Phase 1: Settle the score with Promethia

Promethia looked confident, but even with those special armaments of hers and her statue-like body, it didn't change the fact that she was bringing fists to a fight against an agent with a firearm. You ought to be able to fire before she had a chance to close the distance. Quickly, you drew your service pistol, then began to question her. The only way for her to get this deep into the CEDIT base was with Namaste's help; who was Namaste and why had the two of them chosen to work together?

"Namaste? Sounds like one of your asinine codenames," she scoffed, as though "Promethia" was a subtle one. "Whoever they are, they're not with me. What you see before you-- the seizure of all of your defenses as well as my presence here-- is all the work of the Deliverers." Her speech was cold, even, and unconcerned, as she slowly moved her way forward, keeping her hands raised. Her black jumpsuit, rippling with muscle, was uncovered by any sort of Deliverer fire protection, showing you her full physique. She'd be scary to face, even if she was coming at you with no gear whatsoever.

You kept your gun pointed and your finger on the trigger, as you digested her words. So she wasn't taking Namaste's help? Part of you wanted to believe that was the case: that Namaste was really your ally and that the one working against you was some sort of Deliverer tech specialist, but that seemed too optimistic. The only people you knew of with this sort of skill were either Namaste or your ally, Despedida. How could Promethia be confused about the identity of her own ally? Furthermore, what of Tschau, who was also now considered a rogue force? Was she also working with the Deliverers?

You were running out of time to think about questions. The terrorist grew closer and closer; soon, she'd be within hitting distance. You needed to fire a shot and dissuade her from approaching any closer. With quickness and precision, you pivoted your arms so that the gun aimed towards her shoulder, then fired your shot.

The next events occurred too quickly, as you witnessed a flash of light like you were looking straight into a burst of fire, one that didn't respond to any kind of muzzle flare. Your bullet was repelled midflight as though it had run into some sort of forcefield, then ricocheted loudly between the shutters. "Hmph. Our technology is superior. You can't fight against it," Promethia informed you with a smug smirk, as she resumed her movements.

Did the Deliverers really have technology like this? Perhaps this was something she'd salvaged from Bortnik's research? If so, why hadn't she deployed it until now? You had more questions than answers and no time to consider any of them. You backed up as far as you could without leaving your zone of safety, but felt your heart pounding as your back collided with one of the shutters. There was no more room to retreat.

"It's over for you. You and the other dogs of CEDIT have lucked out time and time again, but without your Goodbye Girls to turn to, you're barely even an obstacle," your attacker taunted you, with half of her face hidden as her fists remained raised. Your gun was useless against this invisible forward shield afforded to her by her mechanical gloves.

"Need a hand, Nathaniel? Or are you going to turn me down like last time? It's not a weakness to accept help from others," Namaste's distorted voice spoke down from a nearby camera, on the other side of one of the shutters. "I'm not Despedida, but trust me, I've got the hacking ability to get you through this if you'll let me. Or would you rather wait for her? Sorry to tell you this, but she isn't coming!"

The mysterious voice was having too much fun at your expense. Namaste had a point though: if Despedida was coming to your rescue, she was taking her sweet time doing it. From what you could tell, nothing was holding her back from helping you except for the security sytem-- and what was a security system to Despedida? Just what was she occupied with?!