Uprising
"All I'm saying is that we're wasting our time trying to be subtle, we should blow them all to smithereens, we have the military power to do so."
"Once again Aidam, we don't want to start a war." Trunks tried to silence him, but to no avail, the floor was his.
"If we spend less time trying to settle a rally, and more time spreading our forces and taking over, then we won't need a war."
"The other factions will find out," called Shane Krosh from his chair, "More importantly Vengeance and Exodus will find out first, then they'll come after us."
"Not if we get them first."
"What are you saying?" Simon was also part of the discussion now as he descended from his hatch in the ceiling.
"I'm saying that if we build up our forces, in a few years, maybe even less than that, we can wipe them out."
"That's called war Aidam." Shane spoke to him like a teacher would to a 6-year-old.
"No, because there wouldn't be any opposition. We wouldn't be fighting anyone, we'd be conquering."
Everyone knew that Aidam was dreaming of this moment, the chance to yell in their faces like this. The scary thing was, though, everyone knew he was right.
The morning was damp, and getting damper every passing minute. The rooftops were slippery, even if some were flat. The runoff from the gargoyle decoration made them look truly alive. One solemn walker finds his refuge atop a high decoration piece, like a horizontal pillar jutting out from the building. He looked up at the dark sky and murmured, "Solitude."
Bowing his head slightly in the rain, he let the water run down his back. The symbol of a sword was visible on his chest plate. Four electronic, metal gliding wings were attached to the back of the plate. His metallic, claw-like gauntlets didn't rust in the downpour, but remained as strong as ever.
A clawed finger tapped the sensor button on his forehead. The two jaw fortifiers snapped back so that they were straight in a line with his neck, releasing the vice grip of his black helmet. After shedding his chest/back/shoulder plate, including the wings, he lifted off his helmet, taking a deep breath of the morning air. He let the water soak his bald head and actually felt the light wind hit his face. "Fresh air."
He took a few extra sniffs of the air and noticed a smell; something that no good could come of. And the smell was getting closer. "Smoke."
"If I took a force of say, a thousand men, and explored the outer regions, we would have the knowledge necessary to spread." The argument had been going on for at least an hour, although this time people weren't annoyed, all listening intently to the speech, even Trunks.
"We're not allowed to spread, unless we have a meeting with the rest of the factions." Shane finally spoke up.
"That is why we strike first, spread out later." He had gone back to the same point he always tries to make, that's how the interest was lost.
An ensign stormed into the room, clutching a sound recording disk from one of the cameras hidden somewhere in the city.
"Now, ensign, I would normally scream at you for barging in here, but at this moment, I commend you for the break." Simon said to calm the nervous ensign.
"Uh, thank you sir." The ensign remembered where he was and continued with his haste, "Sir! I believe you should here this." He said as he shoved the disk into a player in the wall. The sound of chanting filled the room.
"Direct is Control! We destroy Control! Direct is Control!" The chanting started as one voice on the recording, then quickly became two, then ten, then a huge amount that can't be counted.
"Where was this recorded?" Trunks demanded.
"By one of the drones on the outskirts, sir."
Trunks turned to Shane, who stared blankly across the table and said, "Control? Wasn't that the-
"Turn it off. We've heard enough." Trunks ordered as he sat down to think. But the noise continued, just softer than before. Trunks stood up and whirled on the ensign screaming, "I didn't say turn it down, I said turn it off!!"
The ensign was cowering in fear against the wall, but Trunks' attention was no longer on him, it was on the player. The power switch was off. His eyes grew wide with surprise; he could still hear the chanting.
It was silent in the room; he focused his hearing. Suddenly, his head snapped left, toward the window. He walked slowly over to it, brushing back the curtains. His eyes became narrow slits.
"Trunks, what is it?" Shane asked, standing.
"Mobilize the troops."
The cement fell away in mist and ash, leaving a six-inch deep hole in the step. Vor' grinned as he realized that his weapon was way out of this world's league. His blaster's shot had sent murmurs of wonder through the mob behind him. The chanting continued, louder than before, as people gained their confidence.
A few feet behind the mob stood Kane, arms folded, staring at Vor'. Thomas was shaking his head murmuring, "We can't stop them now. This is what you were afraid of wasn't it?"
"Yes, I expected an uprising. We shouldn't have chanced it." Kane reflected.
Leon didn't comment, he had mixed emotions. Perhaps Direct deserves this, he thought.
"They don't deserve war, which is what will result soon. I've seen how they react to rallies, and this is much more than a rally." Kane surveyed.
"When that happens, what do we do?" Leon asked.
"For once in my life, I don't know." Kane actually shrugged.
"Well, we'd better do something quick, look!" Thomas had been watching Vor' and his mannerisms indicated he didn't like how things were going.
Vor' had shot the steps at the main door so much that when the first soldier's foot hit them, they collapsed under the weight, carrying two soldiers down the stairs and into the awaiting arms of the rebels. The rest of the soldiers dodged over the steps and pulled out their guns, aiming at about point blank range. A nervous silence filled the air, both sides twitching at their triggers. Before anyone could fire a shot, however, both sides strangely retreated just as fast as they had assembled.
"This has just gotten way too complicated." Kane observed.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Leon didn't understand.
Thomas turned around and said, "It's now a hostage situation." And he walked away...