ONE LAST BATTLE
By Thomas Bowers
10/24/01
The alarm blared after an explosion thundered through the Avalon base. "Damn it," a girl about 15 uttered while running for all she was worth; "I always have to attract every single guard in the freakin base!" Turning the corner, she ran into three Avalon soldiers. "STOP HER!" said the senior NCO. The other two men took aim with their M16A4 assault rifles and fired. She dove back behind the corner and waited for them to empty their clips. When they did, she rolled out, took a quick aim, and unleashed all six bullets from her Cougar magnum revolver. With the soldiers disposed of, she bolted towards the Blackhawk helicopter waiting about a half mile from where she was. She jumped in, out of breath, and patted her left leg, where a compact disc of stolen files was stored. The door gunner turned to look at her as they reached the safety of the sky. "How is Desperado feelin this fine evening?" Desperado was the code name of the target files. She grinned and patted her leg. "They are feeling fine." She said with a smile. The gunner nodded and returned to his watch. Mira Ishrinov was only 15 yet she had been with this group since Avalon took over the democracies that the world had worked so hard to earn. Before though, she had lost her father when she was young, and the leader of Freedom, Sally Po, adopted her shortly after. Mira was a sharpshooter and a demolitions expert. However, one trade she had that was absolutely vital to Freedom was her slicing ability. She could crack into just about anything she wanted. They rode through the night until they reached their drop zone, refueled, and headed to their secret base in the Beijing ruins.
Back at the base, a junior officer ran around the wreckage of the base. Shouting orders for medics, she had no idea why the rebellion was attacking them this frequently. She knew that numerous files regarding the new prototype suit had been copied, deleted and stolen by them, greatly slowing down the research for the project. She dismissed the thoughts and focused on tending to the wounded.
Freedom was established shortly after Avalon had taken the world over country by country. The ruthless General Carlos Ramos was the head of the military. Janet Novelle was the political head. In a meeting that was held shortly after the attack, they began to address this threat as a formidable foe. "They are just an annoying fly that will go away, if you even threaten to swat it. They are nothing to worry about, just tighten security around all suspected targets. They'll be scared off and we don't have to worry about a thing!" One member of the council said. "Are you insane?" another yelled, "I think that the previous attacks have proven how resilient they are and will not stop just because we tighten security. You have to remember that most of these men were trained by Treize Kushranada himself. They will not quit until we strike and wipe them off the face of the earth!" "May I ask how you plan on doing that when we don't even know where they are hidden?" "Easy," A new voice said, "We insert a spy at every one of our installations, they'll attack it sooner or later, and the first to get hit, will throw a distraction and infiltrate the organization. That simple." "Yeah right," The first said, "wouldn't they be suspicious of a newcomer or whatever?" The third stared him down. "I think it is time I introduced myself. Carlos Ramos. Commander-in-Chief of all Avalon forces. I have vast knowledge in all areas regarding military hardware and tactics, so I suggest that you take advantage of my expertise and do it." He spoke with a hardness that was more of an order than a suggestion. The upstart sat down and was silent. Janet Novelle, who was presiding over the meeting sat silently. "Gentlemen, the General bought up a good point. We will adhere to his plans and will continue our search for any rebel cells. If no one else has any pressing business, I'll call this meeting to a close." No one spoke. "Very well then. You are excused." The executives got up and left. Carlos waited at the door for Janet to gather her things. She looked up at him. "We can't show the public that we are weak." "Have we ever?" he replied. "No, but this rebellion is giving them a reason to rise up. They are getting dissatisfied, and I have tried to reform to please them without giving up our power. It just won't work." "They are too used to democracy. Eventually they'll learn that we are powerful and can not be defeated." She nodded and walked out of the room. He waited a little longer, thinking to himself. I have doubts of my own. I don't want to sacrifice too many espionage artists. So, the question is not when, but where. He shook his head and left for his office so he could give the order to the Military Intelligence Department. He had until then to decide.
The young officer who was at the Yangtze attack, sat down at her computer to check her mail. It had been a long week and was hoping for something from her family. Instead she got orders for Hong Kong. She rubbed her head and wondered what made her go MI. she thought, She was to wait until further notice to move or an attack there conducted by Freedom.
By Thomas Bowers
10/24/01
The alarm blared after an explosion thundered through the Avalon base. "Damn it," a girl about 15 uttered while running for all she was worth; "I always have to attract every single guard in the freakin base!" Turning the corner, she ran into three Avalon soldiers. "STOP HER!" said the senior NCO. The other two men took aim with their M16A4 assault rifles and fired. She dove back behind the corner and waited for them to empty their clips. When they did, she rolled out, took a quick aim, and unleashed all six bullets from her Cougar magnum revolver. With the soldiers disposed of, she bolted towards the Blackhawk helicopter waiting about a half mile from where she was. She jumped in, out of breath, and patted her left leg, where a compact disc of stolen files was stored. The door gunner turned to look at her as they reached the safety of the sky. "How is Desperado feelin this fine evening?" Desperado was the code name of the target files. She grinned and patted her leg. "They are feeling fine." She said with a smile. The gunner nodded and returned to his watch. Mira Ishrinov was only 15 yet she had been with this group since Avalon took over the democracies that the world had worked so hard to earn. Before though, she had lost her father when she was young, and the leader of Freedom, Sally Po, adopted her shortly after. Mira was a sharpshooter and a demolitions expert. However, one trade she had that was absolutely vital to Freedom was her slicing ability. She could crack into just about anything she wanted. They rode through the night until they reached their drop zone, refueled, and headed to their secret base in the Beijing ruins.
Back at the base, a junior officer ran around the wreckage of the base. Shouting orders for medics, she had no idea why the rebellion was attacking them this frequently. She knew that numerous files regarding the new prototype suit had been copied, deleted and stolen by them, greatly slowing down the research for the project. She dismissed the thoughts and focused on tending to the wounded.
Freedom was established shortly after Avalon had taken the world over country by country. The ruthless General Carlos Ramos was the head of the military. Janet Novelle was the political head. In a meeting that was held shortly after the attack, they began to address this threat as a formidable foe. "They are just an annoying fly that will go away, if you even threaten to swat it. They are nothing to worry about, just tighten security around all suspected targets. They'll be scared off and we don't have to worry about a thing!" One member of the council said. "Are you insane?" another yelled, "I think that the previous attacks have proven how resilient they are and will not stop just because we tighten security. You have to remember that most of these men were trained by Treize Kushranada himself. They will not quit until we strike and wipe them off the face of the earth!" "May I ask how you plan on doing that when we don't even know where they are hidden?" "Easy," A new voice said, "We insert a spy at every one of our installations, they'll attack it sooner or later, and the first to get hit, will throw a distraction and infiltrate the organization. That simple." "Yeah right," The first said, "wouldn't they be suspicious of a newcomer or whatever?" The third stared him down. "I think it is time I introduced myself. Carlos Ramos. Commander-in-Chief of all Avalon forces. I have vast knowledge in all areas regarding military hardware and tactics, so I suggest that you take advantage of my expertise and do it." He spoke with a hardness that was more of an order than a suggestion. The upstart sat down and was silent. Janet Novelle, who was presiding over the meeting sat silently. "Gentlemen, the General bought up a good point. We will adhere to his plans and will continue our search for any rebel cells. If no one else has any pressing business, I'll call this meeting to a close." No one spoke. "Very well then. You are excused." The executives got up and left. Carlos waited at the door for Janet to gather her things. She looked up at him. "We can't show the public that we are weak." "Have we ever?" he replied. "No, but this rebellion is giving them a reason to rise up. They are getting dissatisfied, and I have tried to reform to please them without giving up our power. It just won't work." "They are too used to democracy. Eventually they'll learn that we are powerful and can not be defeated." She nodded and walked out of the room. He waited a little longer, thinking to himself. I have doubts of my own. I don't want to sacrifice too many espionage artists. So, the question is not when, but where. He shook his head and left for his office so he could give the order to the Military Intelligence Department. He had until then to decide.
The young officer who was at the Yangtze attack, sat down at her computer to check her mail. It had been a long week and was hoping for something from her family. Instead she got orders for Hong Kong. She rubbed her head and wondered what made her go MI. she thought, She was to wait until further notice to move or an attack there conducted by Freedom.