An anonymous Hybrid
While the smallest victory, even a symbolic one, was achieved, the scales had already fallen against Annette's favor.
Just another tragedy in a long, long line of tragedies to come.
No one could be further from paradise...
ACT IV: Civil War
30: No More Complacency
Racing Drones' HQ
Karma Eiss
Dark green lights are the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes. I tried to move my arms, but I found myself restrained as if I was being crucified. The way my arms were stretched felt like I was tissue was about to break...
Wait...
I moved my head towards my right arm, then started digging my fingers in my palms. Maila said her hands had simulated feeling only in her mechanical fingers, but I could feel my gloved palm. I turned my head left and it was the same case; my feet as well.
At least Maila's wishes have not been dishonored.
But...
What about Taro?
Where is he? Did they convert him into a Drone?
Either way, what we went through was all my fault.
"You're awake." I looked by the door and saw Kurt walking up towards me.
"You traitor," I grunted.
"I bet you never expected me to survive," he said.
"I knew you wanted to pick the Drones' side," I responded. "You've been fighting so hard to redeem yourself after working with Gelorum... now it's a full circle."
"I see things in a new light now," Kurt said. "The fact that you've waged war to retain the stagnancy of human society. Where nothing ever changes. Yes, there are people that want us to move forward, but in the end, humans must a what we truly needed."
"Drone propaganda has brainwashed you," I said.
"HUMAN PROPAGANDA HAS BRAINWASHED YOU!" Kurt screamed as he grabbed a desk, tore it from its bolted hinges, and threw it at a wall. "You didn't even flinch!" he commented. "How dare you align yourself with her."
"Do you think humanity as a whole will accept this?" I questioned. "Would your brother want this?"
"He would have been a perfect citizen," Kurt said. "Your sister wants all of this," he spat as he circled his head around the room, "in ruins."
"No," I said. "If you only knew how she really felt about her actions... she is not like her murderous teammates. They're the real monsters."
"Yet you chose to side with them," Kurt said. "Would you like to live knowing you aided war criminals like them? I'm sure Maila had done just as many bad things with them."
"If we tried to quit, the Silencerz would imprison us!" I reminded him. "Annette is using you for something more inhumane than what the ESF-"
"I'd rather have things get worse before they get better than things getting worse without any progress," Kurt retorted. "Humans must know the pain... you will know!"
I closed my eyes and looked away from Kurt's scarred face. "I already do..."
Einar Johansen
I could not help but think of Harkov when overhearing what this nutjob had to say to Karma. In the end, I felt like I was witnessing a chess game with how everyone acts like pawns to this game.
Even the ones highest in the hierachy seems to not know this.
ESF Silencerz Headquarters – General Walker's Quarters
Ian Sorensen
General Walker, the commander of the Silencerz forces and the creator of the Elite Stealth Force stood in his dim-lit office as I entered; the stitches on my head still stinging and my ribs aching from our failed operation at the Blizzard Realm.
I was quaking in my boots as I approached him. His brown eyes had a glance that could mark the death of anyone that even comes across his vision.
"Report," he said in a gravely baritone.
"General Walker, I am sad to announce the deaths of all Odin squad members," I reported with humility. "I also would like to report that the Drones have developed an immunity to the Black Dust bioweapon."
"It matters not," Walker responded. "Intelligence has gathered that a group of Drone rebels are planning an assault on the main base. When the chaos ensues, I'm ordering you and Team Thor to execute order Valhalla."
I did not flinch at the thought. "I hope Captain Eiss doesn't witness what we will bring to them."
"Captain Eiss was far too empathetic to be an ESF soldier," Walker said as he glimpsed at a photograph of Odin Team, which had Maila Eiss as the commanding officer. "Far too weak to do what's right to bring security and safety to our world."
And indeed, even in that photograph, she stood far to the left, three inches away from the rest of us; her eyes also looked slightly downward from the camera.
If it wasn't for her sister, she would destroy both worlds without hesitation.
"It was a mistake bringing her into the fold," I said. "If it were me sent instead of her, we would not have such conflict."
Silencerz HQ
Vert Wheeler
Dad and I sat on a bench outside the medical bay for two hours since we escaped the Blizzard Realm. My left leg was shaking and my fingers fidgeted as I waited for Doctor Cortez to give us Maila's status.
While we could have taken her to the Drone resistance, their medical facilities were crude and unready according to Harrison; they did not have any spare organs, and none of the resistance members were willing to donate them given Maila's treatment of the Drones. In fact, a huge majority had left because they did not want to get hurt by Maila; infighting would be the last thing Harrison would want for his forces.
After what we went through, despite going through all that no human should, I was expecting the worst far more than the best, even for a tough gal like her.
Dad had his hand over his mouth, his index finger rubbing his left chin. He had that same expression when Maila asked me to accompany her on rescuing the EU Silencerz. But after a while, he grew comfortable allowing me to race in the Realms, especially when Maila was slaughtering almost every Drone that even contemplated going after me.
Now, however, I never saw such fear in his eyes. Not when I'm hanging out with the Teku, not when I was racing in the Realms, not even when participating in Silencerz ops.
And I felt the same way. Honestly, I just wanted to rip my driver's license in half and never set foot in an automobile ever again after when we've been through.
You should quit what you're doing, son, I remembered my dad saying back home when I initially gave up.
"Maybe I should've quit and stayed home," I said.
"You know, I contemplated stopping you when you were going for Gelorum," Dad said.
"But you didn't. I'm sure you even knew about my track record at the time."
"I trusted that you would do the right thing."
I sighed. "And right now, we aren't. At least, I don't believe we are."
Dad massaged his graying head. "Captain Eiss really wanted you in her ranks when you came to our base. She believed in you more than I did..."
"It's always been this way. The suffering... the inhumanity... it's how we won wars. It's been the only way we could win wars. And I'm one of those monsters," I remembered Maila saying.
I glanced at the doors where she resided. "I wonder... did she let the Drones hurt her to...?"
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Cortez entered the waiting room.
"Doctor Cortez..." Dad greeted as he stood up from the bench.
"Lieutenant Colonel Wheeler, Captain Maila Eiss has been stabilized, but in critical condition," Cortez reported. "Even with our life support systems, however, we're not sure if she will make another day. Let alone two even. We're trying our best..."
I walked towards the door and peeked at the small window. I could barely see Maila laying on her bed unconscious; gauze wrapped around her forehead and a nasal cannula attached inside her nostrils. Blood was permeating the white medical blanket.
"I'm sorry. I can't allow visitors in at this time," Cortez told me.
I sighed and looked down. "I know..."
When my mother was about to pass, Dad and I were allowed in to say our final goodbyes. Dad was an Air Force lieutenant at the time and we never really saw each other, even on that fateful day that she was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
I was close to her since she was always there for me. She always packed my lunches, picked me up from school, even taught me how to swim and surf.
The last words my father said were, "I love you."
Even if it meant just three words. Three words that could speak a million.
And I would never hear her say them if...
If she actually loved me.
"What about Banjee and Shirako? How are they?" I asked.
"Both are okay, but they will not be getting behind the wheel anytime soon," Cortez explained. "Got to hand it to Shirako, he's always bobbing his tunes despite a lower leg fracture. Listed his pain as a two out of ten with headphones, five without."
I could barely leave a chuckle; it felt almost insulting to even try as much as we needed something at least remotely humorous.
Dad's proprietary Silencerz tablet rung. His face sank when he saw who was calling.
"Vert, I have to take this. It's General Walker; I can't let anyone disturb me right now," he said as he shooed away towards his quarters.
I groaned harder than I did when I was an angsty teenager and left the hallway.
It was always the politics of the Silencerz that turned this war into the mess that it was. The fact that we had to go with what they wanted... the atrocities they committed and may soon commit in the future... and all we could do was obey or face the consequences.
Maila could not disobey the orders of her superiors. If she could not, could we?
Alina LeBlanc
Both Anna and I sat on a bench at a hallway away from the places where most of the drivers and staff frequented. I was still shaking over what I had done. I even had flashbacks of when I murdered in my human life.
When Vert walked towards us, I held onto Anna like a scared child clutching a teddy bear.
"I'm really sorry..." I said weakly for what seemed like the thousandth time. "I'm sorry I hurt her. I just... I..."
Vert turned to Anna. "Are you two able to drive for us?" he asked her.
Anna looked at me; my tears started streaming down my face. Anna turned to Vert. "We've fought only for ourselves since we met. I can't afford to lose her. But I know you have so much to lose as well."
"Yeah."
Anna had friends who she knew we would be fighting against; she was particularly close to Einar Johansen, Blå's squadron leader. Even if we mustered the same strength to overpower the Valkyrie, we were uncertain fighting Annette's forces.
"Consider us... undecided," Anna said.
"Vert, head to the garage when your ready. I will ask the maintenance crew to outfit Reverb."
Vert looked away. He and his father then walked away without a word.
Vert Wheeler
As frustrating as it was for her to injure Maila like that, as hard it is to grasp the fact that she could die any moment from now, I could not blame Alina for what she did.
She was more of a chess piece to this twisted game. And even if I was, say, a bishop, rook, or even the king, I felt like a chess piece as well.
"Vert..." Kadeem said behind me. "I'm glad we're now on the same side again."
"Kadeem..." I quickly ran up to him and hugged him."I'm so sorry that I couldn't save you," I said remorsefully, almost shedding tears.
"There's nothing you could have done," Kadeem said as we let go. "We were under-prepared for the Realms."
"What would your people think about what happened to you?"
Kadeem pointed his head towards the hallway. I did not know if he was trying to point where his home is, given that I never left this facility. "Lot of things are changing. For now, the Drone resistance are my people. You are my people."
"And we will soon build a bridge between us and the humans," Harrison said as he and Jari walked towards us. "All regions of Highway 35 have been retaken except for the main city, but every minute, we're growing in numbers."
"All that's in our way is Annette," Jari said.
"You're going to fight her head on, aren't you?" I asked Harrison.
"And we will need you in this battle," Harrison said.
"I don't know," I answered as I looked towards the direction Maila was in.
"We might not have her driving with us," Harrison said, "but you now have thousands of Drones on your side."
Racing Drones' HQ
Taro Kitano
A red-haired woman walked in, blue windshields glossing across the green lights.
"Been a minute since we last fought," she said with a smile and tone that lacked malice.
Drone Resistance Facility, formerly Highway 35's Volcano Leg
Kendra Straussberg
I stood and watched as the Drone rebels began moving ammunition, medical equipment, and other supplies for a coming battle at the main city.
Moles within the city informed me of the capture of the Raven and her Einherjar as well as the incapacitation of the Valkyrie. They expected Annette's forces to have their hands full.
Vert Wheeler
"Your actions have made us realize that we've lived a lost cause," Harrison said to me. "I questioned your abilities in the past, but now, we realize there's another way. We must not let Annette colonize your world."
I chuckled. "You flatter me..."
"We will be joining," Tork said as he, Porkchop, and Monkey walked into the halls towards us. "Taro is one of us and we will not let another Metal Maniac die."
I thought of Kurt when he defied Tezla's orders; I thought of how everyone risked their lives and the fate of the world for Markie.
"I'm sure Maila would want this," Nolo said as he also walked in. I felt bad for him, having lost first his brother, then Kurt, and nearly came close to losing Shirako. Still, he appeared to look like he wanted to continue the fight despite how weary and tired we all were.
Maila wanted to reunite with Karma since becoming a Drone.
She would defy the Silencerz...
I also remembered when I left the house with a strange-looking blue race car in my driveway, then two years ago when I returned to the Acceledrome.
"If it means to end this pointless war," I said.
I also remembered when I left the house with a strange-looking blue race car in my driveway, then two years ago when I returned to the Acceledrome.
"Count me in."
Lieutenant Colonel Wheeler
"You cannot be serious!" I shouted to General Walker, almost spitting at the tablet screen.
"We cannot let their technology fall into the wrong hands," Walker argued. "You will not interfere with this operation. Be happy that your son will be safe from harm-"
"There are innocent people there," Major Latvaa, who was also in the call, yelled. "You think you can make the world a better place by committing genocide?!"
"We ended World War II with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," Walker said.
"Yeah, and caused a shitshow in politics to this very day," Major Nora Gunderson of the Southern U.S. division said.
"General Walker, I've been forced into many horrible, unethical situations because of your command. Effective immediately, I resign from the Silencerz," Major Latvaa said in the most spiteful tone I had seen in a person. "Haista vittu (fuck you), Walker. Haista vittu!" Latvaa disconnected.
"I cannot in good conscious stand here and watch," Gunderson said as she disconnected.
I disconnected from the call without saying a world and slammed the tablet face-down on the table.
It was time I learned from my son.
Vert Wheeler
We headed for the garage to repair and refit our cars for the next battle. A new batch of Ognaesson pods in the hangar were slowly being crafted from liquid metal.
Nolo looked like he never slept as he started working on Synkro. Porkchop was hammering two miniguns on Piledriver's skeletal roof, replacing the 5000 candlepower night lights that were originally on that car. Tork tested Hollowback's flamethrower against a metal bar, and he looked in delight as the bar severed in two as if those flamethrowers were lightsabers. Even Monkey was keeping up with work on Power Bomb with such focus, he did not even flinch when Piledriver's miniguns accidentally went off at one point.
"Sorry, Monkey," Porkchop chuckled.
"Boy, and I thought Shirako's music was loud," Monkey commented.
As I stockpiled liquid metal capsules and buckled a silver bulletproof vest over my sleeveless Teku shirt, Alec walked towards me.
"Vert, I know we haven't talked much since the incident," Alec said. "But I-"
"There's no need," I responded, still working on Reverb without missing a beat. "We're going to need to work as a team if we are to win this."
"I really want to say how sorry I was for-"
I could no longer see the smug millionaire, irresponsible asshole that he became after the World Race. The one that splurged it left and right while I was left to deal with medical and car insurance fraud.
I saw the friend I used to hang out with during school; the friend I used to have skateboard competitions with; the friend that helped me during the World Race.
I smiled. "Look, I've told you how many times I've messed up in the past. But I learned that we can move on from all this."
Alina LeBlanc
It was only a matter of time until the humans would have a chance to defeat Annette. I looked at each driver; determination and focus hardening their faces. The same determination I used to have when I thought of them as my enemies.
I looked at the hallway where the medical bay was.
"They're doing their part," I said to Anna. "I... I want to do mine."
"Alina, Harrison said there are Drones that are resentful to her," Anna said. "They won't offer her aid."
"Maybe not for a monster like her, but maybe a sad, pitiful girl like me?" Alina questioned.
Anna's eyes widened towards me. "Alina..."
"They're willing to risk their lives. I can't just stand and watch anymore."
Vert Wheeler
As I entered Reverb into an Ognassium, I noticed an Iridium loading into one as well.
"Vert, we have a situation on our hands," Dad said as he opened the windshield. "General Walker has ordered a nuclear bombardment of the enemy headquarters."
"What?" I gasped.
"Vert, I know none of you want this," Dad said. "I'm defying his order, and I know you will do the same."
"Won't we be trait-"
"Major Nora Gunderson will be testifying to Congress while Major Latvaa will be at the European Parliament. I am joining you hoping to intercept the ESF."
I chuckled. "And I thought I was the rebellious one."
"I've had to be silent about Walker's crimes for years now," Dad said.
An alert on my car's dashboard blared with text saying, INCOMING CALL – SILENCERZ EU HEADQUARTERS.
"Mate, you think you Yanks can take on Annette alone?" Finn questioned. "We're bringing everyone on board to see this to the end."
"And I will say that General Walker is a total cazzo," Maximo added.
"Thanks..., everyone."
"Once Straussburg has received the signal, we attack," Harrison informed the drivers.
Racing Drones' HQ
Karma Eiss
A blond, bearded man with blue windshields on his forearms walked into my cell. I instantly knew who he was without seeing him in person.
"Let me guess, Chrome Realm?" I deduced.
"You have a great memory," Einar Johansen of Blå Squadron said.
"Ugh... let me guess," I said. "'I am part of this cancer that humanity suffers from and I'm going to be tortured for my crimes'?"
"It's like you read the script of this twisted story beforehand," he said as he spun the remote that would control the surgical mechanisms behind me. "It's been a minute, Raven."
"You finally have your revenge..."
"It's nothing personal," Einar said as he activated the mechanisms. Behind me, a table of surgical devices started beeping and buzzing as it began to circle towards me.
I took the deepest of breaths, bracing for the scalpels to tear into my flesh; the saws to amputate my limbs; the arms to remove my vital organs; the needles to preserve what little of my humanity would remain. If Maila was never anesthetized when she became a Drone, I prayed to retain at least a semblance of sanity the way she did.
