“How do you know that? What if the Tin Cans got to them?” Nathar asked, his voice raised.
Ajax slid his knife down the length of the bayonet one more time before pausing. “I know because I could see it in their eyes. They were just kids. A waste of money if you ask me.”
Obi thought of the young man to whom he had given the energy bar to earlier. “Maybe it’s for the best,” he said, knowing their lack of training could pose more danger to the mission.
Spurious watched the soldiers chat and stirred nervously. He wasn’t close enough to hear what they were discussing, but he knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“We proceed without them,” Obi whispered to his men. He hesitated, “We have to presume they deserted us. Besides, if they had been caught, we would have heard at least one shot fired.”
The soldiers sat huddled on the concrete platform, Obi’s flashlight illuminating an old map on the cold floor. It was one of the only maps Spurious recognized back at the silo.
“Nathar and Creo, you’ll enter the CRK tunnel from a decommissioned air duct that runs above it. You’ll drop in and take out any guards,” Obi said, pointing at the different locations on the map.
“Nordica, Ran and I will drop in after all targets have been neutralized. Ajax, you and Spurious will follow us once we’ve been given the all clear.”
“Where’s the card reader at?” Creo asked
“I was just about to get to that,” Obi replied.
“The card reader is located on the eastern wall of this final tunnel,” he said, pointing. “Once Spurious gets us inside, Ajax and I will plant the charges. We suspect there will be light resistance, and hopefully they will never see us coming.”
“Should we expect any turrets or machine gun nests?” Nathar inquired.
“Spurious, you answer that one,” Obi ordered.
Spurious cleared his throat before he spoke. “This is the back way into the CRK headquarters. As far as I can tell from the blueprints I’ve looked at there won’t be any machine gun nests and guards will be at a minimum. The tunnel is directly under the eastern half of the headquarters so the explosives should bring the entire structure down. I don’t think they would see an attack coming from this direction,” Spurious said, as reassuringly as possible.
“Good. Nathar, have you reprogrammed his card?” Obi asked.
“I did when we took five a few hours ago. Should work like a charm,” he said with a smile.
“Men, you all know what to do. We’ve been waiting for this moment for years. Once we get into the secured CRK tunnel, we have to assume we’ll be facing some resistance. We just need to buy Spurious enough time to get to the card reader. He has assured me that once inside the final tunnel, we can place the bombs and escape with enough time to make it out before the entire CRK headquarters collapses,” Obi said, gritting his teeth.
He watched his men, scanning their faces to gauge their reactions. He wasn’t surprised to see their tense jaws tightly shut. The tunnel was relatively dark, but the men’s infrared goggles easily allowed them to pick up the skeptical looks on one another’s faces.
Obi picked up on this quickly, realizing it would take more than a pep talk to reassure them he wasn’t leading them on a suicide mission. There was a reason the new recruits had left, and it wasn’t because they were cowards — they knew the chance of survival was low. There was no time for any more speeches though. Every moment they wasted was one second closer to their plan being discovered. And Obi knew he couldn’t count on any more lucky breaks.
Time: 9:05 a.m. February 28, 2071.
Location: Tunnels. Lunia, Tisaia
The vent was pitch black, making it difficult for Spurious to even make out the shape of his hands in front of him. For what seemed like an hour, he squirmed through the tight air duct. He knew in advance it was going to be tight, but he had no idea it would be this bad. Ajax barely managed to fit inside, and was forced to remove his chest armor before entering.
As Spurious crawled further he began to feel his heart racing inside his chest. It was finally happening; he was going to have his chance at shaping the future of Tisaia.
His thoughts drifted to Lana, trying to forget her betrayal. He had to stay strong now; avenging the deaths of Lana, Paulo and his parents was all that mattered.
He pushed through the darkness, sweat dripping down his bruised and wind burnt face, seeping into his pores. With every struggling move, he began to feel like his arms and legs were moving on their own accord. His heart continued to beat faster and faster. And just when he thought he was going to vomit, Ajax stopped in front of him. “We’re here,” he grumbled back at Spurious.
Spurious flattened his body against the smooth metal of the air duct, listening to Nathar work on removing the barely visible cover to the tunnel below.
For minutes he lay there, listening to the faint sound of Nathar working in the distance. He strained his ears, listening to the sound of boots hitting a concrete floor below, the echo muffled by the metal ventilation.
They must be in.
Gunshots immediately erupted below, rattling the metal duct. His excitement quickly turned to horror. It was really happening. He was really going into battle against the CRK.
Spurious placed his hands over his ears, trying to shield them from the deafening noise that was amplified by the tight metal vent. The gunfire stopped as soon as it had started and a nervous silence washed over the soldiers in the air duct.
“All clear!” a voice finally shouted from below.
Spurious sucked in a deep breath of stale air, attempting to get back in a crawling position. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he dropped back to his stomach. The ringing from the gunfire was pounding in his head.
“Let’s move,” Ajax growled in front of him.
Spurious forced himself onto his belly and squirmed through the final length of the air duct, trying to keep up with Ajax. He could make out the halogen light bleeding into the duct from the open hole in the center of the vent. He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath, just like he did before jumping into the pool as a kid, and dropped through the opening.
The brightness of the tunnel instantly washed over him. He blinked, trying to regain his vision and focus on the tunnel. Spurious felt naked, exposed in the open, not knowing exactly where he was. He rubbed his eyes as his vision slowly returned to normal.
At the end of the tunnel he could make out a large metal door and two Knights lying on the concrete ground. There were warm red puddles of blood pooled around their corpses.
“Let’s go,” Ajax shouted at Spurious, who stood staring.
Spurious snapped out of it, removing his key card from his damp pocket and rushing over to the card reader. “Please let this work,” he muttered, stepping over the body of a dead Knight and swiping the small badge over a red key card built into the wall. He waited, but nothing happened.
“Shit!” he screamed, waving the small white identification card back and forth across the front of the reader. Finally, the red light turned green with a click, and the door unlocked.
“Get him out of here,” Obi ordered Ran.
Spurious watched Ajax grab the large metal handle of the door and began to pry it open. Obi waited from behind, a bag of explosives in each hand. Nathar, Creo and Nordica all had taken to one knee, their weapons trained on the door, waiting to see what was on the other side.
Before Ajax could open the door, Spurious felt Ran grab his arm. “You heard him, Spurious, let’s go. Your work is done. We need to get you out of here!” Ran shouted.
Spurious couldn’t move, though; everything had slowed to a crawl, like it had the night Lana died. He stood there staring blankly at the door, Ran pulling on his arm, urging him to follow.
As Ajax opened the door, Nordica and Creo rushed into the room, their weapons at the ready. The explosion of gunfire erupted immediately.
This time Spurious didn’t bring his hands to his ears; he stood
there, motionless, watching the red hot blasts of white lead streak from the ends of Creo’s and Nordica’s rifles. Spurious could barely make out the Knights in the distance. They fired from behind two metal crates positioned in the middle of the next hallway.
Ran loosened his grip on Spurious’ hand just as two rounds tore through Nordica. He screamed helplessly and watched Nordica’s dreadlocks swirling in the air, her rifle firing wildly before her body slumped against the concrete wall speckled with blood.
Creo cocked his head to glance down at Nordica’s lifeless body before firing several bursts at the Knights’ positions. “Go to hell, you Tin Cans!” he screamed.
The rounds ricocheted harmlessly off the metal crates the Knights were hiding behind, prompting them to duck. This gave Nathar and Ajax an opportunity to rush into the room. Ajax dove, lobbing a grenade towards their position.
The grenade hit the ground and rolled to the middle of the two metal crates. The Knights fumbled with their weapons, turning to run after seeing it at the last moment.
Ajax and Nathar dove for cover just before the bright white light of the grenade flashed. The explosion ripped through the metal crates, shredding the Knights and sending chunks of concrete, twisted metal, and body parts into the air.
Ajax slowly removed his hands from his head and peered around the room, coughing from the smoke and smell of scorched flesh.
“Let’s move! Plant the explosives,” Ajax ordered. He rushed past Obi who was preoccupied watching Creo and Ran attempt CPR on Nordica.
“How bad?” Obi asked.
Creo removed his goggles, so he could look upon his commander with his own eyes before shaking his head.
Obi, nodded, pulling a whimpering Ran off of Nordica. “Ran, I need you to get the others out of here. Nordica would want you to live. Ajax and I will finish setting the explosives.”
Ran wiped a tear from his face and nodded, heading for the vent opening. Obi watched half his team make it back to the air duct, Nathar hoisting Spurious and then Ran into the darkness above him.
A small rush of relief washed over Obi. It was a small victory, considering the mission. He knew going in there would be casualties. Even though Nordica wouldn’t be making the trip home, there was comfort knowing she wanted to die in combat.
“How’s it coming, Ajax?”
“Almost done, boss, let’s just hope the Tin Cans didn’t hear us coming.”
Obi knew they were working on borrowed time. By now the entire headquarters would be alerted to their presence and squads from all over Lunia would be honing in on them. They had minutes, maybe seconds, to plant the charges and bail. He kneeled next to Ajax and trained his machine gun on the door at the end of the tunnel, waiting.
“Okay, boss. Timer’s set, let’s go!” Ajax shouted. “You do the honors,” he said, handing Obi the remote detonator.
Obi felt the cold metal of the detonator on his fingers. In his hand he held the end to a revolution—the ability to bring the CRK headquarters and the Tisaian government to its knees.
He looked up at Ajax, a smile hidden by his five days’ worth of facial scruff. His friend didn’t return the smile, however. He looked terrified. Obi turned just in time to see a squad of Knights pouring into the room.
Ajax started firing immediately, back tracking through the open metal door and into the first room. Shells rained down on the concrete floor, pinging as they hit.
“Shut it!” Obi screamed.
Ajax tossed his weapon to the side and began shutting the massive metal door. White hot bullets ricocheted off the other side, but Ajax would not be deterred. He grunted, snorted and heaved with all of his might. His muscles bulged, the cobwebs of veins poking out of his scarred arms until finally the door closed with a loud bang.
But Obi’s luck had finally run out. He lay on the concrete floor, squirming in pain. Ajax continued on, oblivious to his fallen comrade. He headed to the card reader and blasted the device with his pistol.
“Let’s go, I’ll hoist you up first, boss!” Ajax shouted, reaching down for his assault rifle. It was then his eyes finally came to rest on Obi’s broken body.
“I’m not going to be making the trip home this time, my friend. You’re Commander of the TDU now,” Obi coughed, a red stream of blood streaking down his chin.
“No!” Ajax cried, collapsing to his knees. “You’re coming with, boss, we can still get you out of here,” the large man whimpered. His eyes comprehended what his mind could not — Obi was mortally wounded, two bullet holes to the chest and one in his stomach.
Obi coughed again, holding up the detonator. “I never told the others, but I have always considered you a son.”
Ajax squeezed Obi’s hand. He couldn’t bring himself to look down at the dying commander, the man he had fought side by side with for so long. He was a man of few words, and he wasn’t going to change now. Placing his hand on Obi’s shoulder, he squeezed it one last time, a tear finding its way out of his neon orange goggles and crawling down his thick jaw line.
“Go!” Obi coughed, another stream of blood crawling out of his lips.
Ajax stood, gritting his teeth and wiping the tear away before heading for the air duct opening. He grabbed Nathar’s hand, jumping and pulling himself into the metal duct above.
The team crawled through the air duct as quickly as they could, listening to the Knights pound the metal door in the distance. It was too late for them, though; the bombs on the other side couldn’t be disengaged, and the detonator remained in the hands of one of the most loyal TDU soldiers to ever fight in Tisaia.
He lay in front of the door, motionless, the pain subsiding, his life source draining from his body. He watched Ajax climb to safety and was at peace.
Obi’s bloodstained lips formed a smile. He had watched Spurious grow into a man in the past few days, and knew this young State worker’s destiny was to rise to greatness and lead Tisaia out of the darkness. He would have a chance to do that now.
Obi gripped the remote tighter in his gloved hand and reached for the necklace Sasa had given him years ago, caressing it. He closed his eyes and remembered her face and the faces of all those lost under his command. His eyes darted back down to the remote. This was for the departed—the ones who lost their lives fighting for justice.
The pounding on the door grew louder. He grimaced, the feeling in his legs dwindling. His body was redirecting the blood to his heart and brain as his organs slowly began to shut down. He had to hang on, to give his men adequate time. They had to get far enough away from the blast zone. He hadn’t come this far to fail them now.
The banging on the door rang out again. The Knights on the other side were growing more frantic.
Obi took one last breath, memories of the past racing through his mind before he closed his eyes for the last time. With a single click he pushed the button on the detonator; a single tear crept down his face before the fire consumed him.
Time: 12:05 p.m. February 28, 2071.
Location: Immigration Camp #4. Rohania, Tisaia
Kalah sat in his small tent, surrounded by three of his closest friends. He watched his companions huddle around the small fire, chatting anxiously about the news trickling into the camp from relatives and friends in Rohania. The flames illuminated a sparkle in Kalah’s normally dull brown eyes.
An hour had passed since news of the massive bomb that ripped through the Council of Royal Knight’s Headquarters spread. And Kalah was excited. Normally he would have dismissed such news, but when the ground shook and the smoke rose in the distance, he knew a change was coming. Today was the day he would rise with the rest of the immigrants at Camp #4. Today was the day they would finally achieve their freedom.
He turned to his tent mate Mulia. “How many weapons do we have hidden?”
Mulia held up his fingers as if he were counting the rifles he had hidden over the years. “About 50,” he finally responded.
“Then we should have enough for almost every able man in
the camp. It’s time to fight. Spread the word. Today we go to war!” Kalah yelled, rising from his feet.
Time: 7:14 p.m. February 28, 2071.
Location: St. Peters Church, Rohania
Leo sat in the bowels of St. Peter’s church, hiding in the shadows and watching the flicker of candle light dance across the dark room. He listened carefully to the Rohanians who gathered around a massive oak table in the center of the room. He examined the weapons, maps and pages upon pages of documents littered across the table, wondering if they were real.
Leo had helped organize the meeting immediately after hearing of the news streaming in from Lunia. The Knights’ headquarters had finally fallen.
“Let us call this meeting to order!” shouted Susa Waria, a middle aged shop owner from Rohania, known for her waist length gray hair.
“I want to thank Leo, one of Rohania’s oldest protectors, for organizing this meeting. Rest assured you’re safe here. The Knights are busy with rescue attempts at their headquarters. That’s right, the news you have all inevitably heard by now is true. The Knights have been broken,” Susa said, pausing, the room breaking into cheers.
“Let us not forget, however, the window of opportunity for a rebellion is short. Knights are still positioned throughout Tisaia, and will without a doubt reorganize quickly. We must rally with the immigrant camps and strike them hard, and strike them swiftly if we hope to truly retake Tisaia.”
The room erupted in commotion. Susa stood, her hands trying to quell the disorder.
“What of the TDU? How do we know they’re strong enough to fight a full-fledged rebellion?” a man asked from a chair at the back of the room.
“They were strong enough to destroy the CRK headquarters,” another man Leo did not recognize shouted.
“We shouldn’t overestimate them, though,” a woman yelled at the end of the table.
“Order!” Susa yelled at the top of her lungs. The room quieted and she placed her hands down on the table softly, scanning the room with her dark brown eyes.
“We’ve waited for this day for a long time now. I can assure all of you my contacts have confirmed the TDU is still intact. News has already trickled in that the immigrant camps are beginning to rise up. We’ve been supplying them with weapons for years, waiting for an opportunity just like this…” Susa paused and grabbed a document from the table.
The Biomass Revolution ttc-1 Page 27
