Act 14 — Rescue of Destiny
Era: Power Unbound
Previous: Act 13 — Robert Anderson Story
Next: Act 15 — Blood’s Ascension
Overview
Rescue of Destiny follows the Hell Hosts as they finally locate Destiny nine months after her disappearance during the attack on the HH Endeavor.
Since her capture, the Hell Hosts have been searching for both Destiny and the mysterious organization responsible for taking her.
Their search eventually leads to a facility controlled by the Obsidian Veil.
Predator personally joins the rescue operation alongside personnel from the Shock & Awe Division, Alpha-9, Viral, and additional Hell Host forces.
The operation quickly becomes a direct assault against Obsidian Veil personnel.
Predator eventually reaches the facility’s holding cells and discovers Destiny alive but severely injured after nine months in captivity.
The Hell Hosts successfully extract her despite heavy resistance and return to the HH Victoria, the enormous Hell Host vessel named in Destiny’s honour during her disappearance.
Destiny survives.
However, her memories of captivity are fragmented, and the reason the Obsidian Veil targeted her remains unknown.
Sub-Acts
14.1 — Found
After nine months of searching, the Hell Hosts finally obtain information identifying a location connected to Destiny.
The exact circumstances through which the location is discovered remain undocumented.
What matters is that, for the first time since the attack on the HH Endeavor, the Hell Hosts have a credible lead.
The location is connected to the Obsidian Veil.
Predator refuses to remain behind.
A rescue force is assembled, including personnel from the Shock & Awe Division, Alpha-9, Viral, and additional Hell Host support.
Their objective is simple.
Find Destiny.
Bring her home.
14.2 — Obsidian Veil
The rescue force approaches the Obsidian Veil facility.
The operation is intended to be fast.
Once the Hell Hosts are detected, however, the mission immediately develops into open combat.
Obsidian Veil operatives defend the facility using the same disciplined tactics and advanced equipment that allowed them to overwhelm the Endeavor nine months earlier.
For the Hell Hosts, the assault represents one of their first direct confrontations with the organization responsible for Destiny’s disappearance.
Predator and the assault force push toward the interior while other Hell Host personnel secure the surrounding area and prepare for extraction.
14.3 — Breach
Predator and Viral advance into the facility while Hell Host forces fight Obsidian Veil personnel outside.
The fighting becomes increasingly close-quarters as the team moves deeper into the structure.
Viral’s unusual biology allows him to survive injuries that would incapacitate or kill an ordinary soldier, making him particularly difficult for the defenders to stop.
Predator remains focused almost entirely upon locating the detention area.
Eventually, the team discovers the facility’s holding cells.
Predator enters alone.
14.4 — Victoria
Predator searches the cells until he finally finds the person the Hell Hosts have spent nine months looking for.
Victoria Grant is alive.
Barely.
She has suffered extensive injuries and is physically exhausted after her captivity.
When Predator enters the cell, Destiny is barely conscious and initially struggles to understand who has found her.
Predator removes her from the cell himself.
Unable to move effectively on her own, Destiny is carried through the facility as the rescue force begins withdrawing.
After nine months missing, Victoria Grant is finally back in Hell Host hands.
14.5 — Extraction
The rescue force begins withdrawing from the facility while Obsidian Veil reinforcements close on their position.
Predator carries Destiny while Shock & Awe personnel provide protection during the retreat.
The extraction quickly deteriorates.
Enemy fire threatens the evacuation and Hell Host personnel are wounded during the fighting.
Alpha-9 remains behind temporarily to protect and recover injured soldiers rather than abandoning them during the withdrawal.
Additional Hell Host forces and air support are committed to keeping the escape route open.
Despite the growing battle around them, the rescue force refuses to leave its wounded behind.
The surviving personnel eventually reach extraction.
Destiny is evacuated with them.
14.6 — HH Victoria
The rescue force returns to the HH Victoria.
Destiny is immediately transferred to Hell Host medical personnel.
Her condition is serious.
After nine months in captivity, her injuries cannot simply be undone immediately.
Viral offers the Medical Corps the use of his biological abilities and assists in stabilizing Destiny, but her recovery remains under the control of trained medical personnel.
Destiny survives the immediate aftermath of the rescue.
For the first time in nine months, she is safe.
14.7 — Nine Months
Destiny regains consciousness aboard the HH Victoria.
She is confused and initially struggles to understand where she is or how much time has passed.
Her memories of captivity are fragmented.
She remembers pain and disconnected impressions, but cannot provide a complete account of what happened to her.
Destiny soon learns the truth.
She has been missing for nine months.
The revelation overwhelms her.
Personnel have changed.
Events have occurred without her.
The galaxy continued moving while she was gone.
Destiny’s immediate concern is not herself.
She wants to know whether the people she knew are still alive.
She also learns that Hell Host personnel were injured during the operation to rescue her, causing her to blame herself for what happened.
Those around her attempt to convince her otherwise.
14.8 — Home
While recovering, Destiny discovers that she is aboard the HH Victoria.
The vessel was named after her during the months in which the Hell Hosts did not know whether she was alive or dead.
Destiny immediately recognizes the decision as something her father would do.
She later reunites properly with Predator after regaining consciousness.
Despite everything that has happened, Destiny’s personality remains recognizable.
Her sarcasm quickly returns, even as she struggles to process the events surrounding her disappearance.
Predator is relieved to see his daughter awake.
Neither of them is particularly comfortable expressing the full emotional weight of the reunion.
For Predator, however, the most important outcome of the operation is simple.
His daughter is alive.
Destiny begins the long process of recovering from her captivity.
The Hell Hosts have finally brought Victoria Grant home.
They still do not know why the Obsidian Veil wanted her.
Characters
Destiny
The central figure of the Act.
Destiny is recovered after nine months in Obsidian Veil captivity.
She is found severely injured and initially barely conscious.
Following her rescue, Destiny experiences fragmented memories, confusion surrounding the amount of time she has been missing, and guilt over the personnel injured while recovering her.
Despite these experiences, much of her original personality remains intact.
Her recovery continues beyond the end of the Act.
Predator
Predator personally participates in the operation to recover his daughter.
He fights through the Obsidian Veil facility, discovers Destiny in the holding cells, and carries her during the withdrawal.
Although normally emotionally restrained, Destiny’s survival is clearly more important to him than uncovering the wider secrets of the Obsidian Veil.
Viral
Viral accompanies Predator during the assault.
His regenerative biology allows him to survive significant injuries and continue fighting during the operation.
Following Destiny’s recovery, Viral assists Hell Host medical personnel in stabilizing her.
His abilities can accelerate or assist biological recovery but cannot instantly reverse severe injuries or completely restore someone after prolonged physical trauma.
Alpha-9
Alpha-9 participates in the rescue as part of the Hell Host force.
During the extraction, he remains behind temporarily to protect wounded personnel rather than abandoning them as the Obsidian Veil counterattacks.
Zero
Zero helps Destiny following her return to the HH Victoria.
He attempts to reassure her as she learns how long she has been missing and struggles to understand what has happened during her absence.
Their interaction reinforces their close but non-romantic relationship.
Factions
Locations
- Obsidian Veil detention facility
- HH Victoria
The exact world on which the Obsidian Veil facility was located remains undocumented.
Major Events
- The Hell Hosts locate Destiny after nine months of searching.
- An Obsidian Veil facility is identified as her location.
- Predator personally joins the rescue operation.
- Hell Host forces directly engage Obsidian Veil operatives.
- Predator discovers Destiny alive within the facility.
- Destiny is recovered after nine months in captivity.
- The initial extraction comes under heavy attack.
- Alpha-9 remains behind temporarily to protect wounded Hell Host personnel.
- Hell Host reinforcements and air support assist the withdrawal.
- Destiny is evacuated aboard the HH Victoria.
- Viral assists medical personnel in stabilizing Destiny.
- Destiny regains consciousness.
- Destiny learns she has been missing for nine months.
- Destiny discovers that the HH Victoria was named after her.
- Destiny reunites with Predator.
- Destiny begins recovering from her captivity.
Deaths and Casualties
Several Hell Host personnel are injured during the extraction.
The exact casualty figures from the operation are undocumented.
Numerous Obsidian Veil operatives are killed during the assault.
Destiny survives despite the injuries sustained during her captivity.
Lore Introduced
Act 14 provides one of the first major direct confrontations between the Hell Hosts and the Obsidian Veil.
The Act confirms that Destiny remained in Obsidian Veil custody following her disappearance and that the organization was willing to dedicate significant resources toward keeping her imprisoned.
However, the rescue provides few answers regarding their motives.
Destiny’s memories of her captivity remain fragmented.
The Hell Hosts therefore know who took her, but not why.
The Act also establishes the limits of Viral’s biological abilities.
Although his unusual biology provides extreme regenerative capabilities and can assist the recovery of others, it cannot instantly reverse prolonged trauma or completely restore severely injured individuals.
Unknowns
Several questions remain unresolved following Destiny’s rescue:
- Why did the Obsidian Veil specifically target Destiny?
- What did they want from her?
- What happened to Destiny during the nine months she was missing?
- Why are her memories of captivity fragmented?
- What information did the Obsidian Veil obtain from her?
- Was the facility where Destiny was recovered her only place of imprisonment?
- Did the Obsidian Veil expect the Hell Hosts to eventually find her?
- What does the statement that Destiny is “the key” actually mean?
Consequences
Destiny returns to the Hell Hosts after nine months missing.
Her rescue ends one of the longest personal crises faced by Predator and many of the soldiers closest to her.
However, returning home does not immediately undo the effects of her captivity.
Destiny requires continued physical recovery and must adapt to everything that changed during her absence.
Her return also strengthens Hell Host awareness of the Obsidian Veil as a direct threat.
For the first time, the Hell Hosts have successfully recovered something taken by the organization.
They have not defeated it.
They have not exposed it.
And they still do not understand why Destiny mattered enough to take in the first place.
The questions surrounding her disappearance remain unresolved as Power Unbound continues.