Revelations
The queen woke suddenly the next morning to the loud and powerful sound of humming engines. Instantly awake and eager to see what was going on, she dove out from under the heavy layers of duvets and ran over to her balcony which overlooked the main palatial grounds.
She ripped open the doors and staggered out into the freezing cold morning air, immediately blinded by the bright sunshine beaming down into her face. It took her a few moments to clear the sleep from her eyes but when she had did they showed her a sight which took her breath away.
The echidnas had arrived.
Her once pristine palace grounds were packed with ten of their jet black gunships. Each of the aircraft was clearly armed to the teeth with underslung missile pods and lethal looking multi barrel cannons. The massive pivoting engines used to power the aircraft had churned up the grass and destroyed flower beds which she had picked sweet roses from since a child. The destructiveness of it all would have made her cry if she hadn't felt so elated at the sight of the birds of war and the hundreds of echidna infantry milling around them.
"Your grace, the guardian asked me to request your presence in the war room after you break your fast" Tiffany, one of her handmaidens said as she curtsied politely.
Sally was taken by surprise as the girl spoke but rallied well. "Did he now…" she grinned. "Tell me Tiffany, do you not find them beautiful?" she asked the handmaiden, and pointed out of the window at the gunships.
The girl followed her queen's line of sight and tried to look impressed. It failed. "Yes your grace, very…um…"
"You are such a terrible liar Tiffany, but I don't blame you for thinking them hideous, after all, they do look very menacing. It is what they represent that is beautiful, not the machines themselves"
Tiffany nodded, clearly not understanding her queen but not wanting to seem dense. Sally decided to throw her a bone. "Their presence means that we are no longer alone in this war child. We have friends now and my what friends they are"
The girl simply smiled prettily and for a moment Sally wondered what level of intelligence she had surrounded herself with. "What time is it?" she asked Tiffany whilst stifling a little yawn.
"A little later than nine o'clock in the morning my queen. Does your grace require breakfast in her parlour this morning?"
Sally looked out of the windows once more and curiosity immediately got the better of her. She had always been fascinated with electronics, computers and mechanical equipment and if you wanted to surround yourself with the very pinnacle of tech development you had to speak to the echidnas. The lure of so much hardware sitting on her lawn was simply too great to resist and she wanted some of it. "No Tiffany, please find Bunny Rabbot and prepare just a very casual outfit for me. Nothing fancy. I think my black riding trousers, favourite blue knee length boots, a cream coloured blouse and my blue sleeveless jacket should do fine"
"As you wish your grace". The girl turned and was about to leave when Sally stopped her. "Tiffany, whilst you are looking for Bunny, can you please also locate commander Glaive for me?"
The girl looked blankly at her.
"The tall echidna, black fur, stern looking; he arrived yesterday with the guardian?"
Understanding dawned on Tiffany's face like a gear suddenly falling into place. "The commander is currently with the other echidna's at the aircraft your grace. I remember him telling Ser Geoffrey that he is organising their arrival"
"Very well Tiffany, carry on" Sally shook her head as the young thing ran off to her errands.
Sally picked up Nicole from the side of her bed looked back out of the window at the sinister aircraft. Now all that was left to do was have a relaxing bath, get changed and go poke her nose into places it didn't necessarily belong.
She was almost giddy with anticipation.
"Good of you to finally join us" Geoffrey seethed under his breath as the guardian walked into the war council fifteen minutes late.
Knuckles simply ignored him and patted his forehead with a towel he had wrapped over his shoulders. "What do we know?" he asked the room in general. "Did you get a match on any possible co-ordinates?"
"We have made a list of all possible combinations using the six figures you provided and then matched them against all maps that we have. There are only three instances where the grid references provide anything of value and even then the match is sketchy at best" the head of security replied.
Knuckles walked slowly over to the main table at the centre of the Acornian command room. All around the table stood the cream of the Acorn military and intelligence gathering organisations. The large, solid oak table was strewn with maps, half eaten high energy bars and coffee cups and it was clear that the staff had indeed worked through the night as the queen has commanded. "Very well, show me what you have"
Geoffrey nodded to an orderly who quickly appeared with three maps. He placed them flat in front of the guardian, side by side and then retreated.
Knuckles took a moment to study the contents of the large red circles drawn on the maps. The first contained a small village of no more than a few houses, the second a disused quarry and the third a small range of mountains in the north of the realm. Nothing immediately indicated a target of value that the dark legion would attack. "Have you deployed scout teams to check these possible targets?" he asked, tracing a hand over the maps.
"Not as yet guardian" Krauptman replied. "We wanted to know what you thought first"
Knuckles glared at the general for a few moments and then sighed. "General Krauptman please remember that your men are your men and deploy them as you see fit. All echidna assets are under the express command of commander Glaive and you should liaise with him as to the way we will combine for best effect. If we are going to persecute a war in harmony, I need to know that you will still act on your own initiative without waiting for me to sanction absolutely every action. Now, may I suggest that you deploy three squads immediately to scout these locations? We need to know anything which might indicate them as targets"
"Very well…" Krauptman replied and turned to a nearby adjutant. "Contact major Sinclair and have him scout these locations with the fastest units he has available"
The adjutant saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" he replied and disappeared out of the main exit to pass on the message.
"You say that you have checked all of the maps you have?"
"All of them guardian" a young badger with thick glasses who was clearly one of the intellectuals on the command staff replied.
Knuckles rolled his shoulders. His neck clicked loudly. "Damn. Looks like there is nothing else for it than to speak to my ancestors. Open a link to Haven if you will"
Another one of the staff tapped a few buttons. "Link open in five seconds guardian"
Knuckles nodded and waited patiently for the large display in the command room to hum into life. After what seemed like an age, the screen whined into activity, displaying a rather serious looking Sabre.
"Guardian" Knuckles stated matter of factly.
"Guardian" Sabre replied, clearly somewhat vexed.
"We need assistance identifying some numbers I managed to get my hands on. I think they are a grid reference but the queens staff have checked against all of their maps with limited success. We need to check against all maps that Haven stores and I need Detori to process it as fast as he can"
"I heard about your little investigation guardian. Did you not listen when I told you to stop mind probing legion equipment?" Sabre shifted in his seat and rubbed his stubbled chin. "Its bloody dangerous and can drive you mad. But no, you wouldn't have listened would you? You never have and never will I suppose"
Knuckles stood still, smiling as his grandfather let off some steam. "Finished have we old man?"
Sabre scowled. "If it was a legion map you saw, which I suspect it was, Detori will not be able to help you"
"Regardless, I need him to process the numbers"
Sabre grunted and tapped a few buttons off screen. "Very well, go ahead"
"Zero two six eight nine two"
"Numbers received guardian" Detori replied. "However to cross reference all maps with the list of numbers in all possible permutations will take some time, approximately sixty three minutes with ninety nine percent accuracy"
"Get on it Detori""
"Is that all?" Sabre asked.
"For now grandfather but if Detori finds anything, contact me immediately"
"As you wish guardian" Sabre replied gruffly and closed the link.
Ser Geoffrey shifted inside his dress jacket uncomfortably. "Well that went well, family problems guardian?"
Knuckles smiled at the general's statement. "Always…"
"Her royal self approaches" Drake whispered to Jacob who was sat beside him, eating a bowl of cereal topped with chopped fruit. "Best look lively".
"Is there room for a few more?" Sally asked politely as she approached the breakfasting soldiers, Bunny in tow.
"Allow me your highness" a gruff sergeant answered. He stood up and looked down the breakfasting table to a gaggle of his own men. "Two platoon, get your asses moving, I want the gunship fully unloaded in five minutes"
The troopers literally jumped and with much cursing they ran in the direction of their gunship, some still clutching pieces of half eaten toast and bowls of cereal. The sergeant clearly realised his manners too late and bowed slightly to the queen. "Please accept my apologies for swearing your grace, old habits and all that"
Sally waved him off. "Don't be silly sergeant" she replied, picking out the soldiers rank from his chevrons. "And thank you for making some space for me"
"My pleasure" the sergeant replied.
"Commander" Sally stated as she sat down on the wooden bench opposite Jacob.
"Your grace" he replied, continuing to munch on his cereal. "Can I offer you some breakfast? It is nothing to write home about, mainly just standard military rations, however the coffee isn't too bad as long as you hold your nose whilst drinking and the cereal goes down relatively well if you leave it to soak in powdered milk for around an hour"
"Sounds appetising" she replied. "And where do I go to get myself some of this delicious cuisine?"
"Drake, be a good man and show the queens handmaiden where to get some breakfast" Jacob ordered..
Drake didn't reply and when Jacob looked at him, his gaze was distant. The commander followed it and wasn't at all surprised to see it fixed on the queens handmaiden, or most specifically, her posterior.
"Drake!" he growled. "Wind your neck in and go and show the queen's maid where to get some breakfast"
"Righto!" Drake grinned and promptly left, taking Bunny's wrist gently and guiding her in the direction of the mobile canteen that had been set up near a support ship.
"Oh dear. I know his type too well commander and for some reason my maid is attracted to them. I will keep a sharp eye on her don't you worry" Sally chuckled.
He simply nodded solemnly and continued to eat his breakfast. After a few moments he pushed his cup of cooling coffee towards the queen. "Try some your grace"
She did. It was bloody awful and it took all of her self-control not to wretch. "Delightful!" she gasped.
"Your politeness does you great justice but I fear you are lying. The only two things this coffee is good for is stripping grease from engine blocks and killing brain cells" Jacob replied flatly.
Sally coughed, trying to clear her throat of the dark, potent, treacle thickness coffee. "Do you always take meals with your soldiers?" she asked after managing to regain her ability to talk.
"As much as possible. In the legion we were forced to dine together regardless of rank. It was thought that by doing so it would assist in breaking down social barriers and prevent any unhelpful clique's appearing"
"You were part of the legion?" Sally gasped "The dark legion?"
"Ah, I see that part of my history wasn't explained to you"
"No, it wasn't…"
Sally was just about to continue her questioning when Bunny destroyed the moment by placing a steaming mug of jet black coffee and a plate of what could only remotely referred to as breakfast in front of her.
"You should be honoured your highness. Our beloved caterers have seen fit to bestow upon you our finest travelling ration. What you have there appears to be three genuine meat sausages, a well cooked egg, and dare I say it out loud, freeze dried tomatoes"
Sally stared blankly at the food and then back at Jacob. She quickly got the impression that the commander didn't play poker because he found it far too easy to bluff his opponents. You would find more sign of emotion in a stone.
"Tuck in" Drake interrupted whilst taking a long and drawn out gulp of his own coffee.
Sally and Bunny, hesitantly, both began eating and were pleasantly surprised to find that despite looking completely inedible the food was relatively wholesome and filling.
"So, to what honour do we owe this visit?" Drake enquired as he watched the pair.
"Though I am not accustomed to having to provide an explanation of where I travel in my own palatial grounds sergeant, I will humour you just this once. If you must know, I wanted to see with my own eyes exactly what help the guardians have agreed to provide." Her eyes shifted from Drake to the guardian's personal gunship which sat on its own, a good distance from the others. "Call it a hobby if you will, but I have always been fascinated with technology of any kind since I was a girl"
"So, you want to take a look around the guardians gunship?" Drake summarised.
"Correct"
"I am sorry your grace but to allow that, I will need his express permission"
Sally stared deep into Jacob's eyes. It was like looking into an abyss. "Very well commander, where is the guardian now?"
"At the war council and if you will please excuse me your highness I need to prepare a few things before I also attend"
Drake watched with a conspiratorial smile as Jacob stood up, bowed casually to the queen and walked away towards a group of troops. "So you want to take a look in the bird then?" he whispered when the commander was well out of earshot.
Sally turned to face him. "I would love to. It's just a shame that I can't. I would sorely like to see what is inside that aircraft as we don't have anything like the technology that the your race possess. It would be enlightening to see some of it with my own eyes"
Drake appeared to consider for a few moments. "I can show you"
"You?"
"Sure, why not, there are only a few with the clearance to go anywhere near the guardian's personal gunship and I happen to be one of them. I will show you if you want"
Sally frowned.
"What is in it for you?" Bunny asked, before the queen could say anything.
"Nothing but the admiration of a monarch. I promise"
The queen took one look at the jet black and sinister looking aircraft and then at Drake's rugged face. Even though every fibre of her being told her that she shouldn't agree to his offer, it was highly unlikely she would get a better chance. "Deal" she replied, holding out her right hand.
To Sally's surprise instead of shaking her hand he kissed it gently, stubble tickling her skin. "We best get moving your grace or we will miss our window of opportunity"
"Why do I feel like I have made a deal with the devil" Sally whispered to Bunny as she stood up to follow him.
"I think that is because you just have" Bunny replied quietly
"What now then, is there anything else we can do till your computer checks the numbers?" Geoffrey asked the guardian.
Krauptman interrupted. "I for one need to take a shower and eat"
It was only when the general mentioned his own personal hygiene that Knuckles noticed everyone in the room was still wearing the dress clothes and uniforms they had been wearing at the reception the night before. "I would seriously suggest that you take a shower and eat some breakfast gentleman; there is nothing else we can do here for now"
The assembled officers and personnel muttered their agreement and thanks before taking their leave. Just as they were exiting, Jacob entered the command room and waved at Knuckles in greeting to get his attention.
"Ah commander, what is our current strength?" Knuckles asked.
Jacob walked around the table and took a tablet out of a pocket in his jacket. When the machine had booted, he tapped a few buttons and studied the screen before replying. "So far we have an advanced force of ten platoons of drop troops backed up by ten gunships and one command squad. In terms of heavy armour and support we have three light tanks and four squads of heavy weapons"
Knuckles nodded slowly, impressed. "One might ask how you managed to organise all of those troops in only a few hours commander"
Jacob grinned. "One might guess that I already had them prepared"
"You dared to presume I would issue a drop order?"
"I did, and I clearly presumed right"
Knuckles smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Good man" he laughed.
The morning air was cool but moist and a thick low mist hugged the ground like a blanket. Bird song sang in the trees, crickets and insects called out loudly from the dew covered undergrowth and the sun was beginning to rise lazily on the horizon in the east. It was a perfectly beautiful morning.
Morgentha observed the active Mobian base from her perch in a large oak tree overlooking its southern line of perimeter fencing. A recent trumpet call had sounded across the loud speakers and now there was a never ending line of hundreds of personnel heading in the direction of a large parade ground in the east of the base. It appeared that they were attending some kind of ceremony or meeting as when they arrived at the parade ground some senior officers began organised the troops into blocks.
Morgentha bit her lip. It was simply too good to be true. Before the call had sounded, there were only two possible ingress routes past the guard towers and regular patrols and even then they were extremely risky and did not account for any chance encounters with random troopers.
Now though, there were dozens of ways in and she was simply spoilt for choice. Much to her chagrin however, she was forced to choose caution over fun until she had managed to get inside the base. If she was spotted because of blood lust, the whole facility would go berserk and she would be forced to cut her way in. As much as this did initially appeal to her she knew that this course of action could ultimately end in failure and that simply could not be considered.
Directly opposite her location, a solitary guard rubbed his eyes in a tall wooden guard tower. He was far from awake having recently only taken over his watch from another guard who was walking away back to main control centre. She had watched the exchange with interest and by her calculations, the distance from the oak trees highest branch to the guard tower was around twenty metres, easily within range of her maximum running leap.
She climbed to the top of the tree carefully like a snake to make sure that she didn't disturb any of the smaller branches which might shake and give away her position. When she reached the top of the tree, still shrouded in the leaves, Morgentha took one last look around for any observers and when satisfied the coast was clear and that the guard was facing in the opposite direction, she sprinted up the thick branch and leapt.
The flight took only a few seconds but you can achieve a lot in that time if you know how to use it.
Half way through the leap, Morgentha reversed her direction so she would land feet first and in one fluid motion, she drew her heavily silenced firearm, took aim and fired a single shot which penetrated the guard's neck and severed his spinal column. The guard, a young rabbit, was dead before his body even crunched to the ground. Morgentha landed silently next to him in a crouch, smoking pistol still help upright in her right hand. She waited.
Nothing.
Morgentha replaced her pistol in its holster and dragged the body behind one of the wooden guard towers walls, away from sight. The guard had only just changed so even if for some reason they staggered the rota at hourly intervals she had plenty of time before anyone noticed he had expired and raised the alarm.
She dropped down from the guard tower and hid for a moment behind a low concrete wall which surrounded the structure. The distance to the command centre building was three hundred metres and the only cover in between her and the target were a few parked vehicles the nearest of which was still one hundred and thirty metres away. If there was any part of the infiltration where she was likely to be seen, this was it.
Morgentha took a few deep, preparatory breaths and burst from cover with the speed of bullet. She pushed the accelerators in her thighs and knees to maximum power and the world around her seemed to blur as she picked up speed. The parked transport vehicle, a half tracked flatbed was fast approaching so she checked her speed to avoid simply colliding with it. Kneeling behind a large rubber tyre she quickly checked her vital signs in her retinal display and wasn't surprised to find that the one hundred and thirty metres she had just covered had taken five seconds. Her primary heart was also pumping oxygen rich blood around her body like a supercharged engine and she felt more alive than she could remember feeling in a very long time.
Another quick glance over the top of the flatbed confirmed that she hadn't been noticed so she immediately boosted to the second and third vehicles in quick succession without further pause.
The final vehicle put her within fifty metres of the command building and she now checked for any possible entrance routes that would bypass the main corridors. Half way up the red brick side of the wall, approximately fifteen metres up, she could see a ventilation shaft spitting out warm air which rapidly condensed into a mist as it hit the cool morning air outside. Whilst not perfect, the ventilation shaft would have to suffice.
She sprinted to the wall, looked up, crouched and then jumped. Even with her bionic modifications, the fifteen metres was a stretch and she only just made it. She frantically grabbed the outside of the steel ventilation shaft, took a long gulp of fresh air which was likely to be her last for some time and plunged into the dark confines beyond.
Pistons hissing, the large rear access ramp to the guardians personal gunship slowly opened and to Sally, who watched on with baited breath, the wait was painful. Though the morning was bright if not just a little overcast, the interior of the vehicle was pitch black and it was only when the ramp had completely dropped open did any of the daylight manage to light up the inside so it became semi visible.
Drake stepped onto the ramp and hit the light switch. Immediately all of the onboard equipment that adorned the aircrafts hull sprang into life and began booting up from idle. Lights of all colours flashed, various beeps and tones communicated their readiness and seconds later a hologram of a middle aged echidnas head suddenly appeared hovering over a projector display, directly in front of them. It appeared to immediately recognise Drake and it was clear by the look on its artificial face that it had been expecting someone else entirely and that his presence was most unwelcome. "Oh, its you" the hologram stated flatly.
"Shut your face Rex" Drake snapped back. "There is nothing to worry about here; I am just giving the queen and her lady in waiting a guided tour. Go back to your digital pit and stay there"
"And I suppose the guardian knows, does he?" Rex replied, ignoring Drakes insult.
"He doesn't have to. Besides, why are you here anyway? Why arent you with Knuckles?"
"I can be in multiple places at once scoundrel. I mean the queen no disrespect but only he has the required authority to let non registered individuals board his vehicle."
"Don't be a stiff Rex. Im bringing them aboard and there is nothing you can do to stop me" Drake replied. He beckoned Sally and Bunny forward. "Come on ladies, don't worry, Rex won't bite"
Suddenly one of the gun pods on the left wing dropped down from its interior housing, span one hundred and eighty degrees and came to rest pointing directly at Drakes chest in a hiss of servos. "I beg to differ" the AI growled as the six barrels started to rotate slowly, preparing to fire.
Sally intervened before the AI turned Drake into little more than paste. "I am sorry if we are intruding Rex and your dedication does you credit, we will go no further" she made to turn around and step off the ramp but before she could, her own personal computer, Nicole, activated under her own initiative. "So I see that it is not just the race that is arrogant and obnoxious, but also their technology as well…how droll…how predictable…"
Rex seemed suddenly taken aback. "What is this piece of junk that talks to me?" he inquired.
Sally gingerly removed the tablet out of her trouser pocket, opened it and then placed it on the floor of the boarding ramp. "Rex, this is Nicole, my own personal assistant AI and a very old friend"
After a few seconds, a holographic projection of a female Lynx appeared above the tablet. Even though the hologram was much smaller and far less defined than Rex, she somehow managed to display a scale of anger that was much greater than her actual size. "So I suppose you think you are the top dog don't you?" Nicole growled at him. "I bet you believe that you are the very cutting edge of advancement, the apex of programming code? It is a pity that no matter how great you actually are, you still don't know how to speak to a lady. Pathetic little program…"
"I am at the pinnacle of the AI spectrum, surpassed only in power by Detori which operates from Haven. I do not take kindly to being insulted by a relic which is at least thirty years out of date and is in serious need of being upgraded or, preferably, deleted" as if to reinforce his point, Rex span the gun pod to target the tablet instead. "Your existence is an insult to technology and it would only be a mercy to end your misery"
"Whoa!" Drake gasped stepping between the gun and Nicole. He held up his hands to try and placate the AI. "Dude, for Edmunds sake put the hardware away and lighten up, who do you think we are? legion?"
Nicole clicked a holographic finger which caused the gun pod to spin around and returned back to its internal bay. "Thirty years out of date I may be you arrogant bastard but I can still teach you a thing or two"
The look on Rex's holographic face became murderous as he realised Nicole had breached his firewalls and defences. "How dare you manipulate my source code!"
Sally was in shock as she watched the argument. It was the first time she had heard Nicole swear. "Nicole!" she gasped.
"Don't worry about me Sally; I will deal with this pompous and self-inflated digital prick!"
"Wench!" Rex bawled back as she insulted him.
Drake grabbed Sally and Bunny by the hands and pulled them aboard before Rex could recover enough to know he was being distracted. "Take a look around ladies" he gestured.
Sally obliged. Inside the gunship was much larger than she had first thought. The loading bay in which she stood could easily accommodate twenty individuals and the banks of computers which hugged the left and right side of the aircraft looked very advanced. She ran her hand over the keyboards and monitors, tracing their outlines and lightly tapping the keys. She had no idea what any of it actually did but just the proximity of the advanced equipment was sending shockwaves down her spine.
"Check this out Sal!" Bunny exclaimed.
Sally turned to see Bunny holding a futuristic looking rifle in her arms. "Bunny, put it down, it's dangerous"
Her handmaiden ignored her and lifted it up to her shoulder to look through the weapons sight out the back of the gunship. She scanned with it back and forth "seriously, this is pretty awesome Sally, you should take a look!" she continued to pan the weapon until it hovered over Drakes chest.
"Don't point it at me!" Drake suddenly growled and snatched the assault rifle from her. "Especially when it's bloody mine!"
"Sorry!" she replied apologetically. "It was an accident... I didn't mean to…"
Drake ignored her and replaced his rifle in its stowage rack. "Only ever point a firearm at something you intend to destroy. I have seen too many good soldiers taken out by stupid blue on blue accidents" he reinforced the last word to drive it home.
Sally let the reprimand slide; unfortunately her friend had deserved it. "What is down there?" she asked whilst nodding to the front of the gunship.
"Pilots cockpit, weapon controls, on board armoury, stowage and Knuckles personal cabin"
"What does he have in his personal cabin?" she asked.
"Now that is where I draw the line your highness" Drake smiled and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Can I at least take a look at the cockpit?"
"Be my guest"
Sally walked down the rear bay towards the front of the aircraft and the cockpit. When she reached the entrance door she took a deep breath then opened it gingerly.
Knuckles peered again at the maps on the table and pulled up a chair. Nearby were two semi eaten energy bars so he finished them off as he pondered the various circles and data the queens command staff had identified. Something didn't add up.
"How did they give grid references in the legion?" he asked Jacob who was also pondering some maps on the other side of the table.
"Depends on the scale of the map but normally in six figures"
Knuckles tapped a finger on the table near one of the circles. Doubt was starting to creep into his mind that he had in fact misinterpreted the figures he had seen.
"What if it wasn't a grid reference?" he said out loud.
Jacob shook his head. "I don't see what else if could be" he added. "The numbers don't really mean anything unless they are a reference of some kind"
"How did you identify targets if you had more than one?"
Jacob appeared to think for a moment. "Normally we designated each target a code for ease of reference. It could be anything from a number or even a name it if was a person or a place"
Knuckles tapped the table again a few times before replying. "How many attacks have you suffered from the legion so far?" he asked one of the officers.
"Only the one so far that we know of guardian" the fox replied.
"What if the first two numbers, zero two, are just a sequential tally for the number of attacks? That would mean this reference could refer to a second…"
Jacob leant back in his seat and thought about the suggestion. "Possibly" he agreed. "I would never personally have used a sequential number myself but other chapters might have been using the process or adopted it since. I don't know"
"Okay, let's work with this then" Knuckles stated. "If zero two is the second attack, what does the six eight nine two refer to? What could that possibly indicate?"
"Western base? The fox interrupted "Their internal identifier is sixty eight, ninety two. But how would the legion know that?"
Knuckles looked at him for a moment, completely lost for words. "What is this instillation?" he asked, already feeling like they were on to something concrete.
"It is the largest of our garrisons on the western border guardian. Sixty eight, ninety two is the internal communications call sign for the base. However, an attack would be ridiculous! It is manned with hundreds of our troops"
Jacob interrupted. "With all due respect captain, the legion has individuals who would make a mockery of such numbers. Tell me, what is there of value at this location?
The fox shook his head. "I don't think there is anything there commander. It is just a staging post for troops to be allocated out further."
Jacob sat back in his chair, defeated.
"Unless they wanted to cut off power to the western defence grid by sabotaging the power arrays it houses?" another officer suddenly added as if his piece of information was nothing. "I used to work there on the technical staff and I always thought it was stupid how the system works in a circuit so that when one link is cut the rest drop for a period of time until the backups can be activated"
"So the consequences of cutting the power would be…?" Jacob asked.
"Total loss of power to all western perimeter stations and defence batteries, specifically air defence batteries and long range ordnance for approximately ten minutes"
Jacob turned to face Knuckles. They locked eyes and both reached the same conclusion at the same time.
"You can fly a lot of aircraft over a border in ten minutes" the guardian exclaimed.
"You can walk and drive a lot of troops across a border in that time as well" Jacob added.
"Captain, contact the installation and lock it down right now. Tell them to expect an immediate attack, specifically from one individual or a small raiding party" Knuckles ordered, springing to his feet and sending a cup of coffee spilling across the maps. "And you also need to scramble your communications, the legion have hacked your codes"
The captain suddenly burst into life and began dialling the base. Other officers and staff bolted in different directions to alert the rest of the command team.
"I will get the troops in the air" Jacob said, almost jumping out of his seat.
Knuckles tapped a button on Rex which immediately sent a warning alarm out to Drake and his pilot telling them to get to the gunship and get it airborne with all possible haste. "I will see you on the ground!" he shouted in reply as he grabbed a map of the target from the table and ran out of the command room.
