by Vee Bosse
“Wait, it’s not working?!” She watched in sudden horror as the liquid that would eliminate any chance of them escaping was able to penetrate her psychic shield, reaching them below. Angry and desperate looks overtook the group in panic, as they started to feel the familiar stranglehold of mindless oblivion overtake them once more.
“No, I can’t let it go down this way!” Christian screamed, as the group desperately looked around to find a way out of the hall. But, upon the activation of the red lights and the sirens, a massive steel barricade shut itself over the entrance to the mess hall, hopelessly trapping everyone inside.
“Not if I can help it,” Dre declared, as she turned to the barricade’s direction to blow it away with her energy. But to her horror, her psychic aura suddenly slipped away before her eyes; the glowing blue mist seemed to leave her powerless. “No, I need...to smoke,” she gasped in powerlessness as she blacked out against her will, while the thousands of mindless subjects surrounding had let their heads fall into their chow bowls in slumber. For the group of anomalies, their dreams had been reclaimed, only for them to be forcefully stripped away as their knees gave way.
They all fell to the floor, helpless against the authority that claimed them as mindless soldiers for their own. Commander Revenant above, along with the other soldiers, were completely unfazed by this pacifying liquid as they stood over their conquered and sleeping pawns in relief, letting the lights and sirens turn off to give way to their continued peace.
“Our planet thanks us, men.” Revenant’s declaration of victory over mankind’s worst encounter with ‘that which wields death’, gave his team an invigorating confidence, as they all stood proudly above the mass of sleeping pawns below. The commander smiled and laughed once more, as he pulled out a cigarette and a black lighter with a silver skull on the front of its case. He took his time to enjoy his drag, all while closing his eyes to tuck his lighter safely back into his uniform once more.
“Smoking isn’t allowed in the building.”
Chapter Two
Goodbye, Blue Sky
A man dressed in a simplistic version of the standard guard uniform took in a breath of fresh air, before laying eyes on a face that snapped him into a mode of seriousness. He adjusted his tinted black shades in the midst of his short, blonde hair. “Vice General Politek I presume?” A woman dressed in a unique green military grade blouse approached the man who had the calm look of a father in his late 30s. He stood at attention for his approaching superior who wore her black hair in a Japanese-styled knot.
“At ease. You must be Commander Windstar Dogvale. Indeed, my name is Rothschild Politek. For you to know that must mean that I’m famous back at Midpoint Base Hawaii.” The lieutenant showed a smile at the Vice General’s quip, seemingly relieved about the demeanor of his superior appearing to be far more relaxed than expected.
Dogvale addressed his superior with an air of professionalism. “The training session that my soldiers undertook was basically the same as mine was. We received a briefing of the events of two days ago, who our new superiors would be, and the general rules and norms about operating as guards against the hostiles that are kept here. I imagine General Schilling is in stitches at this point.” Politek allowed the slight grin on her face to fade away, as she recounted all that she knew from the event that took place in the chow hall.
“I suppose that I should tell you all that I know, since you took the time to respond to HQ’s request for emergency assistance here. What you have been told at your pre-departure briefing is about all we know. Commander Revenant and his unit passed on all that they knew...although it was troubling to listen to, to say the least.” The two began to walk away from the massive metallic ship that had brought them all there, hovering seamlessly over the water at speeds unknown to anyone before the last several decades. They took in the warm sun as they passed on a walkway through a small forested area that was on the opposite end of the tiny island where the Glass Submarine was located.
“We couldn’t help but become startled as well, upon hearing that a subject was actually able to awaken to a state of conduciveness. Commander Revenant is quite amazing to have been able to act in such a calm manner to activate the Diamond Radiance solution sprays. It seems that we are still blessed by our planet: our godsend was affective against a never-before-seen variant of the forbidden power.”
Politek let herself become reassured by Dogvale’s musing, yet she couldn’t help but have a sickening feeling in the pit of her.
“Yes, let’s hope that our fortune holds strong through whatever is happening with the subjects,” she added. They approached the personnel base at the center of the island which presented a brilliant architecture many had never seen before. Manmade waterfalls flowed from the walls of diamond and stone reinforced building that flew the flag of the Western Latitude above. The two gazed at its impressive figure that bore an emblem of an eagle spreading its wings over a likeness of North and South America.
“Well, your reinforcements are here, so we should be able to handle anything that comes our way. Let me give you a special briefing of the what-nots about how we house the subjects,” said Politek as they entered the building. They sat down inside of a glass lounge room with a privileged view of the island and surrounding sea.
“The three thousand or so inmates here are subdued at all times by our Diamond Radiance wall system that is in each of their rooms. It constantly emits a small amount of radiance that fogs their mental functions and memories, to the point of complete compliance.” Dogvale nodded in understanding as his soldiers finished unloading from the ship in the distance, proceeding to their staff barracks underground. “And with whatever happened to that group of anomalies, the wall system obviously wasn’t enough. I just can’t believe that it had been successful through these years, only to have them develop some kind of immunity.”
“Yes, we have been investigating the possibility of some of them getting ahold of our Radiance antidotes somehow, but we are constantly watching them on surveillance with our remote feeds along with the assigned guards posted outside of their doors.” The commander let out a sigh of relief at the thought of his most recent inoculation of the Radiance antidote being only a couple months ago, thus making him completely immune to the substance that impaired their subjects’ functionalities. He then began to wonder about Revenant, and how his team fared against the rebel delinquents.
“So, what about the tranquilizer guns? Injecting the Radiance into a suspect intravenously has never failed to immediately subdue anyone in the history of our hemisphere employing its use.” Politek shuddered at her imagined visualization of his factual statement.
“The tranquilizer darts were indefinitely impeded by the girl’s ability. The darts had even been smashed by whatever it was.” Dogvale couldn’t help but let out a laugh to cope with his newfound tension of such a thought.
“Wow, that’s frightening,” he admitted while pondering Politek’s words. “And what was the subject’s name, if I can ask?”
“Of course, she is Andrea Sweet. Some girl whom the police force’s radiation detector’s meters went off the charts on long ago. I think somewhere in the southern Panama Territory’s south district.” Politek poured a glass of scotch, offering a glass to the commander as well, who gladly obliged.
“Beautiful territory. I’ve taken my family there a few times for their resort specials,” Dogvale said, as he took a hearty gulp of the premium beverage. What he thought of saying next, he hesitated to state since his training officials had refused to reveal any info concerning the forbidden subject. “And, how are the super soldier developments coming? If it’s even any of my business.”
Politek glanced him an expression of complete seriousness before turning her head in a permissive way. “You’re ranked just high enough to make it your business, I suppose. Over the years, we indeed have been infusing a slight amount of the Forbidden Radiance into the subject’s chow over time. We balance that out with an over
abundance of submissive radiance to keep them subdued.” Dogvale became extremely focused on the Vice-General’s words, realizing that this knowledge alone could take his career, and even his very existence to a higher level.
“I wonder then,” he retorted. “Did neither you, nor Schilling ever imagine that something like this could happen at any point throughout the years?” Politek confidently thought about his question, all while letting the alcohol go to her head. Her legs were crossed in a way that showed off her black and red boots that had the ability to be extremely durable, and fashionable at the same time.
“No, we never imagined that the Diamond Radiance could wear off, and fail like it did. But, we have been trying to synthesize the liquid in a way that creates both an obedient and articulate super soldier, with potent awakened abilities like Sweet was able to produce. However, at the same time, it would still repress their memories and individuality. Our best scientists here at the island have been attempting to create a version of Radiance like that since roughly ten years ago.”
Politek poured herself another glass, as her buzz began to overtake her. Dogvale couldn’t help but wonder how often their Vice General partook of the alcohol that she seemed to have in abundance. “But, I hear that our top scientist, Professor Mary Hubris, has managed to come up with a new way to turn these subjects into the soldiers we need to combat the Eastern Latitude.”
Politek smiled and let out a sudden laugh that indicated something that had the Vice Commander baffled, and pleasantly surprised. “The crazy bat turned a subject into a robot weapon.”
Dogvale nearly spit out the scotch that he was finishing upon hearing his carefree superior’s words. “E...excuse me? Did you just say, robot weapon??” His baffled reaction didn’t surprise Politek even a little, as she had nearly the same reaction the first time that she heard it from General Schilling. Feeling confident that this new weapon that the strange Professor had somehow developed would launch their Latitude into an advantage against their adversaries, she boldly declared the subject weapon’s name.
“Sabrina Phillipi.”
“Huh, well, I’ll be damned,” Dogvale sighed in amazement as they sat in silence for a moment, taking in their beautiful view that surrounded the island’s perimeter. As the alcohol gave them a sense of well-needed relaxation, something on the sea’s horizon caught their eyes at almost the same time. “Hmm, do you see that in the distance?” Dogvale asked, suddenly concerned. Politek didn’t reply to this, as she sat for a moment fighting her buzz to figure out what the approaching figures could be. Then it hit her. The alcohol that she had enjoyed was helpless to keep the urgency and panic from welling up inside of her head.
“Damn, oh shit!” Commander Dogvale began to sense her panic as well upon hearing Politek’s expletives.
“Vice General!?” the serious demeanor of an elite-ranked officer overtook both of them, as they got the confirmation of the worst-case scenario that they knew could always happen in the back of their minds.
The sirens had only sounded once in the history of Haven Island. One subject had managed to escape the clutches of his government captors after an elite hoverboat had docked to bring in the new shipment of subjects who had been found by the police. But now, the sirens sounded for a second time, and for a reason that made even two elite officers attempt to fight the panic that was welling up inside of them.
“All personnel, report to the underground emergency briefing auditorium immediately! This is not a drill!” Said a voice over the island’s intercom speakers that Politek recognized as General Schilling’s, although she had never heard him sound that frantic before in the twenty years that she had been stationed on the island.
Politek and Dogvale had barely managed to keep their cool after leaving the lounge room that had a perfect view of the massive swathe of approaching warships. They ran through the underground transport system below to reach the large auditorium where all of the island’s personnel had gathered. Politek gazed at General Schilling’s expression as he stood in the front of his military subjects to address the emergency that had befallen their island stronghold out of nowhere. His panicked expression offered no one in the room comfort as she managed to take a small swig of her alcohol in discretion; she and Dogvale joined the General and Commander Revenant at their sides in front. They all stood at attention, and waited for General Schilling’s words amongst the faint sound of the sirens wailing above ground.
“Our radars confirm it, there is a swathe of about 20 warships approaching from all directions. They will arrive in about two minutes at their current hovering speed. I’m not sure how they evaded our long-range radar system, but obviously they have,” said the General, as he desperately searched in his mind for some kind of strategy, when suddenly, the solution was obvious to him. “Felix Revenant,” Schilling suddenly barked at the commander who was wearing a surprisingly casual expression on his face. “Send a message to Hubris immediately to deploy the robot weapons.”
Revenant let out an amused smile as he decided to take out his tablet and cigarettes; lighting and dragging on two at a time. Dogvale couldn’t help but scoff at Revenant’s demeanor when Politek interjected suddenly; her inebriation being held at bay.
“Wait, what? Did you just pluralize that word...robots?” Schilling’s urgency turned into aggravation towards his top elite officers.
“Revenant! Now, call,”
The general’s words were interrupted by a massive explosion in the side of the underground auditorium, leaving half of it caved in and the other half barely intact. Schilling and his three elites managed to somehow dart away at a speed unparalleled, but many of the guards and staff in the auditorium were not as lucky in escaping the explosion and collapse of the ground above them. Schilling looked on at a silhouette approaching through the dust ahead of them, noticing a massive warship just ahead in the sea; a massive cannon was smoking from the ordinance it had just released at them.
“You are Xu Xinling. Are you not?” Schilling barked at the figure, who had made his presence known with a level of violence that the world had not been able to imagine since the Great Sorrow of fifty years ago. Not even the man who had been assigned as the general in charge of the Western Latitude’s most important stronghold, Theon Schilling, could have imagined that their enemies would attack in such a bold, brash way. The enemy that Schilling had just addressed looked to be of advanced age, as his hair had turned a bright grey, and wrinkles had begun to define his Chinese likeness. His uniform was also brilliantly decorated in the same manner as the General’s was, donning brilliant medals and gold sashes all about. The only striking distinction was that this enemy bore the emblem of the Eastern Latitude on his shoulder in vibrant fashion: a simple image of a red rising sun in the blue ocean.
“Yes. You are correct, General Theon Schilling. That is my name.” Schilling noticed it was this man, the one whom he had been warned about at the start of his military career almost fifty-five years ago. The man who had long been at the head of the Eastern Latitude’s continental defense army was now standing before this tiny island, seemingly as a conqueror, betraying his lifelong role as a defender who had succeeded in protecting his massively-sized hemisphere from any attackers.
“No response from Hubris,” said Revenant, who was even calm at the sight of such a terrifying opponent. “I wonder what she’s doing?”
“Ichinaru O’ Ren,” Master Xu suddenly shouted to his warship, directly behind him. “The time to endure is now.” With those words, a petite and tall girl with an extremely long, black ponytail joined her sensei’s side, along with about thirty men who dressed and moved like ninjas; their faces were shielded in mystery by traditional ninja masks.
“Yes, sensei.” Without warning, O’ Ren unsheathed a brilliant ivory katana that had featured a golden dragon wrapping around its hilt. Schilling had felt the energy of the sword with their opponent’s aura, and unexplainably, it gave him an overwhelming sense of death that had never before gripped hi
m in the massive amount of years that he had been a military elite.
“This is my final order to you three: retreat. Any way that you can escape the warships, leave this island and don’t look back.” Their general’s words left them stunned speechless, yet they could all admit that they had felt the same impending doom from their new opponents that the general had also sensed.
Revenant, without any hesitation, did indeed leave the general to handle them alone as per his orders, flashing away with a speed that had even left their strong opponents unable to pursue.
“Revenant, of course he would run without hesitation. He’s never broken an order in his life, despite his arrogant and dangerous demeanor. But me, commander,” said Politek, finishing the last of her Scotch before tossing the bottle to the ground to shatter. “I won’t abandon you so easily. I’ve served under you for far too long,”
Schilling, without breaking his gaze toward his enemy, gave a sudden command to the commanders that had remained. “Dogvale, flee at once, and take Politek with you. Anyone who stays behind on this island is not likely to live. I will be the only one to go down today, so give your Latitude the service it deserves. Go off, and defend our continental mainland from the Easterners who are likely going to be striking our homes soon, if not already.” Politek gritted her teeth in utter frustration, before whisking away with Dogvale in tow.
The General was now the only worthy Westerner that could take on the strength of the Easterners, along with their formidable fleet of ninja ships. He noticed the remaining guards and workers that had not been crushed or blown away were standing aloft from him on the other end of the crumbling room. With looks of complete horror and desperation engraved on their faces, one of them nervously shouted in the direction of their fearless general. “G-General Schilling, we know that to be promoted from the lower military ranks to the elite ranks, one would need to master the Gravity Leap to gain the advantage over a strong enemy. We haven’t mastered that yet! How can we escape?”
