The Unidentified part 2

Cooper held the metal gate open as Shion ducked under the doorway. Cooper was a young man of about 15 years, he had reddish brown hair that was wild and wavy despite its short length. His light green eyes were framed by dark eyebrows and freckled cheeks. He was so thin that most of the bones in his body would be visible if not for the thick blue jacket and kevlar vest which he currently wore. Hunger and emaciation was very common in the Rebellion since most of their food was gathered illegally or stolen from Nazi transports.Cooper slung his automatic rifle over his shoulder and secured the gate.

Shion spoke to him jokingly with a slow clap, "I see little Cooper moving up in the world. Bravo. Gate duty is a big responsibility." 

Cooper hung his head while smiling, "You dick. I guess some things never change even if you are a big and bad Colonel" he retorted, pointing to the double silver bars on Shion's collars and the silver braid on a red background on her shoulders. 

"This little piece of velcro?" Shion replied as she ripped the patch off her shoulder, and gently slapped it onto Cooper's back. Shion knew Cooper since he was a little baby. His foster family were close to Shion's parents, so he was like a little cousin to her. The two weren't super close or anything, but they were familiar enough with each other to joke. 

Cooper ripped the velcro off his back and slapped it back onto Shion's shoulder. 

He walked with Shion towards the brightly lit platform, "You haven't been back to headquarters in awhile. What brings you back?"

Shion sighed then her face got serious, "We may have a situation on our hands. I need Matt to confirm something for me before I can be sure, but if my suspicions are correct things are going to get a lot more exciting around here. Not in a good way either."

When they arrived at the platform, several people were sitting in front of large computer screens watching security footage, or compiling data. Dozens of rows of screens, each with a red eyed and diligent looking worker behind it lined the mid sized platform. The Rebellion had cameras everywhere as well as hidden agents like Shion. None of the agents were allowed to know of each other's existence to avoid fruitful interrogations if their cover was blown. Handlers were typically the only ones to know the identity of their agents, and they rarely left the protection of the Rebellion.

While neurolinks were common among the Upperclass military, they were not widely used in the Lowerclass Rebellion mostly due to equipment shortages.

Matt however, had worked his way up to head of information analysis and was deemed important enough to have a neurolink installed. Shion beemed Matt "Hey there geezer".

Matt's head spun around as he recognized that familiar voice. "Smart ass! What brings you to this god awful hell hole?"

Shion gave a half-smile, "I'm not here for pleasure if that's what you are asking. I have something that I need you to look into for me from uptop. Yesterday, I was attacked by several hooded assailants, none of which were identified by Upperclass facial recognition and the DNA was tainted with DMT so no luck there either."

Matt pulled up the Lowerclass missing person's records and the facial recognition software for registered citizens. Shion beemed Matt the files which he then projected on the computer screen.

The programs flipped through hundreds of pictures and profiles and began finding match after match after match until all the assailants were identified. All of them were lower class reported missing within the last year. 

Shion put one hand down on the desk and leaned over Matt's shoulder. Interesting she thought. All Lowerclass, and all missing persons.

 "There has to be something linking all these people together like a job, or a social club, or a place they shop. Matt can you pull up all their personnel files". 

Matt did a quick search and pulled them up. 

Outloud, Shion whispered to herself, "All in their 20's to 30's, a mix of males and females, a wide range of jobs from a school teacher to factory workers, but no citrus farmers. Not a whole lot in common on the surface. Matt! Can you look into these people more and find some sort of connection between them, especially something related to the Church of Nietzsche?"

Matt was puzzled by the last part, "Wait, back up a sec. Why the cult?"

Shion replied, "Take a look at the autopsy reports. Ouroboros tattoos and missing tongues. I have to head back uptop. I have something else to look into plus I have to check on Chizuru and her team."

Matt scowled, "Oh you are on a first name basis with your Lt.? When the fuck did that happen? Miss serious. Never in a million years would I expect that to happen. You got a little crush or something?"

Shion's face turned red, and she awkwardly grabbed her own arm, head hanging low, Shion whispered, "I actually really like her."

Dumbfounded, Matt's confused expression turned into a cold one, "Shion be careful. You know what will have to happen if she figures out who you really are."

Shion turned her back to Matt and whispered, "Yeah, I know."  With that Shion traveled underground down the putrid tunnels to an exit closer to central records and the research lab. 

She sent a beem out to Chizuru, "Hey, are you there?" No answer. Shion started climbing the ladder to the surface, maybe there was no reception this far down.

Once Shion was about halfway through the climb she tried again, "Chizuru do you copy?" 

No response. Shion's heart began to race and she started climbing faster. Then after a few more seconds a garbled and broken message came in. Thank god Shion thought she was alive. 

A few moments later, Chizuru's voice came through. "Where are you Shion? It wouldn't let me get through to you."

"I'm on my way to you now" replied Shion as she lifted the cover of the manhole and confirmed no one was around. Shion continued, "Any updates for me?"

"Yes actually, we went to the janitor's lockers and found them to be booby trapped, pretty poorly at that. After one of the Sgts disarmed the trap, we found a small altar equipped with candles, a mystery syringe, a few blank business cards, and of course a framed picture of Nietzsche with a halo of thorns," reported Chizuru.

"Ok, bag everything up and bring it back to the office. I'll meet you at the research lab, I just have to make a quick pit stop to see Bishop Leary. And Chizuru... I'm glad you are safe," Shion disconnected before Chizuru could reply. 

Shion straightened out her uniform, sprayed on some deodorizer and started the short trek to the Temple of Nietzsche where they were in the middle of their 10am sermon. 

The building's aesthetic on the outside was simple, clean, and no different from any other building in the area. Not too large, not too small. The inside was far from normal. 

Everything from the floor to ceilings was painted bright, blinding white. Everything except the marble statue of Frederick Nietzsche with his arms spread wide, head back, smile on his face as blood dripped down from his crown of thorns. 

A stark contrast to the white all the congregation wore blood red hooded capes as they kneeled with their arms lifted skyward. Bishop Leary stood at the speaking podium adorned in a blood-red robe with gold snakes eating their own tails.

The Bishop led the congregation in a prayer song, "To die is to change, to change is to evolve, to evolve is to ascend, to ascend is to become the Ubermensch, to become the Ubermensch is to become god."

The congregation responded, "All hail Nietzsche the wise".

Shion stood at the back of the church, leaning against entrance doors with her arms folded as the bishop began his daily sermon.

"The wise and powerful Nietzsche believed in the ascension of man into an all powerful being capable of unbelievable feets. In our present day we have become capable of truly unbelievable things. Take the young colonel who has graced us with her presence. With monstrous strength she can rip apart a person's body with her bare hands. The brutality is indeed amazing. However, man can still ascend further. We can splice together the strengths of the many to form an even greater man! This, however, requires great sacrifice, and as our governing prayer says, to die is to change. I think we will wrap it up for the day as our visitor wouldn't come here unless there was an urgent matter. Congregation dismissed".

All members rose from their knees simultaneously and hung up their robes before silently exiting the church.

Bishop Leary greeted Shion, "Hello, welcome to my sanctuary. How can I help you today colonel?"

"Well to start, are you aware of the three men that assaulted my Jr. or how about the ten that tried to kill me at Gino's?"

"I know nothing of what you speak. I do not control what my congregation does. Considering the Devil and the Butcher's special skills, I am not surprised this has happened. Your genetic material would greatly help our cause. Why not join us so that we can all ascend to a higher level of existence?"

"Like hell I would. Your experiments are even too extreme for me, a high ranking SS official. I just wanted you to know that I am watching you. The moment you slip up, it will be you discovering the real reason why they call me the devil through experience”.

Shion headed for the door before appearing to slip and run into the robes. As the door slammed behind her, Shion smirked. The bugs she had left in the robes would be the perfect way to listen in on the true activities of the church.