When Angela signed up for the Terran Institute of Territorial Supremacy, she never expected to have to infiltrate an alien building. Specifically though, a building infested by fucking plants. Didn’t they need sunlight to function? Angela tried to push those thoughts from her mind as she sat on the building next to her target, what used to be the TITS Investigation Bureau, before the plants had taken root in it. Why’d they have to get their vines on everything?

 

The thought of one of those poor excuses for a house plant sitting at her desk made her blood boil. Was nothing sacred to these weeds? They had certainly overstayed their welcome and Angela was determined to cut them down.

 

She attached one of her many tools to the powerline and ziplined to the roof of her old office. The cold air rushed past her as she let the adrenaline take hold, something she would need if she were to survive this encounter. The accord needed the information on those machines, and even if the Affini didn’t understand their significance yet, Angela had to make sure that her fellow terrans got it.

 

She rolled onto the roof with practiced ease. Time to get to work. From her bag she grabbed rope, a harness, and finally the flash drive. All she had to do was stick it into her work computer and bang, the resistance would get everything on it. Piece of cake. If she failed… no. She couldn't let herself think those thoughts. This was going to work. It had to work. 

 

The carabiner slid over one of the drain pipes as she attached it to her harness preparing to rappel. The first time flashed in her mind's eye. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Angela shook her head, surprised at the sudden memory. This wasn’t the first rappel, she’d perfected it now. She stood on the edge of the building, and took a deep breath, before descending. The shakiness from the first trip was absent, replaced with practiced confidence. 

 

It took her about five minutes to make it to the correct window before grabbing her glass cutting tool. She placed it on the window and waited, as it carved out the perfect circle. It fell onto the windowsill where Angela collected it and swung inside. 

 

Seeing the office after hours felt like the beginning of a horror film. Only the emergency lights remained on, casting an ominous glow. She would have to be quick. The office was just how she had left it the day before, messy from having to grab her tools in her rush to leave. The boss would be furious at the state of the desk, but hopefully he’d forgive her if the mission succeeded. Only one thing was missing, her computer. 

 

“Shit,” she muttered, pounding her fist on the desk. “Of course the bloody plants would take it.”

 

Where would they take it though? Angela wracked her brain for the intelligence she had gathered from them. They would probably replace the computers with some kind of plant bs of their own, so they’d need to remove all of them. What room had the most space for the Affini to gather? The gym. They’d be in the gym.

 

Angela did the calculations on her tablet, where she had saved the blueprints of the building the night before. There was a vent system nearby that would take her directly to the gym. She smirked. Those damn plants wouldn’t know what hit them.

 

Shoving her stuff in her messenger bag, she stood on a chair to access the vent before climbing inside. The route was simple. Two rights and a left and then it was just a straight shot to the gym. She hoped that the Affini would be asleep, if plants even needed it. That’s why she had waited for night, they had to be weaker at night, right?

 

Crawling through the vents brought back another painful memory that Angela wasn’t quite quick enough to stop. 

 

 

 

 

 

Angela wiped her face. No, I can't cry in front of these plants, in front of anyone. They can’t know. No one can know. Before long she arrived at her destination. She peeked through a gap in the vents. Damn it. The place was swarmed with the invaders, along with a speckling of terrified co workers. Would it be possible to wait until they left? They seemed far too involved in what they were doing. Maybe enough to allow a small human like Angela to sneak in. Before she could even make a decision, the vent let out an ominous noise. 

 

“No,” she muttered, putting a hand on it. “Steady…” it was obviously not built to support a human. 

 

It seemed to quake as though it were alive and afraid as she had been while living at home. She looked anxiously below to see if any of them had noticed. When no one reacted she breathed out a sigh of relief. That’s right. Steaaady. Once she was sure it was safe, she crawled further forward. Then, all hell broke loose. 

 

The vent gave way as it slid down towards the ground. Her stomach fell with it as her body prepared for the impact. Surely she could roll and be fine, Angela tried to convince herself that it would still prevent damage at ten feet. Crack! She felt it before hearing it, her right leg turning red hot with pain. Her body fell limp onto the ground as Affini and humans alike rushed towards her. She had failed. 

 

Dark clouds formed at the edges of Angela’s vision as she slowly watched the vines approach. Maybe they’d have mercy on her, but Angela doubted it. Their kindness was a ruse. She could never let them know why she’d been up there, if she survived this. An Affini with kind looking eyes was the last thing Angela saw before the darkness took her.