Arem didn’t hesitate to voice his anxiety. “One of the High Councilmen will be there?” he panicked. Paz gestured to him to settle down, but it didn’t seem to do much. “It’s just a rumor, Two,” Paz tried to convince him, “Calm down.” Despite his best efforts, the frantic Arem went on, “What if it’s Khan?!”

            “Why would Khan be at such an insignificant little stronghold in god knows where?” Brick butted in, “In fact, why would anyone want to set up a facility in Canada?”

            “If I may,” called a smaller man in the corner, “an old adversary of the General did once set up a base in Antarctica some fifty years ago, and Canada is not nearly as unbearable as that.” Paz replied, “Four’s got a point. Just don’t think about it, it’ll ease the stress.”

            Their little discussion was cut short by the pilot, Red Six, calling down to the troop bay, “We’re coming up on the Montreal outpost!” Paz climbed his way up to the cockpit to get a good view of the facility. “Engaging cloaking device,” Six said as Paz entered the cockpit. The gunship then promptly vanished on the exterior. The cloaking was a success.

            The invisible transport glided toward the terrifying domed facility. Engaging its magnetic clamps, the vessel latched onto the dome. Back inside the cockpit, Six was pressing buttons and flipping levers left and right, engaging all the necessary systems. “Engaging hollower,” he continued, “Opening entry hatch.”

            The ship’s complex systems promptly opened a strange, rectangular portal on top of the dome. The entry hatch in troop bay then opened. Paz slid back down the ladder to find his men arming up. Brick grabbed his signature weapon, a large rotary cannon, whereas Four grabbed dual N-05-X2 energy pistols. Paz headed over to the armory and grabbed a traditional Realmwalker carbine. Approaching the exit, he reminded the group of the goal. “We head to the command center, we clear the room, grab Agent Johnson, and we get out,” he ordered, “Are we clear?” The group replied, “Yes sir!” Paz nodded in approval, before turning around and jumping through the portal.

            He landed with a thud in the gloomy, black and purple hallway. There were surprisingly no guards in this particular hall. Two, Three, Four, and Five quickly dropped behind him. With just a motion of his hand, he ordered them to follow him forward.

            After traversing several suspiciously empty halls, the group came across a window. Paz thought nothing of it, and simply continued forward. But Red Four paused. He peered into the large window, and behind it was a large room, and at its center, a terrifying circular device. “Sir,” he whispered, “permission to investigate?” Paz turned around and sighed angrily. “That’s not the mission, Four!” he muttered. “I know, but this could be important!” Four backfired. Paz sighed again. He knew Four was probably right, but he just wanted to get the job done and be on their way. “Fine,” he said, “but Five’s going with you. Two and Three, stick with me.” They nodded. Four and Five entered the strange room, while the other three continued on their intended route.

            Several more hallways later, Paz, Two, and Three located the command center. Making another hand gesture, Paz set a charge on the door. In just a matter of seconds, the door went flying off its hinges, into the command center. A tall, blonde man was at the center of the room. Paz knew for sure that he was looking at Agent Johnson. “Remember, we want him alive!” he exclaimed before opening fire. The engineers in the room were all armed, albeit with weaker weaponry. They returned fire, but were terribly outgunned.

            Paz set his weapon to stun, before firing upon Johnson directly. Johnson took several shots, before collapsing. He was unconscious, but still alive. Three used his rotary cannon to clear the rest of the room. After a few minutes of combat, they were seemingly in the clear. “Three!” Paz yelled, “Grab Johnson. We’ve got to go!” “Aye,” Three responded, whilst hoisting Johnson’s body over his shoulders. They promptly ran from the room, as alarms began blaring.

            As the room was cleared, a strange voice began speaking. “We’re in the clear,” said the seemingly disembodied voice. A terrifying, deep, mechanical voice replied to him, “You’ve done well, Doctor, but we’re no longer safe here.” The mechanical voice continued, “I need you to purge all files related to our little project. Then relocate the device and vaporize the outpost and everything and everyone in it. They cannot know about the weapon.”

            A small, older man materialized in the now empty control room. He had the same kind of cloaking tech as the transport!

The small man said, “As you wish… Lord Khan.”