Chapter 1.2

The flames of Chandelier could still be seen out in the ocean as Desert Punk sped the small motorized rubber boat out into more open water. He looked back to see the aftermath of his work. The haughty Desert Punk was entertaining in his mind how simple it was to take out the massive arsenal. The thoughts of his accomplishments were quickly replaced by a cold wind coming off the island. "Damn, I need to get to the ship fast" he said. Minutes had passed and the fire illuminated sky could no longer be seen. In pure darkness Desert Punk navigated his vessel in an eastward heading. Soon the sight he had been waiting for appeared as a small series of white lights on the horizon. With each passing minute the lights spread further apart as he was getting ever closer to the ship from which he departed from for his sortie. A combination of cold water and wind was striking against his winter attire making the need to get to that boat more paramount. Finally after about an hour from leaving the coast he arrived at the ship…well actually it was a fishing boat. It was a 117 foot long fishing boat named "Romano." It was mostly white with a green stripe extending from front of the hull to the stern. No other occupants were onboard as Desert Punk is a solitary combatant. Desert Punk had "borrowed" which really means stolen the vessel from a harbor in Iceland prior to the raid on Chandelier. How he obtained the information about the takeover of the base is an enigma for now. Pulling himself aboard he found his way into the wheelhouse and sailed eastward even further.

Morien Eeham was a history professor who taught European history in Hamburg. He graduated from a university in the United States majoring in history and German. Always interested in Germany the opportunity to work there had knocked and he answered quicker than sunlight reaches Earth.

Every year the city of Munich, German hosts Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is perhaps the largest known party in the world. Every year people from around the globe gather in Munich to take part in festivities that usually involve beer, music, and, well, more beer. People of all ages and ethnicities could be seen all around visiting different shops with vendors convincing prospective customers that their beer was the best. Morien had walked for a few blocks from the festival square when a certain flyer caught his eye. A band he really liked was performing at one of the tents later that evening.

Back on the streets of Munich, Morien stood in line with several other people wearing entirely black clothing with hair dyed jet black waiting for tickets for the band playing later that night. His light brown skin made him stand out from most of the others in line due to his Puerto Rican background. But this was only half of his heritage as his other half was Russian. His tall 6'3" stature also contributed to his distinctness. He was easy to spot in a crowd and was quite the eye candy to the opposite sex. Many women had to take a second look when he walked by. This, of course, would go unnoticed by him.

It was his turn to purchase a ticket. "One please," he said in German. He paid in Euros and took the ticket in his hand. His eyes grew wider as he held his ticket thinking about the show he was going to be a part of. A goofy smile grew on his face as he began fantasizing about all the opening bands and finally on to the main band. He could see it now. Strobe lights and laser lights flashing bringing the stage to life with heavy guitar riffs that could be heard halfway around the world. The voices of the crowds as they cheered the names of the….."Hey jack-ass!! Move! We need to purchase tickets too!" a voice yelled from the back of the line. Reality came back to him and when he saw how many people he was upsetting from his little day dream he gasped and bolted out faster than a bullet train.

With a few more hours to spare, Morien decided to visit one the hundreds of beer tents that adorned the park. The orange tent stood for autumn beer and being it was Oktoberfest he thought it would be apropos to taste test some of the many selections. At the vendor a young brunette woman with a pearly white smile in a traditional Lederhosen welcomed Morien. "Hello sir! You will find some of the finest local beer Munich has to offer right here. When you see something you like let me know." Morien gazed at the selections for a few moments until a bottle that had the image of a man skydiving with a boat anchor caught his eye. The name of it was Schadenfreude. "This one looks rather interesting" he said as he looked back up at her eyes. "I'll have one." She politely smiled and filled his request. "Thank you handsome. If you want more just come right back" she said in a seductive tone. "I-I-I will?" he said bewilderedly. He walked around for several minutes looking for a table until he spotted one that was vacant. Looking around he sat quietly watching the multitudes of people walking, laughing, singing, just really enjoying themselves. Almost forgetting about his beer he took his first sip and was slightly knocked back in his seat. "This is amazing!" he thought. "I'm never touching American beer again."

The sun had almost begun to sink below the horizon. The gold rays were beginning to become more feeble with each passing minute. Checking his ticket Morien looked again for the location and when it was found the line into the show had already started. "Might as well get in line or I won't get a decent spot in the pit" he thought to himself. As he got to the back more people gathered behind him excited and anticipating a great performance. Killswitch Engage had never performed at Oktoberfest so with a first time band comes a rather large gathering of fans. One of the fans standing in front of Morien turned around, locked eyes with him and said "Hi there. You don't seem like the type of person who would attend a show like this." "Why do you say that?" asked Morien. She suddenly had a shocked look in her eyes. "Oh wow. That totally came out wrong." She buried her palm into her face. "Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you." Morien chuckled and replied with "It's not a problem. It isn't the first time someone has pointed out that I stood out." Feeling a little less uncomfortable now she began to make a conversation with him. "So a fan of Killswitch Engage or the opening bands?" she asked. "I like all of them. When I heard that they were playing a gig here at Oktoberfest I asked for a few days off at work. I didn't want to miss it. I took the earliest train from Hamburg to get here. Beer and music. Can't really get much better than that!" he laughed. She chuckled with him "I'm Sabena." "Morien. Pleasure to meet you." They stood in line for the next few hours talking about other bands, beer, blah blah blah…

The hour drew past 7pm and the doors open. The line cheered as they walked in handing their tickets to security. As luck would have it Morien and Sabena made it to the front and center of the metal guard that sat just 5 feet from the stage. Quickly people flooded in behind taking their places on the floor or walking towards the merchandise tables. On stage the pyro-cannons could be seen aiming upwards. At least 500 different lights could be seen; an epileptic's worst nightmare. Killswitch Engage's drum set was already on stage covered in a black tarp that would be unveiled during the time of their show. "Have you seen them live before?" asked Sabena turning to Morien. "No I haven't but several of my friends have. Even my father has. They have all told me that Killswitch Engage puts on one hell of a show." "Indeed they do" Sabena replied. "I saw them open up for Nightwish in London. Both bands gave more than 100 percent. I don't think you will get much sleep after this night." Soon the first band played followed by 2 more. Then the moment of truth had finally arrived when a stage worker signaled the sound booth in the back that the stage was ready. The lights dimmed and then went out completely. The crowded roared as loud as a jet aircraft taking off in anticipation of the main show. Camera flashes went off everywhere. An intro speech could be heard from the speakers. One by one you could make out silhouettes of the band approaching their positions on stage. The speech was cut short by a guitar riff. This really got the crowd's energy soaring. The lead vocalist was the last to enter the stage. Within seconds they burst into a heavy guitar bursts followed by screaming vocals. The strobe lights flashed followed by the rest of the stage lights being in perfect harmony with the beats of the drums and the notes on the guitar. Halfway through the show one of the pyro cannons had fallen over and fired into the crowd. A 30 foot flame erupted making contact with quite a few people. But as metal fans they disregarded the danger as the heat did not hinder their ability to rock out one bit. The rest of the evening consisted of the audience being blown away by Killswitch Engage. The show ended just past midnight. Now being slightly hard of hearing Morien made his way out of the venue and onto the main path of the fairgrounds. Sabena caught up with him. "Morien! What did you think?" "It was definitely money well spent" he replied. "I would not mind seeing them again!" Upon finishing his statement Sabena handed him a small piece of paper. "I know I don't know you that well, Morien, but I really had a good time tonight talking to you and what not. You should call me sometime." Morien looked at the note with her phone number, smiled and said "Yeah absoulutely! Well I have to catch the train back to Hamburg. I will look forward to talking to you soon, okay!" They hugged and then parted ways. Morien made his way to the rail station. Soon ICE train #493 arrived and he was on his way home. At least that's what he intended.