Chapter 4: Infiltration (choice)

Chapter 4: Infiltration (choice)

The bus rattled over cracked pavement, swaying as it pulled to a stop at a checkpoint outside the city. Lucifel sat quietly, absorbing the conversations around her while maintaining her Ghamorran disguise.

"...can't believe we made it to Korchusk," whispered a woman clutching an infant to her chest. "My sister's apartment is in the northern district—if it's still standing."

"Korchusk," Lucifel repeated silently, committing the name to memory.

Beyond the bus windows, military personnel swarmed the checkpoint. Armored vehicles formed a perimeter while soldiers directed refugee traffic. What caught Lucifel's attention were the mechs: squat, primitive-looking machines with chunky armor plating and oversized joints. They wielded simple ballistic rifles and shields, patrolling with lumbering steps that betrayed their outdated hydraulics.

Lucifel suppressed a smile. These primitive constructs would crumble like paper dolls against her Revelation. One sweep of its helic sword would cut through an entire battalion.

"Okay, go ahead," a voice called out, and the bus lurched forward, passing through the checkpoint with minimal scrutiny.

Korchusk sprawled before them, a metropolis shrouded in darkness. Only emergency generators powered scattered lights throughout the city. Crews in high-visibility vests worked at intersections, while citizens gathered in small clusters on street corners.

"We did it! We escaped those genocidal bastards!" A man pumped his fist in the air as they passed a celebrating group.

Others weren't celebrating. Lucifel observed families huddled together, faces etched with worry as they whispered among themselves. "What happens when the food runs out?" "Where will we all live?" "What if they follow us here?"

If only they knew, Lucifel thought. I'm already here.

The bus finally stopped at what appeared to be a massive sports stadium, its towering lights dark against the sky. Makeshift tents dotted the field inside, visible through the entrance tunnels.

"All refugees disembark for processing!" A soldier's voice boomed through a megaphone. "Have identification ready! Medical cases to the left, families with children to the right!"

Lucifel stood with the others, calculating her escape. As passengers shuffled toward the exit, she slipped toward the side door, only to be spotted by a soldier with tired eyes and a day's worth of stubble.

"Hey! Back in line!" he barked, gesturing with his rifle.

Lucifel adopted a meek expression. "I need to use the toilet. Please, it's urgent." She crossed her legs slightly for effect.

The soldier's face tightened with annoyance. "Fine. Restrooms are that way." He pointed to a concrete structure nearby. "Make it quick."

The restroom reeked of disinfectant barely masking worse odors. Lucifel waited patiently in a stall until the last refugee washed her hands and left. Alone, she closed her eyes and concentrated, activating her Halo.

Golden light flickered around her edges before bending, rendering her nearly (but not completely) invisible. A slight distortion, like heat rising from pavement, marked her presence. The limitation of her Nephelim biology was frustrating; higher-order Angels could achieve perfect invisibility, but she had to work with what she had.

Lucifel eased the door open, surveying the area. The soldiers were occupied with processing hundreds of refugees, their eyes glazed with exhaustion. Perfect conditions for infiltration.

She moved carefully, maintaining distance from any personnel. A guard looked directly at her location once, blinked, and turned away, attributing the shimmer to fatigue.

Slipping past the final checkpoint, Lucifel entered Korchusk proper. She navigated through side streets until she found an abandoned alleyway, then deactivated her Halo. The golden light receded, and she became fully corporeal once more.

Korchusk lay before her: vulnerable, chaotic, and completely unaware of the angel of death now walking its streets.

[Lucifel needs to complete her mission, which is to destroy the Ghamorrans in any way she can. What should she do in order to pursue this agenda?

• The Ghamorrans need to be shown terror. She needs to display a grand show of death and destruction that will keep the enemy terrified and in fear. She should destroy this city and everyone in it. Breaking into the city's power plant and causing the reactors to meltdown should do it.

• How did the Ghamorrans transport their entire planet to another galaxy or dimension? She needs to find that machine and destroy it lest they use it to escape again. First, she needs to break into the secure military intranet via one of their computers. One of those command vehicles should do. She'll need to take out the guards, then use her Halo to hack into their systems. Then all she needs to do is find the location of the mysterious device, then destroy it with her Battle Mantle.

• She must remain patient. The destruction of Ghamorr will take a long time to accomplish while alone. She needs to lay low and gather as much intelligence and information as she can. Perhaps she can even find a way of contacting the Genocide Fleet and inform them of the situation. All it would take is time.]