| 18: A Great Day For Freedom Outside a familiar warehouse, two people walked. One was a girl in strange khaki garb, and the other was some fighter with a face seemingly made of raw hamburger. He looked as if he had been in too many fights; she looked as if she had seen too many fights. "You seem familiar," the girl noted. "Like I've seen you somewhere before." "I don't have a clue," the man said, walking still. Fourdammit, I can't have any witnesses when I bust in there! What in Tota is this girl DOING in a rundown warehouse district like this!? wondered the man. The girl wondered basically the same. "So... what brings someone like you here?" she wondered. "It's not... a high-traffic part of town." "You're awfully full of questions," he noted. "Too bad I don't got no answers for ya." Just then, they saw a stranger walking out of the mist. He wore some strange thing on his back. As he came closer, it seemed to be an odd sort of weapon-a long wooden neck, with little ridges running up and down, shot up in the air, weighed down by a sharp metallic blade on the bottom. The man had short hair, dark clothing, and a serious expression. As he grew closer, his weapon's neck glimmered in the scant light in six lines, as if there were six strings running down the neck. "Is that an axe... or a guitar?" wondered the girl. The man, however, was too busy prostrating himself to answer. "All glory to the Four," whispered the man. "Noe of Axe come in the flesh... truly these are the days of prophecy." "We are come upon this land at the behest of our servant Vanana," the saint informed. "Arise, David, I seek not your adulation." Both of them blinked then, one in surprise and the other in recognition. "You're the Colonel!" shouted the girl. "I knew you looked familiar!" "You... me..." whispered David in incomprehension. "Is my adulation unworthy of the Four? Have I offended in some way?" "We seek not adulation, save it for the Kyrios," declared Noe. "This is our land, but even in Columnia there is One greater. But this is no time for that-we must break into Earthbound." "But-!" David and the girl protested in union, turning to point to the other as a reason why Earthbound shouldn't be mentioned. "You both came here to do the same mission," Noe pointed out. "Colonel David will accompany me. Alice, go to Chestira Ward. We have something else planned for you." Alice looked at him, saw the resolve in his kind face, and nodded. She then walked off into the mist. *** A squadron of fighters streaked over the Praerequez Wastes, southbound towards the collection of neon lights on the horizon. On the side of the fighters were painted fierce Oriental dragons, the symbol of both martyred Proiectica and the 116th Airborne. At speeds exceeding sound, they made for Columnia. "One-sixteen alpha niner, remember that you're splitting off over Aegapradenz and headed west," the radio crackled. "Roger, alpha leader," a pilot copied. "You're gonna be in one Fourdamned hellhole down in Chestira, Evan. The Four protect you." "All glory to the Four!" radioed one-sixteen alpha niner, also known as Evan. *** The Empire had taken steps to secure Earthbound after the last break-out, during the reign of Lady Protector Loe. A supposedly abandoned warehouse now crawled with soldiers, armed to the teeth and just waiting for some rebels to make a fuss. Nothing that chlorine bombs couldn't take care of, however. The soldiers weren't armed with gas masks, but David had come prepared. Noe had nothing of the sort, however-he had to wait five minutes for the gas to clear before he could join David at trying to call up the elevator. "It's not working, it needs some sort of code," David informed. "I don't know it." "I have an idea on how to get the elevator up, if you're ready for a little fun," Noe offered. "By all means, Your Reverence." Noe grabbed the walkie-talkie off of a dead guard. "Hello? Yes, this is the Underground Army, and we're busting into Earthbound. Look, we'd like two large pizzas, with... HEY DAVID! YOU LIKE PEPPERONI? Yeah, we'd like one with pepperoni and one with anchovies and onions-hello? Are you even listening?" David looked at him, trying to comprehend the flippancy of his erstwhile god. "If you will excuse my boldness, Your Reverence, how... how can you be so..." "Unlike a god?" asked Noe. "Simple, I'm not. I already TOLD you that-hold on, the elevator's almost here. Get in position with that RCP-120 of yours." David put off his crisis of faith long enough to hit the side of the elevator door, and he jumped in front after the door opened, spraying all those inside with bullets. A group of ten soldiers collapsed in dying groans, and after kicking their bodies out of the elevator, they stepped into the bullet hole-ridden elevator and went down. *** Flak lit up the city, careening off the side of a fighter jet as it flew over Generatoph District. It turned to the right suddenly, exposing its undercarriage to the east as it did a barrel roll to dodge the missiles of the city antiaircraft systems. Now came the hard part. Out Evan's window was a thin strip of light, Sheeshagh Street in the ward of Chestira. In the middle of that strip of light was someone he had been commanded to pick up. There was apparently no simpler way to do this, so Evan pulled back the throttle and eased his ZO12 Laudelenda into the makeshift runway. As he did so, cars pulled off the road in terror, and people fled into whatever doors would hold them. Retro thrusters melted the shoes and tires of anything that hadn't been blessed enough to clear the path. The landing was rough, to say the least-or what little landing there was. It was more of a touch-and-go operation, as Evan saw the predicted girl in the predicted odd khaki gear leaping off a building and falling smack onto the windshield of his craft, the jump timed perfectly. He quickly pushed open the latch for her to crawl in and close it behind her, and he then pulled up right in time, barely missing a billboard advertising brand-name Pendinmortican clothing. *** "What's the situation?" asked the girl. "You are the one known as Alice, correct?" the pilot inquired. "Yes, that's me." "Well, I was instructed to pick you up and brief you on your mission," Evan informed her. "On the floor to your right is a paper bag. Open it up and you'll see everything you need for the mission." She did so, taking the bag and rummaging through its contents. There were weapons aplenty. "You have been issued a PSA-712 automatic rifle and six APOC6.15 grenades for weaponry," Evan intoned. "APOC?" "Anti-Personnel Ordnance Class Six-Point-One-Five. That's how explosive it is on the standard octave scale with one being the most inert and eight being the most reactive. Didn't they teach you that in Basic?" "I... never went to Basic," Alice replied. "What else?" "Well, if you would be so kind as to remove these ruddy explosive devices from my presence, my good Alice, I shant be long in keeping you guessing," a British-accented voice came from the bag. Alice's mouth dropped in surprise as she gingerly pulled out a rabbit dressed in a flight suit. "VIRGIL!" cried out Alice. "I've missed you so much!" "And I you, my dear," Virgil declared, hopping up on her shoulder to lick her cheek, vibrating in the manner he used to express happiness. "Good heavens, Alice-where have you been?" "Earth, actually-I went to-" "You'll have time for catching up later," Evan cut in dryly, keeping focused on the mission. "You are to infiltrate the Imperial skyship Stellemort and establish control of the landing bay. You will be ejected over the ship, and this rabbit will tell you where to go." "What do you know about skyships?" Alice wondered, casting a puzzled look at Virgil. "My dear, I have been studying all the information on that craft that Section 51 has managed to collect," Virgil replied. "I daresay I can navigate us upon our safe arrival on the Stellemort." "Right," resumed Evan. "Well, in any case, you will eliminate all enemy soldiers stationed near the landing bay, and open up the bay for the 98th Aeromarine Battalion to land in. From there, the Aeromarines will take care of the rest, and may potentially be reinforced by the 173rd Teletrooper Battalion provided we can deactivate sections of the onboard magic jamming field. Your job will be done then." "But what if I can't access the bay somehow?" inquired Alice. Virgil stopped licking then. "Then, my good Alice... we make for the engines and detonate all our remaining explosives on the arcane core reactor." "That'll blow up the ship!" Alice realized. "Yes... yes it will, my dear." But something in her-probably the resolve gained with a year under Allan-decided that this was acceptable. "All right. When do I go?" "Just as soon as we can safely approach Stellemort," pointed out Evan. "The 116th Airborne is fighting a diversionary action right now over the skies of Generatoph. We'll wait for an opening, and get you in there as soon as possible." *** It didn't take long at all-amidst the electronic pounding of the klaxons, and the sounds of bullets lodging in still-warm flesh, Noe and David made their way across Earthbound. David's magically-augmented EXO-202 shot out ensorcelled bullets, bullets that sought out and pursued the bodies of the enemy. It was horrendously effective-as was Noe's axe, as he swung it in mighty arcs to part heads from necks. They grabbed up keys, and the imprisoned Underground Army took up the weapons of their enemies and joined ranks with their liberators. "David! You're alive!" came shouts from a group of three fighters, who David recognized immediately as the 94th Irregular all rushed towards him, battered and dirty from life in Earthbound. "You guys... Bex! Persh! Al! Oh my FOUR it's good to see you all!" David shouted. "You're all alive! Now, tell me, where is Solitary?" "I think it's the third right." "Okay, come with us, guys-we're busting out Chronos," David declared with a grin. "Noe and the Fightin' 94th..." "Did you just say..." began Pershing, as she turned and recognized the axe-wielding figure she had grown up learning about. Just then, in the middle of a warzone, they prostrated themselves before Noe. "Get up, all of you!" Noe growled. "We've yet a fight ahead of us... and I AM NOT YOUR GOD!" *** It was a simple enough thing to get onto the Stellemort, after jumping off down onto the skyship. Stellemort was shaped like the sailing ships of old, with a curved hull and three sail-like things swept back. It reminded Alice oddly enough of the Sydney Opera House. On the sides of the hull were six technomantic thruster jets that kept the craft aloft, jutting out like oars on a galley. She knew that the smallest, and rearmost, sail, was the landing bay. It was probably empty, as the fighters normally parked there were out engaging the 116th Airborne for control of the skies over Columnia. However, she couldn't tell, as it was gated shut (to prevent what she was about to do). Virgil was parked on her shoulder, his paws digging into the khaki of her vest. He gave her directions after she went through a hatch on the top. The corridors were narrow, like on a submarine, and she set her PSA-712 to fire single rounds, in order to conserve ammo. She wished that the thing was silenced, though, afraid that with every soldier she shot she was increasing the attention brought to herself. Alice turned to Virgil. "Where do these people go when they die?" she asked. "Heaven? Hell? Somewhere else?" "They go to Earth." It wasn't long until she arrived at the landing bay, however, and before busting through she set the discharge rate back on auto-repeat. She then opened the door, Virgil on her shoulder looking as menacing as a rabbit possibly could, as she let loose. "See you in France, pigs!" she cried, figuring that was close enough. Bullets ricocheted, and there was nobody left to oppose her. She quickly shut and barred the door behind her, not wanting interruptions as she tried to open the door. "Did I do okay?" "As Frank Zappa once said... there is no Hell, only France," Virgil replied, shaking with the rabbit version of laughter. "Now... that control panel, across the room. Throw the lever on the right, and the door should open. The Air Drakes should radio that the landing bay is clear, and then the Aeromarines will start landing and we can take control of Stellemort. Soon enough, the landing bay door started telescoping into itself, pulling back into the floor. Outside, five cargo helicopters bearing insignia of the old Theocracy came in, and the bay filled with wind. Aeromarines poured out of the sides, shouldering heavier arms than even Alice carried and preparing for a long, hard fight for the ship. *** The blackness all around him was terminated as a crack of light grew wider, ever wider-revealing humanoid silhouettes of black. After one's been in solitary for months, one sees things only in black and white. "I can hear them calling for my soul... for my soul... a knock knock knockin on Tota's door..." mumbled Chronos madly to himself. "Chronos? Is that you?" called out David. "HAHAHAHA another trick! They can't get me! Can't they remember that they KILLED you?!" gasped Chronos in fits of insane laughter. "You're DEAD! Pushing daisies! Worm buffet! Earthbound! No way in MARYLAND they'd expect me to buy a pile of cabbit crap so lame as this..." "He's gone mad," Noe declared. "I'd tell you to bugger off and die, but... well, I can't because you're DEAD!" reminded Chronos. "You can go tell your superiors that you suck at interrogating, because I'm not buying it! LALALALALA! LALALALALA!" He put his hands over his ears as he did this, and he looked all of three years old at the moment. Colonel David wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. *** The prisoners were evacuated on the Columnian Air Force skyship Stellemort before the Imperial army stormed Earthbound. After the last man had gone up in the transport helicopters, Stellemort ripped through the ground and gutted the entire facility, notwithstanding the fact that it lay three hundred feet underground, with an arcane torpedo barrage. The biggest victory of the Underground now made for the north, after a similar strike on Von Helsing Air Force Base to ensure that no more craft like this would be made again. In the shadows of night, the freed prisoners celebrated the final liberation of Columnia's skies. |