“You and I both know there ain’t nothin’ goin’ to come out of that hole.”
“That’s not the point,” she replied. “I’ve had worse, and if all we have to do is watch one dumb hole in the wall—” she froze, her arm outstretched towards the crack in the wall where Marcus was staring at them.
“Hi,” Marcus said simply. The woman toppled over, followed swiftly by her companion. Marcus shook his head, pulling himself from the narrow space, “It’s just terrible to be right sometimes.”
The old door to Phoenix slid loudly open, “Guys! I just heard from command! The base is under—” The trooper stopped, gaping at the two bodies, and at Marcus who was trying to extricate himself from the tunnel. Marcus reacted first, raising his rifle. Unfortunately, the S.T. reacted fast enough. Realizing he was outclassed, he did the only logical thing – he slammed the button to close the door and ducked. Marcus shots ricocheted off the metal, and he slung himself from the tunnel, leapt to his feet, and fired a few quick shots through the closing door.
“Damn,” Marcus said, as the door slid closed.
“What happened?” Janus asked as he emerged from the tunnel.
Marcus offered him an arm, “One got away. He will surely alert reinforcements soon, if he hasn’t already. We don’t have much time.”
Janus was surprised. He felt no anger or disappointment towards Marcus. He had undoubtedly done as well as could be done. To dwell on it would accomplish nothing. Instead, the team’s options flitted through his mind as the pair of them helped the others through. Ramirez was a tight fit, and he broke concentration for a moment to help the big man squeeze through the final meter.
Wouris came through last, eyeing Ramirez with a wry smile, “I swear that tunnel was smaller the last time I went through it.”
Ramirez grunted, and wiped off his dust-covered shoulders.
Wouris nodded at the tunnel. “I’ve got Riggans watching our six. But it’s pretty crammed in here.”
Without hesitating, Janus stepped into the scanning circle. The floor illuminated with his presence and the somewhat disconcerting, stalk-like scanner dropped from the ceiling once more. Janus felt his breath catch. The system was still active.
“Scan… in prog..ess,” it stuttered, bathing him in a soft green light.
“Scan comp… Welcome Executor.” The door slid open laboriously.
“Well, at least we can guess why it worked last time. It must think you are Magnus,” Celes remarked. “You never seemed like Phoenix Executor material, Janus,” she added with a smile.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Janus replied, staring down the dark hall. Far ahead, the orange glow of the factory shone through the other end. He turned to Wouris, “Change of plan. You’re sealing the entrance now.”
“Why?” Lyn asked.
Janus shook his head, “An S.T. escaped us. Reinforcements will be here soon. No one can know we are inside, so I need you to make it look like you tried to get through the door, but couldn’t, and sealed it instead.” He paused, “Actually, let them seal it for you. Plant some charges for when the door opens and make them think twice about checking too thoroughly.”
Wouris eyes glimmered with respect, “And what about you?”
“We’ll complete the mission and find another way out.”
Lyn sighed, “I guess I’m on point.”
Janus nodded to her, “Good. We need to get well away from here as fast as possible. I want no trace of our passage, or for us to be caught by surprise.” The sounds of stomping feet mixed with the echoing clang of the factory.
Wouris gave him one final glare as the doors slid shut, “You won’t get a poem from me for stupid heroics, so you better come back alive.”
Janus smiled as they were left in darkness.
A familiar warmth filled the air as the five ran into the depths. The warmth of factories. Lyn’s hand signals were but shadows in the darkness of the hall, but the factory glowed like a beacon in the night. She stopped at the familiar catwalks and fork. The echoing of boots somehow still rang through the thrum of the conveyors, hammers, and pistons. She turned expectantly to Janus. To the right was the familiar path Wouris, Celes, and him had traversed while exploring the complex. To the left, the catwalk stairs descended deeper down, into darkness. He hesitated for but a moment, then pointed left. There was no way of knowing which way the Troopers would come from, but the open catwalks of the factory would give them no chance to hide, and no cover with which to fight.
They rushed down the stairs, emerging onto a shorter catwalk crossing a giant conveyor carrying Infernus armor before ducking back into shadowed halls. Dim red floor lighting illuminated their path, and the glow of another factory appeared from a corner ahead. The thrum of boots and the sudden appearance of long shadows along the wall confirmed Janus’ worst fears.
A thick door with a green light just down the hall beckoned them. Janus led a mad dash for it, straining to open the door as he flew by. The enemy’s footsteps thundered in his ears, his blood pumping so fast that his teammates made no sound at all. Lyn leapt inside, with Ramirez right behind her. Celes was next, with Marcus hot on her heels. He grabbed Janus as he passed, and together, they pulled the heavy door shut behind them. The rotating lock screeched and Janus tensed. The echoing grew to a fearsome clamor outside the door – there must have been hundreds of Troopers and the walls reverberated with their boots. Janus raised his rifle.
Chapter 43: The Sleeping Giant
The stomping of boots created a crescendo in Janus’ ears. But they did not stop. The thump, thump, thump of Janus’ heart seemed to coincide with every step for nearly half a minute, and then the sound that filled his ears slowly faded away.
Janus let out a huge sigh. He hadn’t realized he had been holding his breath. Marcus shook his head, “Close call.”
Janus nodded, “Too close. But we’re none the worse for it. Hasn’t Lyn always said that every mission has a hicc…” he trailed off. Celes, Ramirez, and Lyn were all staring out a large window at the other end of the room. Janus stepped up behind them, his breath catching in his throat.
Hundreds upon hundreds of Cryochambers stretched down into the darkness below. No. Not hundreds – thousands. A constant stream emerged from the dark, pulled upward by dozens of lifts and mechanical arms, and disappearing along a conveyor. “They’re heading for weapon storage,” Celes said. Phoenix was gearing up for war.
She pointed to a console, “33,749 troopers have been successfully revived and are in the process of being armed, 76,982 are in the prep stage, and—” Celes stopped.
Marcus finished the sentence, “4,889,269 troopers are on standby, awaiting revival.” Janus felt a tremble run along his spine.
“Well, five against 5,000,000. That’s not too bad of odds,” Lyn joked uncomfortably, her voice trailing off.
“It’s worse than that…” Celes whispered, looking down at the ground.
Splashed across the floor in red stenciling were the words ‘Cryochamber 4’. 4! Janus’ head swam.
“The Corporations could never fend off an army that large,” Celes gulped, putting a hand across her face.
“The Corporations?” Marcus exclaimed, “Forget about the Corporations! ODIN only fields an army of 3000! Once those 30,000 troops are armed, let alone the other four and a half million, ODIN will be hopelessly outnumbered, and that is from just one of these chambers!”
Janus stared at the endless stream of cryochambers blankly. Strong arms suddenly shook him, and Janus looked up to find Ramirez staring grimly at him. He shook his head, “Thanks.” Ramirez grunted.
The other three were equally overwhelmed, wrapped in thoughts of what they faced. He gave Celes and Marcus each a little pat on the shoulder, and the pair jumped. Ramirez gently touched Lyn’s arm and she smiled at him.
“It’s not over yet,” Janus pointed back to the door. “There is still time to stop this. For us to stop this.”
They nodded.
&nbs
p; “Can we shut this room off? Perhaps cause a mechanical issue that might buy some time?” Marcus asked.
Lyn glanced at the screen, “No, this room is automated from a central location.” She paused, “It looks like it’s about 9 levels down and three-fourths of a click away.”
“We have a map?” Marcus asked, glancing over Lyn’s shoulder. “I would think a feature like that would be locked out,” Marcus commented.
Lyn shrugged, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Janus raised an eyebrow, “What?”
“It’s an old expression. It means don’t question such good luck,” Lyn said.
Janus grimaced, “I understood the context – what exactly is a horse?”
“I guess we’ll show you when we get back,” Lyn smiled.
Janus grinned, “Let’s get this over with then.”
The small mirror in Lyn’s hand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and she quickly signed, Clear.
The distant sounds of troops contrasted with the empty halls before them. ODIN’s plan was working. Phoenix was emptying itself to meet the enemy, and the occasional reinforcement squad was easy enough to avoid. No one knew of their presence. Wouris had done her job well.
Lyn darted out and down the hall, motioning the others forward. The tunnels to the center of Phoenix grew tighter and claustrophobic, and the air took on a distinct staleness.
In Janus’ mind, every second sounded like a constant beat in his head. The command staff had left one thing unsaid, probably intentionally: ODIN’s victory may not depend on his team’s survival, but it did depend on their speed. He just hoped that there was still an ODIN left by the time they completed the mission.
“You know, for such a huge place, it’s awfully cramped down here.” Lyn said, glancing at Ramirez as he ducked under a steam pipe.
“This place is a marvel of engineering,” Marcus breathed, “Look at the design of that cryochamber storage room – maximal efficiency.” Admiration filled his voice. “If they didn’t hold millions of enemy troops that were waking up with the express intent to kill us, I would be extremely impressed,” he added in a wry tone.
Lyn leapt over a power conduit that ran across the middle of the hall they were creeping along, holding up a fist. Disperse. They melted into the shadows – the cramped, twisting environment giving them plenty of places to hide.
A voice approached, “Did you hear? Those Ghosts finally found us. They’re blowing up our exits!”
Two S.T.s and an Infernus emerged from around the corner. The Infernus tilted his head to avoid the pipes and conduits that ran the length of the hall.
“Yeah, I want to get up there! Show those stupid Ghosts who’s boss. I’m not afraid of them!” The S.T. leapt around, full of excitement at the prospect.
The Infernus shoved the two of them in the back, “Shut up, you two! Because you couldn’t follow orders, I’m stuck delivering you to your sergeant.”
The S.T.s cowed, and sorrowfully returned to their march. Janus crept up the side of the hall, pulling himself upon the pipes above. Marcus did the same. Lyn kept to the shadows of the sides, weaving in and out of view.
“Maybe if you did your jobs, I wouldn’t be reporting you,” the Infernus said.
The S.T.s seemed to take this as a suggestion rather than a condemnation, and nodded. One of them piped up, “So maybe if we patrolled we would get out of this?”
“No, I’m saying that—” the Infernus protested, but the Troopers immediately turned on the headlamps and began sweeping the area.
Janus stared at the pair, wondering about cryonics potential health impacts.
The Infernus shook his head and grunted in exasperation.
The pair stopped directly underneath Janus and Marcus. “Hey, shouldn’t you be doing guard duty, too?” The first protested.
“Yeah, our lights can’t shine all the way in the back there,” the second whined. His light momentarily flashed over Ramirez hiding spot but the pair were too focused on their escort.
Janus could feel the glare the pair received, but the Infernus obliged, reaching a hand for his infrared. Lyn emerged from the shadows behind the three, her long knives ready. Marcus and Janus unsheathed glowing blades and slowly lowered themselves behind the unfocused group. Janus signaled a silent count, 3…2…1— Celes frantic signaling stopped him and the three melted back into the shadows. Marcus and Janus peered down at the Infernus through the gaps in the pipes.
A second Infernus and a trooper sergeant emerged from around the corner, approaching the first Infernus and his charges. Marcus flipped back on top of the pipes with him, and Lyn had melted back into the shadow. Janus and Marcus were almost invisible, except for their faces, which stuck out in the gap between the pipes.
“Hey, Artie!” The new arrivals called out. The Infernus below pulled his hand away from his visor and raised it in greeting, “Apollo!”
“Artie?” The two S.T.s sniggered. The Infernus shot them a withering glare, and they shrunk in fear.
The newcomers came up to meet them, stopping just underneath Marcus and Janus. The pair kept absolutely still, their faces just inches out of the vision of the two Inferni.
“We need you up top. Let the Troopers babysit their own,” Apollo said. The sergeant grunted in disgust. Apollo waved a hand, “We’re making a push. We surprised a group with another entrance, and they’re cut off, but pretty entrenched. Slagged about four before we had to back off,” he boasted. Janus clenched the pipes. From the corner of his eye, Marcus crept forward. He signed a hand above the pipe, Stay.
“You hear that, Tweedle Dee and Dum? I don’t have to deal with you anymore. Let’s go, Apollo.”
“Alright, you two, come with me,” the sergeant sighed. He dragged the two protesting S.T.s away and disappeared around the corner.
As soon as the hall was silent, Marcus swung down from his hiding place, staring at Janus. “We could have taken them! No one would have known!” He said angrily. “Now they’re going to strike at one of our squads!”
Janus stood up straight. “Yes, they are. But our mission is to destroy this facility at any cost. It doesn’t help us if they are discovered missing – we don’t know how long we will be down here. It was too much risk.”
“This whole mission is risk. Those Troopers are still wandering around; they might still stumble upon us.” Marcus protested.
Janus felt an eerie calm come over him. He was angry right now, his rage at Marcus growing. Growing as it had for some time. And his mind was screaming at the seconds being lost with this tirade. But every time his anger threatened to boil over, Wouris’ face flashed in his mind. He’s probably angry he missed that Trooper. And he’s confident in your squad’s abilities. Janus breathed.
“Every time we fight, we’ll be risking the whole mission and the team. We can’t afford that.” Janus replied in a low voice. He looked at Lyn and down the hall, “Now, we need to move before someone really does find us. Lyn, take point, and get us moving.”
Marcus didn’t move, instead motioning to the team, “We can control the outcome of the battles we fight. We can’t control what those Troopers do now.”
Janus slowly returned his gaze to Marcus. “Can you control yourself for the sake of the mission? Because if you can’t, I’ll have your weapons now, and you can return to the surface.”
Marcus stiffened. Lyn took a sharp breath, and Ramirez stood up to his full height. Janus felt Celes behind him, but had no sense for her expression.
Marcus fought a sneer, “Sir, yes, sir.”
“Good.” Janus said, turning back to the hall. “Lyn, if you would.”
Lyn nodded, and immediately took off down the hall. Ramirez gave the pair a quick glance of concern and then took off after her.
Janus looked back at Celes. Her face was inscrutable. “Celes, move up. I’ll take rearguard. You and Marcus are support for Lyn and Ramirez.”
She gave a quick nod and passed Janus quickly, motioning
to Marcus. Janus watched the pair move ahead of him, and bit his lip. When is a threat taken too far?
Chapter 44: Silent as the Grave
A chill settled over the group as they slid through the darkened halls of Phoenix. Only the necessary signals were signed back and forth. Janus wrestled with himself. He glanced at Marcus, who was actively avoiding looking at him when he could. I could have helped our friends, was it really that big a risk? And what if letting them go gets us caught later? The world around him seemed muted as well.
But despite the silence, the team was still functioning. A natural rhythm settled into place, with Marcus, Celes, Lyn, and Ramirez leapfrogging each other. Janus remained in the back, lost in thought.
The sudden tap on his arm startled him.
“Hey, you watching our back here?” Celes asked. Janus shook his head, “Not well enough, obviously.” He straightened up. “I’ll do better.” He could see Lyn and Marcus signing up ahead, Cold. He shook his head again. He was obviously missing some context.
“You made the right call.” Celes said behind him.
Janus stopped and looked more closely at her. Her eyes were so bright and beautiful.
“I don’t know if it’s so clear cut.” Janus replied.
“It never is.” She agreed. “But great leaders work with what they have, make a decision, and live with it. Hard choices define leadership. It’s easy to give into emotion when lives are at stake.”
Janus looked at Marcus, who was motioning them forward, “And what about enforcing those decisions?”
“You can’t always know the right path for that either. Marcus shouldn’t have pressed the issue.” Celes said simply.
“So too harsh?” Janus asked with a wince.
The Phoenix Fallacy_Book III_Magnus Page 26
