The Hunger Rebellion

by G F Cusack

  Spider spoke clearly and precisely, ”What we are proposing here is a huge endeavour in only a short timeframe. It will require planning and coordination. We need to trust each other and work together but we also need to work smart. I suggest that, going forward, we restrict the number of large meetings like this. It will be safer for us to meet in smaller groups, even just in pairs.”

  “Agreed,” murmured the other four almost as one.

  It was CT who spoke next. ”Clearly we need to turn the people against the Company. Although it may seem against our interests, I suggest that we reduce our black-market prices for gel packs and food supplies. Hubert, you and I are the biggest suppliers of food and drink to the masses and the elites. If we want to get the people on our side and be seen as saviours, we cannot continue to bleed them dry. If they see us as being as bad as the elites, when the time comes they may turn on us.”

  Hubert agreed. “We knew that this would require some sacrifices. I am willing to use up the bulk of my supplies to try to reduce the starvation. If we do not support the masses now, nobody will be left to revolt.”

  Hook offered his own perspective. “Another matter to bear in mind is the supplies to the troops. My contacts can help but if Karla’s intelligence source can provide timetables, quantities of Company weapons and store replenishment details, we can intercept some of those resources. This has two benefits: we can deprive the Company of valuable resources and supplies, while helping to arm the people’s army.”

  “That makes sense,” said Hubert. “CT and I meet often because we are in similar trades. We will take on the plan for distribution of extra food rations to the people. Karla, if you can provide us with some extra security so that our charity is not in vain, that would be much appreciated.”

  “Of course.”

  Hubert continued to assign responsibilities. “Spider, you and Hook will be our tacticians. Determine what information is required and liaise with Karla to ensure it is supplied and utilised in a timely manner. Does that all sound okay?” Again, they all nodded in agreement. He was surprised how easily this seemed to be coming together. Of course, this journey was going to be anything but easy but at least they had established a starting point.

  Having been thinking of little else since the last meeting, however, Hubert wasn’t finished yet. “We have a maximum of just over a month to turn the unrest into an uprising. We cannot be seen to be behind this. Although it is obvious that the Company spies will know something is going on, we need to make sure that our hand in this is not seen.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” Karla asked. Now that she was committed to this venture, she was keen to insulate herself.

  “I know of an organisation,” Hubert said. “It was set up to support injured Company veterans, so it actually gets a small amount of funding from the Company. As you’d expect, the funding is not enough. I have the contract to clean the filters in the gel plants and, although this is an unpleasant task, it does supply some additional sources of nutrition.”

  This description almost turned CT’s stomach. Although he had come from modest beginnings, since his rise to power he ate food far superior to the gel packs of the masses. He didn’t like to even think about the residue after the gel packs had been made, consisting of hair and nails and other nasties. Most people had managed to turn a blind eye to the reality that eating gel packs made them cannibals but the idea of eating leftovers from the bottom of the filters would still be disgusting to some. Of course, that was only the people who had the luxury of having full bellies.

  Hubert continued, “This organisation is known as SUP and supplies injured veterans and the spouses of dead troops. Because I supply them with the residue from my cleaning, they also supply certain other dependants. If any of my own people die because of the Company, I use SUP to look after their families. I believe we can filter our donations through this organisation to give us some deniability. Because it is in effect a Company organisation, it can operate under their noses.

  “I like that plan,” Hook said. “I like the idea of using their own service to feed the masses.”

  “Then it is agreed. We all have our own tasks to do. Before we leave tonight, if anybody needs to schedule your next smaller meetings, I suggest you do that now. This is the safest time to do it in person, to avoid using go-betweens that could be intercepted by the Company.”

  As Hubert finished, the room was suddenly filled with multiple conversations about specific timetables and resource deployments.

  31

  Debs meets with the scouts near the Farm

  12 September 2202

  Frank had trained Debs well and she had adopted some of his cautiousness. She’d sent scouts ahead rather than have a horde of over three hundred fighters suddenly arrive at the Farm, uninformed and unprepared.

  The twelve scouts had deployed in three vehicles ahead of the convoy. As trading partners, the rebels knew the layout of the Farm and the scouts had been briefed to approach from three prearranged locations. Their instructions were to observe for an hour and then return to the convoy. If they identified any Company soldiers, they were not to engage.

  It was important to her that they witness the situation on the ground and report back with the intelligence she needed to get an overall view of the Farm. To keep the information up to date, only two of the vehicles would return to the convoy and the third group would remain in place to observe.

  When the scouts returned, they were in a solemn mood.

  “What did you see?” Debs asked.

  After a pause, Jones, a female scout, said, “When we arrived, the troops were already there. We stayed up on the high ground and observed. We could see bodies laid in front of the buildings. Although we didn’t witness the killings, from the positions of the bodies it looked like they had been lined up and executed. The Company set fire to the buildings and I estimate they had around one hundred soldiers there. There was nothing we could do to help.”

  “Did you see any survivors or any prisoners?” Debs asked.

  “They spared nobody. The Farm is lost,” Jones said sombrely.

  Debs had a decision to make. The briefing from Frank before she left had included an initial plan to reach the Farm and fortify it. Although the Company had destroyed the buildings and killed the inhabitants, the Farm was still a valuable resource. That plan still stood. Frank and the rest of the fighters would be a day behind. The attack on the Farm validated their intelligence. Therefore the intelligence that the compound would be attacked was also highly likely to be correct.

  If the compound was attacked, any of their people that managed to escape would head to the Farm. This would be their refuge. They could start with rudimentary buildings and they had plenty of fighters and lots of trees nearby. They might not have an abundance of artisan tools but they could make do. There would be food in the fields and something to rebuild.

  The next thing to consider was a contingency, in case the troops were still at the Farm when they arrived. It was a fair assumption that by destroying the buildings the Company was tipping its hand and showing that it had no intention of staying. The buildings were a strategic asset for any force mounting a defence; their destruction signalled that the Company was preparing to leave.

  Debs had staged her vehicles by the side of the road in order to meet with the scouts. She had to plan for an assault in case the troops were still present but she also needed to avoid blocking the Company if it was leaving.

  Her three staggered convoys had converged on this rendezvous point and were now resuming their separate formations. This location had been chosen because it was close enough to deploy an assault with all of her force at once, yet far enough away to avoid Company scouts.

  The rebels had always had contingency plans for assaulting the Farm. As a valuable resource, it had been open to the risk that its guards would be overrun by a larger hostile group. If the Company troops hadn’t left, they would feel the full might of these plans. The pla
ns had assumed that the rebels would have to assault fortified buildings but the Company had made their task simpler by removing those buildings.

  The family and the workers had been under the protection of the rebels and they’d had around thirty of their own fighters stationed at the Farm. The loss of Kath, Mitch, the workers and their own fighters would be felt as a big loss to their ranks but this was not the time to mourn. Although this had to be verified, she expected that the Farm would have put up a spirited defence. Even if the Company had managed a surprise attack, she was sure that it would have also incurred major losses.

  The three columns would approach the Farm from different directions. The scouts had already left to return to their locations at the Farm and brief the other scouts. Each scout unit would link up with one of the convoys, prior to the assault.

  “We must remain fluid. There may be surprises for us at the Farm so keep vigilant,” Debs said to the group of leaders in front of her.

  Pepper was impressed by the respect that the woman inspired in the people around her. Many of them were bigger and older than her but all clearly deferred to her instincts.

  Eric was not present at the briefing. Pepper knew that, once he found out about the fate of his adoptive family, he would be hard to control.

  “There’s every chance that by the time we reach the Farm, the troops will have left,” Debs said. “If that is the situation, we will not pursue them. It is important that, as we approach the Farm from three directions, we do not impede the Company convoy. Therefore, we will leave the northern route open.” Deb showed the plan on the map so that everybody was clear what was required.

  Once the briefing was over, everyone returned to the vehicles and their tasks at hand.

  The command vehicle was to contain Debs, Pepper, Eric and three more fighters. Eric was already waiting inside when Pepper got into the vehicle. Pepper decided that the best approach was to get ahead of this and tell Eric what had happened.

  “Eric, I have something to tell you.”

  Eric looked at him suspiciously. He had only recently begun to grant Pepper a tenuous trust at best. “What’s happened? Is Mitch okay? Is Kath okay? Tell me, tell me!”

  “We were too late. The Company has already arrived at the Farm.”

  “What are we waiting for? Let’s go and rescue them,” Eric said excitedly.

  “We cannot just go in without scouting first. And this will not be a rescue mission.” Pepper could see the rage in Eric’s eyes.

  “What do you mean, this will not be a rescue mission? Why will we not rescue my family?”

  “Because they are already gone,” Pepper said solemnly. He watched Eric deflate before his eyes. It was as though someone had stuck a nail in a tyre. All the air and energy seemed to disappear from Eric instantly.

  He looked away from Pepper momentarily and then looked back, tears welling in his eyes. “What do you mean? They can’t be gone. I only saw them a couple of days ago. I should have stayed there, I shouldn’t have left them. I could’ve saved them.”

  Pepper tried to put his hand on Eric’s shoulder but he brushed it away. “Eric, if you’d been there, you’d be dead too.”

  “If I hadn’t been able to save them, at least I’d have been able to die with them. They were my family, my only family.”

  Pepper said calmly, “Flo is your family. She’s your family and you need to keep yourself safe for her. You’re all she’s got now.”

  For a moment, the thought of Flo seemed to calm Eric down. Then the angry boy inside him erupted again. “I’ll kill every last one of them. They won’t get away with this, I will kill every Company man I see. I will rip them apart with my bare hands.”

  Pepper realised that it was going to be a long journey to the Farm. He might also need all of his strength to restrain Eric when they got there. Debs, who had been paying close attention to this conversation, met Pepper’s eyes knowingly. There was no need for words.

  When they stopped for the final check-in with the scouts, Pepper and Debs would need to have an uncomfortable conversation. In the meantime, as their vehicle started up, Pepper was grateful that Eric had resorted to silent rage.

  32

  Will briefs Brand on the first plane attack

  12 September 2202

  As usual, Will was frisked thoroughly before entering Brand’s office. He had to relinquish his pistol, magazines and everything in his pockets – a metal pen, a lighter and even his notebook. Although these items might seem innocent to anyone else, Brand was not anyone else. Being paranoid was how he’d survived so long.

  Brand wouldn’t even let his female companions wear hair slides or sharp jewellery as he didn’t discount anything from being a potential weapon.

  He wasn’t afraid of the Norms. Brand viewed the poor masses as he would a piece of dirt on his shoe, there for a short time but easily removed. His main concern was the other elites, knowing that, like him, they felt superior to everyone. They believed that they deserved all of the power. As with Brand, they had more things and pleasures than they would ever need, yet still wanted more. They believed they were invincible and that made them dangerous.

  Greed and an ever-growing lust for more was what had led the world to the Water Wars. The ultimate resource all the elites desired was power. In the Sanctuary, Brand was ultimate power. He tried not to broadcast the fact that he was the supreme leader. Most of the people saw him at events, but only as a figurehead. Thanks to the propaganda machine, the council appeared to be the cause of any ills while no responsibility fell on him. Although this ruse worked with most of the masses, however, the resistance leaders and certain other individuals were aware of his position.

  He was happy to remain behind the scenes while maintaining the seat of power. Power, not adoration, was the real reward. Just by clicking his fingers, he could achieve the death of anyone in the Sanctuary. The other leaders on the council were aware of this reality and they were afraid of his ruthlessness.

  The council had enough political power to pass laws or edicts that would benefit them. Yet not even the combined power of everyone on the council could remove him. He had spies everywhere, including among some of the council members’ lovers and confidantes.

  With his web of spies, Brand would be aware of any proposed coup, as his rivals knew. Although they wanted more, none was prepared to risk everything for the chance to take over his position. This would just make them the next target for such a coup.

  After Will had been kept waiting for ten minutes, a female assistant opened the door to Brand’s office. She was a beautiful young woman, wearing nothing but a thin robe.

  Although her skimpy garb was to allow him access on a whim, it served another purpose as well. The simple robe had no pockets, making it difficult for a potential assassin to hide a weapon. All Brand’s women assistants were forced to undress and don these robes before entering his office. Will was one of the trusted few who was allowed to remain dressed.

  Brand was sitting behind a large desk, playing with a sharp knife that he was using to prune his fingernails. In anyone else’s office, this could have been an ornamental letter opener but Brand preferred a more deadly tool.

  Although the masses didn’t get written mail, any communications between council members would be written on paper and secured with stamped wax seal. A letter opener for Brand was actually superfluous as, although the committee sent messages to each other, they wouldn’t dare disrespect Brand with a letter.

  Brand’s spies let him know all that was actually going on, but he liked the fact that the council members had to submit weekly reports in person. These reports were rarely negative as they all feared the consequences of angering Brand.

  As soon as the doors closed, Brand wanted answers. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to report our success,” Will said, reflecting that perhaps this was not such a good idea after all.

  “Our success?” Brand said. “You mean my success?”
>
  “Yes, yes, your success,” Will said hesitantly.

  “So we have killed all the rebels, destroyed the compound, destroyed the Farm. There are no survivors? Is that correct?”

  “No, not exactly.”

  “No!” Brand replied loudly. “Then why are you here and why are you calling this a success?”

  “The first half of the plan has been executed successfully. I thought that you would want an update.”

  “Give me the information and I will tell you if it’s what I want to hear,” Brand said impatiently.

  “I watched the bombs fall from the planes onto the compound. Three of the scouts had successfully marked the buildings. The bombs hit with perfect precision and devastated the whole location. There were no visible survivors from that part of the assault.”

  “I sense a BUT coming here,” Brand retorted.

  “Before our attack commenced, my spy with the rebels informed me that they had received advance warning of our attack. A woman turned up at the compound, matching the description of the girl that we are hunting. She had an audience with the rebel leader and told him of the attack. My spy was not present during their conversation but she apparently convinced the leader of the threat. He sent half of his forces to the Farm.”

  Brand was quickly absorbing all of this information, analysing it and formulating various scenarios. Before he addressed Will, his thoughts went to the boy Ethan. Dick had told him about Ethan’s dreams of communicating with the girl and this was too much of a coincidence. Someone with access to this information and communicating with somebody else had leaked a warning, almost in real time. Angered by this brief reflection, he quickly returned his attention to Will.

  “It appears that you have stolen defeat from the jaws of victory. We have no confirmation that you managed to kill all of the rebels at the compound and you are here to tell me at least half of them have already escaped.”