Welcome to the Omicron Protocol Story Blog, where we’ll periodically reveal and post new stories about the world and its character through a series of blog posts. Through this blog, you’ll get to know the precarious situation that our heroes (and villains) are in, and what they need to do to survive and get out of San Lazaro. You’ll also get background stories that help you understand why your favorite (and most hated) characters are who they are today.
Sometimes, the search for food seemed endless. Athena didn’t do it for herself; she could pick off smaller birds any time she wanted. She did it for her friends, but, unfortunately, elephants, wolves and bears always seemed to be hungry. Athena had noticed there were certain buildings where humans kept a lot of food; some of it just animal food. And it seemed she’d found another one.
Mayor Paris Ng was beginning to relax. Two weeks had passed since the avian flu pandemic had struck San Lazaro and, although challenging, the situation had been kept under control. The citizens were following lockdown procedures and media coverage had generally remained positive. Such outbreaks occurred from time to time, and Mayor Ng felt that her administration had coped effectively.
Winner would have preferred to stay at Cynfo headquarters and his concern over deploying Great Wall too early did not help. He was at least glad to have Crimson and Beater for company. The security chief had kept hold of her own BNW throughout the crisis and the trio used it for the journey to 13th Street.
H3x winked at Rhino and Gudu as the trio were led towards three blue shipping containers. The camp on 10th Street was overcrowded and the desperate leader seemed keen to believe H3x’s story about testing out a new ‘cure’. The three Red Dragons had dressed smartly and were masquerading as members of a UN emergency response team. As they were unarmed and carrying only a case containing the ‘cure’, the leader had few reasons to be suspicious. He was a priest named Father Cullen, assisted by two young men who carried baseball bats and didn’t say much.
It took a while for Lucky and the rest of Team 1 to be admitted to the 8th Street camp. Understandably, the guards on duty at the converted high school had to be sure the new arrivals meant no harm. Lucky was careful not to mention specifics, claiming only that he needed to discuss a treatment that might help us deal with the virus’. He, Thug, Flash and Cyborg were happy to leave their weapons at the guard post and were then escorted to the school building. They passed dozens of tents and makeshift shelters. The hundreds packed into the school compound didn’t seem overly interested in four new faces.
‘Boss, I’ve got something for you.’
‘Something else, H3x?’ answered Lady Rose. ‘The puppet trick was probably enough for one day.’
H3x grinned. It was always good to keep on the right side of the boss. Before replying, she checked the mirrors and the surroundings of her stationary SUV. Other than a couple of ambling CyMS in the distance, she saw no danger.
‘Actually, it’s kind of connected to the puppets. One of them was unusually lucid and I noticed a bottle of Kabalan sticking out of his backpack.’
The Red Dragons had gathered at the secret base beneath Chen Office Supplies. Lady Rose made a last adjustment to her hair in the restroom mirror, then entered the storeroom they used for meetings. With two men on guard duty – one underground, one on the street – she knew the location was secure. All her key personnel were present and already seated: Little Jenny, Rhino, Gudu, Fei and H3x. Lady Rose sat in her own chair, which was covered in best Italian black leather.
‘Are you sure about this, Buck?’
Pai looked across the table at the veteran police officer. The pair were alone in one of the station’s interview rooms, a laptop on the table in front of them.
‘We can’t go on like this forever,’ Buck replied. ‘These guys seem to be on our side. We were fortunate that the Purge Script ended up in our hands. Now it’s time to take action.’
Even for Cynfo Tech, 5 a.m. was an early start. Winston ‘Winner’ Malik wasn’t all that happy about sleeping at the office but this was a common event now, even for Ryder Arcadia himself. They had transformed some of the rooms into decent living quarters, Scarlett ‘Crimson’ Young ensuring that all were comfortable and well-equipped. Though he was beginning to feel rather claustrophobic, Winner sometimes looked down at the empty streets below and felt glad to be safe. He also didn’t have enough time to get depressed about the wider crisis; he was too busy.
Cyborg didn’t know what to expect. He hadn’t heard from Ryder Arcadia for months and now suddenly the CEO of Cynfo wanted to see him. He would have expected the wealthy, well-connected businessman to have found a way out of San Lazaro but admitted to himself that events had overtaken many since the outbreak. He was also surprised to find the Kilcline building largely intact, with only a few broken windows on the lower floors. As he reached the entrance, the familiar figure of Scarlett ‘Crimson’ Young appeared. As usual sporting her augmented shades, she offered a thin smile and shook Cyborg’s hand.
Lance wasn’t generally a man to break rules but it was a fine, sunny day and he felt like a proper ride. Passing beyond his normal patrol route, he urged Charger into a gallop along a wide, open street, occasionally dodging abandoned cars. As he was trapped within San Lazaro for the time being, Lance enjoyed such moments of solitude and freedom. His fellow Peacemakers were good people, but their time together was busy and intense. Even a committed law enforcer like him needed the occasional bit of down time.
The fog rolled in with remarkable speed. Thug, Sergiy and Flyboy found themselves suddenly surrounded by the ghostly white. They were less than a hundred feet from the drop coordinates.
‘Is this a good thing or a bad thing?’ asked Thug.
‘If anyone else is here, they won’t see us,’ said Flyboy.
‘True,’ said Sergiy. ‘But we won’t see them.’
‘Wait,’ said Flyboy. ‘I hear something.’
‘A drone?’ asked Thug.
‘Maybe.’
Cyborg would have preferred to meet his new allies in person but holographic projection was a good second best. He was in one of his mansion’s three studies, gazing across the room at four lifelike, full-size images. After the dramatic events that had transpired at Republic Square, he was glad to at last be face to face – virtually – with Buck and Pai of the Peacemakers and Lucky and Gadget of the Survivalists. Cyborg couldn’t help smiling at the one familiar face.
Danny was in bed with a cold, so Flyboy decided to take up an invitation from a new friend. That friend was Johnny Sinclair-Ariza, also known as Cyborg – an interesting guy Flyboy had met at a gaming convention. Cyborg was a well-known artist with a very rich father and the invitation was to the family mansion in Alturas, a wealthy neighborhood of San Lazaro.
Nix crept through the bushes, only stopping when he had a good view of the CyMS.
He tapped his earlobe to use his coms implant. ‘Bolt, any more of them in the area?’
The Russian sniper was stationed in a nearby church tower, providing overwatch for the operation. Nix had never tried to capture one of these things before and he didn’t want anything to go wrong. As he’d learned with the Rangers, planning and prep were crucial.
This is bizarre.
Lance’s life had taken many strange turns since the crisis that had stranded him in San Lazaro. But this – riding his horse, Charger, around the First National Bank – was perhaps the strangest of them all. After he and his fellow Peacemakers had successfully defended the bank against the Red Dragons, Buck and the others had left him to keep an eye on things.
To: Interested Parties
From: Friends
If you are receiving this transmission, you clearly possess specialist equipment and knowledge. We are exploiting a weakness in the communications blackout surrounding San Lazaro but only have a short window of time to communicate. We are contacting you to present an offer that can benefit both sides. We do not currently wish to identify ourselves but please be assured that our intentions are good. Our aim is to cooperate with individuals and groups such as yourselves and work towards solving this crisis.
