-A Tale of the Knothole Freedom Fighters as told by Jeremy F. Capps
June 14th, 3236 The Old Water Treatment Facility Robotropolis
⌠I regret I have but one life to give for my country.■ - Nathan Hale
The abandoned water treatment facility was on the south side of the city, an area that I think everyone had forgotten, to include Robotnik. The water plant, at one point, had been considered in plans as a sort of giant facility for roboticizers, but that had been shot down pretty quickly by the fat-one in favor of watching the last terrible moments of a Mobian▓s life from the comfort of his chair inside his command tower. I call it a chair, it doesn▓t rate being identified as a thrown, because his fat worthless hide rested in it.
We had ▒taken▓ the facility back nearly a year prior. It held no special interest to the denizens of the city, so they ignored it, and that was perfect for a small, covert outpost behind enemy lines. I slept many a night inside the facility, and I must admit I don▓t think I ever saw a Swat-pod come near. As a matter of fact, I don▓t recall any patrols in the area.
The complex was a high fence surrounding a series of five buildings. Three of the buildings were simply control centers for the flow of old Mobotropolis▓ water supply. The fourth, the one other than ours┘I▓m not sure what it did.
Ours had been the master control center. The upstairs was a two room building with a series of computers linked up to remote antenna▓s on the roof. The downstairs area was a reinforced concrete basement with a tangle of pipes and such running in and out. We picked it specifically because we knew it would be too hard for their thermal imaging systems to detect us down there.
To support Knothole▓s war effort, we had up linked a series of our own computers to the rooftop antenna▓s and could send and receive data from the village for small Freedom Fighter units to stay in communication. It was kind of an intelligence gathering system. Matter of fact, a few months prior we had perfected a means of jamming Robotnik▓s own radio communications systems remotely from the site. It had saved lives, to say the least.
We came to know the facility as Running Water. The name was a reminder that once, some time ago, rivers flowed free of Robotnik▓s poisons. That no artificial structure had been created to dry them up and kill the life that relied on them for existence.
It was a reminder that one day, they would flow as free as it once had.
It was a muggy night, the night we made our stand at Running Water. It had been miserably hot for days, and a cold front had rolled in and brought a pretty vicious storm earlier in the day. The rain had nearly flooded our basement, and then the sun had come out and turned the entire area into a sauna. I could feel water bristling my fur, giving me a sticky feeling that made me feel absolutely gross as I sat in my concrete bunker.
Time was nine fifteen. Sonic and the Princess were supposed to be leading a small strike against the South Side Chemical Plant, where Robotnik produced most of his battery acid and who knows what else. The area was under constant thermal and night vision surveillance, meaning they needed us to knock out the city▓s communication grid so that Snively couldn▓t pick them up on the security network.
The strike was supposed to take place at nine thirty. All they needed was five solid minutes of transmission time.
Five minutes.
Five.
⌠Hey boss, I▓m picking up three Swat-pods moving around the western perimeter of the fence.■ Starks the Cat had said. ⌠No response from the observation post.■
He was my signals expert. Starks understood something about communication that I couldn▓t exactly even fathom. Something about how signals and frequencies and all that hoopla coursed through the air, and he used that knowledge to counter all of Robotnik▓s best attempts to shut down whatever had been jamming up his communications network. He had always been one step ahead of the fat man.
One step.
⌠Simon, go topside and see if you can get a visual with the OP, but be careful.■ I had commanded to the little woodpecker on my team. He had been kicked back in a chair trying to rest his eyes when I disturbed him. He didn▓t even respond to the order. He just gave a bit of a dissatisfied grunt, and then went topside.
⌠I have a number of dismounts on my scope.■ Said Starks then as he manned the periscope. We had conveniently hidden it on the roof, camouflaging it as one of the many rooftop ornaments. I think it had been a pressure release pipe or something. ⌠Mostly Swatbots. Something new too┘looks like a Swatty with a camera for a head┘■
⌠Where▓s the pods?■ I asked, cracking my knuckles. I didn▓t like it. Not a bit. No patrols in the area the whole time I had been attached to running water┘and suddenly there was a force presence? Something was very, very wrong. ⌠Ten minutes.■ Said Fico the Hyena from his post at the control panel. ⌠Starting the warm up sequence.■
⌠Carl┘I think you might want to look at this.■ Starks said from his post. He had said it just as a loud series of crashes came from upstairs, and I could hear Simon▓s panicked breathing echoing through the near empty rooms. I raised my hand to Starks, my signal for ▒hold that thought▓, and then, taking one of the spears I had on the wall, walked into the front room where the stairs were and slowly started an ascent.
Thank God I had never raised the spear. Simon tripped at the top of the stairs and rolled down into me, a storm of feathers filling the air behind him.
⌠They▓re dead man! The guys in the OP got waxed!■ He blubbered as he tried to regain his footing and scramble deeper into our basement compound. ⌠The bots shot it up real good!■
I wanted to ask questions┘felt almost obligated to ask questions┘but the report had been pretty to the point. I didn▓t have time to worry myself with petty details at the moment.
⌠Simon, get the blast doors sealed.■ I commanded the woodpecker, muscling him between my hands to keep him calm. We had installed blast doors as a last line of defense incase we were ever found.
And I was willing to bet that the bots had seen Simon or, at the very least, Robotnik was keen that something funny may be going on in the water treatment plant.
⌠They▓re inside the perimeter. Multiple dismounts, three pods.■ Starks reported from his guard position. ⌠I uh┘Carl, would you please take a look at this?■
I moved back across the room and looked through the periscope. I couldn▓t tell how many Swatty▓s there were, but I saw two of those weird camera-head things, and at least two more floating surveillance orbs.
⌠They▓re setting up a cordon.■ I replied dully. ⌠No one goes in or out, unless its one of their own.■
⌠Want me to arm the pulse generator?■ Starks asked as he retook his position. I shook my head.
⌠How long you need Fico?■ I asked my control-man. He bit his lip. ⌠Two minutes warm up. At least five transmitting.■ ⌠Can▓t use the pulse generator.■ I said to Starks. ⌠We need the power going to the transmitter. Besides, it could fry the system, and then Sonic▓s team is screwed.■
The cat nodded. I stepped across the room and opened the first of two old abandoned breaker boxes, brushing away the cobwebs and piles of dust and debris from years of neglect, reaching inside to a series of pins hanging in a row. Slowly, one by one, I pulled them all out and let them clatter to the floor. There were six total; all arming pins for a series of claymore mines we had planted in the topside room.
Next, I opened the second breaker box. Inside was a monitor that gave me a basic night vision view of the room above from the point of view of each of the mines. Below the monitor was the six detonating remotes, hard-wired to the weapons to make sure there was no failures.
⌠One minute left on the warm up.■ Said Fico, the fur on his muzzle slowly getting moist with sweat. He was visibly shaking. Never, in all the time we had been working at Running Water, was there ever a bad situation. Especially one of this magnitude. ⌠Better get in any last words with Sonic▓s crew while you can. You know we can▓t transmit out after I turn this puppy on.■
I stifled the urge to whimper. That was Fico▓s way of pleading with me to call for help. But I couldn▓t bring myself to do it. The tactical value of destroying the chemical plant was greater than the post. Besides, the area was swarming with Swatbots. I wouldn▓t let them risk their lives twice in one night, especially to save me.
⌠Blast doors are sealed!■ Simon said as he clambered back into the room. ⌠Now what!?■
⌠Go to the sleeping quarters, open the armory locker.■ I said, handing him my key ring. ⌠Bring everything we have. It▓s not much, but it▓s better than nothing. Let▓s hope they call it off.■
⌠Combots.■ Starks said then to kill my hopes. ⌠I▓m counting twelve of them. Looks like they▓re preparing to make an entry.■
I closed my eyes for a moment and controlled the single tear I felt welling and said a short, silent prayer.
⌠Transmitting started, time on deck nine twenty five and sixteen seconds┘seventeen┘eighteen┘■ Said Fico from his panel.
⌠Just keep it running as long as possible.■ I said, watching the monitor. Thank God it was hardwired to the upstairs room.
I could see the front door very well in the low visibility. Light snaked around and poured through the cracks between the front door and the wall, and then I heard a single gruff metallic voice before the door was violently smashed inwards and sent flying across the room. The first of one of the huge bots came through the door and took post on the left side of the door, its floodlight piercing the dust and darkness of the room while it checked things out. Then, with a motion of its hand, it signaled it brethren through the door.
⌠Peace, kids.■ I grunted as I depressed the detonator for the first mine, the one that was pointed right at the door.
The whole building shook as there was a brilliant flash of light on the monitor and then the room fill with dust. I could see sparks dancing in the darkness where at least four Combots had stood before.
⌠This is all we have!■ Simon said, producing a number of weapons. We had two hand grenades of some sort, two EMP Pistons, a Plasma Baton, a fully automatic laser rifle, and some sort of electrical discharge weapon. I checked the weapons over before issuing them out. My heart sank a little as I looked at the battery life. It was half gone, deteriorated from an untold amount of time waiting to be used.
I never made my men the wiser. I had heard someone say once that morale was key to victory, and nothing boosted morale more than superior firepower. The firepower was far from superior to what the Combots were packing, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.
On top of the armament that Simon had produced, I still had my spear I had carried in. It wasn▓t the greatest thing on Mobius, but it was better than nothing.
I handed the laser rifle to Starks. Simon was a good kid┘but he had never been much of a fighter. I needed someone who was more afraid of losing than they were of dying, and that would be Starks. I divided the two grenades up between the two of us, and then I handed an EMP Piston to Simon with the Plasma baton, and then the other Piston to Fico. He▓d be running the computer until the transmission was done, so he wouldn▓t be actively in the fight.
I took my shoddy little spear and the EDW for myself.
I cursed myself silently. I wasn▓t looking to win. I didn▓t care if we survived a second past nine thirty. All I cared about was Sonic and Sally.
⌠Transmission time, one minute, fifteen seconds. Time on deck is nine twenty six and thirty two seconds┘thirty three┘thirty four┘■ Fico said ominously in the background to keep me updated.
I checked the monitor. Slowly I moved along the room, targeting my best targets, and detonating the remaining five claymores. The building shook every time, dust slowly dancing in the air from the ceiling to the floor. My hands shook. Metal clanged in the front room where the stair access was located.
The blast doors.
I made a short sprint from our command center to the front room, sliding a large set of computers and their monitors away from the wall to use as a makeshift barrier / cover. Simon and Starks followed suit to my left.
I took a moment to check the door. A steal slab covered the stairway from earlier, having been sealed tight by Simon in order to slow down the bot advance. We had to be at two minutes worth of transmit time at the moment. We only had to hold them three minutes.
Three minutes. My life may only amount to three more minutes.
⌠Starks, if they bust through the blast door, let ▒em have it, but keep the burst short and controlled. Don▓t waste your ammo. Keep ▒em bottlenecked on the stairs. If they make it in the room, Simon, its your job to hit ▒em with the piston. If things get too bad, we▓ll move to the back room and bottleneck ▒em again in the doorway.■
A blue-white light poured in around the cracks of the blast door. Some sort of scanner, checking the integrity of the barrier. When the light disappeared, there was a soft thud. I held my breath.
The following explosion rocked my very bones. The door was warped unnaturally as it clattered to the floor in front of me, followed closely by a cloud of smoke and dust.
Starks laser rifle was suddenly chirping madly as it hammered the hole at the top of the steps. Sparks and molten metal bounced and spattered off of the steps as for a split second it seemed like our position was really defensible. I crow hopped to the side a little, trying to look up the steps towards the entrance point, trying to find a shot with my EDW. All I could see was a number of blurs at the top of the steps surrounded by red eyes.
Then, the bots started fighting back.
There was a bassy series of booms as the room was rocked violently by a series of slugs, ripping the console that Simon and Starks hid behind to pieces. Then, a second set of sounds erupted as automatic laser fire pummeled their position. I saw Starks fall back against the wall, and then Simon let out a high pitched squeal as the smell of burned feathers filled the room.
Focusing my attention from the entry way, I gave them just enough time for one of the Combots prehensile cable appendages to come down and snag the blast door. I was barely aware of the grating metallic sound as the shield was dragged back up the steps and then utilized to their benefit.
⌠Transmission time, two minutes, forty nine seconds. Time on deck is nine twenty eight and six seconds┘seven┘eight┘■ Fico announced in the back room.
⌠Oh my God!■ Simon said, tears streaming down his face. ⌠Oh my God, they shot me!■
I watched as Starks got small behind the console, pressing his hand over the birds wound. I fought back tears as blood wafted up through his feathers and over Starks▓ gloved hand.
⌠You▓re going to be ok man, you▓re going to be ok.■ Starks reassured him, holding pressure on the wound. ⌠Dude, they shot me!■ Simon said. ⌠I▓m going to die! I▓m going to die!■
Seconds seemed like an eternity as I watched Starks trying to help the dying woodpecker, watched as Simon cried as hard as I▓d ever seen a young man cry. He was genuinely terrified and I▓m sure the pain wasn▓t doing much for him.
Then, almost a second too late, I remembered that our attackers were still coming. The steps crackled as a Combot stepped through the hole, using the blast door now as a shield to keep the laser rifle from chewing up its legs from the knee down.
⌠Get him out of here!■ I said to Starks as his eyes met mine, fear glazing the surface. As he started dragging Simon into the back room I charged the EDW and fired.
Electricity crackled through the room as a bolt of energy coursed from my hands to the blast shield, instantly welding it to the bots body as electricity fried its circuits. Its knee▓s buckled, and it crashed to the deck as a lifeless hunk of steel. No sooner than it came to rest at the bottom of the steps did a line of automatic laser fire scorch the deck in front of my position. Then, I heard a distinct ▒bloop▓ sound, followed by the sound of metal rolling on concrete.
I didn▓t have time to think. I just leaned against my cover and prayed.
The explosion was closer than any of the previous ones had been. The whole room was rocked violently, and as soon as I could move I scrambled through the door to the back room. My ears were ringing, my vision was blurred, and I was shaking, even more so than before.
My leg felt like it was on fire. I looked down and could see my gray fur soaked red. Blood. My blood. It looked like someone had taken a meat grater to me from my thigh to my knee. The site of all the blood made me want to faint┘throw up┘
I did neither.
Starks was across from me, a new console moved into the middle of the room for cover. Cradled in his arms was Simon, his body limp and unresponsive, his beak agape as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
I quickly jumped to my feet and slammed the door shut, latching both bolts as I did so.
Seconds were all that mattered now.
⌠Transmission time, four minutes, six seconds. Time on deck, nine thirty and three seconds┘four┘five┘■
They should be blowing the plant right now.
I▓d give them every second we had left.
The blue light was at the door again. Gingerly, Starks let Simon▓s body down gently, closing his mouth and eyes with his free hand and taking up a good firing position from behind his position of cover. I hobbled behind a stanchion, leaning out with the EDW ready.
The light went out, and then one of the massive bots huge ▒boots▓ smashed the door in, sending it flipping off of the opposite side of the stanchion where I took refuge. Starks had already opened up by the time I flipped back around. Seconds became minutes. Minutes became hours. Hours became days. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Months became years.
Years┘became eternity┘
I fired the EDW again, frying the Combot at the door in doing so. In the darkness of the front room I could see at least two more sets of red eyes, poised to charge us. My eyes jerked from the entrance way to Starks for just a second┘an eternity┘just long enough to see a hail of laser fire flash through him, singing hair and muscle and bone as it did so, searing into the concrete floor behind him as he fell backwards, his mouth open, his eyes wide.
Open, but not seeing.
The emotion that racked my body wasn▓t fear or sadness. It was more a combination of loss and emptiness. I waited for the EDW to charge, my back to the stanchion.
⌠Transmission time, four minutes, forty eight seconds!■ Fico said in a half yell, half whimper, tossing his EMP Piston to the wayside. He couldn▓t fire it. He could have never fired it if he had to. He would have fried the console and would have made Simon and Starks sacrifice in vain. ⌠Time on deck is┘■
He never finished the sentence. He was cut down by a Combots laser, his chair sliding out from under him as it hit him.
I turned from behind the stanchion as the EDW charged completely. Three bots. Two stacked in the doorway with a third behind them. I aimed┘depressed the trigger┘
And nothing happened.
The battery was dead.
I didn▓t even think to drop it before they shot me. One of the metal slugs that had riddled the console in the front room ripped through my abdomen, knocking me to the deck in a spray of my very life blood.
I fell back, laying there┘gasping┘grasping for Simon▓s dropped EMP Piston┘
Last Transmission time had been four minutes forty eight seconds┘
My fingers curled around the base of the piston, and I looked up to see a Combots arm pointing down at me. There was three bassy booms┘my body shuddered┘
And I never knew if we had won or not.
I was going to a new home. A new home where water flows free.
- End -