As a new day dawned on Petain, the crew of the Bug-out were feeling energized. They had finally cracked the location of Extra-solar Implementations operation from the data rod they had acquired on Shard's End. The coordinates pointed to a recently uncovered dig-site beyond the city limits. All that was left was to go there and dismantle what ever ESI had been keeping a secrete there all this time.
Matt had also received a message from the patron they'd been dealing with so far on Petain. There was another job offer, but it wasn't as pressing this time. Matt decided that they'd have enough time to confront ESI then they could take the new job offer. With the crew in agreement, they set out to prepared for the coming mission and start their daily tasks.
A-113 offered to show Jeb some new hand-to-hand combat techniques, so they took the training area to practice. Matt teamed up with Bishop to keep working on their back-log of damaged equipment and fixed up an infantry laser rifle and a screen generator.
Lucas decided to join Sebastian for a trade run. The markets were a frenzy of activity and the two of them could sense that the people of Petain were becoming very anxious. They kept their heads down and searched the market for anything of value. Sebastian came across an intriguing store that called itself the Memory Den. Inside, they offered a bunch of different trinkets which the owner claimed would let people relive their memories. Sebastian was skeptical, but when he tried one, he experienced and old memory from his childhood in perfect detail. Impressed, he acquired the item. Lucas found himself in a after market weapons store having a clearance sale. He came a cross a canister of Cyber-configurable Nano Sludge. The shop owner told him it was his last one, but that it would need to be reformatted to work and offered it at a steep discount. Lucas agreed and brought it back to the ship.
Linda and Tyris decided to wander around the space port and see what was happening. They too noticed the increase in anxiety amongst the population. At one point, Linda was stopped by a person on the street. They had noticed that Linda and Tyris looked outfitted for a fight since they were still in their combat armor. The individual spoke to Linda asking if they'd heard about the recently discovered dig-site on the outskirts of town. There had been rumors that some ancient artifacts had been discovered there and that there were probably some still left scattered around the site. The person told Linda they'd make it worth her while if someone brought some artefacts back from the dig-site should they find themselves there. Linda nodded and said if they did, she'd let them know.
Tyris was about to walk into a rowdy bar when the store next to him caught his eye. It seemed like a legitimate arms dealer until he wandered in and the shop owner asked if he'd like to see the special goods in the back. Tyris politely declined, not wishing to waste the shop owners time as he currently did not have any credits for anything worthwhile.
As the crew assembled at the ship that evening, they made their preparations to infiltrate the dig-site. They had no idea what they would find, but what ever it was would have to be dealt with. Jeb and Bishop offered to stay behind and guard the ship, the rest of the crew grabbed their gear and prepared to head out.
Matt and the team made their way to the dig-site. Matt was able to call in a favor to have the team dropped off near the site, and they hiked the rest of the way. Once at the site, they realized it was down under the surface in a pit, so they quietly rappelled down the side so as not to attract any attention. Matt noted that there weren't a lot of people around. He expected research teams to be working around the clock, but the site seemed rather devoid of any life.
As the team touched down on the ground at the bottom of the pit, they took up some cover near a bunch of large shipping crates. They began to survey the site looking for anything that would indicate what ESI had been up to at the site. While many of the equipment and crates were labelled with their logo, there didn't seem to be anything untoward about it.
As they moved covertly between the crates, they soon discovered why it was so quiet. Matt gave the signal to stop, his heart was pounding at the sight. Ahead of them were a group of Converted, a cyborg race which assimilated others into it's ranks. This appeared to be an Acquisition team. Matt immediately spotted what was left of some of the researchers as they'd been converted into cyborgs. The implications were big. If this team of Converted made their way out of the dig-site, they could begin an invasion of Petain which would be devastating to the planet.
Matt and his team jumped into action. They had to prevent the Converted from escaping. The crept into their firing positions and marked their targets. They had the element of surprise on their side and they took it to blast away as many as they could. Linda did the opening shot with her grenade launcher and vaporized a small group of drones.
The Converted were now aware of Matt and his team and the quietly turned and moved towards their position. Raising their arms, they fired from built in infantry lasers. The shots all went wide and missed their targets. Lucas and A-113 drew some of their fire while returning punishing salvos from their weapons, while Matt and Sebastian drew more fire in the opposite direction. Linda held their right flank while Tyris crept along the opposite flank.
The two groups exchanged fire for several minuets. The Converted struggled to land any hits while Matt's team made every shot count. If even one of the Converted was able to escape the dig-site it would spell doom for the colony.
Finally, the sound of weapons fire dimmed. The converted lay on the ground, gaping holes and laser burns marking their bodies. A final Converted was trying to escape, but Tyris closed on it and sliced it down with his blade. The potential invasion was stopped dead in it's tracks.
The team fanned out for a final sweep, just to confirm all the Converted were offline. There was little in the way a battlefield loot. Some damaged side arms which could be sold off later. Matt was able to make a copy of the surveillance footage of the dig-site which he forwarded to the Sector Government Authorities. They now had the proof that ESI had been planning on unleashing Converted in the sector.
With the world of Petain saved for now, they headed back to the ship. They had concluded their quest to uncover ESI's secret operation and they could now focus on other evils which plagued the sector.