Zurkerx- The Empire Shall Grow

by Eric William Haluska

  ~

  Marcus and Joseph continue to make their way to Hanna. They have run past many dark hallways, ignoring them given they feel no one is hiding. Yet, as they run pass one hallway, somebody jumps from the shadows, lunging with a knife, screaming like a rebel towards Joseph.

  Surprised but undeterred, Joseph blocks and grabs the man’s arm. With a fast twist, he breaks the man’s arm, bone snapping loudly. The man merely grunts as the knife falls from his hand. Joseph then swings the man towards Marcus.

  Marcus unleashes a powerful strike to the man’s throat, knocking the wind out of him. He falls against the wall and slides down it, realizing he failed to kill anyone. Despite their differences in approaches on tactics, both men work surprisingly well as a team, mix matching their unique techniques to have perfect form. In fact, they work so well that they are considered the best duo in the military, their skills only matched by the likes of Captain Van Saulter of Tur Galnos.

  Annoyed by the interruption, Joseph pulls out his handgun. He lifts it up, pointing it at the defenseless man.

  “Joseph! Don’t!”

  Joseph stares at Marcus with exasperation. He can’t believe that Marcus wants this man’s life spared. After all, if it had been Marcus who was attacked, he would have killed the man in an instant. He wonders whether Marcus’ time away from the battlefield has softened him up, his spot in government distracting him from his full potential.

  And yet, he doesn’t dare question Marcus’ reasoning. Despite believing that Marcus is softening up, he knows him well, and he knows that he’ll respond sternly and convincingly. Sighing, he begrudgingly puts his gun away.

  “We should at least tie him up.”

  “I agree. Tie him up then.”

  Joseph reaches into his pocket and pulls out a few zip ties. He wraps them around the man’s hands, pulling his broken arm forward. The man grunts in pain, unable to do anything. With the enemy tied up, they take off, heading towards their destination.

  ~

  “They’re here!”

  A soldier points at Marcus and Joseph.

  “Are the explosives planted?” asks Joseph.

  “Yes, we are ready to go,” says Hanna.

  “Good. Stack up!”

  Everyone runs towards the door. Joseph goes to one side while Marcus goes to the other with everyone splitting evenly between them. Hanna runs behind Marcus, holding the detonator in her hand. On the doors is a large breaching charge with two phases. The first phase is a series of small explosives that weaken the breaching point. The second and final phase is when a single explosive detonates and sends shrapnel forward, striking any unfortunate souls who may stand in its path.

  “You ready?”

  “Let’s do this.”

  Hanna squeezes the detonator and the explosives fizzle and pop.

  ~

  The Gewerksma Vorhs sit in their room as they await their demise. They know that their time is limited as they count down to their death. They don’t expect to come out alive. At this point, they are hoping to kill as many as they can. They cock their guns, anticipating a fight, expecting a swarm of soldiers to storm in. Then a popping sound fizzles and rings in their ears, signaling the beginning of the breach. Suddenly, the explosive detonates, sending shrapnel into their faces as a blinding light sears their eyes.

  ~

  As the breaching charge detonates, Marcus and Joseph each grab a flashbang. Pulling the pin, they toss them into the occupied room, waiting a few seconds. The flashbangs then detonate then everyone barges in. Quickly, they take aim at the disoriented enemy, taken off guard by the double whammy.

  Knowing the opportunity is now, the Red Skulls unleash a flurry of bullets, killing the people on sight. Blood splatters everywhere, painting a mosaic throughout the room as their lifeless bodies fall to the floor. In a matter of seconds, it’s all over. Silence then falls across the room as the Red Skulls roam the room.

  “Room secured!”

  “Supreme Commander! We got one still alive over here,” says a soldier pointing at a man hidden under a table, his head face planted into the floor.

  Gregori lies on the floor in pain. The blast has knocked him to the floor, sparing him from the onslaught. However, he would much prefer to die since the government will now interrogate him, trying to extract information from him in hopes of demonizing the cause he fights for. He closes his eyes, not sure what to expect.

  Suddenly, someone grabs him, lifting him up into the air. He is then pushed against the wall, struggling for air. He opens his eyes and sees Joseph, his former friend.

  “Long time no see, Gregori. Tell me how has everything been?”

  Gregori remains silent as he gasps for air.

  “What, no words for me? Not even a hello? Such disrespect in today’s world. You know what kind of people are disrespectful? The ones that abandon their friends.”

  Gregori, infuriated by his comments, musters enough strength to spit into Joseph’s face. He’s not in the mood for Joseph’s games nor his abusive attitude. His former friend couldn’t accept the fact that he, Gregori Kurt Stein, joined the Gewerksma to better the contemporary Zentari, to liberate those caught in the strings of a corporate government. Joseph drops Gregori to the ground, wiping his face as Gregori inhales and exhales loudly.

  “I see you haven’t changed at all since we last met. But you know what, since we are back together, we can catch up now because I got a lot to tell you-”

  “You never learn, do you,” says a huffing Gregori. “The old me is gone, replaced with a new, better me. When will you realize that, you damn fool?”

  Joseph only stares at Gregori. He smiles and laughs hysterically.

  “Oh, that never gets old, does it now-”

  “Sergeant Qauti, take him away. He has much-needed information we need to extract from him,” interjects Marcus, annoyed with Joseph’s bickering.

  Hanna walks over and picks up Gregori, taking him away from the scene. As they walk out, Joseph’s eyes follow them. He’s pissed that Marcus intervened in their conversation. He wanted to ramble to his friend, ready to convince him on why he never should have joined the Gewerksma. He falls into a trance, contemplating whether to follow them.

  As he focuses on them, Marcus walks in front, blocking his view, staring him down, aware what Joseph is up to. Joseph snaps out of focus as anger boils in his eyes. To Marcus, Joseph is getting distracted. He fears that if he allows Joseph to talk to Gregori, Joseph would eventually snap, possibly killing his former friend in rage. He can’t risk such behaviors to escalate given they need Gregori for intelligence purposes. Marcus walks away, giving some alone time for Joseph so he can cool off.

  As he walks away, the sound of rotor blades pulsates outside. The Jax VTOLS have arrived, unloading the soldiers they were carrying. Their job is to set up a perimeter, securing the area as they search for intel and gather any they find. They have relieved Gadget and the Sanz siblings, who are now standing by the VTOLs as they relax.

  “Another successful mission it looks like for us, boys and girls,” Albric says with a cheesy smile.

  “Indeed, Albric. It’s only a matter of time before the Gewerksma fall,” says Sadara as she briefly looks at Gadget before turning to Donin. “Donin, Gadget has been awfully quiet. How’s he doing with the hack?”

  “I’m not sure, let me ask. Hey Gadget, how’s the collection process coming along?” asks Donin.

  Gadget doesn’t respond. Curious, Donin looks over and sees Gadget tapping his tablet ferociously. Gadget is too preoccupied to relax. He is staring at his tablet, frantically trying to figure out what’s going on. Earlier, he was hacking and stealing information from the Gewerksma, uploading it to one of the government’s Clouds so they could use the information to further discredit the group. However, that upload has suddenly come to a stop and he fears the worst.

  “Gadget, what are you doing? Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t know what’s going on here. It just
stopped downloading the files. I think it froze on me. Damn it, this is not the time.”

  “What’s going on here?” asks Marcus as he approaches Gadget, overhearing the conversation. “Something the matter? Did we get any files?”

  “Some. The bloody device froze on me. Don’t worry; I can fix it. Just- just give me a minute.”

  Gadget continues to tap the device. He doesn’t understand why his device suddenly would freeze up, a problem he has never had using this device. Can it be a virus? No, a virus wouldn’t do something like this.

  Then an error message pops up, stating that the upload has discontinued. Relieved that his device isn’t frozen, Gadget taps Ok. Suddenly, a skull appears, laughing as an upload message appears.

  “No, no, no, no, no! It’s a freaking virus and it’s stealing all of our data!”

  He tries to disconnect from the Cloud, but the virus has taken control of the tablet.

  “Tell them to turn off the online connection to the device! I can’t disconnect it! I’m locked out! DN-188MZC00! DN-188MZC00!”

  “Dexter Lair, this is Mad Dog. We have a compromised device here, DN-188MZC00. Disconnect immediately!”

  “Copy Mad Dog, we’ll pull the plug.”

  Gadget stares helplessly at the screen. Usually, the security programs on his device would have stopped and quarantined any malware that dared try to destroy his device. The fact that these security programs are incapable of stopping this virus concerns him greatly. At this point, he’s hoping that by some miracle, someone at Dexter Lair can cut off his access to the Cloud.

  Then the skull suddenly stops laughing. Gadget looks down and sees he has control over his tablet again. He can see that he’s no longer connected to the government Wi-Fi, a relief to him. As he breathes in relief, the skull returns, putting dread into his heart.

  “You thought you could stop us. You thought you could merely hide your secrets while taking ours? We have your secrets now and we will use them against you to bring our beloved Paradise, a utopia that frees the workers from the grasp of an Einneristic government controlled by corporations. Enjoy your fantasy while it still lasts, for Paradise is coming.”

  The skull disappears once again, leaving the stern warning circulating throughout their heads. The message is pretty clear to them: an attack is coming, and it’s going to be a big one. How and when that attack will be orchestrated remains to be seen. All they know is that the Gewerksma is devising a devious plan, one that could threaten the sovereignty of the Empire. As they ponder the dreadful words, a message pops up on the tablet, stating the virus has been quarantined.

  “Oh, now it quarantines it.”

  “At least now you can use your tech savvy mind to decipher this bugger,” says Albric.

  “I’m sure he can, Albric. He isn’t dumb like you,” snaps Sadara.

  “The Gewerksma is cooking up something now,” Donin says, terrified.

  “I’m not even sure if I can. This virus was able to evade the security programs on my tablet. Just like Albric in this case.”

  “This hate is really getting on my nerves, guys-”

  “Enough complaining. Right now, we need to assess the damage here. Gadget, which section of the Cloud were you uploading the information to?” asks Marcus.

  “The data was going to Section Five, given the other four sections don’t have sufficient room to fit the collected data.”

  “Dexter Lair, can you see what files were stolen from Section Five of the Cloud?”

  “Yes, Mad Dog. Give us a minute,” says someone as they search throughout the Cloud. “Mad Dog, it appears the virus has stolen fragments of one file, according to what we’re seeing here. It looks like they haven’t stolen much of value. However, whatever files we tried to steal are no longer in the Cloud. We’ll keep you updated on the situation.”

  “Which file was it?”

  “Project Ominous, but nothing was compromised.”

  “Copy that.”

  Marcus turns towards Gadget.

  “Good news, Gadget. The virus was only able to steal fragments of information, data that won’t hurt us. However, it did manage to steal back all of the files we uploaded earlier. We’ll get that information later since the virus is still likely lingering in those files.”

  “Possibly, but not likely. Those files are likely long gone. At least they didn’t get anything of value though. However, I fear this may be a CBW[52], although the security programs were finally able to quarantine it.”

  “Don’t let your guard down. Keep your device isolated from the government Wi-Fi network until we know what it is. If it is in fact a CBW, then who knows what damage it can cause if it gains access to our servers. So, get back to base and access it. Every bit of information we find is crucial.”

  “All right.”

  Gadget nods as he rubs his head. He has a headache, caused from stressing out about the virus. He fears that the Gewerksma have developed a cyber weapon capable of shutting down the government, including the military’s weapon defense system, leaving them vulnerable to an attack. He was hoping after tonight to go back to his bunk and get some much-needed rest. Instead, his hopes for a comfortable bed and sleep have gone up in smoke in just a matter of seconds.

  PROTEST

  NOVEMBER 8th, 2060

  11:46 A.M.

  BLEU CITY

  “This is Bleu One! Protestors are ransacking the stores! God damn, there’s too many. We need backup now!”

  The officer shouts into his radio as rocks and Molotov cocktails fly through the air. In the City of Bleu, a robust city of commerce, Neo-Demokrists have taken to the streets once again to protest the government’s reactionary policies. Usually, the Empire experiences a few protests a week, although their size is small and it is rare that a big one erupts, and even rarer that they become violent. The government has mostly tolerated these protests, citing the protestors’ right to do so as long as they don’t violate others’ rights by disregarding the property of others.

  For the last few weeks, however, these protests have been growing in size, becoming more violent. Today in Bleu, roughly 6,000 have taken to the streets, ransacking local businesses. In particular, their targets are businesses that have employed automation, disregarding manual labor to maximize their profits. They wish to do as much damage as possible, showing that people are still a viable source of labor. This concerns the government, which wishes the Neo-Demokrists would be peaceful rather than causing violence and discord.

  For the Bleu Police Department (BLPD), the protest’s size is a bit too much for them to handle. Despite being well-funded, they have been struggling for the last few weeks to maintain order. They have been caught off guard by the violent nature of the protests, especially this one. Although they can defend themselves, they wish not to kill anyone given the Gewerksma will use their brutality as propaganda to recruit more. In this case, they need an extra hand, additional assistance from the government to ensure the lowest number of deaths as possible.

  As the BLPD fight the embattled Neo-Demokrists, in a subway station underneath a mall, a train carrying 120 people approaches. They are wearing black armor with retractable shields; their helmets and electric batons are at their sides. They wear black gloves that hide mini electrical coils inside, designed to shock anyone it touches, giving the wearer an upper hand. These soldiers are in the Brockov’s riot control unit, a recent creation that united all riot units into one.

  Sitting on the train is Captain Aceso Barns, staring out the window. Standing at 5’10’’ and medium built, he has long brown hair that he keeps in a ponytail. His brown magnum mustache and bushy brows distinguish him easily. At the age of 30, he’s the current leader of the Brockov, having been appointed by Marcus roughly two years ago. Before being assigned the role, he was in the Krenma, serving as a bodyguard for the President.

  For anyone, this kind of promotion would excite most. Not Aceso. On the day of his swearing-in ceremony, many could see that his large brow
n eyes, which would be filled with joy, were dully staring back at them. For the last three years, Aceso has been depressed over the loss of his best friend, a man who committed treason against the Empire. That friend is Argus Constantime.

  Argus secretly joined the Gewerksma as a child after the movement’s leader, Dennis Rassu, convinced him that the government killed his father to silence him after he had discovered dreadful truths about the government. This would lead Argus to despise the government and the beliefs of Einnerism, blaming them for the death of the man he admired. Despite joining the Gewerksma, Argus would join the Red Skulls, eventually becoming a member of the Krenma with a recommendation from Marcus.

  During his time in the military, he served as a mole for the Gewerksma, stealing information on their behalf. When the Empire learned that Argus had stolen government secrets, everyone, including Marcus, was shocked. Disappointed and feeling betrayed, he launched a manhunt for Argus that ended at his house. That’s when a bomb detonated, incinerating Argus. Since his death, Aceso has been depressed, suppressing his happiness as he tries to comprehend why his friend would betray the Empire and him.

  “Why did you do it, Argus,” he asks, mumbling to himself.

  The train then comes to a stop, jolting Aceso from his thoughts. He looks around, confused before he realizes where he is. During this time of day, the station is packed with people trying to get to work, tourists getting to other parts of the city. Today, however, the site is barren as the people hide from the violent protestors.

  Aceso stands up, putting on his helmet that has a gold star on it. Like the Red Skulls, the Brockov wear the Kinetic Warrior Suit, though their outfit is more designed to handle protestors and rioters than enemy troops. He then presses a button and the circuitries come to life. Using his mind, he activates his shield, which appears almost instantly. Made of titanium, carbon, and aluminum, these shields are some of the toughest on the market, able to take heavy blunt objects and high-powered projectiles.