1.1 Salamander Base

Low Orbit. 

Obsidian Space Territory.

The black-painted satellite moved its lens unsuspectedly. Up, down, right, left, then again and again, at times in reverse order, and other times following other combinations. It moved as it received countless bytes of data in its silent corner of space. It, like many others, had been the intellectual and economic brain-child of the Obsidian Corporation, an investment of a bazillion units of energy—all to monitor their part of the world with precision. 

A sound investment, considering they controlled most of the metropolises in the northern sector of the world. The Obsidian Corporation, with its purple and black logo depicting a stone cracking the world, silver-armored security detail with violet light tones, and overall dubious and ominous upper echelon members,  had all the undertones of a malevolent organization pulling the strings behind the world. It was the reason, according to Sabermancer, that one of their bases would be the perfect choice to take and occupy.

Mek V thought of all this as he zoned the cyclopean satellite pass by the dusken sky, illuminated by an incandescent aurora that pierced through the sky like an ethereal ring. Unlike the one-eyed satellite that enjoyed a life of solitude, Mek V stood on an ample rock formation filled with violent waves. He was in the middle of the ocean and the cold breeze was harsh enough to pierce his perfectly sealed suit. 

Nothing seemed to be dedicated to his well-being.

Furthermore, he thought about what he was about to do, and he cringed. 

"Rami," said a voice through the comm, "Do you have a visual?"

"Yeah, all too well," Mek V answered, "this equipment does its job, to my dismay..."

"If you have a clear shot, then shoot the damn thing before we lose the window, I don't want to search for another target like this for the next few days while having Galen shout to me about not doing it faster."

"It's just..."

"What?"

"I mean this Power Ranger suit is really something and all, but why the hell do I have to shout like them before firing the laser? Why not just... fire it?"

"You forget it was you who designed Mek V the character, it's not my fault you were into Sentai back then, and it's not my fault you made most of your skills activated by voice."

Mek V hit his head against the solid cliffside, embarrassment taking over, "I'm cringing so much, the memories, man, the memories!"

"RAMI! SHOOT THE DAMN THING!" said another voice, disproportionately more aggressive than the first.

"Shut up, Galen!" yet another voice butted in.

"Shut up—You shut up, idiot!"

"Your rants and screams will deafen us all!"

"It's a telepathic link, you dumbass!"

"Rami, don't listen to them, will you do it?" said the first voice, keeping a surprisingly calm tone amid the conversation.

"Do I have a choice?"

"We stay homeless forever if you don't," interrupted yet another, different voice, "Could you please just do your thing so we can do ours?"

Mek V sighed, "All right, fine, just let's get this over with."

He took a dramatic pose as his hand aimed at the skies.

"Power up! Engage!" he yelled.

He could listen to his friends giggling and almost choking. Despite the miles of distance between them, that thing had made their psychic link intricately deep when "turned on", but its instant message input and output made it a necessity.

Mek V gritted his teeth, "ORBITAL ONE!"

A massive cannon the size of a school bus materialized right next to him, slamming the rock so hard it shattered as its supports rooted in the cracked stone. Conveniently, the trigger of such a massive weapon lay right within reach of his stretching hand. His visor homed in on the satellite, locking it with a digital triangle. The time had come.

"Mega Laser! BLAST!" he shouted.

The other voices burst into laughter as the cannon charged particles at the end of the barrel and fired a powerful beam that tore into the clouds a perfectly circular hole. The beam blasted rapidly across the sky until it disintegrated the satellite. 

"Sweet, I see no signs of the satellite anymore, you can switch it off now," said the last voice to speak.

"Thank you Dom, or should I say Partisan?"

"I don't know why I chose that name, I'll think of another once I have spare time."

Mek V released the trigger but realized the Orbital One gun would not go off. It was then that he noticed that it had an energy meter that had started with 100% energy storage, and it had barely depleted down to 99.80%.

"Eh, guys, the gun will not turn off."

"Stop pressing the trigger," said the first voice to appear.

"I tried that, Sabermancer, I think it has to release its whole energy storage before powering down."

"It sounds dumb when you call me like that," Sabermancer sulked, "I thought it sounded cool., or cooler than any of yours."

"Have at it, you were the one who took the longest in naming your character." Mek V said.

"Just leave it, I'm sure it will go empty soon enough," Partisan said.

"All right boys, lock in and charge! Omni Dan and I will be the first wave!"

"Omni Dan..." the respective voice said, "what was I thinking?"

"I think I'm okay with my King Shifter name, I'm more concerned I haven't tested my abilities well," King Shifter said, his voice ever aggressive and passionate.

"All right, as we discussed," Sabermancer said, "Omni Dan and King Shifter will lead the charge, and as the defenses are busy handling them, Partisan and I will deal with the inner defenses and kill the leadership so that they rout and leave the place. Mek V will provide cover from air support."

"I take it back, my name sucks like all of yours," King Shifter said, angry.

"Look at you, Ceb," Omni Dan said, teasingly, "Aren't you enjoying this a little bit too much?"

"If we want to one day get out of this world, we need to take it seriously," Sabermancer answered.

"Let's go already Omni Dan!" King Shifter shouted.

"I know! Let's just call me Omni, I'll call you King."

"Still sounds awkward, but yeah!"

********

Salamander Base, Obsidian Research Facility.

Dr. Xander Simula contemplated the water tank, lost in thought as a panel streaming vital signs beeped intermittently but not erratically enough to concern him. A teenager boasting silky long hair and a black matte lab coat read the vitals and compared them to previous notations.

"The subject continues to resist cognitive procedures," she said, her eyes locked on her small analysis routine, "I'm surprised she has maintained psychic cohesion despite the wards we placed around the tank."

"It just tells you how much of a treasure she is, Sonmi," Simula said with a grin, his tongue slithering his moles, "She'll eventually give in to my advances, and I'll savor being able to scan her irresistible Acheron brain, allowing us to finally bring this home project to an end."

Sonmi stopped tapping her pad and finally looked at her superior with concern. "Sir, aren't you afraid of the consequences?"

Simula eyed her briefly before gazing at the water-filled tank again. A woman's body ached and struggled against her scuffles and a head plate plugged directly to the computer, beaming intensely as it administered some sort of electromagnetic charge.

"I mean," Sonmi indulged herself, interpreting his gesture as permission to elaborate, "If the Chevaliers learn of what we're trying to do here, it will spell doom to Obsidian's attempts at world peace."

"Do you doubt me, Professor?" he said, finally looking at her, "Rather, do you think I can't handle this whole operation?"

Sonmi backed a bit, "No, no, not at all sir! But I mean, the nobility in the Acheron Empire will be looking for her, and if they were to poke into all the treasures we keep in this vault... We have one of the Corporations' most vital research on cloning and now a hostage noblewoman?"

Dr. Simula smiled at her remarks, his eyes rolling and snatching Somni's pad off her hands.

"You're naive, Somni," he said, "Do you think Obsidian Corporation has the brawn to take an Acheron noble from the Empire without sounding the alarm? Did you not wonder why the imperial houses remained disunited?"

Somni's eyes widened at the realization, "You don't mean the nobles..."

"Every family has a black sheep," Simula said, "There's two in mine, in fact, and the Acheron nobility is no exception, and all things dark are Obsidian's thing."  

"But to hand one of their own, such a house would..."

"Have received a great amount of money for her, you bet, but lucky for us, even Acheron pride has a countable price."

Before Somni could inquire further, a hand slammed on the interior of the tank, startling her and making Dr. Simula laugh. Somni noticed the girl in the tank moaned in pain, and her eyes twitched in apparent cries.

"I guess I said too much in front of our little subject," Dr. Simula giggled, his tongue slithering again. Somni always found that disgusting.

Dr. Simula eyed the vitals, and his eyes lit up in excitement, "Regardless, it seems that did the trick. Her vitals are slowing down and the wards are finally nullifying her potent psychic field, well done Somni!"  

Somni was suddenly feeling conflicted, as her eyes melted before the harsh display of tragedy on behalf of the girl. Simula noticed this, and he patted his subordinate on the head.

"Cheer up, professor, you're incredibly talented for someone your age, Obsidian will find good use of this girl as we have done with you!"

Somni showed a half-assed smirk to please the doctor.

A sudden beep interrupted their moment as a voice called over the room's speaker.

"Salamander Command to Dr. Simula!" the voice said, desperate.

The doctor proudly walked towards the comm, on the side of the tank, "Simula here,"

"Sir, we lost all long-range sensor capability and our arrays can't get a lock to the Corporation's satellite, we lost all contact with the broader Obsidian network."

Simula's grin disappeared, "What do you mean we are disconnected? Have you switched to analogs?"

"Yes sir, radar is working fine, but other than that we're blind and alone."

"It seems you jinxed it, Sonmi," he joked, before turning back to the comm" It'll be fine, signal Major Dahl to be on high alert on close-range sensor scans in case we get unwanted visits."

"U-unwanted visits?" the voice asked.

"Chevalier, Imperial Janissaries, Kaiju," he said in a frustrated burst, "Heck, if a horde of necromantic zombies from the Waste continent appear, I want them pulverized, you hear me?"

"R-roger!"

Dr. Simula relaxed his facial muscles and was about to return to his usual, collected self when the beep came again.

"Dr. Simula—"

"What now?" he said, picking up the comm again.

"We're under attack!"

His face of disbelief turned to surprise as a tremor shook the lab, he turned to the comm, "Who is it, Chevalier?"

"Negative sir!"

"Janissaries?"

Another tremor made him lose his footing and he fell face down, crushing his glasses. His eyes widened, "To be able to shake the ground down to the 100th level... who are these guys, are they using orbital guns?"

"The outer perimeter reports.... it's..." 

"Soldier!"

"T-two hostiles!"

"What?"

"It's two... hostiles, sir!"

Simula ran his hand through the hair, a vein started popping on his forehead as he felt an icy sweat cursing through his back, "Chevalier Paladins?"

"No sir, they are dressed strangely... they're something—"

The comm buzzed and it disconnected, making Dr. Simula curse. 

"You truly jinxed the hell out of it, Sonmi," he growled, looking at the teenage girl, "I should kill you where you stand if not for this whole mess I have to handle."

Somni had never seen her boss snap like that.

Another shaking shoved them to the sides, and Somni's hands and face slammed the water tank where the Acheron girl was. Their eyes locked, and the scientist girl noticed her patient's tired eyes and her malnourished body. 

Dr. Simula chuckled as his now crazed eyes darted towards the entrance panel, "You two can stare at each other as much as you want, I'm locking you girls in here, consider it a small punishment for jinxing this whole thing."

"What?" Somni said, noticing her superior crossing the lab's only exit, "You're not seriously thinking..."

"I'm locking all the experiments! Whoever these intruders are, If they think they can pillage all of this research, they have another thing coming!"

And with that, the door locked itself with heavy columns that crossed the gate horizontally and blast iron gates that only reinforced the concept of "locked".