. Please, I'm begging you it's my only chance." She said it and the woman kneeling seemed afraid as she was looking around in the hologram as it cut out. Mistral taking a moment to look at it as he tapped his chin with for a moment. "I don't buy her performance but as cons ago a confidence con is a good way. Give her some excitement, a little romance and then bam something happens you need to get your rich husbands credits to help me, you need to help these people to protect me so we can be together."

He said it with a look on his face as he was thinking about it.

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana stepped closer to the projection as it faded, her posture still but intent, eyes tracking the last ghosted afterimage as if it might reveal more if stared down long enough. She didn't react to the bodies, the intimacy, or the performance of vulnerability the way most people would. What caught her attention was timing. Framing. Choice of words.

"You're right not to buy it," she said quietly, folding her arms as her gaze returned to the terminal. "But it doesn't have to be convincing to be effective. It only has to align with what the target already fears."

She reached out, scrubbing back through the cached data fragments, isolating audio timestamps and metadata.

"Notice the structure," Ana continued, voice calm, analytical. "Immediate crisis. Artificial urgency. An external threat she can't solve alone. Then a narrowing of options until only one remains—and that option conveniently benefits a third party."

Her eyes flicked up to him briefly, then back to the screen.

"Synox capsule or not, the implant is a narrative device. It creates inevitability. No time to verify. No time to ask questions. Just act."

She straightened slightly, fingers tapping once against the edge of the console.

"And 'strangers bringing a package' is the tell," she added. "That's not romance—that's logistics bleeding through the lie. Whoever staged this wanted cooperation without scrutiny."

A pause. Thoughtful, not grim.

"Which means the real audience isn't the woman on her knees," Ana said. "It's the husband. The credits. The access. She's the lever, not the objective."

She looked at him again, expression steady but sharpened with clarity.

"If this recording exists here, it was meant to be referenced. Either as reassurance, leverage, or a reminder to stay compliant."

Her mouth curved faintly—not a smile, but recognition.

"This isn't just a con," she concluded. "It's a control mechanism. And it tells us whoever's pulling strings expects their assets to hesitate… and then obey."

Mistral

 

[Mistral]

Ana Rix

He looked at her for a moment. "Mpt om the real sense no but a con like that is a long game. Short ones would be an accident and pay me to be quiet. This was targeted, she had to get access, then trust aand then build hat. Which means months of prep even for most skilled ones." He made a copy of it but was moving now as everything went back into place and he didn't go to the door. Opening the window and checking as he slid out of it aand climbed up onto the roof. Mostly to move and leap to a higher rock outcropping quickly. "We found something." He spoke into the comlink. "There might be one stop before the Dark Waters."

He said it and there was a sigh. "Fine but get back here, Cassie returned and said they will notice the missing selkath soon enough or at least that there are more sharks coming in from all of the blood." Aya said it and Mistral gave aa nod of his head he knew she couldn't see but he was moving. "We also learned a few things about what might be going on... though I think we will need to be decontaminated now." That was more an internal chuckle while he was moving and staying in the shadows he was able to see a few more of the buildings but he motioned with a hand. "I don't know if it can be done but if we can set a timed explosive in their armory we could stall a few things if they don't have heavier weapons."

 

[Ana Rix]

Ana listened without interrupting, eyes following his movement across the rocks rather than the hologram he'd left behind. The rhythm of his reasoning matched her own: slow, deliberate, unwilling to jump to conclusions that felt satisfying but wrong.

When he finished, she nodded once, a small acknowledgment more than agreement.

"You're right," she said into the comlink, voice low and even. "That kind of access doesn't come from improvisation. It takes patience, proximity, and a willingness to disappear into someone else's life for months. That tells me whoever planned this values control over speed."

She shifted slightly, adjusting her position as she scanned the darkened compound below, mentally overlaying what they'd seen with what they hadn't.

"Which also means the Dark Waters may not be the origin point," she continued. "Just the end of a funnel. If there's an intermediate stop, it's where they consolidate money, people, and equipment before moving into a place no one wants to follow."

At his mention of decontamination, there was the faintest huff of agreement, dry and almost amused.

"I wouldn't argue with that assessment," she said. "This site is filthy in more ways than one."

She paused as he floated the idea of explosives, considering it carefully rather than rejecting it outright.

"A timed charge could work," Ana replied, thoughtful. "But only if it creates confusion without drawing attention back here. No signatures that point to outside involvement. No casualties unless unavoidable."

Her gaze narrowed slightly, calculating.

"If we do it, it should look like negligence or internal failure. A power fluctuation. Improper storage. Something mundane."

A brief pause followed.

"That buys us time, not victory," she added. "And time is what we need before stepping anywhere near the Dark Waters."

She glanced toward the extraction point, already aligning her movements with his.

"Let's get back to the boat," Ana concluded. "We have enough now to plan the next move, and enough exposure that staying longer only helps them."

Mistral