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.
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.
‘Impressive creature.’
Ryder “El Jefe” Arcadia peered through the reinforced glass at the Komodo dragon. The lizard was eight feet from nose to tail; currently tearing a deer carcass apart and gorging on the bloody flesh.
Winston ‘Winner’ Malik was sitting on a stool outside the cell, studying his laptop. ‘This one’s more impressive than most, El Jefe.’
Maria was relieved to reach the ranger station. The journey from her apartment to Big Trees usually took forty minutes but, on this occasion, lasted more than three hours. The snowplows had done their best but the storm – especially the wind – was gathering strength with every passing minute. Maria had passed three road accidents but fortunately police and paramedics were attending every one. March was only the third month of her first year as a ranger cadet and she suspected the storm might provide her sternest challenge yet.
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.
‘Are we ready, Winston?’
As usual, Mr. Arcadia was dressed in skinny jeans, button-up shirt and blazer. Winner had made an effort today by donning a jacket; partly to impress his boss but also because of the visitors. It was an important occasion; and he had to clear something up before they started.
Buck was on afternoon patrol with Lance when the message came in from Flash. He was actually quite glad of the interruption. Lance was a nice enough guy but he did talk a lot about how the Regal Canadian Cavalry was the best police force in the world. Buck was less pleased when Flash explained the reason for his message:
Walter ran along the fence and dropped down beside Jugger. The elephant was standing on one of the main zoo paths, stripping bark from a tree with her tusks then eating it.
I didn’t know you liked that stuff.
It’s not bad, replied Jugger miserably. And there’s nothing else left.
Walter had done his best to help the group find food but it was especially difficult for the larger animals. He thought chimpanzees ate a lot but their appetites were small compared to Jugger or Bob the bear.
