Rise
The End | Part I
Mouse prepped her gear in eager anticipation. The tension in the air almost made it hard to move, it was so thick. Her team did the same, whispering to one another despite not really needing to.
A newer member of the wayfarers, Boar, handed out munitions. He loaded each item into belts and handed them out. There was nothing inherently lethal. They included smoke and flash grenades, breaching charges, just in case, and medical equipment.
Diavae agreed to join, believing her presence gave their movement more credibility, as well as an able-bodied fighter.
Mouse watched as Roadrunner and Argus plotted every possible outcome over a map of Autumn. If the elders refused, things would get complicated, and fast.
"What if they mobilize quicker than we think? We could use the overwatch." Argus said.
Roadrunner nodded, "Already on it."
"What about homebound?" Mouse asked.
"They'll be in position several minutes before we even land." He waved her over and she stepped forward. He pointed to several locations on the map, "They'll wait below the colony. All it takes is a gunshot, and they'll be pouring out of the depths from these doors."
"It shouldn't come to that, but better safe than sorry." She stopped and rubbed her temples, stressed and beyond anxious.
"You okay?" Argus asked.
"I just wish we didn't have to do this. What if it's a bad idea?"
"It's not." Roadrunner added. "We're more than justified."
"I just wish everything was back to normal." Mouse said.
"Don't worry," Roadrunner began, "Pretty soon, we'll be right back at it. We may find earth quicker without the elders breathing down our necks."
Mouse replied in haste, her voice breaking as if afraid to say it, "That's not what I meant."
He narrowed his eyes, "Don't you wanna get back out there?"
"I mean, yeah, but..." Mouse paused and sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she continued, "I spent my whole life searching for a home I never had. Now I'm fighting just to keep the one I forgot I always had." She paused and tried to keep her thoughts straight. She didn't want to think about the depths, to revisit the glass garden. "Maybe we should stop trying to rekindle a long-lost golden age and forge something of our own."
"That checks out," Argus said. Mouse met her gaze and Argus nodded, "I get it. I mean I don't know about the others, but I've always been caught between two worlds. I don't need another one to please. I joined the wayfarers to get away from all that."
Roadrunner looked down, deep in thought. It was like the idea never crossed his mind.
Mouse cleared her throat and changed the subject, "What about air support? How are we getting to Autumn in the first place?"
"Persephone class vettes will be shot on sight, at least if they're smart that'd be the case. Too big."
"Okay, and?"
Roadrunner looked past her and Mouse noticed footsteps approaching. She turned around and saw Goose smiling back.
"Is it ready?" Roadrunner asked.
"Tis done," Goose declared. "Wanna see?"
Roadrunner darted forward as Goose turned on his heels.
"What's done?" Mouse asked, following close behind.
"You'll see." Goose replied.
They entered a smaller drydock and walked to the landing pad at its center.
"I give you…" Goose began, holding out his hands as if showcasing the vehicle on the pad, "The Cerberus gunship. It has particle rams, a missile rack, point defense turrets and a triple barrel revolving rail gun for easy loading."
Mouse's jaw dropped, "How did you make this? It looks like one of our vettes, just smaller."
Roadrunner answered, "That's the point. We've always needed solid transports, but the elders wouldn't allow it."
Mouse laughed. "Since when did we have particle rams?"
Goose chimed in, "The elders demand that new tech be handed over. The army takes it. Sometimes we can get around it by, you know, being less than honest."
The vehicle was menacing to be sure, specifically designed to fly in a planet's atmosphere, unlike a corvette. Sliding doors opened to a spacious interior. With the benches resting outside on the left and right of the gunship, the vehicle could transport at least 10 people comfortably, 15 if you didn't mind being cramped.
Mouse couldn't help but smile. Everything was falling into place perfectly. She felt unstoppable, like victory was assured no matter the obstacles. "Let's finish prep. It's almost time."
Mouse sat on the left side bench of the gunship as it lifted into the air. Argus sat beside her. Boar and Roadrunner sat on the opposite side. Each of them had a rifle laid across their lap, with Goose serving as the pilot and Diavae manning the guns.
Diavae wore their Eden armor, black ornate, and covered in symbols no one else could read. They carried a weapons case, filled with who knows what.
The gunship soared over the cityscape of Safeharbor, a gentle drone ringing out from its engines. Mouse looked to the sky and saw The Colossus of Rhodes moving in position over the government complex, a vessel so massive it could be seen from the planet's surface.
Mouse smiled, speaking through the headset in her helmet, "I guess the admiral was true to her word after all."
"Never doubted it for a moment," Roadrunner replied.
The complex was coming into view, and a sudden panic came over Mouse. She wasn't ready. The time came to actually do the deed and she found herself wanting to turn back.
The gunship lowered, and they jumped off the benches. The doors slid open and Diavae stepped out. They casually moved forward, strolling across the square toward the large double doors of the government complex.
Mouse trailed ahead of the group, not realizing that roadrunner and Diavae stopped mid stride. She took a moment to observe the area around her and found the square oddly vacant. She slowed down as she reached the steps of the complex, then turned around.
Roadrunner and Diavae shared a look, both sensing what only those who've been in war can feel. "You felt it too?" He asked.
They nodded in reply. "Explosives."
Roadrunner knelt down and rested his head on the metal ground. He listened in on the battle going on in the depths. "Gunfire," he said. He stood and spoke through his headset. "H1, are you in position?" Silence followed. "H2? H3?"
Diavae spoke then, their gaze slowly drifting to Argus, "They've jammed communications."
Boar reached the stairs and tried the double doors. "Locked. How'd they know we were coming?"
They knew we were coming? Rhey thought. She turned to those still out in open and suddenly realized what was happening, "Get down, find cover." In her panic she screamed again, as if their instant reaction wasn't quick enough. "Now. Run."
She heard what sounded like the crack of a whip and a whistle as the round cut through the air and passed through Roadrunner's visor. The glass coated with blood, obscuring his face as his body dropped.
More rounds followed as Mouse watched her friend fall. She let out a vicious roar, returning fire to the end of the street where the rounds came from. Argus and Diavae did the same, the two of them stepping toward the complex and behind columns for cover.
Boar dodged to the side but screamed as several rounds made contact with his chest. He was dead before Mouse managed to get to him.
"Body check," Argus called, tears welling in her eyes. She patted down Mouse's body, checking for blood. Mouse did the same for her, stopping the moment her hand came back coated in red after patting Argus' leg.
Argus stared at the blood, her eyes wide. "Well, damn." She slowly dropped to the ground, her back against a pillar, the pain finally noticeable through the surge of adrenaline. "I didn't even feel it," she said. "Good thing it isn't that bad."
Diavae wasn't as optimistic. They fired their rifle in a rage, screaming. Their shots hit far more than anyone else's, yet she scoffed and threw the gun to the ground, as if it wasn't up to the task. "Keep her safe, I'll be back."
Mouse cried out in shock, "What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm making myself an asset. It won't take long." Diavae ran out into the open, drawing fire as she rushed toward the gunship.
Goose had already begun taking off when Diavae leapt onto the bench. They slid the door open.
"Pilot," they said. Goose turned around and waited for her to finish.
"I need you to take me to the nearest reactor."
Mouse watched in horror as the gunship flew away, the enemy fire getting heavier by the second. Argus fired when she could, but in the end it was only Mouse who could actually fight. She heard something over the headset, a voice fading in and out through static…
"Mouse? This is Miranda Thrace. Can you hear me?" Miranda turned to the communications officer and spoke with confidence and authority. "Cycle through every frequency. They can still hear each other. There has to be a channel that isn't jammed." The officer nodded and obeyed, Miranda turning her attention to the security officer on the other side of the CIC. "Scramble some fighters, strafing runs only. No explosives. I don't know what's going on down there, but they're not handling it well."
Mouse's voice called from the comms. "Hello?"
Miranda rushed to respond, "Rhey? This is the admiral. Can you hear me?"
Mouse hid behind the pillar tending to Argus' wounds. "Yeah, what's going on?"
Argus gave Mouse a cold stare. "Careful. For all we know she sold us out."
Miranda smiled at the thought. "You've either been sold out, or found out. Doesn't matter right now. I have air support on the way, drone fighters."
Mouse took a brief moment to peek beyond the pillar. She saw soldiers preparing to rush the steps of the complex and immediately fired on them. Two went down, the other two diving back into cover. "Will that even help?" She asked.
Miranda crossed her arms and chuckled, "I mean, it's better than what you have going on right now, yeah?"
Mouse heard the roar of engines as fighters screamed through the skies above. She heard the weapons fire, saw the streaks on the air as the rounds clashed with enemy lines. "Yeah I suppose so."
Miranda took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Look, you did well. It was a good plan and by all rights it should've worked." Miranda flipped through several pages in front of her, each a map of the area with scribbles and notes in her own writing. "This isn't your fault. That being said, would you mind if I took over? Luckily for you, I prepared for this and war is my field of expertise, wouldn't you agree?"
Miranda waited for a response, a moment that felt like ages. She would force them to obey her command. She needed Rhey to agree.
Mouse replied, "Yes, what now."
"Thank you, love. We need more boots on the ground. We're trying to contact your forces in the depths. In the meantime, you need to get inside that building."
"They reinforced the door. We can't get in."
"Rhey, dear, this is a war zone. When they lock their doors, you're well within your rights to make your own."
Ooh, I really like the color changes of text when it changes POV! And also, oh my gosh, it did go from 0 to 60 really fast, but it's believable, since the Elders are sin eaters and have sin eaters spying everywhere. :O