Nova Central, as always, was vibrant. Bedazzling lights from holo-ads, storefronts, and street lights made for a beautiful portrait of a cityscape. But it was all a lie. The people walking around, enjoying the luxuries of the city, were nothing more than sheep. They were blinded by the ugliness that would guide them into oblivion; Zonos Inc.
Rez felt a rush of power surging through his body. As a result, the NOVO Lenses made his eyes glow. The hotel was only a block away from Zonos Tower. After a brisk walk, he was standing across the street from it. His attire allowed him to naturally blend into the night. The holo-straps began to wear off. Rez called Marx.
“Ah, Mr. Rez, right on time as expected,” Marx said.
“Are your guys in place?” Rez asked.
“All set and ready for your signal,” Marx replied. They waited until ten thirty p.m.
“Do it,” Rez said to Marx.
“Here goes nothing. All Gunner teams, initiate sequence now!” Marx commanded.
The lights of the one hundred story building went out instantly! At the same time the building blacked out, Rez was already gone. He had made his way to the building’s loading dock, at the rear of the tower. Peeking around the corner, Rez spotted building maintenance employees who were in the middle of unloading crates from a van. They were halted by the building’s blackout and were trying to figure out what was happening. There was an opening in the loading dock. Initiating the chameleo-ware bodysuit, Rez walked past the employees. He sprinted to the large opening and made his way down the utility corridor. His NOVO lenses afforded him an added ability of using the blueprints of the building he’d uploaded, in conjunction with his eyes’ natural and growing ability to see in areas with limited light; by mapping out a virtual layout of the areas he traversed in real time.
“The door leading to the basement is ten meters away, further down the hallway,” Xandra said
Rez made his way through the darkness to the door. He pulled out his custom keycard and placed it in the slot. A few seconds later, he heard the latch unlock. Despite the power being out in the building, Rez specifically ordered the Gunners to keep only a few power lines active so he could access the building’s service elevators.
“G1 team, restore temporary power to grid line 4-3A. I’m taking the elevator down now,” he said into his earpiece to one of the Gunners.
“Got it. All set,” the Gunner said. He headed through the door and to the service elevators that lead to the basement.
Before the elevator reached the floor, Rez picked up a heat signature right in front of the elevator door. He stepped to the side. The chameleo-ware bodysuit was still active. The elevator door opened to reveal a very confused security guard. He stepped in with his flashlight to investigate why the elevator was the only one working. Rez punched the guard in the face so hard, that the impact of his body hitting the elevator wall left a human sized dent. The punch knocked him out cold.
The elevator door closed. Rez stepped out, and made his way to the generator enclosure. His keycard easily bypassed the security panel. The entrance gave way to a small staircase that led the way to different generators. Using his NOVO Lenses and the data Knight-1 had sent him, Rez zeroed in on one of the two generators that was causing the mind manipulation in the government-distributed datashades. The other generator was located at the top of the building.
Rez pulled out the codec that carried the virus meant to disarm and reverse the algorithm that controlled the possessed citizens. He resurfaced his holo-watch, using a fiber optic cable to connect it to the port on the generator. He pulled up a holo-screen equipped with a terminal window. With the codec plugged in, he initiated the sequence to begin the disarmament of the COGLIMs.
Thirty seconds passed, and the disarmament was complete for that generator. Holding his right arm out and to the side, Rez materialized his gunblade and kept it in gun mode. He loaded a magazine of shock rounds and shot at the generator. Electricity surged through and overloaded he machine until it shorted out. The generator was destroyed. He changed his weapon to blade mode. He began slicing through the machinery, shredding the generator so that repairing it would be nearly impossible. He made his way back to the elevator, dragged the unconscious guard out, and headed back up to the first floor.
“Marx, how we lookin’ on time?” Rez asked as the elevator carried him up.
“Blackout should last for another five minutes or so,” Marx said.
“Good. That’s more than enough time. Be on standby,” Rez said.
He reached the first floor and made his way through the utility corridor just as power was unexpectedly restored to the building. The lights came back on and systems were restarting. Rez took cover behind a wall just to be safe, despite his chameleo-ware still being active.
“What happened!? Marx, what the hell is going on?” Rez whispered into his earpiece.
“I don’t know! My guys didn’t make any changes,” Marx replied over the communication line.
“They must’ve established backup power from another grid that we didn’t know about. Shit!” Rez said, frustrated.
“Well what’re you gonna do? It’s crazy to keep going now,” Marx said.
“I still have a complete layout of the building. I’m pressing forward. Be on standby. Try to figure out how to disrupt their rerouted power source,” Rez said.
“Jesus man you’re just asking to die. Alright, we’re working on it. I’ll let you know as soon as I can,” Marx said.
“Thanks,” Rez replied, before cutting communication temporarily.
The Psi-Corp security regrouped rather quickly. Peeking from around the corner, Rez saw a task force of at least thirty soldiers packed into the large corridor, receiving briefings from their captain.
“Alright boys and girls. We had a power outage. Nothing to worry about. This is just protocol. Split up into groups of
