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Chapter 24: Into the Dark
June 9th, 3239, 1240 hours
The Lower Levels
Shinjuku District, Tokyo, Earth
The first thing that the Marines noticed was that the air was getting thicker as they went down through the lower levels. In truth, this was what some of the other men were comfortable with. Only Chris was more used to the higher altitude air pressures than the others. Back in New York, they had a derogatory name for people like him: "Sky Suckers". This was the name generally applied to the upper class because the wealthiest could buy penthouse suites in the upper 200th stories. Chris thought it was kind of a misnomer since his family only lived around the 110th story. Regardless though, it acclimatized him to a thinner atmosphere. He never said anything about it, but he sometimes got winded when he was on the ground after longer sprints. He made a mental note that he would readjust his house's air pressure to coincide with ground pressure from now on.
"You smell that?" Reyes asked.
"Yeah. Smells like a processing center." Borne said. He carefully walked over to the railing. He glanced over towards the ground. "Looks like a market actually. They built a market around a shipping elevator?"
"Probably because they wanted to get first pick of supplies that went through." Reyes suggested.
"Wait a second." Chris said. "Market means people. Shit, I did not see this coming! I thought it would be empty or at least very sparse."
"People still live on ground levels, you know." Konstantinos said. "It's not empty down here."
The elevator showed that they were fifty stories from the ground. They had to think fast.
"We're going to pose as guards. Someone asks us who we are, we explain that we are UNSC and we're being called into a situation down here."
"Will that work?" Borne asked nervously.
"It could work on the regular citizens." NICOLE offered. "You should avoid anybody that looks official though. The local police should be side-stepped, although armed security seems like it exists down here."
"I hear that." Chris agreed. "You heard the lady, guys. Stay away from cops."
"Roger." The Marines muttered.
No sooner had they finished that conversation, the elevator hit the ground with a metallic thud. A man who looked like a merchant stood about ten feet from the elevator. The surprised man wore a stray hat and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. A crooked pair of glasses sat on his nose. It was clear to him that these visitors were not Japanese, but he noticed that they did not look like killers.
He tried to speak English: "Eh… Who you are?"
Chris made eye contact. "UNSC." He simply said. "Friends. Understand? He added "Rikai suru?" at the insistence of his Interpreter.
"Hai. Eh, yes. Yes. Sorry." He bowed out of the way and allowed the Marines to pass.
The men took a quick look around. Based on the smell, this was a fish market. They looked and saw fish that was native to Earth, and some that were not. Most of these must have come from nearby Minato or Shinagawa. These were places where fisheries would send their goods. Why not the commercial and geographical center of the city? Konstantinos nudged Chris' shoulder. "That one's from Constance." He pointed at one that looked something like an eel and a goldfish mixed together. It had two sets of fins near the head and the tail.
"How does it taste?" Chris asked.
"Like chicken." Konstantinos answered.
The vendor smiled at the prospect of having a sale. Chris held up his left palm as a sign of just browsing, at which she smiled and bowed quickly. "Time to move on, guys."
They left the market and set off in no general direction, following the moving crowd up an angled road. "NICOLE, can you get a fix on our location?"
"Naturally. I'm patching into the local security network. No problem. I can see you now."
"Good." Chris said. He was jumping from corner to corner trying to find a camera."
"I can't see you."
"But the most important thing is I can see you, Sergeant."
"What?"
He was in a jungle. The familiar two toned caw of the crested screamer made him shake as it always did.
"That's the thing about snipers, kiddo." Sid Romano said while lighting up a cigarette. "When you're in their sights, they are gods: able to dispense justice in high caliber format."
Chris chuckled nervously. "You… you're not pointing that thing at me, are you, Jeff?"
"Well, technically I'm pointing above and to your left. I have to account for wind, you know.
Chris wheeled around trying to find out where his sniper was. Unfortunately, it was all in vain. He could not find his sniper.
"OK. I give up, Winston. Where are you?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets." was his reply.
"Be that way. Do you have a visual over the highway?"
"I do."
The squad was on a mission today to do a little demolition work. There was a highway that the Talahase used to move supplies to other bases. Calling it a highway was honoring it though. It simply was a raised roadway that went over deep swampy water. It stunk to high heaven, but it was the quickest way to go around here."
"Do you see any patrols?"
"Not a thing. Clear for almost three miles. Go and plant the charges."
"Keep an eye out there, Private."
"Yes Sergeant."
"Shepard, Romano, we're going up. Get your gear ready."
"Aye-aye, Staff Sergeant." They both said.
The Marines packed up their gear and sprinted down the hill towards the swamp. They were travelling light, so only the bare minimum of armor and weapons were slung around them. The reason for this was because they wanted to vacate the area quickly before they were discovered. The hill evened out at the edge of the water. Chris took his share of explosives and made sure the wiring was secure against the water. The last thing he needed was a shorted out detonator.
"Everybody else's packages in order?"
"Ready to deliver, Sergeant." Shepard nodded.
"Don't we have dedicated demo squads to do this?"
Chris sighed. "Well, we must have impressed someone. Our orders were signed by someone called O'Malley. Never heard of him before. The Colonel mentioned that he looked into our work in Jackamo about a week ago and wanted us for this."
"But this is routine." Romano said. "They wouldn't give us an easy job like this."
"Well they did." Chris said plainly. "You know, I also hear that they're planning on making a Lieutenant."
Both men froze and looked at the young NCO. "A Lieutenant?" Romano asked.
"Yeah."
"But… that makes no sense at all!" he said.
"Permission to speak freely?" Dean asked.
"Go ahead, but we're on a schedule." Chris nodded.
"That's fucked up. Do you think you deserve it?"
"It's not a question of if I deserve it. Benedict's dead. Kapplin's dead. I'm next in line to command."
Lieutenant Kapplin's death was only four days ago. He was out on patrol near Death's Pass when he was abducted by Talahase rebels. Two days later they found him… what was left of him anyway.
"Well, I hope you have what it takes then."
"Seconded." Chris sighed. "Now are we doing this, or what?"
The men sealed their explosives and slipped into the water. It was lukewarm, even in the jungle heat. Their feet didn't touch bottom though so they paddled through the water. A couple of times, the thought crossed Chris' mind that some horrifying creature was laying beneath him. He chose not to think at all about this and focused on the task at hand.
When he reached the first pillar holding the road over the water, a thought snuck into his head. "Hey, have we considered that civilians could also be using this road?"
Romano and Shepard looked at each other with a look of confusion. That fact hadn't come up in the briefing.
"I suppose so." Dean said first. "It is a highway after all."
"We could be crippling an infrastructure by doing this."
"Isn't that what war's all about? They'll find another way to get medical supplies to their people." Sid growled and stuck his C12 package on the concrete. "OK. Mine's green. Better get yours set up, Sergeant."
Chris nodded and swam across a couple pillars. Sid was right though. The Talahase population probably could get their supplies through other roads… but it would take a whole lot longer. He fought the feeling to just drop the explosive into the depths, but stuck it on his pillar and activated the remote arming device. "Got mine lit. Shepard, how are you doing?"
"Just finished mine, Sergeant."
"Chuck-" he stopped himself.
Chuck was dead.
"Did you say something, Sergeant?"
"No. Nothing."
Just then, Chris' radio crackled. He tapped the COM set on his ear. "Go."
"I've got movement further up the road! Looks like a convoy's headed through!" Winston was safe in his perch – wherever that was, but the impromptu sapper team's time was up. "Fall back, guys!"
Winston laid the facts out while the group was swimming to the shore. There was a total of ten trucks, including two armored vans with heavy machine guns bolted on the top – probably ramshackle designs. There was a bus however in the center. Jeff called it in.
"A bus?" Sid asked. "A bus means civilians!"
"We don't know that." Chris said. He gave his answer honestly. "We don't know if civilians are involved."
"What if it's an armed escort? With all due respect, Sergeant, we should wait to get out of here!"
The team climbed back on the grassy slope and went prone. Chris had the detonator out, ready to blow the charges. "Corporal Romano, those are targets of opportunity. I'm not going to just sit here and let a potential dent in the rebel's defenses just pass us by! What if there are weapons on that bus? They wouldn't be using armed escorts to move people around!"
Sid remained silent. He had nothing more to add to this conversation. Likewise, Dean kept his mouth shut as well. They were waiting for the NCO to make the call now. He was the one with the detonator. He held his thumb over the blinking red button.
"Heads up, the first truck is now in the kill zone. If you're going to blow that thing, do it NOW, Sergeant."
Sweat matted his brow. He wiped it away, and a split second later, he made the decision: blow the bridge.
His thumb hit the button. An electric impulse shot out of the detonator's transmitter at the speed of light and told the C12 packages to detonate. Sparks were struck, material ignited and magnified tenfold. At once, the bright blue day turned into an inferno that sparked between the bus and the sixth truck in the convoy. An explosive shockwave blasted the nearest trees away and hammered the Marines. Had their high-tech ear protection not kicked in, they would have cradled their bleeding eardrums. Chunks of the bridge, metal from the vehicles, and wood from the trees were flung skyward and rained down as meteors, complete with flame. Where the area of the bridge once stood was now a gap nearly a hundred feet wide. Out of the ten convoy vehicles, only two were left on the bridge, smoking badly. Their crews piled out and were trying to figure out just what the hell happened.
The other eight were on fire and sinking into the swampy water. There were cries that were barely heard over the burning of the fire of men who were struggling for their lives. The bus had disintegrated in the blast.
"Dear Jesus. Did you see the size of that fireball?" Sid said out of amazement. "Did our packs do that?"
"No, there wasn't enough ordinance in them to do that. It must have been the bus."
"Like the Sergeant said." Chris put on a face that showed he was confident in his choice.
"What did I tell you boys? It's all deductive reasoning."
Sid looked like he was taking it the worst. "Sorry, kiddo. I thought you were making the wrong call."
Chris shrugged. "You weren't wrong to think so. It was a tough call, but I was sure of my decision. Let's get out of here."
The trio made sure to slip away while the confusion went on. They were unnoticed.
"I saw the show from up here. Nice work, Sergeant."
"Thanks for the warning, Jeff."
"I don't think any munitions will be flowing through this area anymore."
"Thanks to the 182, that's a fact." Dean laughed. "Damn, I can STLL feel the heat from the blast!"
"I'll signal for evac." The young NCO said. As he made the call to the dropship, a horrible feeling formed in his gut. It was something that chilled him to the bone.
I guessed.
It was nothing but blind luck. Chris had no reason to think there were any explosives on the bus. It could very well have been an armed escort like Sid suggested. They could have even been prisoners for all he knew. He had taken a gamble and it had paid off. Although it was a slight relief to know that no innocent people were actually harmed, the fact that there was a possibility that people that were non-combatants could have died racked his heart. The military hadn't taken that bit of humanity away from him yet.
"You alright, Staff Sergeant?" Sid asked.
"I'm fine…" he mumbled; more to himself than someone else.
"I asked if you were alright, sir." Reyes asked again.
Chris stared into space idly. Reyes shook the young man's shoulder. "Sir. Are you alright?"
"What?" Chris said shivering. "I… I'm fine."
"Elevation in blood pressure and brain activity. You had another one."
Chris shook his head. "It was smoother this time. I slipped in an out without even noticing."
"Well we sure noticed." Konstantinos said. "You were just standing there. You didn't say a single word. It was scary.
"Sorry about that." The Captain apologized, as if he accidentally bumped into a stranger. "Let's carry on.
NICOLE linked up to Reyes, Konstantinos, and Borne. "Listen to me carefully and don't respond. This has been happening more and more with increasing frequency. If he slips into a hallucination where he could be a danger to himself, You have permission to incapacitate him for medical transport."
The three men gazed at Chris with worried glances. Reyes whispered, "What if he attacks us?"
"…I'll have to get back to you on that." Then she withdrew.
They hadn't gone far from the market. Through a series of side-passages and allies, they arrived at what they assumed was a main street. No sunlight came down to meet them; all illumination was supplied by streetlamps, storefront lights, and UV strips along the 'floof' for the upper city. The road was very old. It was likely they were standing on the original road system for the city back before it was updated through time. The dividers were lit strips that wouldn't wear away in the humidity or weather. Compact cars moved through crowds of people as they moved about. Most stood on sidewalks, but many crossed the streets at will. It was very noisy down here as well: a combination of human speech, car engines, music from advertising walls, and many fans that kept the air clean and circulated.
"Lower New York didn't look anything like this. It was orderly, quieter, and a lot cleaner."
"People live in arcologies in New York." Borne said. "Those are buildings where entire populations are in a self-contained, self-sufficient environment. People here live differently."
"What are your thoughts, Borne?" Chris asked.
"I don't like this. Much too crowded for me."
"Is that your Mobian sense of environmentalism?"
"No, just a sense of not liking crowds."
"Enough exposition." Chris decided. "Do you know where ONI's base is?"
"From here, not really. I was taken directly to the compound by car. It was inconspicuous though."
"Do you remember the make of the car?"
Borne leaned up against a wall and shrugged. "Uh… not really. It was a black SUV… lights on the roof, spare tire on the back, and… OH, the lights made an inverted corner under the grill!"
"On it." NICOLE scrambled to check vehicle databases on Earth. She ran through almost three hundred automotive manufacturers and scanned based on Borne's description. She found five matches, but narrowed it down to two based on a global search: The Troy Esperado, and the Ford Gallagher. She quickly diverted her runtime and hacked into the city's camera system, masquerading as a software update. The Supervisor AI never knew she slipped in. After jumping around, she discovered that an abnormally large number of Ford Gallaghers were parked in front of a building about two kilometers from their position. She quickly ruled out a car dealership, and the building profile or writing did not match that of a police station either. This must be where the ONI outpost was.
After a grand total of five seconds, she reported back in to the guys. "You're going to like this: I think I may have found our hidden base. It's masquerading as a pump station about two kilometers away."
"I remember now. I knew it was a municipal building of some sort." Borne said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "How can you be certain?"
"I found a large number of unmarked black SUVs parked in a three block radius. Guys, all of the plates don't match the legal standard. They're clearly designed to throw off suspicion and are untraceable."
"Which ironically enough," Chris said with a smirk, "has traced them back to ONI."
"Funny how things work out." Reyes said.
"I'd get moving if I were you." NICOLE advised. "At your average pace, you can reach the pump station in around fifty minutes. No direct route to get there. I'll update your minimap with police locations to give you a heads up."
A NAV point appeared in Chris' vision. He groaned as he saw the distance to the point. "You all get updated positions?" Chris took a look around, and was startled how many people were staring at them. It wouldn't be surprising that foreigners would get a decent amount of attention, but the Mobian got a double amount of staring. Again, Chris had to remind himself that these people were seeing a five foot tall talking animal dressed in a jacket and holding a rifle. It was something right out of an anime, to use a rather apt example. Honestly, they were under-reacting.
A chorus of 'affirmative's, and 'yes's came about.
"Alright gentlemen. Time's wasting!"
In orbit, the Burro was in a geosynchronized orbit over Japan. From the distance of about 30,000 kilometers from the surface, the details were still far beyond recognition. He ordered his helmsman to keep over here so that if any important reports came in, he would be able to communicate with the ground team. The Black Bat had not returned yet, and he found himself counting down the hours. NICOLE recently gave him an update on the squad's position. The Captain was approaching the site of the suspected ONI building, but they would need visual confirmation for proof.
NICOLE's hologram appeared next to Gerome.
"Admiral, I've just done a further sweep of the building that ONI has hidden itself in."
"Report."
"It's in the guise of a pumping station, which appears slightly out of place in the middle of the city. As far as I know, there are no other buildings that can be considered of military nature within the city limits."
Andsworth sat back in his chair. "Seems odd the spooks are deciding to dig in instead of showing themselves to the public."
"I am curious to this development as well, sir." The AI looked out the window into space.
"You seem upset, NICOLE." The older man noted.
"Is it obvious?"
"For an AI, yes. It's quite obvious."
"I've been upset for quite a while." She admitted. "Ever since I was handed off to Chris… I knew it would only get worse from there. Here we are now, probably on the brink of war."
"It's scary, isn't it?" Andsworth asked.
NICOLE took her time analyzing the question. She didn't feel fear the same way an organic being did. To her, being afraid was a combination of algorithms and not being able to perform a task. She had to struggle for years to understand the concept of fear. But when she looked at the Human, she whispered, "It's very scary."
"It kind of makes you wonder if things would have been better if we never showed up at all. How different would things be if we never made that jump in the first place?"
NICOLE smirked. "Actually, I have an idea, but I'm not at liberty to say."
"Why not?"
"There's a firewall in my program that was installed before I began my service, and I can't break past it. Doubtless, whatever you're imagining can be revealed once that's taken down."
"You'll have to tell me more about that one day…" Andsworth gazed out of the viewscreen. He spotted another ship moving towards them. "Commander Xander, care to explain who's knocking on my door?"
Jubil shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "They're definitely military. The tags match up with those in our databases. Identity confirmed as the UNSC Reaper."
Andsworth shivered. "That's not exactly the ship I wanted to see more than once in my career."
"Incoming transmission, sir. Closed band." The COM officer said while leaning in his chair. "They really want to talk to you."
"Put it on the viewer, Ensign."
Andsworth's face drained of color as he looked into the eyes of Troy Marshall. The President was visible from the collar up and was dressed in a suit. He smiled, but Gerome sensed that this was not something to be comfortable with.
"Hello, Admiral."
"Mr. President."
NICOLE quickly disappeared with a gasp before Marshall could see her. She withdrew to cyberspace with a sense of dread and fright.
"How goes your study of the Black Hole cluster?"
"Informative, Mister President."
"I mean, it obviously went well if you're standing before me and talking to me."
Gerome laughed to keep the conversation civil. "So, what do I owe the honor, sir?"
"I was calling to check up on you, Gerome. I noticed that you came back from your recent trip, you haven't been moving for the last few hours, so I assumed you had engine trouble."
"Engine trouble is so important that the President of the UEG had to call me up?" The Navy man shot back.
At once, Marshall's friendly smile disappeared. "Admiral Andsworth, you are under arrest for high treason against the Unified Earth Government and in breach of military protocol for your interactions with a terrorist. You will surrender your ship, your crew, and will enter custody aboard the Reaper."
"I didn't do anything wrong." He professed. However, as soon as the words escaped his mouth, the Burro began to rock in space. "What was that?" He demanded.
"My calling card." Marshall growled. "A dropship has just connected to your docking ring to arrest you. Before you ask, my people have determined that a very valuable target is on your ship."
"Is that so?" Andsworth said, now starting to become a little bit amused.
"Getting rid of that lifeboat was a smart move." Marshall said as he got up and paced around his office. A flash of lightning struck and painted the entire right side of his face white for a second. "It made me consider how things were turning out."
"Who's lifeboat?"
"Don't play STUPID with me, Admiral! He's on your ship!"
"I highly doubt that."
"Don't push me. Don't push me, not when we are THIS close to ending this whole thing."
Andsworth relaxed in his chair. "We are indeed getting close to ending this whole thing. The only problem is it's not going to end well for you." This time it was Andsworth's that got up and paced. "When this whole thing started, I questioned the Captain's motives. The boy was a bit rash at times. I certainly found that he had an air of rambunctiousness and a bit of pride, but I knew he was no murderer. I knew that right from the minute I met him. I also knew that the destruction of the Elijah Jones was also something worth investigating. I also know, thanks to a few friends of mine, that your innocence is starting to look very strained. So how about you go ahead and tell us all what we already know."
Marshall got close to the camera. "Do you know how close you are to a public execution?"
"Pretty damned close, I would think. How nice of you to bring back a lovely memoir of the 19th Century."
"I've been saving it for a special occasion." The man snarled deeply. "Your words have no weight. You are nothing but a washed up naval officer who has become a terrorist sympathizer who is secretly plotting to help overthrow the UEG."
That one caught the old man off guard. "Well, now, that is a big threat. I assume that you have some sort of evidence to back it up."
"Just sit tight." The President said as another fork of lightning blasted the outside. Without warning, the door to the bridge slid open. Black-armored men wearing airtight helmets came into the compartment with submachine guns pointing at the crewmen. Andsworth looked and saw that they were all ordained with the ONI symbol on their sleeves.
"CLEAR!" one of them shouted. The commander removed his helmet and walked to the center of the room. He was a tall man with a buzz cut and a broken nose. "Sir, he's not here. We checked every compartment here."
Marshall growled. "Did you encounter any resistance?"
"None, sir."
"Where is he, Gerome?"
"Not here."
Marshall began to lose his patience. "Captain, target a crewmember."
"Yes, Mr. President." The commander said pointing his weapon at Xander. The man became frightened and raised his hands as if to defend himself with them.
"This is crazy!" Jubil cried out.
"I'm going to ask you again." The enraged politician said again, this time with a tone that the admiral had never heard before. It was as if he was deciding to shoot him then and there. "Where is the Captain?"
Andsworth decided to tell a half-truth. It might be enough to spare Jubil's life. "He left, but I don't know where he went. He commandeered a shuttle and just took off looking for his friends."
Marshall looked into Andsworth's eyes, judging him then and there. Andsworth stole a glance towards Commander Xander. The XO was visibly shaking, and looked towards them men pointing weapons at him. Marshall sighed and said, "Liar."
The gun went off. The bullet hit Xander in the neck, splattering the computer behind him with blood. Jubil didn't scream, but wrapped his hand around his throat and gasped in a broken manner. He fell out of his chair and lay on the floor with a pool of blood growing around him. Andsworth was beyond shocked. He could barely say anything and desperately wanted to get up and help his officer. However, he knew that the gun would be pointed at him next if he tried to do something funny.
"Is he dead?" Marshall asked.
"No sir." The commander stated. "The bullet went right through the larynx, but missed the spine."
"What is Commander Xander's status?"
"Critically injured. His jugular vein may have been nicked."
"Excellent."
It disgusted Gerome to hear Marshall say those words. The man on the screen was no better than the terrorists that held Talahan V years ago. He was using his power and his men to gain information, and more importantly, bully Andsworth into compliance.
"So, my good admiral, I present to you a scenario: one of your crew is heavily injured, and you are at the mercy of someone who has you at a disadvantage. Do you either a) swallow your pride and give up, b) go be a hero and see where that takes you, or c) keep on making me angry and make these gentlemen shoot another crewmember?" Marshall chuckled. "Look at Commander Xander. His life is slowly draining away. I have the power to save him, or end his suffering." At that, the ONI commander raised his weapon again."
"Don't do this. I…"
"Yes…?" the president said, waiting for the response.
"I surrender. I'll tell you where the Captain went."
Marshall reveled in the words. "Oh, I already know where he went. ONI has eyes and ears all over the planet. I just needed you to be the big man and decide. I surrender. Such a phrase that shows weakness, but at the same time great dignity. You made the right call, Admiral. That's why you're the flag officer."
"Mr. President, what about the Commander?" the ONI officer said.
"Well, a deal's a deal. Patch him up and get him on the shuttle. Take our esteemed guest while you're at it. Ensure that he's taken to a separate area away from the others."
"Very good, sir. What about the other crewmembers?"
Marshall smiled quickly. "No more witnesses."
Before Andsworth could react, the ONI insertion team pointed their guns and blasted away the other crew members. The surprised Navy officers cried out as bullets and plasma rounds tore into them. In five seconds, the viewscreen, the windshield, and the computer banks were riddled with bullet holes and burns as well as dark crimson blood.
"And you know what, Admiral?"
Gerome was too shocked to answer. His mouth lay open as all ten of the bridge officers excluding Jubil were twisted and broken on the floor with their uniforms stained by their own blood. He did however make eye contact with Marshall on the viewscreen.
"We were just too late."
"Too late for what?"
"To stop you from your terrorist plot."
The Reaper glowed white and turned into a fireball for a few seconds. From this distance, the ship was torn in two and began to tumble in the void. Around it, glimmering pieces of metal twirled around it.
"Why did you do it, Admiral? You were a respected member of the admiralty! You were a man that pledged his life for Humanity and THIS is how you repay us?"
"THIS WILL NEVER WORK!" The enraged man said. Gerome stood up and roared at Marshall. "THE PUBLIC WILL KNOW!"
"The public will know that a respected member of the military snapped, performed an act of terrorism on Earth's doorstep. Frankly, Admiral, you're done." A rifle butt slammed him in the head, and then there was blackness. All he could see was the destruction of the Reaper, and wondered if the men and women aboard that ship knew if their lives were going to end.
NICOLE huddled in Cyberspace horrified by what she just saw. She was in a floating garden suspended above dark clouds and under a moonlit sky. She found a stone bench and sat down, rubbing her arms trying to comfort herself. She was weighing the odds and tried to find a way out of this. Marshall had her beat. She couldn't come forth with the information because now that Admiral Andsworth was declared a terrorist, and had 'evidence' to prove he had destroyed a UNSC ship, in Earth orbit no less, it would be impossible to save him. She also needed to act fast. Marshall's men could discover her hiding in the computer. She opened a link to Chris and prayed to God that he was listening.
"Captain! Chris!" NICOLE cried into his earpiece.
At once, the young man tapped the COM. "What's wrong, NICOLE?"
"Marshall! He found Andsworth!"
Oh no. Their last piece of cover was blown.
"Where are they?"
"They're on the ship right now! They just killed the bridge crew!"
"They did WHAT?" He cried out. He paused and leaned up against the wall. Many passersby looked at him with suspicion and fright, as a man with a weapon had just shouted out in the middle of the street. Borne, Konstantinos and Reyes looked concerned.
"What's wrong?" Reyes asked.
"Marshall's goons just attacked the Burro. They killed a large part of the crew."
"Was he there though?" Borne asked.
"No, he wasn't. Quickly though! Get me out of here and I'll explain more!"
They had to think fast since they assumed she was in danger. Konstantinos offered up their personal computer uplinks.
"Those things don't have enough memory on their own." Borne noted.
"I have her console." Chris said quickly. He took out NICOLE's home device and opened it up. "OK. Lock on to the signal and transfer!"
"I found it! Hang on." It was ten agonizing seconds as they waited for her to send herself across a vast distance. Transferring a whole AI from a ship to a planet's surface took a LOT of runtime, and it was possible to have packet loss in the process. In other words, some of her might not be able to reach the intended destination. But NICOLE was a smart thing. She could avoid a nasty complication like that.
At least, they thought so.
After those ten agonizing seconds, she exhaled with such clarity and emotion that for a brief second, they mistook NICOLE for an organic being and not a computer construct. She projected herself life-size.
"Thanks guys."
"Any time." Chris said.
A curious citizen walked up to them and spoke in English, "Hey, nice AI! Where can I get a model like that?"
"Not for sale. Buzz off!" Chris snapped.
The citizen frowned slightly and walked away. They thought that NICOLE's holographic form was a bit of an attention grabber, so they promptly moved into an alley away from the public movements.
"How are you feeling?" Borne asked.
"I… I was so scared. I thought they were going to delete me."
"You mean, kill you." Chris whispered.
NICOLE looked at her human friend and nodded. "Yes. Kill me."
"Tell us more about what happened." Reyes asked. He moved to the alleyway entrance to watch for suspicious characters, but he kept an ear open for what she had to say.
NICOLE paced around on the ground, limited of course in how far she could move around, but she remembered the incident clearly. "I saw a group of men with black armor on storm the bridge of the Burro and held everyone at gunpoint."
"Were they Spartans?" Chris asked.
"No. They weren't. Just a Black Ops team in Marshall's pocket. But they… they shot Xander first… then they shot the rest!"
"You just can't do that." Konstantinos said. "I know Marshall was an ass before this, but this isn't right."
"I've seen a lot of things that haven't been right over the last few weeks." NICOLE said.
Chris said, "What about the Admiral?"
"He's fine." NICOLE admitted. "Well, he was knocked out and taken with ONI. Him and Xander anyway."
Reyes called Chris over, "Captain, the civvies are starting to get excited about something."
"What's up?" The young man asked.
"I was about to get to that, Chris." NICOLE said quietly. "Marshall… he detonated the fusion reactors of a nearby UNSC ship, and blamed it on Andsworth."
There was silence for a few seconds that was only penetrated by the excited shouting in Japanese in the background.
"Motherfucker." Chris cursed. Then, he said nothing.
Borne shook his head. "You know what that means, right? It means that there's another person that Marshall gets to crucify as terrorists. He has you, the Princess, and the Admiral up against the wall. The evidence is stacked against us. Nothing but a direct confession or documents, or something will convince people otherwise."
Chris nodded. "Even more reason to get inside that ONI base. NICOLE, are we getting close?"
"Check your HUD, Chris. You should be near the pumping station."
He glanced up and saw that the distance had really closed. They were a mere hundred meters from the objective. The Marine checked his map and plotted a course through the alley.
"Keep to the backroads." He ordered. "That way we can avoid attention more."
They walked for a few minutes when Will spoke up. "You know, here's something I can't understand: we're carrying military weaponry, and nobody's saying anything about it. You'd get reported for walking around like this back on Mobius."
"People here are a bit used to armed personnel walking around." Chris explained. "Security beefed up after the invasion, and it kind of stuck. As long as we look official, nobody will question us."
"We do look official, right sir?" Reyes humorously said.
"We look ruggedly handsome, I think." The Captain said with enthusiasm. "NICOLE, how would you grade us?"
"Beyond sexy, Captain. I'm sure you get all the ladies."
"Damn right I do. You guys look alright as well."
The rag-tag group laughed heartily. It was a way to keep their spirits up in the face of overwhelming odds. They weren't supermen. They were just regular people in an unlikely position. If they were Spartans, or if they all had the powers of the Almighty Sonic himself, they would have been proud to the point of cockiness, but they weren't.
Borne added, "Well, I mean that's to be expected right? Here we are, slugging it through the netherlevels of Japan to save a princess, PMC contractors, overthrow a corrupt president, and pretty much save all of Humanity without anyone realizing it. Holy crap, that's the stuff that legends are based on."
"You hear that, Marines?" Chris asked, "They're going to make songs about us one day!"
"Oorah!" They said in agreement.
The NAV point was very close now. Less than fifty meters away. At the end of an alley, a chain link fence blocked their path. The team ran up to it and looked through. The pumping station looked legitimate in every sense of the word. A sign attached to the side of a building nearby said 'TOKYO MUNICIPAL PUMPING STATION 7'. The pumping building itself seemed innocent enough as well. It was utilitarian, but had pipes and pumps over the roofs and near the entrance. If it wasn't for the black, unmarked SUVs scattered around the parking lot, they would have sworn they had the wrong building. Chris decided to ask anyway.
"NICOLE, are you ABSOLUTELY certain that this is where the military signals are coming from?"
"I wouldn't lie about something like this. The coded frequencies are coming from that tower… but I'm getting more signals underground."
"Well that settles it." Borne nodded. "We're hitting this baby hard.
"Not so fast. A full frontal assault is completely out of the question. You of all people should know that."
"Yeah, I know… then how are we getting in?"
Reyes shrugged. "Well… it IS a pumping station. It's connected to the sewers then."
"Even though this is a façade, I believe that Corporal Reyes is correct. There are multiple manhole covers scattered around, and if I am seeing properly, there is an aqueduct access pipe directly below your position."
The Marines gazed through the chain link fence and looked down. They were indeed standing above an artificial channel. Runoff from the city was being sucked into the pipes, where some would presumably be cleaned. Whether that was actually what was going on was up for debate.
"That's our ticket in." Chris said. "Easier than I expected.
Born winced slightly, revealing his left canine. "Ugh… do we have to?"
Chris turned to face him wearing an amused and regretful smile. "If we had another plan, I would do it. One way or another, we're taking a bath, guys."
"Oh, this is not going to be good." Reyes groaned.
Chris and Konstantinos cut the gate with their knives. It took a while to get through enough of the links to the point where the gate could simply be kicked in. Reyes and Borne stood watch up the alleyway in case they got any uninvited guests.
"Hey Borne." Reyes asked.
"Yeah, Reyes?"
"Suppose the UNSC and Mobius do go to war after this?"
"Don't say stuff like that."
"Just a 'what if' scenario."
"Alright, what if we did?"
"What side would you be on?"
"An excellent question!" Chris said as an aside as he worked through another link.
There was a minute of genuine confusion from William Borne. The Mobian Marine put down his rifle and leaned up against the wall. He tapped his chin in thought. "What side would I be on… Gosh, that IS a good question. I think the honest answer is that I don't know."
Reyes shrugged. "I mean, it's not an easy question to be sure. We know the truth though, right?"
"Yeah, we know the truth." Borne said in accordance. "So I suppose that we wouldn't join."
"Excellent answer." Chris said.
"I imagine that a lot of people won't be as conflicted." The Mobian said with newfound sadness. "Golly, there's actually a lot at stake here. He blinked quicker. We have the fate of our entire political relationship right in the palms of our hands. If we fail… a war's inevitable. Marshall's got enough to accuse the Mobians of starting a conflict, and the Mobians will strike back."
"What's worse is that a Mobian defeat is imminent." Chris admitted. "They don't have enough technology to stop a full-on assault." He yanked through another link.
"Why not just close the gate? Separate Earth from Mobius permanently?" Konstantinos asked.
"Nice idea, but that option isn't possible anymore. Once Mobius and Earth were linked, there was a way to 'tell' where Mobius was in Existence. Like a cosmic phone number. Once that was known, one can simply input it to jump there from Earth."
"Yeah, how do you think we got there in the first place?" Chris asked.
"Were you really on the Indomitable, sir?" Konstantinos asked.
"Yeah. I was the first person to meet a Mobian… after a thousand years."
"Wow. You must have been honored."
"I was horrified!" Chris laughed loudly. "Don't worry guys. We'll end this, get Marshall in a cell, and all go home to watch our stories!"
"And YOU, mister, have a wedding to plan." NICOLE whispered to Chris.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The Captain groaned. "Alright, I think we have it through. Alex, give it a kick with me." Both he and Konstaninos wound up and kicked the chain link fence with their boots. After a few kicks, it started to give way, and then fell off the alley. The fence fell into the channel, leaving them free to go down the side of the wall.
It wasn't too steep - roughly a fifty degree angle; enough for them to walk down. They took a quick glance at the sky for air units. They didn't see any; just the floof for the upper city.
"Move out, Marines. Keep it quick!"
The four men jogged down the wall, careful not to slip and fall into the channel. Even though the river itself was small, the discharge seemed rather powerful – more than enough to sweep them down the path. Chris got a running jump and made it across the river. Borne got even more speed and cleared the water without even breaking a sweat. He caught himself and then steadied against the concrete. Reyes took a powerful leap but almost lost his balance. Chris reached out to grab the man. Reyes grabbed the outstretched arm and smiled. "Oh man, that could have been bad."
Lastly was Konstantinos. He was shorter than the other men but got good speed. His jump was a bit short though. The jet propelled water nearly swept his foot from under him, but the others grabbed him and brought the startled Greek Marine to safety. They smiled in satisfaction and looked for a way into the facility. The pumping station's entrance was not far away, but they wanted the stealthy approach. The best way to get in would be through an access sewer that sucked water in. One wasn't too far from them, so they double timed it down the channel and jumped inside.
The water was up to their ankles. Thankfully, the rubbed and leather on their boots kept their toes nice and dry. Things would get a bit wet if it was very much higher though.
"Man, it stinks in here." Borne said in disgust.
"How's that enhanced sense of smell treating you right now?" Chris joked.
"I would still take it over yours, Human. How many do you have? Only 5 million?"
"Yeah, but I don't think this sewer's getting out of your nose for a while. Damn, another grate."
This one would be a bit more difficult to get through. It was made of steel, but was a bit thicker than that of the chain link fence.
"Anybody have some thermite?"
"On me." Reyes announced. The large Marine grabbed the pyrotechnic powder and placed it around the bolts protecting the grate. He took a lighter and was ready to burn it. "Cover your eyes, people." He closed them tight and lit the powder. It burned brightly for a few seconds as the metal bolts were melted by the intense heat. After that, the grate fell effortlessly.
"Powerful stuff!" Borne remarked.
They moved through the broken grate and proceeded further up the tunnel, making sure they didn't make very much noise, just in case anybody was listening.
"NICOLE, any surprises waiting for us around here?"
"Doing a scan, Chris. I'm not detecting anything further up this tunnel. No motion sensors, detectors, or traps that I can find. I think you're safe for the time being." Five minutes later, they encountered a door that was clearly military. Its design was something that he would never expect a municipal building to have. Chris tapped the door control carefully and had his Narada up to bear. The room was pitch dark, but there was a hum of electricity.
"NICOLE, lights." Chris whispered. He plucked the AI's case and held it in front of him. The powerful light scanned the area. The humming was coming from a generator to their left, and a line of turbines accompanied it.
"I think we're in a power generation station. If I'm reading this correctly, we are no within the ONI facility."
Chris found a stair step and sat down. His eyes began to adjust to the dark so he could figure out where he was better. "Alright guys, take five and catch your breath. We need to do some planning. As of this moment, we have successfully infiltrated the Office of Naval Intelligence."
June 9th, 3239, 1240 hours
The Lower Levels
Shinjuku District, Tokyo, Earth
The first thing that the Marines noticed was that the air was getting thicker as they went down through the lower levels. In truth, this was what some of the other men were comfortable with. Only Chris was more used to the higher altitude air pressures than the others. Back in New York, they had a derogatory name for people like him: "Sky Suckers". This was the name generally applied to the upper class because the wealthiest could buy penthouse suites in the upper 200th stories. Chris thought it was kind of a misnomer since his family only lived around the 110th story. Regardless though, it acclimatized him to a thinner atmosphere. He never said anything about it, but he sometimes got winded when he was on the ground after longer sprints. He made a mental note that he would readjust his house's air pressure to coincide with ground pressure from now on.
"You smell that?" Reyes asked.
"Yeah. Smells like a processing center." Borne said. He carefully walked over to the railing. He glanced over towards the ground. "Looks like a market actually. They built a market around a shipping elevator?"
"Probably because they wanted to get first pick of supplies that went through." Reyes suggested.
"Wait a second." Chris said. "Market means people. Shit, I did not see this coming! I thought it would be empty or at least very sparse."
"People still live on ground levels, you know." Konstantinos said. "It's not empty down here."
The elevator showed that they were fifty stories from the ground. They had to think fast.
"We're going to pose as guards. Someone asks us who we are, we explain that we are UNSC and we're being called into a situation down here."
"Will that work?" Borne asked nervously.
"It could work on the regular citizens." NICOLE offered. "You should avoid anybody that looks official though. The local police should be side-stepped, although armed security seems like it exists down here."
"I hear that." Chris agreed. "You heard the lady, guys. Stay away from cops."
"Roger." The Marines muttered.
No sooner had they finished that conversation, the elevator hit the ground with a metallic thud. A man who looked like a merchant stood about ten feet from the elevator. The surprised man wore a stray hat and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. A crooked pair of glasses sat on his nose. It was clear to him that these visitors were not Japanese, but he noticed that they did not look like killers.
He tried to speak English: "Eh… Who you are?"
Chris made eye contact. "UNSC." He simply said. "Friends. Understand? He added "Rikai suru?" at the insistence of his Interpreter.
"Hai. Eh, yes. Yes. Sorry." He bowed out of the way and allowed the Marines to pass.
The men took a quick look around. Based on the smell, this was a fish market. They looked and saw fish that was native to Earth, and some that were not. Most of these must have come from nearby Minato or Shinagawa. These were places where fisheries would send their goods. Why not the commercial and geographical center of the city? Konstantinos nudged Chris' shoulder. "That one's from Constance." He pointed at one that looked something like an eel and a goldfish mixed together. It had two sets of fins near the head and the tail.
"How does it taste?" Chris asked.
"Like chicken." Konstantinos answered.
The vendor smiled at the prospect of having a sale. Chris held up his left palm as a sign of just browsing, at which she smiled and bowed quickly. "Time to move on, guys."
They left the market and set off in no general direction, following the moving crowd up an angled road. "NICOLE, can you get a fix on our location?"
"Naturally. I'm patching into the local security network. No problem. I can see you now."
"Good." Chris said. He was jumping from corner to corner trying to find a camera."
"I can't see you."
"But the most important thing is I can see you, Sergeant."
"What?"
He was in a jungle. The familiar two toned caw of the crested screamer made him shake as it always did.
"That's the thing about snipers, kiddo." Sid Romano said while lighting up a cigarette. "When you're in their sights, they are gods: able to dispense justice in high caliber format."
Chris chuckled nervously. "You… you're not pointing that thing at me, are you, Jeff?"
"Well, technically I'm pointing above and to your left. I have to account for wind, you know.
Chris wheeled around trying to find out where his sniper was. Unfortunately, it was all in vain. He could not find his sniper.
"OK. I give up, Winston. Where are you?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets." was his reply.
"Be that way. Do you have a visual over the highway?"
"I do."
The squad was on a mission today to do a little demolition work. There was a highway that the Talahase used to move supplies to other bases. Calling it a highway was honoring it though. It simply was a raised roadway that went over deep swampy water. It stunk to high heaven, but it was the quickest way to go around here."
"Do you see any patrols?"
"Not a thing. Clear for almost three miles. Go and plant the charges."
"Keep an eye out there, Private."
"Yes Sergeant."
"Shepard, Romano, we're going up. Get your gear ready."
"Aye-aye, Staff Sergeant." They both said.
The Marines packed up their gear and sprinted down the hill towards the swamp. They were travelling light, so only the bare minimum of armor and weapons were slung around them. The reason for this was because they wanted to vacate the area quickly before they were discovered. The hill evened out at the edge of the water. Chris took his share of explosives and made sure the wiring was secure against the water. The last thing he needed was a shorted out detonator.
"Everybody else's packages in order?"
"Ready to deliver, Sergeant." Shepard nodded.
"Don't we have dedicated demo squads to do this?"
Chris sighed. "Well, we must have impressed someone. Our orders were signed by someone called O'Malley. Never heard of him before. The Colonel mentioned that he looked into our work in Jackamo about a week ago and wanted us for this."
"But this is routine." Romano said. "They wouldn't give us an easy job like this."
"Well they did." Chris said plainly. "You know, I also hear that they're planning on making a Lieutenant."
Both men froze and looked at the young NCO. "A Lieutenant?" Romano asked.
"Yeah."
"But… that makes no sense at all!" he said.
"Permission to speak freely?" Dean asked.
"Go ahead, but we're on a schedule." Chris nodded.
"That's fucked up. Do you think you deserve it?"
"It's not a question of if I deserve it. Benedict's dead. Kapplin's dead. I'm next in line to command."
Lieutenant Kapplin's death was only four days ago. He was out on patrol near Death's Pass when he was abducted by Talahase rebels. Two days later they found him… what was left of him anyway.
"Well, I hope you have what it takes then."
"Seconded." Chris sighed. "Now are we doing this, or what?"
The men sealed their explosives and slipped into the water. It was lukewarm, even in the jungle heat. Their feet didn't touch bottom though so they paddled through the water. A couple of times, the thought crossed Chris' mind that some horrifying creature was laying beneath him. He chose not to think at all about this and focused on the task at hand.
When he reached the first pillar holding the road over the water, a thought snuck into his head. "Hey, have we considered that civilians could also be using this road?"
Romano and Shepard looked at each other with a look of confusion. That fact hadn't come up in the briefing.
"I suppose so." Dean said first. "It is a highway after all."
"We could be crippling an infrastructure by doing this."
"Isn't that what war's all about? They'll find another way to get medical supplies to their people." Sid growled and stuck his C12 package on the concrete. "OK. Mine's green. Better get yours set up, Sergeant."
Chris nodded and swam across a couple pillars. Sid was right though. The Talahase population probably could get their supplies through other roads… but it would take a whole lot longer. He fought the feeling to just drop the explosive into the depths, but stuck it on his pillar and activated the remote arming device. "Got mine lit. Shepard, how are you doing?"
"Just finished mine, Sergeant."
"Chuck-" he stopped himself.
Chuck was dead.
"Did you say something, Sergeant?"
"No. Nothing."
Just then, Chris' radio crackled. He tapped the COM set on his ear. "Go."
"I've got movement further up the road! Looks like a convoy's headed through!" Winston was safe in his perch – wherever that was, but the impromptu sapper team's time was up. "Fall back, guys!"
Winston laid the facts out while the group was swimming to the shore. There was a total of ten trucks, including two armored vans with heavy machine guns bolted on the top – probably ramshackle designs. There was a bus however in the center. Jeff called it in.
"A bus?" Sid asked. "A bus means civilians!"
"We don't know that." Chris said. He gave his answer honestly. "We don't know if civilians are involved."
"What if it's an armed escort? With all due respect, Sergeant, we should wait to get out of here!"
The team climbed back on the grassy slope and went prone. Chris had the detonator out, ready to blow the charges. "Corporal Romano, those are targets of opportunity. I'm not going to just sit here and let a potential dent in the rebel's defenses just pass us by! What if there are weapons on that bus? They wouldn't be using armed escorts to move people around!"
Sid remained silent. He had nothing more to add to this conversation. Likewise, Dean kept his mouth shut as well. They were waiting for the NCO to make the call now. He was the one with the detonator. He held his thumb over the blinking red button.
"Heads up, the first truck is now in the kill zone. If you're going to blow that thing, do it NOW, Sergeant."
Sweat matted his brow. He wiped it away, and a split second later, he made the decision: blow the bridge.
His thumb hit the button. An electric impulse shot out of the detonator's transmitter at the speed of light and told the C12 packages to detonate. Sparks were struck, material ignited and magnified tenfold. At once, the bright blue day turned into an inferno that sparked between the bus and the sixth truck in the convoy. An explosive shockwave blasted the nearest trees away and hammered the Marines. Had their high-tech ear protection not kicked in, they would have cradled their bleeding eardrums. Chunks of the bridge, metal from the vehicles, and wood from the trees were flung skyward and rained down as meteors, complete with flame. Where the area of the bridge once stood was now a gap nearly a hundred feet wide. Out of the ten convoy vehicles, only two were left on the bridge, smoking badly. Their crews piled out and were trying to figure out just what the hell happened.
The other eight were on fire and sinking into the swampy water. There were cries that were barely heard over the burning of the fire of men who were struggling for their lives. The bus had disintegrated in the blast.
"Dear Jesus. Did you see the size of that fireball?" Sid said out of amazement. "Did our packs do that?"
"No, there wasn't enough ordinance in them to do that. It must have been the bus."
"Like the Sergeant said." Chris put on a face that showed he was confident in his choice.
"What did I tell you boys? It's all deductive reasoning."
Sid looked like he was taking it the worst. "Sorry, kiddo. I thought you were making the wrong call."
Chris shrugged. "You weren't wrong to think so. It was a tough call, but I was sure of my decision. Let's get out of here."
The trio made sure to slip away while the confusion went on. They were unnoticed.
"I saw the show from up here. Nice work, Sergeant."
"Thanks for the warning, Jeff."
"I don't think any munitions will be flowing through this area anymore."
"Thanks to the 182, that's a fact." Dean laughed. "Damn, I can STLL feel the heat from the blast!"
"I'll signal for evac." The young NCO said. As he made the call to the dropship, a horrible feeling formed in his gut. It was something that chilled him to the bone.
I guessed.
It was nothing but blind luck. Chris had no reason to think there were any explosives on the bus. It could very well have been an armed escort like Sid suggested. They could have even been prisoners for all he knew. He had taken a gamble and it had paid off. Although it was a slight relief to know that no innocent people were actually harmed, the fact that there was a possibility that people that were non-combatants could have died racked his heart. The military hadn't taken that bit of humanity away from him yet.
"You alright, Staff Sergeant?" Sid asked.
"I'm fine…" he mumbled; more to himself than someone else.
"I asked if you were alright, sir." Reyes asked again.
Chris stared into space idly. Reyes shook the young man's shoulder. "Sir. Are you alright?"
"What?" Chris said shivering. "I… I'm fine."
"Elevation in blood pressure and brain activity. You had another one."
Chris shook his head. "It was smoother this time. I slipped in an out without even noticing."
"Well we sure noticed." Konstantinos said. "You were just standing there. You didn't say a single word. It was scary.
"Sorry about that." The Captain apologized, as if he accidentally bumped into a stranger. "Let's carry on.
NICOLE linked up to Reyes, Konstantinos, and Borne. "Listen to me carefully and don't respond. This has been happening more and more with increasing frequency. If he slips into a hallucination where he could be a danger to himself, You have permission to incapacitate him for medical transport."
The three men gazed at Chris with worried glances. Reyes whispered, "What if he attacks us?"
"…I'll have to get back to you on that." Then she withdrew.
They hadn't gone far from the market. Through a series of side-passages and allies, they arrived at what they assumed was a main street. No sunlight came down to meet them; all illumination was supplied by streetlamps, storefront lights, and UV strips along the 'floof' for the upper city. The road was very old. It was likely they were standing on the original road system for the city back before it was updated through time. The dividers were lit strips that wouldn't wear away in the humidity or weather. Compact cars moved through crowds of people as they moved about. Most stood on sidewalks, but many crossed the streets at will. It was very noisy down here as well: a combination of human speech, car engines, music from advertising walls, and many fans that kept the air clean and circulated.
"Lower New York didn't look anything like this. It was orderly, quieter, and a lot cleaner."
"People live in arcologies in New York." Borne said. "Those are buildings where entire populations are in a self-contained, self-sufficient environment. People here live differently."
"What are your thoughts, Borne?" Chris asked.
"I don't like this. Much too crowded for me."
"Is that your Mobian sense of environmentalism?"
"No, just a sense of not liking crowds."
"Enough exposition." Chris decided. "Do you know where ONI's base is?"
"From here, not really. I was taken directly to the compound by car. It was inconspicuous though."
"Do you remember the make of the car?"
Borne leaned up against a wall and shrugged. "Uh… not really. It was a black SUV… lights on the roof, spare tire on the back, and… OH, the lights made an inverted corner under the grill!"
"On it." NICOLE scrambled to check vehicle databases on Earth. She ran through almost three hundred automotive manufacturers and scanned based on Borne's description. She found five matches, but narrowed it down to two based on a global search: The Troy Esperado, and the Ford Gallagher. She quickly diverted her runtime and hacked into the city's camera system, masquerading as a software update. The Supervisor AI never knew she slipped in. After jumping around, she discovered that an abnormally large number of Ford Gallaghers were parked in front of a building about two kilometers from their position. She quickly ruled out a car dealership, and the building profile or writing did not match that of a police station either. This must be where the ONI outpost was.
After a grand total of five seconds, she reported back in to the guys. "You're going to like this: I think I may have found our hidden base. It's masquerading as a pump station about two kilometers away."
"I remember now. I knew it was a municipal building of some sort." Borne said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "How can you be certain?"
"I found a large number of unmarked black SUVs parked in a three block radius. Guys, all of the plates don't match the legal standard. They're clearly designed to throw off suspicion and are untraceable."
"Which ironically enough," Chris said with a smirk, "has traced them back to ONI."
"Funny how things work out." Reyes said.
"I'd get moving if I were you." NICOLE advised. "At your average pace, you can reach the pump station in around fifty minutes. No direct route to get there. I'll update your minimap with police locations to give you a heads up."
A NAV point appeared in Chris' vision. He groaned as he saw the distance to the point. "You all get updated positions?" Chris took a look around, and was startled how many people were staring at them. It wouldn't be surprising that foreigners would get a decent amount of attention, but the Mobian got a double amount of staring. Again, Chris had to remind himself that these people were seeing a five foot tall talking animal dressed in a jacket and holding a rifle. It was something right out of an anime, to use a rather apt example. Honestly, they were under-reacting.
A chorus of 'affirmative's, and 'yes's came about.
"Alright gentlemen. Time's wasting!"
In orbit, the Burro was in a geosynchronized orbit over Japan. From the distance of about 30,000 kilometers from the surface, the details were still far beyond recognition. He ordered his helmsman to keep over here so that if any important reports came in, he would be able to communicate with the ground team. The Black Bat had not returned yet, and he found himself counting down the hours. NICOLE recently gave him an update on the squad's position. The Captain was approaching the site of the suspected ONI building, but they would need visual confirmation for proof.
NICOLE's hologram appeared next to Gerome.
"Admiral, I've just done a further sweep of the building that ONI has hidden itself in."
"Report."
"It's in the guise of a pumping station, which appears slightly out of place in the middle of the city. As far as I know, there are no other buildings that can be considered of military nature within the city limits."
Andsworth sat back in his chair. "Seems odd the spooks are deciding to dig in instead of showing themselves to the public."
"I am curious to this development as well, sir." The AI looked out the window into space.
"You seem upset, NICOLE." The older man noted.
"Is it obvious?"
"For an AI, yes. It's quite obvious."
"I've been upset for quite a while." She admitted. "Ever since I was handed off to Chris… I knew it would only get worse from there. Here we are now, probably on the brink of war."
"It's scary, isn't it?" Andsworth asked.
NICOLE took her time analyzing the question. She didn't feel fear the same way an organic being did. To her, being afraid was a combination of algorithms and not being able to perform a task. She had to struggle for years to understand the concept of fear. But when she looked at the Human, she whispered, "It's very scary."
"It kind of makes you wonder if things would have been better if we never showed up at all. How different would things be if we never made that jump in the first place?"
NICOLE smirked. "Actually, I have an idea, but I'm not at liberty to say."
"Why not?"
"There's a firewall in my program that was installed before I began my service, and I can't break past it. Doubtless, whatever you're imagining can be revealed once that's taken down."
"You'll have to tell me more about that one day…" Andsworth gazed out of the viewscreen. He spotted another ship moving towards them. "Commander Xander, care to explain who's knocking on my door?"
Jubil shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "They're definitely military. The tags match up with those in our databases. Identity confirmed as the UNSC Reaper."
Andsworth shivered. "That's not exactly the ship I wanted to see more than once in my career."
"Incoming transmission, sir. Closed band." The COM officer said while leaning in his chair. "They really want to talk to you."
"Put it on the viewer, Ensign."
Andsworth's face drained of color as he looked into the eyes of Troy Marshall. The President was visible from the collar up and was dressed in a suit. He smiled, but Gerome sensed that this was not something to be comfortable with.
"Hello, Admiral."
"Mr. President."
NICOLE quickly disappeared with a gasp before Marshall could see her. She withdrew to cyberspace with a sense of dread and fright.
"How goes your study of the Black Hole cluster?"
"Informative, Mister President."
"I mean, it obviously went well if you're standing before me and talking to me."
Gerome laughed to keep the conversation civil. "So, what do I owe the honor, sir?"
"I was calling to check up on you, Gerome. I noticed that you came back from your recent trip, you haven't been moving for the last few hours, so I assumed you had engine trouble."
"Engine trouble is so important that the President of the UEG had to call me up?" The Navy man shot back.
At once, Marshall's friendly smile disappeared. "Admiral Andsworth, you are under arrest for high treason against the Unified Earth Government and in breach of military protocol for your interactions with a terrorist. You will surrender your ship, your crew, and will enter custody aboard the Reaper."
"I didn't do anything wrong." He professed. However, as soon as the words escaped his mouth, the Burro began to rock in space. "What was that?" He demanded.
"My calling card." Marshall growled. "A dropship has just connected to your docking ring to arrest you. Before you ask, my people have determined that a very valuable target is on your ship."
"Is that so?" Andsworth said, now starting to become a little bit amused.
"Getting rid of that lifeboat was a smart move." Marshall said as he got up and paced around his office. A flash of lightning struck and painted the entire right side of his face white for a second. "It made me consider how things were turning out."
"Who's lifeboat?"
"Don't play STUPID with me, Admiral! He's on your ship!"
"I highly doubt that."
"Don't push me. Don't push me, not when we are THIS close to ending this whole thing."
Andsworth relaxed in his chair. "We are indeed getting close to ending this whole thing. The only problem is it's not going to end well for you." This time it was Andsworth's that got up and paced. "When this whole thing started, I questioned the Captain's motives. The boy was a bit rash at times. I certainly found that he had an air of rambunctiousness and a bit of pride, but I knew he was no murderer. I knew that right from the minute I met him. I also knew that the destruction of the Elijah Jones was also something worth investigating. I also know, thanks to a few friends of mine, that your innocence is starting to look very strained. So how about you go ahead and tell us all what we already know."
Marshall got close to the camera. "Do you know how close you are to a public execution?"
"Pretty damned close, I would think. How nice of you to bring back a lovely memoir of the 19th Century."
"I've been saving it for a special occasion." The man snarled deeply. "Your words have no weight. You are nothing but a washed up naval officer who has become a terrorist sympathizer who is secretly plotting to help overthrow the UEG."
That one caught the old man off guard. "Well, now, that is a big threat. I assume that you have some sort of evidence to back it up."
"Just sit tight." The President said as another fork of lightning blasted the outside. Without warning, the door to the bridge slid open. Black-armored men wearing airtight helmets came into the compartment with submachine guns pointing at the crewmen. Andsworth looked and saw that they were all ordained with the ONI symbol on their sleeves.
"CLEAR!" one of them shouted. The commander removed his helmet and walked to the center of the room. He was a tall man with a buzz cut and a broken nose. "Sir, he's not here. We checked every compartment here."
Marshall growled. "Did you encounter any resistance?"
"None, sir."
"Where is he, Gerome?"
"Not here."
Marshall began to lose his patience. "Captain, target a crewmember."
"Yes, Mr. President." The commander said pointing his weapon at Xander. The man became frightened and raised his hands as if to defend himself with them.
"This is crazy!" Jubil cried out.
"I'm going to ask you again." The enraged politician said again, this time with a tone that the admiral had never heard before. It was as if he was deciding to shoot him then and there. "Where is the Captain?"
Andsworth decided to tell a half-truth. It might be enough to spare Jubil's life. "He left, but I don't know where he went. He commandeered a shuttle and just took off looking for his friends."
Marshall looked into Andsworth's eyes, judging him then and there. Andsworth stole a glance towards Commander Xander. The XO was visibly shaking, and looked towards them men pointing weapons at him. Marshall sighed and said, "Liar."
The gun went off. The bullet hit Xander in the neck, splattering the computer behind him with blood. Jubil didn't scream, but wrapped his hand around his throat and gasped in a broken manner. He fell out of his chair and lay on the floor with a pool of blood growing around him. Andsworth was beyond shocked. He could barely say anything and desperately wanted to get up and help his officer. However, he knew that the gun would be pointed at him next if he tried to do something funny.
"Is he dead?" Marshall asked.
"No sir." The commander stated. "The bullet went right through the larynx, but missed the spine."
"What is Commander Xander's status?"
"Critically injured. His jugular vein may have been nicked."
"Excellent."
It disgusted Gerome to hear Marshall say those words. The man on the screen was no better than the terrorists that held Talahan V years ago. He was using his power and his men to gain information, and more importantly, bully Andsworth into compliance.
"So, my good admiral, I present to you a scenario: one of your crew is heavily injured, and you are at the mercy of someone who has you at a disadvantage. Do you either a) swallow your pride and give up, b) go be a hero and see where that takes you, or c) keep on making me angry and make these gentlemen shoot another crewmember?" Marshall chuckled. "Look at Commander Xander. His life is slowly draining away. I have the power to save him, or end his suffering." At that, the ONI commander raised his weapon again."
"Don't do this. I…"
"Yes…?" the president said, waiting for the response.
"I surrender. I'll tell you where the Captain went."
Marshall reveled in the words. "Oh, I already know where he went. ONI has eyes and ears all over the planet. I just needed you to be the big man and decide. I surrender. Such a phrase that shows weakness, but at the same time great dignity. You made the right call, Admiral. That's why you're the flag officer."
"Mr. President, what about the Commander?" the ONI officer said.
"Well, a deal's a deal. Patch him up and get him on the shuttle. Take our esteemed guest while you're at it. Ensure that he's taken to a separate area away from the others."
"Very good, sir. What about the other crewmembers?"
Marshall smiled quickly. "No more witnesses."
Before Andsworth could react, the ONI insertion team pointed their guns and blasted away the other crew members. The surprised Navy officers cried out as bullets and plasma rounds tore into them. In five seconds, the viewscreen, the windshield, and the computer banks were riddled with bullet holes and burns as well as dark crimson blood.
"And you know what, Admiral?"
Gerome was too shocked to answer. His mouth lay open as all ten of the bridge officers excluding Jubil were twisted and broken on the floor with their uniforms stained by their own blood. He did however make eye contact with Marshall on the viewscreen.
"We were just too late."
"Too late for what?"
"To stop you from your terrorist plot."
The Reaper glowed white and turned into a fireball for a few seconds. From this distance, the ship was torn in two and began to tumble in the void. Around it, glimmering pieces of metal twirled around it.
"Why did you do it, Admiral? You were a respected member of the admiralty! You were a man that pledged his life for Humanity and THIS is how you repay us?"
"THIS WILL NEVER WORK!" The enraged man said. Gerome stood up and roared at Marshall. "THE PUBLIC WILL KNOW!"
"The public will know that a respected member of the military snapped, performed an act of terrorism on Earth's doorstep. Frankly, Admiral, you're done." A rifle butt slammed him in the head, and then there was blackness. All he could see was the destruction of the Reaper, and wondered if the men and women aboard that ship knew if their lives were going to end.
NICOLE huddled in Cyberspace horrified by what she just saw. She was in a floating garden suspended above dark clouds and under a moonlit sky. She found a stone bench and sat down, rubbing her arms trying to comfort herself. She was weighing the odds and tried to find a way out of this. Marshall had her beat. She couldn't come forth with the information because now that Admiral Andsworth was declared a terrorist, and had 'evidence' to prove he had destroyed a UNSC ship, in Earth orbit no less, it would be impossible to save him. She also needed to act fast. Marshall's men could discover her hiding in the computer. She opened a link to Chris and prayed to God that he was listening.
"Captain! Chris!" NICOLE cried into his earpiece.
At once, the young man tapped the COM. "What's wrong, NICOLE?"
"Marshall! He found Andsworth!"
Oh no. Their last piece of cover was blown.
"Where are they?"
"They're on the ship right now! They just killed the bridge crew!"
"They did WHAT?" He cried out. He paused and leaned up against the wall. Many passersby looked at him with suspicion and fright, as a man with a weapon had just shouted out in the middle of the street. Borne, Konstantinos and Reyes looked concerned.
"What's wrong?" Reyes asked.
"Marshall's goons just attacked the Burro. They killed a large part of the crew."
"Was he there though?" Borne asked.
"No, he wasn't. Quickly though! Get me out of here and I'll explain more!"
They had to think fast since they assumed she was in danger. Konstantinos offered up their personal computer uplinks.
"Those things don't have enough memory on their own." Borne noted.
"I have her console." Chris said quickly. He took out NICOLE's home device and opened it up. "OK. Lock on to the signal and transfer!"
"I found it! Hang on." It was ten agonizing seconds as they waited for her to send herself across a vast distance. Transferring a whole AI from a ship to a planet's surface took a LOT of runtime, and it was possible to have packet loss in the process. In other words, some of her might not be able to reach the intended destination. But NICOLE was a smart thing. She could avoid a nasty complication like that.
At least, they thought so.
After those ten agonizing seconds, she exhaled with such clarity and emotion that for a brief second, they mistook NICOLE for an organic being and not a computer construct. She projected herself life-size.
"Thanks guys."
"Any time." Chris said.
A curious citizen walked up to them and spoke in English, "Hey, nice AI! Where can I get a model like that?"
"Not for sale. Buzz off!" Chris snapped.
The citizen frowned slightly and walked away. They thought that NICOLE's holographic form was a bit of an attention grabber, so they promptly moved into an alley away from the public movements.
"How are you feeling?" Borne asked.
"I… I was so scared. I thought they were going to delete me."
"You mean, kill you." Chris whispered.
NICOLE looked at her human friend and nodded. "Yes. Kill me."
"Tell us more about what happened." Reyes asked. He moved to the alleyway entrance to watch for suspicious characters, but he kept an ear open for what she had to say.
NICOLE paced around on the ground, limited of course in how far she could move around, but she remembered the incident clearly. "I saw a group of men with black armor on storm the bridge of the Burro and held everyone at gunpoint."
"Were they Spartans?" Chris asked.
"No. They weren't. Just a Black Ops team in Marshall's pocket. But they… they shot Xander first… then they shot the rest!"
"You just can't do that." Konstantinos said. "I know Marshall was an ass before this, but this isn't right."
"I've seen a lot of things that haven't been right over the last few weeks." NICOLE said.
Chris said, "What about the Admiral?"
"He's fine." NICOLE admitted. "Well, he was knocked out and taken with ONI. Him and Xander anyway."
Reyes called Chris over, "Captain, the civvies are starting to get excited about something."
"What's up?" The young man asked.
"I was about to get to that, Chris." NICOLE said quietly. "Marshall… he detonated the fusion reactors of a nearby UNSC ship, and blamed it on Andsworth."
There was silence for a few seconds that was only penetrated by the excited shouting in Japanese in the background.
"Motherfucker." Chris cursed. Then, he said nothing.
Borne shook his head. "You know what that means, right? It means that there's another person that Marshall gets to crucify as terrorists. He has you, the Princess, and the Admiral up against the wall. The evidence is stacked against us. Nothing but a direct confession or documents, or something will convince people otherwise."
Chris nodded. "Even more reason to get inside that ONI base. NICOLE, are we getting close?"
"Check your HUD, Chris. You should be near the pumping station."
He glanced up and saw that the distance had really closed. They were a mere hundred meters from the objective. The Marine checked his map and plotted a course through the alley.
"Keep to the backroads." He ordered. "That way we can avoid attention more."
They walked for a few minutes when Will spoke up. "You know, here's something I can't understand: we're carrying military weaponry, and nobody's saying anything about it. You'd get reported for walking around like this back on Mobius."
"People here are a bit used to armed personnel walking around." Chris explained. "Security beefed up after the invasion, and it kind of stuck. As long as we look official, nobody will question us."
"We do look official, right sir?" Reyes humorously said.
"We look ruggedly handsome, I think." The Captain said with enthusiasm. "NICOLE, how would you grade us?"
"Beyond sexy, Captain. I'm sure you get all the ladies."
"Damn right I do. You guys look alright as well."
The rag-tag group laughed heartily. It was a way to keep their spirits up in the face of overwhelming odds. They weren't supermen. They were just regular people in an unlikely position. If they were Spartans, or if they all had the powers of the Almighty Sonic himself, they would have been proud to the point of cockiness, but they weren't.
Borne added, "Well, I mean that's to be expected right? Here we are, slugging it through the netherlevels of Japan to save a princess, PMC contractors, overthrow a corrupt president, and pretty much save all of Humanity without anyone realizing it. Holy crap, that's the stuff that legends are based on."
"You hear that, Marines?" Chris asked, "They're going to make songs about us one day!"
"Oorah!" They said in agreement.
The NAV point was very close now. Less than fifty meters away. At the end of an alley, a chain link fence blocked their path. The team ran up to it and looked through. The pumping station looked legitimate in every sense of the word. A sign attached to the side of a building nearby said 'TOKYO MUNICIPAL PUMPING STATION 7'. The pumping building itself seemed innocent enough as well. It was utilitarian, but had pipes and pumps over the roofs and near the entrance. If it wasn't for the black, unmarked SUVs scattered around the parking lot, they would have sworn they had the wrong building. Chris decided to ask anyway.
"NICOLE, are you ABSOLUTELY certain that this is where the military signals are coming from?"
"I wouldn't lie about something like this. The coded frequencies are coming from that tower… but I'm getting more signals underground."
"Well that settles it." Borne nodded. "We're hitting this baby hard.
"Not so fast. A full frontal assault is completely out of the question. You of all people should know that."
"Yeah, I know… then how are we getting in?"
Reyes shrugged. "Well… it IS a pumping station. It's connected to the sewers then."
"Even though this is a façade, I believe that Corporal Reyes is correct. There are multiple manhole covers scattered around, and if I am seeing properly, there is an aqueduct access pipe directly below your position."
The Marines gazed through the chain link fence and looked down. They were indeed standing above an artificial channel. Runoff from the city was being sucked into the pipes, where some would presumably be cleaned. Whether that was actually what was going on was up for debate.
"That's our ticket in." Chris said. "Easier than I expected.
Born winced slightly, revealing his left canine. "Ugh… do we have to?"
Chris turned to face him wearing an amused and regretful smile. "If we had another plan, I would do it. One way or another, we're taking a bath, guys."
"Oh, this is not going to be good." Reyes groaned.
Chris and Konstantinos cut the gate with their knives. It took a while to get through enough of the links to the point where the gate could simply be kicked in. Reyes and Borne stood watch up the alleyway in case they got any uninvited guests.
"Hey Borne." Reyes asked.
"Yeah, Reyes?"
"Suppose the UNSC and Mobius do go to war after this?"
"Don't say stuff like that."
"Just a 'what if' scenario."
"Alright, what if we did?"
"What side would you be on?"
"An excellent question!" Chris said as an aside as he worked through another link.
There was a minute of genuine confusion from William Borne. The Mobian Marine put down his rifle and leaned up against the wall. He tapped his chin in thought. "What side would I be on… Gosh, that IS a good question. I think the honest answer is that I don't know."
Reyes shrugged. "I mean, it's not an easy question to be sure. We know the truth though, right?"
"Yeah, we know the truth." Borne said in accordance. "So I suppose that we wouldn't join."
"Excellent answer." Chris said.
"I imagine that a lot of people won't be as conflicted." The Mobian said with newfound sadness. "Golly, there's actually a lot at stake here. He blinked quicker. We have the fate of our entire political relationship right in the palms of our hands. If we fail… a war's inevitable. Marshall's got enough to accuse the Mobians of starting a conflict, and the Mobians will strike back."
"What's worse is that a Mobian defeat is imminent." Chris admitted. "They don't have enough technology to stop a full-on assault." He yanked through another link.
"Why not just close the gate? Separate Earth from Mobius permanently?" Konstantinos asked.
"Nice idea, but that option isn't possible anymore. Once Mobius and Earth were linked, there was a way to 'tell' where Mobius was in Existence. Like a cosmic phone number. Once that was known, one can simply input it to jump there from Earth."
"Yeah, how do you think we got there in the first place?" Chris asked.
"Were you really on the Indomitable, sir?" Konstantinos asked.
"Yeah. I was the first person to meet a Mobian… after a thousand years."
"Wow. You must have been honored."
"I was horrified!" Chris laughed loudly. "Don't worry guys. We'll end this, get Marshall in a cell, and all go home to watch our stories!"
"And YOU, mister, have a wedding to plan." NICOLE whispered to Chris.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The Captain groaned. "Alright, I think we have it through. Alex, give it a kick with me." Both he and Konstaninos wound up and kicked the chain link fence with their boots. After a few kicks, it started to give way, and then fell off the alley. The fence fell into the channel, leaving them free to go down the side of the wall.
It wasn't too steep - roughly a fifty degree angle; enough for them to walk down. They took a quick glance at the sky for air units. They didn't see any; just the floof for the upper city.
"Move out, Marines. Keep it quick!"
The four men jogged down the wall, careful not to slip and fall into the channel. Even though the river itself was small, the discharge seemed rather powerful – more than enough to sweep them down the path. Chris got a running jump and made it across the river. Borne got even more speed and cleared the water without even breaking a sweat. He caught himself and then steadied against the concrete. Reyes took a powerful leap but almost lost his balance. Chris reached out to grab the man. Reyes grabbed the outstretched arm and smiled. "Oh man, that could have been bad."
Lastly was Konstantinos. He was shorter than the other men but got good speed. His jump was a bit short though. The jet propelled water nearly swept his foot from under him, but the others grabbed him and brought the startled Greek Marine to safety. They smiled in satisfaction and looked for a way into the facility. The pumping station's entrance was not far away, but they wanted the stealthy approach. The best way to get in would be through an access sewer that sucked water in. One wasn't too far from them, so they double timed it down the channel and jumped inside.
The water was up to their ankles. Thankfully, the rubbed and leather on their boots kept their toes nice and dry. Things would get a bit wet if it was very much higher though.
"Man, it stinks in here." Borne said in disgust.
"How's that enhanced sense of smell treating you right now?" Chris joked.
"I would still take it over yours, Human. How many do you have? Only 5 million?"
"Yeah, but I don't think this sewer's getting out of your nose for a while. Damn, another grate."
This one would be a bit more difficult to get through. It was made of steel, but was a bit thicker than that of the chain link fence.
"Anybody have some thermite?"
"On me." Reyes announced. The large Marine grabbed the pyrotechnic powder and placed it around the bolts protecting the grate. He took a lighter and was ready to burn it. "Cover your eyes, people." He closed them tight and lit the powder. It burned brightly for a few seconds as the metal bolts were melted by the intense heat. After that, the grate fell effortlessly.
"Powerful stuff!" Borne remarked.
They moved through the broken grate and proceeded further up the tunnel, making sure they didn't make very much noise, just in case anybody was listening.
"NICOLE, any surprises waiting for us around here?"
"Doing a scan, Chris. I'm not detecting anything further up this tunnel. No motion sensors, detectors, or traps that I can find. I think you're safe for the time being." Five minutes later, they encountered a door that was clearly military. Its design was something that he would never expect a municipal building to have. Chris tapped the door control carefully and had his Narada up to bear. The room was pitch dark, but there was a hum of electricity.
"NICOLE, lights." Chris whispered. He plucked the AI's case and held it in front of him. The powerful light scanned the area. The humming was coming from a generator to their left, and a line of turbines accompanied it.
"I think we're in a power generation station. If I'm reading this correctly, we are no within the ONI facility."
Chris found a stair step and sat down. His eyes began to adjust to the dark so he could figure out where he was better. "Alright guys, take five and catch your breath. We need to do some planning. As of this moment, we have successfully infiltrated the Office of Naval Intelligence."
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