The Fall of Autumn
The End | Part II
Diavae waited patiently for the gunship to land, the sounds of war echoing in the distance. They took their weapon case and darted out of the gunship. They kept low, as not to be seen tampering with such crucial machinery.
Goose watched them as they approached the reactor, a massive fusion power plant that supplied energy to the colony of Autumn. They knelt down, opened the case, and retrieved what looked like a skinny metal rod. It was almost as tall as they were.
Diavae raised it high above their head and drove the rod deep into the reactor's shell. The rod sparked. Electrical currents arched as the rod began to glow a deep red.
Diavae turned and darted back to the gunship. "Two down, one to go," they said.
Goose nodded. "I know just the place. What are we doing exactly. It sounds like they're getting lit up. Shouldn't we be helping?"
"Oh, we are," they replied. "Behold." She held up a pair of gauntlets, black as night yet shimmering in the light of the evening sun.
"A pair of gloves?" Goose asked.
Diavae laughed. He wasn't expecting that. It sounded menacing, like a child snickering at ants burning from the light of a magnifying glass. "These are eden relics. In your tongue, they are called "The Weight of Loss..."
Goose focused on flying, almost afraid to turn and look Diavae in the eye. "Sounds fearsome."
"Quite. They are the essence of woe, of pain…" Diavae was lethargic, as if intoxicated by the thought. "Grief weaponized."
Mouse took a deep breath and jumped out from behind cover. She held a breaching charge in her hand, setting it against the wall a safe distance away. She set another, then another, the rounds whistling by and pelting the ground, walls, and pillars.
She rushed back to Argus who fired indiscriminately in the direction of her enemy.
Mouse screamed, "Clear," and detonated the charges. The explosion was deafening, leaving a ringing in her ear, a massive hole in the wall.
Mouse and Argus stood and used the smoke for cover. They rushed to the breach and raised their rifles, firing on a group of soldiers who struggled to bounce back from the explosion. They fell with little resistance, some bleeding from their ears and others unable to stand.
It was strange. Mouse's training took over. It wasn't until after that she was forced to confront what was happening. Their controlled slaughter, and the slaughter the soldiers received in return, made Mouse more than angry, she felt hatred. This rage built and only made her more vicious as she fired on those who managed to fight back. They didn't last long either.
Moments later, she stumbled upon the man she largely held responsible for this entire situation. General Baker looked up at her, his eyes pleading for what his pride wouldn't allow him to ask for, mercy.
Mouse brushed the dust from her visor to make sure he saw the rage, the sorrow. She placed a foot on his heaving chest and raised her rifle to further reiterate that mercy was out of the question.
The blast probably damaged his organs. He didn't have long to live. Mouse didn't fire, she couldn't. The feeling of killing haunted her, and she was far from done.
She wouldn't kill him, but she didn't have to save him, either. She moved forward, slowly walking over him and deeper into the complex.
"Miranda," she began, "We're inside. What next?"
Miranda answered, pouring over a map of Autumn, "Really? Well done. You need to follow the grid and find the receiver for the complex. It's in the basement"
"Why?"
"Knock out the power and you have an edge. The army has the tech to see in low light environments, just like you, but it's not as good. It throws off depth perception. It will also knock out what's blocking communications. We need to get your people out of the depths."
"Understood." Mouse replied.
Miranda watched as new information appeared, the situation changing almost by the second.
Mouse followed the grid, taking note of glyphs she could use to her advantage.
Miranda guided her every step of the way. "You're looking for a large device attached to the grid. It's in the building, I'm sure of it."
Argus was beginning to slow, the pain in her leg taking its toll. "Wait," she called, "I'm gonna slow you down." She handed Mouse her belt of explosives. "I'll cover from behind at my own pace."
"No. It takes two to clear a room. I'll slow down." Mouse replied. She followed the grid lines to a large basement room. The receiver was a large box, dials and blinking lights littered the console.
They stopped at the doorway and saw several soldiers in the room.
Mouse took her remaining charges and Argus prepared her own. They worked without thinking, without speaking, as if in tune with each others thoughts and movements.
With a nod from mouse, they tossed the explosives to the center of the room and ran back the way they came. The explosion was bigger than expected.
The first things to go were the lights. The sound of metal bending and breaking followed. Mouse rushed forward but noticed Argus falling behind. She turned back, "Hurry. I think the floor is going to fall."
Argus stumbled forward and caught mouse's arm as the floor gave way.
The sudden forced pulled Mouse to the ground, a pain growing in her shoulder as the prosthetic arm maintained its iron grip.
Mouse called down to her as she pulled her up, "I got you."
Argus replied, bringing her knee up and onto solid ground. "Oh I know, you nearly crushed my hand."
They stared at the abyss below them, Mouse speaking through the radio in her helmet. "Admiral. Jammer disabled."
Miranda clapped her hands once, a single moment of uncontrolled excitement before bringing her focus back to the task at hand. "Yes, excellent. Stand by."
Miranda sent a message to the wayfarers underground. "H1, H2, H3, this is Admiral Thrace. I've assumed command and I need your assistance. Can you hear me?"
The response was distorted by the sounds of fighting, old earth arms and modern rifles sounding off like a symphony. "This is Lethe. What the hell is going on, Thrace."
Miranda laughed "Everything went wrong. Did you expect less?"
"Yes, actually I did. What's the plan?"
Miranda replied, "For starters, get out of the depths. You're needed up top."
"Is the surface crew okay?"
"They won't be if you don't get there soon. Artillery and armor incoming."
A brief pause followed before Lethe replied, "Got it. Were falling back."
"I've pinged an exit on your HUD. Reorganize into three teams and notify me when you get out."
"Will do."
Miranda sent a message out to the fleet, "All ships, I need a roll call for vessels equipped with Infrared IFFs. Sound off and stand by."
She then spoke directly to Mouse. "Rhey?"
"Yeah?" Mouse replied.
"I need you to find the elders, and soon. Homebound is moving to the surface, but this isn't a complete comeback. You can't last against the army."
Argus stood up with Mouse stood as she replied. "Understood. Any idea where they would be?"
"There's a safe-room on the second floor. Be careful. It's the most defendable room in the building."
They moved immediately, rifles ready and as quiet as they could. "We're on our way."
They turned a corner and Mouse screamed. A cloaked figure blocked their path, its red lens scanning them both in confusion.
"Rhey?" The Archivst began...
It was an unexpected encounter. I was drawn by the explosion. I knew an assault was underway but for Mouse to be at the head of it… that was most reassuring.
We patrolled the building as our forces reached the surface. They moved from building to building. Ships using Infrared light lit up their path, a light only they could see.
Admiral Thrace contacted dawn, attempting to speak to Elder Kines, the only elder who happened to be on our side. If we could control the other elders, Elder Kines could call off the dogs without being contested.
Diavae darted back into the gunship after placing the final pylon.
Goose took off immediately, navigating through the narrow streets between the massive buildings. "So that's it? Were good."
Diavae nodded. Slipping the gauntlets on with reverence. It almost looked like their suit was made for it. The gauntlets matched up perfectly, a skintight fit.
They shuddered, a subtle motion Goose would have missed if he hadn't been watching closely.
Diavae placed a final pylon, driving it into the reactor on the gunship.
They neared the complex and Diavae activated the relic, eager to do its work.
The gunship screamed into the square and Diavae opened the sliding door. "Stay in the air," they commanded.
Goose nodded. The pylon flickered. Lethe and the others entered the square, firing and immediately being fired upon by enemy artillery and small arms. Diavae snapped a finger and the rounds grew heavy. Every bullet, shell, and missile fell to the ground far sooner than it should, as if gravity itself enforced peace on the opposing forces.
"Land." Diavae commanded. Goose obeyed, bringing the gunship down on the landing pad. Diavae stepped out. All eyes were on her. She raised a hand and every soldier, every wayfarer, and every outcast outside the complex fell to their backs, a gentle weight holding them safely against the metal ground.
Goose called out, "What are you doing?"
"They're fine. I won't kill them. I'd suggest stepping away from the controls."
I have never seen an Eden relic. Its function eludes me. There are stories told of the eden where entire enemy cities were "crushed under the weight of their sins."
This was a terrifying ordeal for those involved. A single soul possessing such power should be a crime, though I can easily understand Diavae's reasoning.
She sought to preserve life, to protect those she cared for. More importantly, she refused to allow such stupidity under her watchful eye. Needless to say, lives were spared.
Mouse and Argus followed behind The Archiviet. Every encounter ended the same, the ricochet of bullets off his steel frame, and returned fire from Mouse and Argus to end the fight.
When they reached the safe room, it took little effort to enter. The room was empty, save for the elders who sat in smug satisfaction when they entered.
The archivist moved with alarming speed, his fingers cutting through the air and somehow connecting with an enemy Mouse couldn't see.
The elders flinched, then, suddenly concerned.
The archivist simply stood, like a statue before them. "I'm afraid they no longer make the best spies."
Mouse didn't care. She couldn't care less about the bodies that appeared from nothing, or the archivist's comment. She was angry. "We came to talk. Nothing more." She screamed at them, "You've started a war. How can you be so careless?"
Elder Kiernan replied in a tone just as angry and just as hateful, "You started this war. We won't be lectured by children. You know nothing of our intentions. You think this is bad? I've seen horror. I was there when the earth fell. This is a blissful experience in comparison."
Mouse stepped forward and sat at the table. "Is that so?" She felt the rise in her chest, the pride as she called the elder out on their bluff. "Prove it."
Elder Kiernan rolled her eyes, "What is your grand plan? Assuming you've won, what happens next? A dictatorship, a military occupation? Maybe you imagined a perfect utopia?"
Mouse faltered. It hadn't occurred to her and for the first time she realized they didn't have a plan for after the fight. "It won't matter to you, so why bother?"
"You'd kill us?" Kiernan asked, not afraid, but intrigued.
"Oh. Yes. All you had to do was walk away. All you had to do was step down, and you couldn't." Her words spilled forth like an angry storm. "Now that you're the one staring down the barrel you want to sit and talk? No. People died today that didn't have to."
"We all die, Miss Thakur. As sure as the sun will rise. Fine then, I wish you luck. You'll need it."
"You resign yourself to death so easily." The archivist added. "Why?"
Elder Frey smiled, "We long for death. It's okay, really."
Elder Kiernan spoke then, "You'll regret it though."
"Oh, my conscience is clear on this one." Mouse said. She stood up and walled toward them, pulling them up from their seats and forcing them against the wall.
Argus stood beside her and nodded when Mouse met her gaze.
Kiernan laughed. "To hell with your conscience. There will come another crisis, and then another. This world will always need saving. Are you prepared for the weight of such responsibility?"
The elders raised their hands to the sky. They raised their rifles and Mouse spoke under her breath before pulling the trigger. It was a statement, the reason for all that happened. It was also a promise, and an answer to the elder's question, "Atlas falls..."
Gods, that final line has so much punch. I’m just aaaah!! also fuck the elders!