The headquarters of "The Silent Packet" courier service was a nondescript, three-story plasteel building in a grimy commercial sector that straddled the ill-defined border between District 6 and District 7. By day, it presented a facade of mundane logistical operations. By night, Roric's intel suggested, it transformed into a clandestine hub for the secure transfer of sensitive, often illicit, information between various underworld factions. Its neutrality was its greatest defense, but also its potential weakness – it couldn't openly call upon any single syndicate for heavy protection without compromising that neutrality.
Kai, as Umbra, observed the building from the rooftop of an abandoned residential block across the street. His Anima Core Stability was at 95% after a brief but necessary sustenance hunt two nights prior (a lone, overconfident enforcer for a minor loan shark crew). The +250 EXP reward from "Operation Silent Snatch" would guarantee his advancement to Level 4. The thought was a potent motivator. He had his 3 undistributed attribute points from his last level-up, ready to be allocated if needed.
Roric's voice was a calm presence in his earpiece, patched in from the Epsilon command center. "Umbra, Shift has analyzed the building's external security feeds. Standard motion sensors, mag-locked doors, pressure plates on the primary ground floor access points. They have two guards on the roof, patrolling irregularly, and at least four inside the ground floor dispatch center where the target data-slate is likely being processed for its midnight transfer. Elara confirms no unusual Apex or major syndicate activity in the immediate vicinity."
"The rooftop guards are my first obstacle," Kai murmured, his enhanced Draconic Senses (Perception 8) already picking out their faint heat signatures, their bored, desultory conversation. "I need to neutralize them silently to gain access to the upper floors." "Precisely," Roric agreed. "Your 'Shadow Meld' skill, if you choose to unlock it with your available skill point, could be invaluable for this kind of stealth infiltration. Alternatively, your enhanced agility and 'Shadow's Embrace' passive should allow for a silent takedown if you are patient."
Kai considered his options. He had one skill point. "Shadow Meld (Basic)" from his Draconic Art pathways required an Anima Affinity of 11, which he now possessed. It promised [Allows the Host to temporarily blend with ambient shadows, becoming nearly invisible in low-light conditions. Moderate Anima Energy cost while active. Movement significantly reduces effectiveness.] It sounded perfect for this. 'System, allocate 1 Skill Point to Shadow Meld (Basic).' [SKILL POINT ALLOCATED. NEW DRACONIC ART ACQUIRED: SHADOW MELD (BASIC – RANK 1/3).] A new understanding flowed into him, a sense of how to manipulate his draconic energy to distort light, to merge with the darkness.
He activated "Shadow Meld." The System noted a steady, moderate drain on his Draconic Energy, but the effect was immediate. Looking at his own gloved hands, he saw them become translucent, like smoked glass, the edges blurring into the surrounding gloom. He was a ripple in the night. [Shadow Meld (Rank 1) Active. Visual Concealment: High (Low-Light Conditions). Draconic Energy Cost: Moderate (Sustained).]
He moved across the rooftops with silent, draconic grace, his "Draconic Momentum" aiding his balance. He reached the edge of The Silent Packet's roof just as one of the guards, a bored-looking man in cheap tactical gear, strolled past, his slugthrower held loosely. Kai, still melded with the shadows of a ventilation unit, struck. His "Claws of the Shadow Drake," also wreathed in faint shadow energy from his "Shadow-Coil Strike" technique, were silent and deadly. The guard crumpled without a sound. The second guard, alerted by the faint thud, spun around. Kai was already moving, a blur of deeper shadow. Another swift, silent takedown. [Hostiles Neutralized: 2. Stealth Maintained. EXP +20. Draconic Energy Reserves: 80%.]
He found a rooftop access hatch, its lock surprisingly flimsy. His claws made short work of it. He slipped inside, the interior of the building dark and quiet, save for the distant hum of machinery and the faint murmur of voices from the ground floor. He descended through a series of maintenance shafts and deserted corridors, his "Shadow Meld" making him a ghost. He reached the ground floor dispatch center, peering through a ventilation grate. Four guards, as Roric's intel suggested, were present. Two were playing a game of cards at a battered table. One was idly cleaning his pulse pistol. The fourth, a more alert-looking woman with a data-slate in her hand, stood near a reinforced vault door – likely where the target data-slate was being held.
This would require more than just stealth. He needed to create a diversion, to separate them. "Roric, Shift," Kai whispered into his comm. "I'm overlooking the dispatch center. Four guards. Target data-slate is likely in a vault they're guarding. I need to draw at least two of them away." "Acknowledged, Umbra," Shift replied. "There's a secondary power junction for this floor located in a service closet at the far end of the corridor you just passed. If you can create a minor, localized power surge there – nothing too catastrophic, just enough to trip their internal breakers and cause some flickering lights – it should draw their attention."
A power surge. Risky, but plausible. Kai, still under the effect of "Shadow Meld," retraced his steps to the service closet Shift had indicated. He found the power junction – old, poorly maintained. He focused, drawing on the faint azure Old Republic energy that still resonated within his Draconic Power Source, the energy that had allowed him to interface with the data-chip encryption. He carefully channeled a tiny, controlled pulse of this disruptive energy into the junction. Sparks flew. Lights in the corridor flickered violently, then went out, replaced by dim emergency strobes. Alarms chirped feebly.[SYSTEM ASSIST: Draconic/OR Hybrid Energy utilized for targeted EMP (Minor). Effect: Localized power disruption. Anima Energy Cost: Low.]
"Power fluctuation in Sector Gamma!" he heard one of the guards yell from the dispatch center. "Two of you, go check it out! Now!" Perfect. Two guards, grumbling, headed towards the corridor where Kai waited in the shadows. As they passed his hiding spot, he struck, a whirlwind of claws and shadow-coil strikes. They went down quickly, their surprise absolute. [Hostiles Neutralized: 2. EXP +20. Draconic Energy Reserves: 72%.]
Now for the remaining two in the dispatch center, including the alert woman by the vault. He moved back towards the grate, peering in. The woman was now at a console, trying to restore power, her back to him. The card-playing guard was looking nervously towards the corridor. This was his chance. He dropped silently into the room, his "Shadow Meld" still active. He used his "Draconic Presence" to send a wave of unease towards the nervous guard, making him jump and look wildly around. While the guard was distracted, Kai moved on the woman at the console. A single, precise chop to the back of the neck, learned from Breaker's brutal lessons, and she slumped forward, unconscious.
The last guard, seeing his commander fall, finally spotted the shimmering distortion that was Umbra. He raised his pulse pistol, his eyes wide with terror, but Kai was too fast. A final "Shadow-Coil Strike," and it was over. [Hostiles Neutralized: 2. Stealth Takedown (Dispatch Center): Successful. EXP +20.] [Faction Quest: 'Operation Silent Snatch' – Primary Objective Complete (Infiltrate & Secure Dispatch). Secondary Objective: Acquire Data-Slate.] [Anima Core Stability: 65%.] (Self-correction: Should be Draconic Energy Reserves)[Draconic Energy Reserves: 65%.]
He was in. The vault door stood before him, its lock likely electronic. Shift's voice came through his comm. "Well done, Umbra. The power surge also temporarily disabled the vault's primary mag-lock. You should be able to open it with a manual override, if you can find it. But hurry. Their system will reboot in less than two minutes." Kai scanned the vault door, his enhanced perception quickly locating a small, almost invisible panel. He pried it open with his claws. Inside, a manual release lever. He pulled it. With a heavy hiss, the vault door slid open, revealing rows of data-slates. One, marked with a subtle Cerberus insignia Kai recognized from Roric's briefings, pulsed with a faint, internal light. The target.
He grabbed it, just as the main lights in the dispatch center flickered back on, and a new set of alarms, louder and more insistent, began to blare throughout the building. "Time to go," Kai muttered, the Cerberus data-slate clutched in his hand. The silent snatch was about to become a very noisy escape.